Sorry to bump up this older thread, but this an interesting conversation. Most people don't want babalities back and i agree. But it seems that many people like Friendships, yet there are a lot who hate em too. The ones that like Friendships often use the word "Friendship" and "humiliating" in one sentence. I personally have mixed feelings about Friendships, some jokes just weren't that funny, but i do see the point of it being humiliating to the opponent.
So, how about this:
NRS takes out the Friendships and puts in Humiliations (I'm sure someone else thought of that before i did, but i couldn't find this in any recent threads). They can be somewhat like Friendships, but this non-fatal action actually humiliates the victim on screen instead of doing something that doesn't make sense, like Stryker's crossingguard thing. I think a thing like that wouldn't fit in the "darker" setting of MK9.
2 examples of Humiliations:
- Jax grabs the machinegun from his back and shoots several bursts into the floor, right in front of the victim, making him/her "dance". He could also say something here, like: "Dance for me!"
- Stryker whistles and a K9 (police dog) unit, looking something like this:
walks in the screen. Stryker says: "Attack!" or "Get him/her!" It runs up to the victim and starts humping his/her leg. Stryker points and laughs.
I think a Humiliation like this could bring back the humor in MK9, but in a different way. Perhaps a dog humping someone's leg is a bit of a childish idea, but still it's humiliating and will make you laugh at the same time. Also, i couldn't think of anything better just now.