Florence Castle's HEROES OF CYBERTRON - Ep. 01: BLURR

Erano secoli che non porto a compimento un progetto a nome del forum di Autorobot.it, ma finalmente mi son decisa a farlo. Per cui oggi inauguro una specie di pseudo-serie TV in cui vi parlerò delle più grandi icone dei noti robot trasformanti di casa Hasbro. Non so con che cadenza pubblicherò le "puntate", ma vi prometto che "andranno in onda" a brevi intervalli l'una dall'altra. Okkei, dopo questo preambolo, benvenuti a HEROES OF CYBERTRON!

NOTA: Alcune immagini non sono mie, ma vengono dal sito DeviantArt. Articolo scritto da me, con l'approvazione di @jazzluca.

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PUNTATA 1: BLURR, il Bot vivente più veloce dell’Universo

Sonic the Hedgehog dell’omonima saga videoludica SEGA; il duo a fumetti Flash della DC Comics e Quicksilver della Marvel; l’alieno XLR8 della megaserie animata Ben 10; Beep Beep/Road Runner e il topino Speedy Gonzales dei Looney Tunes... sono solo alcuni dei personaggi fittizi che hanno in comune l’appellativo di “cosa vivente più veloce del mondo”, ma il rappresentante Transformer più famoso di questa categoria non può che essere colui che Gianni Rodari ribattezzerebbe “Freccia Azzurra” in onore del suo omonimo racconto: Blurr!

Conosciuto in Italia negli anni Ottanta col nome di Flash, Blurr è universalmente ricordato per essere uno tra gli Autobot più veloci e per l’altrettanto veloce (e spesso incomprensibile!) parlantina attribuitagli in diverse occasioni, divenuta col tempo marchio di fabbrica del personaggio. Inoltre, in più di trent’anni del brand, Blurr ha avuto almeno otto incarnazioni diverse, divise tra omaggi G1 più o meno brillanti e libere interpretazioni autonome; tra l’altro, il modello G1 è l’“auto fittizia più veloce” secondo il sito Forbes.com, battendo in volata la Mach Five del film Speed Racer (2008) con 500 miglia orarie, contro le appena 258 del secondo classificato. Ma quali sono le origini di questo Usain Bolt dei Transformers?

Florence Castle's HEROES OF CYBERTRON - Ep. 01: BLURR

Blurr fa la sua prima comparsa nel brand nel Film Animato del 1986 come uno dei nuovi Autobot distaccati ad Autobot City sulla Terra, per poi approdare giocoforza nella successiva Stagione 3 G1 spesso e volentieri a fianco del survivalista poeta Wheelie, come si vede nella miniserie-pilota Le Cinque Facce dell’Oscurità: qui il neo Comandante Rodimus Prime gli affida la delicata missione di consegnare l’ingranaggio di trasformazione di Metroplex ad Autobot City prima che cada nelle mani nemiche. In seguito, Blurr si limita a fornire assistenza e copertura ai suoi compagni in diverse occasioni, il che fa a pugni con l’originale ruolo descritto nella Bio del personaggio, ovvero un semplice messaggero. Nel contempo, però, si dimostra un valido guerriero a tal punto da meritarsi un secondo ruolo nella G1, in particolare per la serie Targetmaster e nei fumetti della IDW, nei quali invece viene descritto con sole tre parole: corridore, soldato, barista. Sì, perché il nostro Flash, dopo numerose scorribande, ora si ritrova a gestire una locanda chiamata Maccadam’s Old Oil House e lo vediamo anche nei fumetti di Windblade a ricoprire lo stesso ruolo; ciononostante, è pur sempre un ottimo consigliere e/o intermediario per la protagonista! Tuttavia, la sua genesi risale a uno Spotlight ricalcato sul modello di un film come Cars: Motori Ruggenti, per un pubblico molto giovane e senza pretese.

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Per quanto riguarda le altre versioni, non bisogna trascurare l’infelice incarnazione nella Trilogia Unicron, perché la sua caratterizzazione in quest’universo appare assai confusa agli occhi dei fan: il personaggio di Blurr, infatti, esordisce in Armada come un tosto veterano, lontano quindi dall’iconografia del G1 semplicemente perché dell’originale velocista ha solo il nome, dato che nella versione giapponese della serie in realtà si chiamava Silverbolt (come lo storico capo degli Aerialbot!). Successivamente, per la serie Cybertron, esce un modellino basato sull’Armada con colori e fattezze che omaggiano il G1, la cui storia è legata al pianeta Velocitron, mentre però nel cartone spesso e volentieri vengono mostrati degli Autobot sulla Terra camuffati col suo stesso altmode.

Il colpo di genio arriva nel 2008, con l’esordio nella fortunata serie Animated, disegnata da Derrick J.Wyatt, coprendo ben sei episodi di fila (o solo tre, considerando la mancata esportazione in Italia della terza stagione). Il personaggio arriva sulla Terra, in altmode, nell’episodio della Stagione 2 I Demoni della Strada sotto il nome di “Blue Racer” – e già questa potrebbe essere una definizione che rivela il nome del personaggio. In questo suo esordio Animated, nonostante la reputazione di chiacchierone, Blurr non dice una sola parola e né viene presentato come “figlio” dell’AllSpark, ma piuttosto come un membro della già nota Guardia d’Élite. Esteticamente questo Blurr, secondo le voci della BotCon dell’epoca, presenta dei lievi omaggi all’ormai defunto TransTech Cheetor, come ad esempio le caratteristiche “ruote vuote” sui piedi; al contempo condivide col G1 non solo l’aspetto seppur stilizzato, ma anche la voce americana, ovvero John Moschitta Jr., sebbene con la tipica parlantina veloce “semplificata” riscontrabile anche dal nostrano Davide Garbolino. Per quanto riguarda l’altmode, per una probabile coincidenza ricorda abbastanza la Mach Five di Speed Racer... oppure una futuristica quattroruote figlia dell’universo fantascientifico di Tron! Con la Stagione 3, inedita in Italia, la musica cambia e il celebre velocista esce sconfitto e ridotto in un cubo. Questo, però, non pone fine alla carriera del personaggio: omaggiando le sventure di Waspinator in Beast Wars, Wyatt ha presentato sul proprio blog un’illustrazione che spiega come la Scintilla di Blurr sia sopravvissuta all’interno del cubo di metallo in cui il corpo è stato compresso; il che spinge gli addetti ai lavori a comporre una storia nella BotCon 2015, intitolata The Return of Blurr, per confermare che è sopravvissuto alla dolorosa tortura subita da Shockwave.

Ovviamente non poteva mancare, in occasione della BotCon 2008, una brillante particina nell’universo speculare Shattered Glass, nel quale veste i panni di un feroce cecchino nero e blu monco di un occhio, ciecamente fedele alla filosofia «Più sono intelligente, più in fretta crepi», giusto per citare il “biglietto da visita” del modellino uscito in edizione limitata in quel periodo.

Ma la vera sorpresa è ritrovare il personaggio addirittura nella Continuity Allineata, macrouniverso creato agli inizi del 2010 allo scopo di “diventare la fusione dei numerosi progetti Transformers per la decade a venire”: l’esordio avviene nei romanzi di Alex Irvine, nello specifico in Exile, come uno dei migliori corridori di Velocitron; quest’ultima caratteristica del personaggio, ereditata dalla defunta versione Cybertron dello stesso, ritorna in Rescue Bots, nei panni questa volta di una giovane recluta finita suo malgrado sulla Terra insieme all’altrettanto sfortunato Autobot Salvage. Seppur con qualche lieve modifica estetica e con una livrea stile G1/Animated, e pur conservando gli “occhiali” del predecessore, lo stesso Blurr ricompare nella serie Robots in Disguise (2015), nella terza stagione intitolata Combiner Force.

L’ultima apparizione nota di Blurr in una serie animata risale al 2018. Si tratta di Cyberverse, che collega diverse trame famose di altre Continuity (non diversamente da quella “Allineata” degli anni ‘10) e le unisce in una nuova storia ispirata ai classici G1 usando personaggi evergreen. Nel caso di Blurr, è un agente e velocista originario di Velocitron (un collegamento con gli omonimi di Cybertron e della Continuity Allineata) nonché amico di Bumblebee, che purtroppo compare solo in una puntata e per di più in un flashback. Un vero peccato, perché possedeva delle caratteristiche interessanti: un look ispirato alla controparte IDW e il fastidioso difetto di parlare troppo velocemente “ereditato” dalla G1 e da Animated, anche se quest’ultimo particolare non viene rappresentato nella serie.

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Come giocattolo, Blurr ha ricevuto poco più di una dozzina di modellini, sette nel solo macrouniverso G1! Prima di tutto, negli anni Ottanta uscirono due versioni del personaggio storico: quello canonico dell’86 e il Targetmaster dell’87, con la differenza che quest’ultimo presentava una livrea più brillante e più vicina possibile al settei originale rispetto al primo. Anche per la Trilogia Unicron abbiamo avuto due modellini: quello Armada del 2002, un Deluxe vecchia scuola il cui altmode assomiglia a una Ferrari F50 (venduto anche in Giappone nel set Street Speed Mini-Con Team); e quello Cybertron del 2005, anch’esso un vecchio Deluxema tarato come mero recolor del modello precedente e modificato ad hoc per contenere la gimmik delle Cyber Key – nel caso di Blurr del pianeta Velocitron. Lo stesso modello lo ritroviamo, come anticipato sopra, come figure esclusiva della BotCon 2008 per la serie Shattered Glass, anche se in realtà conserva la Cyber Key del modellino di Cybertron!

Contemporaneamente esce il Deluxe Blurr per la linea Animated: bello, elegante e longilineo al punto giusto, con un’arma somigliante in tutto e per tutto al G1 – il cofano dell’auto che poteva diventare alla bisogna uno scudo con lama seghettata retrattile. Tre anni dopo, data la sua somiglianza al TransTech Cheetor, la Hasbro non si è risparmiata nel ricavare da questo stampo una figure esclusiva per il cosiddetto “Club dei Collezionisti”, con le fattezze del simpatico Maximal scavezzacollo delle Beast Wars in salsa tutt’altro che animalesca!

Nel frattempo, negli anni Dieci del Duemila, la Hasbro presenta al mondo un tripudio di Blurr, sia classici sia moderni. Per la linea Generations del 2010, per esempio, ecco un Deluxe Blurr come remold del già ottimo modello di Drift, apprezzato soprattutto dai TFan del Belpaese per il look praticamente sputato agli sketch del mostro sacro italico Guido Guidi, successivamente ricolorato per la linea United dell’anno seguente e poi ancora per il gift set Autobot Heroes del 2016 – in tutti e tre i casi Blurr ha la sua tipica livrea G1, ma è armato di fucile da cecchino, come invece si vede nei fumetti IDW. Nello stesso anno, arriva un altro Deluxe, questa volta per la Titan Returns, colorato come il vecchio giocattolo G1 nella versione Hasbro e come nel cartone originale G1 nella versione Takara; inoltre, la sua testa/Titan Master, gimmik chiave di questa linea, omaggia il suo partner Targetmaster fin dal nome, seppur con grafia completamente diversa per motivi tutt’ora sconosciuti (da Haywire a Hyperfire, per intenderci).

Una menzione d’onore va invece alla linea Studio Series, linea di modelli nata come celebrazione degli oltre dieci anni della saga cinematografica Transformers, quasi in parallelo all’uscita del film su Bumblebee. Non solo, essa spezza una lancia persino per il film dell’86, da cui sono tratti alcuni personaggi chiave quali ovviamente Blurr: quest’ultimo si presenta come un Deluxe perfettamente basato sul settei originale, dalla scultura inedita fino alla colorazione, definendolo un ottimo rimpiazzo al precedente TR.

Per la Continuity Allineata, infine, c’è l’imbarazzo della scelta, tra un anonimo modellino della linea kid-friendly Rescue Bots e ben tre figure dalla Robots in Disguise (2015) – un Warrior, un One-Step e un Legion, e solo il primo già sembra fedele alla controparte animata. Tuttavia queste ultime due incarnazioni hanno fatto storcere un po’ di nasi nel fandom: rappresentano davvero lo stesso personaggio? In effetti gli altmode dei due Blurr sono mostruosamente simili, e addirittura secondo gli addetti ai lavori la versione RiD “si trasforma in un’auto sportiva azzurra e bianca scolpita come un incrocio tra una Ferrari FXX Evoluzione e l’altmode G1”. Anche la colorazione è diversa: se nel primo caso è viola e bianco e non ha nulla in comune col G1, come abbiamo accennato sopra, il RiD Blurr invece è classicheggiante e moderno allo stesso tempo, anche se l’altmode mangia in testa a quello dell’Animated perché simile al Rescue Bots. E proprio per mascherare il fatto che ha un design completamente diverso, esiste pure un recolor dello stesso personaggio in formato One-Step per la linea Cyberverse, e in quanto tale non è possibile definirlo un modellino a sé stante.

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CONCLUSIONE

Io mi auguro che si possa recuperare questo personaggio un po’ trascurato ma nemmeno sconosciuto che mi è sempre piaciuto per la velocità e per certe incarnazioni dai look uno più accattivante dell’altro – anche perché correre “da zero a cento in 3,5 secondi” (come cantava Rihanna in Shut Up and Drive) ti spara in corpo un’adrenalina pazzesca e indescrivibile. Per cui, cara Hasbro, riproponi Blurr in un prossimo futuro, e possibilmente che duri molto di più senza doverlo schiacciare in un cubo o spazzarlo via con la Ruggine Cosmica... 😅

Alla prossima puntata! 😘

Genji Shimada (Origin Story)

(Warning, this story is dark: He does hurt his cybernetic arm and it could be considered self harm. Please let me know if I need to tag anything)

"Every living thing longs to be whole. Every living thing yearns to defy death. If from death you returned, yet the part you loved best did not...what then?"

I wake up from a dreamless sleep. I could not move except for my left arm and my head. Tears pricked my eyes as overwhelming pain came from, well, everywhere. I wanted to cry out in pain, but I couldn't due to the machine that was helping me breathe. I could tell my face was wrapped in bandages, from my jaw to the right side of my face. "Genji." I let out a pained grunt as I turned my head to the voice. It was a blonde woman with blue eyes. She had concern etched onto her face, but she flashed me a false smile.

I coughed into the tubing, and I hated the way it scraped against my throat. "Genji, I'm Doctor Ziegler. We're here to help you." She paused, glancing up to the spectators in the operating theater. She let out a tired sigh and looked back to me. She sat down on a chair and pulled herself close to me. "You've been through a terrible ordeal. Overwatch rescued you, and our medical team stabilized you." The doctor paused and took a deep breath. When she said that, the realization hit me. I survived the fight with my brother. What a cruel twist of fate.

I tried to glance down at the rest of me, but it was covered with a blanket. I could only imagine what it--I--looked like underneath. "Genji." The doctor repeated, trying to get my attention. I peeled my eyes away and looked to her again. She held my left hand and squeezed it. "We need you to make a decision..." She trailed off, looking guilty. "You can join us, and we'll bring you back to full health. You can walk, talk, grip your weapon again." She stopped, but I know what she was thinking. 'You can survive this.' So what, if I don't take this opportunity, will I be left to rot and die? Or if I do take this opportunity, I either end up alive with whatever they've done to me, or I die. Not much of a choice.

"Do you understand what's going on?" Doctor Ziegler asked, her voice gentle. I did my best to nod and she seemed to understand it. "So, do you agree?" I didn't really understand the point of asking me. I'm fucking dying either way, did they need my consent to cover their asses? Did they want me to sign a damn form? I shuddered, then nodded. "Alright then. I'm going to have to stamp your thumb on this form then. Closest thing to a signature." She explained, grabbing the ink and the form. My thumb was pressed into the ink, then onto the paper. Satisfied, she put the form away into a folder, then walked over to my I.V drip. She grabbed a syringe and medication, then filled it up, and put it in the opening. I grew drowsy as she spoke. "I'll put you to sleep, and we'll start to work on you tomorrow. Good luck to the both of us." I drifted off, going back into that dreamless sleep.

I went through so many surgeries, all over the course of six months. Rebuilding and replacing every cut bone, every decayed muscle, every piece of dead skin. I would like to say I was under for all of it, but I wasn't. There were days or even weeks where I was just barely awake. 'To keep him from having complications' they claim. I think it was just to torture me. So I can see the damage. For 6 months, I was forced to watch them cut pieces off of me, and replace them with metal and synthetics. And for a couple of months, it was painful. I was not allowed pain medication--and I didn't want it either--due to my previous habits. But they were forced to after a near death experience. Truth be told, it's a miracle I survived.

Then, I truly woke up. I took a deep breath for the first time in ages. I felt...refreshed, cool, relaxed. I wasn't in pain, yet, but I felt a strange dullness. I could tell I was sitting on something soft, yet I couldn't tell you what it was without seeing it. I opened my eyes, and my vision felt sharper than before--I never had a hard time seeing, but there was suddenly more clarity. "Vitals are good. Patient is awake, time for the movement test." I heard a familiar voice say. It was the doctor. "Genji, can you move your left hand and fingers?" I follow her instructions, though my reaction felt slow. "Slow acting, not surprising due to him still waking up." She said to herself, or perhaps to an audience? "Move your right hand please." I obeyed, not looking at my hand. I felt the vague sensation of movement, but she seemed satisfied. I followed the rest of her instructions, and I passed the test.

The doctor left the room, and it seemed I was left alone. I looked around to get my bearings. It was the operating theater, with all the lights on. The walls were made of metal: you could see your reflection, not with perfect clarity like a mirror though. I eventually sat up and swung my legs over, closing my eyes due to pain and stiffness. I slowly opened my eyes again: I wasn't sure if I wanted to look at myself, but I knew I had to eventually. I looked at my left arm: it was littered with cuts, still red and raw, but not quite needing to be bandaged anymore. I felt a pit form in my stomach, and I looked at my right arm. It wasn't human, not anymore. The top of my hand was black, with small slits in it for something. My fingers were gray, and I could see metallic cords running through my knuckles. The palm of my hand was a harsh red, a stark contrast to the rest of it. My eyes traced up my arm: my forearm was black and segmented into two pieces. The lower half, after I felt it, moved to reveal two white metal bars in my arm. I looked closer and saw cords underneath them--my "muscles" perhaps? I closed the hatch and looked at the rest of my arm. It was red and black, but looked more like skin compared to my forearm.

My heart began to race. What did the rest of me look like? I already felt sick looking at my shoulder. I looked down to the rest of me. My legs were gone, replace with plastic. I focused on my feet first: They were shaped like a foot, with toes and all, but it was white with a piece of black plate on top of them, and a hinge connected with cords for ankles. I had knives--which were covered in a plastic sheathe--attached to the back of my calves; they were black as well, with red accents. My knees didn't even exist, they were just white hinges, connecting to my black synth thighs. I had cords at my hip joints, acting as the muscle. My blood--whatever amount I had left--grew cold. My legs were gone.

I fought tears, and looked at my stomach. My left hand felt it; it was soft, since it was a synthetic skin, like my thighs and upper arm. I felt more of me, and my face heated up when I touched the edge of my crotch plate. I grew embarrassed for finding that, though I suppose the doctors tried to make my body have as many normal parts--synthetic or otherwise. I touched my chest, cords extending from the scarring of the human side of me to the metal side. Cords directly to my heart, perhaps? Or maybe just where blood flows. I didn't really care to know. I glanced behind me, at the metal wall to see the reflection of my back. A cybernetic spine greeted me, with cords wrapping around it. It disappeared about halfway down my back, and I noticed more cords connecting from my human parts. There wasn't much of my left shoulder remaining.

I looked closer at my reflection, and I saw my face. The first thing I noticed was my jaw and my mouth. I distinctly remember my jaw being broken in the altercation, and it apparently was beyond repair. The skin on my jaw, chin, and my bottom lip were replaced with black synthetic skin, and my jaw and chin bone was presumably mended with metal. Next, I noticed my eyes. Instead of normal gray eyes, my pupils were red and glowing. I still had my gray, but it was subtle unless you were looking close. I always hated my eyes--the lack of color and the fact that they reminded my father of my mother just made me detest them. But that didn't mean I wanted them to be like this. Then, I saw my scars. They were reminiscent of kind from electricity and fire. My brother burned my face; I remembered that too.

Rage and despair boiled up within me. I looked inhuman, unnatural. I was turned into a monster--no, a living weapon. I hated it. I hated my reflection, the way nothing felt right underneath me, the way pain crept up through me as I shifted. And I hated the way I was just left alone to see what had happened to me, like I was some experiment that they wanted to see the result and reaction. My skin crawled, and the part of my body where flesh meets metal itched and it irritated me. After several uncomfortable moments, I realized something: Past all my rage, irritation, pain, discomfort, disgust...there was an emptiness. Like a part of me was missing. It was not just my arm, my legs, my body missing. It wasn't just my humanity, it was my soul. In those few profane moments, I reached for my dragons. I wanted something, anything, to prove that I was still human. That I was still me. But they were gone, the manifestations of my soul, like they were never there. Nonexistent. Did he somehow take them too?

I tried to stand, to get off the damn hospital bed, but my legs gave out underneath me. I let out a frustrated roar, surprising myself at how metallic it sounded. My true voice was gone as well, and it only made me angrier. Tears flowed from my eyes and they were stained with red; irritation from the new optics, perhaps. What I was going through in this moment was humiliation and dehumanization. I wanted to lash out, and the only thing available for me to attack...was myself.

I opened my arm up, and I snaked my fingers past the metal bars and coiled the cords around them. And I just fucking pulled. It took quite a bit of strength, but once the first few cords came out, sparking and dripping with blood and oil, the consecutive ones were easier. It hurt, but felt so, so good. Like relieving tension from a wound up spring. "I'm not human anymore! I'm a monster!" I kept screaming it in my native tongue. Apparently the people watching me had enough.

Three men came in, two of which I knew, and the other I didn't. Cassidy held my cybernetic arm down while Reyes pinned my human one. The third man pinned my legs, so I couldn't hurt the others or myself. "Calm down, Genj!" Cassidy shouted as I tried to shake myself free. After a few minutes, I wore myself out. I couldn't fight it anymore. This is what I am now. They let me go, and I instinctively curl up into a ball, holding my torn up arm out. It was trembling, the nerves frayed. The two older men stood up, and the unknown man gestured for someone to enter. Cassidy stayed next to me. "We're gonna have Angie patch you up, alright?" His accent was soothing, and he ran a hand through my hair in an attempt to keep me calm.

Doctor Ziegler came in with her tools. She took the torn out wires and reconnected them, and each connection stung. But I didn't move nor react. I had no energy, no fight left in me. Reyes and Cassidy looked at me with guilt and pity, while the doctor looked a bit upset that I messed up her handiwork. And the other man--one who I later learned was Commander Morrison--he didn't seem to care; devoid of any sympathy. And I didn't want it.

I just wanted what I lost: I wanted my humanity back.

(Thanks for reading. The beginning quote, I did not come up with it. It is from a game called Warframe, and I just wanted to use it bc it felt fitting for Genji. Also, he knows Cassidy and Reyes from before his incident because he was working with them to take down the Shimadas. I was going to write about that, but it ended up being really boring; I might go back to it later since it's important to his story.)

6 notes View Post

florence-castle

6 months ago

it’s so sweet, knowing that you love me

Everything feels better when Genji is with you.

( genji shimada x gender-neutral reader | ~0.8k words )

content: emotional hurt/comfort, some fluff, established relationship (can be read as either romantic or platonic, whichever you’d prefer :)) genji loves u <3

etc: divider by cafekitsune; tagging @angelshub @bitchcraftinc @enchantedforest-network @ghostqueue; cross-posted on ao3

“I have not seen you around recently.”

You look up to find Genji leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. Quite some time has passed since you first met him. If you were younger, you would’ve jumped out of your skin at his unexpected arrival, but you didn’t. Instead, you didn’t bat an eye, far too jaded to be surprised by anything anymore.

“I’ve been busy,” you say.

Your words feel practised, dishonest, though they aren’t entirely false. Between the increasing Null Sector attacks and the pressure Soldier: 76 has been putting on you, time has felt like it’s been slipping out of your hands. You wish you could be as uplifting as Lena, or maybe as relaxed as Cassidy. It’s never been in your nature to relax, you suppose, having been raised in a disciplinarian family. Yet here you are, curled up in your blankets as you wallow in self-pity, looking the most pathetic you ever have in front of him.

He doesn’t seem bothered by it, something you can’t decide whether to feel thankful or upset about. Guilt begins to seep into your system as he takes a seat on the edge of your bed. As if he can sense your spiral into pessimism—he probably can, he’s known you for long enough—he laces his fingers with yours, the metal cool against your skin.

A beat of silence passes.

“Genji?”

He hums, waiting for you to continue.

“I’m sorry.”

You don’t like him seeing you in such a state. Genji caresses the back of your hand with his thumb, seemingly lost in thought for a moment. It’s hard to discern what he’s thinking. He’s been keeping his mask on more frequently, just out of habit, but a part of you wishes you could just see his eyes on you one more time.

“I know you didn’t mean to ignore me,” he speaks up, turning his head in your direction. “But I have missed you. That’s why I came here.”

You manage a weak smile. “I missed you too.”

“Cassidy has been asking for you as well.” There’s an amused lilt in his voice. “He said it’s sad not having his favourite sharpshooter around.”

That gets a chuckle out of you. “His favourite sharpshooter?”

“Yes. And mine too.”

Heat rises to your cheeks at how easily he says it. The fact that he’s holding your hand isn’t helping much, either. Still, it amazes you how a simple two words can make you feel the lightest you’ve ever been. You missed this. You missed him.

“Don’t say it like that,” you mumble, flustered. “I’m trying to mope, Genji.”

“I am not allowing it.” He lets go of your hand and you’re already missing his touch, your bottom lips slightly jutting into a pout at his sudden movement. It doesn’t last long, though, now that he’s shifted his position so he’s laying his head on your lap. “And I was only telling the truth.”

“Shut up.” There’s no actual malice in your words. Even without your other hand coming down to cup the side of his face, you think he knows that very well too. “You can’t just come in here and get me all soft and mushy, you know. You’re so mean.”

“I am mean?” he retorts in mock offence. “I tell you that I miss you, but I am mean.”

“Yeah. The meanest.” You giggle, bringing his hand up to your lips to press a gentle kiss on it. With a pleased sigh, you feel your worries ebb away and let yourself sink into the comfort he brings you. “I’ll probably come back tomorrow. I’m feeling better anyway—”

“You will come see me first, yes?”

You playfully nudge his head away, avoiding his gaze again because somehow it’s like second nature for him to make you feel this way. Like you’re a blushing protagonist of a romance story. In a last ditch attempt to keep your cool, you clear your throat and say in the most deadpan tone you can muster.

“Actually, I think I’ll see Winston first.”

“You would prefer him over me?” You can practically hear him sulking. “And you say that I am mean.”

You find yourself smiling at how natural it feels to fall back into this kind of rhythm with him despite all your setbacks and isolation. It makes your heart swell in joy, being cared for and understood by someone like him.

“Hey, get up,” you urge him gently. He does so without question, though he still tilts his head at you curiously. You scoot forward, finally leaving the mass of blankets to throw yourself in his arms, pressing a kiss to where his cheek would be. “I love you, Genji.”

He lets out a content sigh. “I love you too. You don’t have to push yourself so hard.”

You fall into a comfortable silence. In the embrace of the one you love, you’re slowly lulled to a peaceful slumber until he speaks up again, this time sounding genuinely concerned.

“But you will come see me first tomorrow, right?”

Your laughter is all he hears.

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florence-castle

6 months ago

requests are open, ask box!

genji kneeling in front of you so you can remove his mask and see him. he’s so vulnerable with you and is literally putting everything he has in ur hands <33

after the accident genji had shut everyone and everything out. he didn’t want to be seen, ashamed. he didn’t want friend, let alone a lover. but then you waltzed into his life. and suddenly he was more careful on missions. he actually feared dying, feared being taken away from you. who would be there to save you if you couldn’t hold your own ground?

he loves you with everything he has left of him. he never thought someone could love him for what he had become. never imagined someone as sweet, soft as you. would love and cherish someone like him. someone with blood on their hands.

he’d kill for you, he’d die for you. anything, for you.

omg he’s so <333. i <3 genji w everything i have.

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florence-castle

4 years ago

Hey Jean. Your art is awesome, U know? I was asking... if Typhon wears an helmet, how he kisses Echidna? 😂🤣🥰😍😍❤❤❤

His snakes do it for him!

31 notes View Post

florence-castle

1 year ago

ever have a hyperfixation hit out of nowhere? anyways

gabriel reyes had everything. a family, friends, all of overwatch, basically anything he could want in the midst of war. and then he died. soldiers are content to die for their country, for what they believe in. surely gabriel wanted the same thing. and then medics ripped him from the hands of death and put him in a world of which he did not belong to anymore. he should not be able to exist in his current state, where his body is constantly dying and reconstructing and dying and reconstructing. he can never truly die and he never will. he had everything stripped from him via a new chance at life. he lost everything and turned to darkness because in his mind it was the only option he had left. he was a monster, no one would want a monster like him. so he embraced it. reaper became the very things gabriel reyes swore to destroy. there's such a heavy facade of an apathetic, sadistic killer that not even he recognizes the broken, marred shell of a man when he takes off his mask. he still feels pain, he wants nothing more than to finally move on but the universe refuses to let him do so. he still has his emotions and regrets and fears but it's all suppressed, hidden under a mask and a cloak. he is the embodiment of death, as the man who died and was brought back. the man who is constantly dying. the man who died as gabriel reyes and came back a monster. a monster made by other people and a monster made by himself. i'm. insane about overwatch lore i wish the game was actually good

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