#themxerte

Well, there’s some angst ;W; Gabe and Jesse split because - Widow attack Jesse to steal his prey, he was about to kill him but Gabe arrives to defend Jesse and start to fight with Widow. - Gabe and Widow are both strong, but Widow win. She’s looking for followers tho because she needs to attack Los Muertos Clan so she asks Gabe to join her, and then she’ll help with his personal revenge. Gabe accept. - Jesse feels completely betrayed. Not only Gabe agreed to join forces with the one that actually just tried to kill him but he also chose her instead of him. The two splits (even tho Gabe asked Jesse to follow him)

Universes. And yeah those are maybe weak spots but I simply don't believe that a company that has the whole game dedicated to the grey moralities of how you see good and evil differently from a different point of view (World of Warcraft) would make such a damn boring, not complexed evil character.

Heya friend, I was wondering if you had actually taken the time to read my entire 1.5k word post detailing how I think Moira fits into the reaper story line.

However if you have read it and still feel that I feel that way about his characterization, allow me to elaborate and include and cite actual evidence. I love Gabriel Reyes and I firmly believe that he will be the epitome of grey morality within the story.

That being said there is nothing, nothing within the story saying that Reyes didnt get some of his powers before the fall of overwatch. In fact given the track it seemed the devs would go down earlier, I’d argue it was canon that he had at least some of them since SEP at the very least. I still think it’s canon that he had some of them before the explosion.

I also never said that he got his smokey wraith powers before the introduction of Moira. I said that I believe something was wrong DNA wise because he was an earlier test subject within the SEP program than Jack, and that his DNA, the fabric of his existence, was deteriorating causing a boatload of problems that no one was willing to risk getting caught up in major legal trouble to fix. I believe his body smoking is part of that. It’s probably something completely out of his control until Moira enters the picture.

 The way the devs worded their unveiling of Moira at blizzcon and her relationship to Gabriel Reyes, they implied that it’s plausible that Reyes didn’t necessarily get his powers from Moira, but instead Moira got her powers from studying Reyes’ DNA and it’s degeneration. A theory heavily backed up by in-game lore:

“Repairing Degenerative Genetic Structures” with a large post-it note that says “Draft”

Not to mention the blizzcon panel

Geoff Goodman: “It [Her Fade ability] has some similarities to Reaper’s wraith form…uh which is…it’s funny how that works out.” Michael Chu: “You know, we obviously - there’s a…there’s a close relationship between Moira and Reyes-slash-Reaper, and I think one of the fun things we were able to do is to sort of hint at some of those things in her, uh, abilities.” Geoff Goodman: “She’s helping Reaper out and is like, ‘You know, I think I could make this better, I have an idea.’”

Blizzcon 2017

On to my other points:

“We sort of saw Overwatch really open up to the world, and listening to players and the stories they were telling and what they imagined the Omnic crisis to be really made us second guess what we were doing in First Strike,” said Kaplan. “We thought, ‘Hey, if we go down this path, it really closes all these doors.’”

Fan theories about the Overwatch cast’s pasts abound, and players produce fiction, art and other original content in droves. Although animated shorts and digital comics have had success in filling out the game’s universe — particularly the most recent comics, “Uprising” and “Reflections” — the Overwatch team found that a 100-page graphic novel no longer made sense as supplemental reading material, six months into the game’s life.

“Part of the magic is that everything is not tied off and explained to players,” Kaplan said of keeping Overwatch’s canon less defined. “There’s a lot going on in Overwatch right now where I think that the story in players’ heads is often even cooler than what we can deliver to them.”

Jeff Kaplan May 2017 during a polygon interview

One very important thing to remember is that early previews of that 100 page graphic novel showed Gabriel Reyes as an ominous figure with heavily shadowed lighting. I believe that fan input especially on how Reyes is characterized, and the theories involving him had a lot to do with the cancellation.

 Yes, Gabriel Reyes manipulated Overwatch into helping innocent lives in Kings Row during the uprising comic. Even as Reaper he’s shown to kill very very few people. Like 2 people on screen max, and neither of those people were innocent. They worked for Vialli one of the top talon “bosses”. 

I’m not saying that Reyes is going to just let innocent people get caught in the crossfires of his plans. Kings Row can’t boil over into a full out omnic uprising because that will absolutely be a catastrophe that could trigger another full-out omnic crisis. He’s shown to be more pro-active in making sure people are safe than Jack is.

And Talon doesnt know about his involvement with the capture of doomfist or Overwatch’s intervention. This is extremely important information to remember. Gabriel Reyes is a man who works in the shadows, and I firmly believe that he has no firm allegiance to anyone, but rather to the ideal of making sure that nothing like the Omnic crisis ever happens again while he still lives/functions.

Every single one of his talon missions that would have brought the world closer to an omnic crisis (Katya’s assassination, retrieving information about the whereabouts of former overwatch agents, stealing doomfist’s gauntlet, killing Jack or Ana) has completely and utterly failed. The man is a tactical genius and so far every mission save picking up doomfist and infiltrating talon and killing vialli’s men, has failed. Against people he’s worked along side before. 

There is absolutely no way he doesn’t know what they’re capable of. The dude outsmarted god ai programs, you really think he wouldn’t have been able to calculate his former friends’ actions and adjust his missions accordingly? Hell, he even knows it was sombra that fucked up the assassination, and he did nothing about it.

Gabriel Reyes is an incredibly intelligent and calculating man. He was probably the president of the chess club in high school, and as every chess player knows, you have to be at least 2-3 steps ahead of your opponent. On any normal type higher level you should know the next ten moves and each possible outcome. Someone on Reyes’ level has hundreds of different moves calculated at any given time.

So now imagine for a moment, that Gabriel Reyes is not some soft goober of a man some people make him but instead a calculating morally grey person who understands exactly what is at stake if talon wins. He’s lived through one crisis, but the world is only just beginning to truly bounce back. It was essentially Armageddon. It cannot happen again.

Talon has infiltrated overwatch.

Talon has infiltrated blackwatch.

Talon has has most likely infiltrated the UN.

Conventional methods of tracking and dealing with spies hasn’t been working. The head of the Overwatch anti-talon task force is dead and his wife is missing. He is doing what he can to help, ie sending mccree to kings row to deal with the uprising situation as well as manipulating overwatch to help. Sending Genji to help apprehend doomfist. Things that talon doesn’t know about because it isn’t strictly blackwatch shit going on. It’s a man on vacation, a commander checking in with his friends and updating them on a situation. It isn’t direct involvement at kings row. It’s manipulation.

But overwatch is strangled in even more red tape and controversies and it’s failing. It cannot properly do its job anymore and Gabriel Reyes is running out of options. Mccree and genji have left; who can he trust but himself.

I believe he did plant the bomb to blow up the zurich base. But I also happened to notice that only Jack was caught in the blast besides him. None of the main overwatch agents were caught in the explosion. He has cool smokey wraith form so he can probably survive, that’s probably one of the ways he was able to survive, though there were obviously some serious complications. I’m sure other overwatch members died in the blast, but he seems to have waited until the base was relatively empty. 

Talon can trust him now. Something went wrong of course he has a vendetta. 

Except, he is ineffectual. His direct actions with winston to secure the names and locations of former overwatch agents in order to fulfill that vendetta prompts winston to recall the old agents. His actions with Hakim and talon reunite Jack and Ana when he has a chance to kill both of them. Overwatch is being reformed except this time, it’s not under the UN’s control. 

Meanwhile reaper, seeming terrorist with a vendetta against overwatch who “inadvertently” cause overwatch to reform a few years after the fall as an independent organization away from the control of the UN and likely away from the clutches of talon’s shadow puppets there.

But he also has their trust which means that innocent people have also likely died by his hand in his quest to infiltrate and take out talon. I also have no doubt in my mind that he probably would kill Jack or Ana or any of his friends if they do actually interfere with his plans just as i do believe that if he felt that it was necessary, he would let innocents die.

“What’s important to us is that their motivations are not purely rooted in being evil, despite how they might seem on the surface.  As we reveal more about these characters, we want people to be able to empathize and understand their beliefs.  Because sometimes what makes a villain a villain is the extent to which they’re willing to go to reach their goals.  And one thing that we find most important when we’re talking about our villain characters is that there is nothing to say that a villain cannot be as charismatic or more charismatic or as likeable as a hero character - because, like the old saying goes, ‘every villain is the hero of their own story.’”

Michael Chu early March 2017

Reyes has a lot of potential to be an almost antihero. Someone who does some shady under the table shit, but only because he thinks it will help the world. I think Blizzard has realized this and why it hasn’t cemented a lot of things in canon. They want to wait and see what it is that fans could seriously enjoy. They love fan feedback. That’s why they created Moira! That’s why they cancelled the 100 page graphic novel about the omnic crisis! Because they want to be able to see their story evolve just as much as the fans do.

Send me a ღ and I’ll fill this out about a ship | accepting (OT3′s are allowed as well!)

Who’s the first to wake up in the morning: Reaper. He wakes silently, though mostly because its hard for him to sleep.

Who’s the one to make breakfast: Neither of them really do, since they neither really eat. But sometimes, to humble Reaper, Zenyatta does.

Who’s the one to serve the other breakfast in bed: They don’t.

Who would suggest a quickie in the morning before work: Reaper would. But only when he is really in the mood.

Who suggests they both ditch work to lay around all day: Reaper does on very rare occasions. Aka, he has a bad day and needs comfort.

Who chooses the movies: They switch it up. Though Zenyatta does so more often, with a movie in mind for Reaper. He does watch the occasional telenovela with Reaper.

Who initiates kissing during the moving, thus distracting the other from the movie all together: Neither do. Movies are good man.

Who orders lunch: Neither do. They don’t eat.

Who steals food from the other’s plate without asking: Neither do.

Who curls up next to the other and falls asleep due to a full tummy: Reaper does, if he’s had a fill on souls and feels particulairly needy for comfort. It doesn’t happen often, since Reaper also has trouble sleeping.

Who distracts the other from trying to work at home: Zenyatta, but he more distracts Reaper from moping rather than work.

Who asks to go get ice cream like a five year old: Not for icecream, but Zenyatta sometimes has a childlike wonder when asking for/about new things.

Who takes pictures of their partner eating ice cream: Zenyatta.

Who makes a sexual joke about the dripping ice cream on their partner’s face: Reaper does.

Who cooks dinner: Reaper does, IF he feels like it. His food is amazing.

Who cleans up the kitchen afterwards: Zenyatta.

Who stays up until 2 reading: Not reading, but Reaper has a tendacy to stay up late, or not sleep at all. On those sleepless nights, Zenyatta stays with him the entire time.

Who stares at their partner while their sleeping: Reaper, when Zenyatta is in ‘sleep’ modus.

She chuckled a bit and leaned against him, arm wrapped around his while they walked together among the crowd.

@themxerte & @silver-haired-76  

Peacekeeper drawn and fully loaded, he keeps his walk at a low trot, careful to keep his tread flat and even to dampen the clop. No one, which was good, because the ruckus he’d created in that last bit where he seized their objective should’ve sent back up running in and didn’t, meaning the old man had kept up his side of the bargain for now. A quick scan of the area- his heart seizes, then runs full gallop: blood spray around a single crater in the floor, the pool of blood of someone bleeding out while leaning on one of the porch columns, a boot smear where the blood’s originator took four or five halting steps.

He catches sight of Gabe’s boots, long and still, around a corner where the outer wall of the chapels would be. Jesse opens his channel, “We need a medical transport, probably twenty minutes ago.”

He doesn’t hear Morrison’s response, the blood rushing through his ears makes everything an echo chamber. “You better be breathing, you stubborn son of a bitch.”

“Gabriel.”

She knew that look all too well. Her jaw shifted as she grew tense, reaching out for him before he could withdraw any further. She’d heard his unmistakable sounds of agony all the way from the hallway, having just about passed his quarters while on her way to her own room. Even if it may have earned her an earful, she’d let herself into his room without thinking twice, walking towards the bed with worry stricken all over her expression. She’d soon realized that he didn’t seem to be in physical pain, but God, he was hurting so much. The sounds and expressions he made were a telltale sign. Thankfully, he hadn’t tossed her out. She’d almost expected it. However, she would’ve most definitely fought back upon taking another glimpse of his now very awake form. Her heart tore in her chest. The amount of self-loathing she saw in his eyes may have been very well deserved in some aspects, but she could never bring herself to hate him. Just like he’d done to her when she’d been young, she reached to him, seated at the edge of the bed. Slowly, she pulled him towards her until his head was resting on her chest. One arm wrapped around him, her fingers threading into his soft curls, gently massaging his scalp with the tips of her fingers.