fr
made an attempt to draw with a mouse like i had been doing for seven years before i got my tablet and it IS IMPOSSIBLE i really tried very hard
how did i manage to draw anything at all i'm in shock
i have some thoughts about what would happen if bojack and mr peanutbutter got together before the start of the show. @fandomfreakstudios have a wonderful post on this topic and i like their au very much. i just want to speculate on this from a slightly different angle.
i agree with freak's vision in many ways, but thinking about it, i've always found their relationship in such a scenario to be more messy and extremely ambiguous. ambiguous in terms of the fact that they themselves do not know who they are to each other… okay i'll try to explain
they meet for the first time at some event: an award ceremony, a party, whatever. then they see each other again, again, again, and in the end bojack reluctantly gets closer to pb - out of boredom, maybe - they drink together, chat about everything, discuss acting and so on. gradually they grow closer, their relationship becomes more trusting and intimate.
and before they knew it, they suddenly started spending nights at each other's places; mr peanutbutter recently divorced katrina, and he doesn't want to feel lonely, so all his attention is now focused on bojack. he became attached like a faithful dog (literally) and it will be almost impossible for him to let this man go, no matter what a jerk he actually is.
and bojack, who completely destroyed his previous relationship with herb, sees this. he doesn't reject pb when he becomes more intrusive for two reasons: firstly, he is afraid to ruin everything again, to lose a loved one, and therefore he tries to play a good friend; secondly, he likes this attention. he craves it. he longs to be wanted, to be admired, to be needed no matter what.
so, yes, their relationship is growing, and so is codependency. bojack tries to be kind, fair, supportive, but when he discovers how difficult it is - and most importantly, when he sees that his efforts don't matter, because pb won't leave him anyway - he stops. and, when there is not only an agent who will get you out of any trouble, but also a close person who is ready to love you no matter what disgusting things you do, and justify your behavior in any way, you stop not only growing, you become much worse than you were already.
nevertheless, he still has bright sides, some kind of concept of morality, and he is literally eaten up by guilt for what he is doing with their relationship. he, from time to time, makes some attempts to fix it - with well-known grand gestures - but it doesn't last long. then he gets tired again, realizes that everything he does is pointless, and turns to alcohol, drugs - everything, just to calm the pain and guilt consuming him from the inside.
mr peanutbutter also tries hard at first. he genuinely believes that if he makes enough effort, their relationship will be as happy and trouble-free as it was in his family, as it was on his native peninsula. he keeps ignoring all the red flags until everything turns into a real disaster. he still doesn't want to leave bojack because a) he is afraid to be alone, b) he is attached to him, he actually likes him very much; c) he feels sorry for boj.
we have seen how mr peanutbutter can behave in a relationship if he is really displeased or upset about something. eventually even his patience comes to an end, and maybe he makes the first attempt to leave, but quickly returns - either on his own initiative, or because of bojack's conviction that he will change. then everything repeats again.
this time, pb stops ignoring the bad attitude and goes on the offensive - he responds to manipulation with manipulation, to neglect with neglect etc. as a result, he becomes little better than his partner. they start quarreling constantly, it exhausts both of them. but that's all they have left when they just can't let each other go.
if we draw analogies, then this is something between bodiane, pb/diane and bojack/pc relationships, but i hope you understand the course of my thoughts.
bojack's career is still a failure, but at the same time pb's one is much less successful than in the original, obviously because of his personal life. well, now he has much more time to, for example, fight with his life partner again and eventually drive off to the other side of the united states together. for some unknown reason. they're sick to death of each other and yet still codependent. well. you know how it is
i could write more, but it seems like i've got a cold and i also want to sleep (whimpering whimpering) and the post already came out kinda long. so yeah. but maybe i'll talk about it later again
oh and i almost forgot
okay i want to put my two cents in that whole children thing too
tbh i've never thought about the idea of them having children, together or separately, but! if (could it be considered the 293948th au? probably not) hollyhock forgave bojack after the end of the show, and they somehow patched things up with each other... that would be... cool. i just feel sorry for this old dummy, and his interactions with her were not very successful but strangely sweet... and, in fact, if he still had a more or less close relationship with not only a member of his family, but also with another horse, it would be a great growth for the character i think.
bojack would be extremely awkward with her then. he would choose every word he says and try as hard as he could not to disappoint hollyhock again. he would also be very happy every time she texted/called or even visited them, but still remain kinda low-key due to his self-doubt?
pb would be completely comfortable! oh it's bojack's sister! she's sweet! so they wouldn't have any problems. he'd most likely even act as some kind of intermediary between them.
they'd also try soooo hard to stay on the same wavelength with her. because of the age difference it would be a liiittle difficult! pb sends hollyhock funny "meme-style pictures" every time he sees them (stoned fox or pepe the frog at best) and hollyhock responds with a simple "lol" or "haha" quietly cringing. bojack realizes that this is not what makes modern youth laugh and grumbles every time but pb doesn't listen to him.
from time to time hollyhock would also recommend them some games or recently released cartoons/tv series and they would actually play/watch them! just imagine how these two go through undertale together for example... pb openly sobs over the ending while bojack sits with a stony face trying to hold back tears. or she would recommend her favorite bands/singers and it would be mitski or will wood (?!?!)
anyway, i love this cliched concept with parents who have that "how do you do fellow kids" vibe and their cringing child, which is so often used in sitcoms. it brings me happiness and heals my soul
How is PB like when Hollyhock comes into the picture in your AU?
i don't quite understand what au you're talking about. if you mean old married couple, then we discussed it in another post. i think that when everything goes back to normal, he would simply adore her. and he would definitely be terribly happy every time she visited them. he seems to be a girl dad, but at the same time he doesn't want to take on too much responsibility in the form of, you know, his own child, so sister-in-law is an ideal option for him