#This is one of my special interests (not autistic)

[third-thoughts]

I'm astonished and appalled that there's actually a trend of people pooh-poohing stylistic choices like this.

I'm autistic. Figurative language isn't something we're known for. I certainly wouldn't expect everyone to understand or enjoy it. BUT...

I have never had a problem with this kind of language. Probably because I'm an English nerd, probably because I've read so many books that I grasp this kind of language without thinking about it. If I sound like a smartarse below, it's because I'm getting nerdy with one of my special interests.

I know EXACTLY what it means to "gesture softly", because in this case, the writer is using "soft" in the sense of "gentle". A Google search for "soft definition" and "softly definition" confirms exactly this. Do... do people think they mean "soft" in a tactile sense?

In the same vein (not the blood vessel, you'll note), I also understand the meaning of "soft firmness". I understand it so much that I'm actually struggling to describe it differently, because to me those words ARE how I'd describe it!

To me, this kind of description is actually pretty commonplace. I've always assumed it was a perfectly normal way to describe things. I'm surprised people take issue with it.

I don't really even see the above examples as that figurative. The idea of softness and firmness as things that can be perceived not just through physical touch but in sound and movement is one I'm very used to.

But if you want to get more figurative, please do! I love a juicy metaphor. I love to see words employed in unusual ways, because they more clearly - and more satisfyingly - convey what the author means.

One area of possible caution is if you're writing fantasy or other speculative fiction where the thing you're using figuratively might well be real. A good example of this is the phrase so often deployed in romance, "His eyes darkened".

The darkening described here is not physical but rather emotional - in romance, often a rising intensity as our brooding hero finds himself overcome with lust. It could also be used to convey anger. But in many fantasy stories, someone's eyes could very well literally darken, in the sense that their colour could change.

The above example is common enough that seasoned readers will probably know what it means, possibly to the point of groaning "Oh, not THAT phrase again!" (Not me - I love it, every time.) But it's useful to consider whether your metaphor actually overlaps with something that could be literal in your story.

Anyway, I detest and despise the assertions that all flowery and/or figurative language must be AI, and the resulting pressure to leech all whimsy from ones work. I exhort my fellow wordsmiths to stand strong against it.

want to push back against an idea I'm seeing perpetuated recently that like

figurative language is 'bad' or 'nonsense' or indicative of AI

It's not. Literary prose is often written in a way which incorporates unusual or metaphorical descriptions to enhance atmosphere or to prod the reader to think about the character's actions.

If LLMs like CGPT are using figurative language, it is likely because they 'learned' it from 'reading' literary prose.

I see posts saying things like, "what does it mean to 'gesture softly?' you can't even do that!"

and no, not LITERALLY. The author is trying to get you to engage with the text and the figurative use of language. You DO know what it means. It means that the person was gesturing in a manner that was delicate or not emphatic. The phrase might be intended to tell you about that character's personality or relationship to other characters in the scene.

I was reading 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (translated by Gregory Rabassa) last night and thinking about this. There is a line in the book where the author writes:

Úrsula replied with a soft firmness:

The description of her speech as both soft and firm simultaneously is not meant to be literally interpreted. You could rewrite the sentence to be more literally correct by saying something like:

Úrsula replied calmly, but it was clear that she would not be persuaded away from her position.

But it would be a worse sentence. It's longer and more complex for no reason, and it doesn't contribute to the atmosphere of the piece or add to the stylistic choices. "Soft firmness" is interesting, makes the reader think about what Márquez is doing, and helps to characterize Úrsula.

Not every single text should be written in the clearest, most literal way. Whether or not someone writes using figurative language is a stylistic choice, and it's neither wrong nor an indicator of AI usage.

[wanderingcritter]

god gives his most niche fandoms to his most autistic warriors

[3liza]

im loving every poll i see where the OP is innocently about to get their lived experience violently deuniversalized

[bottlecap-joe-spooky]

Fellas is it gay to play chess (with a chess peice based after your "rival")?

[catmask]

it is insane how normal i am medicated like. you mean this was an option the whole time. what

[horsemeatluvr23]

hermitcraft s10 is just a documentation of the hermits descent into madness. wdym xisuma spent an hour on his hands and knees recording himself howling like a wolf ??

[biceratops7]

Gotta love how Aziraphale and Crowley represent both sides of the autistic room spectrum.

From “I gotta have everything I love in one single space at once” to “if more than two things cross my line of sight at a time I am going to fucking kill someone”

[etherealspacejelly]

Special interest ask game!

What first got you into your special interest?

What is your favourite part about your special interest?

Does it make you happy or sad when other people have the same special interest as you?

If someone wanted to get into your special interest for the first time, where would you recommend they start?

Share something cool about your special interest with us?

How long have you had this special interest?

Have you had any other special interests before? What were they?

Do other people usually find your special interest cool, or do they think its cringey/offputting?

Are there any parts of your special interest that you dont like?

Who is your favourite person to talk about your special interest with? (If they're on tumblr, tag them!)

[gorkaya-trava]

the excruciating pain of nobody caring about your special interest

[juicingbeetles]

Idia being autistic in Harveston Sledathon Event

I am endlessly fascinated by Idia as a character being extremely autistic, and how that plays into interactions and story.

First, the special interest plus infodumps abt said interests:

Idia struggles to communicate unless his special interest is mentioned, which in this case is Sled Over Heels. This is SUPER relatable. Autistic ppl may struggle with small talk unless its involving our special interest, resulting in infodumps that surprise nt folks.

Later on, we get references to food sensitivity:

Idia prefers his fruit to be a certain way, suggesting he struggles with taste or texture.

Aac device:

I'm not sure what else you could call his tablet. Idia uses it frequently, often when he's overwhelmed. Sebek is a loud, intense guy, which probably means Idia has a harder time communicating with him.

Later on, during the welcome party, we see Idia struggle with social anxiety, as well as an aversion to noise and crowds:

He then goes into a corner to escape the crowd and noise, unable to enjoy himself because of this. He's been thrust into something he didn't plan for, which can have a disastrous effect on auristic ppl.

Everyone else is confused by his behavior, since it implies that he's ungrateful for the kindness the Harveston people have given him.

Later on Epel tries to help Idia by asking if he's cold, which is not the issue. He's using his tablet, which shows that he's become overwhelmed and possibly dealing with a verbal shutdown. The party came "out of nowhere" and it caused him to struggle.

While Idia struggled a bit during the trip, it was really cool to see him getting excited about his special interest! It was also relatable to see how the other characters are just sort of confused by his passion for Sled Over Heels. I have had that happen to me countless times.

I enjoy seeing Idia as an autistic coded character because he feels realistic. While his special interest in tech makes him skilled, he has a lot of interests that are more "pointless," which is neat! His autism seems like it legitimately is a disability for him, and we see him deal with it without being infantilized. Idk i just love him

[breawycker]

Enid sniffing Wednesday repeatedly before proclaiming “you’re about to have a vision” then catching her before she hits the ground

Oooh I love this and her like growling at anyone who gets close to Wednesday when she's out. I've seen some angst-y art of Enid laying next to Wednesday worrying while Wednesday is in a vision and I just want to write something where Enid is just ready for her to wake up with some water because she knows that Wednesday's visions are often intense and having water and seeing Enid's face helps ground her. I like the idea of Enid's like inner wolf falling for Wednesday before her human self even realizes and then it hits her and she's like "oh wow 😳"

[larkmousedesigns]

Moonpaw

[inamindfarfaraway]

The Exorcists’ Masks of Virtue

The vast majority of Exorcists in Hazbin Hotel have a notable design element that other angels don’t: their masks are missing an eye. Specifically, the right eye.

I believe this is a reference to the Bible, Matthew 5:29. Jesus says, “If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”

He’s being hyperbolic. Mr Free Healthcare was not pro-mutilation. What he means is that you have to be willing to make sacrifices to prevent sin. The context of the eye metaphor is him condemning adultery and warning that even something as easy, casual and small as a look full of lustful intent can lead to further, worse sin if you don’t notice your sin, hold yourself accountable for it and do the work to not let it influence your decisions. This will probably be hard. It could be very, very painful. Changing your perspective can feel as horrible as plucking out your eye, so many people can’t bring themselves to do it. But although it won’t feel that way in the moment, it’s healthier for our general wellbeing in the long run to abandon traits and behaviours that damage ourselves and/or others.

(You may notice that Jesus’s teaching that you can have sinned, redeem yourself by giving up sin and thus escape damnation is the founding principle of the Hazbin Hotel. You may also notice that it contradicts everything the Exorcists believe.)

The Exorcists seem to follow this idea of painfully excising badness for the sake of the greater good devoutly to the point of placing it above teachings like ‘Thou shalt not kill’, with their job being to remove sin, in the form of sinners, to protect Heaven. Hence the missing right eyes. They’re a declaration of moral righteousness and inability to stumble.

But the truth is that the Exorcists all have their right eyes. Their flawlessness is a facade. Underneath, they are untouched, think themselves morally untouchable and, as shown by their horror and outrage when even one of them is killed, would much rather be physically untouchable too. This perfectly represents their complete unwillingness to acknowledge their own faults, let alone improve. They are never the ones who sacrifice. They force the sinners to sacrifice and don’t compensate it with any salvation. They metaphorically rip out the sinners’ eyes, but still condemn their entire bodies as inherently, permanently sinful. So they’ll just have to do another Extermination to get the other eyes! And another one to cut off their right hands! And so on until there’s nothing left.

The only exception to the rule is Vaggie, both in appearance and character. Her mask has the left eye crossed out instead. Even before her expulsion, she’s set apart to the audience as an Exorcist who has the capacity to, shall we say, see a different side of things. Her mask having its ‘sinful’ right eye reflects her understanding that the Exorcist worldview is wrong.

When she almost kills a demon child, her hateful vision clears. She discards the part of herself that’s an unquestioning, merciless agent of death, terror and grief… and as punishment for what Lute perceives as treacherous weakness, gets her eye plucked out.

Of course Lute leaves her with only the ‘sinful’ eye. It brands Vaggie forever as the inversion, a perversion, of what the Exorcists are meant to be.

You know, all this talk of eye removal in the Bible reminds me of another line - ‘an eye for an eye’. Adam directly quotes it in “Hell is Forever”. He uses it to frame the Exterminations as Old Testament-style punitive justice; the sinners did harm and so they receive it. But putting aside the debate about how ethical the concept of revenge is, the entire point of taking an eye for an eye is that it’s proportional. The punishment fits the crime. If someone cuts your eye out, you shouldn’t murder their whole family in front of them and then slowly disembowel them to death. That would be the sin of wrath. You should just make them pay without excessive pain or collateral damage. This is the fairest form of revenge.

The Exorcists don’t do that! The Exterminations aren’t proportional to the wrongs of all they hurt, nor was Vaggie’s brutal punishment equivalent to her extremely mild insubordination. Lute literally takes Vaggie’s eye, and more, after Vaggie does nothing to her! That’s the opposite of the phrase! Adam and his soldiers are wrathful and cruel, deriving satisfaction from others’ suffering. But they just can’t stop going on and on about how disgustingly evil the sinners are, in total hypocrisy… despite some of the sinners being far better people than the genocidal Exorcists are… it’s like they’re obsessed with specks of dust in the sinners’ eyes when they have massive logs stuck in their own. Oh hey, that’s in the Bible too!

[falindankovsky]

Can you tell this game has taken over all my thoughts?

[cupiidzbow]

we’re autism4autism have i ever mentioned that

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

The Autistic Struggle of Losing a Special Interest…

Neurodivergent_lou