#wait fucj i wasnt supposed to talk ab hotch for 24 hours 💀💀😵‍💫fucked that up ig kajdkshdj

[maschotch]

Who gave him the nickname - don't see Max Ryan as a candidate either out of the original BAU, but Katie Cole maybe.

I could see maybe Kate Joyner early on in his FBI career. While I'm not sure they had anything going on beyond friendship (no matter how many times the others said the word liased in a weird voice), they did seem fairly close and it would add a little extra meaning given that this is the first time we see a new team member introduced since her death and the first time we see him explicitly tell someone to call him Hotch.

kate would call him hotch, but when they interacted one on one she mostly called him aaron. i think considering the brief time they had together, it was unlikely she would be the one to start the nickname, but still prefer to use his first name. and tbh it seemed like he was alone when he worked w scotland yard?? maybe thats a leap, but theres so much history thats unclear for him. anyway he doesnt seem like the type to have a rapid friendship form, then come back and be like “call me hotch now :^)” akdjskhf like i like her and i think they’re cute, but i doubt she had that much of an impact

i like it being katie. id prefer it if he’s had the nickname longer than he’s been at the bau, but it does make sense: unless he really does introduce himself as “hotch,” idk how well a nickname would stick through different friendships/periods of his life (but ig there is something sweet about brighteyed greenhorn little fbi agent aaron eagerly joining the bau going “hi :^) im aaron hotchner :^) but everyone called me hotch <3”)

i agree that max ryan seems unlikely to give him a nickname.. rossi and ryan particularly seem like the kind of people who would enjoy lording their seniority by lowkey demeaning someone by calling someone below them by their first names?? idk if that makes sense, but its a particular energy when someone uses your first name in a setting where last names are considered appropriate/respectful—its almost derogatory. like saying “youre not someone i feel the need to treat as an equal”

i could see katie doing it for sure. especially since she’s adamant about being called by a certain name: she’d pick up on the mild insult of being referred to by his first name and maybe try to find an alternative that isnt so formal but still something that would indicate a friendly air. idk just her being kinda annoyed at the others insisting on calling him aaron and saying “you know what? im gonna call you hotch, how does that sound?” and eager-to-please aaron hotchner being excited to being gifted a nickname by his senior—its a sign of acceptance.

gideon also calls him hotch a lot.. actually idek how often he called him aaron….. gideon doesnt usually seem like the nickname-giving type, but he does seem like the kind of person who would distractedly shorten someone else’s name without really thinking about it. tbh he honestly seems like someone who would be bad at remembering names, so maybe he intentionally gave him that name bc it was easier to remember or maybe he just accidentally called him that so many times that it just stuck. idk when alex was a profiler—maybe she was on the bau but maybe she worked somewhere else.. i cant quite remember what they said about her for that.. but if she was a junior agent along with hotch, i think itd be cute if she was the one who gave him a nickname. itd be especially meaningful coming from her, who’s a linguist. she likely knows a great deal ab etymology and appreciates the significance of names. itd be a sign of intimacy/mutual trust for her to choose to call him that.