i keep turning aromantic misroch over in my mind. i want it to work but i don't feel it's really supported by the text. like, sure, you can say "misroch would be fine if they were asmo's primary sexual partner and had less insecurity, they don't actually want romance or monogamy" but that really requires you to reinterpret SO much of their behavior as just internalized amatonormativity that would dissolve if they were simply more comfortable, secure, whatever. and that feels disingenuous, not least because i don't think demons have amatonormativity lmao. part of bvm's demonic culture is that it's loudly supportive of everything sinful, and disgusted by things considered morally good. which leads me to read misroch's desire for romance and exclusivity as traits that would be punished in demons. traits that might get you ostracized or discriminated against, perhaps, because they're not sinful.
idk. like i said. i really want aromantic misroch to work. mostly because i'm aro and despise romance. but there's definitely an interesting story to tell with allo misroch and aromantic asmoraius (a reading that would be almost explicitly canon if not for his exchange with trent in the finale, and imo that can be explained in a variety of ways without invalidating the aro interpretation)
ooooooooooo OR an aromantic TRENT
now that would be interesting. trent is new, he doesn't necessarily know how to categorize his feelings, and he has absolutely been fed the heavenly amatonormativity--so yes, it makes total sense that he might default to interpreting his feelings as romantic, especially if this is his first time on earth and his first time experiencing any emotions outside of the ultimate love of heaven.
this makes misroch's jealousy hilariously one-sided, and makes me think that asmo's line about love is entirely due to trent's influence, and gives us an opportunity to write trent being like. wait. what the fuck even is love anyway because all i really want to do is chill with you getting groceries and stuff. i dont even necessarily want sex out of it i just like being your friend.
and then asmoraius responding to that with. well. first, the quiet devastation he gets when someone points out he has value outside of his sexuality. and then with an unexpected relief because he didn't know what to do with the prospect of real romance at all--playing romance with humans is one thing, but with a fellow immortal, well, then it would stop being a game and he'd have to admit that he doesn't like it when it's real.
WHICH BTW is part of why misroch is so fucking upset by asmo's fling with trent, because misroch HATES to see it treated like a game. like
you want this so deeply, and you had it, briefly, until it was revealed to be an act that the other person was doing for fun and to make you happy. so you're devastated because you thought it was real but in fact it had turned into something that hurt him, so you break up but manage to be friends still... and then, years later, you have to watch him do it again with someone else? the same act, the same game, so FUN and joyful and lighthearted for him, but ONLY because it's not real!
because the moment it becomes real (the thing you want so much it makes you sick to think about) it becomes a specialized torment nexus for him. which can only mean that there is something wrong with you, in particular, that there is something about who you are inherently that causes him to suffer. is that fucked up or what? hi i'm rod serling,
