#o!owen

[bajuuuu]

No because Owen’s “evil” characters are so often Mirrors.

Because Vampires Owen was shown cruelty by humans and a compassion by a vampire and so he turns that around on them. He burns Oakhurst to the ground after they take away the one person who’s ever showed him kindness. Because they took that kindness away from him. And he is going to make sure they feel that.

Now the new vampires show no respect for him. They tell him he has no power over them, and yeah, no he doesn’t. He hasn’t turned a single one of them. Because that’s now what’s written in his backstory. Because his backstory is full of loneliness and pain. So he doesn’t turn anyone because that would go against who he is as a person- lonely.

And Outsiders Owen was told that he is an instrument of war. He was taught that demons were all that was wrong with this world. So, the moment he remembered his backstory, that’s what he did. Because he was told that demons were bad. So he turned that onto the nearest demon he saw. Because that’s what he was taught. Obedience. Killing.

“They and us can never coexist”. It is the philosophy of both V!Owen and O!Owen hold, and even though one was taught through rigorous military training and the other through sheer ignorance by the people he lived near, they both hold it strong. Because that’s what they know. And they will reflect it back into the world. Because that’s all they are: a mirror to what they were taught.

Now O!Owen is interesting because he actually doesn’t remember his backstory for most of the plot. But he has snippets. He knows he’s a fighter. He knows he was asked to protect people. He knows he had a bow. He knows he had a mentor. So what does he do? He tries to make that mentor proud. He picks up a bow. He becomes a fighter. He fights the problem. Just, this time, the problem is the maze. So he fights that. He protects. Because that’s all he knows how to do. And sure he doesn’t remember all that he’s supposed to stand for, but he still holds onto the bits he does know. He reflects. Even when the mirror is incomplete.

Then the moment he gets his memories back, the moment the mirror gets restored to its fullness, he does a 180° morality turn and goes on to reflect all of his past. It doesn’t matter that o!Apo was his friend! It doesn’t matter that o!Rasbi was the first person he ever saw and the person he rode up that elevator with. It doesn’t matter because Owen’s not a person with changing beliefs, he’s a static mirror which reflects all that it was shown in the past before the plot began.

(Heck even his Rats SMP s2 character who isn’t evil does this! He was good at parkour. That’s how he met his feeing. That’s what made him unique. So that’s what he is. He’s the rat that does parkour. That’s it. That’s him. Because Owen’s characters reflect whatever they were taught by their backstory. Oh and don’t even get me started on that hidden o!SMP maze bit in the Rats SMP house because what do you mean the pull of the mirror is so strong it literally transcends universes and makes rat!Owen quote words that aren’t even his own to rats!Apo who is his friend this time?!)

And more often than not this backfired on them. Because the issue with a mirror is that it’s stuck in one place. That one thing it saw, that’s what it will reflect. O!Owen can’t understand why he ended up in the maze, because he did everything right didn’t he? He killed the demon! That’s the thing we was supposed to do! That’s the thing he’s been praised for his entire life! Who is this one demon suddenly better off alive?

And V!Owen is show that people are evil. So why is there suddenly a doctor trying to help him? And he is taught that people can’t accept vampires, so why is it suddenly alright for o!Shelby and o!Pyro to be accepted back if they wanted to? He doesn’t understand this. He can’t! Because it goes against his backstory. Against the thing he was taught and thus against the thing he reflects.

And sure, V!Owen hates people who never did anything to him. And o!Owen kills o!Apo even though they were friends just minutes ago. And they both lash out against people who never did anything to deserve it. Bet it doesn’t matter. Because Owen’s mirrors are lashing out against the world itself for giving them this view and not something kinder. So it doesn’t matter if the people they’re hurting now are complicit or not, if they had anything to do with the hand the Owens were dealt with in life or not, because it’s the world they ultimately reflect. And it is the world they ultimately despise, for just not being kinder.

Because the one thing a mirror can’t do is turn around a little and reflect something else.

[oakhurst-2799]

Finished Outsiders SMP a few days ago, spoilers for that. HIGHLY recommend you watch it, oh my god what a rollercoaster!

The reveal of Owen's backstory and the final twist of it being a TV show made me think. Imagine you're a demon. You've survived a war between your kind and humans, a very fragile peace that is constantly threatened by lingering racism and tensions between the two people. One of the human generals, a man so violent he's literally become a boogieman for demonkind, murders your representative on live television and is sent to this reality TV survivor show without any of his memories.

And this conqueror, this monster, literally the face you see when think of what scares you the most, is suddenly kind and loving and protective of the other demons in the maze. He cares for their wellbeing. He openly considers them his friends. He murdered entire cities in cold blood, and yet there he is, defending one of his former targets with full conviction.

And you keep watching, hoping that he will die. That his punishment for all the bloodshed will be painful and slow and broadcast in 4k. But he survives all these impossible odds because of course he does. He's an elite soldier after all.

So he won't die. But as all contestants slowly reclaim more of their memories, you wait for the other shoe to finally drop. Can this man change? Has the maze had any influence on him and his worldview at all? If he doesn't die, can he at least be redeemed?

No, of course not. He reunites with his self-proclaimed best friend and starts mocking him. Calling this person whom he was going mad for "a disease" and "target practice". And then he kills them mercilessly and your heart shatters as you sit in front of the TV.

The general doesn't stop. He openly schemes to the audience on how he plans to kill the other demons locked in there with him, and your stomach turns. You want to stop watching. You want to help them, criminals or not. You know that this man, should he make it out of the maze, will be pardoned of all his crimes. The boogieman will be back and you will not know a single day of peace again. And so you keep watching, hoping each day that he will slip up, fail, that the other contestants will realize his plans and stop him. But one after another they fall to his hands.

The dragonborn is last. You watch their fight. If anyone can stop this monster, its another monster. The second worst boogieman. You hate it too, fear it just as much as you do the general, but in this instance, this crazy cannibalistic cult leader represents your entire species. If it dies, you know you'll be next.

That night you can't sleep. The general is lurking behind every dark corner, coming for all of you. Nobody can stop him, not even another monster. You know that in a few weeks, he will be free and nobody will bat an eye if he keeps on murdering demons.

The series finale hits. You almost don't want to watch it, don't want to hear this monster laugh and smile as he celebrates his victory over the maze. You don't want to listen to his stupid interview, where his genocidal racism is given a nonchalant stage. But some members of your community say that you all should know what's coming. So you watch, anxiously. And the dragonborn returns! It's not dead as everybody assumed! It unveils all of the general's crimes, turning the other contestants against him. You cannot believe that this is really happening. They lock him up, the same cell where his former "best friend" had been locked up for months. Could this really be it? Could this monster really be defeated after all?

He seems to have doubts, at last, and you don't know if they're earnest. The young woman, the one he took under his wing, visits him, and he pleads with her. You expect her to release him, because of course she will. This is how these people always get away with it.

But she doesn't.

And he dies a gruesome, painful death as the prison cell is flooded in lava.

The rest of the finale goes by in a haze. He's dead. The monster is defeated, the boogieman is slain. He won't raze any more cities or murder demons under cloak-and-dagger. More people die on TV, but you cannot process it right now, because the main fear you had for months did not come to pass.

It takes you a few hours to realize that out of the four survivors, the only demonic one is the dragonborn. Your community talks about it too, sure, but truly, there is no real danger. Your people have dealt with cults for all pf demon history, and the dragonborn itself had lost an arm in the confrontation with the general. Not a good look for a strong leader.

Your life goes back to normal, as best as you can. There's still a lot of problems in society; war trauma, racism, prejudice on both sides, and poverty. But at least for now, it didn't get worse.

[whor-pheus]

Subathon showing old SMP videos got me thinking abour how Owen and Luanne are together in basically every project but Outsiders, sooo

Outsiders! Luanne yay

[echovoidedangel]

A duo meet-up I loop through my brain constantly is v!legs meeting o!owen

Has this concept been thrown out already? Yes but I would just like to say I'm in those trench walls as well

One of the things I'm currently thinking about is their war comparisons

[siensapsap]

SPOILERS FOR BOTH VAMPIRES SMP AND OUTSIDERS SMP BELOW, BEWARE!!!

What do you MEAN O!Owen was a warcriminal within the context of something that very much looked like a crusade? THE FUCK?!

I just finished THAT episode and have just spent fifteen minutes trying to convey all of that into a comprehensible voice memo to my roommate and I don't think I succeeded.

That's so fucked, that's so fucked. What do you MEAN he's 'returning soon (for the others)'?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE NEXT EPISODE TITLE SAYS HE BECAME AN ASSASSIN.

I did not expect the POV to become actively evil. Trapped in a maelstrom of regret and terrible choices? Yes, I've been obsessed with v!owen for the past few months, when i saw where the character was heading I did not think he was gonna have a happy ending. But I did not expect him to HUNT DOWN APO LIKE A HOMICIDAL DICKHEAD.

The rest of this POV is gonna be torture, isn't it? Because either he's gonna stick to his evil, evil guns or he's gonna spiral down completely from guilt and self loathing. I'm so worried...

I will say, I was already rooting for v!apo to escape before I saw this, and this does make that extra good. At least history did not repeat itself there, I dont think the ppl who were already outsiders fans before this would have survived that.

[leafymushroomexistence]

Duo so good you try making a moodboard for them

Art credits:

@/silvsarts on tumblr, @/hillbroski on tumblr, @/galaxyheartart on tumblr, @/daily-outsiders

[callofwinter]

Do you think, in Outsiders, Owen ever heard Acho's name and thought, just for a moment, that someone was calling out for Apo?

Do you think he ever heard a cheerful "hi, Acho!" and smiled, ready to greet them, only for it to fall in a moment because he realized that they're never coming back?

Do you think, when Acho nearly drowned, Owen remembered Apo's last words to him and felt himself panic because he couldn't bear the thought that he'd lived weeks without hearing her voice, and would continue to live without hearing her again? That he would have to watch another person die and see them rot away with time?

Could he ever look at Acho without thinking of them? Or do you think their memory is so ingrained into his mind that every little thing reminded him of them?

Goodbye, Owen.

He couldn't bear to think that was the last time he'd hear her voice.

Did he ever bury them?

[mcpickle-headcanons]

Outsiders Owen Graphics

[PT: Outsiders Owen Graphics /end PT]

Art credits: @/what-aboutno (2) @/ohkelpart (3) @/rozugold (4)