afearfulbride

[afearfulbride]

sets my oc down on front of you like an entree

crawls back under my rock

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if yall let wumuti (or seunghwan) get eliminated we’re going to have a problem

[afearfulbride]

relatable hassel content

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my little cousin confidently declared that mother nature had a counterpart named daddy electric and i feel like this concept needs to be explored

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[afearfulbride]

I cant believe someone tried to call you out for making a white dude (cassidy) too white in your art 😂

Nahh, I get it. Cassidy's skin tone has been ridiculously inconsistent since launch, and I think it's kind of understandable that, especially in the early days, fandom came up with a lot of interpretations in lieu of any confirmation from the OW team. Since then, it's kind of taken on a life of its own; brown Cassidy might be all some people have ever known, especially if they don't play the game itself often and mainly engage in fandom spaces.

No shade (no pun intended) to people who draw him with a deeper skintone! It's just not something I got grandfathered into personally- I've only just really started posting art- so I lean towards his current OW2 skin tone as it appears on his in-game model.

[afearfulbride]

soft hanyatta....... if you wake him up hanzo will break your face

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On Baptiste and Mauga

Author's Note: This post contains usages of the word queer. Red underlining of the text is my own emphasis. Big thanks to @yoshi12370 for archiving Important Maustiste Tweets. He is the official king of the ship.

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Introduction

Overwatch 2's inaugural season is halfway over. With Mauga being frontrunner for December's highly anticipated new tank, I thought it might be fun to reread and reexamine their short story What You Left Behind (WYLB) given the game's new voicework.

WYLB was originally published in 2019; the only short story Alyssa Wong penned during their time at Blizzard (they now write Star Wars comics for Marvel). It was highly praised by fandom, namely for the depth it added to Baptiste and its compelling introduction to Mauga (who was back then assumed to be the next hero).

There was another reason, however: the story encouraged the reader to interpret Baptiste and Mauga as ex-lovers, an intentional creative decision from Wong (who is both bisexual and nonbinary). This made Mauga incredibly popular amongst the queer side of the fandom.

In this post, I try to explain the nature of Baptiste and Mauga's relationship (and why it can be so easily interpreted as romantic). I hope you enjoy reading! Perhaps this can spark a conversation about the dynamic these two men share, which I personally adore.

The Text Itself

Thematically, WYLB is the story of a lover scorned (Mauga). When Baptiste decided to leave Talon, he broke Mauga's heart. His former partner never forgave him for this, and (in WYLB) is trying to bring him "home."

The Caribbean Coalition, despite letting Baptiste hone his skills as a combat medic, did not give him economic stability. This is explored in his backstory video. Immediately after joining (as shown in one of WYLB's many flashbacks), Baptiste and Mauga are drawn to one another. They form an immediate connection. Baptiste is attracted to Mauga's charisma, while Mauga believes Baptiste understands him in a way others (presumably) don't.

This immediately sets Baptiste apart from other Talon recruits for Mauga. We're told his personality is electrifying and naturally pulls people towards him. But Mauga could've chosen anyone, and he chose Baptiste, because Mauga believed Baptiste understood him. And this faith is well-placed. Baptiste, as far as we are aware, is the only person able to talk Mauga down when enraged. Clearly, there is a level of emotional intimacy between these men that does not extend to other Talon members.

What's more? This understanding, the ability to parse each other's emotions, extends both ways. Their final mission together (before Baptiste turned traitor) was to Monti Cristi. Prior to landing, we're told explicitly of Baptiste's doubts. He no longer trusts Talon as an organization. But Mauga realizes what Baptiste is thinking without the medic saying a word and that something is very, very wrong. He tries to reassure Baptiste:

And in combat, they energize one another. Mauga is the kind of man who enjoys the thrill of any fight, but the rush he gets fighting alongside Baptiste is different, special. The feeling is mutual for Baptiste, although he's hesitant to admit it:

Caring for Mauga (and their team) gave Baptiste purpose after he left the Caribbean Coalition. Of course, the irony being that searching for such a purpose after defecting from Talon lead him to Overwatch. And most importantly, Mauga wears his heart on his sleeve: he outright states he missed Baptiste, missed their connection.

And I believe this was written intentionally. Mauga simply did not see other members of Talon in the way he does Baptiste. He doesn't speak nearly as highly of Nguyen, despite the two of them working together efficiently throughout the story. Moreover, he admits he didn't even like their old captain. It is important to note Baptiste killed most of their old squad. Mauga doesn't care about revenge or retribution, all he seems is to want Baptiste back.

Thus, I think the text is clear about their relationship: for a time, Baptiste and Mauga completed one another (romantically and professionally). They demonstrate a degree of emotional intimacy not shared their by their old squad (and one we haven't seen on Baptiste's end yet with the New Blood crew). These are two men who were once completely attuned to the other's feelings on and off the battlefield. Any breakup, then, would undoubtedly be messy.

Of course, one could argue that they are simply good friends. Intimacy (emotional or otherwise) isn't always limited to romantic relationships. I don't agree with this interpretation simply because of Wong's old tweets, but it's also worthwhile to interrogate the text. How does WYLB imply they were lovers? I think there are two important points to consider:

The framing of female characters in the story

The patented Gay Yearning from Mauga

Mondesir and Sombra

Roseline Mondesir is Baptiste's childhood friend. They grew up in the same orphanage together, and their childhood dream was to jointly open a clinic. Although Rosaline jokes about Baptiste being subjected to a patient's flirting and complements his muscles, there's no romantic tension between them. Their interactions are a combination of professional and platonic.

Similarly, Sombra's appearance in the story contains no romantic undertones. She calls him "mijo," which is a (usually) familial (sometimes platonic) term of endearment. Baptiste is indeed attracted to women (he's heavily bisexual or pansexual coded) but there was no attempt by the narrative to create plausible deniability by suggesting Baptiste has feelings for one of these characters. The emotional crux of the story is the messy emotions these men share after their breakup.

Also, Mauga Really, Really Likes Baptiste

An easy detail to miss in WYLB is that the mission to bring Baptiste back was Mauga's idea. Prior, Talon only wanted to kill him (and sent members of their old squad to do so). Mauga, though, is determined to bring Baptiste back alive, an irregularity for Talon defectors.

And what's more, he outright admits that Baptiste's betrayal hurt him. He slathers in a layer of humor, however (something he regularly does), likely to distract from the emotional vulnerability the statement opens him up to.

Mauga asking Baptiste is he was out "breaking hearts" feels intentional, too. We know Baptiste is a bit of a flirt. But coming from Mauga, this feels less like a descriptor of Bisexual Disaster Baptiste (as we see in-game via interactions), and more of a subtle admission that Baptiste broke Mauga's heart, too.

This heartbreak isn't just something alluded to, either. We're lucky enough to get a flashback of Baptiste escaping Monti Cristi. Before letting him leave, Mauga lays his feelings about Baptiste bare:

Mauga thinks Baptiste is special, different from other Talon mercs. And for a very brief moment, we get that emotional vulnerability once more. Mauga sees Baptiste as a normal part of his existence. He seems to think Baptiste will one day come to his senses, believing there's no way the medic would leave him forever. Of course, this turns out to be wrong. And Mauga deals with the heartbreak.

I don't think Mauga ever forgot or forgave Baptiste. In the final confrontation between the two men at the end of WYLB, Mauga remarks:

He's not letting Baptiste go, and I think the "edge" in his voice described here is his excitement. Not just for combat, but for the chance to make things right. Baptiste will come back to Talon. They'll be partners again. It'll be just like the good ol' days. Mauga is tired of waiting for Baptiste to return to him of his own volition. He'll force Baptiste to come home, and then he'll understand, surely.

Does Still Baptiste Care About Mauga?

The last big question I want to explore is whether the feelings are mutual. Even if Mauga and Baptiste were romantically involved prior to Baptiste's defection, it's not impossible that perhaps Baptiste just doesn't feel the same for Mauga anymore. While I can't say with certainty that Baptiste currently has romantic feelings towards Mauga, he certainly cares for him. This is evident in the story, briefly:

Baptiste knows Mauga is dangerous. Baptiste knows Mauga will try to capture him again, if given the chance. And yet, Baptiste hopes Mauga is still alive after their battle. That's pretty damning evidence that Baptiste still cares.

There's also this little interaction from OW1 that (as far as I know) didn't make the transition to OW2. Regardless, it's still revealing:

You can listen to a recording here.

I find Baptiste's question telling. He doesn't ask what Mauga's plans are, or where he is, or how to avoid him. He asks how he is, demonstrating a concern for Mauga's wellbeing (perhaps against his better judgement). And Sombra seems somewhat sympathetic to the situation (as a good friend would).

So maybe they're queer, what now?

Tomorrow we find out whether Hero 36 is Mauga. This would be, in my opinion, an "easy" W for Team 4. There's no lack of criticism for how queer heroes have been handled since launch. Adding Mauga to the roster and confirming he and Baptiste were romantically involved (or shared feelings for one another) would add a queer storyline the game's queer fandom would adore.

I do understand that it's not actually "easy." Developers in the games industry often have to fight company executives (and management and legal teams) to get queer characters greenlit at all. It took Riot Games' management nearly a decade to relent and allow it's workers to confirm Twisted Fate and Graves were former lovers, and Baptiste and Mauga could be going through the same process.

However, I want to have hope. Unlike other ships, Baptiste and Mauga already have the groundwork for a former romantic relationship laid. They don't need a reconciliation (Reaper76) or to physically to meet one another (Yeehan). There's already a lot of deep, messy emotions between the two of them and they're tied to one another's stories. All that's left is a confirmation.

Thanks for reading!

[afearfulbride]

high school AU in which overworked math teacher Hanzo is completely unprepared for the new guidance counselor

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Ian McKellen as Salieri and Tim Curry as Mozart in the original 1980 Broadway production of Amadeus

[afearfulbride]

I like your overwatch art but you drew Cole super pale so I suggest paying attention to character's skin tone in the future! :3

That’s fair- the colour layer/filter definitely killed some of the saturation that was originally in his skin tone shade when I first coloured it. I was mainly trying to find ground between his OW and OW2 colouring, since he’s a lot fairer in OW2 for some reason- tho lbr his skin tone has never really been very consistent across different pieces of canon media.

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stiller water (gen. hanyatta)

Peace, at last.

Already the outside world had vanished beneath the low rumble of the filling bath as it resounded from every wall in a soft cocoon of sound. Up from the roiling water came great, hot drifts of steam that kissed bare skin and soothed bruises, permeated by the heady scent of lavender and neroli- a counterpoint to the incense smoking steadily away in the corner, low and bitter and exotic.

If he kept his eyes closed Hanzo could almost imagine that he sat in the middle of the finest bathhouse in Hanamura, and not the sorry, Spartan affair that alleged to serve the same purpose at Watchpoint: Gibraltar. 

There was, however, one more difference.

“Allow me.”

With a soft clink of metal on tile, Zenyatta settled onto his knees behind him and gathered Hanzo’s hair up from his neck and into a clip. 

That in itself was not unusual. Omnic attendants were a staple of many of the most exclusive resorts he’d visited in his past life. But no mere attendant would chuckle at his pleased little huff, much less pet his neck without expecting to have their hand snapped clean off. Later on, Zenyatta would carefully brush it through from root to tip and smooth camellia oil into the ends while he perched on the end of his bed and struggled to stay awake beneath such gentle ministrations, his scalp tingling at each careful stroke of the comb. 

Hanzo suspected that Zenyatta would tuck him into bed, too, given half a chance. Sometimes he had half a mind to let him anyway.

The tell-tale slosh of a washcloth pulled him back to the present, and on instinct he tensed as Zenyatta worked it in broad, loose circles across his back- gentle at first, but soon Hanzo felt the press of his fingertips too as they sought out each knot and ache with almost eerie precision.

This time he did not so much huff as groan, sinking back into the omnic’s touch. “How do you know me so well already?” he grumbled. “It is suspicious .”

Zenyatta answered with his usual musical laugh. “Then shall I take my leave?”

Hanzo’s heart rose and swelled, and crushed the last vestiges of resistance from his voice. “Idiot.” And then, just as warmly: “Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it,” the omnic answered. Hanzo could hear him shuffling closer beneath the soft thrum of his voice; the cool, round surface of his brow coming to rest between his shoulders came as a relief rather than a surprise. “There is nowhere I would rather be than here with you.”

Impossible , Hanzo wanted to say. But that kind of thinking did not seem to linger for as long as it used to, and already it was beginning to fade, like the shadows of a nightmare before the morning sun. When Zenyatta’s arms wound around his waist he simply sank back into them, knowing- trusting , against all instinct- that they would not let him fall.

The bath, though. By the time Hanzo had lowered himself into the steaming water, hissing with satisfaction, it was practically overflowing. Doubtless someone would complain about such a frivolous use of resources while the Watchpoint was still only just functional, but that was a challenge for another time.

Heady, fragrant heat soaked Hanzo to the bone, muscles flexing and then relaxing beneath the surface of the water as he stretched… but, somehow, he could not quite settle. Hanzo opened his eyes again.

It was hardly a hot tub, but surely the bath could manage a second occupant, particularly when one of them was a slight little thing. Silently, Hanzo thanked the Overwatch of years gone by for going out of their way to accommodate a gorilla.

“You said that you are fully waterproof..?”

 “I am.”

Zenyatta’s head tilted, and into the angle Hanzo thought he read a careful kind of anticipation. At times he seemed to be tempering himself; I do not want to rush you , he’d said once, and though he had been grateful it had made him, ache, too, to know that his fear was what held them back. It did not have to be so. Water spilled over the side of the bath as Hanzo edged forwards. Try though he might to keep his tone neutral, there was no concealing the note of uncertainty in his voice or the thud of his heart from such finely-tuned sensors. “Then join me?”

And Zenyatta’s array burst into bright, fluttering light. “I thought you would never ask.”

Graceful as he was in his daily life, there was something unearthly about Zenyatta when he was laid bare, a moonbeam of a creature, all silver and gold and streaked through with the blood-red of every exposed wire.

He stepped into the opposite end of the bath, their bodies slotting side by side with jigsaw precision, and Hanzo finally let himself sink back and relax. Just.

In truth a part of Hanzo had hoped that Zenyatta would select his side and bracket him with those long, long legs- or, better yet, that the omnic would curl into his lap with his head pillowed on his chest and his feet dangling over the edge of the bath, the picture of tranquil satisfaction. He would curl around Zenyatta like Ryujin about his jewels and disappear into the mist together, as far from the rest of the world as the bottom of the ocean. 

Another time. It was, he knew, still early days for them both, even if it seemed in these moments that every atom of his body demanded contact, as if each wasted opportunity to touch Zenyatta- so wonderfully, blessedly real , so his - would be his last. As if, with too much space, Zenyatta himself would realise the terrible mistake he had made in sharing even a fraction of his light with a fractured shadow of a man.

Patience. Trust. Hope. All virtues Hanzo had never been given reason to practise until now.

He closed his eyes, letting his head fall back against the edge of the bath in some half-hearted attempt to refocus, but it must have shown on his face. A moment later the blunt edge of Zenyatta’s foot nudged him in the rib.

“Where are you going?” The omnic’s head was cocked- playful, rather than accusatory. “ Stay , Hanzo.”

Hanzo . There was a time when just hearing his own name had made his heart quicken like that of some hunted creature, ready to turn and fight for his life. A curse. But in that soft, sonorous voice, the true blue of Zenyatta’s jieba like glimpses of an endless sky opening before him…

As Hanzo exhaled the water rippled beneath his breath, and the reflection of Zenyatta’s array splintered and tripped, scattering light first across its surface and then the steam-cloudy chrome of his chassis.

I don’t deserve this, Hanzo wanted to say. Or, you blind me, my star.

Hanzo swallowed. He turned his eyes squarely upon Zenyatta- upon his dents and scuffs and the way his body curved towards him with sheer, fearless affection- and found that, in spite of himself, he was smiling.

“I am not going anywhere.”

[afearfulbride]

even now, in the year of our iris 2k22, i still lov he

[afearfulbride]

slams this down

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Genyatta plant🌱🌱

Genji is dandelion, Zenyatta is a spearflower.

[afearfulbride]

All the Lore I Know About Tekhartha Zenyatta (with sources)

This probably isn’t everything the entire fandom knows- I’m sure people have worked out things that I haven’t -but this is everything I know as of June 2, 2019.

Keep reading

[afearfulbride]

Seems like somebody got himself a sugar daddy 👀💯