#blizzard hates Gabriel Reyes

[crystal-ball-of-ow-canon]

[hydnes]

something so crazy about fictional men who were happily gay married and then got divorced and they kind of hate each other now but that's not why they divorced. they divorced because their love couldn't survive this sick fucking cruel world. but that's okay. they'll live on together eternally in forever bliss in the fucking terabytes of 4k render SFM porn. as long as there's technology, and no matter what blizzard says, jack morrison and gabriel reyes are going at it bareback. i just ruined this really heartfelt and sincere post

[bellepeppertronix]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

I was tagged by @bittylildragon!

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

2. what’s your total ao3 word count?

3. what fandoms do you write for?

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

5. do you respond to comments?

6. what’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

7. what’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

8. do you get hate on fics?

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

10. do you write crossovers? what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

14. what’s your all-time favorite ship?

15. what’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

16. what are your writing strengths?

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

19. first fandom you wrote for?

20. favorite fic you’ve ever written?

~~

Here goes!

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

I have 40 works on Ao3! I can't believe the first ones were from 2013.

I remember worrying about the general state of the internet at the time, and feeling like Ao3 would collapse like all the LiveJournal clones were starting to (I used to have a writing LJ too, lol 🥲)

2. what’s your total ao3 word count?

My word count is currently 473,741! A lot of this is from my Darkest Dungeon longfic, What Happened to the Candlemaker's Apprentice.

3. what fandoms do you write for?

I have written fic for Team Fortress 2, Pacific Rim, Mass Effect, the Alien movie franchise (Prometheus), Overwatch, The Shape of Water, Cable & Deadpool, Darkest Dungeon, One Punch Man, DC Comics (Superman and Wonder Woman). In the past I wrote some long-buried fic for Metalocalypse, and The Hobbit. There may or may not still be some Star Trek fic I wrote out there, which is a slight crossover with Teen Titans...

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

•Sharp-Dressed Man (a PacRim fic)

•In Which Newton is A Badass And Everybody Is Surprised (also a PacRim fic)

•Small Insistent Things (another PacRim fic)

•What Happened to the Candlemaker's Apprentice (a Darkest Dungeon fic)

•Rained the Whole Time (a TF2 fic)

5. do you respond to comments?

I try to! I have a rather chaotic home life irl, unfortunately. And often I am either not sure how to respond, or I draft a reply and forget to send it bc of my not-great memory.

I re-read through them to lift my spirits when I'm feeling down, though. Thank you to everyone who has ever read my work!

6. what’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

One of my Overwatch WIPs was basically a study of Commander Reyes as he slowly turned into Reaper. Not just physically; there's a bunch of lore, probably now ret-conned because Blizzard is A Mess and A Joke when it comes to storytelling, un which he was the unsung heroic commander behind a lot of important things. Only he got passed over for Overwatch commander by a white man who was a colleague of his. Anyway his whole team is/was rehabilitated criminals.

I wrote all this to say, in the fic, he falls in love with Genji, who is Not in a great headspace at the time, and after seeing what the Overwatch docs do to Genji in the name of "saving him"-- Gabriel becomes really bitter and disillusioned, and the fic ends with him deciding he's done with the organization and is just going to do Criminal Shit for himself instead of the government now. (He "dies" at the end, but it was staged, and not by himself, and then is "brought back to life" by Overwatch doctors. I wrote ths before Moira existed, so it was Mercy.)

I'm not even sure I posted that much of that fic, come to think of it...

7. what’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Ah! Haha! Most of my fics have happy endings desired. But I am a very slow writer, and so the happiest FINISHED thing I have is, I think, the story where the Scout from TF2 learns to read better, and learns to really enjoy literature, after finding a book that reminds him of his own life. (The fanfic is Rained the Whole Time, and the book is A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. You should read the book, if you haven't! It's a very beautiful experience.)

8. do you get hate on fics?

No, I haven't gotten any. Then again, I survived the whole Shipping War nonsense on both LiveJournal and FF.net, and I learned to just...avoid a lot of people in fandom. I'm trying to get past that. But, that said, you can't get any hate if you hardly talk to anyone! (I do not recommend this. It can go from very peaceful to very lonely, very quickly.)

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

Yes! Not often, though, because I always feel shy about writing it, even if I love reading it!

10. do you write crossovers? what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

My one Mass Effect fic is a Mass Effect/Aliens crossover.

It goes exactly as you think it would.

I also wrote a Watchmen/Marvel crossover, in which Deadpool and Rorschach have to find their way out of a weird parallel death-dimension. (I...cannot remember if I posted this...)

I also have an idea for a Discworld/The Witcher/Final Fantasy XII crossover that is so self-indulgent I don't even know where to start with it...

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

Speaking of my current works--I don't know, and I'm afraid to look.

I do have a history of irl "friends" stealing my work and art, though, so I'm very wary and cautious about sharing. :(

Plagiarism, even of fanworks, is terribly anxiety-inducing and ruinous to self-esteem, and I wouldn't wish it on anybody. I don't mean "heavily inspired by", I mean "I literally stole your rough draft and edited it and added to it, and I'm going to publish this and say I wrote it" stuff.

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I have had a few offers, which is very flattering...but I have declined them, though, for the reasons in #11. I never really feel safe about it. :(

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! And it was a disaster! Because we (me and the "friend") were in junior high school writing a genuinely awful Interview With the Vampire multi fandom crossover mess. I lost my notebooks. I hope she lost hers, too. 🤣

And now, as an adult ~20 years later, I still sometimes want to. But I have no idea how that would work out.

14. what’s your all-time favorite ship?

I don't have only one! I tend to trip and fall into rarepair holes, so my longest-worded ship is the Highwayman/the Leper from Darkest Dungeon, followed immediately by the Demoman/Soldier from TF2, which I think is my oldest ship. Another delicious one is Stacker Pentecost/Hercules Hansen, from Pacific Rim. My current favorites to read are (from the Witcher) Geralt/Eskel, Geralt/Dandelion, Geralt/Regis (I just love reading people rubbing that Witcher-man all over other people) Lambert/Aiden, Lambert/Keira. From Darkest Dungeon, I like the Highwayman/the Crusader, the Higheayman/the Leper, the Plague Doctor/the Grave Robber...I like a lot of ships.

15. what’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Ahaha...hehe...well...you see...a LOT of my fics are WIPs. I want to finish Thank You For Hiring Pan-Pacifica Construction! I love that one, but I'm not really active in the PacRim fandom anymore, so...

16. what are your writing strengths?

I love, and like to think I'm good at, describing scenery (which I sometimes love so much that I forget to have the characters DO anything in it). Somebody told me once that they loved how distinct all the characters' voices were, and that I fleshed out even side characters, which was a compliment that made me feel So Happy and Proud!

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

Oh, man, I am NOT a finisher.

I'm trying so, so hard to work on that.

Also, like I mentioned before, I can describe a setting forever and the characters will be standing under a tree waiting for permission to wander around in it. 😅 I had my adventurers stuck in a cursed hallway for like 12 pages once. For the Vibes, you know!

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I only speak and read English, unfortunately! I always find it fascinating when people can work different languages, or even constructed languages, into their fics, though.

19. first fandom you wrote for?

😅 Posted/publically shared? Either Star Trek (2009) or TF2. Possibly Hellsing? As for unpublished/unposted? (Or, well, shown only to a friend?) Some quite terrible Interview With the Vampire fanfic from AGES ago, in school. That was also the first, and last time, I collaborated with anyone. Farther back it was all Star Trek: TNG fanfic and The Last Unicorn fanfic.

20. favorite fic you’ve ever written?

I can't answer this 😂! The ADHDemons are forever upon my heels. I write things and forget I wrote them, then re read them and fall in love with them again. Right now I love my Darkest Dungeon fic and all its related fics in the same world.

[malaysianpeanut]

The Reaper Short Story (Code of Violence) Review + Rant about Overwatch

I know, Overwatch is kinda dead, even with the release of OW2 coming never probably. I still like visiting it every now and again and reliving whatever is left of my passion for it. And since new lore content on one of my favorite characters EVER (not just within the game) dropped yesterday, I decide maybe I should just do a review of it.

Spoilers if you haven't read it, though I understand if you didn't. I think I've read most of the short stories and they're not really written that well. The comics are okay, since the art styles are still pretty cool to look at and I think with this type of story, it presents itself much better as a visual + audio piece with their short animations and even the voicelines, but now, there is a lack of any intention for going back to that at the moment, for some reason on Blizzard's part. Okay so here it goes.

I do like that there is more insight to Gabriel's past life before he was in Overwatch. It was confirmed a while ago that he had a family, only we didn't know the details. Do I like what they presented? I don't know yet. All we know is that he does have a son and a significant other. We don't know much about HOW his relationship with them was actually like and what happened to them (Is he estranged? Did they die? Did his wife divorce him? We know we probably might have saw the son in the Christmas comic, etc.) I feel like this kind of content should have been dropped probably a few years ago when a lot of people still cared.

And I like that it ties in with the Sigma story and the introduction video we had of him, where he was apparently broken out of some sort of holding facility. It was already speculated that Reaper and Widowmaker was there with the sound effects playing in the background, but it's nice to see the details of the incident actually happening. Again, should have been revealed not too long after Sigma was released in the game as a character.

Other than that, I really... really... didn't like how the story was written. When I read the Sombra dialogue and she slipped in the Spanish words here and there, it really did feel like it was just forced into it. Which is why I stressed heavily that this game had an advantage in being an audio medium, with a lot of talented voice actors at your disposal. Maybe it would have saved the dialogue to hear it actually being spoken out loud, but reading it was... a bit awkward. But I digress, since Spanish is not my language and maybe others can weigh in.

And Gabriel's characterization, I get why a lot of people had a problem with it. Me personally, I saw Gabriel as someone who was teetering on both sides, as he probably had many disagreements with how Overwatch was operating but he also wanted to accomplish the mission of protecting the world.

But here's the thing I don't get is that in the Retribution event, we clearly saw him at his angriest when he went and straight up killed Antonio, someone heavily associated with Talon, because he caused the death of many Overwatch agents. And none of it was brought up here in the story when Reaper is recruited into Talon, the very organization that he presumably must have loathed. So many missed opportunities to delve into his intentions and motivations that started from there. As the cowboy guy stated before in the Retribution ending cutscenes (sorry, I just don't know how to address his name anymore), the Retribution event was the point where it all started to go wrong. And this short story sort of simplified him to being someone with less depth, tbh.

About him being a policeman, I didn't even catch it at first lmaoooo. But it's... an interesting take? I don't really understand the timeline of it . I would have prefer if he was trained as a military his whole life, or was doing something else before joining the Super Soldier program. Maybe sports related, since he liked basketball and all. I don't know. Being a cop feels a bit random, especially since none of it was insinuated ever in any of the medium (animation, voice lines, comic) and you would think it would have played an integral part in his life in some ways that it would have been brought up at some point.

I also found it interesting that Gerard Lacroix is supposedly his good friend, and yet when he meets his wife, Amelie/Widowmaker here, there is nothing to be addressed. I mean, sure, maybe in dialogue they're silent, but you have the advantage of it being told in his thoughts and perspective in detail. I mean, has he never met Gerard's wife before the whole event? So, there's a lack of that but whatever, that's one of my minor complaints. Maybe they had met before. That would have been more interesting to read about, just him seeing Amelie again and knowing the backstory of Gerard's death. I'm just rambling now.

Honestly, overall review, I liked the fan theories before about him being a double, triple agent, trying to take Talon from inside and having to do many heinous things to play his part, like killing off former Overwatch agents to keep up appearance. Just simply put, someone who was willing to play the bad guy to do good things. Because I felt that it made more sense for him as a character rather than just being easily persuaded by Akande to join Talon for the bigger better cause.

So I was excited to read this when I saw the announcement of it on Twitter, and I didn't come out of it hating the short story, in fact, I welcome more of it, whether being about the Overwatch organization or other characters in fact.

I only wished that it had been done when fan engagement was at an all time high and Blizzard still had somewhat of a good appearance in the public's eyes. Now with those workplace harassments cases, lack of any GOOD, exciting content like the short animations we had before and fanbase moving on as we speak, I think Overwatch as a game and a story is sadly going to fizzle away (or already has, depending on your interest level).

I read most of the comments on Twitter and most of them were in a way, making fun of Overwatch lack of fanbase, demanding OW2's release or just straight up criticizing the story. There's even a funny comment like "I hope the 3 Reaper fans enjoyed this short story" that I couldn't help but laugh at (because I guess I'm one of them haha). Even DJ Zedd weighed in on the whole issue, which I find is hilarious.

I still like seeing any new lore content because I haven't properly touched the game in one or two years, so lore is the only thing keeping me interested, and probably it is the same for many other people. And right now, I'm afraid even any lore content they release is just kind of lackluster. I've read the new comics and I'm glad they're somewhat continuing the story but yeah, the timing is terribly delayed on their part.

I loved Overwatch with all my heart, but not a lot is going to make me like it as much as before. If anything, they have to make their return in a big way, which is most unlikely. But who knows.

Anyway, I'm surprised I wrote this much lmao. Don't worry, I'll be going back to my writing cave soon and I will go back to doing art. Cheers.

[justmenoworries]

Gabriel Reyes is a straight cop turned terrorist.

Nobody talk to me, I am a n g r y.

[blackwatched]

another little reaper haul (*´∀｀*)

[subcultureblues]

This is it. This is the nightmare scenario

It’s GABI that deserved to be the canon gay not Receding-Hairline 76.

[whatzaoverwatch]

Now it’s finally time to look over the long awaited Reaper lore that fans have been craving since day one. Over the years we have interpreted our mysterious death shooter as many things. So our expectations for canon lore is pretty painstakingly high. We knew of his quarrel with his former teammates, the mysterious family hinted at many of times, and questioning whether his search of death has a means to an end

So does Code of Violence live up to the dried out remainder of the fandoms hopes for a bigger story than one can imagine?

At first I was pretty excited on the new info: How Gabriel began to fall into Talon, a mission to recruit Sigma, his insight and some hints to his real family. But the further I read and took a moment to relish it, the more I started to feel disappointed. Guess it is our fault for expecting the best but holy fuck do they make a once ambiguous character into such a painful stereotype. If you told me years ago that Gabriel Reyes was an LA cop with a wife and son who’s only sense of morality was hating the system and running off anger and spite, I would’ve laughed. It makes way too much sense but also aggressively insulting at the same time. But I should’ve known better: it IS Blizzard and their writing isn’t exactly groundbreaking. I guess what I am trying to say is don’t have high hopes or you’ll be fucked. I started to appreciate my old work because of this discovery and maybe we were better in the dark and having no context to his story. To a dearly beloved fav character of mine, I feel you have been massacred

[creatura-exe]

yo blizzard, loving the reaper update, please keep the low gravity mode

now in redbubble

[fullmetalbf]

anyone else tired of bland white angel mercy and Big Awful MOC Whos So Evil reaper? cause i am

[ganon-binary]

Overwatch Heroes Ranking & Honest Opinions part 2

Part 2 of my ranking and opinions of the playable characters of Overwatch. This is where things start getting spicier. Parts 1, 3 and 4.

Jamison "Junkrat" Fawkes: 7-/10

Junkrat is a great comedic relief character with a surprisingly deep backstory. I personally am not a fan of his aesthetic, but his voice lines and interactions make up for it. Don't really care for him in game either. 7-/10, not my cup of tea but i can see why people like him.

Lúcio Correia dos Santos: 6/10

Lúcio is a fun character.. but i don't care for him at all. He has a great attitude and his interactions are hilarious, but for some reason I can't bring myself to like him. like with Junkrat, I can see why other people like him. In game he is my least favorite support, but I might be biased bc many Lúcio's have gotten to my nerves and scratched my oh so fragile Widow-main ego. 6/10, maybe i like you in another universe.

[REDACTED]: 3-/10

Oh cowboy, how I love to hate you. In my opinion, Mr. Dave Overwatch here is the most boring and over-rated character in the game and I am so tired of seeing him everywhere. Really not a fan of how favored of a character he is. Really not a fan of how he appears in almost every character's backstory and he seems to be getting even more lore. Really not a fan how he keeps getting skins meanwhile some characters haven't gotten skins in literal years. Really not a fan how he appears in every match I'm in. 3-/10, only redeeming part of him is the fan art.

Mei Ling-Zhou: 8/10

Mei is such a good character. She has a really likeable personality, really sad backstory and really good skins. My one critique of her is how I would like to see more of how big of a huge genius she is. Winston has a lot of these science-y voice lines, so why can't she? Even though she is infamously known as "Satan" in the game, I really don't mind her! 8/10, very cute.

Angela "Mercy" Ziegler: 5/10

There is the good kind of sassy, and then there is the bad. Mercy is the bad kind of sassy. She has so many unnecessarily rude interactions with the other heroes. The official profiles call her nice and caring, and I want to know how much she paid them to make her look good. She is such a mean and bland person, but at least she is pretty to look at! In the game she is very fun! I love her smooth movement abilities. 5/10, no one likes a preacher.

Moira O'Deorain: 10/10

Moira is my favorite character lore and personality wise, there is so much depth to her. Even though she is portrayed as a villain, i truly think she is a good person (though very questionable). Really love her snarky and cold personality, but she can be nice as well. Her design is so cool and I truly don't think they will ever be able to top it. She better appear in OW2 and she better roast the fuck out of the Overwatch characters. In the game she is kinda lack luster but still p fun. 10/10, god is an androgynous lady with a resting bitch face.

Orisa: 9/10

Orisa should be a main character in OW2. The storyline they have been teasing says so. She is a great heroine and I am very much looking forward to her journey to defeat Doomfist, though i expect it to be way more complex than that. She has a really good female omnic design, a centaur with so many refences to Efi's culture. She is really cute and I will never forget the first time I saw her sitting emote. 9/10, she IS the main character.

Fareeha "Pharah" Amari: 8/10

She deserved so much better story wise and fandom treatment wise. She is so much more than Ana's daughter or a love interest in a ship. I honestly cannot believe they scrapped her animated short. Her storyline of wanting to join Overwatch should have been explored more. Hopefully we see her more in OW2. She is very fun to play but I wish her flight felt more smooth. 8/10, once she leaves her nest, it's all over for y'all.

Gabriel "Reaper" Reyes: 10/10

Reaper is SO cool. His backstory, personality and hinted storyline are SO good. His appearance in the halloween comic is one of the highlight of the lore for me. Something about this cool and broody guy sewing costumes and being an extra fashionista is so fun! His dynamic with Widowmaker and Sombra are some of my favorites in the game. His backstory with Soldier is so spicy and totally not mlm. very looking forward to his storyline in OW2. Don't care for his playstyle though. 10/10 this man is perfect.

Reinhardt Wilhelm: 9/10

Ah yes, the himbo. Another character with depth as much as the Mariana Trench. His backstory is really sad, and i have this feeling his storyline in OW2 is going to be sad as well. Don't you dare hurt the GILF, Blizzard! The character arc he went through in "Honor and Glory" put so many other character arcs to shame. His design is very fun though a bit generic. I could never complain about having a Rein in my team.. unless they charge to the enemy team all alone. 9/10, let him show off his muscles.

[crystal-ball-of-ow-canon]

okay I don’t want to say too much before the final part of Genesis is out (and the hero mission)

but I’m glad other people are noticing it and not just me

Gabriel really seems to be getting shoved to the side in this ‘documentary’ even tho he’s supposed to be the strike commander at this time (this is the original OW strike team which was under his lead) and also Jack is already in his strike commander outfit

I talked way long back in my “dissertation” it seemed like a possibility in universe Gabriel seemed to be intentionally pushed down to prop Jack up on a pedestal as to not besmirch his image and a post Zurich smear campaign/Jack propaganda campaign was run and I wonder if the is is intentionally part of it

(as far as Jack being the one to shake Mina’s had it was established that he was the one who wanted to invite her on so I’m not sure about counting that interaction yet)

or if blizzard just hates Gabriel Reyes (which we know they do) and/or they forgot Gabriel was originally strike commander

[oopsie0503]

Hey, oopsie here! I'm going to explain my overwatch au to you guys a little bit! these are mostly based around some of the characters skins!

Satya was experimenting with her teleporters, coming up with new technology and ways to use them. while doing this, she opened interdimensional portals into parallel dimensions- by accident, of course. there are two dimensions she has discovered so far, named "wasteland" and "blizzard."

Wasteland AU: In this universe, Overwatch was not nearly as successful. After the omnium in Australia was destroyed, the people took it into their own hands to destroy omniums. omnium after omnium was destroyed and, along with them, omics, however at a huge cost. the land was all broken, barren, and destroyed.

few people survived, between the radiation, pollution, and heat from the explosions. ana(wasteland skin), baptiste(wasteland skin), and roadhog(toxic skin) are a few of the survivors. they formed a group to survive, all having lost some loved ones to the destruction. ana lost her good friend jack morrison and daughter fareeha amari during an attempt to stop the destruction of an omnium that would cause as much destruction as the last. roadhog lost his best friend, junkrat. They dont really know if roadhog himself is alive, and if he is, how, but he is a good guardian for the group against raiders.

others survivors are ashe and mcree, who both run the deadlock gang together, having never had the run in at route 66, and mcree was never caught by gabriel and forced to join blackwatch.

blizzard au: the world's temperatures have dropped rapidly. the world is covered in snow and ice and it never stops coming down. few survived the bitter cold wave, and those who do live in a small section of the world where support is provided via helicopter delivered supply crates in a survivor center in the middle of the large populated area.

hanzo(okami), mcree(mountain man), and ashe(winter) all live in a small cabin high up in the mountains. despite the situation, they often make best light of things, crack jokes, mess with each other, and most importantly get on each others nerves. they dont have anywhere to go for 2 weeks until the next supply crates are dropped and they have to head to the supply drop center. hanzo and mcree are boyfriends, and ashe absolutely hates it because shes a single pringle who cant find a girlfriend.

elsewhere, gabriel(shiver) and jack(alpine 76) are living together in the mountains as well, along with ana(snow owl) and fareeha(frostbite). reyes and Morrison set aside their differences after finding each other again after the world froze over. gabe, still in his reaper form, is seemingly changing to the environment (changing into the shiver skin essentially). this is basically just puberty for him. hes in pain from the changes and, in turn, irritable. ana and Jack try to do their best to help him and calm him down during his many temper tantrums that happen weekly. pharah and ana both work with the supply delivery program, picking up supplies from a far away facility to give to the survivors.

[eyessharpweaponshot]

I really enjoy your fics and the fic recs you’ve done in the past, but with all the new ones for Big Bang and bingo I really don’t know where to start! Any pointers?

Hi nonny.

Wow, tough question. Bellarke Big Bang had so many wonderful fics submitted for its challenge (some that are still on my ‘marked to read’ section on ao3) and mine and @pawprinterfanfic challenge (Bellarke Bingo) has submissions almost daily so again, I haven’t gotten around to reading them all yet.

But I will try to form a fic rec for you based on the ones I have read. I’ll add the links, pop in the summary and then give a brief commentary (in italics) of what I thought/why the fic needed to be included in this rec list.

We’ll start with @bellarkebigbang:

1. Paint me in Trust by @pawprinterfanfic

Clarke is on the run. It’s 1997 in Britain, during the height of the Second Wizarding War. Voldemort is running rampage through the Wizarding World, fear is weighing heavily on everyone, and anyone who doesn’t side with the Dark Lord is in danger. Clarke was expected to side with him. She’s from a pureblood family that has decades tangled with the Dark Arts, after all. But, she didn’t.

So, she ran. Somehow, she finds her way to a safe house where she meets with other wizards and witches on the run.

All Bellamy wanted to do is to keep his sister safe. Instead of saving her, he’s stuck in a safe house with her. She’s a Slytherin, and she’s the daughter of a Death Eater. He doesn’t trust Clarke; why should he? Now, he’s stuck with her as they roam around the country, looking for places to stay safe and stay hidden. He quickly realizes that things could be worse. And… maybe Clarke isn’t as bad as he thought.

A Harry Potter world AU, written by my magnificent friend Essie. I’m not just putting this here because she’s my friend, this fic is actual gold. It’s so well written, like everything she writes, and I cannot get enough of it. Brilliance.

2. We were in love (now we’re strangers) by @raven-reyes-of-sunshine

Bellamy stares at his phone in concern. Asking him to fake date Clarke would be a weird thing to ask even if they were still friends. But they’re not. They hardly even talk anymore. But for Raven to be asking, practically begging, there must be a fairly good reason that Clarke needs a fake boyfriend for this wedding. It’s just not something she would be asking otherwise. Especially not something she would be getting Raven to ask him. It’s a lot and it has him concerned.

He’s not agreeing to it. He’s just saying that he’s going to need more time and more information and maybe a face to face conversation before he makes a decision. He and Clarke might not be friends anymore. But he’d known her forever. He can’t help caring. He cares with his whole heart. He can’t stop that. And he won’t lie. He’s a little curious. So he sends Raven a message that says they’ll discuss it when she’s sober and switches off his phone so he can sleep.

This girl was born with heaps of talent. I actually got the opportunity to pre-read a little bit of this fic before it was posted and it was agony waiting for the rest of it. It grips you from the opening line and I can’t sell this fic enough. READ IT.

3. Take Me to Your River (A Waltz in Three Parts) by @chase-the-windandtouch-the-sky

After the events on the Ground, Clarke and Bellamy no longer feel like the team they once were. They’re puzzle pieces that don’t fit, languages with no connection, and worlds with no peace. So when they venture out into the new planet to scout before waking everyone up, they have an opportunity to relearn who they are after all the time apart, discovering the people they’ve become.

Except when they stumble across an abandoned mansion in the woods from a distant piano, they discover this world has hidden traps that Earth never had. Now they’ll have to survive their own ghosts. Except what will they do when the real ghosts are each other?

The Day Trip 2.0 fic no one asked for.

I adored this fic from beginning to end. It had to be part of my rec list because it’s one fic that stands out in my head when I think of this challenge. And I also love the girl who wrote it too - such a sweetheart.

4. In A Pitch Black World (Anything Goes) by @talistheintrovert

Bellamy and Clarke fell in love in Cairo in 1943, and then Clarke broke his heart. In 1949, Bellamy is working as a Private Investigator in London when Clarke turns up on his doorstep claiming her grandfather was murdered. No-one is above suspicion and the killer is poised to strike again.Or, the Crooked House AU that I’ve been *dying* to write for months.

Is it really a fic rec if Talis isn’t apart of it? The artwork of this fic combined with the story is so so beautiful and I always remember it. It’s such a gripping plot and I’d re-read this until I die. Yeah, this has to make the cut!

5. A Watch With No Hands by @kinetic-elaboration

Bellamy has lived his whole life in space, in a series of 300-year old space stations known as the Ark. When an oxygen crisis sends the stations down to Earth, he flees the beginning of a military dictatorship, and discovers that his long-abandoned home planet isn’t as deserted as he believed it to be.

Clarke lives in peace with her people, making art that celebrates the beauty of the Earth. But a recent discovery by her best friend has opened up the possibility that the world was not always this peaceful, nor this beautiful. Wells’s subsequent disappearance, the surreptitious experiments of her neighbors, and the inscrutable silence of the village’s leader, all contribute to a growing sense of unease in her community. When she encounters a stranger in the woods, they give each other the answers they’ve each been seeking: about history, peace, trust, the Earth’s violent past, and its hopeful future.

This was one of the most intriguing and unique storylines that I read in the Big Bang challenge. The way everything was described, the detail - ugh, it’s just a masterpiece. I wonder why I bother writing when I read fics like this one, how could I compare?

6. Hung up on You by @eyessharpweaponshot

Bellamy Blake does not get hung up on girls. It just doesn’t happen. It’s probably why he’s out of his depth when his easy ‘friends with benefits’ arrangement with Clarke Griffin turns into something he can’t control. He’s heartbroken when she leaves town, leaves him, and he thinks he’s made a good effort to move on. However, upon her return, it only takes the mere mention of her name for the crushing realisation to hit: he never got over her at all.

I’m gonna plug my own fic submission to Big Bang here guys. Because, well, why not?

***

Okay. Onto @bellarkebingo. This challenge is obviously close to my heart as myself and Essie are hosting it and I will eventually get around to all the fics on there.

I, myself, haven’t even had time to complete anything off of my own bingo card yet but I’m so excited to do it. The talent that has come out of this challenge already is off the chain and sign ups are always open, so come on over and request a card to start writing.

Here are some of the fics I have been loving so far:

1. Melt Into You by @icantloseyou-too

Clarke might have underestimated the blizzard. What was supposed to be a late finish at the clinic to catch up on paperwork turns into a storm-stayed night with the last person she would have expected, but as she’s about to find out, a lot can happen in one night.

Wow guys, just wow. What people are doing with the tropes on their cards - I can’t deal. I have no fingernails left after this fic - I was hooked, obsessed, invested, heartbroken, intrigued and outrageously happy. I love this girl to death and she created thee most magnificent piece for bellarke bingo. Bravo!

2. guess it’s never really over by @captaindaddykru

“You want me to put a kitchen supply up my—”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” he interjects, shoulders shaking with a chuckle. It fades and a heavy feeling of resignation settles between them. “Imagine how many diapers we could buy with that kind of money.”

Clarke crosses her arms over her chest, almost petulant. She knows he hates it when she gives him an attitude for no reason. “Well, what do you expect we do?” Does he wanna blow it off? He never used to be a quitter. She lets out almost this nervous chuckle, tongue darting out to wet her lips as she thinks of the most ridiculous option of them all. “The old-fashioned way?”

He half-shrugs, cool expression on his face. Still, she knows him too well to not realize he’s being completely serious. “It worked out pretty well for us last time.”

Or: Clarke and Bellamy think it’s a good idea to try and have another child together even though they divorced three years ago.

Right, for those of you who know me well, seeing ‘exes, angst and smut’ in a bellarke fic just basically shoots the fic into my favourites/will read again pile straight away. This fic more than lived up to it. The plot was awesome and something I’ve never read before and even just describing it makes me want to go back and read it again right now. Amazing.

3. dance away your fear of love by @she-who-the-river-could-not-hold

Life for Bellamy Blake hasn’t changed much in the past few years, not since his mother’s death and he took over her coffee shop in his hometown of Stars Hollow. That is until he receives a phone call from his ex, his high school girlfriend Clarke Griffin. Motherhood brings Clarke back home and from there they slip into new roles, while he battles old forgotten emotions.

This was everything I never knew I needed. The characterisation, the plot, the FEELS. This had to be on the rec list, there was no way I’d consider leaving it off of it. It was honestly perfect, from every angle. Not to mention that the author is a complete and utter babe.

4. to save a life I didn’t have by @kombellarke

Post 6.08 Speculation. Bellamy drags Josephine through the woods in search of Gabriel. He is confronted by a manifestation of his darkest fear and deepest desire, Clarke Griffin.

I have read other fics from this author and honestly, she just gets better and better each time she writes. Such an amazing, heart wrenching fic. It was one of the first submissions I read and it brought the biggest smile to my face to see such talented fics coming to our challenge.

5. Would Roses Bloom by @icantloseyou-too

Clarke was totally fine with being ‘just friends’ with Bellamy, honestly. Even on the nights they kissed they were just friends. Even on the nights they fell into each other’s beds they were just friends. So when Bellamy starts dating Echo it shouldn’t sting at all. It shouldn’t.

Another fic submission by this girl and honestly, I can’t tell you which one I like better. They are both phenomenal but this fic stands out majorly to me. I can relate to it on a personal level and reading it makes me feel like I’m actually living in the plot. My heart races and I feel the shame, the worry, the pain - EVERYTHING.

6. Sick of Losing Soulmates by @pawprinterfanfic

Clarke and Bellamy talk after the events at Gabriel’s. After almost losing her again, Bellamy intends to not let emotions go unspoken.

I don’t think Essie has wrote a fic yet where I haven’t shed a tear over it. This was incredibly beautiful and so well written. I’m so lucky to know such inspirational, incredible writers.

7. hanging all her hopes on the stars by @carrieeve

a month ago, Bellamy and Clarke slept together. a one-time, drunken thing and now they are very much not talking about it. in fact, they are not really talking about anything because Clarke is sure Bellamy doesn’t want it to mean anything and since she’s been in love with him for years now, this all feels pretty much like the world is ending.

the world, not one to be outdone, decides to show off and actually ends.

I just read this fic this morning and I couldn’t leave it off the rec list. It was so good, so interesting and a great concoction of tropes off of her bingo card. I’m very fond of Karolina’s fics and this did not let me down. So good and a perfect fic to end the fic rec with.

[segadores-y-soldados]

Blizzard’s shitshow of a timeline

Alright, settle in kids, because this is gonna be a long one - I had to rant about this to @starsherit earlier today and fuck, maybe no one’s gonna want to dive into this mess, but fuck it, I’m frustrated by the maddeningly slow progress Blizzard’s Overwatch development team has put forward on this.

fucking LONGASS RANT under the cut, you’ve been warned.

Let’s start at the very fucking beginning.

Not that Omnic Crisis shit.

The fucking Overwatch “Cinematic Trailer” - aka the video that introduced Overwatch to the world.

This video was uploaded by “Play Overwatch,” Overwatch’s official Youtube Channel, on November 7, 2014 - almost a full year and a half before the game was actually released (May 23, 2016).

As most of you know, in the trailer, the characters Reaper and Widowmaker attempt to steal an item call the Gauntlet of Doomfist while Winston and Tracer attempt to stop them.  Some kids and Pixar magic help save the day and prevent the “bad guys” from making off with the loot.  We were shown a few key things: Widowmaker’s infrared ability, Tracer’s temporal stuff, Winston’s rage, Reaper’s Death Blossom, etc.

But this was fairly early on in the public aspects of Overwatch’s development so there are numerous inconsistencies: the one most frequently pointed out is Reaper’s skintone, which is extremely pale and not the same as his “grey” skintone that eventually made it to the final game (I don’t want to talk too much about Blizzard’s inconsistencies with his whole visible cosmetics because that’s a related but a whole separate issue and I’m trying to focus on timeline, storytelling, and world-building stuff here).

Another thing which I have NEVER seen pointed out

Is that Reaper actually uses a pipe bomb launcher at two points in the short.

The first:

And yes, It shoots exactly what you think it does.

And the second:

That seems really familiar doesn’t it?

Only problem is that the “final version” of Reaper doesn’t have this ability at all -

Junkrat does.

So what happened?

Well, as with most things that occur over a year and half, things change.  It was a video game early on in its stages of relatively public development.  It’s pretty well-known that Blizzard changed a lot of mechanics, made a ton of new characters, changed designs, etc.  It happens - it’s all part of the process of creation and design.  I don’t think anyone is faulting Blizzard for trying to make a very unique team-based game with a bunch of very unique characters.

The problem however, is that Blizzard and the Overwatch team have been very clear that they wanted the game design to come first, and the story design to come second.

You know what other series this has been a major issue for?

The Legend of Zelda.

I’ve talked about this issue frequently, under different usernames, with different people, for different fandoms, for different series - there is no one “right way” to make a game, just as there is no one “right way” to develop a story.  There is nothing wrong with wanting to prioritize gameplay, design, and development and make a story that fits those aspects later.  It can work.  But it does mean that if you aren’t careful, you will get problems poking through the cracks where you’ve glued them together.

And boy, does Overwatch have a lot of those.

For example, take this article:

https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/blog/19809396/

For those of you who can’t read it at the moment, it’s a long, “in-universe” article written by a editorialist for Overwatch’s fictional “Atlas News syndicate” about John “Jack” Morrison and his personal history - from a kid in Indiana, to supersoldier, to Omnic Crisis hero, to Overwatch’s commander, to the potential vigilante Soldier: 76.  It is where, essentially, most of the “meat” of Morrison’s and Reyes’ backstories are laid out for players and fans.

It was also posted on July 6, 2015, again, almost a full year before the game itself was put out on the street.

And it is FILLED with problems.

Problem 1:

["Even I had my doubts about whether Overwatch would succeed," UN Under-Secretary-General Gabrielle Adawe, one of Overwatch's key architects, said shortly after the end of the Omnic Crisis. "But Morrison never gave up hope. He didn't just meet our expectations for what Overwatch and its agents could achieve; he shattered them."

The UN rewarded Morrison for his contributions by making him Overwatch's first official commander. Reyes was passed over in the process, and it created a rift between the two men that would lead to tragic consequences.]

Jack Morrison is made Strike-Commander of Overwatch “shortly after the end of the Omnic Crisis.”  In the Soldier: 76 trailer (posted by Blizzard to their Youtube channel on July 7, 2015, a day after this ARG news article), Soldier confirms this description of his Overwatch career by saying “I led Overwatch for twenty years.”

So let’s start the timeline:

From that same ARG article:

[When [Jack Morrison] died under mysterious circumstances six years ago, I felt as if a part of my childhood died with him.]

[That Morrison was buried here six years ago. All that's left is the shadow of the hero we once knew.]

Source 1: The Explosion at the Swiss Base occurred roughly “six years ago” from the article’s posting “in-universe.”

New Source:

https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/blog/20130523

This article, also written “in-universe,” describes the Museum Heist attempt.  It expresses concerns and doubts about what a “Recalled Overwatch” can possibly hope to achieve in the world, after the public already said they didn’t want it.  This matches with the information given in the Soldier: 76 origins trailer, the Recall animated short, and the “Cinematic Teaser” (posted May 2, 2016 - narrated by Winston).

This article gives “the meat” of Overwatch’s total lore, describing the rise and fall of the organization, and even events that occurred after that.  It does not give a direct amount of years since “the fall,” but it more or less matches the other information other sources provide.

New Source:

https://twitter.com/to_grok/status/826487157430874112

A twitter conversation between user to_grok and Michael Chu, Overwatch’s lead writer, on both the Fall of Overwatch and Reaper’s biography (aka why I’m writing this mess).

[Michael Chu: No, Overwatch was disbanded around five years ago.]

Chu confirms that this particular aspect of the timeline has not changed.

Alright so, let’s crunch some numbers:

Reinhardt: age 61 in-game - born in the year 2016; Ana Amari: age 60 in-game - born in the year 2017.

2016 + 61 = 2077; 2017+ 60 = 2077

The “current point” when the majority of Overwatch’s gameplay, shorts, comics, and events occur roughly between 2076-2078, centering around the revelation of Jack Morrison’s “un-death” about 5 - 6 years ago, which is when the Swiss Base was destroyed and Overwatch was disbanded.

Let’s use the ARG article’s number and roll back 6 years:

2077 -  6 = 2071

[2071 - the year that Overwatch was disbanded and the year that the Swiss Base explosion occurred.]

Now let’s figure out when the Omnic Crisis ended, and supposedly when Jack was made Overwatch’s commander:

2071 - 20 years = 2051

[2051 - the year the Omnic Crisis was ended, Morrison became Strike-Commander, Overwatch moved from being a task force into being a global organization for peace]

Time since the end of the Omnic Crisis and Overwatch was officially made a global organization for peace: 26 years.

AND NOW WE COME TO PROBLEM 2:

From Article 1:

[According to Overwatch's former agents, this outcome was inevitable. "After Morrison's promotion to strike commander, his relationship with Reyes changed," Dr. Angela Ziegler, medical director of Overwatch, stated during a UN committee hearing. "The tension became more pronounced as time went on. I tried to mend things. We all did. Sometimes when the closest bonds break, all you can do is pray you stay out of the cross fire."]

Angela, oh Angela.

Angela’s in-game age: 37 years old.

Time since the end of the Omnic Crisis to the “present” game: 26 years:

Angela’s age at the end of the Omnic Crisis: 11 years old.

Now -

This seems like a real fucking contradiction to the story being developed, doesn’t it?

New Source: Mercy’s “official biography” from the Play Overwatch website:

[Ziegler rose to become the head of surgery at a prominent Swiss hospital before pioneering a breakthrough in the field of applied nanobiology that radically improved the treatment of life-threatening illnesses and injuries. It was this expertise that attracted the attention of Overwatch.]

I would be fucking shocked if an 11 year old could do this.

Other noteworthy aspects: since Jesse McCree is also 37 years old in-game, the same age as Angela, he too is 11 years old at the end of the Omnic Crisis.

Which means we have several contradictions going on:

1. Jack Morrison was made Strike-Commander 26 years ago, when Angela and Jesse were children and apparently somehow “a part of Overwatch” so they could witness this “transformation” between Morrison and Reyes.

2. Jack Morrison was made Strike-Commander 26 years ago and Angela and Jesse were not actually present for this event (because they were children) and therefore Angela’s quote from the article is impossible.

3. Jack Morrison was not actually made Strike-Commander 26 years ago, but instead was made Strike-Commander after Angela and Jesse join, making Angela’s quote possible but therefore making the entire timeline inaccurate.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

Things change during game development, I completely understand that.  The problem is that when you post multiple, contradicting “official sources” without having a clear understanding of your own story, you are going to run into - and even create - some problems.

The contradictions continue past this - as many people have pointed out, Chu and the Overwatch development team have retconned Genji’s backstory and the “lore aspects” of Tracer’s chronal accelerator, so they’re definitely open to changing parts of their story to make things fit better - even things that were “consistent” upon release like the chronal accelerator.

Which is why it is weird that Chu states that the wording in Reaper’s biography is intentional.

Because as I’ve already pointed out, Reaper is not at all the character he was originally shown to be in November 2014, and we have a number of other sources saying that his gameplay mechanics changed a lot during development time (at one point, his consumption of soul globes was going to prevent Mercy from being able to revive teammates).

Hypothetically, the Overwatch team could make a backstory that fits the description - it is entirely possible that Reyes became something along the lines of Reaper in SEP, or that he gained his Reaper abilities through unethical experiments at Blackwatch, or that - in order to give Overwatch plausible deniability - he conducted his Blackwatch missions under the guise of “Reaper,” pretending to be a mercenary instead of an agent of peace.

And he could actually just have been a double agent the whole time.

The last one is particularly frustrating for people who are fans of making Reaper a more complicated, complex character, because it does seem like “the easy way out” for the Overwatch team to take in order to avoid addressing the deeper questions that Overwatch’s attempts at a lore bring to the surface: was Reyes fucked over by Overwatch and the U.N.?  Is he actually a “ruthless mercenary” or is he searching for answers on his own?  Why does he blame Morrison and Overwatch for “becoming what he is?”

And yup -

Here’s another goddamn contradiction:

New Source: Old Soldiers Comic:

Transcript:

[Ana *removes Reaper’s mask*: What happened to you…?

Reaper *emphasis is from the comic, not me*: He did this to me, Ana.  They left me to become this thing.

Ana: Gabriel…

Reaper: They left you to die.  They left me to suffer… … Never forget that.]

Alright, so let’s try to break this problem down into different parts:

Part 1: Reaper has been Reaper for “decades.”

See, the above hypotheses could be explanations for Reaper’s inconsistencies in his biography, except for the fact that Old Soldiers, which is more recent than his Play Overwatch bio, states through Reaper himself that he “blames” two group - “him” and “them,” most likely Morrison and, with some easy inference, either Overwatch or Blackwatch.

Now, the most probable hypothesis, given all the information we know that is still somewhat consistent, is that Reaper is talking about some fall out related to the Swiss Base explosion, which he was caught in.  Prevailing fan theory says that some one - potentially Angela - or some group - potentially Talon or another anti-Overwatch organization - pulled his dying body out of the wreck and forced him to undergo experiments that transformed him into the Reaper.  If either of these theories are true, then his Play Overwatch biography is inaccurate and Chu is supporting the wrong timeline.

Part 2: the “Mercy botched Reaper” theory has largely been debunked.

https://us.battle.net/forums/en/overwatch/topic/20747844983#post-16

Granted, it was debunked by Chu, but technically, no one can find the supposed interaction of “This wasn’t my intention for you.”/”You knew what you were going,” so while it may have existed at one point, it has all but disappeared.  It’s entirely possible that fans misinterpreted or misheard the current Mercy/Reaper interaction of “what happened to you?”/”you tell me, doc” as implying that Mercy botched saving Reaper.  However, Old Soldiers also supports Chu, in its own way: Reaper does not say anything about Mercy failing to save him - he only resents Morrison and possibly Overwatch.

However, as someone in that Blizzard forum post points out, Reaper does have an audio line of “Don’t forget, you’re the one responsible for this,” although I personally cannot recall if or when he says the line in-game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoKRFx5Sb5g#t=4m7s

(Note that the video is about the Mercy botches saving Reaper theory and some of it may be outdated or have been removed from the game)

Anyways, back to the main point: Old Soldiers certainly implies that whatever made Reaper Reaper occurred sometime during Overwatch, or sometime after it, which, once again, when we do the math, generally does not add up to “decades” - unless the idea that Overwatch had a hand in making him into Reaper is true, or that they left him in the hands of some group that made him into Reaper and then “returned” him to Overwatch.

Plausible, but again…

Part 3: What the fuck kinda halfassed character motivation is that?

I personally find it strange that Reaper would work for a group he’s hated for “decades,” even as a double-agent.  It’s not that it’s impossible or even totally unheard of - it just seems unnecessarily shoddy in developing his character and placing it into the larger, admittedly inconsistent world of Overwatch.

It’s like trying to fit an old square block into a peg hole.

It would just be easier for Chu and the writing team to be clear and state that - much like Genji and Tracer and possibly even Soldier: 76 and Mercy - Reaper’s biography and his timeline have undergone numerous changes from the very beginning of development, to the game’s release, and even after, through Old Soldiers and Infiltration and beyond.  We all know what Blizzard did with the First Strike comic - admitting that the story had changed from its initial conception and therefore they needed to pull it was disappointing, but it at least acknowledged that their development of Overwatch’s world had shifted and would need to be reorganized.  Hell, if you pay close attention to the wording of the cancellation, you’ll see that Liao - supposedly the sixth member of the Overwatch original team - is not even mentioned in the entire post:

https://us.battle.net/forums/en/overwatch/topic/20752185714

I would be extremely...skeptical of Chu’s claims that the wording of Reaper’s biography is intentional - because we already know that Blizzard has retconned so much of the early Overwatch content and is putting the original lore through a massive overhaul.  So sure, maybe Reaper’s “decades” of work is going to be canon, but the fact remains that what is implied, right now, in the contradicting content that is out there, is that it is not.

Let me see if I can explain this:

From what is out there right now - Reaper blames Morrison, Overwatch, possibly some other group or people for his specific condition.  Ana - a character he worked with for his entire Overwatch career - is shocked by “what he had become.”  This is supported not only in Old Soldiers, but in their in-game interactions as well.

It would be extremely surprising if Reyes had been Reaper “the whole time” that Overwatch was around and Ana was completely unaware of his behavior, especially if the new fan theories that “Reaper” was his call sign are true.

From what Blizzard could eventually release - Reaper’s backstory could be changed to make it so that he was, in fact, Reaper for “decades,” that Reyes was turned into Reaper either during SEP or the Crisis or Overwatch eras - but that would involve scrubbing much of his current interactions with other characters, all of whom are surprised by “what he has become.”

“Oh but he was Reaper in secret” - what bullshit.  You think a globally-recognized hero, no matter how bitter he is, surrounded by the same people for nearly THIRTY YEARS, just sneaks off into the night to kill people and then comes back with literally no one noticing?

That makes Morrison and Amari both blind and incompetent.

The simplest conclusion is either:

1. Part of the “different direction” of First Strike will be reworking Reaper’s biography, and potentially changing a bunch of other information already out there and present in the game or

2. The “decades” line is just inaccurate.

Things change, even after a game is released.  Shit gets retconned all the damn time.  It happens.  Genji was not an Overwatch agent and then a cyborg.  Angela did not work for Overwatch at age 11.  The in-game map of Dorado’s location in Mexico is way different from the map in the Soldier: 76 origins trailer.  The photos of Junkrat and Roadhog in the bank are literally just their models from their “line up” pictures.  Reaper does not shoot bombs.  Liao seemingly does not exist anymore.  Tracer’s chronal accelerator can be removed.  Hanzo has a fucking undercut.  Torbjorn has eight children.  Symmetra now has her shield generator.  Roadhog has hook 2.1.

Things change.

I will be astounded if Blizzard can make all these contradictions work for Reaper, but I suspect somewhere, much like his fucking pipe bomb launcher and his “Don’t forget, you’re the one responsible for this” line and his bloody skintone, something, somewhere, will be cut or changed or contradicted.  I suspect that it is entirely possible that we will see a comic or a short or some sort of lore where Reyes was “left behind by his team” and tortured into becoming Reaper and then returned to work as a double-agent - something that happened “decades” ago, as opposed to a comic or short or some sort of lore where Talon or another group pulls him from the wreck of the Swiss Base and makes him into something new only “six years” ago.

Something that is, unfortunately, “the easy way out” of developing Reaper as a more complicated, more complex character.

Of course, at the rate story-based content is released for Overwatch, it could be a long while before we see the results of this whole debate and discussion and mess.

...Maybe even decades?

It’s hard to say.

So I can already figure a lot of people who have come across are saying, “Aren’t you just being a disgruntled, delusional fan?  Is your interpretation of this so important that you’re unwilling to change in the face of new information?”

That’s not really the point of this - I have my interpretation and it is unfortunately built on piles and piles of already-released, already-contradicting information that Blizzard has put out.  While I am a fan of post-Fall Reaper and the idea that he was made after the Swiss Base explosion, my biggest gripe with Blizzard isn’t Reaper at all, but fucking the Overwatch timeline as a whole.  The Crisis ended thirty years ago?  Morrison was Overwatch commander for twenty years?  When are Angela and Jesse recruited?  When did Winston escape from the moon colony?  Did he make Athena, or is she possibly an Omnic God Program like some fans hypothesize?  Who fucking joins “Post-Recall” Overwatch and why?  Why DOES Hanzo have an undercut?  What is the fucking point of the Ilios map and why do I care about guarding some hole to the center of the earth?  What is Junkrat’s secret?  Will we ever see Roadhog’s face?  Will Brigitte ever become a playable character?  Are you guys gonna fucking hire Terry Crews or not?

Blizzard has SO MANY FUCKING PROBLEMS in their timeline that the Reaper “decades” thing is just one surface part of the iceberg.

It’s fine and dandy to put gameplay and game design before story - Overwatch’s gameplay is practically seamless and so fucking fluid that you don’t even really need a story - it’s got that Halo “Red vs Blue” or Team Fortress 2 type chaos built into it and that makes it fun, flexible, and fair for the vast majority of players.

But it would be great for Blizzard to recognize - beyond Genji and Tracer, beyond First Strike - that the problems poking through the glue holding disjointed gameplay and story together do have an impact on how their characters and lore are perceived in the long run.

Whether that comes down to complaints about the Sombra ARG, or the disappointing amount of skins for some characters over others, or the fact that half the maps seemingly have nothing to do with the world being built, or the fact that the comics are good but totally separated from one another, or the fact that the shorts are just enough to tease and not enough to really explore the world and characters -

Or even if comes down to Reaper being a “bad guy” for “decades.”

Reyes having been Reaper for “decades” and therefore having been “a bad guy all along” will be a massive disappointment for everyone who wants to see the complicated, complex, dark-skinned, Latino character get a good backstory and eventually a good redemption arc - but it will be disappointingly expected too.  The silver lining is that he’s still one of the funniest, funnest, wittiest, most sarcastic characters in the game, and no matter how many contradictions they build onto him, nothing will take away from shit like “I’m back in black,” “Welcome to the black hole,” “I’m a high-functioning psychopath,” “What kind of name is Doomfist anyways?”, and the fucking line of solid gold, “It’s in the refrigerator.”

Also

Sometimes being the “bad guy” is way more fun than being the hero.

I have no fucking clue who’s actually gonna read all of this but in summary:

To Chu, if you come across this: be very careful about overhyping things or vaguing information for your followers.  I don’t think any of us here want to see the First Strike cancellation repeat itself.  When you wrote Old Soldiers, were you thinking about Reaper’s biography and the word “decades”?  It would be very interesting to learn how Blizzard’s timeline for Overwatch has changed throughout development.

To everyone else, whoever reads this: be skeptical of claims made by Blizzard, individual members of their team, and by fellow fans, including me!  Like, holy shit, it’s crazy cool you got this far, but seriously, take a look, click those URLs, find that missing dialogue, do the math.  “Word of God” means very little in this day and age when content creators change their ideas and stories all the time for something new, something they think is better.

Thanks for reading, sorry if I rambled in places, and sorry if I didn’t end very strong.  I wanted to write more shitty fic shit this morning but got totally sidetracked by hunting down this problem and it just...I’m tired of seeing funny, interesting, unique, creative characters get reworked by their creators into something more “typical” so that they don’t have to deal with the heavy lifting of the problems that come with defying expectations.  Reflections was a great start - hell, having such a diverse cast of characters to begin with was a great start - but I look at things like the First Strike cancellation and the whole “we’re moving in a different direction,” and it just echoes other video game series that have done the same thing in the past.

The theme of Overwatch is that there are “limitless possibilities” - “anyone can be a hero.”  The world could always use more heroes.  So to turn that around and make the “stereotypical bad guy” into a tired, tried stereotype once again would be bitterly disappointing.  And at a time when people of all races, ages, genders, beliefs, and origins are facing harsh, real world struggles in the face of renewed evils, Overwatch provides an opportunity for fun, fairness, and optimism.  To use that platform to tell the same tired, tried story is just exhausting.

[overwatch]

REAPER (♡ω♡)

First impression:

What the hotopic hell is this? This is the tackiest character design I have ever seen lol. Blizzard pandering to goth gamer boys... This is the embodiment of the gamer chair.

Impression now:

I WOULD DIE FOR REAPER

Favorite moment:

When in the first archives came out and all of a sudden *commander Reyes* was speaking to the team in his non-reaper voice and everybody stood up and clapped and I still gasp every time.

Idea for a story:

That he's actually working with Soldier76 and Sombra, but can't remain "sane" for long and jumps back and forth between being Gabriel and being this reaper persona, which is something talon brainwashed him with.

Unpopular opinion:

None bc everyone else also loves him

Favorite relationship:

Obviously the only ship is with Soldier76 I'm so glad Michael chu married them irl

Favorite headcanon:

He adopted McCree and Sombra. He's also bi and had a child before going to the military. And he and Vincent hate each other.