#i'd like to clarify that last point. estraven is pretty neurotypical by the standards of karhide (and gethen more broadly)

[ihavedonenothingright]

If I had a nickel for every character in a book I've read who:

speaks bluntly

is exiled from home

wards off sexual advances with violence

becomes an enemy of the state

believes they're unworthy of love

is kind of a daoist

has at least one somewhat problematic romantic relationship

keeps trying to help this dude who hates them

occasionally wants to stab said dude (violent)

occasionally wants to stab said dude (sexual)

is constantly surrounded by eerie and symbolic foreshadowing

blames themselves for everything

would like to pretend they don't experience emotions

dies in a tragic and (implied to be) suicidal way

and:

would be diagnosed with autism under different circumstances

... I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but is enough to make me examine my preferences in fiction.