by ohthewhomanity

Let me start by saying that, yes, Equius Zahhak is an abso100te classist jerk. Karkat introduces him to the comic with the well-deserved title of “THE ONLY GUY ON THE PLANET WHO’S A BIGGER ASSHOLE THAN ME.” He bosses around each and every one of his friends, insisting that they change to fit his worldview, whether he perceives them as “lower” or “higher” than he–on more occasions than I have the time to find and link to. He forces Aradia into a relationship that she didn’t want and, after their deaths, continues to pursue her robotic doubles, hoping that she will find it “depraved”. Also he sweats a lot.

And yet he is not wholly irredeemable. I like him. And not just because he’s the second half of my all-time favorite pairing.

Despite his hardwired belief in the Alternian social structure–a belief that would eventually get him killed–Equius is not above making “exceptions” to his rules. He fell for Aradia, a rustblood, because of her “mannerisms”, her behavior and personality trumping his disgust for her blood color (though he did attempt to turn her into a b100b100d via robotics, since he believed it was “the class [she was] always meant for”). Although he was initially reluctant to have “a tactical midget with a short fuse, a foul mouth, and paralyzing insecurity over the color of his b100d” in charge of the trolls’ game, Equius eventually ceded leadership to Karkat based on merit. After the game, Equius helped Kanaya give Tavros new legs. There was no clear benefit for Equius that would motivate him to “allow philanthropy to override misanthrobopy.” No one ordered him to. It’s possible that his character growth led him towards generosity.

Yes, character growth. Equius is not a static character, due to his relationship with Nepeta. From the beginning, he genuinely cared about her and strove to protect her, seeing it as his duty as her moirail, but he was emotionally distant. Over the course of their mostly unseen adventures on LOLCAT, Equius grew from someone who only played “e%tremely important games with very high stakes” to a guy willing to express his feelings through a fun roleplay.

I could go on about Equius’s relationship with Nepeta, but, you know, I already have. So instead I will leave you with a surprising fact: despite his height on the hemospectrum, and even though he has “so much rage, it can only be expressed through STAGGERING QUANTITIES OF PHYSICAL VIOLENCE,” Equius is incredibly nonviolent. He has hurt another troll only once in canon, when he made Vriska slap herself in the face in retaliation for her insulting him and trying to read his mind. He would be completely justified in the Alternian social system if he were to take out his rage on his fellow trolls, but he doesn’t. Instead, he vents his fury in a way that only hurts himself: robot fighting. That’s a surprisingly self-aware and mature thing for the biggest asshole on the planet to choose to do.