Doxxing Files |OT| Do not use a pandemic to make a platform wars thread

[Boredfrom]

Yeah, obviously calling it the War & Peace of videogames would be as bombastic and you could argue as insensitive to some dreadful real life events.

Read as parody even after the whole "Citizen Kane of videogames" became fairly infamous. It's even more bizarre that this tweet is part of a 5 posts thread by the dude and that the movie name dropping is fairly unnecessary to the point he is making.

Yeah, but a Simpson podcaster is the last person should bitch about hyperbolic stuff.

Ahoy-hoy, everyone! We're Talking Simpsons, and since 2015, we've been proudly producing a weekly, in-depth podcast exploring each and every episode of the best TV show on earth. 

 

https://twitter.com/TheLonelyPhoton/status/1271593568403161090

Just like my video games.

[Transhuman]

Still, the video game industry is quite small. Jason is an idiot for picking these fights  .

All the more impressive then. He knew when he wrote about the crunch conditions at ND they would retatliate by not sending him a review copy, but he wrote it anway. A journalist can't live in fear of offending their subjects.

Also, destroying his "working relationship" with ND clearly doesn't mean shit if he's still able to outscoop everyone else.

https://mobile.twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1256893466564603906?lang=en

Better to be an outsider looking in. There's always going to be people who appreciate objectivity, no matter how incestuous and hysterical the vidya game industry is.

Eh... my problem with Jason is that is pretty clear he is not objective and tends to be hypocritical of who to shit on. I remember when he published the behind of scenes of Anthem but was claiming EA was not the big bad that screwed BioWare (even if the same piece pointed out that some of the most disastrous changes were also influenced by EA). People have all the right to shit on BioWare but pretending EA is not influencing the company was laughable. It tells me he wanted to publish the piece while still maintaining his sources at BioWare/EA intact (or at least not get Kotaku black listed from EA) while pretending nobody fucked up with the micro transactions stuff.

Jason is acting like keyboard Che Guevara But still posts in a forum that has three or four controversies about bigotry (even if they are silly) and was pretty silent about Evilore behavior when he did a online interview with him (people asked legitimately questions he just dismissed).

The guy can get stuff and dirt, but he is also a big double faced scumbag.

He's a huge dumbass and an even bigger hypocrite but a broken clock is right two times a day, and a broken clock that spins backwards is right 4 times a day!

[Raist]

https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1271524159076655110

[Boredfrom]

Reopening bitches:

https://www.resetera.com/threads/things-getting-heated-between-neil-druckmann-jason-schreier-and-cory-barlog-on-twitter.227377/page-6

You can’t quarantine the truth!

[Raist]

Uh oh, big boy J might be losing some reee points soon.

https://twitter.com/philsinclair91/status/1272258338760413184

[Transhuman]

Kate Gray finally apologised for posting child pornography on Kotaku that one time

And just in time for her new game, which she spruiks in the apology

https://mobile.twitter.com/hownottodraw/status/1271625707332997125

[ShutUp]

Uh oh, big boy J might be losing some reee points soon.

https://twitter.com/philsinclair91/status/1272258338760413184

Schreier blocked this guy for this tweet  such a spineless weasel

[Boredfrom]

deleted that MJ joke after five mins because I felt like it was off-target given the circumstances. But the target was Michael Jordan, a rich jerk. I think that's p clear. I have no idea why people are bringing it up now, as if it was racist or something? Cmon

https://www.resetera.com/threads/things-getting-heated-between-neil-druckmann-jason-schreier-and-cory-barlog-on-twitter.227377/page-10#post-36985885

Big Yikes for me.

[Don Rumata]

Yeah, obviously calling it the War & Peace of videogames would be as bombastic and you could argue as insensitive to some dreadful real life events.

Read as parody even after the whole "Citizen Kane of videogames" became fairly infamous. It's even more bizarre that this tweet is part of a 5 posts thread by the dude and that the movie name dropping is fairly unnecessary to the point he is making.

Yeah, but a Simpson podcaster is the last person should bitch about hyperbolic stuff.

Ahoy-hoy, everyone! We're Talking Simpsons, and since 2015, we've been proudly producing a weekly, in-depth podcast exploring each and every episode of the best TV show on earth. 

 

Basically this whole Twitter feud is a lot of:

[Boredfrom]

Still, the video game industry is quite small. Jason is an idiot for picking these fights  .

All the more impressive then. He knew when he wrote about the crunch conditions at ND they would retatliate by not sending him a review copy, but he wrote it anway. A journalist can't live in fear of offending their subjects.

Also, destroying his "working relationship" with ND clearly doesn't mean shit if he's still able to outscoop everyone else.

https://mobile.twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1256893466564603906?lang=en

Better to be an outsider looking in. There's always going to be people who appreciate objectivity, no matter how incestuous and hysterical the vidya game industry is.

Eh... my problem with Jason is that is pretty clear he is not objective and tends to be hypocritical of who to shit on. I remember when he published the behind of scenes of Anthem but was claiming EA was not the big bad that screwed BioWare (even if the same piece pointed out that some of the most disastrous changes were also influenced by EA). People have all the right to shit on BioWare but pretending EA is not influencing the company was laughable. It tells me he wanted to publish the piece while still maintaining his sources at BioWare/EA intact (or at least not get Kotaku black listed from EA) while pretending nobody fucked up with the micro transactions stuff.

Jason is acting like keyboard Che Guevara But still posts in a forum that has three or four controversies about bigotry (even if they are silly) and was pretty silent about Evilore behavior when he did a online interview with him (people asked legitimately questions he just dismissed).

The guy can get stuff and dirt, but he is also a big double faced scumbag.

He's a huge dumbass and an even bigger hypocrite but a broken clock is right two times a day, and a broken clock that spins backwards is right 4 times a day!

My problem is people putting Jason in a pedestal, like RE tends to do. That Jason is starting to believe his own hype is also the thing that is irritating.

[paprikastaude]

I wish Jason was better than this.

Idolize videogame bloggers brehs.

[Raist]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/things-getting-heated-between-neil-druckmann-jason-schreier-and-cory-barlog-on-twitter.227377/page-10#post-36986005

 

[Transhuman]

The MJ $100Mil was a pretty bad joke, but not because it's offensive, just because it's not that funny. Also I was on board with Schrier poking fun at the Schindler's list comparison before, because I assumed he was joking, but now that he's gone all "MY FAMILY WAS MURDERED" it seems he's either actually offended, or is just pretending because he knows the no-one is going to accuse him of manufacturing outrage once the Hallocaust card is on the table.

[Boredfrom]

So it starting to sound this is less about a shitty review and more about the “crunch” yet again.

[Raist]

The MJ $100Mil was a pretty bad joke, but not because it's offensive, just because it's not that funny. Also I was on board with Schrier poking fun at the Schindler's list comparison before, because I assumed he was joking, but now that he's gone all "MY FAMILY WAS MURDERED" it seems he's either actually offended, or is just pretending because he knows the no-one is going to accuse him of manufacturing outrage once the Hallocaust card is on the table.

Who knows?!

I think people reading this all as me taking offense when I've consistently said "I'm not offended it's just tacky" is a large part of the problem here tbh

[Boredfrom]

The MJ $100Mil was a pretty bad joke, but not because it's offensive, just because it's not that funny. Also I was on board with Schrier poking fun at the Schindler's list comparison before, because I assumed he was joking, but now that he's gone all "MY FAMILY WAS MURDERED" it seems he's either actually offended, or is just pretending because he knows the no-one is going to accuse him of manufacturing outrage once the Hallocaust card is on the table.

I told you so. And no, he is not actually offended he is just scum.

[ShutUp]

Jason well on his way to finally being cancelled by Era 

[Boredfrom]

  i guess that's where we differ because i don't see games as art, i see them as expensive toys

no more, no less

I guess it makes sense given how little you care about people passionate about it:

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/01/us/youtube-etika-desmond-amofah-suicide-trnd/index.html

they don't have to agree with me and that's perfectly valid, especially since it's not a stance that's up for discussion in my case

Just like Etika suicide.

[Raist]

I don't know Jeff and I don't really see an issue with publicly criticizing a public figure's public take.

Except if I, Jason "press sneak fuck" Schreieeieeir am being criticized, because then it's weirdly personal and also, my family died in Auschwitz.

[Crumb]

Jason well on his way to finally being cancelled by Era 

More like they wanna put Neil and Cory at the stake.

Then again they are going back and forth on who to guillotine

[VomKriege]

This feels a bit like a bunch of separate people trying to cancel each other at once, it's a bit of a mess

"Cancelling" is not a thing

https://www.resetera.com/threads/things-getting-heated-between-neil-druckmann-jason-schreier-and-cory-barlog-on-twitter.227377/post-36987439

[Straight Edge]

Can someone explain what the Michael Jordan tweet is referencing?

[Don Rumata]

The MJ $100Mil was a pretty bad joke, but not because it's offensive, just because it's not that funny. Also I was on board with Schrier poking fun at the Schindler's list comparison before, because I assumed he was joking, but now that he's gone all "MY FAMILY WAS MURDERED" it seems he's either actually offended, or is just pretending because he knows the no-one is going to accuse him of manufacturing outrage once the Hallocaust card is on the table.

I told you so. And no, he is not actually offended he is just scum.

Damn, man... let's relax a minute. 

[Crumb]

Annnnnnnnnnnd locked again lol

[Boredfrom]

Jason well on his way to finally being cancelled by Era 

More like they wanna put Neil and Cory at the stake.

Then again they are going back and forth on who to guillotine

Is the woke “I hate video games” brigade vs the gaming “Banderas.gif” kiddos.

[Boredfrom]

The MJ $100Mil was a pretty bad joke, but not because it's offensive, just because it's not that funny. Also I was on board with Schrier poking fun at the Schindler's list comparison before, because I assumed he was joking, but now that he's gone all "MY FAMILY WAS MURDERED" it seems he's either actually offended, or is just pretending because he knows the no-one is going to accuse him of manufacturing outrage once the Hallocaust card is on the table.

I told you so. And no, he is not actually offended he is just scum.

Damn, man... let's relax a minute. 

 

He is a jerkass scumbag but a decent reporter. Better?

[VomKriege]

Can someone explain what the Michael Jordan tweet is referencing?

A donation to BLM, if I understood correctly.

I deleted that MJ joke after five mins because I felt like it was off-target given the circumstances. But the target was Michael Jordan, a rich jerk. I think that's p clear. I have no idea why people are bringing it up now, as if it was racist or something? Cmon

 

https://www.resetera.com/threads/things-getting-heated-between-neil-druckmann-jason-schreier-and-cory-barlog-on-twitter.227377/post-36985885

[Transhuman]

Can someone explain what the Michael Jordan tweet is referencing?

MJ is a big gambler, that's pretty much the whole context.

"Drop 100 mil on black"
"Drop 100 mil on black lives matter"

Resetera angry because he dared make light of someone donating money to BLM

[HaughtyFrank]

Annnnnnnnnnnd locked again lol

After further evaluating the topic, we've decided to stick with our original instinct: threads about twitter drama are not the kind of content we want hosted, outside of certain special circumstances. The thread will remain locked.

"Special circumstances" meaning every fucking time unless it involves people you want to court

[Don Rumata]

The MJ $100Mil was a pretty bad joke, but not because it's offensive, just because it's not that funny. Also I was on board with Schrier poking fun at the Schindler's list comparison before, because I assumed he was joking, but now that he's gone all "MY FAMILY WAS MURDERED" it seems he's either actually offended, or is just pretending because he knows the no-one is going to accuse him of manufacturing outrage once the Hallocaust card is on the table.

I told you so. And no, he is not actually offended he is just scum.

Damn, man... let's relax a minute. 

 

Maybe i've just read it as more aggressive than you meant it.
I dislike Schrier as much as the next guy, but that's something i'd imagine you'd say of a Weinstein type guy, not someone being a drama queen on Twitter to sell his book.

[bork]

https://twitter.com/ArchonOf/status/1272291055522787330

 

[Boredfrom]

(Image removed from quote.)

https://twitter.com/ArchonOf/status/1272291055522787330

 

Not like the Simpsons, the best show ever.

[ShutUp]

A weeb account trying to dunk on anyone else sure is something.

[Transhuman]

And just think, all of this wouldn't have happened if he'd just said "Children of Men" instead of "Schindler's List"

 

[Boredfrom]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/the-last-of-us-part-ii-review-thread.225259/page-95#post-36988303

After consideration and observing the topic, we have closed the thread on the twitter feud. For the record, this does NOT mean that you are supposed to discuss it here. The topic of this thread is still the actual reviews, not the drama around them, same as always. Anybody who goes off that topic will be banned. 

“Don’t scare Jason from here, even if he is so dumb to say is okay to have a thread about him getting on hissy fights at twitter. Buy Sony products and TLOU 2.”

[Tripon]

https://twitter.com/_mike_phillips_/status/1272309747769700352

[paprikastaude]

And just think, all of this wouldn't have happened if he'd just said "Children of Men" instead of "Schindler's List"

 

But Children of Men doesn't quite describe this console war mudslinging quite as accurately as the Holocaust.

[bork]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/the-last-of-us-part-ii-review-thread.225259/page-95#post-36988303

After consideration and observing the topic, we have closed the thread on the twitter feud. For the record, this does NOT mean that you are supposed to discuss it here. The topic of this thread is still the actual reviews, not the drama around them, same as always. Anybody who goes off that topic will be banned. 

“Don’t scare Jason from here, even if he is so dumb to say is okay to have a thread about him getting on hissy fights at twitter. Buy Sony products and TLOU 2.”

When are they going to realize that he doesn't care about them now that he gets that Amazon money?
 

[bork]

I don't know who any of these people are

I don't know who that Archon guy or Bob Mackey are, either. 

[bork]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/the-last-of-us-part-ii-review-thread.225259/page-93#post-36980386

To anyone who messaged me/posted here about Jeff being the nicest guy in the world who I should have DMed instead of calling out publicly, here you go:

https://twitter.com/hEnereyG/status/1272281023548518400

[bork]

Is this one of the game reviewers playing?  Sure looks like it.

[Boredfrom]

The MJ $100Mil was a pretty bad joke, but not because it's offensive, just because it's not that funny. Also I was on board with Schrier poking fun at the Schindler's list comparison before, because I assumed he was joking, but now that he's gone all "MY FAMILY WAS MURDERED" it seems he's either actually offended, or is just pretending because he knows the no-one is going to accuse him of manufacturing outrage once the Hallocaust card is on the table.

I told you so. And no, he is not actually offended he is just scum.

Damn, man... let's relax a minute. 

 

Maybe i've just read it as more aggressive than you meant it.
I dislike Schrier as much as the next guy, but that's something i'd imagine you'd say of a Weinstein type guy, not someone being a drama queen on Twitter to sell his book.

I really dislike people that are PC and woke just because they feel this a tool to get popular and relevant. This are the guys that make insufferable to post in social media or incite media witch hunts.

Jason has written good exposes but the guy is clearly a sleazy reporter (he still one of the better ones of the Gawker generation), so dunno why RE and others need to pretend he is anything beyond that.

You are right that he is nowhere close to true scum of the earth like Trump or Weinstein, but he is still an asshole.

[Boredfrom]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/the-last-of-us-part-ii-review-thread.225259/page-95#post-36988303

After consideration and observing the topic, we have closed the thread on the twitter feud. For the record, this does NOT mean that you are supposed to discuss it here. The topic of this thread is still the actual reviews, not the drama around them, same as always. Anybody who goes off that topic will be banned. 

“Don’t scare Jason from here, even if he is so dumb to say is okay to have a thread about him getting on hissy fights at twitter. Buy Sony products and TLOU 2.”

When are they going to realize that he doesn't care about them now that he gets that Amazon money?
 

Nah, he seems to care enough to ask for that thread being reopened. The guy is believing his own hype.

[HaughtyFrank]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/the-last-of-us-part-ii-review-thread.225259/page-93#post-36980386

To anyone who messaged me/posted here about Jeff being the nicest guy in the world who I should have DMed instead of calling out publicly, here you go:

https://twitter.com/hEnereyG/status/1272281023548518400

Hold up a minute. That's the guy who's hosting the simpsons podcast with Bob Mackey. Why are these guys so involved in this 

[Snoopycat_]

Have to say I'm disappointed Lore didn't take the opportunity to jump in on that Twitter fight

[BisMarckie]

The only industry insiders resetera is able to attract are Frank O'Connor who got banned multiple times for racist remarks and Jason Schreier who mocks donations to BLM.

And people wonder why minorities are leaving in droves

[Don Rumata]

Is this one of the game reviewers playing?  Sure looks like it.

(Image removed from quote.)

But to be fair, aiming with an analog stick is a shit experience, in 90% of games, without a massive amount of aim assist.

[Snoopycat_]

Your forgetting they've still got Hobbes who is so inside he's actually an outsider

[bork]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/the-last-of-us-part-ii-review-thread.225259/page-95#post-36988303

After consideration and observing the topic, we have closed the thread on the twitter feud. For the record, this does NOT mean that you are supposed to discuss it here. The topic of this thread is still the actual reviews, not the drama around them, same as always. Anybody who goes off that topic will be banned. 

“Don’t scare Jason from here, even if he is so dumb to say is okay to have a thread about him getting on hissy fights at twitter. Buy Sony products and TLOU 2.”

When are they going to realize that he doesn't care about them now that he gets that Amazon money?
 

Nah, he seems to care enough to ask for that thread being reopened. The guy is believing his own hype.

He cares about himself, not them.   

[GreatSageEqualOfHeaven]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/the-last-of-us-part-ii-review-thread.225259/page-95#post-36988303

After consideration and observing the topic, we have closed the thread on the twitter feud. For the record, this does NOT mean that you are supposed to discuss it here. The topic of this thread is still the actual reviews, not the drama around them, same as always. Anybody who goes off that topic will be banned. 

“Don’t scare Jason from here, even if he is so dumb to say is okay to have a thread about him getting on hissy fights at twitter. Buy Sony products and TLOU 2.”

...but "same as always" literally is letting people derail any fucking thread they want by dredging up tweets someone even tangentially involved has ever made at any point, regardless of relevance to whatever the thread is supposed to be about

[Rman]

Jason is a great journalist but his head is getting too big.

[bork]

https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1272246006743261185
https://twitter.com/notaxation/status/1272243276272349187

[bork]

https://twitter.com/Svenvl3/status/1272319131572985857
https://twitter.com/ragnadoem/status/1272322365737795584

[bork]

https://twitter.com/Beavs/status/1272263846149844993
https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1272319828121079808
https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1272273851779555328

 

[Straight Edge]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/mortal-kombat-11-and-the-problem-with-sindel-a-case-of-trauma-suicide-and-recovery.227554/

I've been wanting, perhaps NEEDING, to make this thread for awhile now and have had a difficult time wondering where to start. Let me warn, this will going to some dark places so I understand if anyone wants to bail on this before I get further.

I guess it's best to just start with the basics, which is that Mortal Kombat 11 brought back a longstanding character, Queen Sindel, but retconned her story to completely alter the type of character she was before.

Sindel made her debut in Mortal Kombat 3 and was the linchpin of that game's entire story.
 

While Sindel was initially presented as a typical dark queen and undead banshee-type villain, it was revealed through the story that the truth was she had been resurrected under a spell to aid Shao Kahn, which was broken when Kitana restored her true memories of her family, her real husband King Jerrod, and of her fallen kingdom of Edenia. Her realm had been conquered by Shao Kahn after it lost the Mortal Kombat tournament and Shao Kahn claimed her as his bride as part of the conquest and to lay claim to the Edenian throne to ease the subjugation of her people. She committed suicide after this - initially stated to be out of grief, but later revealed as part of a ritual to create a protective ward to prevent Shao Kahn's invasion of his next target, Earthrealm. The entire point of her resurrection was to undo that ward so that he could march on Earthrealm. After Kitana broke the spell, she switched sides to aid Earthrealm in its defense, helped defeat Shao Kahn, and the realm of Edenia was restored with her resuming her role as Queen to build it back to its former glory alongside the daughter she had been reunited with.

 
She ruled a prosperous Edenia, stepping outside her kingdom to assist in the defeat of Onaga and to save her daughter, and died a hero during the final battle of Armageddon before the timeline was rest.

Things did not go well for her (or anyone else) in the new timeline, as this version did not have Kitana restore her to her former self, and instead she remained brainwashed and slaughtered most of the principal cast of heroes - including her own daughter Kitana - before Nightwolf sacrificed himself to kill her, where she was reborn along with the others as a demented revenant and slave to Shinnok. In Shinnok's service she remained until MK11 restored her to life, but with a major change.
 

Whereas that original incarnation of her was regarded as a loving mother and benevolent leader, the new retcon states that she was at heart a cruel and conniving villain who betrayed her people, killed her husband, and traded her humanity away for power to rule as the wife of the conqueror Shao Kahn.

Here's where I deviate from the facts and start to get personal. It may seem odd to get this fired up about a character in a fighting game - especially one as notoriously silly and gory as Mortal Kombat - but Mortal Kombat and I go WAY back. I was there from the first arcade cabinet, grew up obsessing about the characters and having family battles between my brother and I, and being utterly consumed by the lore and history that was so carefully and interestingly invested into the franchise. Characters were driven by personal motivations and often had highly personal stakes. There was a reason I was a moderator at Mortal Kombat Online for many years and a frequent contributor there as my online haunt of choice. We had so much to discuss because so many of us cared about these characters.

And it's at this point I'll bring up one of my friends from the arcade days. For ease of discussion, I'll refer to her as "Amber". Amber and I had a long history together with the franchise and she was a constant friend and contributor to these deep and crazy online discussions. Amber also suffered a lot of personal and emotional abuse in her life, having been in toxic relationships. Games often gave her an escape from dealing with that discomfort. This reached a peak where a jealous ex went after her boyfriend and ended his life to try and get her back. Amber fell into depression and attempted suicide. She survived and recovered, which was something we worked through together.

It was that past trauma and abuse that made Sindel her favorite character in the franchise, because this was a character who had suffered so much manipulation, mistreatment, gaslighting, and loss. She found her a redemptive character, one who had everything taken from her yet was given a second chance at love and happiness through the support and encouragement of family and friends. She became a strong character despite her setbacks.
 

While Sindel got more crap thrown her way in MK9 and MKX (along with everyone else), Amber was very excited to hear the news that Edenia's queen would be coming back for MK11's DLC... enthusiasm that quickly gave way to confusion and concern when leaked files revealed a significantly altered version of the character. When Sindel did come out, we were both happy with her presentation and playstyle, but the story absolutely left us scratching our heads. "Maybe it's just a version of her that never had Kitana restore her memories?" we discussed. "Maybe it's a version of her from a timeline where she remained brainwashed and only thought she was evil the whole time?"

MK11 Aftermath continued the story and put Sindel in a prominent role. Together, Amber and I played through the mode. While initially it seemed to support her "good" history, the swerve quickly came and Sindel was revealed to be a backstabbing, abusive, murderous psychopath who would rather harm her own child than surrender her power.

Half-way through the story, Amber left the room, went to the bathroom, and threw up.

We finished the story, where Sindel's betrayal ultimately screws up all the heroes' plans and then the inevitable betrayal from Shang Tsung that anyone and everyone saw coming happened and she was killed. Again. For all the big character changes meant to give her more agency, Sindel died as she was presented as in her "problematic" origin - a pawn of others who ultimately lost everything, including her soul. The presentation of the story and the rest of its merits notwithstanding, that sunken feeling with Sindel's change never really went away.
 

I remember an interview with one of the creators of MK3 way back talking about how Sindel was a subversion of the Evil Queen stereotype. She looked like a wicked, gothic villain, which is why her reveal to be an altruistic noble character was both surprising and refreshing. Even today there are few representations of good mothers in video games, let alone ones with active roles in the narrative or as playable characters. Sindel was unique and her story was one that was ultimately redemptive.

Which is why I found it so odd to hear Osu16Bit talk about her reboot on the Kombat Kast, with claims that because she "looked" evil, she should obviously BE evil, right? There was a defense for the change by saying that rather than being manipulated and being a victim this time around, they wanted to give her agency and make her an instigator of events. While I can understand the change being something coming from a legit place of wanting to make her an "empowered" woman, the argument made my stomach sour and it was something Amber and I stayed up late a few nights discussing.

A person who has a history of abuse and trauma, one who is victimized, is not someone irredeemable or incapable of agency. That's something the Sindel of old represented to us, as her trauma and history of victim-hood failed to actually define her. She was someone who came BACK from that dark place - a point of actual suicidal grief and loss - and re-established herself as a power player in the old MK universe, one who ultimately stood against her abuser and reclaimed her life and agency. For MK: Armageddon, they paired characters off on the covers of the games against their arch-rivals (Scorpion & Sub-Zero, Sonya & Kano, etc.), and it made total sense that Sindel was facing down Shao Kahn, the man had nearly ruined her life and stolen her kingdom and family from her.
 

By changing Sindel from a victim-turned-empowered queen and mother working towards rebuilding her life, family, and people, into a duplicitous, backstabbing harlot who was only out for herself, they may have given her more "agency", but they turned her into the very thing that MK3's initial twist was so effective at subverting. She became "evil queen" number 6087, a trope of a trope of a trope.
 
 
 
 
 
(and on and on and on and on).

While her original portrayal wasn't flawless, it still was nuanced and filled with complexities, a broken person who put herself back together, while the new incarnation steamrolled over all that depth and dulled her edges into a bland, one-dimensional mook.

From a lore perspective, none of it makes sense. They try and pass off her "suicide" as a murder that Quan Chi covered up, but it never explains why her death gave Earthrealm its protection, or why Shao Kahn would need her resurrected (and made "more cooperative") to undo it. It makes no sense with characters who knew her when she was alive, such as her bodyguard Sheeva who served as her protector under Shao Kahn's rule until her death and seems utterly baffled by her betrayal. Ageless gods like Raiden and Fujin seem utterly unaware of her evil nature while a new character like Geras acts like she's always been a tyrant. It makes all her previous actions in the original timeline confusing as hell, because there wouldn't BE that timeline without a good Sindel turning against Shao Kahn, rather than embracing him as her lover and source of power and pleasure. Shao Kahn himself spent the original timeline and the prior games viewing her as nothing more than a means to an end, complaining about how her love for Kitana softened him to spare her, while the new Sindel brutalizes her to please him.


What was so upsetting for my friend Amber is the notion that being a "victim" inherently was viewed as making Sindel a "lesser" character. That she couldn't be someone who could have trauma and grow beyond it, but rather that loss and sorrow and grief made her an inferior individual, a weaker character, and a less valuable person. That's how Amber had felt and been treated until coming to the understand and growth that her trauma was not what defined her or controlled her. So having Sindel altered from a abuse victim INTO the abuser was... nauseating.
 

Sindel was now the one to inflict harm on others - allies and family included - and without remorse or regret. She was turned from a character my friend empathized and sympathized with into the type of ABUSER that had wronged her and scarred her.

Perhaps it's pointless and even silly to invest this much attention and interest into a single character in a hammy fighting game series whose convoluted plots continue to run rampant with time travel, alternate dimensions, ever-shifting alliances, surprise familial connections, and often self-aware camp, but I want to give Mortal Kombat more credit than that, and its writers and developers more credit. Many of us grew to care about these characters and many resonated with us for many specific, often personal reasons. I will never forget my roommate actually crying at the revelation that MKX had given him an explicitly gay hero to play as at a time when so many people continue to say he's less of a man for his orientation.
 

They had elevated their storytelling to deal with real-world issues of trauma, abuse, and recovery, as evident of the tact they employed with Harley Quinn in Injustice.
 

They give a damn... and for many of us, so do we.

That's why how Sindel was handled in MK11 continues to just feel so... wrong. As a twist, it fails on a logical level, and tonally feels just gross. Some don't care enough and just enjoy having a character who is portrayed as a fun, flirty, evil character, and they're welcome to that, but in terms of who she was compared to what she's become, she's a lesser version of so many other MK characters before her that backstabbed their allies in exchange for power - from Tanya to Mileena to Frost to a dozen more. I fundamentally and harshly disagree with the direction they took her, and the reasoning behind it.

Being a victim doesn't make you lesser. Having agency doesn't innately make you a better character. Having your agency removed from you doesn't make you weak by nature. There is always the capacity for growth and recovery, as the Sindel of old showed me, and who resonated so strongly with me, my friend, and others. No matter how dark your past might be, there is always a second chance. You may have lost a spouse, a child, a friends, a job, a home... you may feel trapped in a toxic cycle of abuse and self-loathing, but there is always a path forward and a way to rebuild. If you've ever been suicidal or lost in despair, or are aware of someone who is, someone is there to help.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is
1-800-273-8255.
Help and resources can be found at the following link:
https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

 

[GreatSageEqualOfHeaven]

In a medium where so many narratives are John Wick, Mortal Kombat 11 is truly Sofia Coppolas The Virgin Suicides

[Joe Molotov]

i see

[bork]

MK11 is the Suburban Commando of games

Christopher Lloyd hates Sub-Zero.

[benjipwns]

https://www.resetera.com/threads/cop-pulls-over-to-work-out-her-white-guilt-through-a-traumatized-black-child.226984/

Hell, I'm a white adult and I'd start panicking if a cop in full gear

i roll up in my call of duty warzone loadout

*randomly walks up to someone while wearing body armor and a gun* Wait, you're scared??

Yeah no sane person is going to think a cop in full gear

https //twitter.com/flywithkamala/status/1271278102908469248

it's just a vest brehs calm down lol

[benjipwns]

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island is the American Psycho of video games