I mentioned this in my last post but i do think hate is an incredibly compelling factor to explore, especially for a relationship between sniper and spy, who probably are the most i've seen be depicted as antagonistic towards each other in the fandom.

Emotions aren't black and white. The definition of hate describes it as an intense and passionate feeling. There's a reason why enemies/rivalry in fiction is known for having chemistry and tension. It's essentially a deep emotional connection with each other. It mirrors the expressions of romantic love/eroticism, albeit in a negative light.

Love and hate are two sides of the same coin. I think there's a lot of potential to explore how and where the line blurs between them and the complicated feelings that come with it.

And with hate comes obsession, they're constantly intruding your mind.

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Ok would you believe me if i said sniper already has the base to build obsession?

Is it casual to sacrifice your organs shutting down just to get back at the enemy? The jarate comic shows this as a lighthearted joke but the idea of being consumed by thoughts to take down and humiliate the enemy spy to the point of taking pills that ruins your internal organs and a tonic to ignore all the pain seems pretty intense??

Mind you the classic sniper also sacrificed his well being and perhaps even his sanity for the enemy spies. It's generational/hj.

They have three corresponding voicelines, spy's voicelines are not sniper exclusive but sniper's are spy specific, using his vocabulary and responding back to him like it's personal.

Mocking spy's dislike of getting blood on his suit, and feeling the need to quip back at him by emphasizing your and adding a wanka like it's a second thought, when he doesn't even disguise/deceive like spy there was no reason for him to say that except to be petty.

Some of you may already know but i Love the scar that was added to sniper's model after meet the spy, i think about it a lot.

Let me be dramatic for a moment.

The whole thing about respawn being revived exactly as you were before(gamewise ofc, i love the respawn glitches hcs) but the fact that canonically there was an exception to that small scar means so much to me. It disrupts the order and the constant clean slate forms they regain after being brutally murdered.

I think it has the potential to be used as motivation or something to hold onto to feel a more intense emotion in this monotonous war. And who's to say that emotion can't be hatred that brings you adrenaline and tension and restlessness and a violent fixation on the enemy spy?

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Hate usually gets muddled with passion, and there's this animalistic rage that comes out when you get so blinded by hate. It turns into a fight between two predatory animals, who scratch and bite at each other with nothing else but the need to put the other down in mind. And that brings a lot of grit to their relationship, it makes them feel raw and gritty.

Take in the fact that they do have opposing views on the matter of assassination and lifestyle, and the disgust they have for each other is more prominent.

The idea of sniper, who's usually nonchalant and in his own words, "a professional", losing his rational side to get back at the snake. And the idea of spy, who carries himself as a composed gentleman, wanting to step on and grind the filthy bushman into the ground, is a really entertaining aspect to explore and expand.