#criticaldragon

@criticaldragon || umpromptu asks I cherish immensely.

I remind everyone, again, that these hc’s are based on my personal interpretation of the muse!

HANZO. ☈

Mei was the first person to suggest Hanzo could be dyslexic. One day, while he and her were reading out one of the latest missions debriefs, Mei noticed Hanzo was squinting and often missed the mark, having to start all over again and get frustrated. When she asked him what was wrong, he told her he was just too stupid to read and that often in school he would stop caring for lessons for that reason alone. Mei asked Athena to adjust the laptop brightness and make the writing bolder, larger and in more vibrant colors against a highly-contrasted background. She also would calm Hanzo when he started losing patience (“breathe in, slowly, it’s okay, we are in no rush honey!”) and read out loud the words he would find more difficult. The difference was abyssal: Hanzo could focus more easily and seemed way more okay with the whole experience. It didn’t take her much longer to be able, with Angela’s help, to diagnose dyslexia in Hanzo.

Hanzo is an amazing cook, being it his and Sojiro’s real bonding activity. They would cook meals for Keiko every other week, and they both knew the Shimada Empress was very hard to please. This translated to branching out and try more and more difficult dishes every time to satisfy her refined palate. Being it so, Hanzo knows not only a plethora of dishes from every corner of the world, but he also has impressive skill both in cooking and decorating. For their first anniversary, Hanzo cooked a teddy bear vegan omurice (watch it from dash because my blog doesn’t make it justice!) for Mei. That day, Mei decided she would have kept him forever.

What drew you to my blog initially, and what, so far, has made you stay?

Ryujehong

Alright, boys, hands down. Jehong was the reason I got into OWL to begin with. He was the first pro I looked up to because his Ana is so amazing. Seriously, I absolutely love his Ana. His performance on Lunatic-Hai was also great, so yeah. I was actually a little surprised to see that he’s a little bit like the team dad for Dynasty (mostly bc he’s the oldest member if I remember correctly- and bc he’s the team captain)! Honestly, I’m actually a little bit conflicted which golden weapon I should get next since I kinda want D.Va’s golden weapons (because of Mickie) but at the same time also want Ana’s rifle because of Jehong.

Miro

Honestly, I may or may not prefer Kuki to him. I might actually prefer Kuki to all of Dynasty’s tank players but nonetheless, I love me some Miro plays. Miro has a really lovable face, actually. It screams “Winston player” for some reason and I really don’t mean it in a bad way. I just look at him and go “Yeah, that man looks like he plays the monkey.” He’s extremely fun to watch but on the other hand I probably have a short list of tank players in the league that I find even more enjoyable to spectate, one of them being Fissure- but we’ll get to Fissure later, haha.

Tobi

I loved seeing him play Mercy in stage 1. I know, he’s known to be a Lúcio (and Torb) main and that he wasn’t all too comfortable on the Mercy. I’m happy that he gets to play his frog man more now. Supports are usually my favorite players on any team, and that statement is very true when it comes to the Seoul Dynasty roster. I hope Tobi will still see as much playtime as he does right now after Gambler can actually play on stage, though. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that Tobi posts a lot of aesthetically pleasing selfies on his Instagram. Just a fun fact, lmao.

Fleta

Pew pew! Fleta on that Widow. Fleta on that Genji. Fleta on that– this guy, man. This guy just pops off all the time. Hero pool? Enormous. Quality of gameplay? Damn high. I respect Fleta for being such an amazing DPS player. Puts him on my list of favorite players in general even though he doesn’t play my favored role. I get so see him play so much during the matches (due to the stream usually showing DPS players more than others) and hell, boy. He never disappoints me. 

Surefour

Hair game too strong, man. I like Surefour but again, DPS players aren’t really my cup of tea. He got me rooting for the Gladiators alongside Bischu and Hydration but honestly, I’m sometimes a little bit “eh” on him. I don’t know.

Taimou

Ugh, Taimou. Not a fan of him. One of the reasons I had restraints to support the Fuel. He often came off as toxic in the past but as I see things at the moment, he’s bettered himself. Gives me hope that xQc will also find a way to make life easier for a Dallas Fuel fan because as of right now I feel inclined to keep my support for the team way more subtle than I want it to be. Regardless of his personality, I have to respect his Widowmaker because hooooonestly, I respect every Widow player in the league. Those guys could snipe me from across the map lmao.

Jjonak

One of my favorite support players (even though he’s second to Ark on NYXL) especially on Zenyatta. He makes solid plays, does a great job supporting his team and that’s about it. Jjonak definitely gets the “Toki fucking loves support players” bonus.

Fissure

FISSURE MY BABY– LA Gladiators don’t deserve him. He is SO FUCKING GOOD. Did you see his moves in the last Dynasty vs Gladiators match? He definitely got the short end when he got transfered from Spitfire. First he doesn’t get playtime on a team he used to play with for so fucking long and then he has to go to one of the objectively worse teams there are? I understand that he wasn’t happy about that transfer. He deserved better.

Carpe

Carpe is probably the best ladder player in the world but doesn’t seem too comfortable in a pro league setting. It happens, man. I still love seeing him play. He is- admittedly- one of two players for whom I actually sit down and watch the Fusion matches.

Profit

Profit’s plays fucking pay me, alright? He’s not only cute but also extremely skilled and he’s my favorite player on Spitfire only second to Birdring (well, he was my 3rd most favorite player on Spitfire when Rascal was still on the team). It takes a lot for me to prefer DPS over support players but damn, keep it up, man.

Shadowburn

In context of the Seagull ask I answered, Shadowburn is my preferred Genji player. I was probably only more drawn to him because of his edgy as fuck name but he is actually really charming. I adore his playstyle and his love for dogs. Seeing him smile for once makes me feel happy, to be fucking honest because Shadowburn is like the master of pokerfaces. I hold him in high regards and I really hope his team will do great things.

Poko

he may have wedded one of theirs, but it does not mean the archer has formally accepted his brother’s invitation to join the ranks of overwatch. he still works under his own operations and has every intention of staying that way. however, he won’t get in his wife’s way. she is one of them and it’s a choice that hanzo may not be completely satisfied with, but respects.

she’s getting ready to leave for the day, much to his dislike, but he understands her calling and isn’t the slightest bit upset at having to watch their child. he’d much rather sophia be under the care of either of them rather than anyone from overwatch - genji’s, especially. she’s mostly dressed, pausing by his place on the edge of the bed where he sits and watches. it’s almost a piteous sight, really, this grown man, still disheveled and half asleep not saying much but it’s clear he’s unhappy with her leaving. 

@criticaldragon || unprompted asks I cherish immensely.

CRITICAL LAYING THE REAL FUCKING TALK HERE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. I wish everyone to have a personal as amazing as Critical following them. Good stuff. Okay, let’s get this going.

KEIKO. 圭

Okay so, my canon AU verse sees Keiko surviving the poisoning she canonically dies to, but tbh I think I will change it to a simply “resurrected AU”, because it would fuck up with my Hanzo timeline and ngh, I don’t want that.

How would Keiko react, you say. Well, I can tell you that Keiko wouldn’t be happy with Hanzo attempting to murder Genji, regardless of anything. Sure, Keiko would be disappointed with Genji disregarding Sojiro’s instructions on how to rule the clan, but still,  she would never agree with the homicide of a son of hers.

Keiko would be fucking mad with Hanzo’s acts, this until she learns that Genji has moved forward and has forgiven his brother. If Genji is okay with it, if Genji has made peace with himself and Hanzo, why should she be resentful with one of her children? She loves them equally, and if Genji has finally found his balance, his peace, her only wish is for Hanzo to do the same.

This being said, Keiko isn’t… the best at emotions. Keiko has two moods: ‘I will fuck everyone up’ and ‘ngh I am feeling, this is gross’. Is this the reason why Hanzo is so shit at dealing with his feelings? Probably. Is this the reason why Hanzo and Keiko are shit at communicating? Definitely. Does this mean Keiko loves her son any less? No.

Keiko would… understand Hanzo isn’t as tough as he pretends to be, because Hanzo isn’t. She can get away with bottle shit up, because she is a tough bitch, a real tough bitch. Hanzo? No. Hanzo is more frail than she supposed he was. And Hanzo isn’t like Genji, namely “a person good at communicating”. That was a Sojiro thing, and Hanzo never learned that. [That’s why Sojiro and her are  perfect by the way, because Sojiro understands her and helps her communicate, while Keiko is always, always, always strong, no matter what, she is literally Sojiro’s rock even when he is losing his balance.]

Hanzo being at the same time frail and introverted is harmful for his character, for his nature. So Keiko would like him to embark himself on a spiritual journey the way Genji did to find himself, to finally be able to reconnect himself and the man he is. She can’t help much further: the rest is in Hanzo’s hands.

At the same time though… they destroyed the Shimada clan. Sojiro’s and hers third baby, their creature, what they had worked so hard to build up and expand. It is… disheartening, to realize how they were incapable of passing onto their children the love they harboured for the clan. Keiko would suffer from its almost-annihilation greatly.

I had this sitting in my drafts for days and I am ASHAMED I just finally decided to write things down. I am a mess. May I be forgiven.

But anyways YES, I have too many headcanons about Hanmei. There is a reason it is probably the only one Overwatch pairing I seriously ship (together with McAshe); I personally think that this ship could bring forth HUUUUGE character development for both Hanzo and Mei.

I won’t be talking of specific headcanons, but I will talk more in general about what, for me, is so wholesome and special about this rarepair. Hanzo and Mei, contrary to people’s belief, have a lot in common. Traumatic experiences like the ones lived by the two of them are means for people with scars to bond; also, the tragicomic similarity of those experience is interesting in its own way.

Hanzo killed Genji (in part because he was driven to do so, but also because he wanted to do it) and lost himself in the process, his identity, the man he thought he was. Mei, on the other hand, wakes up in a world that was not what she has left when she went to sleep, she is alone and in a desperate situation, she has none to rely on but herself.

So, on one side, you have Hanzo, a man who is too worn out by the battle he has wagered with himself, a man that does not know who he is anymore, he loathes himself, he hates himself more than any other person. On the other side, you have Mei, a woman with a goal, someone that is not going to be stopped by anybody, someone that has so much on her shoulders she cannot stop and grieve. They are just what the other needs.

Hanzo needs a person like Mei, someone to give him comfort, peace, bravery, someone ready to listen to his troubles that, when Hanzo stops because too horrified by his tale, will tell him it’s alright and that he can continue the story another day. Hanzo needs someone kind and caring enough for the ice in his heart to melt, someone that makes him fall in love with life again, someone loving enough to help him heal the wounds of the past.

Mei needs someone like Hanzo too. If she gives Hanzo new joy and enthusiasm for life, Hanzo helps her deal with the burden, with her survivor’s guilt, with the darkest bits of her soul. When I was talking with Emmett (bless his soul, he is such a nice person) about Hanmei, I told him something that stuck with me: “if Mei can hold enough joy for both of them, Hanzo can shoulder their pain”. Hanzo can give her confidence, a little bit of flaunting pride, but the most important thing is that he can soothe her demons.

Now, since I have Hanzo as a muse, I am way more familiar with how his head works so I will talk about him a bit more in the specific. Why do I think this ship could generate huge character development for Hanzo? With Mei gently repairing his injured self, and the help of someone like Zenyatta, plus of course the continuous support of his brother, I think that Hanzo would finally be able to overcome Sojiro’s death and, subsequently, Genji’s attempted murder, managing to forgive himself. He would be able to make peace with his past, accepting the man he has become and even finding good things about himself.

@criticaldragon || something about complimenting me that calis started, uninvited