In a move that is causing waves around the world, Blizzard finally took the time to kill off the ‘Who is gay in Overwatch?’ rumour mill with the release of the latest world-building comic ‘Reflections’ on the official Overwatch website. In it, the spunky British time jumper desperately navigates the mean streets in London seeking a last minute Christmas gift for her significant other – who turns out to be a lady.
Make this moment last forever, with your very own time distorting Chronal Accelerator device.
For a great many people, this is a fun reveal at a happy time of year that solves the original queer mystery of the Overwatch cast, but not everyone experienced a “D’aaaw” moment at the reveal. The Overwatch forums felt a sudden flood of people airing grievances covering every topic – ranging from ‘The reveal feels cheap’ right through to ‘My waifu is dead to me’:
To nobody’s surprise, Twitter erupted in responses also – not just to the reveal, but to the negative reactions some people were having to the whole thing. A good chuckle to be had for all the overreactions people were having to something that really, by 2016 standards, is fairly pedestrian.
Honestly, my thoughts are with the Tracer shippers at this time. Tear-stained mountains of Tracer X Widowmaker fan art, ready to be set ablaze by those that believed most in the pairing. Though I personally am not a ‘shipper’ of any kind, the amount of effort that went into that subsect of the Overwatch community leads me to believe that some passionate torch-holders are out there. Of course this also means that a new age of ‘Red Head Tracer Girlfriend’ fans will arise.
The real truth is that there is no need for outrage. I am yet to find one rational argument from the people being negative about Blizzard’s decision. Arguably, it’s a fools errand for me to actually try and find one. Regardless of whether someone is fictional, their sexuality and preference in partners really doesn’t matter at all. It speaks volumes to the kind of world we STILL live in, in the year of our lord 2016, when every man, woman and time-traveling dog has an opinion on something that truthfully doesn’t affect them in any way.
In the meantime, my time-twisting British butt kicker is still all right by me.
