Hooooo boyyyyyy, if there was anything that surprised me the most about how the characters just evolved as the year went by, its Sniper and his Class S Yuri Situationship with Doc. As the 3rd character created, I didn't anticipate how close they would become so quickly. Episode 1-3 really showed a chemistry between 2 people I just assumed would be just best friends bloom into such a...well, situationship.
He always was meant to be a musician, a pianist, because I liked the thought of a 2 very opposite talent pools coming into conflict. I wanted a very different silhouette so i gave him the poncho, and I don't regret it. He looks so damn cool. I also feel like I'm getting a little better at drawing cowboy hats XD. His face and hair didn't change too much, though I think his hair got an inch longer since his first sketches to show off the bottom white layer easier.
Everything else seems to be the same still. He's addicted to noodles, like me, and his favorite foods are ramen and phở (and bò kho, actually, which doesn't always have noodles and comes with fresh baguettes). He spent a considerable amount of time in California, which is why he talks like me and not like a proper Kiwi XD;;;;. I'm trying, I swear. He also introduced Doc to Oreos, so thank him for that.
His version of the drug also changed from the sketch sheet to when I finished episode 1; originally it was just Surgeon's formula, but it's now a hybrid of Doc's formula and Surgeon's base. Its still less effective, in that his healing rate comes much slower and his pain threshold isn't as high (though as a long ranged gunman, I wouldn't have expected his pain threshold to be very high). When it comes to Pilot's, that also changed but that's for later. He is, by that metric, the weakest of the main 8, maybe a little hardier than Doc. However, his sight and hearing are the best of them all.
I have a bunch of sketches of Doc and him together, and I think of them as a pair. Episode 5 really lays into that devotion Sniper develops in waiting for extraction; Doc, though, hesitates in letting him in. Hesitation is basically their keyword; it's what got Sniper in this mess in the first place, and why Doc is scared of getting closer to him. Maybe they'll figure it out, maybe Sniper's happy enough to be content with the distance. And why wouldn't he? It's his profession, maintaining distance.
I've considered Doc coming back to Sniper romantically, but at the same time, it's also fun to watch Sniper flirt at Doc and Doc actually being flustered. It's not meant to be cruel, just playful. I think they have a really strong chemistry just like he and Techie. In fact I have a couple of sketches of them as kids I'll add in Techie's post; they also have a fun playful relationship that's similar to Sniper's and Doc's. I don't know how I plan to resolve the Situationship at this point, but what I do know is that wherever Doc goes, you can be sure Sniper's gonna be there too. They are pretty cute together.