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i was surprised that when i sought out the mr. robot fandom that the majority of content turned out to be focused on tyrelliot. this was not because it doesn't make sense to ship them (tyrell's blatant homoerotic love for elliot is, arguably, canon). i was more taken aback by the standard characterization of the relationship-- often explicit, overtly and affirmatively romantic. it is hard to shake the feeling that to portray the two of them in such a way is a distortion of elliot's character-- or at least of the source material as presented. the reason is not that i don't appreciate the appeal, but simply that it seems very obvious to me that elliot * is asexual-coded.

*we will be referring to MM as elliot to keep things simple here

for the sake of this post we do not need to get into the sticky area of justifying asexuality with abuse or mental illness. i also want to stress that i recognize elliot is portrayed as engaging in sexual/romantic relationships with other people, and that i do not think it defines whether or not he is on the asexual spectrum. however, i do believe that in most-to-all cases this behavior is driven by compulsive heterosexuality rather than genuine internal attraction.

the most obvious example of this (and i hate to bring it up) is when elliot forgets who darlene is. he recognizes the cues that the two of them are close (her showing up at his apartment, using his shower, telling him she loves him) and, when what appears to be the right moment presents itself, he goes in for the kiss. obviously the moment she freaks out and he remembers that the connection is actually due to a familial relation, he is horrified. to elliot, romance is a script. he lacks the innate drive of attraction, and so reacts rather than acts. his fantasies and relationships as such tend to be whatever is expected of him.

let's take angela for example. the two of them share an intimate connection, this much is clear. having grown up together, supported each other through some of the hardest times in their life, and stayed close enough to still see each other regularly as adults is significant. society (lol) would certainly suggest that any male-female childhood best friendship that has persevered through adulthood will, inevitably, end up together. as much as elliot loathes the constaints of society, he is demonstrably not immune to its messaging. marrying angela is a fantasy he falls into because it is what would be expected of him. the desire feels innocent, well-meaning, but not entirely sincere or passionate. the single kiss that they share is emotional, but chaste, born of temporarily heightened emotion. it does not indicate a greater romantic love to me so much as a validation of their existing emotional intimacy.

shayla is the closest thing to a classic relationship that elliot experiences. his care for her is obvious; it is believable to me that he does enjoy being with her. and yes, he engages in sex with shayla early on in the series. still, it is notable that the only time we see the two of them in bed together is under the influence of ecstasy, and that elliot seems to believe it was a poor choice. he asks her to be his girlfriend out of a sense of social obligation, and out of desire to be able to attend gideon's dinner with a sense of normalcy. the relationship is sweet and earnest but in general elliot seems more interested in her company and her wellbeing than he is concerned about physical attraction.

this brings me back to tyrell. elliot does not offer him much encouragement. i think there is an absolute case to be made for tyrobot! the entire substance of tyrelliot seems, to me, a result of genuine chemistry between Mr. Robot and tyrell. i think one can even infer that the two of them may well have had some kind of relationship. elliot, on the other hand, consistently fails to display any signs of attraction to tyrell. at most, he is very concerned with him (particularly when he suspects that he has been killed). he views tyrell as useful, but rarely gives him much emotional consideration. i think there is room for elliot to be queer; i could imagine a read on elliot suggesting that trauma and/or the same compulsive heterosexuality i posit is in play shielding him from attractiom to men. but it would be disingenuous for me to say that i think it is that simple.

elliot alderson is complicated. to the outside observer i think it is easier (and more gratifying) to simplify his reticence to sexuality as some kind of tsundere syndrome and disregard the evidence of probable asexuality. it certainly isn't abnormal in mlm shipping circles. however, it feels remiss to ignore what ultimately is refreshingly realistic representation. i'd like to see this concept understood and portrayed in a more nuanced way in this fandom. frankly, it doesn't even mean that sexual content is categorically out of character. i just think the tone of characterization could be more true.