hi rae!! so, i absolutely love marlene as a character to read (especially when you write her) but for some reason i'm really struggling to write her :( i was wondering if you could share any thoughts you have on her as a character, if possible? i would really love to understand her more (if not that's totally okay :) and i hope this message made sense)

hi, tysm! so happy to hear u like my characterization of marlene <3

honestly when it comes to writing her, like...there's literally zero canon info except the fact she was killed lmao so tbh u can just take her character whatever direction u want! that being said i'm happy to share my own like...headcanons/vision of what marlene is like i love to spread my marlene agenda

in my brain marlene is a masculine/gnc/tomboyish/butch (whatever characterization fits the story i'm writing) lesbian, and she's a person who can come across as very abrasive + rude just bc she doesn't put up with bullshit + also because she very much does not cater to standards of femininity. i think she's very headstrong, stubborn, a little prone to self-destruction. i think she's the type of person who doesn't love gently, who can sort of become a battering ram when she wants someone she's close with to let her in. i also imagine her as someone who has a very staunch moral compass and is sort of a big-picture idealist, which can sometimes cause her to fall into black and white thinking. and i think she's someone who's incredibly loyal and always there for her friends, but sometimes she shows up in the ways she thinks they need her and not in the ways they actually need her/the ways they think they need her, which can also lead to problems. when i visualize her i'm usually visualizing someone who is not conventionally attractive and pixie-faced; i'm picturing someone who has features that are too big or too small or too crooked or too sharp, depending on the details of whatever story i'm writing/reading.

all in all marlene is a mean ugly messy unapologetic lesbian to me and that's what i love so much about her <3