#i will not say the word “oasis” in this account btw

[luffynist4]

despite being the protagonist of the most famous currently running shonen, i feel like we don't talk about Luffy enough.

every time i see a Luffy crazy girly (gender neutral), i feel like i'm seeing water in a desert.

[segadores-y-soldados]

@pastels-bunnies-guts:

I love your theories btw, Many of the details you show I would have never noticed on my own! Anyway on to my question, so do we have any what Reapers 'condition' is? How much of his abilities come from Moira's experiments and how much come from himself? Did they start from birth or in the SEP? I'm actually not asking you to answer some of these questions because that's a lot, I just wanted to give you them to think about. Personally, I think maybe Reyes had some form of cancer? I'm out of words

---

(I’m answering this as a full post because I hate the limited functionality in the Ask format)

TL;DR: Basically, Gabriel’s condition is on-going and changes over time.  It is caused by three main things: SEP’s modifications to his genes and phenotypic expressions; Moira’s “experiments” on him (and possibly her search for a cure - legitimate or not); and the Swiss Base explosion.  His “symptoms” are his lifedraining ability, his wraith abilities, and his inability to age correctly.

Super long answer is here: “Long Reasons Not to Trust Moira in Retribution”

Summary is below:

(There IS a “read more” link)

There are two twitter answers from Michael Chu which act as our baseline for this discussion:

The first one:

User: You missed an important one there - What about Reaper? Can he even still be considered alive in his state? Michael Chu: That’s a good question. ;)

(Source)

And the second one:

(Source)

The second one is specifically talking about the wording on Reaper’s Hero Profile which says:

The twitter conversation is talking about this line: “[Reaper] has fought in many armed conflicts in the last decades, showing no loyalty to any cause or organization.”

Michael’s response shows that the wording about “decades” is deliberate.  This means that parts of Gabriel’s “condition” are at least 20+ years old.

However, Reaper’s Hero Profile also says:

“It is possible that he is a byproduct of failed genetic alteration which forces his cells to simultaneously decay and regenerate at a hyper-accelerated rate.”

So basically, we need to look at the factors which can influence his abilities on genetic, transgenic, and epigenetic levels.

When Moira was released, everyone immediately assumed that she was the biggest factor in “creating Gabriel’s Reaper condition”, which is exactly what her Origin video was tailored to make the audience believe:

However, at the Moira reveal panel, Michael Chu said something that implied a very different story:

Moira Blizzcon 2017 Panel: transcript

> Quote:  “She was recruited by Gabriel Reyes to be a member of Blackwatch.  And uh, during that time she had relationships with the Blackwatch crew - McCree, Genji - they all have their own sort of likes and dislikes for each other.  Reyes wanted someone could help advise him on, uh, some matters of genetics that he was, uh, interested in, shall we say.” - Michael Chu

When the Oasis map was updated that day, one of the things found in Moira’s Genetics lab was this:

This implied that some parts of Gabriel’s condition had been caused by the Soldier Enhancement Program:

(Source: Soldier: 76 Hero Profile)

When “Retribution” came around, this was also semi-confirmed by two things:

Gabriel’s “Soldier: 24″ skin, which showed a number of tubes injecting things into his arms (and possibly his chest).

Two:

That even through the comic and the playable event of Retribution - no one was surprised by Gabriel wraithing around.

Not McCree, not Genji, not Moira -

And honestly? Not Jack, Ana, or Gérard either.

It is also important that characters like Moira and the Talon Snipers are able to use “Wraith” and/or Lifedrain without any known side effects.  This means that whatever controls the abilities at the core genetic and transgenic level can be reproduced artificially.

This all points to SEP.

The hypothesis: SEP injected Gabriel with trangenic modifications that allowed him to “steal life” from other beings (lifedrain/The Reapening) and “dematerialize and rematerialize at will” (Wraith/Shadow Step).  These abilities made him extremely hard to kill, and allowed him to fight on-par with Bastions, OR14s, and other Omnic units.

However, no one knew what the “long term” effects of these abilities would be.

And by the time of Moira’s recruitment, it has become clear that these abilities are somehow impacting Gabriel’s life.

For example, here’s Reinhardt.

Here’s Ana.

And here’s Gabriel.

This brings us back to the first tweet by Michael: was Gabriel aging properly?  Is he even medically “alive” anymore?

I don’t know.  And I don’t know if Blizzard will ever 100% define what his “condition” is, but it does seem that parts of Gabriel’s health were aging and/or deteriorating, while other parts where actually improving.  His outward appearance ages significantly less than Rein, Torb, Ana, or Jack.

But “internally”, we have no idea exactly what was going on with him.

But here’s what we know:

SEP modified Gabriel on a genetic level, which then manifested/activated on a phenotypic level.  These abilities likely included lifedrain and dematerializing/rematerializing.  While these abilities are superhuman, the original Strike Team gets used to them, as do select members of Blackwatch.

By the time Gabriel is 50 (Retribution) he has enlisted the help of an unethical geneticist to help “cure” the deteriorating parts of his SEP condition.

How do we know Gabriel wanted Moira to cure him?

First off, the easy part:

Her paper is literally called “Repairing Degenerative Genetic Structures.”

Next, we know from Nesskain - the artist of Moira’s Origin Video - that Gabriel was “scared” during Moira’s trials on him:

(Source)

This implies that Gabriel was afraid of what was happening to him - he did not recruit Moira to make him “Reaper.”

He recruited Moira to “unmake him” Reaper.

However, we know Moira had her own ambitions and plans for Gabriel - and for Blackwatch:

We also know that whatever Moira was doing to him, she expected it to have an impact on Gabriel’s SEP condition:

Moira: How are you feeling, Commander? Gabriel: Fine, no ill effects so far. Moira: Let me know if that changes.

---

Gabriel: Am I the only one who feels hungry? Moira: That could be an unforeseen side effect… Gabriel: …I was making a joke.

(source)

So in Retribution, Gabriel’s condition can be summarized as: “SEP abilities + Moira’s experiments”.

But that’s still not quite enough to make him “full” Reaper.

Personally, I think Gabriel is lying to Ana in these panels.  He’s not telling her the truth.

However, what’s important here is that Ana has no idea what made this man:

become this:

Which means that between Ana’s “death” and Recall, there is at least one additional thing that happens to Gabriel.

And the only real “event” between Ana’s “death” and Recall that Ana specifically missed was:

The explosion of the Swiss Base.

When Reaper respawns, one of his potential lines is: “This is my curse.”

It implies that he is unable to die.

So: SEP condition = “hard to kill” but able to be wounded.

But SEP condition + Moira’s experiments + explosion = effectively immortal

Reaper is able to fight one on one with Winston and avoid both dying and being captured, which is not something even Doomfist can do.  Reaper can also 1v1 a new Volskaya mech and still walk away from the fight unharmed.

It’s interesting, because Reaper consistently calls himself “Death”, and while this is probably just for show, it seems very likely that Gabriel has somehow become elevated past death, mortality, and human life expectancies.

This aligns with why Moira is so interested in his condition:

“We stand on the brink of a breakthrough in human evolution.  I have dedicated my life to unraveling its secrets.  I take risks that others would consider to be ‘unwise,’ for I do not share their caution.”

- Moira (source)

I don’t necessarily think Moira wants to become immortal herself - I think she just really likes the challenge of “defying death” and elevating humanity into a new stage of existence.  This also aligns with Doomfist, and his belief that conflict makes humanity stronger.  Both Moira and Doomfist want the same thing - to see humanity “reach its true potential” - but they use slightly different methods to get there, and the two methods are not mutually exclusive.  Moira wants to use unethical, unchecked scientific experiments to get there, and Doomfist wants to use a war.

Interestingly, another character might be very close to achieving Reaper’s “elevated” status:

Post: “The Immortal Soldier?”

If Reaper’s “equation” for possible immortality is: SEP + Moira + explosion

Soldier: 76 is actually very close to that:

Jack has been through SEP, and he has also been through the explosion.

The part that Jack is missing is:

On a more personal note:

I wouldn’t...hold out hope for Blizzard to “confirm” anything more concrete than this.  They’ve already effectively implied what they have wanted to imply, and while I know people aren’t satisfied with this answer, the truth is that “SEP + Moira + explosion” pretty neatly ties up all the major “factors” that make Reaper “Reaper”.  The theory accounts for his Hero Profile, Michael Chu’s statements, Moira’s role in Blackwatch and her betrayal, and the explosion.  It gives Gabriel an “easy” way to start working with Talon (thought personally I think he also wants to bring Talon down), and it also gives him a very human, very empthatic motivation (aside from the revenge part): he simply wants to “get better” from the condition that has plagued him his entire life.  His condition makes him more emotionally complex, and moves his plot from “Why did Gabriel join Talon when he hates them?” to:

“What is more important to Gabriel: finding a cure for his condition, or stopping Talon?”

[husberttee]

fan account 24K Cologne

First of; They really chose a bad day. I get that there was no way around it due to their concert scedule in general, but like; Thursday. Mh. Nah. So I live like five hours away from Cologne (by train) and yeah that was already fun, but, oh well, you know, me, a dedicated fan, gives no shits. Five hours on a Thursday. Plus it was obvious that I would have to sleep there, so friday got involved too.

My mum let me go and I missed two days of school which is actually awesome so no complaints there

So.

I went together with a friend who also likes 24K and yeah we did all that travelling and we thought; hey we can easily be at the concert venue around 4pm, (they opened and started letting the VIPs in at 5pm) like dis should work out, all nice and shit.

Well It didn’t

I’m not gonna go into detail but there were problems at the hotel and just yeh so we happened to turn up there around 5:20pm (it was dark, it was raining, urg) and we thought “lol we’re gonna be like at the very end of the line and at the back of the hall” Jokes on us for thinking that because after us a SHIT TON of people came, still, so it was actually not that bad

So we get in after waiting like one hour maximum (my phone died beforehead lol no picture taking for me) get rid of our jackets and shit and go in the ‘concert hall’ which was more of a club kinda thingy which was REALLY nice because no matter where you stood you could still see the stage quite close

NOW THE CONCERT

they started with BINGO which was THE SHIT and after that they played Oasis which is my FUCKING FAVOURITE SONG KJVHJAVSGFX. And like generally they played all their more famous songs (and some of their less know ones) and ‘Still’ was SUPER AMAZING and also Super Fly like DAMN what a powerful performance. Later Cory and Jeonguk had like a rap stage togetehr and I can tell you RAP GOD CORY IS A THING NOW!!! LIKE!!!! HE SLAY!!!! They also covered some songs like Bang Bang Bang and I lowkey felt bad because I felt like the crowd was more excited for that song than for some of the 24K songs. But yo that might just be me who thought that... Also I was kinda unlucky because I stood in this small amount of people who JUST WOULDN’T GET TURNED. EVER. And I was yelling and dancing and having the time of my life while they just kinda ‘yeh’ Overall the crowd was kinda cool tho and we had like improvised lightsticks and half assed actual fanchants and very energetic ‘scream all the english words and the korean parts you know’ fanchants. It was great. They did awesome but I thought they looked quite tired (especially Jeonguk so I tried my best to be as energetic as possible so that they won’t have a hard time.

There were also quite some talking sequenzes and of course Cory did most of the talking and he was super cool like what a chill and nice guy is this man please how. Also all of the members of course talked too, and when it was Hong seobs turn he couldn’t really start because people kept screaming stuff at him. Like he needed a solid minute to recover from a very loud ‘SEXY’ from the back of the hall. Also we were like often a bit loud so Cory and Kisu kept shushing us but yeh Changsun became like my bias wrecker number 1 during that concert because he’s just. He’s just really cool ok. Like. Really cool. Also his smile is like the fucking sun I’m not joking. I love. Be my friend. He and Hongseob had a dance stage (later joined by Jeonguk) and it was SUPER AWESOME. THEY’RE SO TALENTED I CRY THANK GOD THEY JOINED THE GROUP. Hui was very quiet, as expected, and he struggled with his korean but he was super sweet and yall; BOY GOT STAGE PRESENCE. LIKE. HOLY SHIT BRUH.  SO FABULOUS. SO BADASS. So. Jinhong. My guy, my dude. WHEN DID HE BECOME SO CUTE THE FUCK!?!? His voice is like EXTREMELY cute and high and he was like walking aegyo by just... doing nothing?! What the fuck?! Also he and Hongseob were like very much in their own smoll maknae line world because they kept talking to each other and annoyed each other a lot which was very very heart warming. Kisu looked good and Kisu KNEW that he looked good. Also he talked most besides Cory (we had a translator btw but Cory translated a lot too) and he has super nice and well yeah sassy and just Kisu and I’m so thankful that I got to see him. ALso his vocals are honestly like super good!?!?

Jeonguk seemed a little tired to me, but besides the fact that they probably ARE really tired, he still slayed and he went super crazy and definitely gave his all. His dancing was SUPER IMPRESSIVE like he is incredibly good and he looked like he had so much fun while doing his little solo stage. Hongseob WAS A FUCKING TEASE. like can u stop. Also he was super cute and sweet and joked around with the members a lot. I actually had a present for him but I forgot about it sadly so it’ll never reach him. Oh well. He definitely had fun while performing like he even joked around with everyone during the stages but he also performed like really good in general and just. YOU GO SEOBS. YOU GO.

Cory was his usual cool self, shutting us up, making sure everyone gets to talk, translating for us, hyping us up (make some noise!) Also he sang SUPER good and he joked with us and yah; He was like OBSESSED with Schnitzel. He kept saying it, yelling it, and eventually used it as his team name with Hongseob when they played a game with the fans.

AND THIS GAME. I WILL FOREVER REGRET MY FUCKING LIVE. NO JOKE.

Cause they like devided themselfes in three teams 1. Team 24KU (Changsun + Jinhong cringing to the moon and back) 2. Team Schnitzel (Hngseob + Cory) 3. team ??? I couldn’t understand it properly (Jeonguk + Kisu + Hui)

and then THEY CHOSE THREE FANS TO COME ON STAGE AND TEACH THEM BINGO AND LET THEM HAVE A DANCE BATTLE AND GET A SIGNED CD AND STAND NEXT TO THEM AND TALK TO THEM AND JUST FUCK FUUUUUCK I WANTED THIS SO BAD. LIKE. WHAT THE HELL. (I later saw one of the girls who got chosen waiting for the S-bahn and she was like smiling like she’d met the lord in person and I’M SO FUCKING JEALOUS I JUST HAGFHJADXJAC)

Then of course at some point the concert was over and all the sad people with general tickets (aka me) got thrown outside. Just that it took like half an hour because we had to wait AGES for out jackets while being very exhausted and dehydrated and we DIDN’T HAVE WATER.

Eventually we got out, and it was raining, and we went to the hotel and yeh

CONGRATS IF YOU MADE IT UNTIL THE END OF THIS MESS

I had a wonderful time (even tho I couldn’t see sometimes because peple were holding up their phones like thanks can u not) and 24K are just super nice and precious people who are very very close to their fans and give all of it on stage. I’m glad I got to see them and they said they would come back to germany so I’m just praying it’s true and I’m trying that I can go and see them again one day!

THEY ALSO DID A VAPP DURING THEIR CONCERT