Hiya,

I've gotten a couple interesting reviews on Forever in a Wish that revolve around my characterisation of Sesshy being well, odd, quick to anger, that kind of thing, so he's a bit OOC.

I can only explain it as my own interpretation of him being a spoiled rich-brat with fangs, but with a bit of depth to him below the surface. I try to mix him up as more than being cold and distant, as he is in the manga or anime. I also haven't read or watched much of either. XD. Which is probably my version of Sesshy is OOC in comparison to how other authors portray him.

I know that some authors in the past find him challenging to write.

I don't, well specifically, I don't find my Sesshy difficult to write.

He's snooty and cold and charming.

I just wonder how other authors find writing him.

Is your Sesshy difficult to write?

~ Pyre

He is difficult to write.

When I am attempting to, I try to remember that Yes, he is a snob, and deadly, but also only about 19 in human years. He is still just coming into his own. There is some humor there. Also, he feels loss. The way he defends his dad shows it. I mean, he will talk trash,but as soon as someone else does they die. When the Panthers first slaugthered a bunch of his army, he was remorseful. Rin, I mean, I know we don't have to talk about that.

I try to remember that he is a kid who has been able to do whatever he wanted for a long time now. He is cold, moody, and, though not always honest, honorable.

I don't know, it's somewhere I try to start at. Though, I do like YOUR Sesshoumaru! Mine usually just frustrates me lol

After reading so much Sesshomaru/Kagome fanfiction, I have noticed that many authors have various degrees of problems when portraying canon Sesshomaru. However, that being said, I have also noticed that many incorrectly portray the other characters, as well, but right now we are just focusing on Sesshomaru.

Bottom line, I believe the issue many have with character portrayal lays heavily with the fact that they either do not fully understand the character, so are unable to accurately portray said character or they just do not know how to portray him/her even though they understand his character. Why? Because the characters in Inuyasha already have their own personalities, so the characters are already given to an author, who then just needs to focus on everything else that goes with writing a story. So really, part of the work is already completed for an author.

Firstly, I do not find it difficult to portray any of the Inuyasha characters, not even Sesshomaru. Why? Because I believe I have a firm understanding of his anime/manga personality.

Who is he? Lord Sesshomaru—implying he has political influence, arrogance, take charge attitude, and often getting his way. At the end of the series, he is noted to be the most powerful demon in Japan—implying he is strong, battle trained and ready, capable and competent in the face of dangerous circumstances, an able protector, and prepared to kill if necessary without flinching or hesitation. In demonic years, he is still young, teenager-ish (19 to be exact) and combine that with his lordly status this implies he can be immature, selfish, self-centered, again arrogant and thinks highly of himself and his abilities. I also say impulsive, rash, headstrong and stubborn because of his need/drive to possess Tetsusaiga and his obvious resentment that his father had bequeathed the powerful sword to his ‘weak’, half-breed and younger brother, which he took as a direct insult to his person.

But for all these shortcomings, even Sesshomaru has a few redeeming qualities. By basically taking on the responsibility of Rin, it shows he can be responsible (up to a point, considering he insists Rin take care of her needs herself, such as obtaining food, but even in this, he makes sure they are in an area where she can easily find sustenance), caring, and considerate. He even saved Kagome and the gang a few times when he did not have to. And let’s not forget Jaken in that category!

I believe he has the capacity to love, because when he thought Rin was dead and could not be brought to life a second time, he felt the loss keenly. Perhaps a fatherly affection for the girl, or how I interpret his interactions with the human child.

Then there is Kagura and Sara, two women who fell in love with him in the series. He was not completely unfeeling upon their demise.

And yet he can act cold and unfeeling, ignoring the plights of others. Emotions confuse him, so he has a hard time interpreting what another is feeling or understanding his own upon occasion. He can be very inconsiderate at times.

I could go on and on, but in summary, no, I do not have trouble portraying him in any of my work. Even manipulating his character into gradually falling in love with Kagome is not difficult for me to manage, either.

I have never personally felt Sesshoumaru to be too problematic, but then again, I freely admit that I have a habit of consciously tweaking his characteristics somewhat to better suit my own interpretation. I also shamelessly take advantage of the Japanese social construct of honne and tatemae.

I'm a bit divided personally on the subject of Sesshoumaru's immaturity. I think he is considerably less immature as the series ends than what he is at the beginning. Also I would imagine his father's death having an effect on him. He is young, for sure, but I believe his immaturity would depend on what backstory we choose to give him, after all maturity is more about life experience than it is about just age.

That said, I think it is worth noticing that there is a distinct fanon portrayal of Sesshoumaru floating around, that a lot of people seem to treat as canon, although it's not.

Actually watching or reading the series you will soon notice that Sesshoumaru is not nearly as expressionless or even silent than he is usually considered to be in the fandom. Furthermore, when was it ever said in the canon that he was the Lord of the Western lands?

So technically when writing a fic, we not only need to consider the canon portrayal of his character, we also should be aware of the widespread fanon portrayal of him.

Still, what is IC to someone might be OOC for another. Because we each have out own interpretations of the characters. And as always, how we approach the characters often depends on the context of the fic.

I personally find Sesshoumaru a lot easier to write than Kagome How I often portray him is; articulate, intelligent, tactical, cold and logical. I try to show he has feelings through his inner musings/thought process since he never really does voice his thoughts or feelings to others. For example, I try and use a richer vocabulary for him.

I.E; Sesshoumaru glowered at the hanyou who continued to shout like an enraged child, flinging Tetsusaiga hazardously around his head. It was a miracle that the moron hadn't managed to impale himself yet.

His golden glare steely, the daiyoukai arched a brow at the unravelling boy and demanded coolly, "Is your stupidity due to your ningen blood or were you just born ignorant?"

But that is just my writing style. I try my best to portray him as "OC" as possible considering I'm writing from my own opinion/view point of his character. My go-to personality traits are; arrogant, collected and the ultimate deliverer of low-belts jabs >_<