#but isn't the viewer supposed to feel clever and amused because they CAN understand what Donald says while other characters are confused?

[darylxjesus]

What do you think about other points that have been made about d/sus? "Paul's personality is erased to fit the ship". (I have noticed sometimes it is erased in order to fit a heteronormative mindset that needs to establish a "woman" and a "man". Nothing wrong with femininity but Paul isn't feminine.) "It is a ship about worshipping Daryl". (I have seen the majority of the talk revolve around Paul making Daryl feel good. Daryl making Paul feel good isn't discussed as much for whatever reason.)

While I completely understand the concerns here, I don’t think the ship is guilty of doing either of these things—at least not consciously or in a coordinated effort. I’m sure there could be a few outliers who have done so in the past, but as a whole I haven’t seen anyone blatantly disregarding Paul’s personality or his perspective in the relationship. I do understand why it may seem that way, though. This is simply because a) Paul hasn’t had that much screentime and b) we know Daryl far more intimately than we do Paul.

More under the cut:

It’s hard to say Paul’s personality has been erased when it’s still being presented to the audience. Not all viewers have read the comics or know Paul’s character traits from them, so many fans—if not most—have been speculating and extrapolating using personal headcanons based on his characterization in the show thus far. We’ve learned more about him this season, but for a while fans only had a few moments in the back-half of season 6 to work from. In 610, Jesus was introduced as mischievous, clever, charming, elusive, and physically dangerous. In 611, we start seeing his diplomatic skills and kindness. Those traits are expanded upon briefly in subsequent episodes (Jesus risking his life at the outpost and talking to Tara in the car with Father Gabriel comes to mind), but it’s not until 705 that we see Paul’s altruism and good heart more deeply. We also learn he’s a bit of a loner who doesn’t stay at Hilltop for long periods of time, that he’s just trying to help and doesn’t like being a leader, and that he’s seriously skilled in martial arts. All of this added another layer to his character. 

Unlike Daryl, however, we do not know anything about Jesus’ past or who he was before the turn and we haven’t seen his character develop extensively. We’ve never learned about his past in the comics either, so a lot about Paul is a big question mark in general. I don’t think anyone is ignoring what we do know, though; most fans I’ve seen have characterized him as a genuinely kind-hearted, intelligent person with fucking badass ninja skills and a puckish, witty sense of humor…who also happens to be gay.

As far as Paul being presented as ‘feminine’—I don’t think that’s a fair assessment. One can certainly argue that certain skills or personality traits are coded as ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine,’ but that’s more of a larger social issue, not a Walking Dead one. Badass fighting skills are not reserved to men, although those characteristics are certainly stereotyped as masculine. Affection and gentleness are often considered ‘feminine’ attributes, but those qualities are not exclusive to women. Paul is an interesting character because he has a combination of traits that could fall in both ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ coded territories. That doesn’t mean he’s any less or more of a “man” than other male characters. It’s just who he is. 

Now, if the “femininity” argument stems from Tom’s physicality, I can see why some fans may have projected more ‘feminine’ personality stereotypes onto Paul over Daryl since he’s the shorter, smaller, “pretty one.” I personally have not seen this being done so I cannot attest to that, but just because we depict Jesus physically as he is—smaller, shorter, long hair, big eyes—doesn’t mean we’re feminizing him. That also implies that to be truly ‘masculine’ one cannot have those attributes. Tom is beautiful (inside and out), don’t get me wrong, but his appearance doesn’t change how badass Jesus is or how quote-unquote ‘masculine’ he’s supposed to be. I think it’s refreshing that Jesus isn’t the tallest, biggest guy on earth, but he’s still capable and deadly. At the end of the day, I think the issue stems from how we as viewers and as individuals assess masculinity and femininity in general. As you said, there’s nothing wrong with being feminine. There’s nothing wrong with being masculine either. But the definition of both of those terms sits on a spectrum for many, and it’s unfortunate that certain traits are deemed ‘manly’ or ‘womanly’ even when there’s no need to assign a gender to them. So if you mean Jesus isn’t ‘feminine’ because he’s a physical badass then I don’t know if I agree with you. Tell that to Michonne or to Maggie. He’s just a badass. No need to add gender stereotypes to that. He is who he is, nothing more or less. 

Similarly, I think the reason why some discussion has focused on why Jesus would be good for Daryl and not vice versa is because we simply know Daryl far better than we know Jesus. As viewers, we can confidently maintain what would be good for Daryl to heal, grow, and be happy because we heard about his past, because we’ve seen him suffer countless times, because we’ve experienced his character develop over seasons. Yet, despite this, I have seen many fans talk about why Daryl would be good for Jesus based on what we know so far. Here are some:

As noted earlier, Jesus is a loner. Before Maggie, Sasha, and the rest of TF, he didn’t have anyone he could consider his family. Daryl also struggled with finding his place and is still a loner in many respects even though he’s found many individuals who love him. They seem to be similar in their independence, and that shared experience may make Daryl someone Paul can identify with on a deeper, more personal level than others.

In addition to his lack of close relationships, Jesus doesn’t seem to have a net of people watching his back and caring for him—both physically and mentally. He’s the one out risking his life to find supplies, make deals, and keep the community safe, yet he rarely (at least in what we’ve seen) receives that care in return. Even though Daryl can be rough around the edges, we know he’s a good person and would risk his life and more to protect the people he loves. Daryl would be a selfless partner and would do anything to keep Paul safe and loved.

While a bit emotionally stunted, Daryl has a tender heart and is immensely loyal. If they were to be romantically involved, Daryl would love Paul forever, unequivocally and unconditionally, no questions asked.

Even some of Daryl’s less admirable personality traits seem to have intrigued Paul. In 610 Paul responds to Daryl’s standoffishness and hostility with curious eye lingers, banter, and amused chuckles. If we take Tom’s word to be true, Paul was awake in the car and enjoyed falling on Daryl. That could be interpreted as potential attraction and/or that he liked toying with him, but either way I think Paul just likes Daryl—redneck gruffness and all. 

Those are just a few. Overall, Daryl is the type of person that could both support and love Paul for who he is—not just his Jesus persona—and also push him out of his comfort zone to grow and develop. In my opinion, the reason why Desus has the potential to work well is that both their similarities and their differences seem to complement one another. I truly think both parties have the personality traits and experiences that would make the other one feel happy, loved, safe, and healthy.