#bilious hale

[abberantmachine]

might be a good opportunity to compile the references I've been making myself - these are the newest ones, some are a bit scrappy/incomplete, I intended to make different busts for different eras but only some characters have these.

Happy for anyone to reference these if they want. Obviously it's very much to my particulars, and Bette for instance is entirely a fan design.

speculative timeline: above the line are canonical dates, below the line are speculations and points related to what I was writing. Funnily enough, I think most of this is still viable.

thoughts on the Conaghers and disability

this one... I just like because I've always liked thinking the Conagher jawline is one of their distinctive features - I like Engie's lil underbite...

some older designs and sketches - the even older Barnabus and the older twins I was planning to clean up for the ref chart

alt design for Gray I thought was still kinda cute. and some Hales I didn't include in the master chart yet.

[jevilowo]

Not sure if ive already done this. But.

Predictions for COMIC 7

CHARLES DARLING WILL BE THE FINAL ENEMY besides Helen. Trust me on this one I swear they wouldn't have brought him in if they didn't have plans. ALSO the mother of the Mann triplets (Bette Mann neé Darling) was RELATED TO HIM HE'S RELEVANT. I'm so convinced he's the one Helen made a deal with and he's going to make a grab for Mann Co.

We'll get to see Bilious Hale in a flashback and find out what happened to him. Bilious Hale, oh guy who punched coal out of mines and sat on John Wilkes Booth while other people shot at him, my beloved. I hope they don't reveal he was a bad father or anything.

A woman is nice to Ms Pauling for once and she gets a smooch. She deserves it. Hopefully it won't be a smooch from Helen (DAMN YOU 4CHAN LEAKS), the old lady's had her hired since Pauling was in her mid teens.

WE GET HORSEMANN LORE! this is just wishful thinking on my part the Horsemann makes me insane. Shout out to Silas Mann fr. If he doesn't show up, I hope they at least acknowledge or reference him. I swear they had plans for him back in 2010. Which they then immediately abandoned in favour of developing Mann vs Machine.

Spydad reveal. Pretty much a given. No need to elaborate. I hope Scout’s mother shows up I love her.

Demo gets something important to do! He's only been there for comedic bits so far really, so I think he deserves some Serious Plot Stuff.

Build up to and cop out on Pyro face reveal. The whole thing of Pyro's character is the mystery, so I think the funniest way to go about a face reveal would be for us to only see the team's reactions and have them all react very differently e.g. Scout vomits, Demo gives them the thumbs up, Spy starts taking horrified notes, Engie looks vaguely lovestruck, Saxton Hale expresses annoyance that they aren't actually *insert obsucure species of something here* like he thought.

CONAGHER LORE!! By which I mean Engie shows up and has a chat with Fred about Radigan and immortality and whatnot. Fred has to have been spared from the bloodshed for a reason, right?

Classic Medic shows up! Or they confirm he is dead. Or they confirm he is Pyro which is a funny theory I read once but sincerely doubt. Maybe they'll pull a Bea and have him have been a girl the whole time.

I have a crackpot theory that Helen/Elizabeth is actually Bette Mann (again, mother of the Mann triplets), and while it's unlikely to be true, it would genuinely be so funny if I'm right so WATCH THIS SPACE. My main reasoning is Helen started her Australium search the year the triplets were born, aka the year Bette DIED, and also Bette is a nickname for Elizabeth. Also also it adds to my theory that she will team up with Charles Darling, who is, as I've already said, related to Bette.

Olivia gets to do something important also. Saying this bc she's mostly been a prop so far. I'm manifesting a sideplot where she summons the Horsemann to beat up Charles Darling for her.

Merasmus returns! Last we saw he was arrested, but Jay Pinkerton really likes his Soldier/Merasmus interactions so chances of him coming back are high.

There will be a joke like "geez it feels like it's been seven years since we beat grey mann" and a panel where everyone just lets that process before going back to plot stuff

Chances are, a new comic after so many years means there will be new writers, and the fandom has changed quite a bit since the last one. There will be SUBLIMINAL SPEEDING BULLET SHIPPING. There will be MORE FOCUS THAN IS REALLY NECESSARY on Scout. SOMEONE WILL THEY/THEM PYRO which sounds great actually you know what I forgot where I was going with this godspeed.

ZHANNASOLDIER WEDDING FINALE!!!

[who-do-i-know-this-man-s4revived]

⚠️Vote for whomever YOU DO NOT KNOW⚠️‼️

Round 1

Big Red (Transformers)

Bilious Hale (Team Fortress 2)

I know both/neither

Voting ended onJul 25, 2025

[birbwell]

more dad hale actually

[birbwell]

father and son

[birbwell]

With your recent drawings of Bilious, I just gotta know- what are your hc’s for him? Or more specifically; what kind of father was he to Saxton? I can’t imagine their relationship being positive in any sort of way- but I’m curious about what you think happened during Saxton’s childhood!! Sorry if this is worded poorly, I’m not good with English 😅😅😅

ᵒᵏ ᵇᵉᵃʳ ʷᶦᵗʰ ᵐᵉ ʰᵉʳᵉ

saxton is the only child of a rich socialite (minerva 'minnie' hale) and the CEO to mann co (bilious hale). he is also the sole heir of the hale fortune and, to bilious, an extension of control and power. he's planned out his entire life from day one, so: not a very good kind of father! saxton did (and still does) try his best to appease his father.

for a while, minnie did most of the raising, and she was warm, encouraged his pursuits, told her she was proud of him- bilious' polar opposite. there was once a grand piano in the drawing room that bilious had put in because it matched the hardwood, and saxton loved to play it! he spent many an afternoon practicing with his mother. bilious scolded them both, saying it was a "frivolous distraction" and had it removed.

bilious felt that she was turning saxton soft, becoming an obstacle to his plans and leveraged his wealth and influence to have an extremely sketchy divorce. the proceedings ended up being a media circus and it ended with minnie's reputation being dragged into the mud, forbidden from seeing her son again. saxton was twelve then, and has not seen her since.

saxton eventually takes on the mantle of CEO, but bilious is still around in the board of directors, making sure the ship is run his way.

[birbwell]

Y’know I’ve been a Thinkin. and i’ve just got questions - no rush to answer :]

Did Saxton ever meet Barnabus? What was their relationship like, if they did? Any general thoughts on the og Hale?

Since Bilious was their boss, did Sax ever meet the Classic Mercs? Any thoughts on them fighting against him and his mercs in TF Comics?

Does Bilious know about the whole Robot Thing w Gray?

That’s a lot sorry lmao - just thought I’d ask abt your hcs :] !!

saxton's met barnabus, but only when he was a wee babe! his father and grandfather often didn't see eye to eye, and thinks what bilious did to drive away his wife was monstrous. he hasn't kept in touch with the family for a long time now. saxton hazily remembers a cool grandfather who would often sneak him treats and take him on walks in the back woods of the estate.

tbh i dont think all that much about og Hale! that, in turn, sort of gives me (like my saxton hc lol) a concept about a man who's larger than life. if anything, barnabus has his own shortcomings and is part of the reason why he's been such a no-show- and if saxton harbors any ill will towards his grandfather, that's completely fair

that is. a really good question. sax would have met the classic mercs at their prime when he was but a lad... this is the first time ive thought of it, so this is just my initial idea, but i don't think they ever interacted much? like, bilious probably would have brought saxton around mann co to show him the ropes. and he would have met some of the mercs then. i imagine that around this age, saxton would be a bit standoffish, around the mercs, but secretly envious that they get to go and do whatever they want. if the mercs ever talked to him, they would have been all "hehe Child :)", that sort of belittling thing you do around kids, ykno? anyways, not much in the way of interaction, but punching them in the face years upon years later? must feel sort of like a weird recall, at least!

ohhh definitely! bilious in my hcs is one of the sitting directors in mann co, father and son probably treated it as another cool cash grab at first. getting ousted by a little girl though? rest assured that bilious would have spat venom (and maybe even punched hehe) at saxton for being such a wuss. to him, preserving mann co. is at the Very forefront of his mind, so i can imagine him staying as a director to do damage control and make sure that a Hale is still at the helm of the ship.

[inkythealien]

Uhhhh the last 3 generations of Mann Co CEOs