Players speculate that Baptiste may have a fondness for Lifeweaver
By Michael McWhertor on April 5, 2023 12:32 pm
When Blizzard revealed the latest support hero coming to Overwatch 2, Lifeweaver, the developer noted that the character is openly pansexual and that players will see that “reflected in his voice lines, conversations, and other content.” Players can see this in early gameplay previews almost a week before Lifeweaver launches. And one of the Thai hero’s voice lines could reveal something about another hero, Baptiste, who has a very flirtatious exchange with Lifeweaver.
On the Overwatch subreddit, fans took note of a lobby conversation between Lifeweaver and Baptiste, which escalated into the following flirtation.
Lifeweaver: I have reservations at an amazing restaurant but I’m not sure who to invite…
Baptiste: I know a guy!
Lifeweaver: Could he be a dashing ex-Caribbean mercenary?
Baptist: [chuckling] He just might be!
Now, a skeptic might think, “Hey, maybe Baptiste is just hungry.” And maybe he is. But the delivery between the two – compounded by Lifeweaver’s clear flirtation – appears to support a theory Overwatch players have had since learning about Baptiste’s former partner in Talon, a Samoan tank man named Mauga, and their close relationship. It also appears that the author behind some of Baptiste’s lore intended Baptiste and Mauga to have some sort of romantic relationship.
In 2019, Blizzard released the Overwatch short story What You Left Behind. In it, author Alyssa Wong tells a story about an unwelcome reunion for Baptiste: His former partners in the terrorist organization Talon, Mauga and Nguyen, tracked him down after four years in Baptiste’s homeland of Haiti. The tension in this story is high, and not just because Mauga was able to easily overpower Baptiste to get what he wanted – namely for Baptiste to join the ex-Talon gang for a classic “just one more job” mission to connect.
This short story also came with this artwork by Baptiste and Mauga:
Image: Blizzard Entertainment
Wong later said they were “obsessed with two (2) types of fictional relationships: ‘You were never good for me but I loved you more than anything’ and ‘You were the best thing that has ever happened to me and me destroyed this with my own hands (maybe on purpose).'” And in response to a fan who suggested that Baptiste and Mauga’s relationship might fit that mold, Wong replied, “That’s how I wrote it!” Wong also added a tongue-in-cheek emoji, presumably to emphasize her intentions.
And to make it even clearer, here is the author of Baptiste’s main source for lore these characters ship.
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