There are some characters where giving them therapy and cleaning them up is the fanfiction equivalent of buying antique furniture and painting it white
:sicko voice: obviously if Batman beats Joker to the ground and roughfucks him while choking him out, Joker is an eyes-rolled-back drooling horny mess about it; but if Batman ever really wanted to hurt him he'd kiss him and call him pet names and fuck him softly while staring deep into his eyes
...and Joker would be so freaked out he'd be begging for him to stop within seconds because please, Batsy, this isn't funny anymore
My reasons on why I believe Bobutter (Bojack Horseman x Mr peanutbutter) works
Yep, Iāve hit rock bottom on ts
Disclaimer: This post is based on my opinion and interpretations of the characters and the show + some stuff based on video essays I binged(shout out to PosiTVy, go check out their stuff itās super good).
Also this post will discuss sensitive topics such as substance abuse(drugs and alcohol), brief mentions of sexual activities, predatory behavior and bad mental health coping habits, alongside mental disorders and syndromes.
1- Character foils
Bojack and PB are very clearly character foils to one another. Theyāve gone through a lot of the same experiences in their lives(Ex: Being a sitcom star in the 90s, hiding their true feelings with a persona, having HORRIBLE patterns with the women in their lives) and face similar issues with self esteem but went about it much differently.
BJ copes with the struggles in his life by convincing himself that he is too far gone and isnāt capable of change and wallows in his self destruction(Ex: his addictions to substances, sex and fame), hiding behind mundane problems(Ex: The muffins scandal or the auto-erotic afixiation) and being cruel to others in order to not have to be vulnerable with them.
PB on the other hand, copes with it with toxic positivity and people pleasing. PB constantly keeps a happy go lucky facade and acts as if the way others mistreat him doesnāt affect him or that he doesnāt even notice, which is clearly not true, not to mention heās always doing whatever he thinks others like and doesnāt listen when someone tells him that itās not the case, because in his mind, what he likes is what everybody likes, when in reality, what he prefers isnāt what everyone wants and vice versa.*
* An accurate interpretation of Mr peanutbutter that I heard on a YouTube channel called posiTVy is that he seems to have a personality trait called Sociotropy, which basically means people who have the need to be socially accepted by others, which as we know, is pretty much PBās whole thing atp
2- Mutual admiration
As the show itself has pointed out, Bojack and PB have a mutual admiration and jealousy of one another for their own aspects, holding the other to a much higher pedestal when in reality, theyāre pretty much on the same level.
Bojack is jealous of PB because he sees a better version of himself, one that is more positive, has great relationships and seems to be doing much better than him. That he seems to actually enjoy life. That he has the one thing he doesnāt. āI want to feel good about myself, the way you do.ā -Season 2, Episode 8 āLetās find outā
Mr Peanutbutter on the other hand looks up to Bojack, despite being witness to majority of his flaws, but thatās the point. He perceives Bojackās bitterness and cruelty as āclassic Bojackā and as a carefree attitude, interpreting it as him not caring what others think about him and still being liked despite that. That others are somehow still capable of liking him despite how much he doesnāt align to their wishes and that he seems to not depend on otherās. That he seems to not worry about how others perceive him. That he has the one thing he doesnāt.
3- Breaking bad dating patterns
Im going to be blunt, these two seriously NEED to be kept away from young women. As previously mentioned, these two have the same, very worrying pattern of chasing younger women and if things get serious, they end up becoming extremely dependent on them(+Having some sort of power imbalance in the case of Bojack).
So having them get together with someone their age with roughly the same level of fame and that is facing the same issues and working on bettering themselves at the same time(post-canon Bobutter is the best version of it, argue with the wall), it could help them on bettering themselves and breaking these habits with trying out something new. And Iām not just saying that because theyāre gay. /j
4- Implications of the ship being canon.
PB being the only one that sticks directly by Bojack to the very end when theyāre both single, pieces of dialogue between them such as āgood morning, sunshine!ā -PB in season 6 Or āYou beautiful bastard, thatās it!ā -BJ in season 1, Diane stating in season 1 that PB is desperate for Bojackās attention, multiple posts on the official Bojack RP marketing social medias insinuating about PB wanting something with Bojack and.. do I even need to explain this?
Of course, a ship being canon doesnāt automatically make it good, but it does add more wood to the fire so I believe itās worth mentioning.
5- Aesthetically pleasing
Same situation as the validity of a ship, two characters looking good next to each other doesnāt guarantee them working out as a couple(I mean , look at PB and Diane and how that worked out), but it still adds more onto it.
Bojackās withy, washed up, tired look along with his bitter and snarky dialogue with his deep voice compliments Mr. Peanutbutterās more put together and cheerful appearance with his outgoing and friendly personality and speech very nicely.
Plus putting a horse next to a yellow lab is simply just something that I wasnāt able to find anywhere else, which makes them even more interesting and unique!
6- Similar quirks and character traits
Constantly making pop culture references, showing affection through grand gestures, coping through joking about their situation, being suckers for fluffy and hopeful family shows and probably some more that I canāt think of atm.
7- Alternative versions of the ship
Philbert x Gritz is an opportunity that people need to explore more, not even to mention The Horse x Mr peanutbutterās house PB, we need to invest in them ASAP. 90s Bobutter as well, we need the toxic internalized homophobia yaoi NOOOWWWWW
8- Possibilities of AUs and fanfiction material
Post-canon Bobutter is the perfect set up for fanfiction, having them living together with Mr. Peanutbutter at the top with the success of Birthday Dad and Bojack crashing at his house rent free desperately trying to keep a steady job while also working through the torment of his past actions and the torment of being in love with the silly dog is just fantastic potential.
stuff like āGood morning, sunshineā by Lapinpuff Or āTOO SWEETā by drinking_cyanide is insanely good, trust me(both of these are in ao3 btw)
Other versions of it such as 90s Bobutter is really good as well, go look for yourselves lads!!
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