Q: Is Azul actually very strong

“Who said anything about Azul bein’ weak without his magic? He’s real strong. He’s slow on land and in water, and he’s got lousy athletic reflexes, but that doesn’t mean he’s weak.”

“Azul’s bigger than me in the water, and he’s got eight huge, heavy limbs. His submission holds are bad news, and he’s got crazy grip strength. If he so much as snags you, he can snare you with your arms pinned.

Octopi are, like, all muscle. Seems to me like that wouldn’t go poof just ’cause he took a potion to turn himself human.

I’m just spitballin’ here, obviously. But all I’m saying is that writing Azul off is a bad idea.”

All of the above dialogue is 100% accurate to the original game, but while Floyd’s “I’m just spitballin’ here” line might make it seems like he is just guessing and doesn’t actually know, his original line is closer to, “I don’t know all the details,” making it sound more like he knows this information is fact, he just cannot explain the physiology.

But Floyd’s information is a little vague: he says Azul has “crazy grip strength” and his “submission holds are bad news,” but that is the same line where he talks about Azul in his merform–so is he talking about mer-Azul or human-Azul? Or is he not making a distinction because there isn’t one?

Can Azul snare people and pin them down on land, or was Floyd half-relating an anecdote from when they lived underwater?

But then came Book 6 and a line from Azul himself saying that his “arms are quite powerful,” unlike Riddle’s.

This seems to confirm that Azul is physically stronger than most people, but then there was the thunder spear:

Riddle asks for help lifting it and Azul struggles under its weight, despite how this would have been the ideal opportunity to illustrate how physically capable Azul really is.

But maybe the thunder spears are a tall order for anyone to lift? They’re weapons from the age of the gods; maybe they just weren’t designed for humans, or creatures in human form, to lift on their own?

Except:

But the rules of the thunder spears are unclear: after it goes into energy-saving mode Riddle says, “I should be able to handle it now on my own,” insinuating that when they are not in attack-mode they are easier to wield.

Azul carries it at first but, due to his infamously poor stamina, he does eventually give it up to Riddle.

When Azul comments on how easy Riddle makes carrying the spear look Riddle explains, “I spend most of my time learning magic. I have ever since I was born,” insinuating that he is using a form of magic (perhaps levitation) to carry it and maybe does not have it physically in his arms at all: Vil explains that the spears are difficult to control in attack-mode due to the amount of energy they give off.

We know that Leona is extremely powerful (re: Leona’s Power). Is Leona both physically stronger than an octopus mermaid and magically stronger than Azul, or is Azul physically stronger than Leona, but his magic wasn’t enough for the spear?

And then there is the fact that Azul is, magically, extremely strong:

Jade comments that Azul’s unique magic is too strong for even him to control (which is why he designed the golden contracts–to artificially rein himself in). Does that apply to all of Azul’s magic, or is it just his UM?

Someone with the muscle of an octopus and a magic too strong to be wielded by its own user seems like they should be able to control a thunder spear on their own.

But Leona might just be that strong, because we do have in-game examples of Azul’s impressive physical strength, with Azul holding his own against a reporter when they threaten to bother Vil during Tapis Rouge, to the reporter’s surprise:

“Outta my way, pipsqueak! …Wh-whoa, you’re stronger than I thought! You’re holdin’ back me and the barrier both!”

In a vignette we have Azul volunteering to carry a load of wood for Kalim where he pretends to be struggling under the weight in order to leave a lasting impression of his efforts, but as we cannot tell how much wood there is that he is hauling it can be difficult to tell how heavy it truly is–but then there is Vargas.

At Trey’s request, Jade and Azul are assigned the task of evacuating a bound Grim and Vargas from the mine.

Jade takes Grim and runs away, leaving Azul behind alone with the prefect to handle Vargas. Did he know that Azul would not struggle to carry him?

Azul does ask for the prefect’s help, but only because he is worried about bumping Vargas’ head against the rocks: he does not say anything about struggling with the weight.

So it does seem very much as though Floyd was correct, and Azul is, canonically, stronger than he may appear.