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thimbil · 3 years

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Having some thoughts about the references and inspirations used for the Bad Batch’s designs.

So Boba Fett is my absolute favorite character and Temeura Morrison was perfect casting. I went to see the 2008 TCW movie in theaters because I was so excited to see him again, even if he was animated. You can imagine my disappointment. Whoever was on screen was not Temeura Morrison. You could sort of see a resemblance if you squinted and didn’t think too hard about it. They replaced Temeura with Racially Ambiguous G.I. Joe. If I didn’t know better and someone told me the animated clones are space Italians from the moon of New Jersey I would buy it. One Million Brothers Pizzeria and Italian Bistro. Not that there’s something wrong with being space Italian, I just don’t think it’s the right choice for the Fetts. The design got slightly improved by season 7 but it still bugs the hell out of me.

I did eventually get into the show later and (of course) got invested in the clones. Unfortunately, they were largely sidelined by the Jedi storylines. Out of the two new main characters created for TCW, Ahsoka definitely got more development and focus than Rex. When they announced The Bad Batch, I was excited to see a show specifically devoted to the clones… at least that’s what it said on the tin. We have all seen what lurks beneath those stylish helmets.

Jango Fett, you are NOT the father.

So who is?

Based on interviews with Filoni, it sounds like the Bad Batch was a George Lucas idea. And like all his ideas, it’s super derivative. The original trilogy directly lifted elements from sci fi serials, westerns, and samurai movies, more specifically Kurosawa films like The Hidden Fortress. For The Bad Batch character designs, the influence is obviously American action and adventure movies.

Now let’s get specific. Bad Batch, who’s your daddy?

Hunter

Sylvester Stallone as Rambo in First Blood 1982. That bandana has become an integral part of the iconic action hero look. You see a character wearing one and it’s a visual shorthand for either “this character is a tough guy” like Billy played by Sonny Landham in Predator 1987, or “this character thinks he is/wants to be a tough guy” like Brand played by Josh Brolin in The Goonies 1985 or Edward Frog played by Corey Feldman in The Lost Boys 1987.

Hunter’s model is closest to the original clone base. If you look closely you will see the eyebrows are straighter with a much lower angle to the arch. His nose is also not the same shape as a standard clone like Rex, including a narrower bridge. It’s certainly not Temeura Morrison’s nose. Remember what I said about space Italians? It didn’t take much to push the existing clone design to resemble an specific Italian man instead of a specific Māori man. The 23&Me came back, and Hunter inherited more than the bandana from Sylvester.

Crosshair

The long narrow nose, the sharp cheekbones, the scowl. That’s no clone, that’s just animated Clint Eastwood. Not even Young and Hot Clint Eastwood from Rawhide 1959-1965. With that hair, I’m talking Gran Torino 2008. The man of few words schtick and family friendly toothpick in lieu of cigar are pure Eastwood as The Man With No Name from Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns A Fist Full of Dollars 1964, For a Few Dollars More 1965, and The Good the Bad and the Ugly 1966.

In a way, this is full circle because the actor Jeremy Bulloch took inspiration from Clint Eastwood for his performance as Boba Fett in ESB.

Wrecker

In an interview Filoni lists the Hulk as an (obvious) inspiration for Wrecker. Ever seen the old Hulk tv show from 1978? Well take a look at the actor who played him, Lou Ferrigno. Would you look at that. Even has his papa’s nose.

You could make the argument that Wrecker was influenced by The Rock, an appropriately buff ‘n bald Polynesian (Samoan, not Maori) man. But look at him next his Fast and Furious costar Vin Diesel and tell me which one resembles Wrecker’s character model more.

Tech

Tech is a little trickier for me to place. If he has a more direct inspiration it must be something I haven’t seen. That said, his hairline is very Bruce Willis as John McClane in Die Hard 1988. His quippiness and large glasses remind me of Shane Black as Hawkins from Predator 1987. In terms of his face, he looks a but like the result of McClane and Hawkins deciding to settle down and start a family. Although, Tech’s biggest contributors are probably just everyone on TV Trope’s list for Smart People Wear Glasses.

And finally,

Echo

Oh Echo. Considering he wasn’t created for the Bad Batch, he probably wasn’t based on a particular character or movie. But if I had to guess, his situation and appearance remind me a lot of Alex Murphy played by Peter Weller in Robocop 1987. However, Robocop explored the Man or Machine Identity Crisis with more nuance, depth, and dignity. Yikes.

The exact tropes and references used in The Bad Batch have been done successfully with characters who aren’t even human. Gizmo from Gremlins 2: The New Batch 1990 had a brief stint with the Rambo bandana. I could have picked any number of characters for Defining Feature Is Glasses but here is the most cursed version of Simon of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Suffer as I have. Marc Antony with his beloved Pussyfoot from Looney Tunes has the same tough guy with a soft center vibe as Wrecker and his Lula (also a kind of cat). Hell, in the same show we have Cad Bane sharing Cowboy Clint Eastwood with Crosshair. I actually think Bane makes a better Eastwood which is wild considering Crosshair has Eastwood’s entire face and Bane is blue.

So we’ve established you don’t need your characters to look exactly like their inspirations to match their vibe. So why go through the trouble and cost of creating completely new character designs instead of recycling and altering assets they already had on hand? Just slap on a bandana, toothpick, goggles, and make Wrecker bigger than the others while he does a Hulk pose and you’re done. Based on the general reaction to Howzer it would have been a low effort slam dunk crowd pleaser.

But they didn’t do that.

So here’s the thing. I like the tropes used in The Bad Batch. I am a fan of action adventure movies from the 80s-90s, the sillier the better. I am part of the Bad Batch’s target audience. Considering what I know about Disney and Lucasfilm, I went in with low expectations. I genuinely don’t hate the idea of seeing references to these actors and media in The Bad Batch. I don’t think basing these characters on tropes was a bad idea. If anything it’s a solid starting point for building the characters.

The trouble is nothing got built on the foundation. The plot is directionless, the pacing is wacky, and the characters have nearly no emotional depth or defining character arcs. They just sort of exist without reacting much while the story happens around them. But I can excuse all of that. You don’t stay a fan of Star Wars as long as I have not being able to cherrypick and fill in the gaps. This show has a deeper issue that shouldn’t be ignored.

Why do the animated clones bear at best only a passing resemblance to their live action actor? In interviews, Filoni wouldn’t shut up but the technological advancements in the animation for season 7. So if they are updating things, why not try to make the clones a closer match to their source material? Why did they have to look like completely different people in The Bad Batch to be “unique”? Looking like Temeura Morrison would have no bearing on their special abilities and TCW proved you can have identical looking characters and still have them be distinct. In fact, that’s a powerful theme and the source of tragedy for the clones’ narrative overall.

Here’s Filoni’s early concept art of Crosshair, Wrecker, Tech, and Hunter. (Interesting but irrelevant: Wrecker seems to have a cog tattoo similar to Jesse’s instead of a scar. Wouldn’t it have been funny if they kept that so when they met in season 7 one if them could say something like “Hey we’re twins!” That’s a little clone humor. Just for you guys 😘)

None of these drawings look like the clones in TCW, much less Temeura Morrison. Let’s be generous. Maybe Filoni struggles with drawing a real person’s likeness, as many people do. But he had to hand this off to other artists down the line whose job specifically involves making a stylized character resemble their actor. Yet the final designs missed the mark almost as much as this initial concept. Starting to seem as if the clones looking more like Temeura Morrison was never even on the table. It wasn’t a lack of creativity, skill or technical limitations on the part of the creative team. I don’t think there is an innocent explanation. They went out of their way to make the final product exactly how we got it.

This goes beyond homage. They could have made the same pop culture references and character tropes without completely stripping Temeura Morrison from the role he originated. It was a very purposeful choice to replace him with more immediately familiar actors from established franchises and films. It wouldn’t shock me if Filoni, Lucas, and anyone else calling the shots didn’t even think hard or care enough about the decision to immediately recognize a problem. And I don’t think they believed anyone else would either. At least no one whose opinion they cared about. Those faces are comfortingly familiar and proven bankable. They are what we’re all used to seeing after all. They’re white.

Lack of imagination, bad intentions, or simple ignorance doesn’t really matter in the end. The result is the same. Call it what it is. They replaced a man of color with a bunch of white guys. That’s by the book garden variety run of the mill whitewashing. There’s no debate worth having about it. For a fanbase that loves to nitpick things like whether or not it’s in character for Han to shoot first or Jeans Guy in the Mandalorian, we sure are quick to find excuses for clones who look nothing like their template. Why is that? If you don’t see the problem, congratulations. Your ass is showing. Pull your jeans up.

#star wars #the bad batch #unwhitewashtbb #wrecker #crosshair #tech #hunter #echo

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segadores-y-soldados · 6 years

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And because tumblr is going to destroy this post: the full image Please be kind to my terrible Paint skills, I wasn’t about to bust out an old tablet to make this super fancy. Please know that this is one possible interpretation of the final year, year and a half of Overwatch given what we currently have available to us right now.

Sources and more information under the cut:

To start off with, our baseline point is Recall.

Recall is when both the game and the main plot begin - the Recall animation and Winston’s “Are You With Us” recall message are initiated, and this “coincides” with the game’s release in 2016. To make things easier for everyone, my math here is simply to project: 2016 + 60 years forward = Recall initiated in 2076

Fairly straightforward and makes following game updates a bit easier.

From here, forward-progressing events move roughly at the same time as the game has been released. For example:

Summer of 2016 || Summer of 2076: Ana is released || “Old Soldiers” comic occurs

November of 2016 || November of 2076: The Sombra ARG concludes || Sombra leaks LumériCo’s secrets

November of 2016 || November of 2076: “Infiltration” is released || Talon attempts to assassinate Katya Volskaya

November 2076: Volskaya asks Zarya for assistance in finding Sombra

Holidays of 2016 || Holidays of 2076: the “Reflections comic” occurs

Now we’ve entered 2017 || 2077. Things shift slightly here.

On-going throughout 2077: Zarya searches for Sombra

Late February 2017 || Late February 2077: Interview with Efi Oladele is released

July 2017 || Late February 2077: “Masquerade” comic is released || Doomfist breaks out of prison and returns to Talon

March 2017 || March 2077: Orisa is released || Efi builds Orisa

Sometime after Orisa is built, 2077: Zarya meets Lynx in Numbani

April 2017 || April 2077: the “Uprising” event is released || files on the Strike Team’s mission against Null Sector are declassified

July 2017: Doomfist is released

August 2017 || (likely) August 2077: Junkertown map is released || Junkrat and Roadhog initiate “The Plan”

September 2017 || (likely) September 2077: “Searching” is released || Zarya finally finds Sombra

This is why the “Uprising” content all says “seven years ago” - because the game and the overall plot since Recall has moved forward one year, but the actual event of Null Sector’s Uprising did not change in time. So, with the “Recall” event and the “Uprising” information, I have two anchor points of reference for the general, final year of Overwatch: 2076 - 6 years = 2070 2077 - 7 years = 2070

Michael’s GDC talk also gives us a third anchor point: the Halloween party where Reinhardt tells the story of “Junkenstein’s Revenge.” This is actually set during Halloween the year before, so 31st October, 2069 (nice).

I’m breaking this up by section to help make this a bit easier.

Introduction

1. “Six Years Ago:” “Fading Glory: On the Trail of Jack Morrison,” in-universe article (https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/blog/19809396/) 2. Michael Chu’s timeline: “Thinking Globally: Building the Optimistic Future of Overwatch,” a GDC talk given by Michael Chu (Timestamp: 49:12 - clip starts at discussion of materials: https://youtu.be/bj56ejM5EcU?t=2952)

Late 2069/Early 2070

1. “Halloween party:” “Junkenstein’s Revenge,” a comic in which Reinhardt narrates a “scary” story to some of the Overwatch members (https://comic.playoverwatch.com/en-us/junkrat-junkenstein). What is important to note here is that Michael actually puts this in the “Fall of Overwatch” era of his timeline. It is also important to note that several major Overwatch characters - Lena, Winston, and Genji - are either not yet a part of Overwatch, or were not permitted to join the “core members’” Halloween party. I have personally chosen to interpret this as the first option. You may view things differently.

2. Tracer disappears from the timeline (not shown): “I was missing for months” - quote from her Origin video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27LPGldyY7M). “[Tracer] reappeared months later, but her ordeal had greatly changed her: her molecules had been desynchronized from the flow of time.” - quote from her Hero profile (https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/heroes/tracer/). “Months” here, as I understand it, probably means fewer than 12 months (a full year) but more than “a couple” (2 months). It’s difficult to say when exactly Lena disappeared and when she returned, but we know she had returned by April of 2070 (at the very latest).

3. The Shimada brothers’ duel: alright. Full disclosure inbound. I got a handful of people countering me on this issue in my Moira discussion and here’s my response: we have a number of conflicting pieces of information and many of them could be possible. I’d like to run through my reasoning for why I’m placing this event in the final year of Overwatch, as well as other possible places it could go.

3.1 “Nearly ten years ago:” a few people brought up that the 2014 Blizzcon Overwatch reveal panel described Hanzo (a then-playable character) as having left his home “nearly ten years ago.” You can find this quote on this transcript here (http://overwatch.blizzplanet.com/blog/comments/blizzcon-2014-overwatch-unveiled-panel-transcript/3). Reason why I disagree with this assessment: this line never made it to either of Hanzo or Genji’s final Hero profiles (Hanzo: https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/heroes/hanzo/) (Genji: https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/heroes/genji/).

That said, this does not mean the line is incorrect, nor that it is not part of whatever internal timeline Blizzard is using. I personally do not think it’s wise to specific details from the 2014 Blizzcon panel because of how old it is and how much changed between 2014 and the game’s release in 2016. Remember - Blizzard was still rethinking its own plot well past the game’s release (when they canceled “First Strike”). But in all fairness, if you want to make your own version of the timeline and use that, then feel free.

3.2 Late March/Early April: I had someone else note the fact that the “Dragons” animation shows several koinobori, or the Japanese koi windsocks traditionally flown on Children’s Day on May 5th. There are a couple of issues with this: one, it does not particularly coincide with the blooming of the cherry blossoms in the Tokyo region (source: http://www.jnto.go.jp/sakura/eng/index.php), which is where Hanamura is “set,” and two, the idea kinda trusts that Blizzard did research on koinobori and when they are supposed to be used. In an effort to be fair to Blizzard, technically, koinobori can begin appearing as decorations as early as April, and be flown all the way through to Children’s Day.

3.3 Genji in training: a related issue to 3.2 and the upcoming 5th event in the timeline is that Genji appears to be testing out his cyborg body in a sparring match against Lena/Tracer. The “Art of Overwatch” book also provides a description that appears to imply that this skin is him when he is still recovering:

“Much like the Origins Edition skins, the designs released for the Uprising event offered a glimpse into a pivotal period of the characters’ lives. One of the most extreme designs belong to Genji. After his brother, Hanzo, nearly killed him, he was taken in by Overwatch and given a new body (below). The experience left the hero embittered and angry, constantly at war with the cybernetics that were now a part of him.

“When designing a skin for this part of Genji’s story, the developers used his outfit to mirror his turbulent state of mind. They made his armor feel like a mishmash of parts, symbolizing the hero’s struggle to accept what he has becomd. The use of red throughout the skin also helped ot emphasize his uncontrollable rage.” - The Art of Overwatch, page 233

No date is given, hence why I feel the idea is only implied, but it is not stated. Again, if you wish to create your own interpretation of this, you are free to do so.

4. Winston crash lands on Earth (no exact date given): this one is very difficult and admittedly extremely loosely incorporated into the final year of Overwatch. You may interpret it differently. My reasoning here is that Winston is not present in the Halloween comic, and no specific details are given in the ironically-named “New Details Emerge About Possible Fate of Horizon Lunar Colony” article (https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/blog/20812209). However, Winston needs to be “present” and part of Overwatch when Tracer returns to the timeline from her accident, so this potentially puts Winston’s landing sometime around the Shimadas’ duel.

5. Uprising: As I described above, I’ve extrapolated that the time since release and the canon-events revealed have some parallels running between them. Obviously, this is not set 100% in stone. However, with Uprising, we do know a few things:

it is Lena’s first mission, so it has to come after her return to the timeline

it features Winston, so he’s either a part of Overwatch now or taking a more active role

it features Winston testing Lena’s chronal accelerator, so it is relatively recent after her return and stabilization

it features Genji before he gets his normal cyborg “skin”

it features Angela who appears to be testing Genji’s cybernetics

Reinhardt has not yet retired

Jesse is still present and part of Blackwatch

Ana is still present

Gabriel is still present

Overwatch is already under public scrutiny

Director Petras has already suspended Blackwatch activities

It takes place “seven years ago” from 2077.

These are a lot of constraints to place on Uprising, but they do limit us to what is likely the final year of Overwatch. The teaser tweet for the event can be found here (https://twitter.com/playoverwatch/status/848958308643885056?lang=en) and the blog post can be found here (https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/blog/20696534). Mid-to-Late 2070 (exact dates unknown) This is where things get very difficult to align, and the majority of events could be effectively rearranged to come before or after each other. 1. Moira recruited to Blackwatch: main source - Moira Origin Story (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ETybQd4uRE) The newest event at the time of this writing, Moira’s recruitment is constrained by two major things - it must come after Genji joins, and it must happen before Genji and Jesse leave Blackwatch. Again, if you see Genji’s fight with Hanzo as happening a couple of years before 2070, then yes, this event could come much earlier. The second “part” of this (which I’ve placed several months after her recruitment in the timeline) is that whatever Moira does or “tests” on Gabriel must come after Ana has “died” and separated from the Overwatch team. Hypothetically, Moira’s “tests” are likely conducted over a period of time, but no matter what, Gabriel’s “final, unmasked appearance” (whatever it is) was never seen by Ana (but hypothetically has been seen by Jack/Soldier: 76).

For the quote that I provided, you can check here (http://segadores-y-soldados.tumblr.com/post/167111711575/moira-preview-new-hero-overwatch-panel) or you can watch the source video yourself:

“Moira Reveal Panel” - quote from Michael Chu (Timestamp: 3:47 https://youtu.be/HsJU3PEk9JY?t=227)

Source for the “Soldier: 24 folder” - http://segadores-y-soldados.tumblr.com/post/167127031445/new-details-on-the-university-map-of-oasis-found

2. Doomfist’s arrest: main source - Doomfist Origin Story (https://youtu.be/vaZfZFNuOpI) Again, no exact date has been given, but there are number of constraints that put this after Uprising:

Tracer is part of the team that arrested him

Winston is part of the team that arrested him (this may come after Winston passes whatever certification test is in the photo in Recall)

Genji appears to have his new cybernetics and may have transferred to Overwatch

Other key members of Overwatch, such as Reinhardt and Torbjörn, are not present and may have retired.

This may come before Moira’s recruitment. Talon activities at this time period are difficult to suss out correctly. As Moira’s hero profile implies:

“After Overwatch was disbanded, O'Deorain was forced to turn to unconventional sources of funding. This time, she was invited to join the scientific collective that had founded the city of Oasis. Yet some have whispered that the shadowy Talon organization had already been supporting her for years, aiding her experiments in exchange for utilizing the results for their own purposes.” Moira may have already been working for Talon at this time. The “organization had already been supporting her for years” overlaps with her recruitment into Blackwatch (no matter where you put it), meaning she may have entered Blackwatch and Overwatch as a Talon agent. It is also possible that she was approached by Talon AFTER becoming a Blackwatch agent.

This is important - and unfortunately very vague - because our next two points rely on knowing when and how Talon began infiltrating Blackwatch and Overwatch. 3. Amélie’s transformation into Widowmaker (no exact date given): main sources - Widowmaker’s Hero profile (https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/heroes/widowmaker/) and “Legacy” comic (https://comic.playoverwatch.com/en-us/legacy)

The exact timeline of Amélie’s transformation is hard to pin down because so much of it is simply unknown. We have a few constraints but don’t know the exact time or nature of them:

Her skin and heartrate have been affected by whatever chemicals Talon put in her, turning her blue/purple (and yes, that’s canon and not just “aesthetics” - “then her physiology was altered, drastically slowing her heart, which turned her skin cold and blue and numbed her ability to experience human emotion.”)

However, her Talon skin does not have the blue/purple tint yet, so it’s possible this is a representation of her shortly after she killed Gérard (I suspect Overwatch would’ve been much less casual about letting her return to her husband if she had been, well, literally blue/purple).

It is not known if this process was started before or after Moira joined Blackwatch, but it is incredibly suspicious that a “possibly Talon-affiliated” scientist with knowledge of altering genetics and physiology who is literally shown testing chemicals on her own arm which later turns blue/purple appears in the exact timeframe that Amélie’s transformation begins. The Fall of Overwatch: Late (?) 2070 1. Ana’s “death:” main sources - Ana Origin Story (https://youtu.be/yzFWIw7wV8Q) and “Legacy” comic. For my original discussion on this, check here: http://segadores-y-soldados.tumblr.com/post/159512959195/alright-so-the-subject-of-ana-being-the-source-of Ana’s death was likely a major, major turning point for both Overwatch and Talon. Again, it’s hard to place because it appears to come after the majority of Amélie’s transformation into Widowmaker, but again, the exact date to place this is unknown. Many fans originally believed that Ana had “died” much, much earlier in the timeline, like, several years earlier. However, after Uprising was released and it was revealed that Ana was still present early in the final year, fan theories had to be changed.

It also makes a lot more sense if Ana’s “shoot-off” with Widowmaker occurs very close to the Fall of Overwatch - so close that she was not able to recover in time and return to the organization to help repair any rifts her “death” may have caused. However, it also has to come before Gabriel’s final transformation or shift into “Reaper,” because Ana does not recognize “what has happened” to him.

It is also a little difficult to sort out, but a major “potential” cause for a rift between Jack and Gabriel could stem from discussions about Ana disobeying orders. It’s a small detail to catch, but in the “Legacy” comic, Ana deliberately defies orders to evacuate and turns off her communications device, possibly leaving the Strike Team unable to find her location. However, in the “Old Soldiers” comic, Reaper says that Overwatch “left [Ana] to die,” which seems to contradict the point that she disobeyed evac orders. I know many fans don’t like the idea of the fallout between Gabriel/Reaper and Jack/Soldier: 76 being over a miscommunication, but it seems entirely plausible that Jack returned from the mission without Ana, claiming she had ignored his orders, and that Gabriel had accused him of abandoning her. Again, this is my interpretation of the events presented. Reading between the lines, especially with such large gaps in the plot, is a difficult task and you may choose to interpret things differently. 2. Events with unknown dates: there are three events that have no set dates but occur near or close to the Fall of Overwatch, or at least must occur after certain other points. These are: 2.1 Genji leaves Overwatch: this must occur after he participates in the arrest of Doomfist. 2.2 Jesse leaves Blackwatch: this must occur after Uprising and Moira’s recruitment (bare minimum), and must occur after “the infighting” within Blackwatch had begun (McCree’s Hero profile: https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/heroes/mccree/). Direct quote: “McCree appreciated the flexibility afforded to the clandestine Blackwatch, unhindered by bureaucracy and red tape. But as Overwatch's influence waned, rogue elements within Blackwatch sought to bring down the organization and turn it to their own ends. Wanting no part of the infighting, McCree set off alone and went underground.” 2.3 The “Venice incident:” an unknown event alluded to in Moira’s Hero profile, in which her presence in Blackwatch is revealed (Moira’s Hero profile: https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/heroes/moira/). Direct quote: “Her employment was a closely kept secret, until it was uncovered during inquiries following the Venice incident. Many high-ranking Overwatch officials disavowed all knowledge of her affiliation with them.” This is significant because a major Talon leader - Vialli - works in Venice and appears (briefly and much later) during the events of the “Masquerade” comic.

These events have no set dates and no particular order. Michael Chu has stated that McCree and Genji kept in touch after leaving Blackwatch separately, but no dates are given for that. 3. “What happened to you?”/“It was a conspiracy:” Main sources:

Reaper’s Hero profile: https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/heroes/reaper/

Soldier: 76′s Hero profile: https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/heroes/soldier-76/

Soldier: 76 Origin Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byhvUmpAA9c

“Fading Glory: On the Trail of Jack Morrison”: https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/blog/19809396/

Moira Origin Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ETybQd4uRE

Nesskain’s (the artist of the Moira Origin Story video) response to how Gabriel is feeling about the shadows: https://twitter.com/nesskain/status/926674887615188992

Moira Reveal Panel at 2017 Blizzcon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsJU3PEk9JY

“Old Soldiers” comic: https://comic.playoverwatch.com/en-us/ana-old-soldiers

“Are you with us?” Recall message: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwFu8kEsUW4

And now Here we are. I’ve put these two events side-by-side because it’s incredibly likely that they’re linked in some way. The exact nature of their connections are still unknown, as are their dates. Hypothetically, by the time Genji and Jesse leave, “whatever happened” to Gabriel has not yet occurred. That said, Michael Chu has stated that Jesse McCree has not seen Gabriel/Reaper in the current plotline, but that, if they were to meet, McCree “would known [sic] that Reaper was Reyes if he encountered him” (https://www.reddit.com/r/Overwatch/comments/6b63j3/ama_request_michael_chu/dhlepud/). In other places, Michael has stated that the only people who recognize that Gabriel is Reaper are Jack, Ana, and Sombra (this is prior to the release of Doomfist and Moira). Direct quote: “So far: Ana and Jack (when they encountered him in Old Soldiers) and Sombra (because she Knows Things). “Even with everything that's happened to Reyes, Ana and Jack would be able to recognize him immediately, given all their close experience serving together over the years. “(To make it extra confusing: it gets a little more complicated in-game because we chose to have some non-canon interactions because I think it's more interesting to have Reinhardt take out Reaper and say, "Traitor!" than to accurately reflect that he doesn't know Reaper's true identity. But as I've said before, events in game shouldn't be considered strictly canon.)” - Michael Chu (https://us.battle.net/forums/en/overwatch/topic/20753735625#post-13) So we’ve come to a few constraints on Gabriel’s “appearance:”

Jack/Soldier: 76 knows that Gabriel is Reaper by the time of “Old Soldiers,” if not beforehand.

Ana recognizes him by demeanor and personality, but is horrified by his appearance when she unmasks him in “Old Soldiers.”

Despite having worked with him for the same amount of time as Ana, Reinhardt canonically does not know who “Reaper” is, but would recognize him if he encountered him.

Jesse McCree canonically does not know who “Reaper” is, but would recognize him if he encountered him.

Interestingly, Widowmaker does not know who “Reaper” is.

Winston does not appear to know who “Reaper” is.

Genji may or may not know who “Reaper” is.

It is important to note that, by the time of the explosion at the Swiss Watchpoint, the majority of these characters are not present in Overwatch anymore. Ana, Reinhardt, Jesse, Amélie (if she ever was close to the Overwatch agents), and Genji have all left. Winston, presumably, is at Watchpoint: Gibraltar. The locations of characters like Torbjörn, Angela, and Lena are unknown.

That leaves three possible “major characters” at the Swiss Watchpoint at the time of the explosion: Gabriel Reyes, Jack Morrison, and potentially Moira O’Deorain. Her direct involvement in this event is unknown. According to the “Fading Glory” article, both Gabriel and Jack were seen by witnesses as being present in the Watchpoint before the explosion. Soldier: 76 confirms this in his Origin Story. Reaper confirms that he too was present at the base in the “Old Soldiers” comic.

What is significant is that Nesskain has confirmed that Gabriel is “scared” when what appears to be his final transformation is occurring (in the presence of Moira), yet for some reason, he specifically blames Jack and Overwatch for “what happened to him.”

Ana: “What happened to you...?”

Reaper: “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...”

Reaper: “...Never forget that.”

Reaper’s explanation in “Old Soldiers” is fascinating because it appears to be in direct contrast with information given to us in “Legacy” (Ana chose to turn off her comms) and the Moira Origin Story (Gabriel approached her for recruitment, Moira either created or enhanced his genetic mutations, resulting in his “Reaper” powers and/or current appearance/state of existence). It’s incredibly difficult to say how closely together Gabriel’s shift and the Swiss Watchpoint explosion occurred, or how much they are directly related, but it seems likely they are linked in some way. At the very least, Reaper links “being left behind (to suffer)” by Jack/Soldier: 76 and Overwatch with the explanation for his current (2076) state of existence.

Again, I will leave you to formulate whatever interpretation or conclusion you want. Conclusion You don’t have to use this timeline. I’ve provided every major source that I have for this “final year of Overwatch” - watch them, read them, form your own interpretations, do whatever you want. If your biggest issue is where I’ve placed things, go ahead and rearrange your own puzzle pieces. However, you should keep in mind an important quote from Michael Chu: “One of the things that we really like doing with Overwatch is playing with perspective. We utilize perspective when we tell stories about what characters are thinking, what their goals are - and we have a lot of unreliable narrators. We want people to pay careful attention to what characters think about in particular situations. We want them to use their judgement and knowlege of a character’s thoughts to come up with their own ideas about the universe.” - Thinking Globally (Timestamp: 34:35 https://youtu.be/bj56ejM5EcU?t=2075) Not only are many of the points in the timeline effectively “freefloating” (aka, they have no exact dates, or hell, not even exact months or years), they are also complicated by the matter of unreliable narrators and biased perspectives. The Moira Origin Story gives us a crucial clue to Gabriel/Reaper’s story, but the narration in the video is all told to us by Moira. I am personally infinitely grateful for the Moira Reveal Panel and Nesskain’s comments on his own art because they provide us with very significant clues that are from outsiders looking in. That is, they are not tinted with biases or unreliability.

After going through the new clues on Oasis, as well as listening to the Moira Reveal Panel and seeing Nesskain’s comments, I have revised a lot of my initial ideas on her, Gabriel, and Jack. At the moment, I’m waiting to see if we get any in-game interactions between her and Reaper when she is released to the PTR later. For now, this my interpretation of the Fall of Overwatch.

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today-only-happens-once · 7 years

Text

Own Kind of Paradise

Title: Own Kind of Paradise

Word Count: 2816

Characters/Pairings: Dean x Reader, Sam, Cesar and Jesse from 11x19, brief mention of Jody. Cesar and Jesse have 2 daughters because I can.

Warnings: Drowning, mouth-to-mouth, allusions to a previous argument, lil bit of angst, fluff, Dean sings.

Author’s Note: Okay, so forever ago I entered @wildfirewinchester’s b-day challenge. My song was “Knee Deep” by the Zac Brown Band. I tried to start this fic three diferent times and couldn’t make anything work. Then I went and wrote this all in one go. Yikes. Also, it’s 3AM-ish here so… apologies. Hah. I hope you like it!! I’ll stop rambling now.

Tags: @illshakeyouallnightlong-dean, @mamaimpala, @winchestersnco, @squirels-angels-and-moose, @summer-binging-spn

The very process of drowning makes it harder and harder not to drown.

You’d read that once, from a book that Sam had left on the coffee table one morning. From that same book, you knew that you had about 87 seconds before you’d reach the “break point”: when survival instinct would override common sense and your body would force you to breathe in. Not that you’re really keeping track of the seconds when you feel it wrap around your waist and submerge you under.

What almost startles you more than the water are the sounds. One minute you think you hear birds and water lapping at the bank and a vaguely familiar deep voice yell something—maybe your name? You’re not sure—and the next minute is muffled silence as you feel a squeeze around your rib-cage that is hard enough to hurt. Hard enough to force air out of your lungs.

It is trying to drown you.

It is succeeding.

And in the split second before your instinctual fight response kicks in, you can’t quite believe that your last words to the man you loved so deeply are going to be ‘You know what? I don’t need you, Dean Winchester.’

You’re grateful that you’d managed to grab the angel blade before it pulled you under and that you’d had enough sense to not let go. You slash out, but you can’t see it, and that’s a problem. It doesn’t let go, it just squeezes harder. You don’t know how many seconds you have left but in the back of your mind, you know you’re not going to get 87 of them.

It doesn’t take long before you lose sense of direction. You don’t know which way is towards the surface and which way is towards the bottom of the lake but it doesn’t matter at the moment. All that matters is getting this thing to let go of you so you can figure it out and get to the surface before you drown. So you slash out with the blade again, and again, and again, kicking and swinging and putting up as much of a fight as you can because there’s no way in hell you’re going down without one.

But the other problem with water is that it slows down every movement. Unless, apparently, you’re a nøkk.

It doesn’t let go of you but you can’t seem to be able to land a blow, and then two very bad things happen at the same time. You feel something constrict your chest but this time you don’t think it’s the nøkk. It’s just raw, unchecked terror. This is the same moment that you run out of seconds, and you try to breathe even though your mind is shrieking at you not to.

The water is cold against your skin but it burns you from the inside as it floods your lungs.

The edges of your vision begin to darken. Or… at least you think it does. The water is dark, and you distantly remember that the sun is setting.

You wonder how long you lasted. How close to 87 seconds you were.

And your last thought is of a pair of bright green eyes, chapped lips, and blue flannel. You can’t remember who they belong to.

“Sam!” Dean shouts as soon as he breaks the surface of the water, his arm wrapped firmly around your waist. “I need help. I don’t think she’s breathing.” His voice is raw and panicked. Hoarse from the way your name had ripped up through his throat when he saw you be pulled under.

You hadn’t come back after your fight the previous night. He’d gone looking for you, and saw you from across the lake only seconds before you disappeared beneath the surface.

Sam’s eyes are wide, but he wordlessly helps Dean pull you up on the bank, out of the water. Dean brushes the wet, tangled mess of hair over your face out of the way and leans down. His ear is by your nose, his eyes trained on your chest and hoping to see movement even though he’s pretty sure he knows. Sam has his fingers to your wrist. Counting.

“I’ve got a pulse, Dean,” Sam says, relieved despite himself.

“No breathing,” Dean immediately responds. He positions your jaw and checks for a blocked airway like Jody had taught him for CPR. He’d tried to deny needing Jody to tell him about how to do it by saying that he probably wasn’t going to die by anything that could be fixed with CPR. Jody shut him down by pointing out that CPR isn’t for when he might die, and did he really want to run the risk anyway?

He pinches your nose and seals his mouth over yours, blowing. In the back of his mind, he can’t help but realize that he’s wanted to kiss you for so damn long, but not like this. This doesn’t really count anyway.

“Dammit, Y/N,” Dean growls in a low voice. “You can’t do this to me. Not you. Not now.” He repeats the process. He does it again. And again.

“Sammy?” Dean asks.

“I’ve still got a pulse,” Sam says, sounding almost as desperate as Dean feels. “She’s not gone. She’s not gone.”

Dean keeps going. His last words to you echo in his mind. You don’t need me? Then fine. Get out. He can’t let that be the last thing you hear him say. He can’t.

He loses track of how many times he breathes into you, but he doesn’t care. Dean memorizes the way his mouth fits over yours as he tries again and again to fill your lungs with his air. Willing you to breathe. He abruptly and fiercely misses the particular way that air passes through your lungs. The way it makes your chest rise and fall, the smile that stretches across your face when that breath leaves you in the form of a laugh, the arc of your voice when the breath that leaves your lungs is in the shape of his name.

But a few moments later, when your eyes open and you hit your head against his because he was just about to lean down again to breathe into you, he hears his breath leave your lungs.

And if he’s being honest—as he sits back on the heels of his feet and gives you space, his wet and calloused hand holding your hair back as you throw up the lake water in your stomach—he can’t help but think that your cough may be the most beautiful sound in the entire world.

You offer a meek, grateful smile when Sam drapes a thin blanket around your shoulders before taking a seat beside his brother. Dean hadn’t left your side since you’d come to on the bank of the lake. That was a few hours ago. Now, you’re sitting in front of a small bonfire feeling more than a little grateful for the warmth it was giving off.

The bonfire is, technically speaking, Cesar and Jesse’s. When they found out that you and the Winchesters would be hunting a water spirit at the same lake that they’d decided to vacation at, they were more than welcoming to let you and the brothers stay with them at a lake house they were renting for the week. All three of you resisted—they’d gotten out of the life, and none of you wanted to bring it knocking on their front door—but they wouldn’t hear of it. It was… more than generous of them, really. Especially because they’d recently adopted two little girls. The adoption was why they were stateside to begin with.

You can see the moonlight reflecting and shimmering off the lake water, and you figure it would probably be beautiful if it weren’t for the fact that you can still feel a ghost of the nøkk’s grip around your ribcage. You shiver.

“Hey, you okay?” Dean asks, keeping his voice low as Cesar laughs at something Sam had said. You hadn’t been listening.

You nod, and try to smile, but the truth is you’re still pretty shaken up and one look into his eyes tells you that Dean knows it. He doesn’t push it; for that, you’re grateful. It’s not that you’re unwilling to open up to the eldest Winchester, but it’s all still a little too fresh. It doesn’t help that you’re not quite sure where you stand with Dean at the moment.

Before you’d woken up from nearly drowning to death, he’d told you to get out. And you figured it probably wasn’t fair to assume he felt any differently just because you’d gotten caught by a nøkk and he happened to save your life.

“Daddy! Papá!” Two little girls in matching nightgowns come running down the porch steps. You smile at the way both Cesar and Jesse’s faces light up. As if a choreographed dance, they both sweep one of their daughters up onto their hips.

“Ready for bed, Maddie?” Jesse asks the one in his arms. Maddie nods, giggling when he bounces her on his hip a little.

The girl in Cesar’s arms looks at Sam with wide eyes before shyly hiding her face in her dad’s neck. You catch the teasing wink Cesar sends Sam before he says to his daughter, “did you want to say goodnight to Sam?”

“G’night, Sam,” she mumbles. Her skin is too dark to tell, but you’d swear she’s blushing.

Sam chuckles, smiling at her. “Good night, Bella.”

“We’ll be right back, guys. Gotta put the girls to bed,” Jesse says before the four of them head up to the house together. As they leave, you see Dean nudge his brother’s leg with his knee.

“Sammy, go get me another beer, will ya?”

Sam rolls his eyes but pushes himself to his feet. He brushes the moss and dirt off his jeans before sending a soft, concerned smile your way. “Need anything, Y/N?”

“Water would be great,” you tell him, aware of the irony. You were still trying to get the taste of wet dirt and fish pee out of your mouth. You’d spent twenty minutes brushing your teeth, but it hadn’t seemed to do much yet. Sam nods, looking like he actually understands, and squeezes your shoulder before he leaves too.

And then it’s just you and Dean.

The two of you don’t say anything at first, even though you know that the amount of time you have to talk before people return is fairly limited. The soft crackling of the bonfire and symphony of crickets fills the silence. You fiddle with the hem of the blanket.

“I didn’t mean it, you know,” Dean says, his voice low like he doesn’t want it to disrupt the world around him. “What I said last night.”

“Me neither,” you reply, your voice just as soft. You still don’t feel like you can look him in the eyes. “I … Dean, I--”

“We want you around,” Dean presses on, and you’re not entirely sure he heard you. “I want you around.”

The distinction surprises you. When you glance up, you can see his eyes are boring into yours with an earnestness that catches you off guard for a moment. “You… want me to stay?”

“Yes,” Dean answers immediately. Without hesitation. “I should never have told you to leave in the first place.” He glances at your hands. You’re not sure why.

“And I shouldn’t have said what I did.” Dean shakes his head in response but you grab his hand instinctively. You need him to hear it. Everything you’re saying. Maybe even some things you aren’t.

Dean looks at your hand on top of his and then back up into your eyes. It’s only then that you realize just how close he’s sitting. You can feel the fabric of the waistband of his jeans brush against the thin cotton shorts hanging off your own hips. A few inches closer, and your noses would brush against each other. You can see the freckles spread across his more clearly, even though the only light was coming from a campfire.

His scent is stronger when he’s close like this. Gunpowder, whiskey, and Old Spice.

You don’t remember closing your eyes, but you feel your nose brushing against his, and then his lips pressing softly against yours. His lips are chapped from the wind and the water but everything about the kiss is soft and gentle, almost like he doesn’t want to hurt you and he doesn’t want to scare you but he so badly wanted to kiss you.

The kiss doesn’t last long, because the sound of the patio door ricocheting shut startles both of you enough to pull away. “How’d you guys feel about some music?” Cesar calls as he and his husband make their back down the stairs.

A quick glance would tell you that he’s got a guitar case in his hands, but you can’t take your eyes off the eldest Winchester yet. The feeling of his lips against yours lingers, and you try to bite back a smile.

“Sounds great,” you call back. The sound of the door opening and closing again cuts through the air. Sam.

Your hand is still on Dean’s, and you squeeze it and shift a little closer. Dean wraps his other arm around you, pulling you into his side. His thumb brushes up and down your arm against the fabric of the blanket. Sam notices, raising his eyebrows at the two of you. He cocks his head as he hands you a glass of water, but he doesn’t ask anything.

“Been a while since I’ve played,” Jesse says as Cesar hands the guitar to him. He strums a chord, adjusts a few strings, and tries again. “But something about being here just makes me think country. Texas roots.”

“Jesse, we’re in Tennessee,” Cesar says.

“Ah, same thing. Dean, you’re gonna have to help me sing,” Jesse announces as he finishes tuning.

You laugh as Dean starts shaking his head. “Nah, Jesse, I’m really not—“

“Oh, come on, Dean,” Sam interrupts as he hands his brother a bottle of Corona Light. “You sing in the car all the time.”

“That’s classic rock, Sam. Country music? I…”

Teasingly, you nudge him with your elbow. “I seem to recall a certain guy secretly jamming out to Taylor Swift once upon a time.”

“Then it’s settled,” Jesse says, smiling. “You guys know Zac Brown Band?”

“Yeah, alright,” Dean relents. When you glance up at him, you notice the fire catches the lighter shades of green in his eyes. It gives them a certain spark that you hadn’t noticed before. Or maybe it has nothing at all to do with lighting.

Jesse starts playing a song, he and Cesar singing. “Gonna put the world away for a minute, pretend I don’t live in it. Sunshine gonna wash my blues away.”

Dean downs a long swallow of his beer before he joins in. “Had sweet love but I lost her. She got too close so I fought her, now I’m lost in the world tryna find me a better way.”

You lean your head against his shoulder and take a long swallow of water as the three of them sing. “Wishin’ I was knee deep in the water somewhere. Got a blue sky, breeze, and it don’t seem fair. Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair.”

You smile to yourself as you listen to them sing. Sitting here, surrounded by friends and next to the man you loved… you can feel the ghost of the nøkk’s grip fading as Dean’s grip on your hand tightens. For now? That’s enough. This moment, these people here with you… it’s all enough. It’s all that has to matter.

Early today you had thought you were probably going to die. And now? Well, for this one moment, it was like the song they were singing around you.

“Never been so happy, never felt so high. And I think I mighta found me my own kind of paradise.”

#supernatural #meg's birthday challenge #dean winchester x reader #dean x reader #spn reader insert #drowning #mouth to mouth #arguments #fluff #cesar and jesse #dean winchester #dean winchester x reader oneshot

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