#overwatch next gen

[stoshasaurus]

thought i'd put this here, too.

had a vision of a silly-to-hostile-ratio chart and wondered where my favorite robots would fall on it.

these are based more on personal headcanon than on actual canon (but it depends on which ones i'm favoring right now *smooches v1 on their cute murderous little head*)

some of these girlies are more obscure PLEASE ASK ME ABOUT THEM PLEASE!!! the second pic is labeled with all of their names :3c

blank one down below:

put your favs on it. put your ocs on it. i don't care.

[mlp410nightcore]

Hi Everyone!! Here is another next gen for my Blossom Love AU. Lucy's parents are Dr.Flug and Moira. Lucy may look sweet and innocent but she's very deceiving and super intelligent. She's also a very skilled hacker and can make tons of powerful gadgets for Black Hat Inc hence why she's their main inventor alongside her father. Lucy is also very skilled in her magic as she's able to make large blasts of light to temporarily blind her foes and can even make clones of herself to confuse her foes as well. Lucy has tons of respect for her boss, Alejandro (Black Hat and Queen Chrysalis's son) and has a somewhat flimsy friendship with Sugary Dynamite (Dementia and Jinx's daughter) as Lucy gets annoyed with Sugary Dynamite quite often and hates it whenever she messes with and/or breaks any of Lucy's inventions but does somewhat care for Sugary Dynamite. Credit goes to Selenaede for the base I used and to Alan Ituriel, Cartoon Network, Blizzard Entertainment, Riot Games, Lauren Faust and Hasbro for creating Villainous, Overwatch, League Of Legends and My Little Pony:Friendship Is Magic as well as creating the characters Black Hat, Dr.Flug, Dementia, Moira, Jinx and Queen Chrysalis as well as creating the company Black Hat Inc. as well. I only take credit for my next gens, art, ships, stories and the Blossom Love AU. I hope you guys like her!!!

[mystericorn]

Obviously this is an exaggeration, but I do see this alot in cartoons and games. (Also anime, but those are projects from Japan, so it doesn't count.) These are some examples I found:

Li Mei|Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance

Mei Dragon|Lego Monkie Kid

Mai Su|Next Gen (Pronounced Mei)

Mei Mei|Kung Fu Panda

Mei|Overwatch

Meilin Lee|Turning Red (Nicknamed Mei or Mei Mei

[cybernightart]

I'm thinking again about that one blackwatch au and I'm trying to think who the support would be. Also some more stuff on general lore, as this is very quickly evolving to bigger than what it initially started, because the more I think about it the more plot holes I realize I need to fill because they're not just potholes they are giant massive chunks at the story.

Because so far the story I have is more eventually gets fired from OverWatch for the unethical experiments she was doing including experiments on the other black watch members, that she got permission to do technically because she tricked Morrison into signing a form saying she could because he didn't bother reading it so busy he was and just signed it (which kind of led to Cassidy and Genji holding an even bigger grudge against him), this is how Reyes has reaper abilities while still being Reyes, experiments on Genji which heightened his natural senses and abilities on top of the cyborg stuff (which have the side effect of making him look even edgier because he kind of ends up looking a bit like a vampire even though he isnt), and then Cassidy gets his dead eye ability which I haven't figured out how that would work but it makes it so he can almost never miss shots but it's something to do with his eye (maybe Moira replaces his eye with something I don't know)

Anyways she gets fired, and eventually black watch would end up acquiring sombra being that black watch is made up of criminals that have been caught and given the option of join black watch or jail, so on one of their missions they catch sombra give her the choice and she joins them. That still leaves the meeting of support though, and my initial thought was kiriko but I'd rather keep Genji being an OverWatch his own thing and kirko being in the yokai. So that crosses Moira, kiriko ,zen and mercy off the list of possible supports. Mercy because she's part of the main OverWatch group (same goes for Ana) and wouldn't be a part of black watch nor interact with the much until they have to because of budget cuts meaning the black watch team has to move into the same living quarters as the OverWatch team. Also I thought it would be funny if Zen gets brought on as a therapist, because in this universe OverWatch never fell and neither did black watch so Genji wouldn't go off searching for himself, so instead Reyes hires a therapist because Genji and Cassidy need it bad. So zenyatta is literally an emotional support.

This led to me thinking though what about baptiste, because the new blood crew wouldn't end up joining in the same way because they don't get brought in with the recall cuz the recall never happens, so they would end up just getting hired on at some point instead so I think baptiste running from his criminal past and still heavily wanted would end up in black watch. Plus he wouldn't have to change his color palette too much.

So now this second generation of black watch consists of commander Reyes, Cassidy, Genji, sombra and baptiste. So they've got the leader, the "funny" one (who is also like the leader's son but no one really talks about that but is very obvious they have that kind of dynamic), the highly trained assassin ninja who is also a cyborg, the elite hacker, and the medic who every bounty hunter/talon operative that has been sent after him has died trying.

They seem like they get along as well which definitely helps things, they all have that very funny jokey personality but the same time they can be serious and are very deadly when they want to be.

Also additionally the storm rising stuff would happen still as well, that would be after the initial budget cuts were black watch actually has to interact with the main OverWatch group and Genji and mercy become properly acquainted, and Genji trains with tracer. But since on those missions their classed as OverWatch missions, he gets given a new set of armor which covers his face entirely so he can't be recognized (so you know he's made harder to distinguish from all the other cyborg ninjas with dragon powers out there/s).

Sorry got kind of rant-y again but it's like 2 am and I needed to get this off my mind lol

[smalldogs]

link in hoity-toity's playing the game :3c

[asirensrambles]

Rescuing Reyes

Gabriel Reyes didn't expect a rescue, he'd made his peace with death.   When his men come for him, he's surprised, and prepares for the worst.

Gabriel had lost all track of time between the drugging and the torture.  The enhancements made him burn through anything they put in his system faster than most.  It healed up the torture quicker too, but that just meant his captors could start over again fresh.  However long he'd been captive though, Gabriel hadn't broken. Hadn't given up a thing except a string of insults and swears in a truly impressive number of languages.  He was fairly certain his days were numbered.  The blur of tormentors were asking fewer and fewer questions, not really expecting answers to them either.  Whoever had grabbed him would probably make a great show Gabriel's death, make it a real spectacle to drive home their message. 

At this point, Gabriel spent more of his time unconscious than not.   Trying to stay awake was too much effort, and usually not worth the pain that brought.  He barely noticed the cell door opening and closing.   The sound of footsteps vaguely filtered to his ears.  The feeling of his restraints being released for the first time since he was captured yanked him to full consciousness, the details of the room and it's occupants crystallizing into focus.  

There was one Blackwatch operative by the torture table he was on, another two posted up by the door to his cell, one watching each direction of the hall.  Probably more operatives further down their escape path.  The operative by the table effortlessly hoisted Gabriel onto their shoulders in a fireman's carry.  

"Commander is secure, making our way to the extraction point,"  they said.

Gabriel didn't hear the response.  It felt quite undignified to be hoisted like a sack of potatoes, but it made sense.  He was in no condition to move on his own, especially quickly.  The operatives wasted no time in moving toward the extraction point.  Gabriel took a moment to be proud of their form as his operatives moved quickly yet silently through the corridors.  He was fairly certain a very loud, very impressive force of fire power was being displayed elsewhere in the stronghold as a distraction.  

Something must have gone sideways with the distraction though, because the rescue team started to sprint, abandoning any attempts at stealth.  It was a race against the clock and hostile forces at this point.  Gabriel found himself praying for the first time in over a decade.  He'd never prayed so hard or desperately in his life.  Not for himself, not for his own life, but rather for the lives of the others who were risking theirs for him.  These were Gabriel's people, he knew them inside and out.  For that reason, he knew none of them would hesitate to lay down their lives for him.  He didn't want that, couldn't stand for it to happen. Nothing about Gabriel was more important than the people rescuing him.  It wasn't right that they should die so he could live.

Apparently Gabriel was more out of it than he thought, the operatives had made it to a courtyard in the compound by now.  Across the expanse was a lone transport.  That was their way out.  

"Approaching extraction point, prepare for suppressing fire," one of the operatives said.  

Gabriel felt a surge of pride at his people's planning and foresight in this mission.  Funny the things your brain focuses when it thinks it's near death.  Noises started filtering down the corridor, rapidly getting louder.

"On my mark, initiate suppressing fire," the same operative motioned for the group to stand by.  They held up an open hand, silently counting down.  When the hand closed, all ground operatives began sprinting for the transport, weaving and zig zagging across the open courtyard.  They were a quarter of the way across when the command was given,

"Initiate suppressing fire!"

Behind and around them, shots blanketed the area.  For the first time since being captured, Gabriel thought that he just might make it out of this experience alive.  He mercilessly shoved that thought down.  Right now, hope was too costly a luxury.  The end of an op had the highest chance of things going sideways.

Things didn't though.

All ground operatives made it onto the transport.  All support vessels disengaged.  All members of the distraction assault made it back safe.

It was a one in a million kind of mission, people said.  Gabriel Reyes always was the luckiest bastard Blackwatch had ever known.   Everyone agreed it was uncanny how smoothly the mission had gone.  No one outright said what it was though.

A miracle.

The first Sunday after being discharged from the medical bay, Gabriel Reyes did something he hadn't done since joining the military.

He went to mass.

[ya-zz]

Fixed the Broken

Ramattra x reader(gen)

Word count: 3164 It's another 4am write up, I really should fix my sleep, but have another piece. Again, if it's not correct or there are errors, I may fix it when I next come across it... maybe

Also as I finish writing this, it's almost 7:30am. I may have wrote too much-

Ramattra had been sent out on a mission alongside a few of the other Overwatch soldiers. His expertise in close hand combat alongside his menacing demeanour often changed the course of a fight.

However, this wasn't like any other battle he had fought. His mind wandered to you before switching off.

Despite his hatred for humans, he became very fond of you. He couldn't quite place his robotic finger on it, but he felt comfortable around you, as if you had been friends for years.

After being picked up by Overwatch two years ago, you became the sole repair person for omnics and anything of the sort. While you did have some basic knowledge of self defence and could put up a fight if necessary, you were always stationed inside of your workshop mending the broken.

You had repeatedly repaired Zenyatta time and time again, however he got himself injured you could easily fix within the hour. His kind was something you had grown used to repairing, so much so you never needed the manual to fix anything after the first few repairs.

Ramattra, on the other hand, was one omnic you never had the pleasure of fixing, let alone working with. His kind was secured by multiple government walls, so even trying to get the blueprints was proving to be difficult.

Time and time again you had tried to get the documents, but nothing would budge in your favour. Even Reyes had tried, although a less legal way was used, but even he couldn't get zilch from the company who created Ramattra's kind.

The one time Ramattra came in, dragging his feet behind Zenyatta, he denied any form of help from a human, standing in the doorway as you stopped in your tracks and looked at the pair. Zenyatta managed to coax him into sitting down on the chair before you walked over and assessed the damage done on his faceplate.

With a sorrowful look, you told him things were going to be ok and that you were there to help. You didn't ask how his faceplate got cracked, instead you gently pried it off his head and got to work with fixing it.

He noted how soft your hands were against his cheeks before the cold air of the workshop hit his inner skeleton. The one thing Ramattra was grateful for was the ability to feel what humans do naturally. After modifying himself, he managed to do just that. A bit of coding and rewiring made him feel the cold, the heat and the touch of another.

It didn't take too long and Ramattra was out of there within the hour. A small thank you escaped from him before he left alongside his omnic brother.

All you could do was smile to yourself as you finally got chance to be around such a marvellous creation. Despite what you were told about him, you wanted to know more from him. He was that one of a kind omnic you never got the chance to talk to, let alone touch.

----

Athena urgently called for you to go to the ORCA arrival bay the very moment you had put some boxes down from a delivery of spare parts. You quickly put on a jacket before closing up the workshop temporarily and heading down. The air was still, almost heavy as you approached.

A few of the other cadets were anxiously waiting the arrival of the ORCA, Zenyatta nowhere to be seen.

"What's going on?" You asked, zipping your jacket up and wrapping your arms around yourself.

Reyes looked to you. "It was successful, but damages have been made."

You look back to the entrance, the sky a deep orange as the sun set below the horizon.

"What damages?"

Reyes didn't say anything.

You feared the worst.

The silence was tormenting you. Nobody spoke a word until the ORCA landed in the bay.

Holding your breath, your grip tightened on your sides.

One by one, members of the team got off the carrier. Bloody faces and bandages. They had been through hell.

Small words were exchanged, the majority of them heading to medical, others for a well earned shower.

Hanzo was the last to appear, hair loose over his shoulders, blood and oil coating his face.

You look at him, relieved he was ok, but your attention quickly shifted to his hands.

"Brother!" Zenyatta had appeared behind you, clearly distraught and pained by what he saw.

Hanzo was holding Ramattra's head, the lights were off. You took a step back.

Damages were made...

You looked at Reyes who was already looking at you.

"Listen kid, I'll do what I can about the documents-" he started, he saw your brow furrow but continued. "Think you can mend him in the meantime?"

"Mend him? He's..." You look back at what was left of Ramattra. A hand grabbed your arm making you turn.

"Please..." Zenyatta sounded in pain, as if he was trying not to cry. Despite his emotionless face, you could tell he was hurting the most.

"I'll try." That's all you could say and do. Try.

Hanzo walked with you to the workshop, the silence almost unbearable.

"I could only retrieve his head." He said, voice low.

"What about any data chips? Memory cards?" You asked, unlocking the door and entering the workshop.

"I am not sure. He was badly injured, his body crushed and torn apart. I fear the enemy was too great an opponent for him." Hanzo delicately placed the head on the closest workbench.

Looking at the archer, you wonder if you could actually do the impossible and bring Ramattra back. Your face showed concern and Hanzo picked up on it instantly.

"You have got this. I'll stop by in the evenings to give you food from the canteen. I know you will stay in here until he is complete."

You nod. He was right. When given a project, no matter how big or small, you see it through with very little break and this was one hell of a project. With no blueprints on how he works, you had to go off your intuition.

"He's lucky I had parts brought in for him recently, just in case... Didn't think I'd need them so soon. I think the first thing to do is to see if his chips are stored in that head of his..." You approach the workbench, looking down at the body-less omnic before you. "Thank you, Hanzo... I hope your recovery and everyone else's recovery is quick."

"You need not worry about me. My concern is with you. Please rest when your body needs it." His hand finds your shoulder, a warm touch to the cold space.

You smile at him before he leaves. You approach the door he just left out of and turn the light outside on, signally to not be disturbed. It was going to be on for awhile.

Ramattra's head stayed on the table as you checked over it and disassembled what you could. Luckily, the chips were stored in there and weren't broken, but you ran a test just to be sure.

When everything came back green a few minutes later, a sigh of relief escaped your lips.

One problem over, now it's time to build an omnic.

----

You couldn't count how many days you had been in the same room. Hanzo would remind you to rest whenever he stopped by with warm cooked food, his worry for you became greater with each day that passed.

Reyes had no luck in getting the blueprints, but by that point you were already working on his chest and arms. Wires were hanging out of the new body for Ramattra, waiting to be soldered into place. His head was facing you as you worked, a small reminder of what's at cost here.

Zenyatta never once stopped by. You would question Hanzo about him whenever you weren't focussed on repairs, but he could offer no response.

You had thought he couldn't come in because he knew what was going on. His brother was merely a shell at the moment. Empty.

----

There was a lot of trial and error in building him. Most of the time it was a miss-soldered wire or a loose bolt, however, you kept pulling through.

When you were attaching his pelvic plate, you looked back at his head and apologised. Even if he wasn't there, it still felt awkward.

You had no idea how many times you had been through the same playlist, listening to the same songs and singing along to them. Each day just merged with the next.

By the time the end of the second week had come around, you had accumulated around 50 hours of sleep and your body was slowly shutting down. The amount of caffeine you had consumed within that time was frightening. Hanzo even made Angela come in and check on you, demanding you to rest for at least a few days before continuing working.

Of course, being the persistent idiot you were, you ignored them and continued to work on Ramattra. He wasn't going to be like he was before and you knew this and you were ready to suffer whatever consequences he throws at you for not being able to fix him completely.

The end of the third week came by slowly and at that point you were a few final wires away from finishing his body and once they were in place, all you had to do was attach his head to it's rightful place.

You gently pick up his head and carry it over to the body, standing on a small step to reach his neck and attach everything to its rightful place.

A small hop down and you walk in front of him, looking up at the omnic in front of you. It was eerily quiet as your music stopped moments before.

"Please work. Please." You begged before heading over to the computer and directing a current to the omnic.

A small hiss and the lights on his forehead turned orange. They blinked a couple times before turning red and completely turning off.

You try again but the outcome was no different.

Heading over to a computer next to the omnic, you run a scan for any errors. A program you had built in your free time to detect any faulty wires or components.

Time remaining: 8 hours

You stare at the screen before the area around you becomes fuzzy. Hanzo walks in the moment you drop to the floor.

Your body completely crashed.

----

The light was bright above you as you came to. Hanzo was by your side as your stirred, placing a hand to your head.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"How long was I out?" You ignored his question to ask your own.

"Nearly a full day." He places a hand on your arm.

"Shit." You go to get up but Hanzo only stops you from moving forward.

"You need to rest."

"I need to fix Ramattra." You tried to get out of his grip.

"Take a break." Hanzo was much stronger than you were, holding you down easily.

"I can't."

"Yes you can."

"You have to rest." A female voice broke through, tone very much stern. "Doctors orders."

With a tone like that, you stop resisting, instead slumping back into the bed.

"Fine, but only until tomorrow." You try to bargain.

"No, not until I deem you healthy and fit to leave." Angela checked your blood pressure before writing it down. "Rest."

You sigh, staring up at the ceiling before your body drags you back into slumber.

----

You had no idea how much time had passed before Angela had let you go. Hanzo walked with you to the workshop to make sure you were truly ok before leaving you for a training session with Genji.

Upon entering, you are met with what you had left. Ramattra was still standing there with no power. Some dust had begun to settle on his chassis so you made quick and gentle work of brushing it off.

Checking the monitor, all tests had come back green. All was good. You direct the current through again.

Orange.

Red.

Switched off.

You screamed. Like actually screamed, throwing a piece of scrap metal at the wall.

"Three weeks of work for nothing!" Tears streamed down your face as you kept running the current but was getting nowhere. "Fuck, what the actual hell am I supposed to do..."

Omnics didn't come with an on button.

...

Wait...

You rummaged through the spare parts, a small piece rattled at the bottom of the box. Despite feeling somewhat relieved you missed something, you were utterly pissed off with yourself for actually missing something.

Pondering for a moment, you realised where this piece belongs. A small hole underneath his back plate, hidden among cables and wires.

Sonofabitch...

After about another hour of fucking about with everything in his back, you had the piece inserted and flipped up.

Reassembling his back, you head over to direct a current.

Orange.

Red.

Blue.

You could hear hissing which meant his fans were working. A small digital noise escaped from the omnic as his arms twitched, head tilting to the side.

You stand there, body frozen.

"Ramattra?"

His head tilts back up, now directly facing you.

Nothing was said for a moment. The two of you just staring at each other.

"I didn't think I'd get to see you again." Was the first thing he said.

"What?" Your cheeks grew warm.

"You fixed me. I owe you my life." He took a wobbly step forward.

"You don't owe me anything." You say.

"I do. For nearly a month you have worked on fixing me."

"How'd you know it was only a month?"

Ramattra sat down at the workbench, the same place he sat the first time he entered the shop.

"When you checked to see if there was any damage to my chips, you inadvertently set a small current off. I was able to see everything, hear everything."

"How-" You pause for a moment. Your cheeks grew warmer knowing exactly what he was talking about.

The omnic laughed. "I won't say anything." He reassured you. "I want to thank you for being so gentle with everything. You even apologised when you-"

"I get it! You heard it." You look away, embarrassed. "You should go see Zenyatta. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you with a body."

"I want to stay here for a little while. I have grown rather... fond of this place."

"It's nothing special." You try to dismiss him.

"[y/n]. I want to spend actual time with you." He stared at you, lights flickering on his forehead.

You stare wide eyed. "I thought you hated humans."

"You are an exception. A rather great exception. I can tolerate the others for now."

"Mhm." You nod, taking a seat across from Ramattra.

"To be honest, you were the last thing I thought of when I shut down." He said, his tone was almost quiet.

"Why? I'm nothing special."

"You may not think that, but you have done wonders for omnics like me and my brother. You show me that there are good humans among the filth. I believe that is what Zenyatta was trying to tell me."

He gained a laugh from you.

"[y/n]."

"Ramattra?"

"Thank you." He took a hold of your hand that was resting on the table. "You even fixed my touch processors." He sounded shocked at this.

"Yeah... Zenyatta mentioned it was something you had worked on. I tried, so if it doesn't work as it should, feel free to fix it to your liking."

"Thank you." He repeated. "Can I possibly take you to the canteen to get some dinner? You hardly ate a thing when you were working on me."

"Are you asking me out on a date?" You grin, cheeks flushed.

"What if I am?"

"Yes. Yes you can." There was a sparkle in your eyes that Ramattra noticed instantly. If he could smile, he would. Your hand was warm as he held it, not wanting to let it go. That same warmth circled through his chassis whenever he looked at you.

Ramattra, dare he say, had fallen for a human. Each day you were fixing him, he grew more and more attached. He noticed how you moved, how you stretched, the gentle touch of putting things together and the concentration on your face when you worked on circuitry on the bench. For nearly a month he had been watching you without you even knowing. He knew things that he figured not many of the others knew. He admired your persistence and determination, yet that scream you let out shook him. He may have feared you were giving up.

Yet you didn't. You didn't give up on him.

He wanted to be with you, not as a way to say thank you, but because he had genuinely fallen for you.

Memory: Repair log, day 10:

"Despite you being a pain in the ass sometimes, you're alright. Fuck, you should've seen how heartbroken Zen was. It hurt me too, you know. If this doesn't work, I will never forgive myself. I don't think Zen will ever get over it either... If you're listening, Ramattra, please wake up... I don't think you understand that you have people here who actually want you back, and not for your strength. I'll miss you if this don't work. I'll miss seeing that damn face of yours and your snarky comments." You laugh. "You always made me smile. Even that day you came in with Zen. You didn't see but when you left I was super happy you trusted me. It was the very first time you let a human touch you. I heard from your brother you hadn't even let any other human touch you before I did...

Hey, Ramattra... you're welcome here anytime. Even if it's just to talk."

There was a small pause.

"Fuck," you laugh, "I can't be falling for you... we hardly know each other."

"It's not so wrong is it? A human falling for an omnic? Would you even feel the same? I don't know."

"Oh shit, where the fuck did I put it?"

"Ramattra. I think I'm in love with you yet I hardly know you. It's crazy that it can happen like that... I'm probably going crazy."

"Fuck."

"Ow."

"You'll be done soon, I can feel it."

You rested your head on the desk, eyes slowly closing and pulling you to sleep. "I love you... Ramattra..."

----

An omnic in love with a human. A human in love with an omnic... It wasn't unheard of, he just believed it would never happen to him, especially with how things turned out with his last mission.

He would run that memory log over and over again.

"I love you... Ramattra..."

"I love you too... [y/n]..."

[wildissylupus]

I haven't talked about Cassidy and Sojourn's dynamic in detail for awhile, I only really talked about them at the beginning of the year actually. So I thought I should revisit their dynamic since PvE has come out, there are new voice lines and more information has been given on the story of Overwatch (can't wait for Declassified to release).

Anyway let's get into Cassidy and Sojourn's dynamic;

The first thing I want to talk about is that Sojourn seemingly shows Cassidy the same type of respect that she shows to the old guard. To me Sojourn treats a lot of the younger members with the type of respect that one would give a person who is younger and less experienced then you, like student-teacher or commander-underling. Even with Angela you can tell that Sojourn is older then her with the way they talk to each other. Meanwhile with Cassidy, though she does make fun of him (like everyone else), she seemingly treats him as more as an equal and I think this is due to the fact that they are.

Cassidy and Sojourn, at some point or another, were the second in commands for a commander of Overwatch. Whether or not you think Cassidy being a captain was official or unofficial it doesn't change the fact that most people would view Cassidy as a captain. They were the same rank meaning they are equals on a semi-official note, that and Cassidy does have a lot more experience then a lot of the second gen cast, him being hinted to being on the streets during the crisis and being a leader, a leader of a gang but a leader non-the-less.

In their new interaction you can instantly tell that they are close, again they were the same rank but also they were probably the only few people trying to defuse the arguments that had started between Jack and Gabe. Not only that but as I have stated in previous posts I believe that Cassidy was a big part of Genji and Lena's training, being one of the few people able to land a shot on them. This would lead to Cassidy and Sojourn to becoming close because they would want to be sure that these new recruits would come back safe.

Also I want to point out that Sojourn is the only character to point out to Ashe that she could be more then a criminal. No other Overwatch hero does that. I think it's because of how close Cassidy and Sojourn are that she knows that Ashe is not just a criminal, but genuinely a good person who would burn the world to the ground for the people she cares about. I also think that she would know that Cassidy does still care about Ashe, especially if they were working closely together near the end of Overwatch.

There's a little detail in the final cutscene of the Toronto Mission when before Cassidy says "Jack Morrison is busy chasing ghosts...", when Sojourn says "This isn't my life anymore", where Cassidy looks at her with what appears to be sympathy. Then after the line Sojourn looks at Cassidy then away, either out of understanding or guilt, because Cassidy is obviously frustrated they brought this up. Honestly through that entire interaction it seems that while Winston is trying to convince Sojourn to stay with Overwatch, Cassidy is trying to convince her to help.

Honestly I think the line that Cassidy said to Sojourn, "You know he's right", is going to come up again. I have always been adamant that Cassidy's arc is being set up for him to be one of the next leaders of Overwatch. That's what Ana sees him becoming, that's what implied with Jack telling Ana to give the information he's gathered to Cassidy, and it's what I think Sojourn and Ashe will help him see he can be. With Sojourn I think Cassidy will be a big part in helping her see that Overwatch isn't a lost cause, that they can still make a positive change in the world. I don't think Sojourn will stay with Overwatch, she's one of the few characters who enjoys their retirement, but I do think she will still help the New Overwatch, even after they defeat Null Sector.

[ultravioart]

This is so frustrating for me because I just want to play a fun open world monster tamer with cutsey visuals online, it is wild that the genre has so many immoral companies/games.

Pokemon has let me down tremendously (last mainline i bought was moon, i tried ultra moon day 1 and returned ultra moon the next day bc it was way too similar), I have tried pokemon sword (yarhar) and pokemon Scarlet (friend let me play it) and the quality is not where it should be, too much is rushed, buggy, laggy, and the cut content is so obvious.

SV dropped the ball with the story plot in later DLCs which stinks bc the initial eldritch horror Area Zero set up they had in the base game was amazing. I also really loved what the devs were able to get done with the character development bc it felt like World Ends Club character depth... but with the unethical deadlines the Pokemon game devs face, I can't see myself purchasing new pokemon games. It feels gross. I also haven't liked most mon designs these past gens, they lack the sharp angles with curves artstyle i adored in earlier gens. Think Scizor, Charmeleon, Luxray, Deoxys, Jiratchi, etc. Pokemon have become more rounded/obviously plushie-fiable and overdesigned. And the art was the main draw to pokemon for me, not the battles.

And then there was Ni no kuni mobile (I had not played the main games but I did watch playthrus, I saw the mobile game launch announcement, and was excited to try-- only for Ni no Kuni mobile to announce it was going to add a blockchain play to earn model. I instantly uninstalled it.)

And now Palworld (Pocketpair without permission lifting from a Mega Delphox fan design, company previously published an unethical ai generator party game, and the Pocketpair social medias flirted with NFTs.)

At this point I might just give up trying to financially support games. Watching youtube playthrus is free and if it's really that interesting I can try demos or yarhar.

Free to play games are probably the only games I'll be playing, but there's a whole unethical monetization practice that is common with that model too. :( i am autistic and have OCD so i take offense to games that encourages unlimited micro transactions, as it's often ppl with ocd and autism that are preyed on by these predatory monetization systems. Whales should never be normalized, Whales are gambling addicts and need help. I am really hoping Overwatch 2's monetization changes due to the recent buyout but I don't have my hopes up.

Like, I am so jaded i might just make a pokemon fangame or hobby into making my own monster tamer at this point fr lol. I have ideas for both a pokemon fangame and an original ip, I would just need to set a schedule to making it.

Pokemon fangame would be easiest I imagine, 2d game pixel sprite work is much easier than 3d modeling and I can use pre-made assets.

Original monster taming IP would be harder, probably a 2d game, bc 3d is much harder to make due to how long it takes to model and rig and animate everything.

Idk tho. Might just remain a world building hobby tbh.

[owlwithanapple]

Only you.

Part 02

Jack Morrison x reader x Slightly Genji Shimada

After leaving Jack's office, you went to the cafeteria to get a sandwich and find a seat. At this time, you are thinking about how to deal with the task. You will go to Samoa on a mission the morning after tomorrow. As for how long it will take, it is not clear how much the situation will change. The document says to inquire about Eddy Swarn, but how to get close to him? You were thinking with your eyes closed, and suddenly remembered that Jack just touched your face.

"That bastard." You blurted out in a low voice.

"Who are you talking about?" Suddenly someone asked in a low voice.

"Ahhhh! You scared me! Why do you stand quietly next to me? Genji!" You are scared by Genji.

"I'm sorry, I saw you want to say hello. What are you thinking about? " Genji said with a smile.

"I'm really scared of you, Mr. Ninja. Don't be so quiet in the base. " You complain.

"It's a habit. I'm sorry." Genji bowed and apologized.

"Don't apologize, it's making me a fuss. But you are so awesome. You are obviously a cyborg, and you can appear quietly. " You look at Genji admiringly.

"Hahahaha, professional habits. Can I sit? " Genji asked.

"Ah! That's right! Come on, please sit down!" You watch Genji sit in front of you.

"Have you received the task?" Genji looked at the documents in your hand.

"Ah, that's right. It's quite sudden. I have to leave the morning after tomorrow, so I have to think about what to do." You sighed.

"It's really sudden. You didn't come back until this morning, so soon to carry out the next task? " Genji asked curiously.

"This task requires my skills. There's nothing I can do." You sigh.

"You should have a good rest and refresh yourself to meet the task of the day after tomorrow." Genji said.

"Emmmm, I know. You can't do it without thinking or rest. What a contradiction, right, Genji? " Ask Genji.

Genji kept staring at you and there was no response. You poked Genji on the shoulder a few times before he reacted to you.

"Sorry, I'm distracted. What did you just say? " Genji bowed his head and said.

"No, it's not a big deal. Don't worry about it, it's just my own contradiction. How are you, Genji? It's rare to see you distracted. " You look at him worriedly.

"I'm fine. I'm just thinking." Genji smiled.

"Oh..." You look at him doubtfully.

"Don't you like tomatoes?" Genji looked at your plate and asked.

"Ah? Ah, right. Wait, Genji, didn't you just get distracted by thinking if I don't like tomatoes? " Ask him jokingly.

"What do you think?" Genji tilted his head and asked you back.

"Gen~jiiiii." You look at him with pitiful eyes.

"Haha, I'm sorry, I won't tease you. Have a good rest. I'm going to the training ground. If you need my help, you know where to find me. Goodbye." Genji got up and left.

"That Morrison is already strange, and now even Genji is strange. Or... am I strange?" You ask yourself doubtfully.

You were about to get up and leave when you found a small green bag in Genji's seat. It says to Y/N. When you open the bag, you find a note that says, "This is an amulet. I pray for your safety - Genji." You were stunned. It's incredible that Genji sent you an amulet. You immediately hold the amulet in the palm of your hand, close your eyes and pray for Genji's safety.

"That guy... It's really good at doing small tricks. " You said with a smile.

Then you get up and go back to your room, lock the door, take off your clothes and walk to the bathroom. Adjust the water temperature and open the shower head and let the water sprinkle on your body to remove the dirt from your body. The sound of water makes you unconsciously think of the picture of the war at that time. At the beginning, you were the enemy of Overwatch, but now you actually joined them.

"I didn't expect that I really joined Overwatch." You said it.

After turning off the water, you put the towel around your body and walk to the bedroom. After drying your body, you go to the wardrobe and choose the clothes you want to wear. At this time, there was the sound of someone calling you and knocking on the door. You knew it was Zenyatta when you heard the sound. Put on your clothes immediately and go to the door to open the door.

"Hi, Y/N." Zenyatta said.

"What's the matter? Come to me at this time?" You asked.

"Have you decided what you want to prepare for dinner?" Zenyatta asks you.

"Dinner? Me?" You read the calendar that today is you and Zenyatta in charge of preparing dinner.

"You forgot, didn't you? Seeing that you didn't come to the kitchen, I came here to find you. If you are tired, you can rest, and I will tell them. " Zenyatta said gently.

"That's right, I remembered. Dinner is prepared in turn. Wait for me. I'll put on a coat and go down with you. " Hurry up and put on a coat before you leave the room.

"Y/N, you will carry out a new task the day after tomorrow, right? Remember to rest more tomorrow and don't work hard." Zenyatta asked.

"Yes, thank you for your concern." You answer with a smile.

"Y/N Have you decided what to cook for dinner? Because I'm a machine and don't need to eat, it's more appropriate for you to decide. " Zenyatta looked at you and asked.

"Actually... I didn't expect it. Let's ask everyone's opinion then. " You are smiling awkwardly.

"Y/N, with all due respect." Zenyatta said seriously.

You immediately stood still and looked at Zenyatta's back.

"Did I offend him? Does he hate me? Yes, he is a pacifist, but the machine is also emotional. What's more, I used to be his enemy, and it's not surprising that I suddenly joined them and was hated. " You think.

"Zenyatta, I understand. You don't have to force yourself to be good to me. I used to be an enemy. I know what you mean. It doesn't matter if you want to abuse me. I can accept it. " You say it frankly.

"Nonono, you misunderstood. I never had that idea. I'm really happy for you to join us. It's my honor to have more friends and comrades-in-arms. " Zenyatta explained.

"Ha? Really!? Don't you hate me!?" You asked nervously.

"Nonono, I really don't hate it. You are very funny, lively and likable. Compared with before, you have indeed changed a lot and proved your ability. Don't be uneasy about yourself. When you feel any uneasy, you can come to me to meditate and calm down. " Zenyatta's explain gently.

You knelt on your ground and breathed a sire relieved, but tears suddenly fell down unstoppably. You wiped away your tears in a panic. At this time, Zenyatta calmed down, put her hand on your head and gently stroked it as if to comfort you. The long-beared guilt suddenly surged into your heart in an instant, and your tears couldn't stop at all. I really want to tell everyone that I'm sorry that I shouldn't have hurt everyone at the beginning. Now I really appreciate their acceptance of me as a sinner.

"What on earth should I do... Zenyatta. " You said in tears.

" I understand that human emotions are very complicated and always have doubts about their choices. Now I see that you are stronger than before, and you have a lot of opportunities. Please cheer up. Everyone will be waiting for you. " Zenyatta said comfortingly.

"I... No, I won't say too much about the speech. Thank you, Zenyatta." You get up and look at Zenyatta with a smile.

"Genji is right," Zenyatta said.

"Hmm? What did he say? " You looked at him doubtfully.

"Nothing, hahahaha." Zenyatta left.

Zenyatta is a naughty avoidable topic. You gave up and didn't ask...

Arrived at the cafeteria--

"Hi, beauty. Hey! What's wrong with your eyes? " Cassidy asked in surprise.

"Hi, cowboy. It's okay. It's just the dust in my eyes. " You answer.

"It's not good to lie, Y/N." Zenyatta smiled.

"Then tell me about Genji just now!" You asked Zenyatta in a hurry.

"Oh my God! Y/N, what's wrong with your eyes!" Mercy and Tracer shouted.

"I'm really fine. Don't worry about it. It's really nothing. It's just dust. I'll go to the bathroom to wash my face first. " Hurry up and run to the bathroom.

You ran so fast that you accidentally bumped into the person coming from the corner. You feel someone holding your hand, you immediately look up and find that the person in front of you is Jack.

"I'm sorry! I didn't notice you coming." You immediately bow and apologize to Jack.

"I'm fine. Are you all right? Where did you get hurt? Wait, what's wrong with you? Why are your eyes so red?" Jack pulled you close to him.

"I'm fine. I just got the dust on my eyes. I'm going to the toilet to wash my face now. Could you please let go of my hands? " Ask Jack.

"Is it really just dust?" Jack clenched your hand and said.

"Really, Jack. I have to prepare dinner. It's a little urgent. " You said with a smile.

Jack let go of your hand and looked directly at you, and you looked at him with a smile. When he was about to speak, suddenly interrupted by Gabriel's voice.

"What are you two doing standing here?" Gabriel asked.

"I wanted to go to the bathroom, but I was stopped by the captain. Save me Gabriel!" You hide behind Gabriel and say.

"Hey! Fuck you." Jack shouted.

"Are you all right? He didn't do anything to you, did he?" Gabriel looks at you.

"Hey! Gab, what can I do to her!" Jack defended.

"What's wrong with your eyes?" Gabriel looked at you and said.

"She said that the dust got her eyes. It's a bad reason." Jack replied.

"You don't believe it, idiot Jack Morrison." You complain about him.

"That's how you talk to your boss!" Jack said seriously.

"That's enough for you two! Don't put me in the middle and quarrel, okay? Y/N I order you to go to the bathroom to wash your face and then go to the cafeteria. Now! Immediately!" Gabriel ordered you.

"Yes!" Hurry up and go to the bathroom.

Jack looked at your back and sighed.

"She's gone. Have you seen enough? Pervert." Gabriel mocked.

"Gab, you see her eyes just now. No matter how you look at her, she has cried. Why did she use this reason to perfunctory me?" Jack told Gabriel.

"Jack, if you want to care about her, you should catch up with her. But now she doesn't want to tell the truth, and you can't force her. Don't force her to say it. " Gabriel persuaded him.

"Gab, didn't she believe me so didn't tell me?" Jack asked Gabriel.

"You think too much. If she doesn't trust you, she won't take the initiative to be your subordinate. Don't forget that I invited her to join my team, and she was very reluctant. She told me that she must join Jack Morrison's team. I just recommended her to you." Gabriel said.

"Maybe. Forget it. I hope she's okay. " Jack whispered.

"But Jack, you have benefits today." Gabriel said with a smile.

"What benefits?" Jack asked doubtfully.

"Today, Y/N and Zenyatta are in charge of dinner. I don't know what dinner she is preparing?" Gabriel replied.

"Can this be regarded as welfare?" Jack said seriously.

"That's right. She didn't cook for you." Gabriel mocked Jack.

"Fuck you,Gab." Jack patted Gabriel shoulder and laughed.

You arrived at the bathroom--

You turn on the faucet and soak your hands in the water. Wash your face with some water and look in the mirror.

"Fuck, my eyes are so red. I have to cheer up." You pat yourself in the face and leave the bathroom.

You stand in the corridor, take a deep breath and walk in the direction of the cafeteria . When you arrive at the kitchen and find that Zenyatta is already preparing the ingredients.

"I'm sorry I'm late!" You hurried over to help.

"It doesn't matter, Y/N, don't worry." Zenyatta comforted you and said.

"Y/N, I'm looking forward to dinner today." Genji waved to you.

"Hey! Genji. What do you want to eat?" You asked.

"Eh? Me?" Genji looked at you doubtfully.

"Actually, I haven't figured out what dinner to prepare, so I want to ask your opinion." You answer him.

"Let me think about it, is ramen okay?" Genji asked.

"It's too difficult. I can't do it." You answered awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect it." Genji's awkward answer.

"It's okay. I can learn to cook next time when I'm free." You reply with a smile.

"Okay, thank you." Genji replied.

At this time, you open the refrigerator and check each ingredient. Zenyatta said something quietly near Genji, but you didn't care about the conversation between the two.

"Genji, you're right." Zenyatta whispered.

"What did I say? Master Zenyatta." Genji was confused.

"Her smile is very beautiful." Zenyatta replied.

"Master Zenyatta, you didn't tell her, did you?" Genji asked in a panic.

"I didn't say it. You should tell her these words yourself." Zenyatta comforted Genji and said.

"Thank you, master." Genji replied.

"Zenyatta! How about hot pot dishes? We can add any ingredients we like." You shouted.

"Good idea. Then I'll prepare the soup base. Could you please prepare the ingredients? "Zenyatta asked.

"Let me deal with it." You answer enthusiastically.

You take some ingredients from the refrigerator and put them on the table. When I was about to cut the ingredients, Genji stood by and looked at you. Although you bow your head, you can feel that his eyes are looking at you.

"Ermm... Genji. Go back to your seat first,it will be very uncomfortable for you to stand here and look at me. " You whispered.

"I'm sorry for being rude. I want to ask if there is anything I can do for you?" Genji explained.

"It doesn't matter. I can do it." You answered with a smile.

Genji turned his head and walked away in the direction of Cassidy, who was waving with him. You continue to prepare your ingredients, cut the ingredients neatly into pieces and put them on the plate for later use. Suddenly you smell a very fragrant smell, which is the taste of the soup that Zenyatta is preparing. You clean the cutlery and go to everyone's seat, then put the ingredients on the table.

"Hot pot?" Ana asked.

"That's right, you can put in the ingredients you want to cook." You answer.

"Good idea, beauty. Simple and elegant." Cassidy said.

"Hahaha, thank you, cowboy." You said.

"Hahahahahahaha! What a fragrant smell! What's for dinner today?" A proud voice said.

"Hi! Uncle Rein! Welcome back!" You run to hug Reinhardt.

"Oh, my God, cutie! You are finally back! The sudden loss of contact scared me to death. I almost rushed to find you. " Reinhardt laughed and raised you high.

"Uncle Rein, let me down! It's dangerous!" You are panicked.

"Hahahahaha, why are you lighter than last time? Are you full?" Reinhardt laughed and said.

"Put Y/N down quickly, Reinhardt. You're scaring her." Ana was trying to persuade Reinhardt.

"Hahahaha, I'm sorry. When I saw the little cutie, I couldn't help but want to raise her high." Reinhardt put you down gently.

"Uncle Rein, dinner is ready. You can find a seat and wait." You answer with a smile.

"Reinhardt, you really, you will scare her if you lift her up like this. What if she get hurt? " Ana said seriously.

"Hahaha! Isn't it with you? Y/N is very strong, she won't get hurt because of this. " Reinhardt said.

Ana shook her head and followed Reinhardt to their seats. You find that Jack is looking at you. Thinking that he just touched your face and hand, you shyly lowered your head and walked to help Zenyatta.

"You look so perverted. " Gabriel complained.

"Shut up, Gab," Jack replied.

Part 02 The End.

Characters : Jack Morrison/Gabriel Reyes/Genji Shimada/Mercy/Tracer/Ana/Cassidy/Reinhardt/Zenyatta

Part 03 To be continued….

———————————————————————————

[courtney-deserved-better]

gen 4 overwatch main headcanons

mk - the most annoying yet effective sombra main ever, constantly sneaking onto objectives to capture them and hacking ppl and then killing them, so frustrating to play

caleb - lifeweaver who forgets he can do damage sometimes, always says you're welcome when people thank him for heals

emma - bloodthirtsy dva main, will get distracted from the objective to chase down players that annoy her

axel - dps moira with insane mobility skills. or maybe orisa. either way she has the most kills on the team. but if someone is rude to her when she's playing moira she'll refuse to heal them for the rest of the game even if it costs her team the win

zee - mercy so they doesn't have to shoot ppl unless they're backed into a corner, very distractible but it kinda works cause they bounce from teammate to teammate. caleb has had to lifegrip them out of certain death multiple times

millie - widowmaker so she can hide away from the fight and pick people off, will switch to ana if her team needs a healer but refuses to put herself in the line of fire to heal people

bowie - pharah who is incredibly hard to hit but has fantastic accuracy with his rockets. also zarya because he heard zarya was hard to play, went "bet" and became a great zarya

chase - bastion solely because he can easily get play of the game and brag about it.

wayne - lucio mostly for the vibes and the speed, loves booping people off the map

raj - hammond because he thinks it's awesome he can be a hamster and to match wayne's speed

scary girl - you would think reaper, but no, it's tracer, because she likes to jumpscare people by suddenly appearing next to them

julia - says she's a mercy main if anyone asks but she actually plays reaper because she loves killing people

ripper - mei because he likes to annoy the hell out of people. he's actually a really good reinhardt and his team always begs him to switch

nichelle - tried playing as kiriko once, did terribly, spent months practicing, and now she's an unholy terror as kiriko

damien - zenyatta because the controls are simple and he'll panic if he has to worry about too many things. he's a very jumpy player and if someone sneaks up on him he'll scream and fire blindly but still manage to headshot them 65% of the time

priya - has somehow mastered every single character and picks whoever best fits her team's composition and counters the enemy team. but she really just wants to play hanzo (she never gets the chance)

[spicedrobot]

writing pattern game

Rules: Share the first line of your last ten published works or as many as you are able and see if there are any patterns! (from most recent to least recent, starting from the top)

tagged by @aevallare 💖 This was such a fun one, thanks!

Divine Retribution (BG3, Withers/Raphael)

Raphael prepared for the next strike, determined not to make a sound.

Sustenance (BG3, Gale/Astarion + Tav)

Gale stirred the porridge bubbling over a low fire.

Side Effects Include (BG3, Omeluum/Blurg)

Tav returned to the myconid colony more quickly than Omeluum had anticipated.

Just a Fool's Hope (Star Wars, Obimaul)

There was blood in Obi-Wan’s mouth.

Encore (Outer Wilds, The Prisoner/Hatchling)

In a dark forest clearing that did and did not exist, there was a fire.

A Point on the Path (Star Wars, Obimaul)

As the twin suns descended the hazy, cloudless sky, another pair—far from twins but equally fated—landed on the planet’s surface. 

Down Time (Star Wars, Jango Fett/Cad Bane)

Cad Bane stirred from sleep with the urgency of a well-kept tooka.

Whispers, Winces & Wishes (Star Wars, The Bad Batch gen)

Experimental Unit 99 is different.

Deviations on a Theme (Star Wars, Tech/TAY-0)

Safa Toma’s night cycle was more than halfway expired when Tay-0’s photoreceptors flickered online, bright in the dim of the garage.

Reunion (Overwatch, Ramyatta)

Zenyatta’s path leads to an icy, wind-carved landscape.

Patterns: I guess I tend to start with a short sentence? LOL

tagging @withercrown @a-aristippus @bluedaddysgirl @ashcroft-writes @frogunderarock @kevystel @loveoaths @weirdlet @lacertae-dreamscape AND ANYONE ELSE!! PLEASE TAG ME!!

[mlp410nightcore]

Hi Everyone!! These two next gens are characters for my AU called Blossom Love AU. The Blossom Love AU is where I make next gens of my favorite ships and put them in the same universe together. These two are Night Thunder and Teresia. Their parents are Lifeweaver from Overwatch and Kaeya from Genshin Impact. Credit goes to horse-bases for the base that I used and to Blizzard and Hoyoverse for making Overwatch, Genshin Impact and the characters to both games. I only take for my next gens and the AU that I made. I hope you guys like them!!!

[chronal-anomaly]

I'm gonna get a little salty real quick on here, but I kept thinking about this for the past few days and it's just driving me mad so.

I'm - and have been, really - annoyed with Tracer's treatment both from the fandom in general and Blizz, especially with the next gen of Overwatch. They cannot, and will not, commit to placing her somewhere and committing to it. And while yes, that's kinda her schtick in a way, a person sliding between times and not really fitting in with either, it's clear that they didn't plan that; they just forgot about her.

Lena was literally leading the Havana mission. She was being overseen by Sojourn, but she was the point woman on it. Her calls, her plans, took down Max. She's seen plenty of combat, more than half the roster if you go by the shorts alone, and yet, there is no talk of bringing her up into leadership during Recall. She was the first one to answer, but oh no, we can't have a Recall unless Cassidy comes in and saves the day - and this is not a hate on Cassidy at all, it's an important plotline for him to go from essentially forced servitude to running the show - but still, she's just considered the 'funky pilot'.

It's canon again and again that Jack had a vested interested in her. She was to Jack what Cass was to Gabe. And yet she is continously overlooked in lore and just in fan stuff. And I absolutely hate to play this card but it does make me wonder that, if she was male, would more people support it??? idk man I'm just super salty today.

[bexalex]

you could have told me.

@renxbe

"dude, you're on tv," alex really had no good reason to tune into next gen other than morbid curiosity. now that his twitch career is in shambles, he's not playing professional esports for anyone, and he still hasn't re-enrolled in school, the thought vaguely occurred to him that being an idol might be the next best thing. not that alex is under any delusions that he has the talent to sing and dance, but, well, his boyfriends are both doing it. nayoung is doing it. literally everyone he knows in korea has been signed somewhere by now and... he's curious. next gen seemed like an easy way to dip his toes into it, to study the idol industry from a safe distance and determine if it's really something he wanted to get into.

he did not expect to see both ren and sarang on his screen. and nayoung too, he guesses. neither of them had so much as mentioned a peep about it to him, sneaky bastards.

"so, what? the fates of these pathetic-looking kids are in your hands now? can you tell me anything about what you're doing?" he'll admit to his curiosity. he knows it's not ren's first time on tv; that was the last season of this same show. things had gone well for him then, winning a contract of his choice and seemingly happy with that decision. "i'd say that's a lot of pressure but you kinda know how to handle that already, captain." he doesn't often reference their overwatch days, nor does he like to admit that ren ever had any sort of authority over him. but it suits the moment, so alex goes with it.

[ggchamo]

The 29 Games I beat in 2023

This was a year of a ton of new amazing games, and even though I tried dozens, I missed many new awesome games this year, which will always be part of the fun of gaming.

I tried IGN's Playlist app, which buckets your list of games into different categories that sound helpful - Playing, Beat, Quit, Paused, Wishlist, Backlog.

Because I wanted a lot of games marked as "Beat" - I felt encouraged to play some of those shorter, faster plays - many of the games this year were on How Long To Beat dotcom under 10 hours and came highly recommended

One attitude for me this year was "well, I'm not having fun playing this game in the moment, but let's power through since i'm almost done." - This attitude really helped with the motivation to finish to be honest - getting it done meant it's off the backlog and I can move on to the next set of games in my very curated backlog.

Another theme in the games this year was nostalgia and exploring my childhood, so we had good representation of Pokemon and first-party Nintendo

Besides these games, I tried quite a number of games on Switch, PS5, Xbox Series S, and PC for at least a little session - if I don't hit credits it didn't make it on the list, although don't hold me to that

For ongoing games, I played many hours of Gran Turismo 7, some hours of Valorant (140 hours less than 2022 which was definitely lower than 2021...), and the occasional Overwatch/Fortnite/whatever session with people getting together. 2023 was not the same as 2020's peak of playing with friends on a daily basis, but this year I embraced curating things to my taste

I loved the three games I played with my fiance - Paper Mario, Hi-Fi Rush, and Sackboy. Anytime we share an experience it makes the payoff multiple times better.

God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla -

Fuck - I really wanted to beat this one, so it was satisfying to get this one ticked off my list. They wanted to design something hard and worth the challenge and time investment, and I think they did it. I consistently was making progress until the last thing was to beat the final boss, and once I watched a youtube video and tried a different strategy, it opened up. Experience was cool - God of War has a great set of combat features, one of the very best combat systems outside of the god-tier Dark Souls team.

Pokemon Black 2 -

Buying an Analogue Pocket triggered this exploration into my childhood, and part of that was getting into collecting the Pokemon games I missed and revisiting them. I found a copy of this game slightly discounted from it's $160 avg price on eBay and was worried about getting a fake but was relieved it was authentic. So how was this game, not just as a hype item but as an experience?

It was worth the effort. It had a ton of cool pokemon (although needed more water pokemon in my opinion) and it actually was tough to beat - I ended up losing once or twice and had some dicey gym battles earlier on, but I thought the game was an interesting chapter in the pokemon games. It was very story focused and wanted to build some lore and some characters, not just create a million new cool pokemon. Gen V was a big blin spot for me so it was cool to spend some time back in these games after beating Pokemon Black for the second time in the past few years in the pandemic era.

Rollerdrome -

I found the game very tough near the last three levels (it was just overtuned for a casual guy like me and got crazy) but I found it very unique and aesthetically very iconic. These devs took some of the muscle memory from Tony Hawk games and added that famous "bullet time" mechanic as another way to pace everything. It's a great combo - I can even imagine a game where the shooting has to go with the beat. I am happy they had assists so I could avoid hitting my head against the wall for 20 hours.

Super Mario Wonder -

Another GOTY quality game, in a year where we had a new Mario and Zelda come out in a sea of sequels and really well-done indies. I'm not done with this game yet. I hit credits, but there is more to play here in the future. This game is exactly my vibe - and we got to see the demo in person in Seattle which was fun!

Jusant -

Short and sweet with very fun unique climbing gameplay that I enjoyed playing through. It was straightforward and interesting, and I enjoyed that quality many Indies have where it had a huge imagination that transcends their budget and tech restrictions. I felt like that team did a great job and I kept thinking I want to see more games like Jusant, taking the concepts further.

Pokemon Crystal Version -

I was in the mood for classic pokemon with tons of moments of nostalgia and feeling memories from back during childhood - and Pokemon always delivers, I need Pokemon games in my life. I was proud to finish the game after transferring the file to a new 2DS XL and regretting my choice of Totodile as my starter 30 hours in. I had fun and this game is timeless - I will play it again and it will feel like the first time I played it again because that's what these games do. They always feel new because in the world of Pokemon, there is always more to learn.

Spider-Man 2 -

Consistently fun and with very rewarding platinum trophy that wasn't that hard to finish - I found the experience of playing this game rewarding, familiar and very polished, and the game did not overstay it's welcome with bad gameplay. Not too different from the first games besides some very cool new features and types of scenarios with the same core gameplay as Miles Morales and Spider-Man 1.

Forza Motorsport -

In a head-to-head comparison between this and GT7, GT7 has greater replay-ability and tricks the mind into feeling like you're in a simulation. But Motorsport is maybe the better designed game - since it took some driver activities and made them gaming features. But in execution, they don't make a material impact on the experience and don't add much immersion since the driver levels have no impact on gameplay. I enjoyed the larger assortment of cars and the tons of races to play - but I didn't see the same love in the courses, which are really the core gameplay "levels." So I feel like I'm saying that this very expensive and detailed gameplay was lacking levels, which seems like a weird place to be for a game. So lots of complex feelings after playing for over 40-50 hours - I definitely will play this again.

Super Mario World (GBA) -

Someone set me up with GBA online and this was the first game I played - very cool experience playing through my first game in one or two sittings on a big screen with my adult brain and skills without my child limitations.

The Last of Us Part 1 -

In the first few weeks of October, I was having a great time revisiting a game that I played a few years before the pandemic (may have just been 2018/2019....) and also was watching the HBO show at the same time. It still is an awesome experience and still touches those same great heights because the game has that iconic aggression and unique feeling that you feel from what it asks you to do and what it puts you through. No other game feels Last of Us games, and they're on a different league of their own.

Cocoon -

Weird game. The sound design and the visual aesthetic stuck out as iconic to this game, with the gameplay being just multi-faceted enough to encourage me to try to learn new things - I think there was almost one point where I had to look something up but I sat down and tried my best and was able to move forward. I felt very smart and impressed myself.

Venba -

Awesome game and only one or two sessions long - it told a story and it made me think. I liked how the recipes felt like puzzles which is what cooking feels like!

Lego 2K Drive -

In late September, needed something quick and fun to play before Super Mario Wonder/Forza Motorsport/Spiderman 2 slapped me in the face - this was very rewarding and was very satisfying to look at and play - deep enough that it was fun but still very easy to pick up and play with all the different type of cars. One or two kind of down moments definitely didn't weigh down my opinion of the experience as a whole, although it's nice that it's free for PS Plus people 2 months after I bought it for $70.

Paper Mario: The Origami King -

My fiance beat this before and agreed to watch me play and Sherpa me through the experience. It was pretty awesome, although the base gameplay is a bit of an acquired taste...not too long but still took some time investment to finish all of the worlds and once or twice lose a multi-turn boss fight due to some unfortunate misclicks.

Osu! 2 on DS -

Beating this was a spur of the moment and only took a few sessions, but I wanted to play through the "new" Osu game (although now the series over a decade old) for a long time and finally grabbed it off my brother. Iconic songs and I had a lot of fun - and I think I've gotten better mentally at rhythm games after more experience gaming and playing music in general. I was able to power through and beat it on normal without too much.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits -

Has been on my list for a while. I have no clue how. LOL like it may have been one of those rare PS4 games that got a nice PS5 upgrade in 2021 or maybe there was a good review that I saw. I think the game felt... unfair near the end. I ended up turning the difficulty down near the end and finalizing some of the later levels on my iPhone through remote play. Like I changed it to the story mode difficulty and just played through - not a great sign. It had amazing animation and just absolutely killer graphics, but maybe it was too much like God of War or Horizon Zero Dawn? I didn't come away like I gotta recommend this one to everyone, and looking back I liked that the game was short so I thought let's power through, which was a theme this year. I think I turned the difficulty down when I played on my phone just to give myself a better chance of pounding through the levels. Very beautiful though

Pikmin 4 -

dawg - my first Pikmin game. Absolutely fire, I enjoyed trying something new and I didn't find it frustrating or limiting at all, and I think I would play more of the post-game with the new planets and fill everything out in the future.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom -

Iconic and honestly this is the type of game that is on a different plane. Worth the 80-100 hours I put in to my first playthrough - an experience for the type of person that plays video games in the action adventure category, but it's good enough that it transcends genre and expectations. The game was as big as my imagination and I had some iconic moments in the game, like sequence skipping and also enjoying and exploring areas slowly and intentionally. It's worth playing again now that I think about it - just to do the depths again now with the experience of doing it the first time.

Pokemon X -

Set in a Pokemonized France and I played most of this game during breaks in my awesome French vacation this summer. Playing this game has connected me to my childhood, so I had a great time in my 30 hours. This would be worth multiple playthroughs - this was really the first game that I missed in the Pokemon series.

Playing this has been part of my recent 3DS exploration, where I am now trying to play the games I missed during high school and college times, because I was so busy to really play any games, especially not Pokemon. Finishing this game and seeing some of the subtle new changes they did after the Gen V era didn't fully register as these games were refined over decades, but I'm starting to make the connection between the recent games and the games from my childhood.

Pizza Tower -

this game was pure adrenaline. Holy crap. The polygon review got me onto this and I love 2D platformers, but the very unique and original presentation is what got me stuck to it. It was tough at times and also that fun type of creepy with the badly drawn kinda weird characters. I had fun, and I felt that was the game with

Sackboy: A Big Adventure -

Awesome game to finish with the fiance. It was a bit generic, not grounded on a specific character or point of view or set of values besides friendship and light vs. dark. but the multiplayer gameplay was what I was there for, and it delivered. It was a very fun experience playing the game with my partner and I always appreciate games that bring everyone in, not just a specific persona designed by capitalist-fueled marketing machines.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War -

Speaking of capitalist-fueled... I can't remember that many memorable moments but that is the point. the graphics looked amazing and I was happy to play game that didn't take a million hours to roll credits at. Another one that probably was padding for the list. LOL.

Tinykin -

this was another short one, and another one like Gears on Xbox. It was the first Pikim-type game I've played. Very original and once it got going it was fun to go through it. every now and then confusing but it was easy to knock out. I enjoyed the platforming and found it forgiving but not so easy it was boring. It felt tight.

Gears 5: Hivebusters -

Never found the Gears games rewarding enough to finish. Sometimes they felt too convoluted and I didn't feel comfortable. The reason we finished this one - it was short. LOL. it was enough though - felt like a proper experience and I actually enjoyed it. It's just not smooth enough for me to want to play another 60 hours, maybe one ady.

Stray -

a bit buggy, a bit sparse, but I was happy because it was short and sweet. Very creative and had great characters - but I couldn't tell you what their names were. I think it brought a unique experience with the cat features to very well trodden ground and the 3D platforming/exploration gameplay was refined but not as rock solid as the Nintendo types.

Hi-Fi Rush -

playing this game in January 2023 was a cool experience shared with my fiance and the game was incredibly unique and so so so cool. It was pure ecstasy when my girl beat the final boss after losing like 60 times. Hours of pain. When she finally beat it, it felt historic. What an icon!

Pokemon Violet -

yeah performance was ass but playing the new games, they are the best Pokemon games ever by definition. They always raise the bar and it's hard to appreciate until years later.

Metroid Prime Remastered -

I finally beat it like 10-13 years later, this was so action packed and familiar, guides really helped in moments.

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury -

Short extra mode was a good time - so it was cool to start with a mario game this year. I remember it being not incredibly difficult but have forgotten some details since January it seems.