#probably a blackwatch interaction but it's up to you!

[wildissylupus]

Ok I want to talk about a dynamic that I think isn't used enough and that is Genji and Hanzo looking at the dynamic that Cassidy and Pharah have and being both confused and jealous.

Like imagine after one of his check ups in the Blackwatch era, Genji sees Cassidy talking with Pharah and he sees how involved Cassidy is in her life, how happy they are interacting with eachother, how there is nothing but pride in Cassidy's eyes when he looks at her, and all Genji can think about is how he never got that with Hanzo.

On the flip side Hanzo notices how much Pharah looks up to Cassidy, how she takes so much after him and how much of an influence Cassidy was in her life, he sees how despite all of Cassidy's mistakes in the past Pharah still has nothing but adoration for him. How despite the fact they haven't been talking for 6 years they're still as close as ever. Hanzo seeing this and being confused as to the lack of hostility while also being jealous of the fact that Cassidy was able to be there for Pharah.

I think about this a lot as you can probably tell.

[nitewrighter]

If you're up for it or have the time, would like to hear some pre-fall Mina interactions with the OG crew and younger roster members. Like them rare occasions, she steps out her lab and is forced to talk to people

Reyes: *watching Liao work on Echo* ...Look, I'm gonna say what Jack is scared to tell you: I don't want robots on my team.

Liao: Most of them are sentient now, don't you think you're being close-minded?

Reyes: I don't doubt that Omnics are probably very capable of being good agents, but Blackwatch is already enough of a potential PR nightmare without Killbot Deathdroid on the team.

Liao: ...'Killbot Deathdroid?'

Reyes: That would be its codename, obviously.

Liao: Okay, so you think the problem is the robot and not your instant assumption that the robot would be 'Killbot Deathdroid.'

Reyes: It has to be Killbot Deathdroid. Blackwatch has a brand to maintain.

Liao: *weary sigh*

----

Torbjorn: Do we know the hardware threshold was for Aurora's sentience?

Liao: I keep telling you, the God AI's hijacked appliances, they didn't act autonomously. It's completely safe now.

Torbjorn: I still think the fridge should be analog.

Liao: I like the smart fridge! I need my crunchy pellet ice.

Torbjorn: Of all the--I could probably rig you up something to get that ice. You wouldn't need the blasted internet for that!

----

LIao: ...is there a reason you're coming to me for repairs and not Doctor Ziegler?

Genji: She's um... busy?

Liao: Orrrr you thought I wouldn't be able to tell when you've been taking yourself apart?

Genji: I don't know what you're talking about. This happened with the training bots.

Liao: Of course.

*pause*

Liao: There isn't a tracking device, by the way.

Genji: What?

Liao: In your prosthetics. That's what you were looking for, wasn't it?

Genji: ...maybe.

[cybernightart]

Here are some of the stuff on my list, I more then likely forgot alot lol

These are some adhd/autism symptoms observations I've found while looking into genji's character probably far too much XD

@reaphantom

(observations from what we know about young genji, blackwatch genji, current genji)

.Over excitable

.Distracted easy

.Only payed attention to things he was interested in (liked training but wasn't interested in the business stuff for the clan)

.Doesn't pick up on sarcasm

.Impatient (pre zen, he found ways to cope with zen)

.Always crosses arms/ holding his arms up/doesn't know what to do with arms

.Struggles/dislikes small talk

.Little to no eye contact (this also could be because apparently in Japan eye contact is rude and threatening ) (he also wears a visor so no one can see where he is looking )

.Loves videogames and could focus on them for hours on end

.Kinda stereotypical but he loves dinosaurs XD

.Fidgety/restless

.Easily distracted

.Zoomies

.Either talks alot and really quickly or not at all

.Impulsive

.Emotional disregulation/Rsd (rejection sensitive dysphoria) example loverwatch when he gets really really upset over being yelled at / or when you don't like something he said/did

.Doesn't talk much when in big groups /social situations

.Doesn't get social Ques alot

.Can come off rude or blunt or disinterested maybe even monotone at times when he really isn't intending it to come off that way

.We don't really see him interact with people outside of people he actively hates or people he is friends with but all the people he is friends with he was kind of just forced to be around them a lot so it was inevitable.

.Considering Genji had a history of being a Playboy I think it would be especially funny if the reason why he doesn't really pick up that tracer is hinting at the fact that there's something between him and mercy in the storm rising interactions is because one he just doesn't pick up on her tone or just understand what she's getting at and two he didn't get what mercy was getting at entirely and just does not pick up on the hints at all

.Like mentioned before he doesn't really pick up on the tone, unless it is really obvious. And again misses a lot of social cues. He also can come off very awkward.

.and currently the only foods we know Genji likes are chocolate, ramen from 1 specific place outside his home, and Dino (specifically the triceratops) nuggies

[moonlitcomet]

To any 3 random ocs: if you had to make a 30 minute power point, what subject would you choose?

jokes on you you get more than three because all of my ocs are autistic. won't be drawing a response to this one tho

.zip - "I don't know. I could probably make a coherent powerpoint about anything if I have enough time to research it. Maybe about duelists."

Aukkora - "I'm a teacher, dear, I'm very good at this. It's the subject I teach, so I'd choose to make one about the history and modern applications of spells and runes."

Flux - "97 ways to fit spiders in places they don't belong."

Kepa - "A 'power point'? Oh, a presentation. I suppose I could speak about vintage weapon forging."

Luca - "Oh, animals for sure! I just watched this documentary about snails the other day..."

Piquet - He has already prepared a 372 slide presentation about airplanes that will take no less than 30 hours to get through and will be engaging the entire time.

Pond - "Veterinary medicine or wildlife rehab!"

Ryder - "...I'd like to talk about obscure figurines from defunct companies..."

Samba - "Boats, baby."

Tiro - "Street food from across the world. That's always been the thing that's held me up all them years."

----

Some side characters:

Alan - "Uuuhh... man, I always sucked at powerpoints in school... Guess I could talk about Stick Fortress lore or somethin'..."

Apnea - "Would you like to see an interactive presentation about street magic?"

Bantam - "The old coot chose vintage forging, so I'd talk about Dragonsteel and how fauns made it and humans stole that shit from us. Blackwatch my feathery behind..."

Dorahm - "Oh, give me anything to do with computers or video games and I could talk about it for hours. Anything else though I... can't really keep my thoughts on for long enough to do a presentation on it."

Foley - ["Can I skip this? no? dang... uh, I don't know. Maybe the different kinds of shirts I've got at the store. Or something."]

Galo - "I could do a six hour presentation of how much of a pain Satou was before we started dating."

HAVOC - "I COULD TALK ABOUT HOW EASY IT IS TO PUNCH THROUGH DIFFERENT THINGS. HEH HEH. BUT TO BE SERIOUS, I'VE ALWAYS LIKED BAKING. I COULD TALK ABOUT CAKES."

Smii - ["Easily combat robotics, I've spent my whole life in it."]

Sorrel - "Oh uh, uh, plants. I have a lot of them. They're all very tasty."

Professor Valor - She slams down one of her many scientific textbooks that she's written and grins at you. You are in for many, many bizarre biology lessons.

[repairingtomorrow]

I don't know if this is intentional or not but the slow build up your doing for Cassidy's character is making me giddy. So far he's only been referenced a couple of times in your writings and the way you do it presents him in so many lights!

I can't wait to see what your going to do with his character!

Thank you for the kind words! I don't plan on changing Cassidy's character too much in the sense of his personality, but I do plan on getting into his role in Overwatch and Blackwatch and how he interacted with other characters. Then I'll work on his role in the new iteration of Overwatch.

That's probably a little spoilery for my stories, but he is going to be important in the future is what I'm getting at. Same thing with Genji, tbh. I feel like they're probably the ones most left out in terms of story.

(Cassidy and Genji are clearly not my favorite characters, right? lol)

[uilechumhachtach]

{ @revclverheld​ liked for a starter }

“You’re too brash for your own good. I wouldn’t be surprised if it got you killed one day.”

[anari3l]

cupcake pt. 10

pairing: Cole cassidy x reader /// words: 528 /// summary: the undercover, secretly married plotting begins.   /// notes: I had plans to write the name change in, but changed my mind, and just edited my entire Google doc. I'll update the other chapters later.

If you knew you wouldn’t get fired for it, you’d shoot Gabriel Reyes.

The undercover job was one thing. The entire story he had come up with was something else entirely.

You and Cole were to play a newly wed couple, who was moving into a rather nice three bedroom in suburbia. White picket fences, neighborhood block parties, and all that jazz.

Reyes sighed as he sat down at the table. “Fully furnished house, at your disposal. Target’s last known address is two houses down and across the street. Living room has a line on the house with the best angle. Everything is wired, and we’ve got agents in the area for monitoring. Stake it out. Don’t interact with the house if you don’t have to. Get to know your neighbors, gather intel …”

Cole nodded, folding his arms over his chest as he turned to watch the agents push a motorcycle into the garage. “Play it as if it’s true.”

“Don’t fuck it up,” Reyes interjected, standing from his seat and jabbing a finger into Cole’s chest.

He started walking back out to the garage, you and Cole following behind. “We’ve alerted your family,” he started, turning to you, “All calls to and from them will be patched through me. But you are on assignment. Deep undercover ---”

“My sister’s too busy with her own life to care about my work. I mentioned I’d be busy with a work thing to mom, but if she tries to reach me … “

“I’ll handle it,” Reyes nodded. “We’ve gathered a few boxes of your personal effects, from your apartment. Pictures, and whatnot. We need this place to look homey.”

“Got it,” Cole nodded, eyeing the brand new motorcycle he was standing beside.

“Oh, one more thing,” Reyes smiled. He turned to a box on the workbench and pulled out a framed photograph and a small box. “We worked with what we had, but it’s passable,” he said, holding out the fake wedding picture of you and Cole. “And your rings.”

He didn’t wait for another remark from you before setting down the datapad he had been carrying around. “Weekly check-ins, got it?”

“Yes, sir,” you and Cole nodded in unison.

“Congratulations, you two!” he smiled, turning to wave back at you as he walked to the fake moving truck. “It’s a beautiful house.”

You sighed, looking around you. “This neighborhood is …. creepy.”

“I kinda like it,” Cole smiled, standing in the driveway. “Always dreamt of a place like this.”

“Oh, really?” you asked, turning to face him. “I always thought you’d like moving around more. Being in Deadlock, I’m sure you never had a real place to call home.”

“Nope,” Cole agreed. “S’why i’ve dreamt of this.”

It had been a long while since you had been deep undercover for Blackwatch. No contact was normal for these kind of jobs, but for some reason, this felt like a total set up on Gabriel’s part. Hell, Morrison and Amari were probably in on this whole gag as well.

“Come on,” you sighed, slamming your hand against the garage door opener as you led Cole inside. “We’ve got work to do.”

[kittymsmithwritesstuff]

Can we have some soft Moira headcanons pls? I'm so sick of seeing her done so dirty when people make Blackwatch/Talon posts

I can’t say I know too much about how people portray Moira on Tumblr but she for sure needs more soft content. Bless for the ask.

-Deeply values her family. Above almost all else-the only thing greater is scientific achievement. What that means exactly is she will never do something that could directly harm her family, but they can’t stop her from chasing scientific breakthroughs, even if it could end in her demise.

-Prefers Murphey’s over Guinness.

-Has a large collection of candles of all different scents and lights different ones depending on her mood.

-By large I mean very large.

-I mean this woman could get candles for birthday, Christmas and Easter every year for the next decade and be pretty fucking satisfied.

-Where does she find the room? That's up to God.

-Has books stored in little corners wherever she frequents. Various places in her house-bathroom, kitchen, living, bedroom, office, all different-as well as at work. She’s a fan of classics, especially classic Irish authors like Oscar Wilde, but she is fond of American classics as well. She has no idea why.

-She is always on the hunt for someone that can have a decent conversation about that classic literature.

-She pretends she’s not as into shoujo manga as she is.

-Has “comfort animes” she plays in the background if she’s working at home. Usually inoffensive, wacky romance/slice of life.

-She had a crush on Haruhi Fujioka growing up.

-Raised Catholic and still practices to some extent. She's not sure entirely if she believes in God, she believes in something beyond the realm of explanation, but the religious practices of her youth give her a great amount of comfort when she's so far from Dublin.

-She likes thick soft things, like blankets that you can lose your hands in.

-She loves shock value humor. Her persona at work is not exactly inaccurate, but she might play it up just a bit so that anything “out of character” has that extra punch. She also says enough weird shit no one is ever sure whether or not she’s being serious.

-Good at poker, bad at blackjack (she overthinks it)

-She values her alone time but she doesn’t like being totally isolated-she doesn’t exactly need human interaction but she likes to have a human presence, like a roommate in the other room type of deal. There have been times when she could afford to live alone but got a roommate purely for this purpose.

-Is really good with kids.

-Dogs like her.

-Bangs head on doorframes more than she’ll readily admit.

-Approaches everything as fresh-faced as she can, so to speak-she tries not to judge people off appearance but rather action, and, to a degree, whatever knowledge she has of them previously. It’s benefitted her a lot in life.

-Probably eats too much red meat. Cannot be paid to care.

-Somewhat clueless about video games, hasn’t had the time to look into them further but finds them fascinating.

-She’s the kinda person that will pout and give puppy eyes to a romantic partner to get them back into bed.

-Alarms hold no power over her.

[totally-not-an-awkward-okapi]

Ok, so I’m not sure if this is going to be a controversial opinion, but I’ve got to say it:

I don’t think Moira stole Mercy’s tech, and I don’t think it was even stolen.

Ok. Big claim. After all, their technology is widely similar. Same yellow healing, similar beams, even similar suits between their Valkyrie and Blackwatch skins. But, I don’t think this is the case. Not only do I not believe the technology was actually stolen, but I would argue that the situation is actually reversed. I don’t think Moira’s tech is a corruption of Valkyrie tech. It’s an earlier version.

Visually speaking, Moira’s blackwatch outfit was clearly developed and being used on missions before Mercy even started wearing her Combat Medic skin, let alone the valkyrie suit. The Retribution event, which Blackwatch released with, takes place 8 years before overwatch’s present day. Uprising, which Combat Medic comes from, takes place 7 years before the current day. Additionally, it makes more sense that Mercy’s wings would be an addition to the Valkyrie suit- why would they be removed?

It’s technically only a theory that Moira’s teleportation ability is a physical augmentation rather than a piece of tech, but the former does make more sense in her case. Reaper has a similar teleportation ability which is canonically part of his body and a feature designed by Dr O’Deorain. Plus, she’s a geneticist, not an engineer. I bring this up because it could explain why wings needed to be added to later versions of the Valkyrie suit- not all medics likely could or would subject themselves to the therapy needed to develop teleportation- especially not for the inconsistent and painful results.

But, moving away from the visible, let’s explore some more hard evidence. The ages of the two scientists. Sure, Mercy is prodigious in medical science. But she is still nearly a decade younger. From a purely mathematical standpoint, Moira has more time to develop the tech.It’s also highly likely that, based on her age, she had more time as a member of overwatch. Though it’s unfortunately never confirmed that Moira worked for Overwatch, given her statements about them restricting her research and shuttering her work, it makes the most sense (it’s never implied they had the power to shut down random outside scientists). It’s also more than likely that she joined Overwatch during the war. It would explain how she got accepted in the first place.

Moira is a very classical mad scientist, so it makes the most sense that she would be hired during some sort of desperate situation. A world wide robotic uprising makes sense. Especially since some gene therapies were used during the war- both Reaper and Soldier 76 were subjects in the Soldier Enhancement Program. There’s no hint that she took an active role in the crisis however, so she likely only acted as a scientist and emergency medic.

But for now let’s accept that Moira was an earlier member or at least developed her theories earlier.

Mercy and Moira have several interactions in-game, but one of the more well known and oldest ones is this:

The standard interpretation seems to be that this is just skin deep. But with how little lore we get outside of interactions, this could be read as a clue. Mercy usually has quite a bit of wit in her interactions, so it feels almost like it is missing something if all it takes to shut her down is to point out that it does technically work. But there is a whole lot more weight, even enough to end the interaction, behind Moira’s point if Mercy’s tech was inspired by hers. Because though the interpretation that Moira’s biotics are a broken version of Mercy has some weight, I think it makes more sense that it is reversed. Mercy’s weaponry is an “improved” version of Moira’s.

Firstly, Moira refers to her own work like this. Now, whether this is an abject statement that she’s happy that, though flawed, it works or an inside joke against everyone who said her work was flawed, can be debated. But either way, it works well for this theory. Either way her work is old and, obviously, not perfect.

We can pretty safely say that though her work has become more streamlined and elegant, it hasn’t evolved much beyond what it was when she first started testing on herself. Between the scientist skin and her basic skin, she only seems to have gotten more professional looking equipment. Seeing as how her primary roles are as a leader within Talon and Oasis, it makes sense she is still just using what already works. She’s presumably still working and experimenting outside of her leadership roles, but she doesn’t need to work on improving her tech (yet).

In game, though Moira’s healing is stronger in bursts, it is also very limited. It’s range is short, has poor long term healing, can’t differentiate targets, and has little sustainability. Though there's a certain amount of in-system reproduction, it isn't infinite like Mercy’s. To refill it faster and heal herself it needs a source to take energy from. All of which makes sense for an earlier, less refined version, made in a rush to be used in a hectic fight.

Mercy is more refined and focused, even being entirely self sustainable. Her self healing is, though possibly slower, without any clear need for eternal "battery." However, it's also more watered down. She sacrificed it’s strengths to be more effective long term. Which would work excellently for a medical doctor and for a medic with a team that is far more suited to protecting her while she gets healing over time.

To address the accusations of theft, I dislike the idea that either stole from each other. Especially since they are both not above pettiness or revenge. Neither miss an opportunity to make a snide comment, and Moira is one of few characters with a voice line triggered on a revenge kill (killing a player who previously killed you). Both would definitely point out if her tech was stolen but none of their interactions come out and say that. Which makes it seem like they didn’t actually steal anything.

Mercy’s also just not the sort to steal research. Why would she need to- she’s a genius and there’s no implication that Moira was ever private about her research endeavors. Fake it, change numbers, obscure facts? Sure. But the research that ended her career was almost certainly released by her- if someone else had done it (especially another player character) it’s unlikely there would be no reference to them. Moira also goes on to become one of the ministers of Oasis, a city founded on the idea of funding and sharing all sorts of scientific endeavors. By the same logic, she might not actually hold it against someone if they improved her tech for their purposes (which would make the “kindness” interaction even more hypocritical).

(Though if it was stolen it could be an allusion to Watson and Crick stealing the notes of Rosalind Elsie Franklin on her discovery of the double helix. Yes I did just bring that up because people need to still be angry about that.)

Then again, I’ve probably just thought about this a whole lot more than anyone on the Blizzard team did. So who knows.

[adultswim2021]

Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law #12: “Trio's Company” | April 18, 2004 - 11:30 PM | S02E02

I would say that Space Ghost's ending truly was the end of an era. I'm not sure how cognizant of it I was at the time, though. I can't remember if Space Ghost's season was plainly stated to be it's last or if it just felt that way or what. But if it did indeed seem like an ending at the time, then what a fucking insult giving us more Birdman to kick things off for phase 2. I mean, Jeuss Christ.

In “Trio's Company” we are treated to a barrage of empty zany jokes about Birdman trying and failing to get in GiGi's pants. She's a beautiful redhaired lady that is making out with every man in the office (and elsewhere) but him. She's based on Gravity Girl from the Galaxy Trio. Their relationship takes a turn when he asks her out and she agrees... to move in with him. Funny? I mean, it's not a bad concept, especially when she brings other dudes over with her (I think they're the dudes from the Galaxy Trio, but I'm so exhausted from looking up “Gravity Girl”, I simply can not bear it). But everything in Birdman's world has no gravity, which is pretty FUCKING ironic because [you get it already, I'll stop].

This is when I officially gave up on Birdman. I might have said that during the write-up for the last episode, but it's technically truer to say so here. I did actively watch “Blackwatch Plaid”, but any and all moaning about “I'M NEVER WATCHING THIS SHOW AGAIN” is basically meaningless for me, a person who will emptily make this threat and then wind up seeing a bad show to it’s conclusion anyway. Me giving up on Birdman has to happen in practice, which it did here when I did not watch this episode on television. I did not actually see this episode until I started this project.

Birdman plays it's comedy with the precision of that brief bit in The Animaniacs where it shows the writers “flipped”. I don't know if this is going to mean anything to any of you, but I’ll try and explain. Literally almost every time when I think about Birdman-- okay, you know how sometimes when you hear about something, like an object or a concept or a person, etc, your brain will sorta identify that thing to you by showing you a brief image of it? Like a flashcard? Does anyone else experience this? Like, somebody says “fishing pole!” and your brain just shows you a very brief picture of a fishing pole to you, so you'll continuing knowing what fishing poles are?

Well, when people mention shows or movies to me sometimes more than a flash card pops up, but instead it'll be like an animated gif, and for me when I think of Birdman I actually think about that brief scene in The Animaniacs theme song under the lyric “the writers' flipped” and it's just two writers with re-re arms bouncing around while they make goofy faces and springs are coming out of their heads. I probably can't convince anyone here that I'm right about thinking Birdman is unfunnily zany in a detestable way by urging you to google the theme song for Animaniacs and look at that short little animation. But I wish I could.

I've explained this before. But some of you like when I repeat stuff incessantly, so this is for you: I attempted this blog one other time. I started a thread called something like ADULT SWIM IN REVIEW or ADULT SWIM: REVIEWED where I just decided to go through every episode of every Adult Swim show in chronological order. I did it up to 2004 or so, kinda around where I am now (yikes!). I dashed it off initially, cuz it was just a message board thread and I was basically just using it as a way to keep track of it for myself, so I'd say stupid pithy things that usually involved some message-board specific shorthand (example: “puppets? compn must hate this one” “Frylock produces a list that would rival Lim da Skit’s!” like, the most inane-sounding inside shit ever). I started over because it’d been so long that picking up where I left off felt weird, and also those early entries really didn’t hold up. Anyway, here's a previously-unpublished write-up for this episode that remarkably says different stuff:

Historically speaking, I gave up on Harvey Birdman around this time. This was the first Birdman show that I intentionally missed. All these Birdman episodes from here on our are exciting and new to me!

So anyway, this episode is really terrible. Like, spectacularly so. I hate every character, I hate every joke, I hate how the story moves... man, I just hate everything about this one.

So okay, Inch High PI is fired for being short. See, his shortness interferes with his surveillance-photo-taking abilities. That's funny, right? Meanwhile, Birdman deals with a comically promiscuous personal trainer who moves into Birdman's apartment after Birdman asks her out on one date. She uses his apartment to fuck dudes in, while never fucking Birdman. Birdman thinks that he has a thread of a shot of a chance getting his cloacae stroked, so he puts up with it. While this all happens, Inch High PI is shown running in at the end of every scene trying to get Birdman's attention (he's small! so it's tough!). Reducto goes crazy at the sight of him (because he's small! Reducto is obsessed with stuff like that!). You get the idea.

The most frustrating thing about this episode is that basically nobody actually has a conversation. That's one of the main things that irks me about Birdman: the characters are crazy joke machines and pairing any two characters in a scene almost never results in a functional verbal interaction. It's like watching bad improv or something. Except, you know, it's a cartoon, where there are multiple stages in production where you have an opportunity to fix that problem. It doesn't strike me as a creative choice as much as just bad writing.

This episode bites and I don't care who knows it. Go away!

EPHEMERA CORNER

The Popeye Show #9: "The Hyp-Nut-Tist/Child Psykolojiky/Cartoons Ain't Human" (April 19, 2004 - 1:30 AM)

At 1:30AM, Adult Swim started airing The Popeye Show. I’m not sure they even promoted it. I think they just needed to fill that half hour suddenly and just decided to plug The Popeye Show on there. I liked The Popeye Show. They showed three uncut Popeye shorts and included little bumpers discussing certain historically significant Popeye facts. It was clearly aimed at adult classic animation fans and not kids. Really cool, honestly. Anyway dipshits who don’t understand that Popeye is great complained, because they thought it was kids cartoons polluting their block. Relax shithead. Popeye is good. It’s a cartoon about a gross guy that kills people for fun. It fits right in to your precious Adult Swim block. It’s okay. They’re going to take it off the schedule soon, anyway.

Swimpedia notes that it was Popeye’s 75th anniversary around this time which I guess means Adult Swim actually was acknowledging our boy Popeye at some capacity. Unfortunately I don’t remember this! But then again, this is around the time I started drifting away from Adult Swim as a regular viewer.

[wildissylupus]

Hi its me again! I'm back :3 Lets talk ASAP.......about D.va headcanons and fanmade interactions!!

hehehe-

Fan interaction time!!

------------

Cassidy: You doin' alright? I know it's not easy to be so far from home, from your friends. D.Va: I'm fine! Me and Dae-hyun message each other after every mission, and Yuna always pesters me to get on Starcraft when ever she's free. Cassidy: Huh, good to know your still in contact with them, let me know if you need anything though.

------------

D.Va: Listen, I understand why the others are banned from the kitchen but why am I banned? Soldier 76: Because you set the microwave on fire. D.Va: It was one time- Soldier 76: Once was enough!

------------

D.Va: What was Blackwatch like? Cole won't tell me anything about it. Genji: He has his reasons, we went through a lot during that time. There where a lot of good times but... Cole lost a lot at the end of it. D.Va: Oh... well... I bet he's glad he had a friend like you to help him though it. Genji: (somber laugh) I wish I could say I was there but I left before the worst was yet to come. Still now we can be here for him when he needs.

------------

(When the New Bloods are on the same team) Baptiste: Looks like the team is all together again! Can't wait to fight along side you all again. Zarya: Yes let's hope it goes as well as last time! Pharah: Well that depends, we are fully under Cassidy's command now, most of his missions did go sideways. Cassidy: Hey! I'll have you know that most of those botched missions where not my fault. D.Va: Then whose fault was it? Cassidy: I would tell you but I'd probably end up dead by the end of the week if I did.

------------

Reaper: I didn't sign up for babysitting. D.Va: And I didn't sign up to deal with cranky old man with a revenge complex, yet here we are!

------------

Cassidy: Your shooting is pretty good in that Mech but how is it outside? D.Va: It's pretty average, I don't really fight without Tokki though, so it could probably some work. Cassidy: If you want I could give some pointers? I could help with your hand-to-hand too.

[nitewrighter]

I know there is no merit in saying this after the comic is out but I always liked the idea of Bap and Cass going thru adversaries to allies in their first interaction. The breakthrough being that roles could've been reversed given the circumstances (AU where Bap is Blackwatch). Kind of wish the comic demonstrated some synergy between their kits like Cass markmanship and Amp Matrix or IF. Also would've been nice to see Nguyen again

Yeah that's kind of the bittersweet thing about the whole "New Blood" comic arc, honestly. This is stuff we've definitely wanted to happen for literally the past 5 years, but now that it's happening it feels rushed and a little box-ticky and it's really difficult to appreciate in the full context of all of Blizzard's egregious abuses.

That being said, there were definitely some moments in the comic that I really liked, like Baptiste using his jump boots to slam Cassidy into the ceiling.

Like... just the general air of exhaustion here, kind of awkward tension being cut by Cassidy giving Baptiste a bit of shit. Cassidy's hat hair, Baptiste talking very vaguely about his need to set things right, but the flashbacks indicating this dude has been through a lot, and the general recognition of the gray characters in our lives that can give us a chance to find our place in the world. I dunno, this is also probably me projecting from watching The Bourne Identity at a young age and growing up believing desperately trying to avoid being killed on trains in Eastern Europe was peak intimacy.

As far as characters from "What You Left Behind" go... Yeah I miss both Mauga and Nguyen and wish we could see them again, and I do think the comic would have been way more interesting if it was them and not just some random Talon grunts. Although I was wondering if this was a Roseline Mondésir cameo:

[addictedtooverwatch]

Overwatch/OW2 Theories: Fio

I am writing this while waiting for my Nintendo Switch to update so I can play Overwatch. That’s why it’s pretty short, but it wasn’t going to be that long either. Hope you all are as excited about the Roadhog skin as I am. Although I play D.Va a lot more than any other hero, I am a tank main with D.Va, Wrecking Ball, and Roadhog being some of my most played heros. ~ Nova

Alright, back on topic! Since Archives are coming up in a couple weeks, I was thinking about what I could talking about before it started. I came up the my theory on the Mystery Storm Rising Omnic(link), I wrote about what skins I wanted(link), so this theory is going to be about Retribution, my favorite game mode. The first thing that came to my mind was Fio. So, I’m going to go over what we know about her and I’m going to theorize about what role she might play in the future, if she plays any at all. 

Basics: Fio is a former Blackwatch pilot who was deployed to pick up Gabriel Reyes, Jesse McCree, Genji Shimada, and Moira O'Deorain in Rialto during the Venice Incident(which is the Retribution game mode). I’m not exactly sure who her voice actress is, it might be Echo’s voice actress, Jeannie Bolet. If you want to listen to her from Retribution, here is the link, her first lines are at 4:25.  

Overwatch Theory: Since we know Fio was a pilot, after Blackwatch and Overwatch disbanded, she probably joined the Air Force of the country she is from (maybe the USA? I’m not sure). Eventually, she would have gotten the recall message. We know that she didn’t respond to it like Tracer, Mei, or Reinhardt and Brigitte, but it would be cool if she showed up. It would me interesting to see her interactions with McCree and Genji.

Talon Theory: We know from Baptiste’s short story, What you Left Behind, that some ex-Overwatch/ex-Blackwatch member joined Talon after the groups were disbanded, some examples are people like Moira and Gabriel Reyes/Reaper. So, it is possible that Fio joined Talon. During Blizzconline, the Overwatch Devs. mentioned that we might get to play as Talon characters during hero missions, so they might have Fio as the pilot that drops them off wherever they need to go.  

Anyways, I got a lot more done yesterday than I thought I was going to, so I might just not post tomorrow. I think that I’m going to start theorizing about possible new characters and new maps, but I am going to make a post about ideas for future mini events/character challenges since Roadhog just got one. 

TLDR: Fio was the Blackwatch pilot that saved Reyes, McCree, Genji, and Moira. After Overwatch/Blackwatch disbanded, there are two main options of what would have happened to Fio. One, she joined the Air Force of her country, then she eventually shows up to help the Recalled Overwatch. Two, she joined Talon and acts as a pilot for Talon themed hero missions.

[armedinkblot]

An Unnecessarily In-Depth Look into Moira O’Deorain

Under the cut is a long-winded examination into Moira and how I presume she became the cunning, sly mad scientist we know today. I wrote it out during quarantine because why not. This has been peer-reviewed and modified via an Overwatch/art Discord server. Please refer to the bottom of the post for my evidence/citations.

Let’s start with her twisted state of mind (the reason most of us love her, let’s be real). I believe Angela’s best interest in the safety of living creatures was a main contributing factor. It makes sense to me to think Angela reported her research to the higher ups out of fear of Moira "partaking in unethical procedures on living creatures", especially considering Moira’s published paper that was all on modifying genetics. Angela got painted as the good guy angel for exposing that, when Moira was only using time-tested experiments on rabbits, not like she was testing on humans. Yes, Angela was probably actually scared that Moira was being cruel and enjoying it too much (which she might have been, we don’t know) and was worried it might escalate. I don’t think Angela had any idea it would blow up that badly and ruin Moira’s entire career.

Whether or not Moira has always had a mad scientist inside of her is debatable, seeing as she presumably did graduate from a university at some point to be a renowned geneticist. Universities typically do not like or condone insane experiments and such antics, though in order to publish such a terrifying and controversial paper takes some kind of mental instability. Taking that into account, this means that either Moira is a better actor than we thought and had everyone fooled, or Angela and Overwatch just broke her completely. We won’t know unless Blizzard gives us more backstory. (Please give us some kind of lore, I am begging.)

Now, next we analyze the timeline we have (at the moment, Blizzard likes retconning). With Retribution, the comics, her release trailer shown at Blizzcon, and her origin story, I believe this paints a pretty tidy picture.

Here is my take on Moira’s descent into the manipulative witch she became.

Moira and Angela worked together somewhere, probably Overwatch based on Moira’s lab coat skin.

Moira publishes a paper about genetic and neurological reconditioning, dealing with cells. Her results are irreplicable and sketchy, damaging her reputation. Overwatch kept her working on smaller projects.

Moira either didn’t like or didn’t trust the biotech and opted for experimentation on rabbits, seen as unethical and cruel by the scientific community.

Angela reported her to the higher ups, most likely out of fear of things escalating because of her paper. Overwatch fires her.

At this last hit to her reputation, Moira’s lab is completely defunded and shut down, and she loses her right to practice science. At some point in this period, Angela stole some notes from Moira, which are found in Switzerland.

She continues to live in the abandoned lab and experiments on herself out of the public eye, causing the scarring on her right arm. This is likely due to not being able to afford new lab rabbits. Meanwhile, around this time, Blackwatch is created.

Moira joins Blackwatch as their medic without Overwatch’s high officials’ knowledge and begins testing on Gabe. Angela does not interact/interacts very little with Moira at this time that we know of.

Moira joins Talon behind the scenes, probably because of the unlimited funding and shared gray morals (sacrificing lives for humanity’s progression, for example).

Amelie is kidnapped by Talon. Part way through her neural reconditioning Overwatch saves her, though she kills Gerard and goes back. Let me point out that Moira is, as far as we know, the only geneticist capable of making such heavy modifications to someone’s DNA/body.

Gabe acts insanely out of character by killing Antonio, to which Moira appears very satisfied with a smug smirk and neat posture.

Overwatch falls apart because of it, likely part of Talon’s plan that Moira played a large part in.

Gabe joins Talon with Moira and Widowmaker, while Moira joins the higher ranking scientific officials in Oasis as Minister of Genetics.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now for the tidbits of information that backs up my theory and provides evidence. To start, a lot of the information I’ve gathered comes from the official Gamepedia, the Blizzcon 2017 transcript, and her page on the website. Here are the rest, including hyperlinks. Hyperlinks are in italics.

Her origin story:

She worked for Overwatch, but someone eventually "silenced" her. She states they were holding back her research due to ethics.

She leaves her lab in her lab coat, which she is seen in when Blackwatch comes to get her, meaning she’s more than likely still at the abandoned lab.

She experiments on Gabe, which the artist of the video admits he’s terrified of.

Retribution event:

Her ease with the execution, and the fact she smirks and just seems so... satisfied with his performance shows to me that she was expecting this behavior. (Just according to keikaku...)

She seems mostly unphased for the rest of the escape sequence.

Voice lines:

She and Amelie have an interaction where she asks, “How are you feeling, Lacroix?” Amelie very sharply responds, "I don’t feel. That’s the point, isn’t it?". Amelie phrasing the last part as a question proves Moira knows what happened to her, Moira being the one most likely to have done the work.

Angela and Moira’s first interaction ("Describing your work as unethical would be a kindness." "But the true question is whether or not you can deny my discoveries? no, I didn’t think so.") hints that they worked together sometime, to the point Angela knew how Moira’s experiments worked.

Moira also mocks Angela when she kills her, saying "Our guardian angel~" in a dry, sarcastic tone, hinting that Angela harmed her in the past and Moira found it satisfying to get back.

Comics:

In Legacy, Ana and Jack are seen pursuing Talon agents in Overwatch uniforms. Ana gets shot by Widowmaker, who was already converted. This means Amelie was taken while Overwatch was still together, therefore before the Venice Incident. Seeing as Moira was the one operating on Amelie based on common sense, she had been working for Talon behind Blackwatch’s back.

In Retribution, an explosion goes off that kills hundreds and severely injures Gerard. Jack seems uneasy with Gabe’s response to the incident, asking him to rethink if hunting Antonio down will help in the long run. At the end of the comic Gabe is portrayed with shadows like Reaper’s owl skull mask, hinting that Moira’s experiments had messed with his head a tad.

Other sources:

Angela and Moira both have each others' work in their labs in the Switzerland and Oasis maps, respectively, as well as confirmation from Michael Chu that they have a deep background history with each other. (See Participant #3 in this hyperlink)

Moira named her test rabbit from her origin story "Better Angela" out of spite; Angela had to have done SOMETHING to deserve that.

Moira replicated the Valkyrie suit to a degree, meaning either they worked together or Moira stole it and adapted it for her biotech needs. (Also see Participant #3 in this hyperlink.)

Angela and Moira both have sprays that clearly show they were once friends (or at least colleagues), namely the ones in front of the Overwatch logo and “Shadow” and “Light”.

Moira wears a headpiece like devil horns, most definitely to spite Angela’s halo.

I am more than happy to hear any feedback or additions to this whole thing, and if you’ve made it all the way through I appreciate it greatly. I know it’s long-winded and I could’ve made it much shorter, but I wanted to cover all the bases I could.

Thank you.

[thebig-chillqueen]

In Hanzo’s defense...

The people calling Hanzo a "raging a-hole" tend to forget that he was a scion-a yakuza scion.

As oldest son/heir, Hanzo was put under tremendous pressure from the Clan to exceed all expectations. He was groomed to command rooms-to be all business and show little to no weakness. What good is having an oyabun of a powerful crime family who could easily fall prey to others’ manipulations and distractive emotions?

~*~

The bonding process with the dragons also most likely wasn't a very pleasant experience and Hanzo has TWO of them. Double the pain and recovery time.

Despite this, the Clan probably only allowed a short respite before putting him to work since Sojiro was nearing the end and they needed their new heir to be ready, like, yesterday. ~*~

While he might be a bit relieved that Genji wasn't treated as harshly, he did feel some envy towards the freedom Genji relished in since he didn’t have as much responsibility towards the Clan-not that he was interested, to begin with-but still cared a lot about him, regardless.

Hanzo protected Genji as often as he could but a rift caused by their “family” still formed between them and they grew apart and more hostile towards each other, as the Elders planned. It was then when they were forced into a gruesome duel to rid of the weakest link.

The breaking point for Hanzo was nearly murdering his little brother as he was ordered to. ~*~

Hanzo may have been cold towards Genji prior and up to their battle, but the full weight of his actions crashing down upon him is what finally opened his eyes to seeing that just how effed up the Clan truly was.

Not even family was safe from their castigation.

If Hanzo didn't care about Genji at all, him practically killing him would not have broken him the way it did.

He wouldn’t have exiled himself from Hanamura, giving up the “dream” he thought he wanted but was really what the Clan ingrained into him from a young age and losing the empire that would have been his. He wouldn't have spent 10 years kicking himself over his "duty".

He wouldn’t be drowning his guilt and sorrows in sake.

He wouldn’t have risked his life visiting Shimada Castle every year on the anniversary of Genji’s “death” to honor the beloved brother he lost with incense and a sparrow feather-”Sparrow” having been Genji’s nickname given to him by Sojiro.

~*~

Some of their interactions might make you think otherwise such as,

"You will never amount to anything!"

but I fully believe this more of the Clan poisoning Hanzo's mind and putting words into his mouth.

Hanzo was made to believe that Genji was nothing but an obstacle that had to be dealt with. ~*~

While I'm on the topic of their interactions:

"Think you can do better than me?" "Heh. I am certain of it."

This comes off as a friendly, brotherly competition. "It is not too late to change your course, brother." "You are mistaken, brother. I am beyond redemption."

HOPE. Genji still has lots of love for Hanzo and has even told him he has hope for him to better himself. ~*~

Hanzo's secondary response, " You may call yourself my brother, but you are not the Genji I knew", is him not wanting to face the truth that the strange half-man half-machine before him is his really his brother.

Hanzo feels that Genji suffered a fate worse than death because of him. ~*~

Hanzo became suicidal as he feels that only in death will he be redeemed of his crimes. He takes many risks, such as visiting the heavily guarded Shimada Castle and becoming a mercenary.

"With every death, comes honor. With honor, redemption."

In "Dragons", he WANTED Genji to kill him after he was bested in battle.

Blackwatch!Genji wouldn't have hesitated to do so, he was full of so much rage and in so much pain, but Genji spared him. He had learned about peace and acceptance from Zenyatta and had long forgiven his big brother-having told him so. He wants to reconcile and help Hanzo heal.

However, 10 years of bottled up internal torment and guilt only to find out that your brother is still alive but as a cyborg is a lot to deal with all at once. ~*~

"The world is changing once again, Hanzo, and it's time to pick a side." "Perhaps I am a fool to think there is still hope for you...but I do."

Genji wants Hanzo by his side and for them to be brothers, once more. He probably keeps tabs on Hanzo until he decides to join Overwatch. ~*~

After that reunion, there are hints to Hanzo taking Genji's words to heart. His casual skin is him letting go of his past.

He's showing more emotions and even making quips. He's being more true to himself instead of being a puppet to his and Genji’s abusive family.

He suffers from depression but Hanzo is atoning.

There is hope for him

[alittlegreensparrow]

H E A D C A N O N.     *  CHARACTER INTERVIEW .

BASICS.

NAME . Genji Shimada. NICKNAME . There was a time his alias was Sparrow AGE .   35 SPECIES .   human.

PERSONAL.

MORALITY .   lawful / chaotic / good / neutral / evil / true. RELIGION .   In my headcannon his family was very traditional, and would practice Shinto while he was growing up. This religion is very much a part of him, and while he followed the teachings of the Shambali he still very much practices Shinto. He does not identify as Shinto though, even if he practices it’s teachings.  SINS .   greed / gluttony / sloth / lust / pride / envy / wrath. VIRTUES .   chastity / charity / diligence / humility / kindness / patience / justice. KNOWN LANGUAGES . Japanese, English.  SECRETS .  When he first became a ‘Cyborg’ he was absolutely miserable. In my HC, he looked at himself and saw a broken man, nothing more than a weapon for at the disposal of Overwatch / Blackwatch. Due to his upbringing and honour system he had in place, he felt as though he was at Overwatch’s Mercy for saving his life, but for so long he secretly wished they had left him to die. However Zenyatta changed all of that.

PHYSICAL.

BUILD .   scrawny / bony / slender / fit / athletic / curvy / herculean / pudgy / average HEIGHT .   5′8′‘ (There is no canon height, so I say he’s the same height as Hanzo) SCARS  /  BIRTHMARKS .  What’s left of his body is absolutely covered in scars. My Genji’s face in particular is mangled, a deep scar forming across his nose, a scar on his upper lip from where it was split in two, a scar crossing his right eye, anywhere cybernetics touch skin is scarred, and smaller scars adorn his face. He’s also missing his lower jaw, tongue, and a good part of his throat which have been replaced by Angela, and much of it is scarred around there. For his lower half it’s not as bad. It’s very similar to the Blackwatch skin, except where tubing was in his arm is now scarred up from being removed, and his hand is scarred up quite a bit. IMO their fight mostly focused on his vitals (Which is why in my HC much of his torso is gone and replaced) and his face. IMO I’ve always believed Hanzo was fueled with rage and didn’t want to see it as his brother, much less hear him, which is why Genji is missing so much of what would have allowed him to call out and beg for forgiveness if you catch my drift. ABILITIES /  POWERS . Since he has the cybernetics, a lot of his natural abilities are enhanced. He can perceive a speeding bullet fast enough to deflect it, he’s fast (Cocky about it too, even basically daring McCree to shoot him in a voiceline interaction) and most of his power comes from those legs of his. Able to quickly ‘dash’, jump high in the air, and easily scale walls which seem unscalable. 

FAVORITES.

FOOD . He’s a simple man. Anything that reminds him of home, such as a bowl of Ramen. But he really enjoys rice balls and salmon.  DRINK .  He loves tea.  PIZZA TOPPING .  My boy gets EVERYTHING on his pizza. But he definitely favours the vegetable options like green peppers.  COLOR .  Green/Orange, leaning a lot more towards green.  MUSIC GENRE .  I’ve always felt he would be one who likes punk / pop. And probably to Hanzo’s dismay, he would blast K-pop on full volume because he genuinely likes it. BOOK GENRE .   Sci-fi MOVIE GENRE .  Horror / Action / comedy.  CURSE WORD . “fuck” SCENTS .  He loves the smell of Jasmine. 

FUN STUFF.

BOTTOM OR TOP .  Both  SINGS IN THE SHOWER .  Horribly, yes. LIKES PUNS .  Don’t get him started or he will never stop. He loves puns. He thinks he’s punny. 

TAGGED BY . @roadhook TAGGING .  @gerbears @brxken-arrxw @ Anyone else who would like to do this, feel free to tag me ;)