#like. he falls into toxic masculinity very easily.. mostly just bc it aligns w his trauma anyway lmao

[maschotch]

trans! hotch headcanons?🥰

he started cutting his own hair since he was a kid, meaning he’s had some… unfortunate haircuts. inexperience plus obstinate cowlicks inevitably led to shaggy, disheveled looks that didn’t suit him at all. he got better as he got older, but was relieved when haley offered to try cutting his hair in high school. she also fucking sucked but jess (after laughing her fucking as off at the two of them) took over and gave him his first passable haircut, starting a tradition of getting his hair cut at the brooke’s household

definitely had some Unhealthy Binding Habits, but he thankfully got top surgery quickly. but even then he was still a little self conscious, and he’d been in the habit of always wearing a shirt, so he just kinda?? kept doing it? he Did spend a lot of time in the mirror wearing a t shirt afterwards and learned to admit that he likes the way he looks so much more. even if it was just for him, it felt better—more natural for him—but self-love has always been a bit of a problem with him rip

he stays clean shaven bc it suits his vibe, but he likes when he can grow out facial hair. it makes him?? warm and fuzzy?? not like literally but in a nostalgic sense.. he can Reminisce. he was just a little bit heartbroken when jack said he hated it

similarly proud of his voice. he naturally has a pretty laid-back temperament, he’s not excitable or anything, but he Also likes to talk low bc he knows it makes his voice deeper

still grew up in bumfuck virginia? so?? has a very Conventional take on masculinity.

its actually something he really struggled with at first? the first thing he associated with masculinity was violence/aggression through his father, so he initially rejected it. but i think he grew into having kind of a doe-eyed, classic lens of the hero… that fantastical fairy tale prince, cordial and polite and strong and gentle, was a form of escapism. having this hypothetical, utopic view of the perfect gentleman was a coping mechanism more than anything during his youth, but that stuck with him as he began to establish his own identity as a man. it’s not the healthiest, but it’s what happened, and the results aren’t too bad tbh