Line #54 MortalKombatDesperation/TropesAToB


1	!!Tropes for ''Fanfic/MortalKombatDesperation'', A-B
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3	* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Raiden is virtually loathed by all of his ex-allies as well as most of his current allies, given what he's done so far. Most of Raiden's underlings — even those who joined his faction to satisfy their sadism — obey him out of ''sheer'' terror and not out of loyalty.
4	* AFateWorseThanDeath: Sonya promises this on Kano for his torturing of Cassie, only for the mercenary to reply that Cassie is "a perfect example of that." Prior to that, Raiden promises this on Jacqui and Takeda. Although he was interrupted by Cassie whilst threatening Scorpion, the threat is still there and he reiterates it in Chapter 63.
5	* AbusiveParents: Kano conceived Kevin from rape and fate finding out about him, kidnaps and tortures him in an attempt to create a perfect successor. Thanks to encouragement from Cassie, Kevin is now determined to get revenge on his father. Several characters find it morally ''appalling'' that Kano would stoop so low to abuse his own son.
6	** Kira's parents were extremely abusive and even sold her into sexual slavery when she was nine. As an adult, she killed them as revenge.
7	** Argus was verbally abusive towards Daegon and abandoned Rain. He even spent his final moments basically disowning Daegon.
8	* ActuallyPrettyFunny:
9	** Kano and his lieutenants have a laugh at Cassie [[KneelBeforeZod being forced to beg]] before Raiden.
10	** Goro laughed at the deaths of Sheeva's champions at his own hands.
11	** Skarlet, Goro, and the Red Dragon soldiers all laugh at watching Daegon punch Kano in the face for mocking him. Similarly, Daegon, Mavado, and Skarlet laugh at Kano being yelled at by Raiden after his and Tasia’s failed attempt to recapture Cassie and Kevin.
12	** In general, Raiden finds it funny whenever he's psychologically toying around with his former allies. For example, he finds it amusing whether he's torturing Cassie or Kevin (and when Cassie was [[KneelBeforeZod forced to grovel before him]]), or when he mass-zaps Team S-F, the Lin Kuei and the Edenian resistance. In chapter 63, Raiden, Shang Tsung, and Hotaru mock Kotal Kahn and his allies' appeal to the Elder Gods to intervene on their behalf. They also mock the brainwashed Shao Kahn.
13	** Raiden and his allies mock at Li Mei's plight in chapter 73 when she’s losing her fight to Hotaru whom she challenged to try to avenge her people.
14	* ActionDad: Johnny Cage, Kenshi, Jax, Kano, Scorpion, and Dairou qualify as this.
15	* ActionMom: Sonya, Sindel, and Delia qualify as this.
16	* ActionGirl[=/=]DarkActionGirl[=/=]FemmeFatale[=/=]LadyOfWar: With the exception of Vera and Viviana, who are civilians, every female character on both sides qualifies.
17	* AdaptationalHeroism: Kira, who was undeniably a villain with little focus in the original timeline of the games, is an AntiHero here with genuine regret for her crimes as a Black Dragon member and has a sympathetic backstory.
18	** Daegon is given more of a somewhat sympathtic AntiVillain portrayal here in that while his crimes such as murdering Suchin and his parents are acknowledged, he is also a case of EvenEvilHasStandards as shown by his disgust for traitors and rapists such as Kano. It also helps that he’s very loyal and protective of his followers.
19	** Frost, while still keeping her cockiness from the games, is self-aware of her flaws and ultimately chooses to remain loyal to Sub-Zero when given the chance to join Raiden for the Dragon Medallion.
20	* AdaptationalSexuality: Mileena and Tanya are confirmed to be [[DepravedBisexual Depraved Bisexuals]] and [[PsychoLesbian Psycho Lesbians]] in chapter 55. Granted, they did flirt in their intro dialogues in the game.
21	* AdaptationalVillainy:
22	** In the original timeline, though Raiden was an AntiVillain upon becoming Dark Raiden, he wasn't the BigBad. In this story however, he's the main antagonist and a massive douchebag, to boot.
23	** While Kano is an undeniably sleazy bastard, nothing in canon ever pointed to him being a flat-out rapist. Same applies to the rest of the Black Dragon Clan.
24	* AFatherToHisMen: Kotal Kahn is ''royally'' worried about his champions, especially Torr, who has slipped into a coma while his companion Ferra is in a mental breakdown - though in chapter 28, Torr awakes from his coma. Even his other warriors (Ermac, Reptile, Erron Black) are not in good shape, but despite their situation, he still cares about them.
25	** Fujin and Liu Kang are equally worried - Liu Kang knows the Thunder God will target the Netherrealm after destroying Outworld, while Fujin is worried about the mental state of his fellow Earthrealm defenders (especially Johnny Cage and Sonya, whose daughter was kidnapped by Raiden so they wouldn't interfere with his plans).
26	** Even Kano counts, as he cares more for his Black Dragon comrades than his own son.
27	** Daegon does not take kindly to any of his Red Dragon comrades being disrespected.
28	** AMotherToHerMen: Li Mei, Nitara, Sindel, Kitana, Khameleon, Sonya, and Sheeva qualify as this. Raiden takes advantage of Nitara and Li Mei's status as this by targeting their people, ordering Hotaru to destroy Li Mei's village to break her and threatening Nitara's people with the same fate to make her join his side.
29	* AffablyEvil: Shang Tsung is a seemingly BenevolentBoss to Moloch, Drahmin, Kia, and Jataaka. He admits that he simply does this out of practicality. He's FauxAffablyEvil towards his enemies, especially Liu Kang and Delia.
30	* AIIsACrapshoot: Triborg. When he is activated in the 19th Chapter, he immediately grabs Sonya's hand and is tossed around like a ragdoll. He then goes on to [[CurbStompBattle curbstomp everybody]] at the S-F base and nearly takes them down before Fujin intervenes and uses his wind powers to disable Triborg. Sonya later brings in reinforcements, and they mow him down with enough bullets that penetrate his armor and damage his internal circuitry, disabling him; Sonya finally ends him with a [[BoomHeadshot headshot]].
31	* AmbitionIsEvil: After he CameBackWrong, Raiden intends to merge all the realms in order to "protect" Earthrealm.
32	* AmbiguouslyEvil:
33	** Darrius is a shining example of this. While he certainly uses dark methods due to his 'ends justify the means' attitude such as secretly arranging the murder of Dairou's family ([[WouldHurtAChild including his young daughter]]) and framing another man for the crime whom he then allowed to be killed, he seems to genuinely want the best for his realm as much as he wants power for himself. Furthermore, he sees things more rationally than [[BothOrderandChaosAreDangerous the order-obsessed Hotaru and chaos-obsessed Havik]].
34	** Dairou. Though he is a mercenary mostly concerned with money rather than the morality of the jobs he takes, the murder of his young daughter alongside his wife and parents is likely the reason for [[WouldntHurtAChild his refusal to harm children]] and he does not approve of Hotaru's obsession with order and killing Darrius. He even tells Havik that he is not on Fujin and Kotal Kahn's side for just money as he initially claimed to Darrius and the Wind God.
35	** Daegon. His crimes such as [[SelfMadeOrphan killing his parents]] and arranging Suchin's murder are not ignored, but [[EvenEvilHasStandards he clearly has standards]], as proven with his disgust with Kano for being a traitor and [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rapist]] both things he hates. He also looks out for his subordinates, standing up for Skarlet when Reiko insults her and not tolerating disrespect toward his followers.
36	** Nitara. She's quite TheBaroness who prefers to use her brain like a Rosa Klebb rather than her looks like a Sexpot and is not above making alliance with unsavory characters as well as using deception. However, she does all of this to protect her people and try to free her realm which was merged with Outworld by Shao Kahn and only joined Raiden out of fear when he blackmailed her by threatening her people and offering to let her defeat Ashrah.
37	** D'Vorah. She's very [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder traitorous]], cunning, deceptive, and power hungry, but her desire for power stems from a belief that power is the key to survival, which has been her ultimate motivation since Shao Kahn conquered her people. She refuses to die, which is a sharp contrast to many other characters who believe in FateWorseThanDeath. She understands why people think like that, but prefers to suffer and live than die.
38	* AnArmAndALeg: Well, hands actually. Tasia loses both of hers whilst fighting Kira.
39	* AndIMustScream: Shujinko experienced this while under Havik's control.
40	** A brainwashed Shao Kahn is revealed to be very aware of his actions despite lacking control over them. His chapter even has the quote from the TropeNamer.
41	* AntiHero: The revenants, led by Liu Kang. They only ally with Fujin and Kotal Kahn because of what [[OmnicidalManiac Raiden could do to all of the realms.]] Same goes for Scorpion, Kira, Rain, and Frost. This changes once they are revived by Jade/Delia.
42	** Darrius views himself as this InUniverse. Whether he's right is debatable.
43	** Hotaru also views himself as this InUniverse, but no one can deny he's wrong, to say the least.
44	** Nitara is willing to use whatever methods necessary to protect her race and free her realm.
45	* AntiVillain: Scorpion, as he's more of a NobleTopEnforcer for Raiden and he objects to Cassie's torture by Kano. [[spoiler:Then he pulls a HeelFaceTurn.]]
46	** It's debateable whether Darrius is this or an AntiHero, though he certainly thinks he's the latter.
47	** Nitara mostly joined Raiden because he threatened her people.
48	* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: This is what Raiden did to Scorpion - the former revenant contemplated suicide to atone for his rashness in Shinnok's revival, but Raiden talks him out of it and subtly [[ManipulativeBastard manipulates]] Scorpion into becoming [[TheDragon his right-hand man]].
49	** Kano gets two; a general pardon for his past crimes? Good. Kidnap Cassie Cage? Even better.
50	** For Nitara, it was either side with Raiden in exchange for the chance to defeat Ashrah and keep her people safe or he would destroy her people.
51	* AntagonisticOffspring: Daegon is this to Delia and Argus, whom he killed.
52	* ArmsDealer: Kano.
53	* ApocalypseHow: If Raiden does merge the realms, it comes ''dangerously close'' to a Class X-5 or a Class Z - meaning that he's awakening the One Being. Many of Raiden's former allies (and by extension, the Elder Gods) now fear him more than they did with Shinnok and Shao Kahn, considering how he's [[AxCrazy a]] [[TheSociopath deranged]] MadGod with OmnicidalManiac tendencies.
54	* ArchEnemy: Raiden becomes this to Fujin, the Cage family (Johnny, Sonya and Cassie), Kung Jin, Kenshi, Takeda, Scorpion, Orin, Caro, Shujinko, Jax, Jacqui, Taven, Delia/Jade, Rain, Ruby, Sub-Zero, Frost, Sheeva, Li Mei, Bo' Rai Cho, Kai, Ashrah, Darrius, Dairou, Kira and Sareena. He was already this to Kotal Kahn and his warriors (Erron Black, Ermac/Jerrod, Ferra/Torr and Reptile), and also to the ex-revenants (Liu Kang, Kitana, Sindel, Smoke, Stryker, Nightwolf, and Kabal). They all view him as a heartless, sociopathic and cruel BrokenPedestal after he CameBackWrong.
55	** Kano is this to the Cage Family, Team S-F, Kabal, Fujin and to his own son Kevin.
56	** Hotaru becomes [[ItsPersonal this]] to Li Mei, considering that he [[MoralEventHorizon destroyed her village on Raiden's orders]]. He is already this to Darrius.
57	** Baraka, Tanya, and Mileena are this to Kitana, Sindel, Kotal Kahn, Rain, Jade/Delia, and Ruby.
58	* ArchnemesisDad: Kevin hates Kano with a burning passion. Cassie actually manages to help him out of his DeathSeeker slump by encouraging him to get revenge against his father.
59	* [[ArrogantKungFuGuy Arrogant Thunder God]]: Raiden becomes a [[ItsAllAboutMe selfish]] JerkassGod following his corruption. Even Jacqui [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this when he announces his plans to kidnap Cassie and invade Outworld.
60	* ArtificialLimbs: Jax has artificial arms.
61	** Tasia has artificial hands as of Chapter 34.
62	* AscendedExtra: Characters who didn't get much focus in the game [[ADayInTheLimelight get whole chapters from their POV]]. Kano's son, mentioned only in Kano's MKX arcade ending, gets a name (Kevin) and is shaping up to be a major character.
63	* AssholeVictim: Argus. It's hard to feel sorry for him (even if he was killed by his own son) when he admitted to being ashamed of calling Daegon a son moments before Daegon kills him. One also cannot forget his lack of activity in Rain's life. After finding out how his brothers were treated, Taven begins to resent his father and see him as a BrokenPedestal.
64	** The majority of Raiden's allies fear and/or hate him, but given their own crimes, it's hard to feel sorry for them, especially Kano and his Black Dragon buddies.
65	* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: Sonya Blade, to a T.
66	* TheAtoner: Scorpion, after realizing that he was being manipulated by [[ManipulativeBastard Raiden]] and after objecting to Kano and Raiden's torture of Cassie and Kevin.
67	** Liu Kang, Kitana, and the other ex-revenants are horrified as to what they did as revenants.
68	** Sareena and Ashrah both wanted to become this because they hated working for Quan Chi. The former actually inspired the latter to also rebel.
69	** Shujinko carries guilt for unknowingly helping Onaga and for his actions while under Havik’s control during the blood code.
70	** Ruby regrets her actions while working for Shao Kahn.
71	** Frost truly wants to become better after her experience in the death match fight club.
72	** Kira struggles a lot with forgiveness for her actions as a Black Dragon member.
73	* AwakeningTheSleepingGiant: For all of his own individual faults and past problems, the fact that Kotal Kahn is pursuing an EnemyMine situation with other realms so they could combine their forces to take down an [[KnightTemplar corrupted]] [[AxCrazy and]] [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] [[HeWhoFightsMonsters god]] who literally wants to [[OmnicidalManiac instigate Armageddon]] just for [[ForTheEvulz his own selfish gains]].
74	** Say what you want to about Johnny and Sonya, but kidnapping and torturing their daughter all to keep them in check will end bad for all those involved, especially for a certain criminal/arms dealer and a corrupted thunder god.
75	** When Raiden threatens to do the same thing to Takeda as he did with Cassie, Scorpion realizes that he was being used as a tool by the corrupted thunder god, and pulls a full HeelFaceTurn after objecting to Cassie's and Kevin's torture by Kano and Raiden.
76	* AwfulTruth: Pretty much the revenants were forced into evil by Quan Chi and are now slowly getting back their old memories. They have since been revived by Jade, and are now regretting and atoning for what they did as revenants.
77	** How Raiden took advantage of Scorpion's guilt in killing off Quan Chi and manipulated him into doing his dirty work. He's now doing the same thing to Daegon and Nitara by preying on the former's feelings about being TheUnfavorite son of Argus and the latter's desperation to protect her race.
78	* AxCrazy: The Thunder God slowly becomes [[TheSociopath an insane megalomaniac]] and will brutally torture or kill anybody that crosses him.
79	** Mileena has shades of this.
80	* BackFromTheDead: Quan Chi is now working for the Elder Gods, with his free will removed.
81	** [[spoiler: Shang Tsung]] has returned in Chapter 50. [[spoiler: He also resurrects Mileena, Baraka, Mavado, Havik, Reiko, Kobra, Kia, Jataaka, Drahmin, and Moloch.]]
82	** Jade is alive, though she's now SharingABody with Delia, Argus's wife as well as Daegon and Taven's mother.
83	** [[spoiler:The revenants, as they have been revived]] at the end of Chapter 26.
84	** [[spoiler: Shao Kahn has been resurrected and brainwashed by Shang Tsung to serve Raiden's side.]]
85	* BadBoss: It's very clear that most of Raiden's underlings — even those who joined his faction just to satisfy their sadism — obey him out of ''sheer'' terror.
86	* BadassDecay: InvokedTrope. As Tasia found out the hard way, [[AnArmAndALeg Kira is just as dangerous as she was back when she was a member]].
87	-->'''Kira:''' "[[WhosLaughingNow Well, I just amputated both of your hands with your own weapons, so maybe I haven't gone as soft as you think]]."
88	* BadassCrew: Kotal Kahn's LaResistance vs. Raiden's LegionOfDoom.
89	* BadassFamily: There are several examples of this:
90	** The Cage Family.
91	** Jax and Jacqui.
92	** Kung Lao and Kung Jin
93	** Takeda and Kenshi.
94	** Kitana and Sindel.
95	* TheBadGuyWins[=/=]PosthumousCharacter: Though Shinnok doesn't make any appearances in this story, he DOES manage to break his ArchEnemy Raiden by twisting him into something as evil and monstrous as himself.
96	* TheBaroness: Tanya, Skarlet, Tasia, Mileena, Kia, and Jataaka are of the Sexpot variety.
97	** D'Vorah is of the Rosa Klebb variety.
98	** Although Nitara looks like a Sexpot, she's more of a Rosa Klebb.
99	* BattleCouple: Liu Kang and Kitana, as the Netherrealm's new rulers; though they are eventually rid of their corruption by Jade/Delia, they still kick ass.
100	** Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade may be divorced, but they still count.
101	** Jacqui and Takeda.
102	** Mileena and Tanya.
103	** Khameleon and Reptile are implied to be this.
104	** Seeing as she is his DarkMistress, Skarlet and Daegon qualify as this.
105	* BattleInTheRain: In chapter 24.
106	* BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: Raiden, after his FaceHeelTurn.
107	* BerserkButton: Raiden doesn't take it lightly when his ex-allies compare him to Shao Kahn and/or Shinnok.
108	** Tanya does not take kindly to being called a whore by Rain.
109	** For Tasia, Kira [[ReallyGetsAround calling her a whore]] pisses her off plenty.
110	** For Skarlet, it's Mileena and Reiko as well as being called a slave.
111	** For Mileena, it's betrayal, anyone who insults Shao Kahn, her face being made fun of, and not getting what she wants.
112	** For Sonya, it's Kano and anyone else who threatens her loved ones.
113	** For Hotaru, it's Havik and Darrius.
114	* [[BewareTheNiceOnes Beware the Nice and]] [[BewareTheSillyOnes Silly Ones]]: The Cage family, to a T.
115	* BothOrderAndChaosAreDangerous: Hotaru and Havik, respectively.
116	* BigBad: Raiden, who starts off as an OmnicidalManiac KnightTemplar with a HeWhoFightsMonsters mentality, but is placed into evil territory once he electrocutes Sub-Zero and the Lin Kuei [[YoureInsane for questioning his methods.]]
117	* BigBadDuumvirate: Raiden forms a Deadly Alliance with Hotaru. In exchange for destroying Outworld, Raiden offers to eliminate Darrius, who's the leader of the Seidan resistance.
118	* BigBadFriend: Raiden is this to Fujin, Liu Kang and many of his ex-allies.
119	* BigBrotherInstinct: Taven expresses toward Rain, both when defending him from the Elder Gods and saving his life after he loses to Tremor in the tournament. He also had this toward Daegon in the past and still does to some extent.
120	* BigDamnHeroes:
121	** When Raiden is about to kidnap Cassie, Team S-F bursts in to her room and tries to prevent the thunder god from taking her away, but fails.
122	** The gist of Chapter 24, where Fujin leads an assault on the Sky Temple.
123	** [[spoiler: Jade[=/=]Delia]], upon rescuing Sonya, Cassie, Kira and Kevin.
124	** The gist of chapter 28, where Kotal Kahn and his allies are defending an assault from the Red Dragon clan.
125	** Chapter 44, where Delia and Taven try to stop Raiden from manipulating Daegon, but fail to do so.
126	* BigGood: Kotal Kahn.
127	* BigGuyLittleGuy[=/=]HugeGuyTinyGirl: Torr is the Big and Huge Guy to Ferra.
128	* BigNo: Kitana, as Quan Chi kills Jade.
129	* BigShutUp: Raiden's former allies do this in chapter 54, calling him out for his cruelty streak.
130	* BlackAndWhiteMorality: Raiden starts out as a WellIntentionedExtremist and KnightTemplar, but as the story progresses, he slowly becomes a deranged and sociopathic tyrant who's more than willing to use brutal tactics to conquer realms (and to silence anybody if they stand in his way), alienate and throw his ex-allies under the bus, and as well as manipulate, cheat and extort anybody to serve him, effectively becoming a real villain.
131	* {{Blackmail}}: How Raiden managed to convince Nitara into [[SadisticChoice joining his faction or face the loss of her people]].
132	* BlasphemousBoast: Raiden does this to the Elder Gods in chapter 63. He uses the same line Shao Kahn used before he was defeated by the Elder Gods.
133	-->'''Raiden''': You were right. [[WhamLine They]] '''[[WhamLine are]]''' [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu toothless worms]]. [[AGodAmI I shall enjoy squashing them.]]\
134
135	** Taven is outraged that the Elder Gods did nothing in response to Raiden's BlasphemousBoast and soon afterwards agrees that they really ''are'' [[BrokenPedestal toothless]] [[PaperTiger worms]].
136	* BlofeldPloy: In chapter 22, Cassie thought that Raiden was going to torture her, but instead, he suddenly tortures Kevin. He only stops when Cassie was forced to [[KneelBeforeZod grovel before him]].
137	* BloodKnight: Whether it's torturing Cassie or mass-zapping the Lin Kuei, Raiden takes sadistic glee in doing this.
138	* BlindObedience[=/=]UndyingLoyalty: Baraka has this to Shao Kahn and Mileena.
139	** Mavado has this to Daegon.
140	** Skarlet once had this to Shao Kahn, but now works for Daegon.
141	* BlindWeaponmaster[=/=]HandicappedBadass: Kenshi to a T.
142	* BodyguardBetrayal: The Tarkatan horde ''defects'' to Raiden's side ''en masse'' after Mileena reveals that Baraka was killed by D'Vorah on Kotal Kahn's orders.
143	* BondVillainStupidity: Raiden didn't anticipate the emergence of a big coalition of RagtagBunchOfMisfits to emerge and take him down. He also [[MamaBear failed to realize]] [[PapaWolf just how far Cassie's parents will go to rescue their daughter]].
144	** Scorpion pulls a HeelFaceTurn when he realizes what could happen to his protege Takeda if he dares to [[DefectorFromDecadence defy Raiden]], noticing how the [[TheSociopath thunder god]] [[{{Sadist}} brutally tortures Kevin and Cassie]] AND after realizing he was being used as a tool by [[ManipulativeBastard Raiden]].
145	* BreakThemByTalking: What Raiden does to Daegon in chapter 44. The evil god manipulates Daegon into believing that his parents favored Taven over him.
146	** This is what he did to Nitara and Scorpion as well.
147	* BrokenPedestal: Raiden is seen as this by many of his ex-allies, once he crosses the MoralEventHorizon.
148	** Daegon is seen as this by Taven, as the former killed off their parents, but he's still struggling to become a RebuiltPedestal.
149	** Taven considers the Elder Gods (including Shinnok) and his own father Argus to be this.
150	** Noob Saibot is seen as this by Sub-Zero, who sees Smoke as a ReplacementSibling.
151	** Kenshi and Scorpion were this, but are working their way to become a RebuiltPedestal.
152	** Kevin sees his own father Kano as an ArchnemesisDad.
153	** Dairou tells Shujinko that Hotaru used to be a good man before his obsession with order and killing Darrius turned him into a villain.
154	* BrooklynRage: Kevin's background, as he was born in Brooklyn.
155	* BullyingADragon: Raiden and Kano kidnap Cassie, and now Sonya is hell-bent on killing the thunder god for harming her daughter.

Context MortalKombatDesperation / TropesAToB