u/Enenra2248

Here's some of my favorite designs for characters who started out as palette swaps

1. Scorpion his mk11 design is probably my favorite it's simplistic yet effective I feel like alot of Scorpion's designs feel to busy what I like about his mk11 design it that it kinda looks like a modernized version of the mk2 ninja look although his mkx default is a close second

2. Sub-Zero his mk deception design is my favorite shredder-zero goes hard but his mkx default is probably my 2nd favorite Sub-Zero design

3. Reptile I think his Shaolin Monks design is my favorite it's the perfect blend of ninja and lizard imo but I also like his mkx look with the bone armor

4. Smoke my favorite ninja and favorite character in the franchise my favorite look for him has to be his mk9 alt I just love this design it looks really cool imo with his default in mk9 being a close second

5. Kitana her mkx design is probably my favorite I just like the way it looks and I think it fits her character I also really like her her tournament outfit in that game which imo is kind of like a better version of her mk9 design

6. Mileena putting the whole lips vs no lips debate aside personally I like both no lips and lips Mileena I think both mouth designs look good and work depending on how you want to handle the character but all that aside I just like the outfit in general I also like the messy hair it really fits her tbh

7. Ermac his mk9 alt is definitely my favorite look for him with his mk11 design being a close second

8. Noob Saibot his mk9 default is definitely my favorite look for Noob but I also really like his mk11 design

9. Rain I his mk9 design is his best look with his mkx look being a close second

10. Sektor I really like his mk11 design and his mk9 look but I still feel like the look of the cyber lin kuei is yet to be perfected in the nrs games I don't know it feels like every design the cyborgs look like there's something missing maybe it's the ninja loincloth that they had in mk3 I kinda want that design aspect to return to help re-establish the idea that these are cyborg ninjas

This is what I imagine they look like without their helmet/faceplate since I'm pretty sure their bolted or welded to the skull

I don't know about you all but I honestly think these two had potential to be a very unique pair I'm not even big on shipping in general but this is an exception I guess it's because both characters have been used by their own factions and treated as weapons or tools rather than people

Both of them are also outcasts in different ways Mileena her whole life has been in Kitana's shadow being viewed as Shao Kahn's lesser daughter nothing more but a failsafe and a poor attempt at emulating perfection she wears the mask because she loathes her face it's why she grew envious of Kitana something about her character that always seemed forgotten after the midway games but overall her whole life nobody has truly cared about her to everyone she's just a monster a freak a failed clone and just an attack dog that needs to be put on a leash

And for Tomas the lin kuei took him into the clan when he was a boy due to his abilities but the reason he has his powers is because of the enenra a literal smoke demon this left him questioning his own humanity if he really was since the enenra was bonded to his soul and the cyber initiative proved to him that his clan doesn't really care about him or see him as a person just a weapon

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I have always thought that if these two met under the right circumstances I honestly think Tomas would be more sympathetic to her seeing how she is just treated like an asset rather than a person unlike others he wouldn't see the monster everyone else sees he sees the sad lonely person underneath

It could become a story of two broken people finding sanctuary in each other two people from separate worlds united by similar forces one has never been treated like a person her whole life the other is fighting to keep his humanity over having his flesh traded for metal

I always get mixed answers from green hazel and even grey