my favorite michael misa character notes i have are: most oblivious guy ever, cannot chirp to save his life, too sincere (an all timer for me), likes being pushed around, but most importantly of all i think, he is strangely well adjusted.
it’s not that he doesn’t care about things, although he is a real idgaf-er, it’s that he likes what he likes, is going to do what he’s going to do, and it’s just that easy. even in the face of being made fun of for his draft jacket, he can laugh it off. it’s not a big deal! or when sam tells him that goody was actually making fun of his leather jacket, not complimenting it, misa is undeterred. he likes it so that’s enough! misa seems to be strangely good at just blocking out unimportant criticism, probably helped by his inability to understand when ppl are chirping him but whatever works i guess
even when the tables are flipped, and misa does not pay enough attention to the vibes to figure out that it’s probably not a good idea to bring up sam crying over the mem cup, he gets defensive about his fuck up but in a soft spoken way. he can still articulate why he said it and how he didn’t mean it as an insult, unworried about being in the wrong or that sam might be mad at him. this being said i can imagine being too sincere can also have a please stop airing my dirty laundry, i don’t care that you don’t find it embarrassing, i do effect for everyone around him
honestly this whole well adjusted thing he has going on, even if it doesn’t carry over to social settings, is why i like giving misa family problems or horrifying past experiences in fics. he can come from a family where his parents argued non stop, or have had people be genuinely awful to him, and still come out perfectly himself. the idea that there are things so life ruining and painful that he can walk through untouched bc he genuinely believes that there is nothing else to do but continue. he’s just the kind of guy who takes everything at face value, if you tell him something is one way then he’ll believe you. he can adjust, things change, and misa is still misa. there is no other way to be so why would he try to find one?
what i think it really boils down to is that misa is actually very sure of himself, it’s other people that he can’t figure out. he can be an overthinker and an underthinker. it’s hard to parse what people mean sometimes, if they’re being genuine or not, if misa is supposed to be genuine back. sometimes he sits there and goes what do i say, what do i say, what do i say, and other times, he doesn’t even think to question someone else’s words. he wants to be a trusting guy, is a trusting guy, but misa is also aware that’s not the way the world works. yet knowing that doesn’t mean he knows when to put his faith into someone or not.
when it comes to things that effect misa (ex. a heartbreaking past), he doesn’t have a problem moving straight forwards. it happened, it’s fact now, nothing else to do about it, can’t let it shake you. but for everyone else looking on, finding out, they feel greatly uncomfortable with the fact that misa can just move through things like that. he’s too nice, too oblivious, how do you not lose that kindness? sam wants to hold him in his hands and shake him, what do you mean kids used to lock you in the equipment room? what do you mean there was a year long stretch that your parents didn’t say a word to each other? what do you mean you lived at your senile grandmother’s house alone for months while your brother fucked off with his girlfriend? because misa will blab automatically that there’s a surprise party for toff but he’s not rehashing his past, he doesn’t worry about it. you have to move on, he thinks. sam, toff, and everyone else really can’t though, bc what do you mean, misa?