#I’m also autistic so the vibes could not be ruined and I’m reading it wrong again

[renarots]

Me when I can’t shut my mouth and suddenly ruin the vibes

[katatonicimpression]

Neurodivergence in Generation X Part 4:

The Twist

Heads up I hate this.

As I said before, the Monet we see across Generation X is actually four different people. There’s the twins (Claudette and Nicole) who control the “Monet” we see up until #31, the real Monet and Penance, the red demon-like creature that Monet is trapped inside. In revealing this twist to the audience, the series makes some weird decisions so I guess I’ll have to talk about it.

This is also where I talk about the more serious ableism in this series. Hopefully it won’t get too heavy.

In a staggeringly unnecessary move, it is revealed that one of the twins, Claudette, is autistic and not Monet - "Monet"’s catatonic spells were apparently a manifestation of Claudette’s autism and had nothing to do with Monet at all. To this day, Monet is assumed to be neurotypical in canon.

So why do they do this? Well, honestly it’s because they think autism is a bad thing. The initial reveal that Monet might have autism is handled like it’s a goddamn horror movie.

We’re supposed to think this is horrifying. And the idea of autism ultimately being a bad thing that can befall a person persists throughout the series.

Now, it might seem obvious why this is ableist but I’m going to spell it out just in case. While ASD is (by most people’s reckoning) a disability, that is not the same as it being a “thing that is wrong with you”. It’s not wrong or right, good or bad, it’s just one of many things that might be true of a person. This attitude - the attitude that autism is some horrible tragedy - has horrific effects in real life. It leads parents to not get their kids tested because they think the label will ruin their lives, thus denying them the support they need. It leads parents to put their children through horrible, even abusive, treatments to “cure” them. It’s the driving force behind the anti-vaxx movement which has cost children their lives. It’s not a new attitude, and Generation X is hardly the most egregious example of it but it is something that should never go unchallenged.

There’s also an unfortunate implication in how this manifests in the story because of the context. Monet is perfect. Her powers are perfect. She’s her dad’s favourite. Her brother envies her for this reason. Whether intentional or not, the implication here is that one of Monet’s “perfections” is that she’s neurotypical - that her sister has some flaw that she lacks. Now, if this story was being told from Claudette’s perspective maybe that’s something that could be interesting to explore, maybe use Claudette and Monet's relationship to challenge the idea that there’s something wrong with her. But that’s not the story they’ve told. They’re not even doing the “Look, Monet’s not perfect, she’s actually autistic.” route (I’m not saying that’s a good idea, but it’s at least an idea).

Instead, what they do is just leave that implication hanging there; That Monet is perfect in part because she’s neurotypical and Claudette is flawed because she’s autistic. Yay.

So I really don’t like this and part of me just doesn’t accept it. I have two reasons why.

1. The twins-controlled version of Monet still had her Personality and Intellect.

When operating “Monet”, the twins tap into her real powers - her strength, flight, telepathy and (crucially) her intellect. They clearly have some access to something that would normally be considered part of Monet's mind.

Most of the time we spend with Monet she doesn’t act like two children, but instead like herself. “Monet” does start acting childish right before her true nature is revealed. Between #25 and #31, “Monet” is immature, overly emotional and kind of dumb in a way that is a massive contrast to how she was before. Now, obviously the writers are spreading seeds of intrigue before the twist with her behaviour in these issues. But the thing that stands out to me is how much it implies that the twins were, at least initially, authentically recreating Monet’s personality.

It is made very clear that "Monet" is definitely more than simply the combination of the twins.

This is subjective (ok all of this has been super subjective) but “Monet” starts to act more like the twins after dealing with Black Tom Cassidy which is, by no coincidence, exactly when Penance starts to come into her own (by just slashing the everloving shit out of that man). By my reading, when Monet starts to emerge within Penance, “Monet” starts to lose her Monet-ness and become more like the twins.

This is also supported by the fact that when we do finally meet Monet as herself, she acts very much like “Monet” did when we first met her.

So - bear with me - if “Monet” is autistic and “Monet” has Monet’s personality and intellect, then why the hell isn’t Monet also autistic? Seriously, why wouldn’t she be? The writers have adopted a “autism is stored in the consciousness” approach and, like, I just don’t think that’s how brains work.

2. Monet still reads as Neurodivergent even if they didn’t intend it.

As I said, Monet’s personality remains pretty consistent once she’s restored to her own body, albeit without the catatonic episodes. So she’s still abrupt, bad at reading a room, self-conscious but somehow not self-aware - all of the things I’ve talked about that made me relate to her and see her as neurodivergent are still there.

Also there’s Penance. Penance represents a lot of things, but the most obvious thing - the thing they keep hitting you over the head with in this series - is that Monet’s experience of being trapped inside the voiceless Penance is a direct parallel to “Monet’s” catatonic state. I don’t think I can express quite how obvious this is when you’re reading this: Penance is an extended metaphor for the way autism can rob you of your ability to communicate and how that leads you to be seen as (and even feel) other, less than normal, inhuman maybe.

This is all deliberate, but the writers (due to the aforementioned ableism - the fact that they see autism as a flaw) don’t follow through with the conclusion the metaphor implies. The most natural reading of Penance is to conclude that Monet is autistic like Claudette.

Conclusion

In a way, if you feel represented by something, then you have been. I see a lot of myself and my own experiences in Monet and that really is enough. She is still subtextually autistic, even if she’s denied the label. From what I've seen, many people in fandom agree with me (tldr: the fan wiki says she's not autistic, tumblr says she is).

However, I do wish they would retcon the “don’t worry she isn’t actually autistic” vibe. Just a little moment in X-corp or something to confirm she is neurodivergent. No need to make a big deal over it - I certainly don’t want another horror-style reveal - but it would be nice to have textual confirmation.

I hope I’ve made it clear why I think Monet is a genuinely interesting example of autistic representation. She contains multitudes (sometimes literally) and goes beyond tired cliches. To see an autistic character like her - a layered and nuanced woman of colour - is really rare.

Generation X is not good at talking about neurodivergence - in fact, it’s often kind of yikes - but I still found it interesting. Hopefully, if you’ve somehow read to the end of this, you did too.

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Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

[meta-squash]

Brick Club 1.3.3 “Four For Four”

Hugo introduces the chapter by going over the many changes that have happened in Paris since 1817. However, I think it’s kind of an unintentional “the more things change, the more they stay the same” moment when he talks about all these changes, and then a few paragraphs later mentions M. Delincourt and M. Blondeau, law professors at the school whom Bossuet and Marius are still taking courses from 15 years later.

It also feels like a “pay attention” moment here in terms of Hugo talking to the reader. He’s describing these changes that have happened between 1817 and 1862, and yet it’s a moment for the reader to take stock of what has changed in the world between then and the present in which they’re reading, and also what is still the same. Technology is drastically different, social standards are drastically different, and yet you will still find eight friends running around on a weekend having fun, and you will still find a person who falls in love with someone who uses her, and you will still find women who are happy with quick-and-dirty flings, and others who get screwed over by the men in their lives. Technology is ever-changing and constantly advancing, but certain aspects of humanity and human interaction are universal.

In all this discussion of joy and fun, Hugo specifically references Edme-Samuel Castaing, a doctor who in 1822 murdered one close family friend and attempted to murder his brother, in order to gain their fortune. Kind of dark for such a happy occasion. Each chapter leading up to the climax of the dinner seems to have a reference or two that’s just slightly sinister or strange, in the middle of all the happiness.

This chapter really tries to put you in the shoes of the grisettes, with all it’s direct discourse to the reader as well as its beautiful and detailed descriptions of all the places they go and things they do on their outing and how much fun they’re having. The reader is set up for just as intense a disappointment as Fantine here.

Hugo also describes the poet Jean-Pierre-Jacques-August de Labouisse-Rochefort (guy’s got a Tikki Tikki Tembo-level name) walking past them and comparing them to the three Graces, but noting that there’s one too many. Again, this feels like a separation of Fantine from the others. She’s not supposed to be there, not supposed to be in this situation, because she’s not like the other grisettes and perhaps isn’t treating this outing in the same way that the other three girls are.

What are the “keepsakes” Hugo mentions here? I know about Victorian memorial jewelry for mourning or hair-based jewelry and art to commemorate certain occasions, but this seems more romance-based and google is giving me nothing.

Tholomyes is in control here, and everyone knows it, even though Favourite is leading the group. It seems implied that he’s kind of been the one calling the shots the entire time this group has known each other. He’s pretty much a walking display of up-to-date fashion and wealth here. I’m not sure if the “nothing being sacred to him, he smoked” line is in reference to some sort of specific smoking etiquette of the time, or simply just idea that instead of frolicking with the others, he’s hanging back on his own and puffing on this cigar for his own singular pleasure. Either way, giving off pretty big “look at me I’m cool and idgaf” douchebaggery vibes here.

We see Fantine happy! Hugo also draws more attention to her teeth and hair, even having her hold her hat instead of wearing it. Maybe I’m wrong, or maybe working women had different fashions, but my conception of early 1800s hairstyles is fairly pin-heavy updos, so it seems like Fantine’s flyaway hair is just another symbol of her childlike-ness or naivety, especially paired with the description of her “babbling” in the next sentence. Her clothes are also described as being much more conservative than her friends. Altogether the picture of innocent, modest youth.

Erigone is the origin of the constellation Virgo. (Sidenote: trying to look up images of actual ancient Greek masks in the dumpster fire of 2020 is ridiculous.) I couldn’t find any mask references, but there are plenty of Erigone paintings from the late 18th and early 19th century. She also apparently featured in pastoral poetry quite often, so the use of her image here makes sense.

Hugo references Galatea earlier in his description of Fantine, and then again when he says “you could imagine underneath this dress and these ribbons a statue, and inside this statue a soul.” Hugo seems to imply less that she is a sort of Galatea-esque figure, and more that she is like Galatea in that she has a potential inside her that is as yet unrealized. And unfortunately it will remain unrealized, at least until she dies and becomes this symbolic, religious sort of spirit venerated by Valjean.

“A gaiety tempered with dreaminess.” Fantine is so head-in-the-clouds so much of the time. She seems to operate on a slightly different level from everybody else. Somebody mentioned a headcanon of her being autistic? That certainly seems to scan for a lot of this. (I also love it and hate it at the same time. More autistic main characters please! But also less tragic autistic main characters please!)

Hugo is very not subtle about Fantine being a symbol for Innocent And Pure Woman here. He really goes all out when describing her as this working girl who has all this ideal beauty and grace and modesty.

He also really wants to hammer home how important her modesty is specifically. I feel like there are some interesting implications here. Fantine at this point seems to be having as much sex as the other grisettes in her cohort. She gets to be modest and pure despite her sexual activity, while the other grisettes do not. Obviously we don’t really know much about the other girls, so maybe they also have children, but it seems like Fantine may be the only one. So despite the child out of wedlock and the sexual activity, Fantine gets to be pure and modest in personality, in dress, and in symbolism, while her friends are not. Partly I think this is, as Hugo said in the last chapter, an aspect of the powers of Love and how Fantine’s capacity to love so completely makes her different. But what does that say about the other grisettes, who don’t have that passionate and loyal love, and yet are still negatively affected by society or poverty? I mean, I get what Hugo is doing, making Fantine extremely sympathetic, but also making her this pure and modest woman instead of just a regular working girl like her friends seems to imply a betterness? Or at least a Reason for her goodness, while perhaps that reason wouldn’t exist had she been a grisette who acted like the rest of her friends do.

“Love is a fault; be it so. Fantine was innocence floating upon the surface of this fault.” The reason for Fantine’s wisdom is her capacity to love. It’s also her downfall. Because she loves without pretense, without experience, she is ruined. This makes me feel like her “wisdom” isn’t necessarily an intrinsic knowledge of any kind, it’s more like this unhindered ability to love despite the world’s cruelty? Every other main character starts out with a lack of love and then slowly discovers the ability to love (and also to be loved). Fantine starts out with not only the ability to love, but the ability to love completely. She gets screwed over by Tholomyes, and she does harden a little bit, but she never loves Cosette any less. Compare this to the Thenardiers and their children, or Magnon and her children. Fantine’s unique wisdom is that her love does not diminish the more hardship she encounters or the more miserable she becomes.

[mermaidfan76]

Homeless Autistic Girl

Hey guys... this really kills me to ask, however right now I’m homeless at the moment.

Technology, I’m living with a long time friend who is hounding me to find a job since she believes it’s just so damn easy and move out by The end of February. I’ve put out application after application and only maybe a couple have called back for an interview. Only for them to tell me the same exact thing over and over, “You don’t seem like you will do well for this job.” With out even giving me a garsh darn chance to show them I’m willing to work my butt off.

Yet, they hire people who are literally ALLERGIC to manual labor, and pay them twice the wage to appease them so they don’t get sued. It pisses me off. I have Autism and PTSD, I watched my mother and fathers beloved dog get run over by a car, I know these people have mommy and daddy’s that coddle them. My parents died on September 22, 2013. My sister’s threw me out in the cold and said I’m on own. I’m still here, sadly. Not one day goes by and I don’t think about giving up and killing myself. Love to give that bayberry (under a new name) Bitch and all the rest what they wanted in the first place! With heartless pieces off shit like them in this world, I definitely don’t feel it’s worth the aggravation!

You push, you kick, you fight, you bite, you bunch, but guess what you end up someone else’s lunch! It’s survival of the fittest and you’ve won the game if you have Money, Fame, and/or Power! Just 1 on these gives you the right to control poor peoples lives!

You can play the advocate for good all day, but turning a blind eye to the innocent people that are truly in pain by the very people you are advocating for. Who’s the real villain? Saying the people who did nothing deserve it because someone said its poetic revenge... read a book. Get your facts straight, you really think they would attack now? Why didn’t they attack back then? People don’t postpone revenge -_-...

(if I had a grudge against a person, I’d want to get them now, not expect my descendants to attack his descendants. 1. How do I know if they’ll follow through? 2. What if everything is patched up and my other descendants didn’t know that and still desire to take their revenge? (They don’t even know what the whole argument is about... could be about stealing the last slice of pizza) This is about taking over the world just like before! We stopped them once! They’re trying again, however they fooled you!)

So with politics, islamphopia (more like not wanting an ideology of woman haters who desire to take over any free country and turn it to a world of oppression and insanity), racism (a political term used when a white person doesn’t agree with you), feminist (because women are oppressed because they have tits and a vigina), fatphopia (because veggies don’t taste like cake, if they did we’d still become fat, why? Because we’d get sick of sweets and want savory tasting veggies that you only get from cake... oh the irony), LBGT without Q (Queers are just feminist men who are really flamboyant gays... and real gays try to avoid, ever heard the term, “Queer as a Clock work Mouse.” Man I miss my English mother! The LBG, The Les, The Bi, and The Gay, do as you wish... Hey I’m you Bi, I find shapely girls just Be A U Ti Ful to draw, have to get that full body motion. Gays, love ya, best guy friends and you give perfect fashion advice, Lesbians, you’re very easy going and easy to talk to, al yal are A O Kay in my book. Trans, um... look umm... I’m female... I have more of a male mind... we can find common ground here can’t we?) and that’s what I go through everyday. Half the words I’m called... how do they apply to me? Like racist? I judge by character, not by skin tone.

(All I see is another human being in front of me. If you act like you’re above a human being, than I’ll treat you the way you treat me. Not one human is above another. If you have earnt that privilege than you are granted that only by the people who gave you such power, however they have the power to take it away. That is the true purpose of the second Amendment! In short; “a president is a civil servant to the people of his/her country that he/she has sworn to protect! As such nothing is beneath them!”)

I really wish people would do their homework...

My friend I was talking about earlier; well she’s not only getting on my case about finding a job, but she’s also pissing me off about politics. Her plan is to be an American History Teacher. She wants to teach her class how America was founded on the “Socialistic” Principles we use today and that’s bullshit! We wouldn’t have many of our largest company products that I bet everyone of you see every single day, more than likely every minute of your day.

(For Starters:

Let’s start off with Ford, if America was a Socialistic Society, well then all of you who drive a Ford let alone a car in general, would walk everywhere. If it wasn’t for Ford’s Model T being a Successful test run clearing the way to Model A. Ford’s company could only up from there. (Btw: anyone who drives the VMW Bug- just a little trivia for you did you know that the original design was created by Adolf Hitler himself? Adolf Hitler was the original Designer for the shape of that car the VMW Bug, just a little tid pit I know from Graphic Design School, hope that doesn’t ruin your VMW driving experience:D)

Another one I’d like to point out: McDonald’s, that famous Golden Arches fast food places started as a ma and pa rest stop, now it’s one of the biggest fast food chains in the world! Mickey D’s started again in America! Again how is that possible in a Socialistic society?

Socialism is structured to where everyone is equal... equal pay... equal healthcare... equal quality of living... doesn’t count the politicians! In this system if you work you’re an idiot. Those who sit on their ass get everything handed to them, those who work their asses off barely survive. So why bother putting yourself through that much torture. Because:

No one working:

No power

No cable

No doctors

No teachers

No police

No food

No safety

No security...

Why? This would have been a good thing! This here proves Socialism doesn’t work!

If everyone decided to not work because they’re getting ripped off; than America shuts down! The government is screwed! And so are the moochers!)

Those are only two examples of capitalism being a good thing.

There is so much more... not to mention the feminist aspects like Susan B. Anthony: Voicing her “opinion” by voting for who she thought would be a good president. Of course the judge was going to let her off with a warning because “woman privilege” (woman today would be like okay and do it again), however she, Susan B. Anthony, A Real Feminist, (no Feminist is an insult to her, She a Real Woman, The Genuine Wonder Woman!) demanded she was sentenced to jail just like any man who broke the law! (Please oh please can we do that to these modern, pussies who call themselves women!) The first woman to fly a plane over the pacific Amelia, or the women who rose up against unjust treatment Rosa Parks, I mean come on. Worst of all is, she’s being taught tha John Wilkes Booth was Republican and Abraham Lincoln was Democrat... and it’s reversed. There’s a saying the liberals came up with: “if those damn n$&@€ must vote then they should only vote Democrat!”

My friend has become heartless and greedy, I’m in a fucked up spot because of a malicious brat who played innocent and didn’t understand what happens when you compromise. It’s not one side surrenders and the other gains, but what do I expects from the preppy college school type, (not all preppy girls are mean, I just have this personality that sends the wrong vibes and makes them more territorial)AKA mean girl type... however, this girl demanded everything goes her way or else. She’s from Georgia, yet she comes to higher elevation part and in the middle of the US, it’s winter yet she expects sunshine and beaches? All of us to be drinking out of a coconut? Yes, her hair is blonde at the roots, and she smokes pot in the apartment. Kind of gives you a clue on the person she is. Of and her Boy Toy is always there... when I stayed there. She blamed me for her messes, and her food she didn’t eat. Thing is I hate fish. Well another one to count she has a low IQ from the Mercury poisoning... and here I thought fish helped with brain development.

Anyway, it was hell, so my friend volunteered on the condition that I find a job and move out ASAP. I’m tryin as hard as I can here.

Being told no everywhere I go is very discouraging. I’ve made a gofund me campaign to maybe to maybe help a little... I don’t expect anyone to donate really... if anyone could click the link and share it to a friend they know and spread it around.

By February the only place I’ll be staying is my car on the side of the road... just sharing the story helps. Thank you.

<link>https://www.gofundme.com/homeless-autistic-girl<link>