Quite obviously, Bill is affected by toxic masculinity in all the most negative ways possible. He is radical in his views and uses this to create a farce that is far more aggressive and cruel than is needed so that he can keep others away from the fragile core underneath his bravado.
Because his ego is but is quite obviously part of this defense he has created, it’s not hard to actually get under his skin. His ego is all self inflated, but is in actually easy to crush via rejection.
He cannot handle rejection nor being abandoned, as he shows with his final show of aggression towards his own club mates before the fire.
This most likely stems from his own father leaving him when he was quite a bit younger and his mother taking to the bottle.
Even more so, a lot of his acting out (i.e. stealing, treating his siblings and friends cruelly, etc.) could be in a sense not only a cry for help but a direct result of his life lacking stability.
That’s why Bill needs to always win whether it’s an argument, with percentile dice rolls, hell even in getting ahead in life if he could. He needs control, the one thing that was constantly stripped from him as a kid, but he doesn’t know how to truly grasp it besides by forcing it or creating it in a fantasy.
He’s not above cheating because of how desperate he is to finally have what he needs, even if it clearly puts a rift in his relationships.
With his clear need to be in charge, to be admired, to be seen as something for his knowledge, his possessions, etc. he clearly is even more desperate for some kind of positive attention. The type of attention he doesn’t receive at home nor at school.
However, Bill can only self sabotage. Most likely because deep down he still is a scared child in a way that he can never admit. That and he likely has an avoidant attachment style and possibly a B-Cluster type of illness like BPD or NPD (were I to have to attempt to diagnose with my meager associates in psychology, haha).
Even if Dorkin himself doesn’t believe Bill can change, I do believe that were he to receive a lot of help (which he would never do himself) and were someone able to stick around and give him the positive reinforcement he needs to do better he could feasibly improve.
It’s just more likely to happen in a fantasy than in real life, which is akin to most things pertaining to a future in which Bill could genuinely do well for himself and be happy.
Josh
There’s a lot to unpack like with Bill in Josh’s case and given that I have the space to I would love to point out how these two at times do come across as too similar and much too different.
Both have a strained relationship with their mothers, but while in Bill’s case this is due to her lack of care and general disdain for her own son it’s entirely the opposite for Josh.
His mother is far too involved. Not in his interests but in the overbearing sense.
Everything he does is an invitation to be told how he’s still just a kid and doesn’t know what he’s doing, how his actions make his mother feel over how it makes him feel, and most definitely how every little thing affects her health.
The guilt tripping and criticizing and nit picking is enough to drive someone like Josh with already low self esteem to grow rather bitter, which the bullying at school most certainly did not help any.
His views on women and masculinity are not near as extreme as Bill, but he is definitely affected by similar aspects as he has his own issues with women.
More than anything Josh can’t handle feeling rejected like Bill but especially if it’s akin in any way to reminding him of his mother.
He had to grow up juggling her emotions and his own, resulting in his own obvious hypersensitivity and issues with taking most things as an attack.
Even good natured ribbing quickly turns to Josh internalizing it and often acting in extreme measures in return due to his own perceived feeling of being rejected.
This most likely isn’t helped by him being autistic like implied by Dorkin himself as he probably genuinely struggles with rejection sensitivity that he tries and often fails to cover up under his own veil of misguided toxic masculinity.
It’s whereas Bill tries to wield his own cruelness as a sword, Josh wears it as a shield.
The biggest issue though is that Josh, like Bill will most likely never lay the shield at his feet and allow himself to be vulnerable, keeping him in the same boat as Bill and Pete further down life. He’s without bonds and without reason, feeling that same emptiness and dissatisfaction with life as Bill.
Pete
Dearest Pete is a long list, much akin to Bill. He clearly shows signs of going through abuse that is physical and mental in nature, his hypersexuality being a direct result of said abuse.
His family aren’t the type to talk about their feelings or their problems and as another unfortunate victim of a poor home life and social standing Pete uses the oh so popular weapon in this club, toxic masculinity and aggression to cover it all up.
With more of a negative relationship with his dad, Pete’s view on women mostly seems to be influenced by his involvement with the toxic mentality itself but also by the scene he gets into when left to his own devices after the club’s eventual split.
Pete needs a place to belong and whether he likes it or not he, like everyone who isn’t Bill is more of a follower than a leader. Even if he is hellbent on carving out a space for himself to fit into, even if it kills him, he does not need to be admired in the way that Bill does.
He needs people, he needs attachment and if the only means is being violent or lewd and crude than so be it he’ll do it. Even with his initial awkwardness and avoidance with opening up to anyone, he genuinely needs attachments to people in ways that Bill and Josh do not.
Maybe it’s because of growing up in a large household or maybe it’s because his interests didn’t fit as neatly with the rest in the club. In a sense, Pete has always been the nail that stood up and he’s hell-bent on never being hammered down.
Either way, in an ironic means the very thing that Pete desires he pushes away with his callousness and inability to truly open up, leaving him just as alone as both Bill and Josh.
That’s why the most connection Pete gets is in the physical sense. Whether it’s fists blow to blow or taking advantage of women in the industry down the line Pete is without the one thing he would actually benefit from.
Connection. Real bonds. The kind that surpass blood and time alike. Even if he is surrounded by more people than Bill and Josh, he is just as alone.
Jerry
The most mentally sound arguably. It’s hard not to be when the comparison is 3 other alienated cases that make for the perfect breeding grounds of insecurity and self-loathing.
Speaking of, as much as Jerry took his own dip in the pool of toxic masculinity and insecurity thanks to being constantly in the company of his friends and bad influences amongst fandom, Jerry isn’t nearly as effected as the others were by such things.
Whether it be through vagary of the arcane or just that he is too autistic to not question the parts of the mentality that don’t make sense, Jerry is able to escape these damning afflictions once he is out of the club.
Of course he still has his own problems thanks to his time in the trenches such as his always low self-esteem and poor ability to stand up for himself or set boundaries however, with therapy he’s able to improve significantly.
He’ll always be the more anxious quiet type of guy inside, but with Jerry’s genuine love for the things he enjoys and the ability to still hold onto whimsy he’s the most flexible out of the group.
He is able to improve because he is not set in his ways and unwilling to change. He is not afraid to question the things that make no sense even if it goes unvoiced around his peers.
However, it takes significant time thanks to his spinelessness for any changes to occur and were it not for the eventual breakup of the club it’s unclear if he’d ever possess the bravery to venture off on his own without an outside influence of some sort.
What Jerry lacks more than anything is the ability to go off on his own. He needs people especially, and with his parents seeming to often not be around for him, it makes sense why.
His only company being the club, only indoctrinated him into a cesspit of toxic views and avoidance of establishing bonds that wouldn’t erode away with a slight shift in the wind direction. He’s desperate to hold onto them nonetheless though, because he sees them as all he has. Even unknowingly allowing Bill and the others to cut off his chances to establish possible bonds with others such as with Agnes.
Afterword:
I enjoy the flow in my writing not being disrupted by incessant lists, but regardless I wanted to create this post as a means to display how I view each of the boys for anyone who may wish to send requests to us. I don’t mind writing anything so even if it’s a different interpretation, and I’m given specifications (or to amend personalities if needed for specific AUs). However, these are things I view the boys having and may include sprinkles of in my writing. If it is something you dislike, you have the perfect list to review below for a more concise way to decide if you’d enjoy my future writing pieces on the blog before I even post them. Convenient, isn’t it?
Bill:
OCD, NPD, History of Trauma (could be PTSD, but it doesn’t seem severe enough to me so shrug), and ODD
Josh:
Cripplingly low self-esteem, OCD, Autism (undiagnosed though most likely), Social anxiety, Severe rejection sensitivity
Pete:
Bipolar, Hypersexuality as result of trauma, History of Trauma (leaning more towards PTSD with this one), ADHD (yes I know Dorkin said Josh and Jerry were the neurodivergent ones, but Pete feels like he gets the anger spiral to me, so I dunno man)
Jerry:
Autism, Social anxiety, General anxiety, Low self-esteem, and Rejection sensitivity
Got the idea of jer acting dissapointed that the guys lost but secretly enjoying his victories on D&D,, kinda out of character but still had to draw it ❞ also,, second post °.°¡¡!
eltingville sleepover hc: Bill is the mf that absolutely will not allow anyone else to sleep in his bed. All sleepovers start in the basement and then if his back hurts sleeping on the floor, he'll just get up and go to his room. Jerry's parents don't let him bring the others around. Pete's house is just.. not good. Josh is the only other candidate for hosting. They will never call it a sleepover either. Pete is the last person to leave. You will assume everyone has gone home and then find him in the kitchen eating a bag of your shredded cheese from costco like he owns the place.
Bill getting his head on the WC and comics ripped or sum,, inspired by evan saying how they could have included bullies if the series had been greenlit ❞
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