Dairou Has Potential

Ninja Assassin

Look at him

It's fine. I should be the one apologising since I shouldn't have gotten so heated. I felt the need to defend my ship. I interpreted the post as you bashing the ship.

I don't think Ayano 'deserves' better, she can choke. I think the shippers believing that are either people who deep down believe they can change a bad person, like most delusional people, or young teens who don't fully understand/can't comprehend the severity of the situation. I think the fact that it's fiction also has something to do with it.

There's something psychological about it that I am not qualified to get into, but I can only theorise.

Whenever I see people saying "Ayano should dump Taro's ass and go with Budo, he's SO MUCH BETTER than him!", I ask: ...why are you so desperate to see Budo go through what Jokichi was subjected to? Do you secretly hate him or are you just masochists? Ayano is not a good match for ANYONE.

ooh this is gonna be long

Yes you have a good point! Ayano isn't a good match for anyone and it doesn't make sense to suggest that she should be with Taro or that she should dump Taro and go for someone "better" because whoever she ends up with is doomed to live in captivity among other unpleasant things. So why would people say this?

1. They don't know the game's concept very well, especially evidenced by the fact that they think Ayano is in control of whoever it is that she's obsessed with. She isn't. Stands to reason that if they don't know that, they ALSO don't know that being Ayano's lover is definitely not a good thing.

2. They forgot to mention that they're talking about their AU/rewrite in which Ayano isn't a bad person. Like it's very clear that some people like to pretend that Yandere Simulator's problematic characters aren't problematic. What if the bullies weren't bullies? What if the delinquents weren't delinquents? What if Ayano is just a slightly more cunning than average schoolgirl experiencing her first crush? That makes the game more enjoyable to them so that's the lens through which they perceive it, and when they talk about it, that's what they mean.

3. They know exactly what they're talking about and they're curious about how Budo might respond to being put into such a situation. Wanting to see bad things happen to a character doesn't necessarily mean hating them. There are characters in Danganronpa that I think should die, but I don't hate them as much as I hate Vlad from Magicka. FUCK that conniving little "nyeh nyeh I'm not a vampire!" bastard. Point being, they may not hate Budo, but they might think that it would be more interesting to see Budo in that position than Taro.

So which is it? Honestly... I hope the first one, because it's the best compromise between non-offensive and actually realistic. I don't think it's the third solely because the focus is on what kind of guy Ayano deserves to be with, not on who would make a better Magic Senpai. The second one is just... guys, you know Yandere Simulator is gonna be an M Rated game, right? Bad people do bad things. Ayano isn't a good person, even if you play pacifist, because her aim is to take away another person's agency over their life. I've talked about this before with Info-chan but it applies to e v e r y problematic aspect of the game. But I can't really blame anyone who says that Ayano deserves Budo over Taro just out of ignorance. Realistically it's probably a mix of the first and second options tho.

Cole Young should've been Kai

I know, I know, this is just an excuse to project how much I wanna see more black characters as main characters.

I'm pretty sure the hate for Mortal Kombat 2021 has died down to some degree, as it's been a good 3 years since the movie came out, and no ones talking about it anymore. Nonetheless, I wanted to give my take on Cole Young. I heard that the reason they made Cole Young is because they wanted to pander to the audience, and how they didn't want a white main character to be the every man that introduces the audience to Mortal Kombat... So they came up with Cole Young.

If that was the case, then Kai was right there. I mean, they did bring out characters from the Midway era, so they could've brought Kai. Let me explain myself here. Kai has fire powers as well, but he doesn't even have to be a descendant of Hanzo. They could've pulled a Miles Morales, but he doesn't have to be painted as the next Scorpion or some other crap. Kai in canon is a student/mentee of Liu Kang's, and is a member of the White Lotus. What does Cole do? He trains with Liu Kang and Kung Lao. Just like Cole, Kai can be an orphan as well.

 Of course, you can't trust them to write the script. I can't be trusted either, but here's my take on what could've been:

Kai is a college kid doing underground fighting to make ends meet or a side hustle. The ring is run by the Black Dragon, who are keeping some tabs on him due to how much money he's been making, so they set up Kobra to be his next contender. The start of the film shows him defeating Kobra, before heading home to count his money to make sure he has enough for rent. His bedroom has a set design that clues the audience in on what his interests are. There are Martial Arts posters, he has a collection of weapons (hints to poor spending habits), and there's a picture of him and his baseball team from high school. There's a metal baseball bat laying somewhere, implying that he still occasionally likes to play.

He later goes on to China Town, and purchases a random spear from some guy, not knowing that it used to belong to Hanzo Hasashi aka Scorpion. To his credit, the seller tells Kai that the spear is cursed and is said to drive people who use it insane, with all of them claiming to see images of Hell fire, and nightmares of a sceptre, that's why it's selling for such a low price. Kai tells him that he doesn't need to worry about marketing, and that he just wants the spear. (He's also a big fan of watching youtubers explore "haunted" abandoned buildings and ouija board stuff, so it's a win for him)

Kai gets on to his daily life, not knowing that he's being stalked by Kobra. He accidentally sets a few things on fire, quickly figuring out that he has new powers. He doesn't know how to control them, and tries to stay away from flammable objects. (I think Kai's fire should be a certain colour to differentiate him from Liu Kang and Scorpion. Either pink, blue or green. Pink just because, blue to imply that it's super hot, and green to reference the Chaosrealm as a hint to Kai's ancestry, made up on my part)

Kobra breaks into Kai's home and demands a rematch, and Kai uses the baseball bat to help defend himself. He accidentally kills Kobra after shooting a fireball at him, and his home catches fire. He doesn't know how to stop the fire, and in his panic, he grabs as many valuables as he can before leaving the scene. The spear, a family photo, some money.

He tells the police that Kobra was some random home invader who knocked him out, but Kai woke up in time to find the place on fire, and Kobra was still present and unfortunately burned to death. Stryker investigates, and suspects there's more to the story, sensing something off about Kai. At the same time, he can't help but feel bad for Kai, and offers his spare bedroom so long as Kai pays rent. (Cue Stryker accidentally becoming a father to a college kid)

In natural reporter fashion, the incident is broadcast to the world, alerting his whereabouts to Sub Zero, and other Outworld champions. Raiden appears and warns Kai of danger, and asks Kai to come with him. Stryker intervenes (because some random lightning guy appeared in his house), telling Kai to run while he keeps Raiden at bay. Kai runs off to hide at a nearby store or something, and that's when Sub Zero appears to kill him. Kai does pretty well to hold him off, but his flames are flaring up when he doesn't want them to. Raiden saves him, and once he's able to shoo Sub Zero away he explains everything to Kai.

Kai's family used to compete in the tournament, and after they died under mysterious circumstances, he's been stuck living by himself. (He never told anyone in fear of social services, but he's been alone since 17. Maybe they went on holiday and never came back, idk) It's one of the reasons he's making ends meet in underground fighting. Those white markings on his skin? Family heirloom type stuff. Kai's parents were one of the many who were slain by Sub Zero over the years. Coming into contact with a supernatural object activated Kai's abilities.

Kai agrees to go with Raiden to China, and trains with the White Lotus, where he is introduced to Liu Kang. Kai wants to know how to use his spear, but Liu Kang hands him a club. (I personally hate clubs, because the weapon looks so unclean and tacky. But in the game, Kai uses a spiked club, so I can't retcon anything.) Here, he becomes Liu Kang's student. Although he's good at using the club, he is still determined to use the spear, and practises by himself. He accidentally summons some fire, but it's not his fire, it's hell fire.

Edit: Kai finds out some other things about himself, like how his family were shamans of some kind, leading him to investigate how to summon entities. He starts to experience the effects of the spear, and tries to communicate with Scorpion, and find hints through his visions. The next time Kai gets into a fight, he is not himself, and his eyes shine a golden blaze.

He does find a way to summon Scorpion and bring him to the mortal world.

The boys giving a little show to the camera. Jeff doing a little dance. Much to see. Kind of looks like the beginning of an old porn tape.

I am in absolute shock that I found the dojo video. Here is the famous tit grab clip we’ve all been searching for

Miyagi-Do Theory

I theorise that a lot of Mr Miyagi's teachings revolve around his own experiences, or are fuelled by them. I think that the tradition of passing it from father to son had to do with a father wanting to protect his son from the horrors of the world. I believe each son (and daughter?) experienced some kind of hardship, and learned from it. Yes, their father probably preached to them, but they didn't understand what was being preached until they went through it themselves.

The Miyagi-Do way is tied to living and learning. It's why the training process is doing basic everyday chores as a routine, instead of outright practising moves from the first jump. It is why peace and balance is so important to them.

I think rebellion plays a role in this as well. In the 3rd film, Daniel is being harassed and assaulted by Mike Barnes, so he wants to be retrained. Mr Miyagi is against it, so Daniel rebels against him and trains with Silver. Mr Miyagi forgives Daniel and then agrees to retrain him.

Mr Miyagi was against the tournament, but gave in once he saw for himself how severe Daniel's situation was. I'm pretty sure he had his suspicions, and went to the dojo to investigate for himself.

I think what happened here is that Mr Miyagi could see where this was going. Following the Sekai Taikai storyline, he probably met plenty of competitors like Mike Barnes in his time. I believe that's why he was against using karate for tournaments. There's no point wasting your life away competing in a sport that you will always look over your shoulder for. Once you lose after getting so close to the top, you will begin to lose yourself. That almost happened with Mike.

If we're really going to be real about it, we should address that he killed his opponent. Going back to the fight with Sam and Tory for the captain spot, Daniel rightfully stops the fight whereas Johnny says it should've continued because it was what Tory 'needed'. Anyone with a brain should know that what Johnny said wasn't correct.

Grief does not belong in competition. Mr Miyagi lost his wife and son during his enlistment. He left Okinawa, was fighting for his life in a war, and lost his wife and child. What does he do? Goes to the deep end. After becoming a thief, he might as well get into fights, right? Joined the Sekai Taikai, and look how that ended? All that frustration and anger he had at the world ended with someone's death.

I headcanon that this event was a turning point to him turning back to his ancestral teachings.

The other side of Miyagi-do is rooted in rebellion.

Rebellion can come in all kinds of ways. It can be extreme, or even the small stuff. Mr Miyagi told Daniel that one day he would make his own karate. This gives the idea that each Miyagi son made it adaptable to fit themselves. Yes, they all have the same lesson, but how they use it will be different.

One example that I will bring up is that the Capoeira we have now is different to one that was created centuries ago. It is a martial art from Congo that the Brazilian slaves had to disguise as dancing. Break dancing was inspired by Capoeira. Like a language, it changes over time.

Mr Miyagi trained Daniel and Julie Pierce even though neither of them were his children (biologically). Thing is, Miyagi-do wasn't supposed to be taught to anyone outside the family, maybe not even to women (considering how sexist things were back then). Mr Miyagi requested his father make an exception for Sato. Sato went on to teach it to Chozen.

Thus, the balance of Miyagi-do. Peace and rebellion. Going against conformity, tradition, and living a life of learning. Yeah, that's all I got for this essay.

Hobie wasn't the only one on Miles' side.

Let's give Horsie some appreciation.