#it can be an interesting lens to write his character through. but it is definitely not his whole character either

[doctor-hopper]

I’m not 100% attached to the idea of autistic Komaeda, simply because I don’t think it’s necessary for understanding his character when his canonical diagnoses and trauma are much more immediately relevant. However, some autistic people such as myself can find certain parts of him relatable, and so when I’m writing his character I can occasionally draw from that.

In my head, I do generally (but not always) tend to think of him as autistic, but never diagnosed as a kid, and nowadays most psychologists looking at him wouldn’t know or care to prise that apart from his trauma and dementia—but if his parents had chosen to get him tested long ago, the answer would have probably been…yeah, autism.

[time-woods]

these are the works of a mad man- these 2 literally make me feel insane evrytime i draw them- anyways i am now going to share my autism analysis of the 2 of them 

I feel the need to shout this from the rooftops but- Kim is most definitely a low empathy autistic with high emotional understanding/awareness !! Like- he doesn’t pick up on cues but he still can figure out emotional tones of certain situations!!(has a bit of a hard time expressing tone/ emotion through actions and expressions so he typically uses his words instead) And he has no internal dialog!! Along with not being able to picture things in his mind!! (aphantasia) (that part is pretty much cannon he practically says it))  always needs to be doing something with his hands- can’t just have them by his side,(too open, too vulnerable- yes this is the fight or flight in me speaking) is either holding his hands in front of himself or behind his back, or writing in his notebook, along with checking the time on his watch or fiddling with it. Looks down when walking most of the time (esp on a scene) but it’s just become a general habit- forgets he has to make eye contact- typically more invested in writing down whatever he’s realized in his notes to care (he is so me)

 And Harry is the opposite in that department- (how I play his character at least) high empathy autistic- good intentions but can read the mood wrong at times! Very outwardly expressive- Gots a whole narrator in his head I also think he’s got a pretty good imagination. This mf can’t stand still to safe his life on god he’s got to b moving every 5 seconds in order to not catch on fire. also most likely has maladaptive daydreaming? a bit upsetting but god does it work well for his whole character. Mf is constantly stretching- probably has extremely tensed muscles, shoulders n stuff (th stress). This bich would and probably has apologized or cursed out a chair for accidentally bumping into it. Eye contact is a no go- mostly cause he’s looking around the room already moving on to the next thing or just straight up more interested abt the thing behind you to care about maintaining eye contact

(I heart viewing characters through an autistic lens and either projecting or scrutinizing every single one of their mannerisms)

[youcouldmakealife]

Masking, YCMAL edition

So, after the general info on masking, here's how it specifically looks like and impacts some of the 'verse's characters.

I think I kind of need to preface this with the fact that a lot of my characters have neurodivergent traits because, well. I do. I don't know how a neurotypical person thinks, the same way a neurotypical person doesn't know how a neurodivergent person thinks. You can read about the experience, and, despite shitty stereotypes to the contrary, you can empathize with it, but the wiring of the brain is literally different.

So when I'm listing characters here as neurodivergent, I either a) set out to write them that way or b) in hindsight can't deny that their experiences are written through a very specifically neurodivergent lens. Someone not being explicitly labelled as ND doesn't necessarily mean they aren't, I just..really don't want to go back through my entire 'verse applying diagnoses the same way I happily slap an MBTI or enneagram or kindergarten teacher/assassin label on them, because that feels wrong.

But if you're neurodivergent and see something in a particular character that makes you feel seen, I'm not going to tell you 'nah man, they're actually neurotypical'. Especially because literally every single one of them was written by someone neurodivergent.

Anyway! Canonically ND characters and their masks:

David: masks extensively. Generally does his best for 'unobtrusive, pay no attention', unsure why it doesn't seem to work (mostly because he's talented and beautiful, so it seems less 'unobtrusive' and more 'I think I'm better than you', which isn't helped by the fact that often when the mask does slip, it's to show frustration, contempt, or disdain -- think at the All-Star Game his rookie year, or several points early on with Jake. Also does not help that he often does think he's better than people.)

Bryce: Still laughing at 'straightsona' used to describe Bryce out with his teammates, because it's perfect. His 'I don't care, I'm hot as shit, bitches love me' dickhead behaviour was him picking up those behaviours from popular peers and teammates over the years, partly mistaking that for the reason they were popular (rather than being seen as boy kings making them callous or arrogant), and partly viewing them as the exemplar of someone no one would predict was gay. Jared's worst enemy.

Speaking of, honourable mention to Raf Sanchez AND Julius Halla here, Jared's going around collecting neurodivergent loved ones all through IJ(aoe).

James: 'unobtrusive, pay no attention', much more successfully than David, partly because he has a mouthpiece in the form of Finn. His crashing after road trips is partly extended overstimulation and change, but it's also having to wear the mask more extensively, because he has much less time to himself, especially when he shared a room. (He's mostly unmasked with Finn, that's why Finn is his exception to a lot of No People things, but he wasn't at the beginning).

Holden: Also kind of 'I don't care, I'm hot as shit, bitches love me', but...ironically? He doesn't mask as much as the others, and because of that, he frequently drives away people who originally seem to like him and wonders why. Has been described as 'a lot'.

Fiona: Literally will not leave the house without a full face of makeup and a pair of heels or she'll feel exposed and vulnerable, and putting her make up on is how she prepares to be Outside Fiona. She's very perky and friendly at work. The second she gets home it's an 'uggggh' moment and straight into the shower to decompress/literally unmask. She's more aware than any of the guys that she's putting on a performance, partly because she grew up with all those 'girls are expected to be...' followed by a list of things she definitively wasn't. Has also been described as 'a lot'.

Finn: And How May I Be of Service To You Today?

Now this is where it gets kind of interesting because like -- people often have facades. That's not a neurodivergent only thing. People can be fake, or posture, or pretend to be something they're not. Mike, for example, will lean into the big macho asshole when he's put on the defensive, Willy is Always Performing, Thomas is sunshine even when he doesn't really feel like being that, Robbie will play the buffoon to make people laugh if he thinks they need it, half of Joey's rants are playing to the cheap seats.

Like, there's a difference between pretending you're somebody else sometimes, or behaving inauthentically, and full on 'yeah, they're masking'.

But Georgie is masking. Georgie is, at all times, evaluating his surroundings, monitoring people's emotions and reactions (especially to him), and behaving in the manner he thinks is most likely to lead to his being liked. And he was already doing that when Robbie met him, but it's intensified significantly since.

I think that's where the biggest difference lies between some of the above ND characters and Georgie? David, for example, doesn't care if he's liked (like, yes he does, but also...no). The mask is for safety/to minimize vulnerability. David's in particular was tweaked to get praise and avoid criticism from his parents (didn't work), teachers, and coaches (worked much better), not so much for his peers.

But Georgie's isn't for safety. Georgie doesn't manage his behaviour to avoid harm, Georgie wants people to like him. And he's discovered that people don't seem to like him when he does certain things, or acts certain ways, or needs things from them, so he just...doesn't do those things.

Finn's interesting because he has both forms. Please like him it'll break his heart if you don't.

[see-arcane]

Jokes aside Jonathan must have felt so very vulnerable after that night. Getting both scared and horny for the first time in his life aside, now he realized that the Count 1. Has claimed him as his own 2. Has moved from touching/grabbing/pulling him to taking the liberty to undressing him 3. Yet is the least dreadful thing here and the one he can go to seek protection and safety from

Points 1 through 3 have already been picked to death so I won't beat them any further into the ground. But the 'Mark me down as scared and horny!' of it all is something that legit has me going back and forth, so I'll hop on that.

Jonathan does state outright that he finds the Brides attractive, or, specifically, that he wants them to kiss him.

"All three had brilliant white teeth that shone like pearls against the ruby of their voluptuous lips. There was something about them that made me uneasy, some longing and at the same time some deadly fear. I felt in my heart a wicked, burning desire that they would kiss me with those red lips."

The most straightforward read on this and his ensuing ~dreadful anticipation~ is that Jonathan is A) Naturally attracted to the hot vampire ladies and/or B) Having natural attraction being enhanced on a supernatural-hypnosis level. I can see either being in play. But I don't think it's the most interesting--or terrifying--read.

The first thing I want to nitpick here is that this almost definitely is not him feeling lustful for the first time in his life (we'll learn more on that point later in the novel ala his relationship with Mina being A Lot 👀). Jonathan knows what attraction is, emotionally and sexually, from being a staunch Minasexual. Which is a not-quite-exaggerated way of saying I personally see Jonathan skewing more towards the demisexual and biromantic side of the scale. In that lens, he has the potential to be attracted to anyone regardless of gender, but first they have to win his interest/heart before he even starts connecting any sexy dots.

Minor spoilers, but through the whole novel, Jonathan does not refer to Mina with any physical descriptors when he gushes about her. It's always a reference to her character, to her actions, to Mina being Mina. Which I think is interesting when put in context with his fixation on describing Dracula and the Brides' appearances, be that in attracted, repulsed, or frightened terms. Because the vampires are the only ones who get that reaction out of him. And I think the former, the automatic physical attraction, is its own unique red flag to him; though he may not have the language for it. It's not just him being ashamed to feel attraction or to write it down when Mina might see it someday.

It's because that attraction is probably not even his.

He doesn't know these women. All beautiful, certainly. But strangers. They haven't spoken with him, haven't endeared themselves to him, haven't done one (1) single thing to provide an excuse for his highly reserved libido to pay attention. And I doubt he's gone his whole life blind to any pretty people in his vicinity. Hot people have happened to him before and he has not cared because for Jonathan, care has to precede lust.

What the Brides have done is introduce a wholly alien sensation to him--an instant arousal that was injected rather than awoken from some natural place in him. It makes me think of Toxoplasma gondii, that fun little parasite that switches off rodents' natural predator response to cats and makes them docile when the pretty kitty creeps up with their mouth open. And while the Brides' and Dracula's trance effect does get the basic job done of Keeping the Victim Still and Compliant, having the side effect of forcing a bodily reaction on that intimate of a level is a violation in itself.

Though it does have a purpose too. Because the very first thought Jonathan has upon seeing them turns out to be the most dangerous one: He wants them to kiss him.

The One Thing that will see him bled to death, then undeath. Which has its own super fun parallel in things like, say, the fucking Cordyceps fungus that turns ants into zombies forced to aid in their own and others' slavery/destruction.

And while Stoker wasn't in on all the scientific lookalikes in the animal kingdom, I doubt that Jonathan's mesmerized fixation on wanting to be kissed first and foremost, running on in a written stupor about lips and teeth and breath, was an accident.

Just like a mouse holding still as the cat scoops it into their maw.

Just like an ant crawling up to the sun so it can burst with spores and share its half-life demise with its fellows.

Hold still, dear. You want to hold still for us, don't you? Of course you do. Good boy. Here. Have a kiss.

[alexanderwales]

Pitchposting: a wayward mother's litrpg

[cw: child abandonment, bad mothers]

I came up with this idea while trying to describe a non-standard litrpg that wouldn't sell, and it gripped me enough that I've been thinking about it. Now's the time to set that idea free.

Our protagonist is a woman in her thirties or maybe forties. She's divorced with two children, but she left the children with their father. She's got all kinds of issues, and felt trapped in the marriage and her life, and overwhelmed by taking care of the kids what felt like day in and day out. I don't think the age of her children really matters that much, but they need to be old enough to play videogames.

She gets isekaied into the world of a videogame that her children most loved, the one that they had been talking to her about for years, the source of their obsession. She gets a videogame interface.

Let's start with what I find compelling about the premise: the litRPG isekai stuff is being used to examine a relationship between a mother and her child(ren). We can have some power fantasy, as a treat, but mostly we have this very firm and unique lens through which to look at the world, and we have things that we surely must want to confront, revelations about motherhood and about this specific character, whoever she ends up being. In theory, the thing we're moving toward is a synthesis where we have excised the tension.

So, some questions that pop out to me:

How many children does this woman have? I don't know that it matters all that much, but where you have multiple characters who fulfil the same role, it's almost always better to condense them down. The flip side to this is there's maybe less to explore, and I think there's a different tenor to a single child and what we must assume is true of the character.

Does it have to be a woman? Is there not as much meat on the bone if it's a father who left his children? I think that this could also work, certainly, the reason it was initially a mother instead of a father was that I was trying to pick a protagonist that would lose as much RoyalRoad audience as quickly as possible while still being technically in the litRPG genre. (There are obviously different stereotypes about men and women. I kind of think the central idea of "your mom gets isekaied into that game you were obsessed with and she never really understood" probably hits right for more people, but I don't know.)

What kind of game? Alright, yeah, fair. The main point of the idea is that it's a game the mother is only passingly familiar with. Maybe she went so far as to throw a themed birthday party at one point, but she does not understand it, and maybe over the course of the story, gradually comes to understand (though really, understanding her child(ren) through the game is the main point). I'm thinking some kind of JRPG. Definitely better if it's a game with a story.

Should this game be real? Another interesting question! If the game is a real game, say FF7, then we can assume that the reader knows things, and there can be dramatic irony. If we invent a game, then we have a lot more control over what the game is, and can stay in the mother character's head better as we're in mutual ignorance.

Okay, I think those are all the most salient questions, time to stop workshopping this. I have more ideas than I have time to write novels. Thanks @thewadapan for the idea of pitchposting.

[totallyboatless]

Okay i guess i write wrestling storyline meta now lol

So something that i’ve been thinking about a lot since the Swerve/Bryan match is how I feel like I’ve been missing a core undercurrent to Swerve’s motivations around threatening his opponents’ families

Like don’t get me wrong, it very much *is* an intimidation tactic and a way to taunt his opponents into acting rashly so he can get the upper hand, but i think it’s more than that

i keep thinking about that moment when Swerve addresses Bryan’s kids directly, and I can’t remember exactly what he says but it’s along the lines of “i don’t want to have to do this.” He’s yelling, but I don’t think he’s trying to scare the kids—like they’re definitely scared, but that’s not his goal. And in that moment Bryan is on the ground, he’s not Swerve’s audience.

I might be projecting my own daddy issues here, but here’s what I’m getting at:

Swerve identifies with the kids, and thinks he’s teaching them an invaluable lesson by beating the shit out of their dads and proving their “protector” is too weak to do what he’s promised, and that it’s better to learn that fact young and start toughening up early and get over the pain of realizing you can never trust anyone—especially people who say they’ll keep you safe.

Through this lens, Swerve’s whole worldview is built around proving to himself that no “protector” figure is honest, and that no one can rely on another person to keep them safe—and it’s way too much for him to confront the pain of realizing that his truth isn’t a universal truth, and in another life it could have been different.

With that interpretation, there isn’t anything that could fuck up Swerve’s head more than seeing Bryan standing up again and again after being knocked down, covered in blood and yelling “i love you” over and over at his family

I think this is what breaks Swerve and makes him tap out for the first time in AEW, more than the physical pain.

Again, there’s undoubtedly a lot of projection here lol but one of my favorite things about wrestling is how open to interpretation every character motivation is by nature of the trade, and how many layers of story there are to chew on if you read between the lines. I’m interested to know if other fans are reading Swerve the same way or have different thoughts

[ashirisu]

hey, everyone!

My name is Ley (pronounced like "Lee," she/they) and I'm a fiction writer/editor based in the PNW. I haven't done a proper writeblr intro in a while, so I figure the new year is a great time to reintroduce myself to the community!

— about me

An important thing to understand about me and the way I talk about writing is that this stuff is literally my entire life. Even outside of work, I don't think I have a single interest or hobby that doesn't relate back to storytelling in some capacity. I'm an avid media consumer and critic, and will hyperanalyze just about anything that catches my fancy for more than a minute.

I love science fiction and fantasy, and my goal as a writer is to take all the genres I loved growing up and create stories that are a little more diverse, inclusive, and queer.

— about the blog

I came to writeblr mostly to share my work, but also to find an active community where I can get excited with other writers and talk shop. Marketing is obviously a really important part of the publishing industry, but I get tired of having to filter every thought I have about my work and experiences through the lens of aesthetic micro-trends just to put it out in the world. Sometimes I just want to pop off about scenes I'm proud of, you know?

Above all else, I really just want to connect with more writers like myself, ones who got their start in fandom spaces and are working to take their writing from a hobby into a career. I see you, I am you, I love you, let's be friends!

You’ll definitely see me posting and reblogging a lot of stuff that isn’t necessarily related to writing, so be ready for that. My art exists in the context of my personality and the world as a whole, and I simply do not have it in me to maintain a whole separate blog for silly nonsense and memes. Just consider it a way to get to know the writer as well as the writing!

— about my writing

I write a lot, though most of it is disconnected nonsense. Flash fiction and short stories are where I really thrive as a writer. I don't tend to commit to long-form projects, but I have a few projects that I'll occasionally share details about!

I like to describe my style as "earnest and character-forward," which is a fancy way of saying that I like driven protagonists who think too much and are emotional to the point of it being a character flaw.

My goal is to share more of my original writing moving forward, so hopefully you'll get to see all of this for yourself. If I'm totally honest, though, you'll probably see more of me discussing my work than actually writing it.

— about my projects

Here are the things you'll most likely see me posting about:

Agnomen: A sci-fi retelling of Hamlet and Coriolanus, currently in its very preliminary stages. It is literally my Roman Empire, except it's set on a moon of a planet that I'm calling Jupiter as a placeholder (but please note that it isn't actually Jupiter, as Jupiter is a gas giant and therefore a scientifically impossible setting for large sections of the plot).

Alter Ego: A superhero fic in which not-so-mild-mannered reporter Drew Derrick fights for mutant rights and can't seem to get his act together when it comes to keeping the complicated parts of his life separate.

Untitled Fantasy Project: The very first project I ever wrote, and the piece I return to every so often when writing is feeling more like a slog than a fun hobby. I set a lot of one-offs in this world and follow a few key characters around without them having a real plot.

D&D: I write a lot about Baz, my Wild Magic Barbarian. He's a regency noble with a lot of problems, and I care about him very much. I also have various other settings and characters, but he's my most active PC at the moment and therefore gets the most attention.

Short Stories: Sometimes I write these, and sometimes I like them enough to share!

— tag directory

ley rambles: my (often wordy) opinions about things

ley writes: not necessarily my writing, but talking about my writing

my writing: stories, blurbs, and other content I've written

not my writing: reblogs and creative writing that I liked, shared, and sometimes commented on

[mazeinthemiroh]

i’m deep in my feels rn haha could i request a soft little skz reaction where their s/o puts a lot of thought into learning about their interests and stuff? i want the skzers to feel special and appreciated cos they are :(

stray kids reactions to their s/o putting effort into their interests

genre: general

word count: 0.7k

warnings: none

pls like and reblog if you enjoy! feel free to request anything <3

bangchan

channie is a workaholic and so his interests lie with what he is working on at the moment. he would absolutely love it if you took an interest in his work, and will even run you through how to compose a song, write lyrics, produce, etc... he might even let you make a song with him on the side for fun! i mean, it's not impossible. he's made a whole song on one of his lives! so doing it with you should be easy, and really makes him happy.

lee know

minho has quite a few interests but the one that dominates his heart the most is, obviously, his cats. he can't help but speculate on different toys he should buy them and whether they need any supplements or different meals. he loves taking care of his babies ;-; so when you take an interest in his fluffy children, his heart simply melts. it's definitely important to him to that you get on well with his cats because he loves them so much <///3

changbin

binnie's main interest is working out. which, of course, is not for everyone. if you are the type of person who likes the gym just as much as he does, he would love to share his time at the gym with you! if you are not the type to usually go to the gym or don't regularly work out, but still try your hardest to get involved with that interest of his, changbin will be really flattered and make sure he will help you and make your gym experience worthwhile, since you're doing such a nice thing for him.

hyunjin

hyunjin would probably appreciate his s/o doing this the most. he likes feeling understood. but also, he spends a lot of time on his passions and interests, in particular, his art so they have become really important to him. they are a part of him. so the fact you want to get involved in what he loves? he's over the moon. he would love to teach you how to do certain techniques and even share his hobby with him.

han

han loves getting into new things to watch, especially anime! forget sleeping, he's bingeing the new episodes of what he's currently watching atm. he loves it when you get involved with the shows he's watching because it means he has someone to completely rant about the plotline or openly simp over a character with someone who knows what he's on about. it makes him feel like he has a voice and he can express how passionate he feels about a character being killed off in the third episode because wtf?? he needs someone to talk about this with!!!

felix

this gamer boy would LOVE it if you joined him playing video games. he's so invested in the storylines of certain video games and will get so excited when you ask him about it and genuinely take an interest. and he will happily tell you all the things he knows. he gives you advice on what each of the characters does and which is the best character in his correct humble opinion. will be super excited to play these video games with you and will really appreciate you being interested in what he loves.

seungmin

seungmin has been getting into more artsy stuff lately. he likes photography, for instance, and likes to get outside and look at the world through a different lens other than his own eyes. he would love it if you were to join him on a little photography date uwu. ALSOOOO reading dates are totally his thing. he loves burying his head in a good book, and having you taking an interest in his hobbies means that he can share these peaceful moments with you.

jeongin

jeongin is a fashion lover. we know how well he dresses and how his style is always on point. even if you are not so keen on passion but find ways to make his interest feel understood, he will love you even more. like sometimes you will get him an expensive item of clothing or maybe even suggest going clothes shopping with him. he likes it when you ask for advice too, so he can put his fashion knowledge and expertise to good use!

[positivelybeastly]

As a Hank McCoy stan, I must ask your opinion on a little idea.

A fan film about Beast.

No action, no battle, some drama, but overall a far quieter X-Men film that explores a side of Hank we don't see much if at all. His parental side.

Maybe he finds a lost or abandoned child and takes them under his care. But because this new character is human, this causes some problems. But in the end, Hank and the child agree to face the future ahead of them, no matter how hopeless it may seem.

What's your input?

First off, nice to meet you! Always a pleasure to see a fellow Beast stan in the wild, so to speak - and I like that there seem to be more of us over time; we're gathering strength, it seems.

Secondly, I think there would be a lot of mileage in this sort of project! X-Men is, at its heart, a metaphor about racism, prejudice, civil injustice, and I think it would be really interesting to examine those themes through an under-explored lens (at least in comic books), that of interracial adoption and parenthood.

You would, of course, have to be careful about the line to be struck between allegory and reality - this is always something I try my best to keep in mind when writing Hank, because yes, he is visibly mutated, and yes, in-universe, he is subject to prejudice as a result, but you generally have to make the struggles unique to the mutant race while being reminiscent of the struggles faced by other minorities.

For example: when talking about the multiple mutant genocides that have taken place in X-Men comics, I've often perused quotes that I think would be impactful for Hank to use, to communicate his state of mind, and I come across quotes that I think would be apropos, but because they're specifically about the tragedy of, in that instance, Native American genocide, I've felt uncomfortable using them.

Yes, they would be impactful, but I personally feel (as a white cis man) that it would be inappropriate for me to use them in relation to a genocide against a fictional minority, especially in dialogue spoken by someone who is, when boiled down to it, also a white cis man.

You would have to be very careful about making creative decisions like this one if you wanted to make a fan film - this is the definition of delicacy and sensitivity, and it can be hard! I don't really agree with the idea of 'kill your darlings' in fiction, but when it comes to media that wants to examine societal themes, sometimes, you do have to cut things that you think would be really impactful because you have to consider how it reads to other, real minorities.

That being said! Don't let this idea discourage you. Examining the way that Hank would be perceived around a small human child, examining the potential prejudices that would be levelled against him if he wanted to try and formally adopt them, examining the way that it would affect his work and cross over into his heroic life - and, of course, examining the way that this interacts with his own concept of himself as a parent.

Remember, after all, that Hank has complicated feelings about parenthood, and for good reason.

Like, there's a whole thread to be unravelled here, about Hank's feelings that he can't be a good parent because he's (in his mind) a chronic screw-up, because his bestial mutation could pose a potential threat to the child if he ever lost control, because he's a publicly known superhero with enemies (including another self who wouldn't hesitate to kidnap said child for nefarious reasons, I'm sure)

And what would those doubts look like to the kid in question? Would they interpret it as a lack of desire for a child, a feeling that they're a burden, making Hank's life that much worse by being there and relying on him?

But then there's all the sweet things, too!

In summation? There's a lot to unpack here - but provided it's done with some real care and attention to detail and sensitivity, I think you'd be looking at something really quite special, with a subject matter that, quite frankly, no MCU-Hollywood movie is going to tackle in the same way.

[seriousbrat]

Seriousbrat… I admire your commitment to preaching the word of Mid Remus Lupin in this website… but you go so hard I’m starting to think you hate the guy… so I dare you to throw the stans a bone and tell us what do you think were the guy’s best qualities and compile a small list of things that he was above average at, if you can muster it. I double dare you!

LMAo it probably does seem that way! I definitely don't hate Remus. In fact I like him quite a lot. I also enjoy writing him and his plotline for this next part of my fic has been a lot of fun!

Honestly, I tend to cut Remus a lot of slack, especially as a teen. I'm not sure if you're referencing this post but believe it or not that was a list of things I find interesting about him because flaws are a good thing for a character to have in my book! I also feel like I defended him in that post or at least empathised with him haha.

The thing is, being a werewolf just seems so awful, in a way that's obviously difficult to comprehend in real life, that I find a lot of his behaviour much more understandable than I do the other Marauders/Snape. Everything he does has to be viewed through that lens. And despite everything he manages to be kind, thoughtful and brave and I do find that very admirable!

Moony's best hits:

Bravery: he's avoidant, sure, but I don't think this is out of true cowardice. Or it might be cowardly in a sense, but I don't think this precludes him from being brave in other ways. It stems from his self-hatred; Remus would rather be miserable himself than inflict himself on others. VERY SAD. But he's willing to put himself into danger, fight for the Order, risk his own life, live in terrible and dangerous conditions for the cause. I don't think it can be said that he's not brave at all, even if he displays cowardice at times. He isn't scared of dying for what he believes, but he's terrified of himself, which is a totally different type of fear and requires a different kind of bravery to surmount.

Kindness: I do see Remus as very kind in nature. He immediately identifies Neville as having potential but needing a little extra guidance. It's him that befriends Peter and includes him in the group, and I see it as the same thing. The moments that Remus seems less than kind (ignoring Snape's bullying, for instance) I think he is actively going against his own nature, but unlike the other Marauders he's aware of that and it does cause him internal conflict. He has to choose between possibly losing the only friends he might ever know, or doing the right thing, and that's a more difficult choice than I think we realise, particularly for a teenager. But I see him as essentially very empathetic. As an adult he expresses remorse for the way they treated Snape, much more than Sirius does when Sirius has more to feel guilty about, and does his best to be civil and respectful even when Snape gets him fired and is horrible to him lol. Which is something.

Cleverness: He is very smart, although I imagine at school this was somewhat overshadowed by James and Sirius. But he has a different kind of intelligence imo, one that's more understated and thoughtful. I also think his own brand of unassuming yet witty humour is what drew James and Sirius to him initially, once they spotted it. If you don't know Remus very well, you might not think he's particularly funny but he is. Similarly, I think he was a good, hardworking student, and particularly adept at Defence Against the Dark Arts. Again, he was overshadowed by the flashiness of James and Sirius- I don't think Remus totally minded, though, as he would have wanted to fly under the radar for the most part.

Thoughtfulness: I know this is kind of similar to cleverness, but where Sirius, and to a lesser extent James, is very driven by instinct and recklessness, I see Remus as much more circumspect. He thinks about the impies (implications) of things. In fact, he thinks a LOT. The Lupin brain is constantly turning, and his inner world is very complex with a lot of conflict that he's constantly sorting through. I think in part he longs to be carefree and careen through life the way he sees Sirius doing, but obviously his condition means he has to be very cautious. And this also means that he's very considerate towards others. He picks up on suffering around him and thinks about how his actions might affect others. A little too much, but there it is.

Honesty: This might seem strange given he has to lie and hide things throughout the books, but again I think this is him going against his true nature. The way I see Lyall and Hope, I think Remus was raised with honesty as a core value. I also think he was a BAD liar lol, unfortunately for him. This is in complete contrast to Sirius, who is an excellent liar because he was raised in a way that necessitated it. I know I keep comparing him to Sirius but that's just the kind of juicy wolfstar #Dynamics that I live for. I think Remus values honesty and the fact that he can't practise it causes him turmoil. It must have been a huge relief when his friends discovered his secret and he could stop lying to them; for this reason I think Remus would have been reluctant to get close to anyone outside of their group.

I know a lot of these are "Remus is X but he doesn't actually do it" but that's the point of his character!!! Remus is constantly at war with his own nature, and this is made literal through his being a werewolf. The contrast between who Remus is (mild, polite, thoughtful, kind) and the violent beast he carries around within him, the complete opposite, is the whole point. That's why I can't stand fanon Remus being this swaggering aggressive alpha male lol. but anyway

Hopefully that's enough! I also think he was loyal, obviously, particularly to James and Dumbledore, who had shown him unprecedented acceptance, and later, Harry. His speech about Harry on Potterwatch after parting on bad terms is always a touching moment for me. But I think his loyalty has to be won, and it is rarely bestowed. He just can't trust like that 💔

[yuseirra]

Seriously...(I need to find another word other than seriously hh)

I've never brought up the fact that I'm a psychology major but I feel the urge to when I read this comic, I never even felt the need to bring that fact up, but this comic makes me do a whole lot of what I don't usually do!!!

I've never gotten too off with reading feelings or seeing the emotional aspects of things, it's never something to be too confident to boast about, and I am aware I can always be wrong but it IS what I consider my forte and interest. I really have fun with it and I really don't have much of a hard time figuring out what the characters feel or what kinds of people they are overall (with real people, I don't try to judge them because they are alive and much more complex with different situations, backgrounds and individuality) it's something that comes off very clear to me, you see how I just pointed out Fatal must be Kamiki's song the moment the song dropped. I am right. I'm usually correct when it comes to these. I get very strong intuition and hunches that rarely miss. I take pride in those, you see..!

And I DID really see through Hikaru's true nature in this case, he had the kindest soul that could be described as "nobility" so I don't think I've been so off regarding my portrayals about him, I REALLY, really do my best with these, although I realize I look at things from my own perspective and lens and have my bias

Just..what is he though?? Maybe that's why I keep writing about this series. I want to make sense of him and get it over with but it's been so puzzling, it is an interesting puzzle but it's also quite frustrating because it doesn't match up??? I think he really is possessed guys??? He's so inconsistent, and he doesn't even appear so much. In that little screen time he has, he has split personalities and I've never given up on trying to formulate an integrated idea of a character before. I just can't with him. What is with him? I really think something's gotten into him. It makes sense. There ARE supernatural elements in this work.

I do have thoughts of what the author plans to do with this character if they intend to form some kind of meaningful message, but you never know with other's works so I can never say it on their behalf..

At least I DID get several things right. I did grasp what I deem as the most important part of this character's core: He does love Ai, and he never intended to harm her. He did not try to scare her. He can't...bear to live without her. The other pieces of this character; uhh... what I feel are solid enough to discuss is that he did use to be so kind. I think he deserved to be the guy Ai loved, there was a reason she found a huge liking to him, but he's certainly not sane now and I'm like, 'what's made him like this?' Something definitely drove him even mad than what he could become of himself on his own, that's the conclusion I'm drawing from this and I think I should be right. I guess what I need to do is to wait patiently but I see him drowning and being dragged off lol. SO WOULD THERE BE A CHANCE for him to be explored even more. Hope so because it's irritating how much they keep covered!! It's the final arc!!! When are they going to reveal it to us if they're planning to do so, or are they just going to sweep it under a rug and forget about it? If Ai is a reincarnation of the brightest star and a goddess like what she's said in the novel~~~ I hope she blesses him! From what I made out of him, he would have been a good father. He's... not the guy who'd try to kill his own daughter, this is so messed up it's getting funny. There is no way Ai dreamed of having a family and living forever with the kind of guy that'd do such things, as I always say, her takes on Hikaru must be right. It didn't have to be there but it is, and it does line up with what I've spotted out of this guy.. till this 162. But it was a planned chapter. I can see how that chapter does fit with the songs and I figure the scene itself is what the creators had in mind for a while, so I hope they come up with ways to make the whole thing somehow fit in together.

I really like the songs btw~ it's become one of my most played song in the playlist and I feel the record won't be beaten for awhile~

This is about something else but what's with boys falling and drowning in waters, I saw that happen in P3R too so I got a deja vu... it does give a totally different vibe though. I really should get back to that game too!///

[iamnmbr3]

Maaaaaaan ever since I followed you you've brought up such good points I never even considered.

like how Snape actually SHOULD be allowed to remain bitter about his childhood and the abuse from James because it was genuinely awful

or the fact that Tom's genuinely terrified reactions to dumbledor when they first met essentially made him even more resentful of adults and possibly beyond the point of no return on that front considering how he feels and reacts later on. (Which honestly that whole scene just from dumbledors perspective sounded very biased to manipulate Harry and if Harry wasn't so focused on trying to stop Tom he probably would have empathized with Tom there)

I low key kinda feel like JKR forgot what she wrote halfway through the books because she actually did write some interesting characters just not in the way her current self agrees with (also how does someone's own opinions of characters change that much and that bad??? I still don't understand, tho the guy who wrote Ender's game was homophobic and he literally wrote a book about the gay experience soooo who knows anymore)

Anyway thanks for your interesting takes!

What a delightful message to get!! Thank you so much! I'm really glad you've having a good time with this blog and that my posts have been thought provoking and enjoyable for you. That's so nice to hear.

I definitely think if Harry had witnessed the memory of Tom and Dumbledore's first meeting in a different context he probably would've reacted very differently - especially given his own history of unhappy experiences with adults arounds him during his pre-Hogwarts childhood. Harry is primed to be biased against Tom for the very understandable reason that Voldemort killed his parents, tried to kill him in 1st and 4th year and caused the death of his godfather in 5th year and on top of all that he met diary!Tom in second year and that didn't go well either. So of course the memory Harry sees is filtered through the lens of those experiences and traumas and doesn't raise any red flags.

If the diary had shown him that memory in an attempt to turn him against Dumbledore or he'd seen it in another context without knowing who Tom Riddle became things might well have been different.

And yeah. It's weird. The characterization in the books is actually very good and interesting. It's the strongest aspect of the series in my opinion and why I feel so drawn to the fandom surrounding these characters. The interesting thing is in general the characterization is internally consistent and complex. So it's not just a matter of wasted potential (though there is some of that too) where a character is shallow but could've been interesting or even a case of wildly inconsistent characterization that can be fixed with fandom.

Rather, it seems that what she created was accidental and wildly at odds with her intent. So what she wrote, isn't what she meant, but it's also a lot more interesting than what she meant.

[redstringraven]

For the TMNT Ask Game!

Could you do #21, #29, and #33?

heck yeah, i can! <:D and thank you!!!

TMNT's 40th anniversary ask game!

21.) what is your favorite story arc?

i'm admittedly a major sucker for the turtles in space arc in s2 because i love triceratons--and especially traximus--if i haven't made that obvious already. i remember losing my mind as a teen when i saw a triceraton for the first time while that arc was airing, because it felt so specifically tailored to ME. i was a massive dinosaur kid, i borrowed dinosaur books from the library constantly, so now you're telling me we have talking dinosaur aliens??? i don't CARE if they're the bad guys, they're SO COOL??? did the writers do this FOR ME??? (they didn't). anyone who knows me also knows i have a tendency to latch onto secondary/minor characters (stares at the 10+ years i've spent writing for dol fma:brotherhood), so when traximus was introduced? bye. this is my favorite ally; the rest of you are great and all but i'm letting my bias win. remains true a decade later. triceratons aside, i also really appreciate it for just... opening up the world a lot more. it made it very, VERY clear that a lot more was out there than just new york. i like that.

29.) what is one headcanon that you have?

ooh, i've kind of been wanting to talk about this one 'publicly' (talked about it with jenn @plantdonutwrites in the past), but since i tend to be kind of on the shy side i usually get worried that i'll be annoying and chicken out of posting about it. >xD i'll use this as my excuse; thank you for enabling me. headcanon(s) on cursing/swearing! because for why! mikey self-proclaimed "good boy, UNLIKE RAPH". does not do a cuss. this is a headcanon shared with jenn since she writes for mikey in our rps. i do sometimes write him thinking cusses, though. such as "The damn thing could go invisible. Even if he had Donnie’s goggles on him, there’d be no body heat to track." in Pretend That I Never Left. might also internally monologue that he 'pissed something off' but won't verbally say it in those words. leo has sworn off cursing but definitely still curses sometimes. very much in line with his 1 and splinter's parenting, he considers cursing 'bad' and ergo doesn't partake in it... when he can help it. he usually has a strong mental filter running, but in times of high stress or high emotion, the filter will drop and he'll say "shit" instead of "shell" or exclaim "fuck!" without thinking. he also tends to drop the filter when alone with raph, because he knows raph won't judge him or think ill of him. also important to note he doesn't think lesser of raph for swearing; it's more of a self-monitoring/self-discipline... thing. if that makes sense. and raph knows this. they're chill. don does curse, but mostly uses it for comedic shock-value, casual moments, or as a bonding method with raph. don won't use curses in high stress or emotion moments like leo, he more does it in casual settings like playing video games or if dropping a swear will make a remark funnier because the swear was unexpected. his cursing is much more playful/humorous, or maybe kind of a way he 'bonds' with raph, like when they watch football together. i feel like he might also do it more around raph because it helps raph feel less like 'the bad kid'. since leo tends to hide or smother any cursing he does and kind of acts regretful afterward, and mikey just doesn't. raph cursing is regular vocabulary. attempts to censor himself around master splinter as a gesture of respect, but isn't always successful. fuck you.

33.) what is your favorite thing you've made for TMNT?

... kind of a toss up between Pretend That I Never Left and my enneagram series. not only did i work very, very hard on both things, but they were both contributions specifically focused on my interests. for the former: combining tmnt'03 with the world of horizon: zero dawn; and for the latter, analyzing the boys through the lens of the enneagram. PtINL gave me something to focus on during a really stressful time, and the enneagram is one of my favorite tools. i dunno. i put a lot of hours into both of those things, a lot of love, and i still enjoy looking back on them after all the time that's passed (even if it's not THAT much time). these two projects make me really happy. i'm proud of them. and i'm glad i took the time to let them exist, whether anyone else engages with them or not. i'm also very happy with how liáfsini is turning out, which is the realm that my OCs gwyn, ash and darach are from. i'm slowly fleshing it out, but seeing it become something real with a grounded culture, history, magic system, and ecosystem has been very exciting and satisfying. i'm really proud of it!!

[bengiyo]

Step By Step Ep 10 Stray Thoughts

Last week on HR Violations, Jeng made his feelings plain to Pat, and Pat was not prepared for one more emotional blow. Jeng had a complete emotional breakdown in a standpoint bit of acting from Man Trisanu. We spent much of the week unpacking exactly what happened with Pat, and determined that he’s just 25, tired, and overwhelmed. Ae had her baby, and nothing made sense from a practical standpoint. Jeng broke all of us with “It makes sense to me,” and now we’re supposed to just stroll back into this.

I still approve of Jeng doing the responsible thing and keeping his distance from Pat.

I love Chot so much. I am loving this new trend in BL about shows encouraging people to respect the feelings people are expressing, and reminding characters (and viewers) that I takes a lot of courage to express them. It’s still okay to reject people, but treat people kindly. Love Chot making the overall situation plain for Pat and confused viewers.

“It’s been eight years already. I’m used to it,” feels like a subtle commentary on BL itself. Chot has not been able to live his live a openly as he’d like with his boyfriend because the family wouldn’t approve. Coincidentally, that’s the same amount of time we’ve been in the current era of Thai BL. For all the money and interest that’s been poured into BL, lived queer experiences still face daily struggles.

 A carrot cake? Pat, please do better.

I see. The show is going to make me cry about Chot. It’s time to write an essay about Step By Step.

“It’s alright. I own this place.” Sir!!!

My man just trashed his own kitchen to get it in.

Smitten looks good on Pat.

He let me hit so I can follow back on Insta

These two have lost all composure. Hooking up in the company parking lot!

Chot is trying to cover for these two, but they are being unfortunately way too obvious.

I’m having complicated reactions to the homelessness scene. Feels like the show wants to quickly shine a lens on an issue important to the filmmakers, but it feels awkward as hell.

Hey, it looks like the Fjord project went well.

Okay, Pat’s dad is funny. I like his specific beef with Jeng. Still, I kinda hoped he’d ask harder questions like, “How is this supposed to work if you’re still his boss?”

They keep going to this one shot when they go to the bedroom that’s clearly from the closet and using Dutch angles. This feels intentionally designed to make me uneasy.

Oh they're using P' and Nong now.

Ben has a happy trail. Let me pause and collect myself.

WHERE IS THE BABY??

Did they give the hets a camera angle kiss??

Oh nevermind it was meant to cut to Pat and Jeng as a potential future.

Now you know Ae was aiming for Pat with that bouquet. She is messy like that.

Wait, so Jaab is seeing someone else now?? I'm not sure what I'm supposed to get from Jaab and Jen.

Okay, we found the baby.

I like that Beam and Ae didn't touch each other, if I'm reading this right. Glad we can put this to bed.

Oh, I don't like Jeng promoting Pat into his position. That's not good for either of them.

Suddenly, a glow up for Ying?

Whoa, was not expecting this EXTREME GEN X ENERGY from Ying in Pat's corner.

"Haven't I been strong enough?" is a whole mood.

Yet another instance of BL reminding us that they both have dicks.

"I want to be happy with you." Oh, Jeng. I am also lonely in my 30s. I get it. I really do. But, my man, you cannot put this on Pat.

Pat's resignation was inevitable. Jeng, who's normally so controlled, definitely lost all composure this episode.

I'm not jumping directly into the discourse here, but I will say clearly that I am only watching through Gaga. Do not send me comments, asks, or messages about episodes only available legally through WeTV fast track. I don't subscribe to spoiler culture, but please don't be rude.

As for this episode, I feel a bit muddled. I'm going to spend some time thinking about core themes and seeing what this show actually wants to explore.

[aheathen-conceivably]

Hello! Merry Christmas and good luck in the new year! I have a question, I don’t know if it’s been asked already, but I’m interested to know which of your characters is closest to you in spirit? What traits do you have in common with him? And vice versa. Which character is the most difficult for you to write, which you do not always understand: his actions, words and motivation, because you are a real writer and are probably good at the psychology of heroes (I really apologize for the distorted sentences, because I am a foreign subscriber and use a translator)

Absolutely no need to apologize, Nonny! Everything looks great and thank you so much for taking the time to send these thoughtful questions 💕

Y’all already know the rambler in me is getting all excited, so prepare y’all selves! Though I must say, it’s quite hard to pinpoint an answer, mostly because there’s at least a small bit of myself in each of the characters and who’s easiest to write is not always who is the most like me? So naturally, let’s go below the cut, and I’ll split this into sections to make it easier for us to read 😘

1. My spirit characters:

Honesty time. I think that it’s easier for me to put my “negative” qualities into characters and thus also easier to recognize them in hindsight. This is probably because it’s simply often easier to see what needs to be improved in yourself than vice versa, but also probably because I’m a dramatic broad who likes giving her characters flaws.

So although I could probably find a bit of myself in most characters, I would say those who are most like me are Rosella, Zelda, and Violette. Just down to sims traits, Rosella and my simself actually both have the self-absorbed trait (oops). I think this manifests in different ways, but at its core I’m just as likely to follow my wants and cut ties as she is. I also have a ~rather strong~ proclivity for the aesthetic and vain, enjoying beautiful things for their own sake often to the point of distraction. However, I like to think that this is tertiary to me, and my pursuit of them is not as detrimental as it was for her.

Which brings us to, of course, Zelda. Zelda shares this love of the beautiful with her sister, although for her it can extend into the ephemeral and artistic rather than simply the mundane. I would say I share that tendency toward internal existentialism with her, as well as the proclivity to separate from my immediate surroundings rather than live in the present moment. I, like her, can thus often seem “out of it” but in reality we’re just interpreting our surroundings through a distorted, if not tinted lens. However, I’m by no means as artistically talented or reserved as Zelda, which brings us to….

Our little heiress, Violette. Now I’ll try not to get too deep into spoilers here, but Little Lottie and I definitely share some core tendencies. I, like her, despise being told what to do, and will usually become more stubborn or do the opposite simply because of what someone said (whether it’s well intentioned or not). I can also be gregarious, dramatic, and loud when I want to be, and enjoy being the center of attention. However, I think the Zelda in me tempers that so that I need to retreat back into my cave after a while, while Violette thrives on it. I was also raised an only child, so a lot of Lottie’s experience with loneliness and not knowing how to relate to other children is coming from my own childhood.

2. The easiest to write:

So oddly, I don’t think there’s a clear connection between the characters who are most like me and those I find easiest to write. Rather I think that comes from the historical situation that is currently inspiring me, which character fits into that inspiration the best, and how clear of a grasp I have on that character’s personality. This often comes in the form of scenes just appearing in my head, and as I write it’s like the sentences already exist? So there’s this natural understanding between the character and me, where I don’t really have to sort through thought rubble or force their perspective quite as much?

This answer is highly dependent on what part of the story we are currently in. As in, there have been times I have found a character easy to write, and then it will suddenly switch. Zelda is absolutely one of those characters, as her perspective came very naturally to me in parts of the 1910s and then again after motherhood. Now, I find it easier to write the characters surrounding her, and I’m sure it will switch again at some point in the future.

Currently? I find Josephine easiest to write (although she is not very similar to me at all, and her deep fear of commitment is something that I don’t share in the slightest), with Antoine coming in as a close second. Violette’s perspective in the 1940s has also kind of begun presenting itself to me, although at various points I would say that Adelia, Virginia, and Florence have all also been the easiest characters to write for, and those who’s voices have inspired me to come up with new scenes and plotlines.

3. Who even is she?

Now for the characters who are least like me? That one has gotta probably gotta go to Florence, Virginia, and Antoine. As much as I may want to be like Florence, I’m gunna be honest with y’all and say that is not the case. Starting with the fact that I strongly dislike the great outdoors. Farming? Nah. Camping? Absolutely not. Living of the land? What a pleasant dream. What can I say, I am absolutely a Rosella; I enjoy being fancy and comfortable, and Florence in some ways is the antithesis of this. She also embodies selfless generosity and a sort of steady love, which are not things that I would say I really relate to (I once again point you to answer 1 😅).

Now Virginia is a strange one. I was actually very concerned with writing her, because I share none of the righteousness or quickness to action that define her. Likewise, I don’t think that I am able to remain as steady and surefire in tragedy and trauma as she does. So when I first conceived her character I thought I would have great difficulty writing her, but as I mentioned above, despite the fact that she is probably the least similar to me of all the Darlingtons, I found her easy and almost natural to write once we began her storyline.

Which brings us to my baby boy. Sigh. I say this next because Antoine has easily been one of the most natural characters for me to write. I think this is because I had such a clear vision of him from the start that has really been able to grow through the story. So he’s remained who he is through it all, and why I still find him so easy to write.

Despite this, there is very little to none of me in his character, despite the fact that I maybe sorta have a thing for the broken artist stereotype (hello, hubs, I know you’re out there 😙). So there may be some ways in which I wrote my partner into his character’s talent and approach to the world around him, but he is heavily inspired by these ideas of “old fashioned masculinity”, of self-imposed stoicism and protection and fatherhood. These are feelings that I have to imagine rather than pull from experience, but somehow the more I write him the more real they become to me as well.

4. The ~struggle~

Hands down the hardest characters for me to write have been Oliver and Isaiah. I think that Oliver really suffered from the fact that he was my first gen heir, so I was at a place in the story and my writing process where I wasn’t as sure in what I was doing or as good at honing into what I wanted to do. Then by the time this became more clear to me, I had really begun to lean into writing Florence’s character and then his children. So he kind of became less of a focus, and the less I focused on him the harder it was for me to define his voice, which then became a cycle.

I think if I could go back, I would lean more into the connection that I see between him and the romantic poets, really kind of exploring that juxtaposition between idealized nature and reality. I also think his position as a pseudo-wealthy aristocratic and failed businessman had a lot of potential, but alas, you live and you learn.

Now onto the Forgotten Child. Y’all (and I) call him that for a reason, and I think next to his sisters it’s no secret that Isaiah received much less focus (I even have a post about him realizing this 😂). Part of this is just that he’s the youngest, so I really didn’t get much time to explore his adult life or even his teenage years. It’s also because trying to juggle six perspectives all at once means that some are going to suffer more than others.

Now that being said, I am happy with his storylines. However, they often felt more like I was exploring plots I had come up with rather than really viewing things through his perspective. I think this is the biggest challenge to me when having trouble writing a character: it’s that their voice is just for whatever reason not really clear in my mind. Even in the subsequent decades, our English Darlington updates are mostly going to come from Summer, because I still have never really gotten my finger on exactly who Isaiah is. For that reason, my poor forgotten baby boy is probably the most difficult character for me to write.

—

ALSO if you made it this far please know that turning your delightful questions into a multi-paragraph rant about myself is a very self absorbed and very Rosella/Violette thing to do so in the end…I think you have all the answer you need right there 🤣

[georges-chambers]

for the character asks...ishmael, ofc :3

Idk when you sent this but I wish I had seen it earlier because !!! VERY glad to do this!!

'How I feel about this character': So Much. In general. What can't I say about him? On one hand, as many point out, he's an almost definitely some kind of undiagnosable neurodivergent and due to this is incredibly relatable. ACCIDENTALLY CLICKED POST WHEN I MEANT TO SAVE THIS TO DRAFTS. ANYWAYS. I HAD MUCH MORE: He Also Suvks!!! He knows a lot but that doesn't mean he actually believes in objectively true things! Hes aware of his own faults but we get the feeling he's not too concerned with changing them very much! I also feel like some fans of Moby Dick kind of choose to gloss over the ways in which, beautifully as he puts it, his love for Queequeg is also almost definitely through a very warped lens due to the way he just thinks of Queequeg, and at times it also seems almost obsessive. And another important part of him, I think, is that he becomes just as obsessed with things that are important to him as someone like Ahab, just in a way that doesn't lead to relentlessly chasing them down and trying to kill them. Well, breaking down a door to 'save them' is. I'm sure you can see the similarities. But of course there's the way he writes obsessively about minor details about the whole voyage and people on it and Moby Dick himself in a way that implies he has a fascination with it all borne from the trauma it gave him. Which reminds me of how much he seems to actively want to hide any part of himself and his past from the reader but where it starts slipping out are often memories that seem kind of. Worrying(?) Definitely not Pleasant anyways. Which again, he seems to zero in on a bit. Also to me he is Not Cis. Of course.

'All of the people I ship romantically with this character': Ishmael's one of the very few instances where I think the only romantic ship I have of him are with the canon love interest (Queequeg of course). Aside from probably 2 ships or so, but those are either rather RPF (about someone who is dead but nonetheless real. I mean. He's kinda implied to exist in Moby Dick too, but he's very much real, its based on the real version) focused or Angst Heavy, so I would only share those in DMs at request.

Now as for potential sexual relationships? Another entire area I will leave to DMs.

'My non-romantic OTP for this character': Okay nevermind, I lied. I could Never explain it fully because its Not in the book and not based on anything in the book, but the 2011 movie. Showed me a whole layer to the potential of whatever was going on between Ahab and Ishmael and god. The toxic workplace relationship he had with that old man. That whole movie became Their Movie to me. Queequeg can of course become involved. I also like the idea of him and Bulkington of course.

'My unpopular opinion about this character': Its hard to say what'd be considered unpopular for this kind of a fandom, but I feel like the fact that the racism from his POV was progressive for its time only makes it even more immersive to him as a character. Its the sort of thing that's like . 'This is a fascinating indication about the time and the author writing in this time' and 'This could be considered a part of the character narrating all of this and how they view the world' Can very much coexist here. To me they feed into each other and I love it. Less like that, though, since that'd probably be the more popular of the two: I feel like a lot of adaptations are a bit less than accurate to what I personally think of with Ishmael because they often make him (even including the 2011 to some degree) a lot more overtly 'benevolent' than really fits. In the book, he does shit like contemplate just boarding up the room he's in and basically steal it from its original owner, and just the near frantic, almost aggressive tone he often takes with fucking Cetaceans, In General, towards his audience, I love, and really wish there had been like. Any of, in most adaptations, which seem to want him to be a much more 'relatable nice hero' which he just Fundamentally Isn't. There are so many times reading this book and rereading it where I've just gone, 'Ishmael, whoever you're having this argument Isn't here right now. I love you, but Please.'

'One thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character in-canon': I feel like actually learning more about what he did in his Past would kind of spoil some enjoyable and very fitting mystery and ambiguity so really what I wish we knew more about were his travels and life in general between the wreck of the Pequod and when he's writing that. Actually, no, if I absolutely Had to choose to actually be told 1 more thing about him? When and where was he a stone-mason. I love how hes very intentionally like, 'At Some Point in Time, For Some Point In Time, Neither of Which You Need To Know, I was a stone-mason.' And its just like. Actually no. Normally there'd be nothing odd about that but no, now I really do need to know what he could be hiding with that.

Once again Thank you so much for asking this and once again encouraging me to ramble incoherently about Moby Dick