#mccree blackwatch model

[meep-cos]

Matthew mercer liked my mccree on twitter I'm so swag

[captainofthetidesbreath]

It's a mistake getting invested in McCree and the theme of inheritances, and really wanting him to have a command position at least temporarily, because Blizz isn't gonna ever let Jesse command the recalled Overwatch, or whatever supporting groups form out of the Recall, for even five minutes because they probably don't view Jesse as a former heir to Blackwatch, raised with expectation of eventual leadership, like I do.

[omegaversebutbetter]

Overwatch

Okay lets try this again

Genji: Alpha, one of the motivating forces for Hanzo to duel him and as a result from the "accident" His Ability to smell and produce sents is kinda damaged. He acted very alphaish while part of blackwatch to try and make up for it but nowardays some people dont even realise he is one since hes so chill and dosent act that way anymore.

Hanzo: Omega, got a blocker soon after presenting by order of his father and kept it even after leaving for the convinience of not having heats and because his time in the yakuza basically made him belive omegas are meek and weak and people only looked at them as objects. This causes drama later on. Hanzo is basically feral when joining the team, he holds himself confidently and as if he has poise most of the time but when people try to touch him or somethibg suppr9ses him he is very jumpy and has almost attacked multiple people as a result. This agitation and aggression is partiality made worse by the implant and wouldn't get much better until its out.

Angela: Beta. Ik people normally think she'd be Omega but fr that woman is pure balence. She does get mistaken for an omega allot tho. Her possition as a Beta really helps her tending to all patients so she has no complaints.

76: Omega, had a impact for the super soldier program but once the crisis was over he had it taken out, both to be a good role model for other omegas but also because he just wanted to for him mainly but also for his bf at the time (despite the fact that his eyes still often drifted to a certain other squad leader). Nowerdays he still dosent have one but age makes his heats less frequent and his senses and scent a little dulled.

Ana: Alpha. She is extremely chill for an Alpha but chill in the "I am confident I have complete control of this situation" kind of way, usually because she does. She is known for being calm in arguments with other alphas and often winning those arguments as a result, almost none has seen her in an alpha rage but the rumours are that someone has once and they said it was the most terrifying thing they'd ever seen. Ana has been mistaken for the leader of her packs in the past and despite the fact that she basically is co-leader of evey pack she's in she always makes sure that she's not overshadowing the leader especially when they're not Alpha.

Reinheart: I kiiiinda wanna make him an omega who has litterally no idea what OBA expectations are. He's just the jollyest, largest omega you will ever meet. He does not give a shit what people think of him to the point where he won't defend himself unless someone questions his honour. This leads to people like Ana and Morrison in the past hovering around him and fighting anyone who tried harassing him.

McCree: Alpha. Used to be a brash, cocky, and kinda mean alpha before Blackwatch got a hold of him and mellowed him out through giving him a stable pack with a leader (as opposed to deadlock where basically eveyone fought over being leader). He is the most unmistakably alpha person you will ever meet however he is also one of the softest, kindest and possibly the most adorable alphas you will ever know if you get close to him. He's embaressed every time he growls by accident nowerdays.

Lucio: honestly I can't see lucio as anything other than Beta or Omega so I think probably Beta? But I think none else knows either and if anyone asks he says he'd rather people not know because he'd prefer to be judged my charecter instead of his second sex.

Hana: hasn't presented yet, had an implant bc of the mecha program she was in and hasn't had it out. She dosent really care regardless.

Mei: omega, I dont have much else to add to this, she's small and soft and probably the most typical omega of the bunch.

Zarya: Alpha, much like but in contrast to Mei she is the most typical alpha of the bunch. She has kinda old fashioned views about Alphas and Omegas but after getting her ass handed to her by Reinheart while sparring, finding out he was omega and accidentally being rude to him as a result the others realised she had such veiws and Morrison, Ana, McCree and Mei had a little sit down talk with her. She quickly learnt and when Satya joined later and was rude to an omega member of the pack she was the first to jump up and defend them

Satya: unknown, she has an inplant that has prevented her from presenting since she was a child and still has it. She carries herself like an alpha and looks down on Omegas however she looks down on eveyone so her veiw is often overlooked.

Reyes: Alpha. Pack leader, protective and angy. Nuff said.

Sombra: Beta with blockers that stop her from producing any scent for stealth. She has been a solo act for most her life and Talon with Reyes is her first ever pack so she takes time to adapt but once she does it suits her surprisingly well.

Widow: Amile was Omega. Widowmaker has no heats or scent.

Baptitse: deadass I'm not sure. Could litterally be any. Big soft alpha? Big kind omega? Lovely helpful Beta? I really don't know. I feel like I can't make all medical staff Betas tho...so...omega. He had a blocker put in when he joined Talon and those lot assumed he was Beta or Alpha since he never knew. But once he leaves and gets freedom of a sort he chooses to have it removed. He suffers a little for it but he's generally positive and not insecure about it. He dosent like to share heats with anyone tho, it's the one time he shuts himself off from everyone.

Moira: Alpha. Toxic.

Brigette: Alpha, presented a few years ago. She's like a golden retriever but smarter, if you're her friend she will do anything you ask, gets you random gifts and upgrades, carries anything for her friends no matter how heavy, but if you try to abuse her kindness you'll find she sint stupid and it takes one glare for someone to know you don't fuck with this Alpha. She may be a healer but she could absolutely destroy you if you try to fuck her or her friends over.

Torb: Alpha. Can go into a pure rage in a moment but will never use an alpha voice. He's just a cranky old man who seems to have practically forgotten he's an alpha. Was very proud of Brigette's presenting but gave her a few lectures and lessons to make sure it never went to her head.

Sigma: I barely know this cherecter, can no say

Doomfist: Alpha. Asshole. Talons top dogs and heavy hitters are mostly alphas. It's like...toxic alphaism at its finest. Doom is smart and cunning and wants to complete dominate situations he's in. He's an alpha.

Tracer: can't belive I forgot tracer until now, Omega. She was often underestimated for being a little omega in the past but this spitfire powered through everything in life with positivity and self love and she embraces evey part of herself. She sometimes flies home for heats when they're not too busy and are well staffed so she can spend time with her girlfriend.

Roadhog and Junkrat: Alpha and Omega. They're a couple. No I will not take criticism. These two are mates and do litterally whatever they want as long as they're together. In the wasteland there are no gender expectations, only explosives, violence and love.

Ashe: don't know much about her either but I wanna say omega with major alpha vibes. She is the embodiment of the phrase "power bottom" in every sence

Pharah: mmmmm Alpha. She's stubborn and strong, a real soldier, but if you compliment her muscles or challenger her she will show off.

And I think that's it! Any other ideas? Leave them in the comments!

[kallithewriter]

The Character: Kallista Kaines

The origin of the name Kallista Kaines comes a character I made back in 2015-2016? for the Overwatch universe.

Art Credits: (Left) daddy_bec (via twitter)

A woman of knowledge. A hacker. An innocent face with tricks up her sleeves. Kallista was forcibly recruited into Overwatch's Covert division, Blackwatch. She and her hacker group called the God Brigade were set to expose Overwatch by shining the light on Blackwatch but instead, Kallista found herself being integrated into the division and discovered what was slowly strangling the life out of the division and the Foundation.

A long time ago and on a different blog there were prompts for voice lines. Here are are those voice lines:

Character Name & Title: Kallista Camilla Kaines, Blackwatch Intelligence Director Class: Offense Country of Origin: Bristol,England Voice Description: soft, flowy, vibrato-rich, haughty British accent when she’s angry or annoyed

Attacking Enemy Ultimate: “Game Over!” “You’re Mine!”

Friendly Ultimate: “Incoming!” Ability 1: “I swear I’m not using hacks” Ability 2: “ Hacking faster than a speeding bullet” ---- Killing Enemy: “I would stay down if I were you” Killing Genji: “Eternal peace is in death,” Killing McCree: “Risk everything, fear nothing, have no regrets.”

Killing Reaper/Blackwatch Reyes: (Reaper) “So much has changed…” (Reyes) “The king has fallen...” Killing Soldier 76/Commander Morrison: “Have a seat. Jack,” (Morrison) “Have a seat Commander.” (says it firmly)

Killing Sombra: “She who has knowledge has power, right Sombra?” Killing Tracer: “A stitch in time saves nine” Killing Doomfist: “I should have dealt with you when I had the chance” Killing Widowmaker: “Au revoir,” Killing Bastion: “Sorry! No upgrades for your model!” Killing Hanzo: “Your shame and dishonor caught up to you,” Killing Junkrat: “Talk the hind legs off of a donkey will ya?”

Killing Mei: “Freeze don’t-- oh…” Killing D.Va: “Awww I cheated,” (sarcastically) Killing Orisa: “Seems like you need an upgrade,” Killing Roadhog: “That was kinda easy,” Killing Reinhardt: “Rest easy my friend” Killing Zarya: “Будь что будет - so be it” Killing Winston: “No hard feelings right?”

Killing Lucio: “Aww, I wanted an autograph,” (jokingly)

Killing Mercy: “I guess you weren’t much of a hero after all, huh doc?” Killing Symmetra: “A glitch in your plan, Vishkar,” Killing Ana: “It’s time for you to rest Captain…” Killing Zenyatta: “There is no peace in this world, not now,”

Teammates When a teammate gets an elimination: “C’mon, keeping it coming yeah?” When a teammate is on fire: “Congrats. Now keep doing it” Thanks: “Thanks” “Thanks mate!” When Mercy Damage Boosts them: “I’m not gonna be held responsible for what happens” Group up: “Get the hell over here,”

Hello: “Hey” “Huh? Oh, Hi”

I need healing!: “Help a girl out?” " A little healing? Please?" Interactions (write down a possible interaction your character can have with their teammates in spawn):

Mercy: Kallista I thought you were dead.

Kallista: That was the plan~

Mercy: Why?

Kallista: If I tell you, I have to kill you (sarcastically)

---

Reaper: You’re supposed to be dead

Kallista: …there were complications with that

Reaper: We’ll talk later

Kallista: yeah

Reyes: You ready?

Kallista: of course.

Reyes: Try not to break everything. (referring to her ultimate

Kallista: No promises, heh

---

BW Member: Where the hell have you been?

Kallista: Hiding?

BW Member: Why? We buried you!

Kallista: Technically you didn't but that's neither here or there.

---

McCree: Look what the cat dragged in

Kallista: I’m offended.

McCree: Why?

Kallista: You’re still wearing the cowboy get up.

McCree: Don’t you give me that sass already

What they have to say about maps: Temple of Anubis: “Long time no see right Anubis?” Hollywood: “Ugh this place is still trashy as ever”

Route 66: “Think we’ll see a cowboy? Oh! A tumbleweed!” Kings Row: “Ah yes. Where everything started...London,” Ilios: “Blue skies smiling at me, nothin but blue skies from now on” Dorado: “Home…” Horizon Lunar Colony: “I never would have thought I would be in space...wait was that an alien!?” Volskaya Industries: “More cold...why…I’ve thought I’d never have to see this place again,” ---- Support Character Specific (Write down what your character would say while healing a certain character or what the Overwatch character would say while getting healed:

General: C’mon C’mon get your shit together (British accent)

McCree: What’dya know my guardian angel Kallista: AGAIN. I can’t keep saving you cowboy

To a BW member: Reyes trained us better than this.

To S76: Pull it together old man.

To Reaper: On your feet, that’s quite unsightly for you.

[customprideflags]

Neutrois Blackwatch McCree - Rolling Into Action pose

♫ | ♫

[overwatchworks]

Detroit: Become Human AU, Part II: Jesse

There was a small smile on her face, making the gunslinger worried. She only smiled when she was interested in something—and the things she was interested in often did not make it back out of her lab the way they went in. 

O’Deorain approached him steadily, gaze flicking back and forth from his eyes to his LED.

Link to Chapter I

Jesse had sent in a report of his diagnostics, then avoided Dr. O’Deorain as best he could over the course of the week he was on base. It was not too out of the ordinary, and Dr. O’Deorain never left her laboratory often anyways, which made it easier. But of course, Jesse’s luck ran thin before long. 

She somehow found him in the training ranges, watching him shoot from the observatory with her hands clasped behind her back. There was a small smile on her face, making the gunslinger worried. She only smiled when she was interested in something—and the things she was interested in often did not make it back out of her lab the way they went in. 

Jesse packed up early, looking up once again but not seeing O’Deorain. He left the training ranges, scanning the corridors uneasily. Locked onto the doctor’s biosignature before he could actually see her, Jesse sighing heavily. O’Deorain approached him steadily, gaze flicking back and forth from his eyes to his LED.

“McCree. Commander Reyes issued an inspection on your latest post-mission diagnostics. It seems as though your programming is glitching,” She told him airily, waving a hand as she turned. Expecting him to follow. Jesse did, not saying anything for the moment. 

If the commander had ordered an in-depth scan—which was the only real option considering O’Deorain came to get him herself—he might be in some trouble. Deviant thoughts were hard to decipher, intricate abnormalities that no one had a true understanding of where they came from. Outgrowing the programming was one thought. Another was just a fault in the system, bound to happen with so many androids being produced at such a high rate. 

His programming was very fine tuned and made with purpose, however. Nothing should have been acting up, especially when it came to moral choices he could make for himself. While the deviation process was intricate, humans tended to only understand the output of coding signaling something was off. 

And they were afraid of that output. Of that outcome. 

Of what it would mean if a specially designed, hyper-lethal undercover organization’s weapon were to be off in some way. Making it’s own choices, it’s own decisions. Something with a database of knowledge and advancements humans would never have suddenly thinking for itself...They feared no longer being superiour. 

Alerts started to go off in Jesse’s vision, blinking along his peripheral. He tried to make his thoughts calm, tried not to run through a thousand scenarios of what would happen to him if O’Deorain found something she did not like. Tried not to look at the blaring 67% chance deactivation slowly ticking up the more he ran through the simulations. It was at 71% by the time they got to O’Deorain’s lab.

“Your LED is red, McCree. Is there something bothering you?” The doctor suddenly piped up from where she was tapping at a tablet, voice nonchalant. Knowing. That icy blue eye shifted to him. Fuck. Jesse gripped the edge of the examination table, glaring back at her.

“You know I hate these scans,” He muttered, O’Deorain grinning.

“It couldn’t possibly be because you have something to hide, now could it?”

“Look all you want, doc.”

“Oh, I will. Deactivate your skin,” She ordered, plugging him into the computers at his back with a long cable to the port at his nape. Jesse retracted the skin as he was told, watching it disappear over his hands, leaving them a clean white and grey.

“Your mental activity over the past week has spiked considerably compared to your averages. Interesting, considering the diagnostics report I was given just a week ago. It showed you entered a state of distress equivalent to that recorded in androids going deviant,” O’Deorian noted, Jesse’s LED flicking from the yellow he had just worked it back down to to red once more.

“Ah. So it is what you’ve been processing. You are aware of the...Implications of Blackwatch keeping a deviating model like yourself, yes?”

“I am not deviant.”

“And yet that is proven otherwise here just in the data I’ve received over the past ten minutes. Your neural processing code has changed from what you were initially programmed with, see here? You are creating your own programming, your own code. Is that not simply fascinating? Replicating the human thought process simply from outgrowing your program, like a child learning how to choose for themselves what they like and don’t like. But, your first choice was not the red or blue toy, was it? It was choosing between life and death.”

85% chance deactivation, stress levels 70%. 

“And you made that choice on your own. No programming told you to leave that guard alive. How did you come to that conclusion, I wonder? A machine built for killing left someone alive when given the chance. Bypassing the very core of why you were created, because you felt a human emotion that was more powerful than your program. Incredible. You encrypted that optical sensory footage well, but I’m afraid I am simply better at finding out the lies from the truth. And I am detecting that you are lying about being deviant. Care to make an argument against me now, MC910?”

Jesse glanced at the warnings flaring too bright and overwhelmingly red, distress signals following beneath the 89% chance deactivation.

“I...I just did what I thought...It was calculated to have the same percent of success rate—”

“Your stress levels are becoming critical. Does being deactivated truly frighten you that much? You are simply biocomponents held in a shell of plastic with a pre-programmed set of algorithms in that fascinating brain of yours telling you what you should do. Is it telling you to be afraid of shutting down, or is that a thought process you created the more you experienced among us? Because most androids do not fear that. The equivalent of death for you. That is something distinctly human.”

“I-I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense to me either, I don’t—” Jesse stuttered. 

93% level of stress, critical.

“Moira. You’re supposed to be running diagnostics, not interrogating him. Leave that to the professionals.”

Both Jesse and O’Deorain looked up as Reyes strode into the lab, a stern look fixed in place. He glanced at the readings of Jesse’s activity levels, then to the LED on his temple.

“He’s coming with me. I’ll take care of things from here,” The commander continued, unplugging Jesse from the monitors and urging him to stand. 

He activated his skin once again, feeling somewhat safer with it on, in a strange way. They walked out of the laboratory swiftly, Reyes not giving him time to try and explain himself.

“Commander—”

“Don’t say a word until we get to my office.”

Jesse nodded, vision clearing from the red slightly. Safer than he had been not moments ago with O’Deorain, but not out of the flames just yet. Reyes’ office was tucked into the far corner of the base, obscure, but clearly meant for higher level personnel. The hallways were cleaner, lined with less doorways. Silent. 

Jesse had been to it plenty of times for post-mission reports, and the few where the commander trusted him with information best not to be repeated. They walked inside, the door sliding shut with a hiss, computer screens immediately lighting up.

“Power down all devices, I just need a light,” Reyes called out, the holoscreens disappearing just as quickly as they had booted up, a single light turning on above them.

“Sit, Jesse.”

Another order he followed, this time without question. Reyes sighed heavily, rubbing a hand over his forehead. There was a pregnant pause before he sucked in another breath and sat up.

“Deviant, huh?”

“Commander, I—”

“Listen, kid. I know it’s not your fault, not really. I’m not even going to pretend I understand why this happens, or why it has to happen to my android, out of all of them out there. You’ve always had spirit, personality. I never thought anything of it, but command warned me to be wary. You know as well as I do what it means to have a deviating soldier. They’re gonna want to shut you down, make a better model.”

“Reyes, I know what they want, but I won’t do it again! It was a glitch is all, I...I failed the mission, and that happens sometimes.”

“It shouldn’t for you. Not in the way I saw. And now, whether we like it or not, Moira has all that information against you. You know she sure as hell isn’t going to keep it to herself. You probably just thought you were doing the right thing, and I’m not mad or worried or anything like that. You spared a life. There’s a lot worse that androids have done as their first act of deviation. But that still makes you deviant, and they won’t care what you did or didn’t do.” 

“I trust you, Jesse, because I know you. And I see you as one of my own. You’re my soldier, you’re one of my agents, just like any of the human ones. I’m gonna protect you like one of them. So, this is me telling you now that if you want to survive, you run. You get out of here and get as far from this place as possible. Disable your tracking, take off your LED, disappear. Because they’ll hunt you down until they see you in parts at a dump, and that’s the last thing I want to happen to you.” 

“You’ve been one of my best agents. I’m not going to let them take you away, so get a head start. As far as I know, starting now, I sent you from my office after we went over your tests, and you went to your quarters to rest. If you don’t show up to dinner, well. I wonder what could have happened.”

Reyes stared at him over his laced fingers, Jesse nodding and standing abruptly.

“I’m sorry, Gabe.”

“Don’t be. Now, go.”

The gunslinger left the office, walking steadily towards his own quarters, staring dead ahead. Software instability detected. He gathered his gun and some extra ammo, changed his clothes into something unassuming, grabbed his hat. Paused. Jesse touched the LED on his temple. Software instability detected. Slipped the edge of a knife between it and his temple, pushing away from himself. It came off with a click, falling to the ground and under the cot. Jesse grabbed his things and left the room, not looking back.

Software instability detected. ~~

[spicedrobot]

Just a Taste

Fandom: Overwatch Pairing: Blackwatch!Genji/Android!Zenyatta Warnings: DBH!AU, blowjobs, closet sex, mild blood/fluids Notes: uuuuuHHHH literally this is only because androids test samples with their mouths and that’s fucky honestly?? sorry for this

Also on ao3! Link in my blog description :)

- 

It should be the last thing on Genji’s mind. He’s on the clock. It’s a crime scene. There are people around, other agents, ones he could never look in the eye again if they knew why he’s glued to the spot. The feature isn’t even unique, comes standard with all omnics, but he’s never seen Zenyatta use it until now.

It’s not even that he does it suggestively: one second the victim’s blood is an undisturbed pool on the floor, the next Zenyatta lifts coated fingers to his mouth. The blue gleams on his tongue, framed by full, soft lips, thin eyes narrowed, his teal LED flickering. They make them so pretty; humans love attractive people, attractive omnics too, even older models like Zenyatta, scuffed and scarred, slivers of metal beneath his skin mesh shining when he turns in a certain light.

Zenyatta processes the sample with mouth slightly parted, fingers leaving an azure smear beneath his lower lip, and the cyborg is much too hot, his augmented brain replaying the last seconds with blinding accuracy. The intensity of Zenyatta’s gaze, the complete lack of awareness, the indentation of his fingers pressed against his tongue—

“Oh. Curious indeed,” Zenyatta murmurs.

Genji doesn’t often feel thankful for his cybernetics, but they do conceal his lower body. He shakes his head while his heart slams stubbornly in his chest.

“What did you find?”

“The blood is approximately sixteen hours old and contains a specific chemical compound only found in omnics commissioned by Vishkar Corporation. I suggest we continue our investigation there.”

“It’ll be a pain securing a search warrant,” Genji says as Zenyatta notices the mess on his chin.

The cyborg swallows hard, mesh and metal at once too tight. Zenyatta isn’t looking at him when he licks at the stray blood. Small favors. Genji closes his eyes and exhales through his nose.

“Agent McCree, can you complete the investigation here?” Zenyatta asks.

“Sure thing, but you owe me,” McCree drawls from across the room.

“My thanks,” the omnic says, then cants his head towards Genji. “Let us return.”

Genji nods, and if his master notices his stiff gait, he does not comment on it.

Not until they’re a few hundred feet away and tucked into an old storage room.

“Zenyatta, what’re you—”

The omnic drops to his knees, and Genji bumps the shelves at his back with a grunt, eyes shooting between the door and Zenyatta unhurriedly unbuckling his belt.

“H-here?”

“It is not a prudent use of our time to relocate to your apartment,” Zenyatta says. He presses his cheek against Genji’s thigh, the warmth of him bleeding through fabric and armor mesh.

“This can...wait…” Genji breathes, hands grasping Zenyatta’s shoulders, a pre-emptive groan escaping, knowing what Zenyatta will discover when he—

“Can it? Dilated pupils, elevated heart rate…”

Zenyatta’s fingers tap the final key in the sequence, and Genji’s panel recedes up and away. His cock slides out into the cool air a scant inch from Zenyatta’s lips, reddened and gleaming with pre, twitching when the omnic’s breath ghosts over it.

“Fuck…”

“Do you still wish to wait?” Zenyatta says, quiet as a whisper.

The omnic presses his finger against the tip of his cock, watches it jerk back into the air as he pulls away, his laugh trailing Genji’s breathless swear. Zenyatta exhales, lips just catching its tip, the scantest kiss, his dark eyes flickering vibrant blue as he looks up.

Daring him to say no.

Genji’s lips flatten into a thin line. He should hate how much sway Zenyatta has over him, how an innocuous look or action strikes him stupid, how everyone thought Zenyatta the responsible one, a kind, soft-spoken medic that would never lead his student away from a crime scene just to see him at his most embarrassing, to encourage it, revel in it.

Zenyatta’s tongue darts out, mottled blue, sample stained, lashing once beneath his cockhead; Genji’s hips stutter, stomach flexing, a spot of pre dripping onto that damned tongue.

“T-teasing me doesn’t save an—”

Genji knocks the back of his head against the shelving as Zenyatta sucks him down mid word. For a terrifying second he almost comes there and then, with Zenyatta’s nose buried against his stomach, his throat massaging his cock, the omnic’s eyes half-mast and flickering, reading him, his taste, his smell. Then Genji gets a hold of himself, hand settling on Zenyatta’s head, the shaved texture grounding him, focus jumping to the door, the stale air, anything but the molten synthetics clutching his cock, the sounds of Zenyatta drawing back, suctioned and wet, the sounds of the omnic himself as he slides Genji back inside his mouth, weak, muffled and rumbling.

Zenyatta enjoys this. Even with his own panel sealed and prim between his spread thighs, intent focused completely on Genji. Perhaps it’s the location, out of the way but not hidden. Maybe the position, Genji gripping him helplessly, trying so hard to even his breathing and not moan like a camboy—

He cannot spare another thought, not when Zenyatta’s hands plant atop Genji’s thighs and his cheeks hollow, no need to breathe, just an endless suckling drag that has Genji’s every nerve and sensor onlined and aching. He can’t watch, doesn’t dare look at Zenyatta while he sinks onto him, grits his teeth as his fingers flex against the omnic’s skull, his other hand clutching desperately at the shelving behind him. Entirely too wound up way too fucking soon, but Zenyatta learned every part of him, his reactions, how to suck and kiss and tease, when to bob shallowly and lash his tongue beneath his glans—

“God...Zen...I...I’m gonna…”

Zenyatta groans, the sound shivering against his cock, his fingers digging into the armor at Genji’s thighs, his other hand slipping into the paneling at his hip, brushing hidden, aching ports. A burst of sensation, hunger-need-desire and a quieter, more desperate pull, rips a growl from Genji’s chest, Zenyatta’s consciousness stroking his like a physical thing. They aren’t meant to interface, incompatible, most of Genji is human, but not all, and Zenyatta slithers into the rest and holds tight like a lifeline, a ghost of what two interfaced machines could feel, flashes of pain-tinted pleasure that steals Genji’s breath. His gaze snaps downward, legs nearly giving out, taking in the omnic’s mouth buried flush against his body, eyes thinned and vibrant and pleased, flecks of blood smeared across his chin and lips, glossy with spit and pre. It should be disgusting, but Genji steams, desperately shoving at Zenyatta to stave it off, but Zenyatta reads him, knows, holds and swallows hard, not giving an inch.

Genji bites his fist, yell muffled but barely, body pulsing and trembling as he begins to come, hot, rippling bursts that have him rolling onto the balls of his feet, curling over Zenyatta, hips jostling, forcing himself deeper, chasing instinct while he embarrasses himself with the sounds he’s making, harsh, jagged wheezes as Zenyatta clenches and milks and ruins him.

Only when he trembles and whines, orgasm settling into his body and painfully sensitive, does Zenyatta withdraw with a final pop. The blue flush at his cheeks, the way Zenyatta licks his lips and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand punching out a final whimper.

“So quickly. Would you like a summary of my analysis?” the omnic says, gravel rough and breathless and grinning.

“You’re a demon,” Genji sighs, hissing when Zenyatta continues to kiss his softening cock. “I’ll get you back for this…”

“How frightening,” the omnic hums.

Zenyatta seals Genji up and stands, worse for wear only for his wrinkled slacks and the stubborn blue flush across his cheeks.

“Shall we?”

Genji nods, gears himself up for hours of paperwork and most decidedly not scheming ways to get back at his partner before the night is through.

[foxish-draws]

Mk, I feel like I need to just get this off my chest so I can stop thinking about it. XD 

So. The Reunion short. Short answer: It’s ok. 

(Too Damn) Long Answer:

Well – the primary feeling I’m experiencing is disappointment. :/ See though, I don’t want to let it ruin my weekend. So I figure, I’ll break down my feelings about it and then that’ll make it easier to just focus on what I DID like. Because a lot of things in life I have no control over how shit it’s going to make my day, but I do here. I don’t HAVE to be sour, it was not THAT bad and I have expenses and work and life to deal with, I can manage to hold THIS of all things at a distance from my mental stability. 

SO. What I did like. The animation is gorgeous, as usual. I love all the little nuances, McCree’s movements and reloads, and the fight scene overall was really cool. The beginning was slick and I liked his reveal. It was a good demonstration of McCree’s personality: he’s casual, charming, prefers not to fight if he doesn’t have to, clever/quick thinking even in a gunfight, has a distinctly different flavor of charming cowboy he takes on when he’s dealing with friends vs enemies. 

That’s what all makes it overall an ok short for me. Problem is, put up against literally every other short, it is sorely lacking. Which is moderately unfair, comparing them, but when you do so much solid work so consistently, the ‘just ok’ one really sticks out. Reunion’s greatest crime for me was its disappointing lack of story/character development. Yes, yes, I know, everybody’s mad about McCree’s skin tone, yes I think it was a bit too far on the lighter side, considering what his game model looks like, but that one doesn’t hit as hard for me. Of course it would have been nice to have him a few shades darker (at least for consistency’s sake) but that doesn’t make him any less of whatever race anybody head canons him as. My brother has the same half hispanic blood that I do, but he looks like your standard issue White Boy™. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE NO HOMO?? Well, I’m not struck too much by that one either? McCree’s a tiny bit flirty with Ashe, if only for that wink, but that’s like a trope kinda thing. He’s the dashing rogue, distracting people with his charms as he goes about his agenda. Also, even with Echo at the end – I don’t really read any of that as “McCree is clearly romantically invested in this female shaped creature.” And maybe it’s just a personal thing, I tend to always read relationship cues as platonic unless something more blatant happens. Also, I don’t care if he’s canon into the ladies. Maybe he likes both! Either way, when has canon ever stopped fans from shipping a thing? XD Honestly, I don’t think for one second Blizz would make McHanzo canon, the most I’m legitimately hoping for is that they can at least be best bros. I will be pleasantly surprised if they somehow become an item™ but I feel like friends is the best I can realistically hope for.  

So the actual source of my disappointment. The story. I have a massive craving for story any given day of the week, and I fell in love with these characters. That’s why Overwatch is the first major fan fic binge I’ve ever experienced in life, I love these characters and I have such a NEED for story. That and character development are my most favorite things. The shorts have always been really good for both of these, a compelling narrative and/or a satisfying exploration of a character. Plus they always look amazing. Selling us on the world and the characters has always been what the shorts were for. But this one – this one was to introduce new characters. And not like – in a good way, cause that’s technically what they were for when the very first ones came out before the game launched. I think the fatal flaw of Reunion, in terms of story, was that it wanted me to be equally invested in McCree and Ashe. McCree has had a ton of backstory nuggets, character interactions, and 2 years to develop knowledge and affection for his character. Ashe is brand, shiny, new and you can’t stick McCree in there with a badass intro and expect me to be as interested in her as I am in him. And in this short, I know more about HER motivations that I do HIS. I don’t know why that crate is important, I don’t know what he wants to do with it, I don’t even know what his present day goals are at all. But I know Ashe is there for money. My investment in McCree is wholly based on things I already knew going in, I don’t know what the stakes are outside that Ashe clearly wants to kill him. Is there a world ending weapon in that crate? Is that why I should care if he gets it or not? No idea. And I know that’s the point, kinda, but it feels like a miscalculation. All because Ashe is supposed to have equal footing with McCree. And she can’t, because all I know about her is that she wants money and doesn’t like McCree. Well, yeah, if she’s Deadlock, they want money and don’t like McCree, we knew that already. And then he wakes Echo up and I’m hit with another character I can’t care about because I have been given no reason to other than McCree is her friend. But I have no frame of reference for this friendship so I can’t attach any investment to it. I want to know who and what she is, not because I’m excited about her, but because I want to know why I should care in relation to the character I came here for. And of course the whole thing ends without us learning anything about what McCree’s end goal currently is, why it’s more important than answering Winston, or even fun flash backs to any relevant event like maybe the Blackwatch raid he got caught in or how he lost his arm. 

So that’s my big long ass dissertation on why I think I was disappointed with the short. I wanted to get some world building or character development, that’s what I was super excited for. But I didn’t learn anything I didn’t already know, and what WAS new was confusing or I didn’t understand why I should care. Because they had to take time to try to introduce Ashe and establish her place in the world, her personality, her motivations, there wasn’t any left over to move McCree’s development any further, or even the world itself. I think there were ways they could have introduced her in a McCree centric story that didn’t sacrifice all that – but to do so, she couldn’t have had equal focus. Cause you can’t stand any new character next to McCree and have me instantly care about them equally, when I know a lot about him and nothing about them. 

[vinodiriso]

List of interactions I crave for (Overwatch Version)

Genji and Hanzo heart to heart talks where Genji and Hanzo too realizes the vastity of the trauma Hanzo has suffered.

Hanzo and McCree being The Cocky Marksmen Duo With A Grieful Past™

Mercy not being a pesky ass at Hanzo but actually trying to get into his mind to deliver him the help he desperately needs.

Ashe and BOB. Full stop.

Ashe fucking bringing McCree to his knees but not being able to kill him because Memories™.

Ashe forced to disband Deadlock to achieve a superior good, mockingly telling herself she has become as a mollycoddle as McCree.

Ashe ruining somebody's day.

Ashe giving a lady a good time.

Ashe shoving her gun down Reaper/Reyes's throat because THE FUCKER has ruined her family.

D.Va talking about the struggle she faces staying away from Korea and not being able to protect her home.

D.Va giving the gunslingers in Overwatch a run for their money at the shooting range.

D.Va being incredibly soft but also extra-tough.

D.Va being a role model for the younger generation and an example of Pure, Non-toxic Feminist.

Doomfist playing mind games with the people he wants to bring in Talon.

People respecting the cunning intelligence of this man and stop acting like he doesn't know ALL THE THINGS HAPPENING IN THE ORG, please and thanks.

Doomfist in Overwatch.

Akande vs Reaper.

Maximillien vs Akande vs Reaper.

Someone to love my beautiful Prototip, especially ex-Blackwatch members, pls.

[beepboops2]

Blackwatch!McCree x Los Muertos!Sombra/or Talon!Sombra over (this weakass) Deadlock!McCree x Los Muertos Sombra. Honestly i have never been so disappointed in a skin. He just shaved. They can make the girls look forever 21 @34 but be damned if a guy look 17 when hes actually 17.

I can understand that it can be difficult to make things look drastically different model wise when it comes to a playable game since it’s technically still the same model…but they could’ve really made some of those features softer, like his eyes, and, y’know, not give him a five’o’clock shadow. Maybe a more wiry goatee or finer, softer facial hair that looked like it was still growing in. Definitely gotten rid of the laugh lines…I know people get them young (shit, I have ‘em) but I don’t think you’d have noticeable ones at 17…Also, less bulky clothing would’ve done well, maybe give the illusion of someone who’s still growing instead of a fully grown adult man. My main issue beyond the physical was how this portrayal with the wardrobe was done. Maybe it’s because the writers refuse to give us any sort of meaningful McCree lore but I look at this outfit and for some reason, I just don’t get a McCree vibe. It’s just things. Things upon things thrown ontop of one another. Also, that ugly green-yellow color does NOT look good on McCree. At all. I’m so used to his classic red that it’s almost jarring to see him donning that color. But again, I believe it has to do with how little was done to the actual model. Changing a hairstyle/facial hair wasn’t enough to get me to believe this is the Jesse McCree who was in Deadlock at 17. Instead it just looks like present-day McCree cosplaying himself at age 17.

The design itself isn’t new; you can see it in this official artwork back from when the cinematic came out. But the problem is, the design being out in the open now feels very strange because we don’t really have context behind the skin (beyond, errdurr, Deadlock). The McCree of present Overwatch dresses so differently than his 17 y/o counterpart that it makes me wonder more as to why he decided to dress like that. Was it just normal to the area/gang? Was it scraps he could find and scrounged up an outfit? Did that mean he grew up in poverty? Or was he just a rebellious, cocky kid who dressed however he damn well felt like? That’s my problem. It left me wanting more about this character I used to enjoy and only gave me the end result which apparently I’m supposed to like…but I just can’t. It’s a vague statement much like how McCree as a character (to me personally) is very vague. 1/10 Definitely on the bottom list of McCree’s skins for me. If this is considered a legendary, I’ll scoff.

[docholligay]

Tumblr’s being ridiculous so I have to answer these comments in a super clunky way, story is here: http://docholligay.tumblr.com/post/183943481600/the-end-of-the-chuck-line-rider

shavedjudomonkey said: I really like this, seeing Jesse’s struggle to fit in again, Lena’s righteous (if slightly hypocritical) fury, and the fight that’s at the climax of it. Beautiful.

IN FAIRNESS SHE DID NOT SHOOT JESSE. Thank you! I’ve been thinking on it for awhile. 

rhiorhino said: HON HON HON INDEED OH HOW I LOVE THIS

Thank you!!! I am so glad!

ariadnearca said: I love how you convey McCree’s unease with visiting Overwatch and his repeated, obvious rationalising for why he IS allowed to be there, he IS

McCree never really has a spot where he can just stay...there was the Deadlock Gang and then Blackwatch and then Talon and then Overwatch, but he just keeps...getting bounced along in life. 

rosepetalrevolution said: I love this, to no one’s surprise. Jesse feeling out of place in more ways than one is right on the money, and Tracer’s anger is so palpable. You do such a good job of exploring her emotions and making it always feel so real and true to her, even/especially when you take her to places that push at what would be the limits of her character for many writers!! Also truly loved/laughed at the reference to Ashe being a shitheel . 

Thank you! Tracer isn’t Usagi, as I’m fond of saying, and she experiences a wide range of human emotion. Her default may be cheerful, but I think she she can feel pretty much everything with that same spark of immediacy and commitment. I mean we pretty much see that even with in the game with the way she talks to Sombra, who committed the UNFORGIVABLE SIN of stealing Winston’s tech.

paksenarrion-reader said: ahahah, I love the way McCree MUST deal with the consequences of what he had done, and at the same time he CANNOT no matter how he may try he ends up stuck in the limbo of not forgiving himself and not being granted forgiveness. EXCEPT of course for Mercy, “using a religion none of them believed in but all felt strangely compelled by on the back of Mercy’s belief”, I love this one, flawlessperfectbeautiful

Yes exactly! Nothing is easy, and there’s no “Welcome back, glad you changed your mind” but Mercy of course, being Mercy, believes that people can always stop doing the wrong thing, and do the right thing, and that people need to be given opportunities for that, and no one is quite sure why she is so compelling when she talks this way but she just is. 

paksenarrion-reader said: backing up a bit though I can’t not mention that McCree can deny himself everything but he Can’t and Won’t deny his boys their cat tree, I’m in love

CAT DAD MCCREE, MY TRUEST LOVE

paksenarrion-reader said: and the reminescence about Ashe giving him shit and Yael turning it back on her, the venom of “rich kid”, God, you can just feel that it’s even less about Yael defending McCree and more about Yael not being able to keep her mouth shut when the devil’s cauldron is calling a tea kettle black; and how smoothly you transition that back into the present with McCree hearing the same venom on everyone’s tongues now and while Yael might not be physically present for an I Told You So meant for McCree, she sure is right there in spirit, and he sure can hear her say it anyway

Thank you! When I was young and working out in the country, being a rich kid who’d never known a day of work in their whole lie was about the worst thing you could be, and I think about that a lot with the Deadlock Gang and Ashe, and if they were all real rural cowboys and cowgirls, how she might have been mocked for it, and maybe even she’d have tried to hide it early on. But the truth will out, you know. 

paksenarrion-reader said: one of the most compelling parts of your Tracer voice is how she’s always 100% one feeling, and while her default is cheer and it is a default she will forcibly drag herself back to sometimes, today she is 100% ANGER and it’s so incredible to watch playing out here

Thank you! Some of Tracer’s ADHD quirks are heavily modeled on my own, and the IMMEDIATE AND POWERFUL FLASH OF EMOTION is one of them. Tracer feels everything, all the time, and mostly that’s happiness and cheer, because she’s a resilient and bright-sided little human, but she has her breaking points, and when she hits them, she hits them hard. 

paksenarrion-reader said: and what a great touch that even while getting his ass kicked, McCree files away how to fight her as if he’d expect himself to have to one day. Even if he doesn’t, that’s instinct, and he can’t help doing it any more than he can help breathing

Yeah, I think McCree is a fighter and brawler as much as anyone, and I think it’s always a little shocking to him how well Tracer does in a scrap because she’s just so fast, and she knows the limits of her body so well, and she’s awfully strong for such a little thing, with her gymnastic skills and all. 

paksenarrion-reader said: I think this is the closest we’ve seen your Pharah to panicked, that her first reaction is an “oh God” IN ARABIC which I remember you’ve written her refusing to speak to Ana’s face and only slipping into it against herself, and to PHYSICALLY DRAG TRACER OFF OF MCCREE and then yelling “you can’t, not like this” with the intentional or not implication that IN A DIFFERENT WAY IT WOULDA BEEN FINE.  contrasted with their usual dynamic, and with images like Tracer launching herself across space to hug Pharah and Pharah dropping her to the floor, that and the bit where PHARAH of all people is trying to diffuse the situation, it lends so much more strength to Tracer’s anger

When you’re so shit shocked by what’s going on that you forget to speak English ahahaha. THANK YOU FOR CATCHING THAT I thought it was a fun touch. Poor Fareeha is trying to run this like an actual organization instead of a cobbled together group of international weirdos, but THIS is Tracer’s idea of an HR dispute. 

paksenarrion-reader said: and the side dish of the thought that Mercy’s compassion towards evildoers willing to repent may feel like injustice to those they had hurt in the past, *kisses fingers* this is what I come to your stories to feed on and YOU NEVER LET ME STARVE.

YES. It’s all well and good that Mercy believes in chances and in the natural good of the human spirit and all that shit, but, you know, Tracer was the one who was shot, and she maybe doesn’t feel like shaking hands and forgetting all about it. And why does Mercy get to decide that everything’s fine and McCree can join? Why does everyone just listen to her? I don’t disagree with Mercy, but I 100% understand why Tracer is annoyed by it to the point of “Well, at the very least, I can give him some small measure of what I went thorough during my long ass recovery” 

I’m sure Mercy will be delighted with her. 

paksenarrion-reader said: the way you wrap up feels really organic, with Tracer’s anger moving to a latent stage now that it’s been satisfied a bit, not over but no longer the 100% of what she is, either, and that only in retrospect she realizes she threw her mug of tea in his face, brilliant.

YES. This is just what she needed, a little bit, just for Jesse to pay in some way, not really realizing how much he’s punished himself for it already, and even, i think, McCree feels better about it having got his ass whooped. It’s not FIXED, but it gives them a place to move on from. And then she makes him clean his own blood off the floor haha. 

[captainofthetidesbreath]

Est. 1976: Two Logos, Two Founding Years, Two Deadlocks?

Here’s a tinfoil hat theory: Deadlock Rebels the Gang founded by Ashe and McCree is a different entity from the Deadlock Rebels established 1976.

The TL;DR:

There are two versions of the logo—the eyepatch-less version we see on Ashe for the Gang and the eyepatched version we see on McCree for the Rebels. This is why the eyepatched version only ever appears on McCree. Strangely enough, the eyepatched version actually makes a comeback after Ashe’s reveal, rather than disappearing as many expected.

In addition, the in-universe and real-world verbiage around Deadlock very consistently exclusively refers to them as “Deadlock Gang” instead of as “Deadlock Rebels” per the wording in their logo. The only time “Deadlock Rebels” appears in a minor usage for a player icon, it is actually attached to the eyepatched version of the logo.

With this, it’s possible there is a suggestion that there are two Deadlock groups and that McCree was a member of the Deadlock Rebels established in 1976 before he went on to found the Deadlock Gang with Ashe.

Ground Rules

This post assumes that this mixture of logos is intentional. It is absolutely possible that it is simply originally an error made when John Polidora referenced old concept art instead of the updated live version (more on that later) or that it is simply a retcon—and that corrections on this mistake or retcon have been implied inconsistently for whatever reason.

I am not absolutely ruling out that it is a mistake or recton. It is very deeply possible this is just the most inconsistent imagery.

I am simply trying to propose an alternative theory to that.

For the purposes of this post, and to keep things as clear as possible, "Deadlock Rebels” (or, the Rebels) will only refer to this hypothetical non-criminal motorcycle club established in 1976 and “Deadlock Gang” (or, the Gang) will refer to the group founded in roughly 2056 by Ashe, McCree, and two unnamed others. Simply “Deadlock” does not refer to either group and is used in contexts where I don’t want to refer to specifically one or the other.

Branding History

First, a timeline of the various Deadlock logos just to establish the different versions and how we got here.

During development of the Route 66 map, the design team went through a number of iterations of the logo. The Art of Overwatch shows two iterations:

[Portion of a page from The Art of Overwatch showing two variations of the Deadlock logo.]

The one we’re interested in is the one on the right, which is more similar to the version we see most often—but more on that later. This version of the logo notably features an element stating “est. 1976″ and has an eyepatch over its right eye (our left).

The version featured repeatedly on the Route 66 map, the logo’s first canonical appearances, is slightly different.

[Screenshot of the Route 66 map during the Overwatch beta, showing the Deadlock logo sprayed on the front of The High Side saloon.]

[Screenshot of the live Route 66 map, showing the Deadlock logo sprayed on the wall inside the Deadlock Gang hideout.]

The logo that appears on the Route 66 map lacks the “est. 1976″ element and is eyepatch-less. (It also has two less chains, but that isn’t important. I consider that to be a negligible variance, even though it does vary.)

[Concept art of Blackwatch McCree by John Polidora as seen in The Art of Overwatch. Insets are of the tattoo from the concept art and of the tattoo and belt buckle from the live skin.]

The Deadlock logo appeared again on the Blackwatch McCree skin for Uprising Archives. The skin features the eyepatch version of the logo both on his belt buckle and on his tattoo, which also features the “est. 1976″ element. This is the first time the 1976 version of the logo appears in the canon. The concept art for the skin, by John Polidora, shows the eyepatched version of the logo, though only on the tattoo and not the belt.

[Screencaptures from “Reunion” of two bandanas, the back of Ashe’s jacket, the engraving on BOB’s arm, and Ashe’s tattoo.]

“Reunion” introduced members of Deadlock Gang other than McCree, and with that, many more instances of the logo. The logo worn by all members of Deadlock Gang—on bandanas, jackets, engravings, tattoos—are the version appearing on the Route 66 map: the version without the “est. 1976″ and without the eyepatch. (Again, these versions tend to have four chains, while the map logo has only two, but I believe that it’s literally the same logo and such difference is negligible.)

I do not have screenshots handy, but this is the version of the logo used in-game on Ashe and BOB.

At this point, it was assumed that either Team 4 retconned the “est. 1976″ portion to make room for Ashe and McCree founding Deadlock Gang when they were younger or that Polidora made a mistake when designing the skin and referenced an old, scrapped version of the logo rather than the finalized live version.

However, for Storm Rising Archives, the Deadlock McCree skin was revealed.

[Screenshots from the Deadlock McCree reveal trailer showing the eyepatched Deadlock logo on the back of his jacket and on his bandana.]

This skin, like Blackwatch McCree, features the “est. 1976″ and an eyepatch in every single place possible: his jacket, his tattoo, his bandana, his belt buckle, his gun. This logo makes a return despite the establishment date it cites being contradicted by the previous reveal that Ashe and McCree founded Deadlock Gang.

At this point, disregarding the number of chains in the logos, we have two major variations of the Deadlock logo being used more than once in the canon.

[Images of the two Deadlock logos: one eyepatched and with the “est. 1976″ date, the other eyepatch-less and with no displayed date.]

Watch Your Language

All verbiage surrounding the group founded by Ashe and McCree exclusively refers to them as Deadlock Gang. Not once in the entire What’s Next panel at Blizzcon 2018 are they referred to as the Deadlock Rebels.

But amid the fading monuments of that earlier era, the outlaws of the Deadlock Gang are planning their biggest heist yet. [Official description of Route 66 map]

McCree had already made a name for himself as a member of the notorious Deadlock Gang... [Official McCree Bio]

Affiliation: Deadlock Gang

Ashe is the ambitious and calculating leader of the Deadlock Gang and a respected figure in the criminal underworld. [...] Along with the other three founders of the Deadlock Gang, Ashe started to make a name for herself with bigger and more extravagant heists. The Deadlock Gang’s rapid rise to prominence... [Official Ashe Bio]

Ashe is the leader of the Deadlock Gang, a group of bandits and criminals who menace the American southwest [Ashe gallery description]

In their younger days, Jesse McCree and Elizabeth “Calamity” Ashe co-founded the Deadlock Gang. [Deadlock McCree gallery description]

Courtesy of the Deadlock Gang. [Ashe elimination line]

Deadlock Gang must’ve wanted it bad. [former McCree Route 66 line, now removed]

Reyes should've cleaned up the Deadlock Gang a long time ago. [Soldier: 76 Route 66 line]

One goal of Route 66 was establishing the Deadlock Gang. [The Art of Overwatch]

Even down to Ashe’s cosmetics. The one time the “Rebels” verbiage comes close to being used in reference to Deadlock Gang is as the name of one of her sprays. There is a player icon associated with her that is named “Deadlock Rebels” but this icon uses the eyepatched version of the logo rather than the eyepatch-less version actually associated with her.

[Left, Ashe’s “Rebels” spray. Right, the “Deadlock Rebels” player icon.]

To continue digging, when Deadlock is mentioned in the teaser ahead of the McCree reveal, the group is mentioned as having a biker rally, but they are referred to simply as “Deadlock” with neither “Rebels” or “Gang” attached to them.

[The teaser released ahead of the McCree reveal. Deadlock is mentioned in the lower right hand corner: “Deadlock Biker Club National Rally”]

It’s worth mentioning that the Artbook captions the concepts for the Deadlock logo as “Deadlock Gang logo”, both of which are variations of the eyepatched logo. However, I consider this non-issue, as it’s like captioning the much more Egyptian-inspired Zenyatta concepts as “Zenyatta”. And, being it isn’t an in-universe verbiage, it carries lesser weight.

But... why call them exclusively the Deadlock Gang when their logo states Deadlock Rebels? Isn’t that unnecessarily complicated?

Tinfoil Cowboy Hats

This is a really tiny point, it’s also strange that McCree is seen wearing what appears to be the Deadlock Gang bandana—at the exact moment that Deadlock Gang is founded, so he would’ve owned the bandana before the Gang existed. His Deadlock skin, after all, shows him wearing the bandana with the eyepatched version of the logo—and the same hat, though I imagine he keeps that hat for a long time after.

[Screenshot from Ashe’s Origin Story, depicting the moment of Deadlock Gang’s founding between Ashe, McCree, and two others.]

[McCree’s Deadlock skin.]

There’s a lot of explanations for why these repetition of elements: the short already establishes Deadlock wears yellow bandanas, the skin’s design is pulling from Ashe’s Origin video. But, I’m tinfoiling.

On tinfoil notes from Ashe’s Origin video, the Viper rifle is seen hanging on the wall when she is a child, and it displays the Deadlock logo.

[High quality still of Ashe’s Origin story from Nesskain.]

Again, there are alternative explanations for this: the gun was referenced off her final model, which has the logo on it. It reflects the reference used irrespective of timeline rather than suggesting than the logo existed before Ashe founded Deadlock Gang.

However, I’m weaving tinfoil hat theory here.

99% of Motorcyclists—And The Remaining 1%

So, if I’m searching for answers other than an inconsistent retcon, what explanation am I offering? I suggested this in November after the Ashe reveal, and I alluded to it even earlier, but: suppose there were two very separate, even contemporaneous groups using the name Deadlock Rebels?

The Deadlock Rebels Biker Club is established in 1976, and it designs for itself a logo of a eyepatched winged skull. Decades later, a young Jesse McCree is a member of this group.

Maybe he’s in it because he’d fallen in with them after the Crisis. Maybe it’s because his family historically is a member of the Rebels. I do not know. Possibly, the Deadlock Rebels are also one-percenter, and it is through this group that McCree establishes himself as a “budding miscreant” (to quote the What’s Next 2018) and “local ruffian”.

He goes on to form a partnership with Ashe, arguably leaving the Deadlock Rebels, and together with two others they found the Deadlock Gang. They adopt for themselves the same iconography with slight changes—they drop the eyepatch and the “est. 1976″ flair—and they operate out of Deadlock Gorge just like the Deadlock Rebels.

However, McCree, having been a member of the Deadlock Rebels, already has the eyepatched version in his tattoo and on his clothing. So, for pragmatic reasons, and because tattoos are not easily changed, he continues to display this version.

It forms a sort of arc for McCree where is he constantly leaving one group to go to another because “he can do better”: from the Rebels to the Gang, from the Gang to Blackwatch. McCree has a running theme of being “far from home” and of moving right along through life, constantly leaving groups and found families. (His new Archives line well illustrates this: “I ain’t gathering no moss.” He keeps moving on and moving on and moving on.)

Arguably, this might also explain why Reyes had a difficult time clearing out Deadlock Gang. Ashe, McCree, and their cohorts were using their similarity and tenuous connection to the Deadlock Rebels as a way to cover their tracks and misdirection their activities onto the other group. This line of argument does not feel strong, but it is tenuously possible.

A Matter of Historical Record

Overall, it isn’t uncommon for outlaw gangs in the West to share the same name. If they weren’t named for their leaders, they were often named after geographic regions. The most famous example is the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, which is actually a coalition of several gangs who all used the Hole-in-the-Wall Pass, Wyoming as a hideout but largely stayed out of each other’s business and adhered to a system of rules to maintain the peace within the Pass.

This should sound familiar. The story point of Ashe forming a coalition between the Southwestern Gangs to put an end to their in-fighting and adhere to a system of rules to keep things civil between them was probably inspired by the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang.

In slight variation to what I described above, it’s actually possible McCree’s agreement to found Deadlock Gang with Ashe and the two others saw the Rebels absorbed into the Gang, but the name was kept because simply that’s what gangs operating out of Deadlock Gorge are called: the Deadlock Rebels, synonymous with the Deadlock Gang. This second iteration of Deadlock redesigned elements of the branding to represent this new coalition between the four of them (and possibly whatever other gangs the two others may have represented), but McCree continues to display the old logos in significance of his membership in the first iteration.

Which version is more likely, that both groups continue to exist distinctly different forms or that they two groups are now closely tied together as a result of the agreement between McCree and Ashe, I am unsure at this time. Whether or not it materially matters is another thing entirely.

The important point here is that there are, or were, two Deadlocks that existed close in time and McCree was part of the other one before he founded the 2056 iteration.

In Summary

There is a very long history of the Deadlock logo, and for some reason, the logos McCree displays differs significantly from the logos Ashe, Bob, Route 66, and the others display. It’s odd, given that the “est. 1976″ date displayed by McCree directly contradicts that he and Ashe founded the group circa 2056.

However, notably, the verbiage surrounding the group founded by Ashe and McCree exclusively refers to them as “Deadlock Gang” rather than “Deadlock Rebels” per the logo. It’s almost stunningly consistent in how the group is literally never called the Deadlock Rebels. In fact, the only reference to a “Deadlock Rebels” is to an eyepatched version of the logo, the one McCree displays.

Given historical record, the commonality of Old West gangs to have similar names due to shared geography, and McCree’s own thematic arc, what if there was two Deadlocks: the Deadlock founded in 1976 and the Deadlock founded in 2056—and they both count McCree as a member. Due to being part of the 1976 group first, McCree acquired their logo first, and he continues to display it for that reason.

[valhallansim]

Retribution: a Blackwatch themed CC set by Valhallan

In honour of the Retribution event, some Blackwatch flavoured goods for you all. This .zip contains 6 .packages and a folder that includes a household with 4 Sims modelled after Gabriel, Jesse, Genji and Moira. This download includes:

- McCree’s Deadlock arm tattoo - Genji’s Cyborg body overlay - Gabriel Reyes’ Facial Scars - McCree’s Cigarello (2 variants) - Blackwatch Logo wall decoration - A household with 4 Sims

❥  DOWNLOAD AND MORE INFO / Consider a donation?

[segadores-y-soldados]

Reaper and Soldier: 76 Resources

I will write this once: there IS a “Read more” link.

This post is meant to be a collection of “in-universe” canon, “in-game” official, “out-of-game” official, and non-official discussion sources about Reaper (Gabriel Reyes), Soldier: 76 (Jack Morrison), and their relationship.  It is not specifically an analysis, discussion, or write-up, but at times it will include those.

This is going to include shipping topics or discussions, specifically the ones focused on a romantic relationship between Reaper and Soldier: 76.  

It will occasionally bring up additional characters - such as Ana Amari, Reinhardt Wilhelm, and Moira O’Deorain (to name a few) - in order to discuss how their relationships contrast with the one between Reaper and Soldier: 76.

The resources are organized as follows:

Canon story resources: resources that tell parts of the story events.

In-game details: official in-game details such as map details and interactions, and what they reference

Official statements made by Blizzard developers, specifically Michael Chu, Jeff Kaplan, and Geoff Goodman

Unofficial discussion posts on Reaper, Soldier: 76, Moira, Doomfist, and other characters (e.g. my essays, posts about map details, posts about interactions, etc).

Here we go:

Canonical Resources (“in-universe” story events):

In order of in-story timeline events:

SEP and the Omnic Crisis: Thirty years “in the future” (with 2016 being the year the game launched, rough projections are about 2046) and thirty years before the events of “Recall” (2076), the robot models built by the defunct and bankrupt Omnica Corporation launch a global attack on humanity.  The war rapidly escalates, with “human” problems - politics, mismanagement, and egos, for example - complicating humanity’s ability to counterattack.  The United States government begins a secret military program called “The Soldier Enhancement Program” which injects nanobiological genetic modifications into soldiers, “enhancing” their abilities.  In this program, Gabriel Reyes - given the id number of “Soldier: 24″ - meets Jack Morrison, a relatively new “recruit” with the id number of “Soldier: 76.”

At an unspecified point, both Gabriel and Jack agree to leave the U.S. military and Soldier Enhancement Program for a new, secret United Nations task force called “Overwatch.”  Overwatch was charged with developing a new, unconventional strategy to end the war, and recruited a few specialized paramilitary soldiers and engineers: an Egyptian sniper with a cybernetic eye, a German “Crusader” with a rocket powered armor set, and the Swedish engineer who designed the Omnics.

Under the command of Gabriel Reyes, the group of five (known) soldiers set out to save humanity...and change history.

---

The Golden Age of Overwatch: The above image occurs 10 years after the start of the Omnic Crisis, and 20 years before the events of “Recall.”  Michael Chu has said the following:

“You’ve got your prime, original generation characters: Gabriel, Ana, Jack, Reinhardt, and Torbjörn.  You have an 11-to-12 year old Pharah, you have McCree who’s just been recruited into Blackwatch, you have university-student Mercy who’s visiting the Overwatch base.”

Ages in the photo:

Gabriel: 38 years old (50 at “Retribution,” 58 at “Recall”) Jack: age unknown, approximately 28-35 years old Ana: 40 years old Reinhardt: 41 years old Torbjörn: 37 years old Fareeha: 11-12 years old McCree: 16-17 years old Angela: 16-17 years old

After the end of the Omnic Crisis, Overwatch transforms from a task force of approximately 5 people to a global peacekeeping organization.  Jack is promoted to Strike-Commander, and Gabriel becomes the commander of Overwatch’s covert ops division, Blackwatch.  The two men work together publically and privately to lead the two major halves of the organization, and while their personal lives are not fully detailed, Jeff Kaplan has stated that “they loved each other”.  He has also stated that “Gabriel Reyes was Jack Morrison’s partner.”  Both sources are linked below.

Despite all the issues the organization faces, the two men remain constant and lifelong companions, even though the next several events.

(A lot more under the cut.  I’m not kidding.  This is pretty much everything I have on Reaper and Soldier: 76 - canon, “official”, and unofficial.  It is not a lore analysis or discussion essay: it is, by and large, simply an archive of all the stuff I have.  It’s a summary of a summary, a reference of references.)

(You have been warned.)

---

Moira’s recruitment: Approximately 10 to 8 years before the events of “Recall.”  Roughly twenty to twenty-two years have passed since the events of the Omnic Crisis.  Something is beginning to occur in Gabriel, possibly as a side effect of the SEP “enhancements” he received during the war.  He recruits Moira O’Deorain, a geneticist described as “equal parts brilliant and controversial”.  Gabriel is interested in seeking her help for his condition, and begins participating in Moira’s experiments...

Though who knows if she is genuinely trying to help him find a cure, or if she has her own ambitions for Gabriel’s “true potential”...

Moira’s Origin video: Youtube link

Michael Chu’s statements on Gabriel’s condition:

Twitter conversation with a fan on Reaper’s condition: twitter link

> User: But does that mean Reyes has been Reaper before Overwatch fell? > Michael: I’ll let you draw your own conclusions but the wording on Reaper’s bio is intentional.

Twitter conversation with a fan on if Reaper ages: twitter link

> Michael: One more PSA for the day: Tracer does age. The characters some people assume are trapped in time (Tracer, Mercy, Widowmaker, Mei) all age. > User: You missed an important one there - What about Reaper? Can he even still be considered alive in his state? > Michael:  That's a good question. ;)

Moira Blizzcon 2017 Panel: transcript

> Quote:  “She was recruited by Gabriel Reyes to be a member of Blackwatch.  And uh, during that time she had relationships with the Blackwatch crew - McCree, Genji - they all have their own sort of likes and dislikes for each other.  Reyes wanted someone could help advise him on, uh, some matters of genetics that he was, uh, interested in, shall we say.” - Michael Chu

Though this will be discussed in the “in-game” section in more detail, the following can be found on Oasis, in the University level:

In Moira’s lab:

A folder labeled: “Soldier ID: 24 | Classified”

“Genetic Conditioning and Regenerative Properties of Applied Nanobiotics.” by Dr. Angela Zieglder, MD, Ph. D.

And in the Chemistry lab (NOT Moira’s):

“Repairing Degenerative Genetic Structures.”  Labeled with a “Draft” note, and the logo for Moira’s Genetics lab.

---

Retribution: The events of “Retribution” occur 8 years before Winston initiates “Recall.”  After an Overwatch facility is attacked in Oslo, Norway, Blackwatch agent Gérard Lacroix connects the attack to Antonio, a major Talon leader based in Venice.  He briefs Blackwatch Commander Gabriel Reyes and Blackwatch agent Jesse McCree on the situation at a new facility in Rome, Italy.  However, the facility is attacked, leaving Gérard in a critical condition (though he is expected to make a full recovery).  Gabriel turns to Overwatch Strike-Commander and his lifelong partner Jack Morrison to discuss Overwatch’s options in dealing with Talon and Antonio.

Attack on the Oslo Overwatch base: Blizzard official archives link

“Retribution” comic: Blizzard post; PDF link

Gabriel’s debriefing: “Retribution” game mode trailer; PlayOverwatch official audio

All Retribution interactions: Hammeh/Failcraft link; Overwatch Interactions link

McCree’s ending narration: Youtube link

---

Uprising: The events of “Uprising” take place approximately 1 year after “Retribution” and 7 years before Winston initiates “Recall.”  An Omnic leader named Tekhartha Mondatta arrives in King’s Row, London for a groundbreaking ceremony on a new Omnic housing project.  However, the hostile Omnic group named “Null Sector” attacks, taking him, the London mayor, and many others as hostages.  Null Sector takes over the city, and even though Overwatch offers to help, the United Kingdom denies the organization access to the country.  With the situation growing increasingly critical, pressure is placed on Jack to make a decision.  However, Gabriel has a few plans of his own, and sends McCree into King’s Row to investigate - I mean, for a “vacation.”

“Uprising” comic: Blizzard official; PDF link

Uprising teaser: Youtube link

Uprising Interactions: Hammeh/Failcraft link - while these are primarily between the four playable characters (Tracer, Reinhardt, Mercy, and Torbjörn), I’ve included the link just in case.

Uprising - Reyes and the team: Youtube link

---

Legacy: The events of “Legacy” occur sometime after “Uprising” but before the “fall” of Overwatch, approximately 6-7 years before Winston initiates “Recall.”  One of the Overwatch Strike Teams, led by Jack and Ana, conduct a mission to rescue some scientists who were taken hostage by Talon forces.  During the mission, a “new sniper” shows up and begins taking down Overwatch forces.  Ana starts engaging in a shoot-off with the sniper, and sends in her remote drones to blow up the sniper’s position.  During the explosion, Jack manages to get the rest of the team and the scientists to the dropship.  However, Ana refuses to regroup, and when Jack orders her to return, she defies his instructions and turns off her communication device.  Ana manages to get a shot off on the sniper, but when the sniper’s helmet is damaged, she is shocked to see that the sniper is Amélie Lacroix, who had been presumed dead.  Ana hesitates, allowing Widowmaker to get a critical shot on Ana’s rifle and her cybernetic eye.

“Legacy” comic: Blizzard official; PDF link 

Ana Origin video: Youtube link

This comic is included because it shows a major plot point - Ana’s “death” - which becomes something of an “issue” between Gabriel and Jack.  The comic also shows Jack and Ana’s relationship, in which Ana defies Jack’s orders to pursue a sniper battle with Widowmaker.

The video is included because it is later referenced by Michael Chu in his 2017 GDC talk.  Also important in the video is a group shot of the “early” Overwatch team, and includes an image of Reinhardt’s hand on Ana’s shoulders.

---

The fall: The “fall” of Overwatch takes place approximately 6 years before Winston initiates “Recall.”  Almost no in-universe sources exist that fully detail the events of the explosion of the Swiss Base.

Soldier: 76 Origin video: Youtube link

“Fading Glory: On the Trail of Jack Morrison”: Blizzard official

The article link is italicized because personally, I would not cite this as an accurate, in-universe source any more.  Close to 100% of the article’s details, quotes, and “news” have been retconned (e.g. Jack’s enlistment has changed completely), rewritten (e.g. Mercy’s age and the source of her quote), or proven unreliable (e.g. the “promotion” caused some sort of schism between Jack and Gabriel, which Retribution proves isn’t true).  In the real world Overwatch development timeline, the article is nearly three years old at the time of this post.  However, for the sake of completeness, I have included it here.

While the Soldier: 76 Origin video is just as old as the article, the details in it are “vague enough” that they remain semi-reliable.  Furthermore, the map in “Uprising” remains comparable to the map in the video.

---

Recall: Approximately six years after the explosion of the Swiss Base and the official disbandment of Overwatch by the Petras Act, Winston lives with the AI program Athena in the remains of Watchpoint: Gibraltar.  He is testing a new type of spherical shield, but his prototype fails.  Frustrated, Winston starts watching the news, but hears about the rising tolls of the Second Omnic Crisis in Russia.  He starts the process of initiating the recall of Overwatch agents, but is chided by Athena not to put himself or the others in danger.  However, Winston’s lab is suddenly attacked by a Talon squad, led by the mercenary “Reaper.”

Recall: Youtube link

“Recall” is included in this collection as the first time “Reaper” officially appears in the in-universe timeline.  While he likely worked on unknown events before this, this is our current “starting point” for him.

---

Hero: Shortly after “Recall” is initiated, Alejandra is sent by her mother to get more flour for their bakery.  Alejandra is annoyed with her mother because she keeps treating her “like a baby,” but Alejandra does not realize that her mother is worried her daughter will be forced to make a choice between standing up for what’s right, and doing what’s easy.  On the way to the store, Alejandra runs into members of Los Muertos, an arms-dealing gang that terrorize the streets of Dorado.  They attempt to pressure her into bullying an Omnic, but when Alejandra backs down, they take her coin purse and drive off with it.  Angry, Alejandra chases their truck down, but stumbles across a different sort of terrifying confrontation as the vigilante “Soldier: 76″ attacks the Los Muertos members...

Hero: Youtube link

Prior to “Hero”:

Soldier: 76 breaks into Watchpoint: Grand Mesa:  “Experimental Weapon Stolen from Watchpoint: Grand Mesa”; PlayOverwatch official teaser

Following “Hero”: “LumériCo Vision for Mexico Unveiled, but Threats to Safety Remain a Concern”

Like “Recall”, this is the “first official” appearance of “Soldier: 76″ in the in-universe story events.  Articles detail how he stole the new model of the Heavy Pulse Rifle from the now-Helix-run Watchpoint: Grand Mesa, and then eventually made his way into Mexico.  It is important to note that Soldier: 76 is almost an exact “mirror” to Retribution-era Gabriel, including everything from his more intense, renegade personality down to the way he dresses.  

Though it will be covered more in-depth in the “in-game” official section, Soldier: 76 is the only character besides Sombra to be interested in LumériCo’s activities.

---

Old Soldiers: Soldier: 76 has made his way to Giza, Egypt: he is looking for the bounty hunter known as “The Shrike.”  He finds out that Hakim - a Talon associate - is particularly frustrated by the Shrike’s actions and is looking to bring the bounty hunter down.  Soldier: 76 heads to Hakim’s compound, where he hears an exchange between Hakim and Reaper on the comms.  Soldier: 76 recognizes Reaper by voice alone, and (after defeating the guards) enters Hakim’s compound on his own.  Reaper shadow steps in behind him and shoots him in the back.  However, “the Shrike” comes to Soldier: 76′s rescue, shooting him with a healing dart, revitalizing him.  The Shrike removes their facemask to reveal Ana Amari, who is still alive.  Soldier: 76 and Reaper engage in a fistfight (where Ana recognizes who Reaper is even with his “costume”), and Ana takes several shots to hinder Reaper.  Reaper rushes up to her, discovers that Ana is alive, and engages in another fistfight with her.  As the two are falling, Ana unmasks Reaper is is horrified by what she sees:

Reaper then flees, leaving Soldier: 76 to reveal himself as Jack.  Jack asks Ana to join him in his “war.”  Ana accepts because even though she’s not interested in fighting for “his war”, she believes Jack needs someone to watch his back.

“Old Soldiers” comic: Blizzard official; PDF link

This comic was one of the first major “plot twists” released by Blizzard after Overwatch launched.  It revealed that Ana Amari was still alive, that Reaper had been “left to suffer” by Overwatch - and by Jack.

However, several major things stand out:

1. Ana Amari had not been left to die, meaning that part of Reaper’s explanation to her was either outright misguided or a lie.

2. Since the comic’s release, we now know that a combination of other factors “created” Gabriel’s current condition: the SEP experiments, Moira’s experiments, and the Swiss Base explosion.

3. At no point in the comic does Jack ever blame Gabriel for the explosion of the Swiss Base or the fall of Overwatch.

4. Since the comic’s release, we have seen additional comics that show that Gabriel and Jack had a significantly closer relationship than had previously been implied.  This includes Jack being semi-aware of or granting his personal approval to unsanctioned Blackwatch missions.

5. We now know that Gabriel’s driving motivation (at the time of “Retribution”) was actually protecting Jack and keeping him and other Overwatch members safe.

Followed by:

While we still know very little about the actual fall of Overwatch and the Swiss Base explosion, more recent story revelations have shown that a lot of the “plot points” of “Old Soldiers” are either invalidated, misguided (on Reaper’s part), or possibly intentionally misleading.

The last point is especially important for the next two events:

---

Infiltration: “Infiltration” occurs several “months” after “Hero” and sometime after the Sombra ARG concludes on Día de Muertos, 2076.  During the course of the half-in-universe, half-in-game Augmented Reality Game to “unlock” Sombra, it is revealed that LumériCo has direct and probably corrupt ties to the Vishkar Corporation and Volskaya Industries.  A small Talon squad composed of Reaper, Widowmaker, and Sombra go to assassinate Katya Volskaya, the CEO, on orders of the Talon leader, Vialli.  The mission is set up so that Widowmaker can snipe her from across her facilitity; however, before Widowmaker can take the shot, the alarm goes off.  Reaper “makes an attempt” to slip in and kill Katya, but is stopped from his “long-range” shotgun shot by the new Volskaya mech.  He instructs Sombra to recover the rest of the mission.  However, Sombra has her own plans...

Infiltration: Youtube link

Prior to “Infiltration”: the LumériCo website is updated for the Sombra ARG, showing an email from Sanjay Korpal of Vishkar.

“Infiltration” is the second official mission we have seen Reaper in - the first is “Recall”, and the second is the “Cinematic Trailer”, where Reaper and Widowmaker attempt to steal Doomfist’s Gauntlet from a museum, but are stopped by Winston and Tracer.

“Infiltration” is important because Sombra is finally introducted directly in the story.  “Infiltration” is also important because it is the first time we know 100% that Reaper deliberately undermined and “threw” a mission (based on his statements in “Masquerade”).  

This leads to the following questions: has Reaper “thrown” other missions in the past (the database collection from “Recall,” the museum heist from the “Cinematic Trailer,” his “trap” in “Old Soldiers”, etc)?

And if he has thrown other missions, why did he do it?

Reaper and Sombra received the following interactions upon her release:

Sombra: What are we doing today, Gabe?  You don't mind if I call you 'Gabe', do you?

Reaper: Stick to the mission.

Reaper: Try to stick to the plan, Sombra.

Sombra: Look, someone has to be ready when all your ‘careful planning’ doesn't pan out.

According to Michael Chu, these interactions can be confirmed as effectively canon.

(Source)

There are a few key takeaways here:

1. Widowmaker does not know who Reaper is.

2. The interactions between Reaper, Soldier: 76, and Ana can be treated as “canon or potentially canon.”  Therefore, they can be used as part of the discussion on what Soldier: 76 and Ana Amari know about Reaper.

3. Soldier: 76 and Ana Amari would and do recognize Reaper on sight and sound alone (confirming that those details in “Old Soldiers” were intentional).

4. McCree and Reinhardt canonically do not know what has happened to Gabriel, but would also recognize him as Reaper.  This implies that Gabriel’s “condition” existed in some form before the fall of Overwatch, and that some members of Overwatch and Blackwatch were aware of his powers.

Returning to Sombra, we can see that Sombra knows Jack’s personal and rather intimate nickname for Gabriel (“Gabe”), which Ana knows of but apparently does not use herself:

Reaper: Guess you're going back on my list, Ana.

Ana: What happened to you, Gabriel?

Reaper appears to “tolerate” Sombra using Jack’s nickname for him, and taken with their other interaction, implies an unusual level of trust between Reaper and Sombra.  Elsewhere, Michael Chu has said the following:

“[Sombra] gets on [Reaper’s] nerves a little bit, but I think that ultimately, Reaper knows that Sombra is effective.  And so he respects that, because he is a good eye for talent. …Look at that Blackwatch team - it’s amazing!”

(Source: Michael Chu, Anime Expo 2017)

“Infiltration” shows us that Sombra is up to something, with the “canon” interactions between her and Reaper implying that Reaper might be “in” on her plan.

This is further implied by:

---

Masquerade: After the events of “Reflection,” occurring shortingly before and during Venetian Carnevale in late February 2077, Akande Ogundimu - also known as “The Successor” Doomfist - breaks out of prison.  He is retrieved by Reaper in a dropship, who “debriefs” him on the current situation.  Akande then heads to Monaco, to secure the alliance (and wealth) of the Omnic Talon leader, Maximilien, at Maximilien’s casino.  While there, forces from the rival Talon leader, Vialli (Antonio’s successor), attempt to attack Akande and Widowmaker, but they are defeated.  After that, Akande, Widowmaker, Sombra, and Reaper dress up for the masquerade of Carnevale in Rialto, Venice.  While Widowmaker, Sombra, and Reaper destroy Vialli’s remaining forces, Vialli confronts Akande.  The two discuss the different “visions” for Talon, with Vialli saying that profit and power are good enough for the organization, while Akande argues that they must see themselves as something greater.  Akande then throws Vialli off the bridge or cliff (literally).  Reaper sees this action but does not recognize Vialli by appearance.  Akande and Reaper then head into the Talon headquarters to begin their meeting with some of the other Talon leaders.  Sanjay Korpal is shown in the background, and Moira is partially revealed for the first time.

“Masquerade” comic: Blizzard official; PDF link

“The Masque of the Red Death”: free text; PDF link

Unpacking the full impact and implications of this comic in a relatively short summary is a challenge in its own right.  

Perhaps the most important aspect of the comic is that it directly alludes to the Edgar Allan Poe short story “The Masque of the Red Death”: first, the setting of both stories take place during a masquerade.  The second is that the two major “characters” - in this case, Akande and Reaper - are dressed as a prince and the Red Death respectively.

The third is that - at the end of the Poe story - the Red Death kills everyone in the building.

In the original short story, the “Red Death” is both a plague and a personification of the same disease who “arrives” unannouced “like a thief in the night” at Prince Prospero’s masquerade party.  When the prince and his guests confront the ghastly visitor and “unmask” it, they discover that there is nothing beneath the costume - only Death itself, “untenanted by any tangible form.”

And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripods expired. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.

The original story is relatively short and rather precise in its pacing and development.  However, beneath the “layers” of the masquerade is the implication that hubris and arrogance on part of the Prince and his guests “invited” the Red Death into their castle - as if they could “hide” from Death itself by just locking themselves up.

The “revolutionary” tone of Poe’s story is that no one - not even the wealthy, or the brave, or the powerful - can “hide” from Death.

That Death is retributive in its deliverance.

Plot-wise, the point of the Blizzard “Masquerade” comic is two-fold: 1) it introduces Akande and shows how powerful he is...and how strong-willed he is, and 2) it heavily implies that Reaper - who is dressed as the Red Death - is playing a “masquerade” against Talon, and that when he is eventually “unmasked” by the Talon leaders, he will kill them.

Understanding and interpreting “Masquerade” through the lens of “The Masque of the Red Death” is, quite bluntly, one of the only major ways to make sense of Gabriel’s actions from Retribution to Masquerade.  It provides solid analysis and textual evidence for the idea that he is infiltrating Talon to enact retribution on the Talon leaders and destroy them, just as they destroyed Overwatch.

The use of literary and other cultural references for Gabriel/Reaper’s behavior is important, as it is clearly part of both his in-universe characterization, and his in-game/non-canon characterization.

For example, “Reaper” also has not one, not two, but three skins that refer to literary references:

Respectively, they are: “Nevermore”, “Pumpkin”, and “Dracula” and they refer to the following pieces:

The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, by William Irving

“Dracula”, by Bram Stoker

While Nevermore and Dracula are not “canon” to the plot of Overwatch, “Pumpkin” actually is:

Interestingly, the Headless Horseman character in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is also attempting to trick other characters, specifically Ichabod Crane.

The next morning the old horse was found without his saddle, and with the bridle under his feet, soberly cropping the grass at his master’s gate. Ichabod did not make his appearance at breakfast; dinner-hour came, but no Ichabod. The boys assembled at the schoolhouse, and strolled idly about the banks of the brook; but no schoolmaster. Hans Van Ripper now began to feel some uneasiness about the fate of poor Ichabod, and his saddle. An inquiry was set on foot, and after diligent investigation they came upon his traces. In one part of the road leading to the church was found the saddle trampled in the dirt; the tracks of horses’ hoofs deeply dented in the road, and evidently at furious speed, were traced to the bridge, beyond which, on the bank of a broad part of the brook, where the water ran deep and black, was found the hat of the unfortunate Ichabod, and close beside it a shattered pumpkin.

[...] Brom Bones, too, who, shortly after his rival’s disappearance conducted the blooming Katrina in triumph to the altar, was observed to look exceedingly knowing whenever the story of Ichabod was related, and always burst into a hearty laugh at the mention of the pumpkin; which led some to suspect that he knew more about the matter than he chose to tell.

And of course, we have the very telling interactions from Retribution:

Moira: Pity we’ll miss the masquerade - I have the perfect costume. Reyes: Didn’t think that would be your scene. Moira: There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me…

---

Moira: Pity we’ll miss the masquerade - I have the perfect costume. Reyes: Didn’t think that would be your scene. Moira: You’re not the only one who likes to dress up.

---

Gabriel: It’s not exactly Carnevale McCree: You serious? Gabriel: I was looking forward to the masquerade! McCree: Fair enough.

Which now brings me to:

In-game official resources:

As a reminder, here is what Michael Chu has had to say about the interactions:

(Source)

(Source 2)

Because of these, the interactions between Reaper and Soldier: 76 can be deemed as “canon or potentially canon”:

Soldier: 76: Aren't you supposed to be dead?

Reaper: Didn't take.

Soldier: 76: One of these days someone is gonna to put an end to you.

Reaper: I invite them to try.

Soldier: 76: Well, you sure take to this “bad guy” thing easily, don't ya?

Reaper: And you sure know how to play “boy scout”.

Important here is that Soldier: 76 never accuses Reaper of being the cause of the fall of Overwatch or the cause of the Swiss Base explosion.  This is in direct contrast with Soldier: 76′s new interaction with Moira:

Soldier: 76: You were a disgrace to Overwatch. If I had known what Reyes had been planning, I would never have allowed it.

Moira: It seems to me that it was convenient for you not to look too closely into Gabriel’s business.

(Audio clip)

While Soldier: 76′s interaction with Moira is not specifically canon, we can conclude that this is what he would say if he met her in the present day of Overwatch.  Unlike his interactions with Reaper, he specifically calls Moira a “disgrace to Overwatch,” and implies that if he could have stopped her and/or Gabriel’s “plan”, he would have.

However, note that he also never directly describes “what Reyes had been planning”.  This leaves the interaction very open to interpretation, and leaves just enough room to create a “plot twist” where Jack actually knows or and/or approves of Gabriel’s infiltration of Talon, while still allowing him enough room to be angry with Moira for her role in bringing Overwatch down.

Related to this, the interactions between Reaper and Ana (which also fall in the “canon or potentially canon” category) have a decidedly different tone than his interactions with Soldier: 76:

Reaper: Guess you're going back on my list, Ana.

Ana: What happened to you, Gabriel?

Reaper: I shouldn't be surprised you took his side.

Ana: You never gave me much choice.

Reaper: Just like old times.

Ana: Right. Except for the part where you became a homicidal maniac.

It appears that Ana might not be “aware” of whatever Gabriel is planning in Talon.

This also calls into question the “explanation” Gabriel gave Ana in “Old Soldiers.”  Since we know that like, all of it is wrong, we need to ask why it is wrong: is it that Gabriel actually believes Jack and Overwatch left him behind “to suffer”, or is it that Gabriel is attempting to put on a “masquerade”, both for Ana and Hakim (who may be listening to him or watching him)?

It’s interesting that Reaper tells Hakim that:

Reaper: Once you set a trap...you never know what will fall into it.

Though we are told Reaper and Hakim “set the trap” to catch The Shrike, the juxtaposition of Soldier: 76, the cameras, the comms, and the wording can imply that Reaper and Soldier: 76 are the ones setting “the real trap”, to lure “the Shrike” out of hiding while still tricking both Ana and Hakim into their “trap”.

This goes along with the following in-game details:

Sombra’s apartment

I personally find it interesting that no one ever asks how Jack knew to search for the Shrike.

In-game details on maps are canonical in the sense that they provide us environmental story-telling details: while they do not “speak” parts of the story, they give us important clues about characters, their connections, and the overall plot.

Sombra’s apartment is a treasure trove of all these details, pointing to how important she is in the overall story.

Sombra knows: 1) who Soldier: 76, the Shrike, and Jesse McCree are, 2) how they interact with each other, and 3) possibly how to contact them.

She also, very obviously, knows Gabriel’s “biggest emotional secret”:

Sombra: What’s the plan today, Gabe?  You don’t mind if I call you ‘Gabe,’ do you? Reaper: Stick to the mission.

No other characters have been shown to use this nickname for Gabriel.

Just Jack and, as a “joke”, Sombra.

Remember that names are important to Jack - arguably, more important to him than to Gabriel given Jack’s role as Strike-Commander.  Jack’s usage of “Gabe”, “Gabriel”, “Commander Reyes”, and “Reyes” is almost entirely dictated by the people he is talking to or his immediate situation, not by his emotional state of being: “Gabe” is used twice, in personal and intimate moments, “Gabriel” is used during Gabriel’s debriefing (when McCree and Gérard are present), “Commander Reyes” is used when he talks to Lena Oxton for the first time, and “Reyes” is used in other “public” situations (e.g. Route 66, the Moira interaction).  This appears to be part of Jack’s “soldier identity”: he has been the Strike-Commander and a soldier for so long that “code-switching” his names for Gabriel is automatic for him.

Gabriel, on the other hand, is more casual: he permits pretty much every character to call him “Gabriel” or “Reyes”, with Sombra and McCree (and interestingly, Jack as well) also calling him “boss.”  At all points in his life, Gabriel is much less interested in maintaining military decorum than Jack is.

However, there’s obviously one particular nickname which only 1-2 people are “allowed” to use.

Sombra using “Gabe” carries significantly more emotional weight than initial appearances imply.  Ana, Moira, McCree, and Pharah calling Gabriel “Gabriel” does not carry the same connotation - nor emotional power - as Sombra calling him “Gabe,” even as a joke.

On the flipside of this, Jack literally wearing the number “76″ on his back is a huge “reverse tell”: 

Because Gabriel/Reaper is arguably the only person to fully understand what the name of “Soldier: 76″ represents:

Jack using a “title” that “Reaper” can easily identify is suspicious for many reasons: why does Jack want to draw attention to that?  Why is he falling back on an identity that only Gabriel really truly understands?  Is it a warning to “Reaper”, or is it an olive branch?

(And speaking of names, isn’t it interesting that Sombra’s real name is “Olivia”?)

Necropolis

Necropolis is the current hideout of Soldier: 76 and Ana - and one very blatant and obvious fact should stick out:

Not only do they sleep in separate beds, they literally sleep in separate “rooms”.

In fact, as part of the “canon or potentially canon” interactions between Soldier: 76 and Ana, there’s a semi-broken or unused one that can maybe be triggered on Necropolis:

Ana: Jack, we’re adults!  You don’t have to sleep outside! Soldier: 76: I’m...fine where I am.

(Source)

Living in a separate building in the Necropolis is Jack’s choice.

The second obvious thing that sticks out:

The “Reaper sightings” map.

The locations are:

Los Angeles, California - Gabriel’s home city (which he visits in “Reflections”)

Watchpoint: Gibraltar - “Recall”

Numbani, Nigeria - “Masquerade”

St. Petersburg, Russia - “Infiltration”

Oasis, Iraq - no specific known event yet

The Oasis one is very important because so far, only “two people” are confirmed to know Reaper has been there.  One is, obviously, Moira, who lives and works there as the Minister of Genetics -

And who appears to be working on a “cure” for Reaper’s condition.

The second is:

Sombra: So what are we doing here, boss?

Reaper: I need to pay a visit to a friend.

Sombra.

It is heavily implied that Sombra is “leaking” Reaper’s locations to Soldier: 76 and Ana.

Now, it is not known if she is doing this with or without his permission.  At the moment, I am personally leaning towards the former: Sombra and Reaper are shown to have a tentative trust with each other, and Sombra not only knows who he is, but what is Gabriel’s driving goal:

There’s also this image which is all over Necropolis:

(source)

The imagery and iconography of it is basically summarized as Ana, Jack, and Gabriel, in that order.  Both men wear crowns, though the crown on the “pharaoh” is not colored, and the crown on the last man is actually the “double-feathers” crown, symbolizing Amun and Amun-Ra, “king of the gods.”

While the implication of the image isn’t exactly clear, all the details on Necropolis, Sombra’s apartment in Castillo, and in-game interactions point to an ambiguous relationship between Reaper and Soldier: 76.  Not only are there clearer demonstrations of genuinely bitter or angry interactions (for Reaper, see Ana and McCree, and for Soldier, see Moira), but everything about them - including their implied shared ties to Sombra as their information “go-between” - is extremely open-ended for two men who supposedly “hate” each other.

There is only one instance of one of them - Reaper - “blaming” the other for his condition, but not only are Reaper’s statements genuinely incorrect or wrong, the circumstances under which he says them (when Hakim is watching and listening) and the vague implication that Soldier: 76 helped him “set the trap” for Ana makes the entire series of statements skeptical and effectively unreliable in a literal sense:

I won’t discount the idea that Reaper is genuinely, truly angry and upset here, but I’m reaching the point where too many details add up and make it difficult to argue.  Reaper is “putting on a masquerade” in a least two to three other plot events (Retribution, Infiltration, and Masquerade), so this “explanation” seems more and more like it’s part of that persona.

Other than that, no other remarks are made by Reaper, Soldier: 76, Ana, Sombra, or any other character that either Reaper or Soldier: 76 are responsible for the “fall” of Overwatch.  The only article which alludes to the idea that Gabriel blew up the Swiss Base is incredibly unreliable as a source, even by in-universe standards.

Instead, an increasing amount of details and evidence points to Jack either being aware of Gabriel’s infiltration plan from the start, or becoming aware of it later.  He may or may not directly approve of the plan, but he does not “reveal” Gabriel’s intentions to other people either.

Oasis

As someone who has watched the majority of these story developments get revealed “in real time”, it’s tricky to find a spot to describe Moira, her role in the story, how she influenced Gabriel and his relationship with Jack, and the contents in Oasis.  The contents in Oasis are canon story details that tie the past to the present, and give an indication of how complicated Gabriel’s position with Moira and Talon has become.

In the present day, after “Recall” and throughout “Old Soldiers”, “Reflections”, and “Masquerade”, Moira is the Minister of Genetics in Oasis, Iraq.  Oasis is a city specifically made for - and designed for - free and unrestricted scientific and technological advancement and experimentation.  Like Necropolis, Oasis includes a handful of “semi-mythological references”, including a reference to the Tower of Babel and everything that implies.

Oasis Travel Tips: Blizzard official

For the University level, the two spawn points are two laboratories.  One is the Genetics lab, which is run by Moira.

In this lab, you can find the following items:

Gabriel’s “Soldier 24″ folder, which implies that his “condition” was partially or mostly caused by the Soldier Enhancement Program:

And Mercy’s research, which implies that Moira is...rather liberally taking a few “inspirations” from Angela’s work:

(Or rather, it implies that Moira’s Healing Biotic Grasp uses Mercy’s technology.)

However, the opposite spawn room is the Chemistry lab.

And it is here where you will find Moira’s research on Gabriel’s condition and how to cure it.

This leads to a very interesting question:

Is Moira “sharing” her research?

Or did the Minister of Chemistry - currently unknown - take it, just like how Moira has “taken” Mercy’s research?

Moira’s paper on curing Gabriel’s condition, and the fact that it is currently in jeopardy, indicates a few things:

1. This plus Michael’s statements about Gabriel’s condition and his “interests” in genetics indicates that Gabriel recruited Moira to help cure his pre-fall “Reaper” condition.

2. It is highly probable that Gabriel has claimed that the cure for his condition is the main reason he is working for Moira and Talon, even though his actual motivations for joining Talon are probably significantly different (basically, that he wants to enact retribution upon them).

3. It makes his statements to Ana in “Old Soldiers” very suspicious, as we know SEP, Moira, and the Swiss Base explosion are the biggest factors in his current “Reaper condition.”

4. There is the potential for Gabriel and Jack to have genuinely disagreed on “curing” Gabriel’s condition, as well as his plan for infiltrating Talon.  In an archetypal “undercover” trope fashion, they may have disagreed out of love for each other rather than anger over differences in methods.

5. There is also the potential for Gabriel and Jack to currently (as in, post-Recall) be working together to “cover” each other.  With Sombra acting as their go-between, Gabriel might be delaying his retribution plan until he knows Moira can cure him, or he gets ahold of the cure or paper himself.

Based on the Necropolis map, Reaper’s “visit” to Oasis is currently canon, and both Soldier: 76 and Ana know about it.

“Out-of-game” Official Resources: Statements by Jeff Kaplan and Michael Chu

In chronological order:

1. Michael Chu’s Spring 2017 GDC talk titled “Thinking Globally: Building the Optimistic Future of Overwatch”

Full quote (bold and italics are for emphasis and do not reflect speaking tone):

“And then I’d like to talk about one of my favorite relationships in the Overwatch universe, which is the one between Gabriel Reyes - now Reaper, Jack Morrison - now Soldier: 76, and Ana Amari.  Cause it’s a story about power, friendship, and how a changing world can bring people together and split them apart.  It’s a relationship that defines the story of Overwatch, and how Overwatch grew as an organization, and even now today, what they’re all up to is important to driving forward the current story of the game.  And what I really like about it is that it is a deep, complex relationship that’s not necessarily only driven by romance, and it highlights how different people can see and experience different events.  

“Which brings me…to ‘Perspective.’  One of the things we really like doing with Overwatch is playing with perspective.  We utilize perspective when we analyze or when we tell stories about characters, what they’re thinking, what their goals are.  And we have a lot of unreliable narrators.  We want people to pay careful attention to what characters think about in particular situations.  We want them to use their judgment and their knowledge of a character’s thoughts to come up with their own ideas about the universe.  You know, I’m asked often - with characters like Sombra or Soldier: 76, you know, ‘Are they anti-heroes?  Are they villains?’  And I think, you know, you look at someone like Sombra, and it’s all about looking at, ‘What does she want?  What is she willing to do to get it?’

“And you have to remember that when she’s telling you something, she’s serving her own ends too.  So you know, you have to kinda make the decision for yourself. And I think you can take a character like Soldier: 76 - like obviously, he has this mission that he is on that he believes is good, he seems to be sometimes willing to do things which are… maybe not super heroic, and so it makes him complicated.  We always have a lot of fun, uh - every once and awhile we’ll try and plot all the characters on like the traditional D’n’D alignment scale, and I think, you know, it’s fun exercise, but at the end of the day, I think what’s interesting about characters is that those alignments change depending on what situation you put them in, what’s important to them, and what decisions they have to make.

“[…] The world needs heroes, but it also needs villains.  And we have a number of villainous characters in Overwatch.  And what’s important to us is that their internal motivations are not purely rooted in ‘being evil,’ despite how they might seem on the surface.  You know, as we reveal more about these characters, we want people to be able to empathize and understand their beliefs.  Because sometimes what makes a villain a villain is the extent to which they’re willing to go to reach their goals.  And one thing that we find most important when we’re talking about our villain characters is that there is nothing to say that a villain cannot be as charismatic - or more charismatic - or as likeable as a hero character.  Because like the old saying goes, ‘Every villain is the hero of their own story.’”

---

As described above, there is relatively little evidence to support the idea that Michael’s line about romance was focused solely on Ana and one of the other masculine characters.  Instead, since this talk, more and more details have shown that Ana - though absolutely an important part of the Overwatch leadership and an important friend to both Gabriel and Jack - is not a romantic interest of either character.  Outside of the actual story and the “in-game” canon elements, Ana has other “suitors”, in particular Fareeha’s biological father Sam, and Reinhardt Wilhelm, who makes a number of admiring and flirtatious comments about Ana in Junkenstein’s Revenge.

Furthermore, Michael makes a good deal of effort to compare Sombra with Soldier: 76.  As a reminder, both characters occupy a sort of “elevated status” with Gabriel and have permission (perhaps reluctantly, in Sombra’s case) to call him “Gabe.”

Lastly, Michael ends this part of the conversation by talking about how Overwatch writes and perceives its “villain” characters.  Since that time, we have seen the release of Doomfist and the “Masquerade” comic, Moira and her Origin video, and the “Retribution” event, all of which give us more multifaceted sides to Gabriel, portraying him as far more empathetic and emotionally-vulnerable than previous story elements.

---------

2. Michael Chu and Geoff Goodman on Reaper and Moira’s working relationship, Moira reveal panel, Blizzcon November 2017: transcript

Geoff Goodman: “It [Her Fade ability] has some similarities to Reaper’s wraith form…uh which is…it’s funny how that works out.” Michael Chu: “You know, we obviously - there’s a…there’s a close relationship between Moira and Reyes-slash-Reaper, and I think one of the fun things we were able to do is to sort of hint at some of those things in her, uh, abilities.” Geoff Goodman: “She’s helping Reaper out and is like, ‘You know, I think I could make this better, I have an idea.’” Michael Chu: “Professional relationship.” Geoff Goodman: “Ahaha, yes…good call.” Michael Chu: “You know what I’m talking about.” [Whole panel laughs] 

---

This comment is included to show the level of effort Michael Chu made to immediately deflect questions about a romantic relationship between Gabriel and Moira.  Like, within minutes of Moira being revealed publically, the lead writer of Overwatch made a deliberate and intentional effort to preemptively diffuse discussions on if they were romantic.  While the transcript downplays the little back-and-forth on the panel, both Michael and Geoff’s tone make it apparent that Gabriel and Moira are purely platonic associates, and that their relationship, while “close” in the sense that they share abilities (or rather, that Moira modified Gabriel’s abilities for her own use), is one that is strictly professional.

---------

3. Jeff Kaplan’s November 8, 2017 lecture: transcript and audio

Text: At one point, Reyes was in charge of Overwatch when it formed, and when ti becaome more of a thing after they defeated the Omnic Crisis, Morrison was actually given the top position of power and Reyes was overlooked because he was too rogue, he was too maverick in his leadership style - he ruffled too many feathers.  And a lot of our fans have assumed, “Oh, that’s why Reyes and Morrison hate each other,” and the story that we’re developing is actually like, “No, these guys loved each other.”  Like, they’re like, best war buddies.  And in a lot of ways, Reyes was relieved that Morrison had to have the more political role, and like, he was like kind of - it’s always easier being the Number 2 guy because you’re not ultimately accountable for all that.

---

“Best war buddies” lol

Regardless of what happens or where the story goes, the fact that the lead game developer for a triple-A game title with over 40 million players stated that two military men genuinely loved each other is honestly very poignant and moving.  As a reminder, “that depth of relationship” spanned almost 25 years before the “fall” of Overwatch, and currently stands at about 30 years when Recall is included.

Again, no matter where the plot goes or why, the fact remains that Gabriel and Jack did, at one point, love each other, and that currently, they very suspiciously “refuse” to actually fight or even really hurt each other.  Reaper had the chance to do serious damage to Soldier: 76 (and then Ana) and basically “threw” his chances - a recurring “issue” for him, it seems.  Not only is he incapable of killing Soldier: 76 or Ana, he does not manage to actually kill or do serious harm to Winston or Tracer either.

---------

4. Jeff Kaplan’s interview podcast with AIAS, May 2018: audio and transcript

Segment:

Ted Price: Who’s the oldest character?  Or what’s the age of the oldest character?

Jeff Kaplan: I think, um…I think it’s Gabriel Reyes, who is Reaper.  But it’s kinda not a fair answer, because technically Reaper is dead?  But I think that’s a little bit questionable.  So Gabriel Reyes was, like, Jack Morrison’s partner - they were Soldier: 76 - and he was in Overwatch, and then he kinda goes bad and there’s a horrific thing that happens and he becomes Reaper.

---

So like I’ve said elsewhere:

Once is an accident.  Twice is a coincidence.  Three times is a pattern.

As part of the “context” of this line, Jeff had specifically been talking about how Overwatch integrates diversity into its story: that it doesn’t want to do a “checklist” of representation, but rather make the characters feel real and emotional and substantial.  That, as part of that effort, they’ve included stories about two Japanese brothers having a falling out, or an Egyptian sniper and her heroic daughter - 

Or the story of a brave, determined fighter pilot-turned-adventurer who loves her girlfriend.

The fact of the matter is:

You can now write “Gabriel and Jack loved each other.  Gabriel was Jack’s partner.” and these lines are 100% accurate to actual statements made by the lead developer of the game himself.  You can write that their relationship was and is “a deep, complex relationship that’s not necessarily only driven by romance” and it is 100% accurate to statements made by the lead writer of the game.

You can write things like “so far, only Jack Morrison was allowed to call Gabriel Reyes ‘Gabe’ (until Sombra decided to tease him about it)” and that’s 100% accurate to everything that’s been represented in the story of Overwatch itself.

You can write that “protecting Jack Morrison was Gabriel Reyes’ guiding and decision-making motivation” and that is 100% accurate to the comic of “Retribution.”

You can write that “Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes represented two halves of a single whole” and that is 100% accurate to all that they are:

And the lead writer of Overwatch himself has said the following:

We want people to pay careful attention to what characters think about in particular situations.  We want them to use their judgment and their knowledge of a character’s thoughts to come up with their own ideas about the universe.

That he wants you to pay attention, look at the details, analyze them, and develop your own interpretation.

In light of the relatively recent revelations about Lúcio’s father, or the newest addition to the playable roster (Brigitte, at the time of this writing), it is true that Overwatch isn’t done telling stories about relationships, interconnectivity, families, friendships, and companionship.  So yes, I realize that there could be additional “plot twists” along the way, and that these could concern Gabriel and Jack.

But as a counterpoint, the recent burst of new interactions (that came with the 2nd Anniversary update) remains...suspiciously “light” in terms of Reaper and Soldier: 76.  

Compare and contrast:

Lúcio and Pharah get new interactions focusing on their parents: Lúcio gets two abotu his father, and Pharah gets one with Ana about her biological father Sam, and one with Sombra about her mother, Ana (who prevented her daughter from being accepted into Overwatch).  Torbjörn, Bastion, and Brigitte get a handful of new interactions talking about Torbjörn “adopting” Bastion, and Zenyatta gets one with Torbjörn where he patiently (and a bit mischievously) observes that Torbjörn “has taken in an Omnic”.  Orisa tells Reinhardt how she is analyzing his combat abilities, and Genji gets a new interaction with Zenyatta about Hanzo.

Moira gets a lot of new interactions: one with Mercy, two with Winston, one with Pharah, one with McCree, one with Mei - 

And one with Reaper...and then one with Soldier: 76.

The interconnectivity of relationships in Overwatch is important.  In fact, it is arguably what makes the characters and world so compelling, even if the story has fluctuated in retaining a strong audience at times.  With the recent interactions update, that interconnectivity increased almost exponentially, and Overwatch did not shy away from interactions about familial relationships.

It even introduced a new one - Lúcio and his father, and returned to one that it had previously only implied in “Reflections” - the relationship between Ana, Fareeha, and Sam.

In contrast, Gabriel got a huge story moment in “Retribution”: his personality, his motivations, his methods, and his focus were all explored with a relatively emotional depth.

And what we saw is that - when asked to consider what will help “keep the world safe”:

Gabriel Reyes did not think of “a family” - unknown and distant.  He did not think of “home” - like Los Angeles or the Swiss Base.  He did not think of his life’s work with Overwatch, nor his “power” in Blackwatch.  He did not think of his “Reaper” condition, nor enacting revenge on Antonio.

He did not even think of Talon, and how he wanted to destroy them, eye for an eye.

When asked to think about keeping “the world” safe:

Gabriel thought of Jack.

And while there are numerous ways to interpret and discuss their current relationship as “Reaper” and “Soldier: 76″, it is clear that Gabriel is still very much on the forefront of Jack’s mind:

Soldier: 76: You were a disgrace to Overwatch. If I had known what Reyes had been planning, I would never have allowed it.

Moira: It seems to me that it was convenient for you not to look too closely into Gabriel’s business.

(Audio clip)

The details in the comics and shorts matter.  The details in the game matter.  The details in the interactions matter.  The details in the developer and writer comments matter.

And that is why I am compiling this.

This is a story with so much potential.  But it is important to realize that even what is present here, now, two years after the game launched, has come a long ways.  Sometimes it feels like it’s not enough.

And sometimes, we get a glimpse into the true “depth” of that relationship.

Which brings me to the final part.

Unofficial discussions, write-ups, posts, and interpretations

Like the official developer and writer comments section, this one will go in real-world chronological order.  I prefer this method so that both the readers and myself can see the analytical and interpretative changes that my personal thoughts and ideas have gone through over the last 18 months.

Again, not all of these are true: many of these ideas have been proven incorrect, many only “half correct”, etc.  The vast majority are still waiting “to be confirmed” or denied.

If you read or reference these, please keep in mind my two main “purposes” in writing them:

1. I write them for myself and my closest friends.  Pretty much all of these posts are written from my own ideas and conversations I have with a handful of other Overwatch fans.  I have always written these down to basically document my ideas, conversations, and theories.  Many are extremely informal in tone, and are written specifically for tumblr’s kinda insane blog format.

I write them because I enjoy the exploration of the characters and world of Overwatch.  I write them because I enjoy analyzing and discussing story details, character development, and changing plot points.  I write them because I enjoy reflexively engaging with the stories and media I consume.

Therefore, the structures of the posts vary wildly, based mainly on my mindset and mood at the time of the post, and the ideas and analysis I was trying to explore then.  The best examples of these are “Quick Reasons Not to Trust Moira in Retribution” and “Long Reasons Not to Trust Moira in Retribution.”  I wrote “Quick” at 2 am, on my phone, less than 24 hours (2 am, April 11) after Retribution had become globally playable.  In contrast, I wrote “Long” two days later (April 13), after I had more time to collect more pieces of the story, build a case, cite my sources, and use better formatting (and also get more sleep, lol).

2. The secondary “objective” of the posts is always subsumed by Point 1: I am glad, happy, grateful, and humbled that people enjoy the posts.  I really am.  But again, it is not about being “right or wrong, correct or incorrect, confirmed or denied.”

If the posts generate discussions, or they get other people to think and engage with Overwatch in a critical, analytical manner, then to me, that is what makes them important.  I do not particularly care if you don’t believe Moira was the double-agent in Retribution - but if it made you stop and think about Moira’s goals, her ambitions, her methods, and her character development, then that is what I’m happy for.

“An Eye for An Eye” (17) is a good, more recent example of the “second objective” of these posts: it’s not about settling on one particular interpretation (though I do that with stuff like “Death Becomes You” and “Long Reasons Not to Trust Moira in Retribution”).  Sometimes, many times, these posts are just about analyzing what some evidence shows and discussing how it can fit into different interpretations and then into different story narratives that Blizzard could use.

---

1. a post about the “Reaper sightings” map in the then-new Necropolis map on the PTR.  Date: May 23, 2017.  Discusses canon locations Reaper had visited between Recall and “Reflections.”  Includes a small discussion Oasis, and why Reaper would go there (well before Moira was revealed).

2. “Talon: Clawing to the Top.”  Date: July 06, 2017.  Written after Doomfist was revealed (July 06, 2017) but before the “Masquerade” comic was released (July 16, 2017).  Is not totally correct (e.g. on the Volskaya part) but more discusses the changing world of Overwatch and why Doomfist is so focused on conflict as a source of growth.  First essay to discuss the implication that Reaper is working with Sombra to bring down Talon.

3. a post about the significance of Reaper wearing the Red Death disguise at a literal masquerade, and how it compares to Edgar Allan Poe’s short story.  Date: July 16, 2017.

4. “Death Becomes You”.  Date: July 16, 2017.  Analyzed the “Masquerade” comic from the lens of “The Masque of the Red Death.”  Discussed how Doomfist and Reaper compare to the principal characters of the story - Prince Prospero and the Red Death.  Argues that the “main character” who is “masquerading” in Talon is Reaper.

5. a post about the imagery of Necropolis, and how it appears to symbolize the relationships between Reaper, Soldier: 76, and Ana.  Date: August 01, 2017.  Taken with Number 1, Necropolis seems to hint that there is “more going on” between the three old soldiers, that it’s possible Soldier: 76 and Ana are either trying to help Reaper or are actively working with him, and that Sombra may act as a point of contact between them all.

6. “Devil in the Details.” Date: August 20, 2017.  An essay analyzing the map of active Overwatch investigations, and how one key location (Switzerland) is highly suspicious.  Also discusses if Gabriel and Jack are currently working together in the Recall area.

7. “Moira: A Fate Fulfilled.”  Date: November 05, 2017.  Compares a timeline of fan ideas (e.g. “Evil Mercy,” “Mercy failed to resurrect Reyes,” and “we need a Talon support character”) with Moira’s design, her backstory, and her abilities.  Discusses how Moira seemsto fill a “void” that was missing in the plot for a long time, as well as her research on Reaper.

8. “Everything You Want to Know About Reaper and Soldier: 76.” Date: November 09, 2017.  Reviews and analyzes the then-available information about Reaper and Soldier: 76, particularly in light of Jeff Kaplan’s lecture.  Discusses speculation on the Venice Mission before we fully knew what it would be.  Importantly, it also discusses how Jack Morrison was probably aware of Blackwatch missions, which was later confirmed by “Retribution”.

9. “Quick Reasons Not to Trust Moira in Retribution.” Date: April 11, 2018.   10. “Long Reasons Not to Trust Moira in Retribution.” Date: April 13, 2018.  Please.  Please read this.  Especially if you have questions at the end of “Quick Reasons.”  For the love of everything, I can guarantee you that if you have a question about Gabriel/Reaper and Moira, I have probably answered it in this essay.  If you ask me “Why would Moira want more funding from Talon if she works for Blackwatch?” I will literally just send you a link to this essay.  

11. things I found interesting about the Blackwatch Venice memos. Date: April 24, 2018.  Basically summarizes “Long Reasons” but in a lot less detail.  Goes over the “declassified” memos about the Venice Mission.

12. An important detail people are missing.  Date: April 24, 2018.  Reviews both Retribution and “Devil in the Details” but with more current information.

13. “A Clash of Kings”. Date: April 28, 2018.  Discusses if Akande knows who Reaper is.  Describes my method for interpreting unreliable narrators and perspectives in Overwatch (e.g. in the shorts and comics).  Also talks about Moira’s role as a sort of mediator between Akande and Reaper, and “whose side” she would take if she was forced to choose.

14. “The Immortal Soldier?”. Date: May 4, 2018.  Hypothesizes on if Jack Morrison has achieved a sort of “pre-fall Reaper state of existence” (e.g. that he can get hurt, feel pain, and accumulate scars, but that he might be unintentionally self-healing/self-sustaining).

15. A reply to “A Clash of Kings” where I talk about the “canon” or “in-game” evidence for Reaper76 and Anahardt.  Date: May 7, 2018.

16. “Retribution and Reapercussions”. Date: May 13, 2018.  An extremely long write-up on the consequences of the Blackwatch Venice mission in the immediate aftermath.  Talks about Gabriel’s debriefing, and how he might have “negotiated” with Moira to buy her silence.  Also explores how the mission may have emotionally wounded both Gabriel and Jack on a very personal level, and while the mission didn’t specifically tear them apart, it certainly cut very deep.

17. “An Eye for An Eye”. Date: May 25, 2018.  A write-up on the Soldier: 76-Moira interaction, and how the wording of Soldier’s lines is just vague enough to imply a few different interpretations.  Explores if Jack: 1) knew or did not know about Gabriel’s infiltration plans for Talon and 2) approved or disapproved of them.  Also talks about how Jack’s personality has become almost a mirror of pre-fall Gabriel’s.

18. A reply to an ask about Jack’s use of different names for Gabriel. Date: May 25, 2018.  Personally, I think that - more than any other character “pair” in the game - Jack’s use of different names for Gabriel (Gabe, Gabriel, Reyes, Commander Reyes, boss, bad guy, etc) are almost 100% contextual/situational, which shows a considerable depth between both of them.  Jack’s use of different names is not necessarily correlated with emotion or “emotional distance”, but with his sense of military protocol and situational contexts (e.g. “private personal discussions” vs “public, formal ones”).

19. Michael Chu’s interview where he confirms that none of the characters have gone in “completely different directions” (aka major retcons) since the game started, but he also confirms that the way they’ve been releasing and telling the stories has had an impact on what they can show and represent about characters, specifically Reaper.  Date: May 30, 2018.

20. “Those Who Rise Up”. Date: June 1, 2018.  Part 2 of the exploration on the consequences of Retribution, this time from Talon’s end.  Discusses Akande and the “Doomfist legacy”, the creation of Widowmaker and her parallels to Reaper, and if Tracer’s Slipstream flight was an accident or sabotage.

21. Three “quick pieces” on newer interpretations on the “Old Soldiers” and “Legacy” comics, using more knowledge from Uprising, Retribution, and other sources: (Post where Soldier’s actions are suspicious), (Post about how Reaper’s explanation to Ana about his condition is incorrect), (Post about how Gabriel was actually probably empathetic with Jack after Ana’s “death”). Date: June 5, 2018.

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All in all, I hope these resources are useful.  Again, even with this actual “collection of resources” post, I’m really basically writing this for myself (because I’m getting tired of search through my own blog for this stuff, lol). but please feel free to use any and all resources for your own stuff.  Save them, like them, reblog them, link them - that is precisely what this post is for.

[nitewrighter]

Estimations/head-canons on how much weight any character (Ocs included) with an arm prosthetic can carry? (Doomfist is pretty much spoken for)

Symmetra’s prosthetic is a more specialized piece of machinery—Vishkar designed it to be as strong as her organic arm but there was no need to make it super-strong since hard-light isn’t that heavy.

Genji’s prosthetic arm is significantly stronger, but that’s because it’s designed around more combat and matching Genji’s ninja strength and endurance. Blackwatch cyberneticists worked hard to keep the strength between Genji’s organic and prosthetic arm roughly the same. Genji’s organic arm is noticeably stronger than it was before the incident thanks to some cybernetic tweaks to his nerves, but they didn’t want Genji to destroy his arms overworking them, so strength and endurance is well above average, but not too much stronger than it was before Genji’s cyberization.

McCree’s prosthetic arm is ridiculously stronger than his organic arm. We’ve seen him tear through metal with it in the “Trainhopper” comic. Dialogue also reveals he got it during the years of Overwatch’s disbandment, so it’s not Overwatch standard. We don’t know the full limits of it but it’s probably limited by how much it would affect the rest of him. He probably got it as strong as he could without messing up his back too much from using it.

Torb’s arm is clearly designed around being an industrial tool as much as a prosthetic, his claw is probably extremely strong beyond human arm strength, enough to bend steel and resist extremely high temperatures. Its design is arguably stronger than McCree’s because it’s not modeled with the same structural vulnerabilities of a human hand.

Doomfist obviously has the most powerful prostheses, and his body has likewise been updated to accommodate it. While McCree and Torbjörn can tear through a train’s hull, Doomfist could probably punch it off the tracks.

[itshigh-boop]

Okay, I love the new commission piece, but it got me thinking. Is it just me, or does Jesse's Blackwatch model make him look older than he should? I mean, he's 37 in game, and assuming Fareeha's ~12 in the old strike team family photo, that would make Jesse ~19. Retribution takes place 8 years before the game, so he would have been 29 in his final year of Blackwatch. That's roughly 20 years from old family pic Jesse to current, red serape-wearing Jesse (1/2)

Hmmm, I guess I can see what you mean. Though at this point, I’d just chok it up to Blizzard’s art team going ‘ah crap, we didn’t mean for this character to get so popular…shit, we gotta make him a skin where he was younger…’  And then they just kinda went their own way. To me, the Blackwatch skin follows the official art references a lot more closely than his classic model does. Should we just say that maybe the vigilante life is good for McCree’s stress? Everyone knows that stress makes you look hella older…