#Character: Widowmaker | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lepusrufus · 1 year ago

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I was gonna throw this in a list of hcs but actually I wanna give it its own post bc I'm very normal about Widow and what's been done to her

I know the more widely accepted idea is that Widow has some inhuman strength and agility due to all the procedures she went through, but what if it's actually the opposite? Her blood flow is so slow her body barely gets the minimum amount of oxygen through it to survive. It makes her lethargic and chronically exhausted because she's always on that fine line between surviving and dead. It helps her keep deadly still when sniping, with great results as far at that goes, but on the flip side a burst of physical activity while running from one place to another on an assignment exerts her body to the point of agony. There's always a team of doctors and days upon days of physiotherapy waiting at Talon's hq, but that doesn't really erase the pain.

There's nanites flowing through her system but they don't really work. Not like they work for Angela or even Moira because they're not there to heal her, they're just there to keep her body from collapsing in on itself.

Her blood flow is so fucked she has pretty much zero temperature regulation and any environment that's too hot or too cold or spikes in temperature really screw with her. And she can barely even feel it until it's too late and she's either dizzy to the point of fainting or can barely move. (Yes I see the cinematic of her wearing basically nothing in the tundra. Yes I'm ignoring that detail and saying her uniforms are made to help with that thank you.)

Her lack of emotions was a carefully crafted mix of psychology work and meds specifically made for her that by this point keep her body going just as much as every other bit of "maintenance" she needs on a regular basis to survive. It doesn't always work. The human mind is great and complex and frankly she would sometimes prefer it not to be because whenever a strong emotion manages to sneak past all the walls built in her mind it leaves her frustrated and more exhausted than she already is. She can still make connections, have likes and dislikes, but anything particularly strong is like an unwelcome shock to an already fragile system.

But Talon doesn't really care because she's their perfect sniper and at the end of the day all the pain that comes as a consequence is only there to make her stronger.

And to top it off, Moira loathes how Ameliè turned out.

She didn't have that much of a hands on role in the making of Widowmaker, she's neither a psychologist nor a surgeon or any other kind of doctor that could do all of that, but she has been sort of an overseer to it. She's the one handling the regular procedures Widow needs to survive and the one taking note of how she handles one thing or another. And she hates all of it.

Moira used to be proud of Widowmaker, but after years of seeing basically a dead woman constantly walk the line of barely even alive, she realised that this is the complete opposite of what her idea of going against the limitations of the human body used to be. If Widow was to ever stop taking the fistful of daily meds or the medical procedures needed to keep her body going she would simply die, and even Moira can despise something that cruel.

#see i can make serious hcs too #i say while putting the blorbos through the worst situations #i love her I promise #but characters in constant agony just scratch an itch #widowmaker overwatch #overwatch #headcanon #is Moira a little ooc maybe but shhhhh i love me a morally gray tal ginger nerd #moira overwatch

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half-developed-frontal-lobe · 1 month ago

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A continuation of:

'Who trained Widowmaker?'

An analysis on Ana's sniping skills, how they've changed. Widow's sniping skills, and the skills the person/people who trained her needed.

This is a continuation of this post.

Thank you @professionalranter31 for asking these questions! I had a lot to consider while writing!

If we were to have a hero/person like this, we'd need to account for what Widow learned in training, and what Ana lacks in her skill set as a sniper (before and after she got her eye shot out).

These people/person would have the advantage on Ana's weak points, but similarities in Widow's skills.

Widow wasn't taught on how to kill just Ana. She needs to be an effective sniper for every target she's given. Mondatta, Ana, Vialli's henchmen, etc.

Ana was a well known threat to enemy snipers in the past. She posed as a bigger caution for Talon, Widow, and the trainer.

Ana's sniping skills/weak points:

Before her eye got taken.

Before she got her eye shot out, Ana's right eye had a cybernetic enhancement that allowed her to see 6x more than her normal vision.

She had an advantage in perceptive distance, with a powerful rifle to pack a heavy punch.

With the Kinamura, I don't think the gun itself has anything to do with Ana's skill overall. It's used to get the job done, but only the person holding the rifle has a say in whether they hit or miss.

Another note to add is that Ana rarely needs the scope. Meaning that iron sights alone are enough for her to make a clean shot.

She had drones that she could manually control to detonate. You could call that a defensive action. But it's nothing that conveys her skills as a marksman.

She uses it to clear the unknown sniper (Widow) out of a building, and give herself time to reposition.

However, mobility is something that Ana lacks, even in these comics, Amelié is notably faster than Ana's tracking and reaction time.

You can tell when Ana first thinks that there are two snipers. Widow's capability of shooting and moving at fast paces is something Ana struggles against.

When she does see Amelié, she uses the terrain to bounce her shot, and hits her target.

Ana considers this to be "maybe the toughest shot she has ever made".

If she can't see her target, she can't predict her shots. It's only after she sees Amelié that she shoots. She has no form of recon.

In the end, Ana's hesitation is the one weak point that causes her demise. It was a long enough time for Amelié to grab her rifle, aim, and hit her mark.

Weak Points:

Lack of Mobility

Hesitation (Specifically with Widow)

Persistence in Vision (Difficulty Tracking)

Strong Points:

Long Range Perception (With Cybernetic Aid) She rarely needs a scope.

Location Repositioning Skills

Strong Defensive Tactics

Ana's Sniping skills/weak points:

After losing her eye.

She's still a great sniper, but no longer has her cybernetic enhancement nor a highly accurate rifle that can do lethal amounts of damage per shot.

Her sleep darts and biotic nades are defensive abilities, meaning she still doesn't have that mobility that she was missing before.

In the New Blood comics, she is still able to reposition effectively with Fareeha's help as her and Cassidy run from Talon. Nonetheless, she is missing a few key parts from her past.

Ana's changes:

Biotic Rifle (no longer Kinamura)

No longer has Cybernetic Eye (Cannot use iron sights for long ranged targets)

Choices and Hesitation towards Widow (Definitely)

Sleep darts instead of drones

Weak Points:

Lack of Mobility

Persistence in Vision

Strong Points:

Repositioning Skills

Strong Defensive Tactics

Unlike the Widow's Kiss, the Biotic Rifle is a one bullet projectile shot when out of scope. It still does the same amount of damage as Ana's down sights. If you hit your shots.

In comparison, Widow's Kiss is an SMG when out of scope, and the shots are more scattered and spread out after a short duration, but it's much easier to hit someone with it being a hitscan.

Widowmaker's skills/weak points:

We don't really know much about Amelié's training, but we do know that in the end, she went through rigorous amounts of physiological and psychological changes. Slowing her heart rate, turning her skin blue, and essentially suppressing her emotions. Said emotions can only be shown when she is about to eliminate/eliminates someone.

Like Mondatta's assassination.

There's also a post here that I think is eye opening about Widowmaker. It dives into Widow's character and how she's written/rewritten.

Her speed and mobility give her an escape route if she is cornered or needs to reposition. She also has a Venom Mine, much like Bio-nade, that she can use defensively and aggressively.

She does has some downsides. Widow struggles from tunnel visioning on her objective.

I think that her own need for adrenaline rush is why she's so one track minded when it comes to getting the job done.

Amelié struggles with spacial awareness, and you can see it in the Overwatch animations.

She was trained as an assassin, for isolated and planned out attacks.

She's better where she has space and the upper hand to attack. If someone is attacking her directly without having time to prepare, she's vulnerable. Unlike Ana, who is trained in close combat.

The only way she's able to catch a disruption the second time with Mondatta is because her infra-sight helmet is what detects Tracer's blinking.

Widow's helmet is what aids her in the one thing that she struggles with the most. Probably why it's mostly used during the times of the kill, even though she's got a clear shot on Mondatta.

Perhaps it's something she wasn't able to fix on technique due to her physiological and psychological changes.

Weak Points:

Spacial Awareness (Tunnel Vision)

Addiction for the rush

Close Combat skills

Strong Points:

Mobility

Speed

Recon and Tracking (with help of infra-sight)

The Trainer's skills/weak points:

None of this is a canon character, but if Widow considered these people or person to be the best to train her, this is a theory on what they'd be like.

If it was a group of people teaching Widow how to snipe, perhaps they'd all have different skill sets. Alternating between teachers.

If Widow was taught by one person, and they were considered 'the best', this person might be neurotic. Honing in a hyper awareness to their surroundings.

I don't doubt would be the case if you were a sniper who works in Talon. This person could have been forced into the organization unwilling. They'd be jumpy and tense.

Wanting to avoid the tribulation of Talon, they're keen on doing what they're told. I wouldn't doubt if they did have trauma from it being long term.

This could also be a downside, when you're aware of everything, they need to pick priority, but there's an overstimulating amount of alerts coming in.

An example would be Peter Parker discovering his powers in TASM.

It may take them a while to fully reconnect with their team after they fuss over minor details/movements that are invisible to other teammates.

Something that they're physically skilled at, that Ana and Widow both naturally struggle with.

They should have knowledge with rifles and combat (defense and mobility) from someone who's associated with those things. It's not explored by Antonio, but discovered by Akande.

I'd assume their skills are not fully unleashed and explored until Akande takes power over Talon.

They fully haven't eliminated any targets until Akande takes that leadership role. They might have seen death under Antonio's rule, but haven't participated until later on.

Such eliminations include Vialli's henchmen, old Talon friends of Antonio, the regular bounties of Talon, etc.

This also makes me think they could've been put into Talon at a young age, unconsciously coping with stress by diving into work head on.

If this person were to have trained Widow, they'd have to be completely in the know with her physiological and psychological change to incorporate it into her training.

They would have seen Amelié trying to cope with her kidnapping/Gerard's murder, in a similar way they did with their coercion, except it's a more avant-garde approach.

Weak Points:

Neurotic

Perfectionist

Lack of Ambition

Disconnected (specifically from their team)

Strong Points:

Spacial Hyper Awareness and Tracking

Insanely accurate shots (ricochets or dead on)

Strong Defensive

Mobility

With their weak points, they're a person who will get the job done right, but not because they want to. There's nothing in it for them. They do it because they're told to.

They can hit their shots, but don't seem themselves as 'good enough'. This could at some point hinder them. There is no cause, why are they doing it?

Survival.

I like Ana's line,

"We all have a cause worth fighting for."

Because it may completely differ for this character, who's main goal is just to get by in life. This character had their goals ruined at very young age.

They could have wanted to go a different route instead of working with war and money in Talon. Maybe they're skillful in something else.

That is entirely up for debate depending on where this character is from.

They could find their old and new goals, reviving their passions and objectives.

Their understanding and learning of Widow's experimentation could uproot old goals in their quest for redemption.

They'd grasp concepts of healing after being surrounded by that environment, where their weaknesses (perfectionism & neuroticism) could help them understand how to aid the less fortunate people in Talon.

Whether or not they leave Talon after seeing something they had a part in creating; a cutthroat sleeper agent with no means of remorse. They do find reason in leaving and try to redeem themselves for not stopping it in the past.

However, this is all just a theory and in no way canon, so please tell me what you think about it, and feel free to add your own perspective.

Abilities:

My take on it-

Their passive should rely on recon.

An example might be Wraith's Passive or Seer's Passive from Apex Legends.

A passive where footsteps and movement can pinpoint where the enemy is hiding.

Detecting enemy heartbeats through walls but not being able to see their outline.

Either movement, heart beats, where it's scattered when not scoped in, but extremely accurate on one target when aiming down sights. Audio triggers.

Other heartbeats are softened but still present.

A heartbeat sensor by the cross hair.

Rapid heartbeats for unseen injured allies or low health enemies.

I would love to see an enemy widow eliminate someone and see the effect of their heart rate spiking (because of Widow's character), giving away their position.

For their tactical abilities, defense and mobility, should imitate something like Widow's.

Horizontal or Vertical grapple where momentum depends on when you let go. Like a pendulum.

Less accurate zip up, more of a swinging motion.

Wall stick, much like Talon's assassins, capability to hug the wall for a period of time.

For the primary weapon. I took inspiration from how the Triple Take in AL works.

Down sight spread is slowly decreased after a period of time. Longer the choke, more precise the shot. The more damage on one target.

Hip fire has the scatter spread similar of Widow's Kiss and the fire rate that is similar to Ana's biotic rifle.

Possible Ultimates:

Limited timed accurate shots that can ricochet off of hard surfaces from tight angles.

Aiming is necessary. A line that turns red when detecting a target. Or yellow/green for healing an ally.

Movement from enemy greatly effects this ultimate. Can be paired with recon abilities from other heroes.

Choke still applies to rifle but charge up might be reduced.

Or a different ultimate would be:

Limited time shots through walls.

Harming enemies or aiding allies.

Regular precision choke still applies to rifle.

Of course these are just ideas. If this ever were tossed into the game I do think that a lot of balancing would be involved. But if this is the 'best' that Widow says, time would be a precious thing for this character.

There's another part of me wondering if this character would even pick up a rifle anymore, knowing what they've done in the past. So maybe they wouldn't use a rifle? Maybe something else.

(that was a lot of writing, I'm gonna go take a nap)

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