#spy angst

[icarus-lizard]

Just some father son bonding!

[ughtenal]

spy ♤ sniper ♡/◇ scout

im thinking so hard about the potential for a sniperspy dynamic before RED is formed wherein spy is needlessly rude and demeaning towards sniper due to his young inexperience in the field & generally more animalistic nature compared to how spy and his 'colleagues' carry themselves.

obviously, spy has absolutely no obligation to take sniper under his wing, but he has no need to antagonize him either. some guy who's a perfect stranger who maybe had a couple of messy hits and botched jobs when first starting out but overall has proved his worth time and time again, just for spy to continue to treat him condescendingly

and obviously that isn't the only factor in sniper's issues as we see his disagreements with his own family about his career choice, but i think it definitely adds to his whole "professionalism" gimmick wherein he sees himself as his job title first and as a person second.

he isolates himself even further than just regular introverted awkwardness and instead crafts himself into a tool to kill, convinces himself he doesn't need any human connection whatsoever because he will be mocked for it, because it gets in the way of his work.

and i think once sniper finds out about spy being scout's father, regardless of whether sniper and scout are romantically or platonically involved, he would see his own experience with spy and be thankful scout was SPARED from that. at the same time, he points out to spy he failed as a father, not once but TWICE -- directly and indirectly.

if spy has any issue with the way that either of them behave, any issue with scout's loud personality or sniper's standoffish nature, he has only himself to blame for the role he played in influencing them whether he was involved in their life or absent from it.

and i think he would struggle so hard with that. he doesn't have a nurturing bone in his body, and his failures are a testimony to that, but he refuses to admit that it's his fault, at least outwardly. i think he would have a crisis over how he tainted two people who had so much more to look forward to in life.

sniper could have climbed the ranks and been internationally recognized and feared. he could have left the business altogether and done something else with his skillset (proper game hunting or even wildlife photography). all he needed was a little encouragement and support.

scout could have been a professional in sports, whether baseball or track. he could have had actual confidence behind his false ego. he could have done something other than take on more and more questionable jobs just to support his ma.

spy taked out his anger with himself on the both of them and in turn pushes them further away because he will never be satisfied with what is versus what could have been and it tears him apart.

[cheemscakecat]

A question for my Missing in Action readers:

Do you think RED Spy avoids getting killed in battle as much as possible, because at any point the respawn machine everyone takes for granted could fail again?

What do you think?

Yes, he enters each battle anxiously, like it could be his last.

Yes, but over the years his fear has worn down into a dull ache.

Yes; he can’t help but hope that he’ll reunite with Malum each time. It hurts.

I truly don’t know. He doesn’t either.

No, he feels like it doesn’t matter. They died for no reason, and were forgotten

No, fate was cruel enough to make him outlive the others. Why would it relent?

No. He never stopped being ready to go at any time, to see them again.

All of the above. An ever-churning storm of grief and fear that varies each day.

Voting ended onOct 13, 2025