#skulldouble

good morning skulldouble nation (two of us here)

(skulldouble art for context)

okay nobody asked but i need to ramble about them..

I imagine Double as a character struggles a lot with being his authentic self, hiding himself in a layer of toxic masculinity.

In the sense that, Double only wants to be seen as a MAN. Anything that would threaten his masculinity would be a threat to him.

He doesn't see himself allowed to be weak or vulnerable, and only knows how to cover it with his false overconfidence.

---------------------

(this is due to the way he was raised, i imagine he had some unhealthy father or masculine figure to influence this)

(I also headcanon him to be a trans man. But regardless of if he's cis or not, I imagine him with the same issue. He's also the type of guy to struggle with internalized homophobia, also finding it to threaten his masculinity. even though he's the gayest guy on earth)

--------------------

And its also one reason he wears his shades. He doesn't want to be seen through, he doesn't want his eyes to give him away. He uses it as a cover for his nervousness and vulnerability, the vulnerability that he refuses to show upfront.

(you cant notice he's tearing up or avoiding eye contact if he has shades folks)

But with that in mind, this interaction is inspired by the idea that Skull would allow Double to let down his guard, not holding him to the expectations Double sees himself needing to be held to.

Skull has no issues ordering a big cutesy sweet parfait, he likes his sweets, that's as normal to him as anything.

but Double? Oh he would be so embarrassed to order anything of the sort. Sweet? bad for his diet. A man wouldn't eat something like that. All frosted and decorated? Far too girly for a man. He'd sink into a hole if he was caught eating it.

If his team saw him? He'd never hear the end of it.

But Skull influences him to not be insecure about that. Skull would take Double on a date, and automatically order Double a cutesy sundae alongside his own.

At first Double would hesitate, probably saying something stupid like:

uhh.. don't you think this is a little... uuh, I'm kind of embarrassed to eat something like this in public aha...

(you get the idea)

But Skull wouldn't be fazed. He'd tilt his head at Double and shrug, not seeing the issue.

Double would be more embarrassed by Skulls reaction if anything, realizing that Skull doesn't find a problem in it.

But after that, Double would suck it up and eat it, coming to the realization he actually enjoys it. The realization that maybe its not so bad to indulge in something he thought to be so threatening.

And thats just one example of how Skull would positively influence him in that regard. He wouldn't patronize him for anything that seems "unmanly", and eventually Double would learn to be vulnerable and himself, at least with Skull.

---------------

I also imagine Double would be initially intimidated by Skulls nature, with how mature and quiet he is, compared to his own loud immaturity.

(Ex: Double could say a backhanded joke, he doesn't actually have ill intention, but he's prone to the habit of being disingenuous, to puff up his own ego.

Skull wouldn't feed into this, knowing better than to make fun of someone in that way.

Then Double would cringe at himself for having said it, but he'd learn that what he says doesn't have to be ill mannered, he doesn't have to try to impress by being a jerk.)

He wouldn't entirely know how to read Skull at first, tip toeing over everything in the case that Skull would also find fault in him.

But Skull never does, giving him the safety to traverse in as much space as he needs.

And Skull would find doubles nervousness to be endearing, as he could easily fluster someone who tries to be so serious. He also finds it sweet that he can peer through Doubles facade, finding ways to understand and make him feel comfortable in his genuine interior.