#ah yes the autist team

[basofy]

artist team

[alyakthedorklord]

Batman the Playboy

Justice League, not quite early days but before proper identity reveals, though everyone knows Batman knows theirs, bc he has Opinions™ and Constructive Criticisms™ on their secret-keeping.

The issue is brought up on random occasions. The most notable incident- the Justice League, including Batman, being Drunk for Bonding, (or hit with some kind of drug while out saving the world) and Batman, in a fit of paranoid good intentions because he CARES about these idiots, damnit, why must they be so careless, starts insulting them.

Batman, leaning heavily on the table: “GL, you’re a mess, I don’t even know where to start with you. And Arrow! Your goatee is so distinctive, it’s a wonder no one has called you out on it-“

Green Arrow, also drunk: “Alright, there’s no need to insult my awesome facial hair-”

Batman, in despair: “It’s so ugly.”

Green Arrow: (offended noises)

Green Lantern: “Okay, the only reason you know our secret identities is because you’re a rude nosy bastard who needs to know everything about us like a creepy stalker who needs an ego boost! We’re not stupid, Spooky, we’re just polite. We could figure you out easily if we wanted to. Superman can see right through your mask!”

Usually, Batman would have a good response to that. Something smart and reasonable like “villains won’t care for your privacy, I’m testing you,” or something cutting like “I don’t care enough about you to go digging, I set your secret identity as a training exercise for Robin.”

However, Batman is Drunk, because for some reason imbibing drugs that dampen higher brain function is socially acceptable and often, for some reason, expected, because it’s “team bonding” and “come on just loosen up a bit.” (Also for him, drunk=Brucie)

So what Batman ends up saying is: “I could kiss you full on the lips in my secret identity and you wouldn’t know a thing.”

Superman, plucking the glass from Batman’s hand: “Aaaand that is enough alcohol for you!”

Batman nods. Thank God. He wants to go home and sleep. But first: “Superman, yours is so stupid it’s almost impressive-”

———

Of course, Green Lantern has smelled a challenge. And Green Lantern must annoy Batman. It’s his true superpower. So, the next time they meet (sober) he brings up the issue again.

GL: “So about what you said at the party… the part where you could kiss us full on the lips without us knowing. You still confident in that without liquid courage, Spooky? Bet you your real name you can’t do it.”

Batman, regretting the fact that alcohol has ever passed his lips: “I could do it, but I will not.”

Flash, curious: “Why’s that?”

Batman: “Informed Consent. I will not risk making any of you feel violated, or manipulated, for the sake of a stupid bet and my ego.”

GA, still offended by the goatee comment, trying to back Batman into a corner: “So if we give consent, we’re fair game? Try me, Batman. Even you can’t pull this off. Anyone else game?”

Some of the Justice League laughs, raising their hands.

Flash: “Come get me, hot stuff! I’ll call you out!”

Wonder Woman: “It could be amusing.”

Martian Manhunter: “I would be far too difficult a target.”

Green Arrow: “Not just you. C’mon, Spooky, flirting well enough to get a kiss from me? I’m a classy lady.”

Black Canary: “D-class, maybe.”

Superman, wants a kiss in on the fun: 🙋🏻‍♂️

“So that’s it then!” Green Lantern says smugly. “Batman, if you can kiss… how many people raised their hands? Ah yes- HALF THE JUSTICE LEAGUE, without anyone realizing it’s you, then you win.”

Batman scoffs and walks out, leaving the Justice League in stitches at their joke. Because- Batman? Being good enough at flirting to land a kiss on half the league, without it being forced or awkward, without them recognizing his body language, his voice, his build? How ridiculous!

The Batman is Autistic. The Batman does not understand jokes, especially not ones that are half truths. The Batman has consent, and something to prove.

And Bruce Wayne, billionaire, playboy, and sexy DILF, has targets.

(Please tell me how you think he gets each League member.)

Edit: there have been a bunch of awesome additions in the notes! My own take here.

[erinaeris]

Laios Touden and the Responsibility of Power

First off, let me gush just a bit about how fucking STRONK this man is. Olympic weightlifters are dying of sheer envy and lust over this man. He is a FUCKING POWERHOUSE.

My favorite panels ever, and judging by the cropping of the second photo, Tumblr agrees.

AHEM, where was I?

Ah yes. He's not just strong and incredibly hot, my man is literally an invasive species in this dungeon. He knows every single weak spot of every monster Thistle tried to throw at him and when he finds it he just fucking RAMS HIMSELF AT THEM AND TAKES THEM DOWN.

And when he's a dwarf HE LITERALLY BENDS STEEL.

"Beat Namari at arm wrestling"? My boy, she wouldn't let you anywhere near because you'd FUCKING BREAK HER HER HAND ALONG WITH THE TABLE. (It's such a fucking shame we didn't see Senshi at least raising an (perfectly plucked except it just grows that way naturally) eyebrow in the background when he sees this. Alas, he was too distracted by his hair.)

But I mentioned responsibility, didn't I? Strength is power in the dungeon, and we all knows what comes with great power. And Laios is, in fact, very responsible with that power!

(Futther examples under the cut, wee bit spoilers for anime watchers)

This scene lives rent-free in my head forever, because of two things: Thistle suddenly realizing just what the hell he's up against,

And Laios breaking Thistle's arm.

Now, I think Laios didn't mean to actually break his arm here, he's just half-blind and dizzy and knows he has to restrain Thistle or it will all go to shit. So that's what he does. The move you see above is a restraining hold. The point is that the person pinned down can't struggle much because the position of the arm presses the suprascapular nerve, so it hurts a lot, but unless they're held that way for too long they'll be fine.

But Thistle is TINY and elves are generally fine-boned. I think Laios really did just underestimate his strength.

And the moment the dragons aren't an IMMEDIATE THREAT anymore?

Laios heals him. Thistle's a better mage than him by miles, he could have done it himself. But no. Laios does it. He was too rough, too careless with his strength, and he immediately backtracked, fixed what he broke, and continued with more mindfullness.

And these are just the examples that stuck in my mind the most. And it happens often enough that the team isn't even fucking surprised! Laios' strength would 100% scare people who only saw him in a barfight and didn't know anything else about him. Hell, the other adventurers they meet fucking quiver before this guy who just took down a monster they had nightmares about in one blow, up until he opens his mouth and they relax. You put more malevolent software in that sort of hardware and he'd be the next Shadow Governor.

But Laios is Laios. He's a gentle soul at heart (a Great Pyrenese, specifically, the gentlest souls ever unless you're out for their flock) and he is VERY CAREFUL with his strength, ESPECIALLY around his team. Chilchuck, who is literally half his size and underfed to boot, can smack Laios as much as he wants with ZERO fear because Laios is aware he can hurt Chilchuck by literally tripping over him, so he just stays still and lets Chilchuck smack at him. I'd be surprised if he ever managed to leave a bruise. Chilchuck has to aim at Laios' weak spot (back of the knee here) just to get Laios to notice him!

But because I have some experience with marital arts and close combat, I think the fight with Shuro exemplifies my point so fucking well! Laios is HURT here, he's living every autistic person's worst nightmare.

And he HOLDS BACK. His restraint is fucking IMMACULATE.

Shuro is fucking lucky Laios still liked him when he started talking shit, because he would have broken his spine otherwise. Laios doesn't even take the fight seriously! He starts with a fucking SLAP.

Shuro retaliates with an actual punch (that does nothing but piss him off)

Laios wobbles. Shuro HITS THE DIRT.

And this is the part where he realizes just how outside his weight category he is. Shuro definitely has technique on his side, but that means jackshit when you need ten blows to to even bruise your opponent, but one hit from them will leave you drinking through a straw for a week. For a second there, Shuro thought he was in ACTUAL DANGER.

But instead of finishing the job, Laios tries to talk him down, which just sets him off again. Man was at his fucking LIMIT, and it snapped. Self-preservation who?

And the best part is? Shuro is throwing all his strength behind his punches and Laios just takes them, but Laios? He mostly pushed Shuro around!

They're mostly grappling here, precisely because Laios is very conscious his friend is pretty fragile right now.

And when he does have enough?

Shuro is flat on the ground again, and Laios has a black eye and a bloody nose. He sits down and five minutes later he's ready to go! Like yes, Shuro was at a low point here, but he's been mowing through monsters at only a bit slower pace than Laios' party. He's no weakling regardless. And Laios had to HOLD BACK SO HE WOULDN'T HURT HIM. And it's so obvious that Maizuru takes one look at the two of them and leaves them to their toussling.

When I saw her reaction I had to scroll back and take another look, because I was sure she would intervene! But she doesn't! She is aware of Laios' strength, she has to be, and she doesn't lift a finger to help her precious charge. She knows the big dog he's wrestling with knows to watch his strength.

And that's my whole point: my boi is STRONK AF! And he is very aware of his strength, and how he could hurt the people around him is he wasn't careful, so he is ALWAYS CAREFUL. He has deeply internalized the fact that to have strength is to be careful with it, to use it in service of people rather than to hurt them (possibly from his dad). He is going to SUCH a good king! He's not going to like the job but by GOD he will do it really well.

And I will give my right arm to see a fic about the first corrupt lord/governor/courtier who attempts to misuse their authority for their own gain. Kabru's gonna have to talk Laios out of an execution.

[callofdudes]

Keegan P. Russ x Autistic Reader

A/n: Once again, I myself am not autistic, I'm just here to try and spread love to you guys through characters. If any of this is wrong you can feel free to let me know ♥️

Keegan had a small circle. He didn't people a whole lot but mentoring the new kids that somehow ended up under his wing kind of became his thing. Like the unethical uncle whose closer in age to you than your parents kinda thing.

So when he heard you'd be joining the team he knew you were damn good. They hadn't had someone join for a while considering how tight knit that were, under the radar and skilled.

So whoever you were, you were worthy and Keegan could recognize that. Even if he'd test for himself your limits on field.

When you first met him he wasn't exactly what you'd expected. The others looked somewhat presentable and there was... Keegan. 😂😅

You were nervous to impress them and didn't want to fail. You were given the opportunity to work with the ghost team. You didn't want to screw it up.

When you met him, those first few days were extremely anxiety inducing. Shaking his hand and struggling to keep your eyes in one place.

"Eyes on me soldier."

"Sorry sir." You whispered, looking up at him briefly before your eyes darted away somewhere else again.

"Have trouble with eye contact soldier?"

"Yes sir... Sorry."

"That's fine. Just address me respectfully. We'll work on the eye contact."

You nod a little, following after him while Logan and Hesh follow after.

It didn't take too long. He eventually got his hands on your proper file instead of word of mouth and got to reading. This is where he discovered you are autistic.

Ah, so that explained eye contact. He doesn't know a lot about autism. He knows it makes a person neurologically different from others. But that was about it.

He just shrugged and went along with it, figuring he could learn from watching you. Since staying in the background and watching was his thing.

He watched you attempt to socialize with the others. They were all relatively quiet, all except for Hesh and Logan, who were riding the excitement of a new member.

They were a family and happy to welcome you and your skills in.

Over time Keegan got to noticing little things about you. How you flinched and at louder noises and your nose scrunched whenever you accidentally touched something you didn't like.

Especially the masks that they had for you guys to optionally wear. They were scratchy and tight and just didn't feel the best. Immediately turning down the offer to wear it.

Keegan noticed how you are your food, what you would refuse and what you'd eat. Your little organized piles, as well as with your new room.

Huh, autism definitely had its perks. That what he thought at first. One mission where you were forced to wear the mask for clearance purposes changed that.

You were stuck in this tight, itchy thing. It made your face too hot and pulled at your cheeks. You kept tugging it and trying to move it, scrunching up when it rubbed on your skin.

"Keep up kid." Keegan called behind him as he walked further along the old road. Your feet picked back up, silently following while trying to just get over the feeling of the mask.

Everything was going good, the air was quiet, the enemies were still. The ghost team doing what it did best.

Until the stress, the mask, the smell of the air through the fabric, and something inside you all too familiar snapped.

You dropped your gun at your hilt, immediately clawing at the thing desperately. Keegan whipped around, gun aimed until he saw it.

"Kid- kid, easy." He went over, attempting to pull your hands away but tears filled your eyes. "Get it off- get it off! Get it off!" You choked, voice cutting into nothing.

"You need to keep it on, it's fine."

You sobbed, finally pulling the edge, trying to rip it off your face, so Keegan stepped in. Pushing your back against the wall, his knee pressing into you as he gently pulled the mask off, letting you breathe.

Your back against the wall was grounding, breathing in air, rubbing your sweaty face of the afterfeeling. "Easy... Keep your head in the game, kid."

After that Keegan decided to do some more digging. He hadn't seen you looked so panicked.

That's where he learned about your sensitivity to different things and how textured, tastes, smells, touch, all can be affected.

And he felt that protectiveness. He didn't have to, but he went to the main office and got a different mask approved. It was a smoother, almost silk texture. Not too heavy, and it was loose. Next mission he gave it to you.

"Kid, try this." He tossed you the mask and in a last second you caught it, looking at it. "For me?" You looked back up at him.

"Keep your helmet on straight, you should be fine." He grabs his gun, nodding. "Wanna help you do your job right, right?"

You smiled softly. "Right."

From that point on Keegan pretty much adopted you. You were a good fighter, sometimes getting overwhelmed. When you were alone down in the compound with the others in the building, he was there.

"Keegan..."

"Talk to me kid, what do ya need?"

"I don't know what to do..." Your breathing was picking up as you looked at all the corners and empty fields.

Keegan nodded, grabbing the monitor. "Alright, couple feet in front of you, then you'll make a left. Should be two guys at the end of that wall. Take them down."

Keegan walked you through. It became habit to help you through when you needed it or felt unsure and overwhelmed.

And if anyone attempted to bully you or point it out? I pray for their soul, because God is the last thing they'll be talking to after that.

Keegan is pretty protective of you, and overtime You've grown closer to you. You opened up about your life with autism over drinks one evening. Telling him about the good and the bad.

Keegan wasn't the hugest talker, so he listened. Eyes on you, he tipped his drink to his mouth as you talked about autism. And then slowly throughout telling some of your life story you dragged onto topics of your favorite game characters or action figures. Iconic music people you liked or movies. And Keegan listened with interest.

You two talked until the bar closed and Keegan covered the tab, escorting you out the door.

"Keegan." You touched his arm.

He turned before getting in the car, looking at you. "Yeah?"

"Thanks. People usually say I'm annoying... You listened though."

Keegan hummed. "Always listening kid. Always."

You chuckled and rolled your eyes playfully. You got in the car and the two of you headed home.

After a nightmare of the battlefield, you would usually just hide. Your weight blanket under your bed usually worked. Your other squadmates hated you and you first started having nightmares around them.

But this time, breathing heavy, tears in your eyes, you found yourself at Keegan's door.

Keegan grumbled as he unlocked it and looked at you. "Kid... Y'ok?"

You shake your head, trembling. "Can I... Stay with you?"

There was a tense moment. Keegan didn't let many people into his room, or his bed, for any reason on that matter. But something tugged on that heart of his buried somewhere in there.

"Come in. Get comfy as you need."

You nodded gratefully and came over. Keegan let you lay down, smelling the familiar smell of Keegan on the sheets. Seeing his room for the first time. If was dark, there weren't any vibrant colors or patterns so it wasn't as much to look at.

But sometimes that's nice.

Keegan sat in the chair by his desk, looking at you, watching you get all situated in bed.

"Keegan can..." You sniffed. "Can you lay on top of me?"

He frowned. "What for?"

"Just... Please, it's complicated."

Keegan could see in your eyes you weren't pulling his leg so he did. Crawling into bed, making sure you were comfy on your back before slotting himself on top of you, arms wrapped around you a little, head settling.

"This ok?"

You wrapped your arms around him tightly. "Yes, thank you." You whispered. And within 20 minutes you were back asleep. With a warm, known body against yours.

Keegan has got your back. It's something you've slowly come to realize over time. Whether it be helping with food, environment, being a giant human weight blanket, talking you through missions, letting you ramble about anything you'd like.

You found yourself smiling with this family. Getting a chuckle out of him as you rambled on and on about things you wanted so desperately to talk about. Stuff someone was willing to hear.

This was a place that made you feel safe, a person you felt safe with.

Keegan could probably do some more research, and he promises he will find the time for it, but for now, he will learn alongside you as you grow more and more into an even better soldier.

[annabellelupin]

thoughts I've had while re reading poa as a marauders fan, part one (chapters 1 - 4)

(id just like to point out this is my first time reading the books since middle school and first time I've read the books since I became a marauders fan in 2020)

chapter 1

- ok so ye the Weasleys are really poor, but if they're "extremely poor" you'd figure they'd use their money for something other than a vacation

-I forgot sweet little hedwig existed djdjdjdkdjd

-someone please eat the rat

-let the future cat have him pleaseeeee

-why did I start to dislike hermione so much again??? maybe it's just movie hermione I hate and I can't remember the differences between the two

chapter 2

-why are most of the antagonistic characters portrayed as fat and why is the fact that dudley is obese brought up so many fucking times like that seems pretty fat phobic of you Rowling

- when actually reading and thinking about the Harry potter books and movies I imagine the actor that played sirius and not the fanart marauders sirius I'm more used to, and apparently his hair is depicted as elbow length in the books not shoulder length WE WERE ROBBED. could have had long haired sirius with a bun in ootp

- also I swear marauders Era Sirius and golden trio era Sirius (so canon and fanon sirius) are two completely different people in my mind

- also forgot "muggle" news talked about sirius

-just finished the chapter and seriously he is so sassy (guess that's what you get when you're Sirius and marlenes godson, and James and Lily's actual son)

- also I really fucking hate how much mental abuse is glazed over here like????

- it happens every summer and he's forced to return to his abusers like wtf

- this is why I don't like Dumbledore very much

chapter 3

-forgot padfoot wasn't like an actual dog sized dog

-lowkey forgot about padfoot in general ngl

-bro harry are your really throwing precious and innocent Neville under the bus rn come on dude seriously

-ok like when they mention Sirius I can't help to think of the dramatic, gay, Remus obsessed Sirius from all of the wolfstar text posts I've read

-also the fact they have to clarify what a gun is in the wizard news is wow

-same with Ron not knowing how to use a phone

-no wonder these people keep having Wizarding wars and unstable teachers at their schools

- love how this 13 year old kid is panicking over the possibility of going to wizard prison for breaking one rule

-also side note the more I read the more I feel like Daniel Radcliffe portrayed him super well

- hedwig supremacy

- "ur the literal wizard president" "yea but I'm not ur guardian dumbass I can't sign ur permission slip what in hell is this"

- why is reading stans parts so fucking hard

chapter 4

- ah Florean Fortescue the one genuinely nice adult in these books (isn't he like Alice's dad or something?) I just remembered her last name is actually more or less a headcanon uhhh that's fun

- the Irish quidditch team are actually mentioned along with the quidditch world cup even Harry's checkin out the firebolt

- coincidence that Dean and Seamus are mentioned at the same time? I think not

- seriously jkr why do you keep giving kids abusive gaurdians and acting like it's nothing (talking about Neville and his grandmother)

- "...Ron looking incredibly freckly, Hermione very brown..." (pg 55 in my book). when first reading this part years ago I registered it as Hermione was black/poc and not that she was just tan from the sun lmao

- I swear crookshanks was James' old cat and that's why he hated peter

- also Percy wow this why you don't befriend stray rats man

- the things this rat has seen go on in Percy's and Oliver's dorm room....

- still probably not as bad sharing a dorm with Remus and Sirius tho

- I love the twins sense of humor

- but guys stop messing with my precious baby Percy he's just- an autistic overachiever doing his best guys

- ..."he lost everything..." Yes Sirius did in fact lose almost everything Arthur but not bc what you think happened dude

- "he's safe with Dumbledore-" yea fucking right /sar

- "stationniong soul sucking demons around a school is such a good idea hehehehe" /sar

- literally there's no fucking way McGonagall thought Sirius did it- literally fucking refuse to believe that she did

going to start another post for chapter 5 bc oh boy it's going to be long

[socialcarcrash]

Do you have a favorite Bones episode/plot line????

AH yes okay i have a few so hang with me,

Hodgins is the loml so ‘finger in the nest’ is everything to me that therapy session with sweets is so me i cant get over it at all. I feel like it was a great representation of the autistic rage that i feel so frequently and i so understand it. The scene and the way that the rest of the jeffersonian still showed they cared for hodgins is so comforting for me.

Parts in the sum of the whole: how could i not be insane about this episode. For real, i, as a sciency person i felt SEEN through that whole thing and its just such a fun episode! I really loved season one and it was super nice to see everyone back together!

Im insane about the gormogon arc, i have been since i was like…nine. Widows son in the windowshield was the second episode i ever watched (when i was six lol) so it holds a super special place in my heart. I just love when hodgins gets all insane about the conspiracies and the interpersonal relationships between everyone at the jeffersonian seriously shows throughout this.

OKAY i forgot the episode but my favourite moment ever is when hodgins is casually playing with a plastic dinosaur in the lab he is SO ME fr.

My favourite sweets episode is The Bullet in the Brain (can you tell i love hurt/comfort). I just love when a tv show lets characters struggle with their mental health and be open about that kinda thing. also him playing with that stim toy? autism headcanons went wild for that. As a whole i love the gravedigger plot line cause it really strengthened the relationships and trust within the team and is epic to watch.

I love the Truth in the Myth too! cause vincent nigel murray!!! hes so great!!! Its a super funny episode that manages to tackle recovery from addiction in a simultaneously entertaining but respectful and educational way.

There is definately way more that I cant think of right now but this infodump was the best thing ever thankyou so much im thriving rn for real

[sorathesploon]

UNDER THE SURFACE

MEET THE CHARACTERS : 1

Lola || They / Them

Ah yes, my Splatoon 3 character, my autistic little baby. Small and agile, Lola is an unexpected case, being extremely strong for their size. Lola is an optimistic inkling, trying their best to find the good in every situation, and reassure those who aren’t so sure there is any. They are amazing at comforting people, and they care deeply about everyone around them. Everybody likes Lola. Other than that, Lola is a fairly chaotic individual, parkouring to the top of high buildings, sometimes to paint the landscape, and getting into trouble with their friends often. They can follow the rules when needed, but they don’t mind a little bending of them.

Lola is 17 at the start of the main Under the Surface story ( UtS ). Before then, Lola grew up in a smaller part of Splatsville before people started migrating to the city. Growing up as an only child with their parents, Lark and Aiden, and their best friend Clyde, they had a pretty stable upbringing. Though they struggled with bullying throughout their childhood and continue to struggle with their self image, they keep their positive front, and it helps them get through life. Lola’s family was a rare team of three, and would often participate in very small scale Turf Wars. At 13, Lola and Clyde started drifting a little, before Clyde completely disappeared one day, abandoning Lola. Once they gained their humanoid form at the normal age of 14, they moved out into the bigger part of the city, determined to start making a name for themself in Turf War and Anarchy. They found a job at the Lophelia Art Museum and started climbing the ranks. Around this time is when they found the crater, along with an inkling named Razor and his small fry Spoof. Lola gets roped into the New Squidbeak Splatoon as “Agent 7”, and the events of Splatoon 3’s story play out, thought slightly modified. After defeating Mr. Grizz, Lola returns to their normal life, meeting their future friend group one by one. Among these are Rion and Phun, which end up becoming two of their best friends ( they might be a little gay who knows ). Lola gets up to some things in the 3 years before UtS, but that’s for a later story.

God they are so silly I love them so much

[colored-comas]

are there any autistic characters if so what are their safe foods,what are their special interest and how do they sims/what is their favorite stim - bun

Ah! The entire writing team is autistic, we met in our special education class in school, so a lot of our characters are autistic. This question has absolutely made my day, thank you so much.

Now let's get started -

Adam, the main character, is autistic and while he doesn't necessarily have any direct safe foods, we do write him having sushi quite often. They don't have many food issues with texture and taste, surprisingly. Adams special interest is music, and they create their own music as well, it's a big part of his character development. As for stims? Hes most commonly vocal stimming, which causes his friends to poke or mess with different parts of their body like a soundboard. He also does a lot with his face, like scrunching or just nose and lip twitching, like a bunny.

Star, keeping true to his catboy self, their safe food might also be sushi or something fish related. Though, he does have issues with anything that holds any type of incredibly strong scent. As for special interest? Definitely Fire Emblem, which is due to his writer projecting themself onto the character. Stimming for him is usually compression based, weighted or big stuffed animals they can hold and hug or squeeze. For example, they have a rather large cat plushie in their work office. The plush takes up half of his entire desk space.

Ty definitely has clear answers to this which is almost surprising. His safe foods are steak, or other harder to chew meats. Hes over-half dragon, so chewing food is a battlefield unless its tough, he bites his own mouth a lot. Special interest? Minecraft mobs, his dragon appearance is very similar to the ender dragon, and his daughters resemble endermen, so he has strong love for those mobs. His favorite forms of stimming are all related to his wings and flapping them, or flying.

Barney is the easiest answer so far. Safe food is eggs, special interest is nature and life on earth, and his stims are usually full body stims like little bounces or rocking. They have very animated body language.

Mike is harder to answer for, as they are a system and have many different opinions. So I'll just answer for their main host, his safe food is apples or pork - which is the type of meat to most resemble human. His special interest in specifically in The Flash, alongside the human brain and its functions. His biggest and favorite forms of stimming is biting things or chewing on things. They have razor sharp teeth, so navigating those ways of stimming can be hard, as a joke one day - someone bought them a hard dog chew toy. They loved it.

Rory is easy as well, his safe food is anything pineapple or mango flavored or any kinds of tree nuts. Their special interest is minecraft, specifically the command blocks and redstone, they are the most talented in those areas and usually set up those things on the groups servers. He also has an interest in psychology, and went to college for that. For a baby-faced boy, they can be scarily good at analyzing people and calling them out. As for his stimming, definitely elongated vocal stims or big body stims like rocking.

Max, my character, is very similar to me in this case. His safe food is very simple, kraft mac n cheese. Because that is the best thing ever in my own opinion. He has an absolutely awful gag reflex, and can't handle anything with odd textures. His special interest is in ARGs or decoding things, because of this he really likes Gravity Falls. Stimming for him is usually harmful, but he does do a form of hand flaps, instead of open palms he does fists. Yes, he has accidentally punched his own leg or face. And yes, all of this is based on or taken from myself.

And because I don't want this post to get to long, I'll give one more character but please know that you can ask for any of them from the list and I will answer that if they're one of our many autistic characters!

Finally, Andrew is autistic. His safe foods are very simple, either crackers or chicken nuggets. He has a special interest in coding, like making little websites or coding things into games like mods. His stims are always very pressure based, weighted blankets or tight hugs from his boyfriend.

[gender-roles-can-suck-my-dick]

And i mean yes, he has that "staring without blinking" autistic charm but that's not too important

Alright, lore time: political history from the ner world gets t) a point where the closest thing to a princess of a relatively small territory figures out the puddles (by stealing a certain chrysanthemum child's life work and getting "rid" od him → he's in a vegetative state. Which is funny because they're plents. Please laugh.

She sent several scouts (one of them was younger Gin, before his "death") to the human world, some came back and some didn't. Finally, she went on an exploration to the human world without dying first, and her brother helped preserve the body (in a vegetative state as well) and she wasn't quite-so-prepared for the effects that switching sides like in algebra would have on her. Picture this: that's not your world, you have 5o substain your existence in some way, shouldn't you?

Well, that way is cannibalism 👍at first it is hintedcat with the blue iris lady, then with gin (neri figured out with the plant lady that she has to eat them, and got gin some chrysanthemums before he dissintegrated) but you'll start to deform if you consume stuff that's not of the same origin as you- for humans it should be easier, because humans are of the same genus (although there are very few humans in the ner world, obviously), but for ner? They have to consume the same plant as their origin. If they don't, they fade. If they eat a different plant, they become... Creatures

Like in myths, picture dangerous w*ndigos and kelpies and gnomes that bite your eyes off. Nahuales. Depends on the original strength of the ner and the things they consume, and that's how i will try to incorporate multiple mytholoies and folklore from all parts of the world. As many cultures as possible, although that's research i still need to do :)

The princess (she doesn't have a name yet) is a rare ass plant and she didn't know that she was rare when she got to the human world (she had a shifty understanding of everything, with her scouts. They informed her that she shouldn't, under any circumstance, eat plants that weren't her own, but she didn't know that not every single type of flower could be found in Convenient Little Spots in the human world. She hurried a bit, ahe wanted to know all of the human world first-hand, and didn't wait foe her sacrifices scouts to collect enough information for a safe mission. She waited barely 5 years. (Gin was 12 when he was first sent as a scout, equivalent to like 24 here but still a child mentally and biologically for a ner). Timeline will be fixed later, i need some plot to fix the plotholes. Ages will be adjusted, probably)

Well, neither she nor the people who went with her cpuld find a specimen of her mother plant, and ‼️‼️she couldn't come bqck empty-handed, she hhad a bet to win against her brother‼️and she was dying. And, she reasoned, if she couldn't eat the other plants, what other option was there but to eat a human? (Try to picture a creepy flesh plant. That's what she started turning into). She tried to hide it from what was left of the crew, but. Yeah (i still need to think of the effects and in-universe plausible explanation for the transformation) and when she was getting pretty used to eating humans (whole humans) and a human child (human children could usually see ner, while most adults couldn't, made them harder to eat because, somehow, if they can't see you it's like you can't touch them. Interesting) from a city nearby her camp who she had talked to before came (willingly, mind you, she must have made friends with someone from your team) and offered her a flower of hers ("it looks like you, ms. Fairy"). Well. You bit her hand off, alongside the flower.

But the flower, combined with the fact that the child tried to run and that you were already weak and getting weaker, something happened and you felt your face glue to the child's arm. It was terrifying, it was horrifying, being the parasite qnd AAAAAAAA yeah you got incorporated like those fish that bite into the female fish to become portable testicles. And the child, well. They don't remember anything of it, luckily, but they were kept there and alive by your team for about a human month, they tried to save you but it was futile (you tried to eat the human and the human- in a way- ate you). When they saw the child start to wake up, with no trace of you lying there, an eye inside their brain, they gave it back to its parents (you remember the Ye Olde Days stories of "my child got taken by changelings and now it's a weird kid (autism hadn't been invented yet)"? That's kind of what happened to Neri, from their parents and siblings' point of view.

So hurray! He grew up with a bit of the magic-soul-subconscious-eye of a magic plant princess on their brain! The princess' brother was still trying to get her back so he kept sending scouts (some stayed, like the blue iris lady. What was the guy going to do, go himself to get them back? Nah, they were living happily as creatures of the forests and jungles and meadows. Alone, most of them, but happily). Some of the scouts sent to the area where Neri lived as a kid sensed something, and when he wandered too far they started chasing him (most of them just wanted answers, but Neri's fight or flight instinct kept the trauma response to seeing plant people approach. Some of them did hurt him, but the other kids at school did too, so there wasn't any proof to show to their parents or siblings that it happened).

Talking abour siblings, Neri (at 17) was an older brother to a 10yo and a 9yo, (they're thought of after two of my siblings (i have one 13yo brother and 2 10yo sisters) :) and that's what i always say about projecting too much onto Neri, i need to cut that off and make him a real character)

So he finishes highschool and gets sent to the city where the main sroty happens (before they cross the puddle), to work a bit before starting college and whatnot. And stuff happens, as you might know

I am SO IVESTED IN THIS STORY VAL I AM ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT

[symphonic-scream]

oh im definetly curious about sun!makoto!

Ah yes

From. The poorly named Yaoi au

This one just. Is everyone is a guy or they. That's the main shit

Makoto (CIS guy, he/him) isn't on student council. Instead, he's the captain of the Shujin debate team, and a member of the Martial Arts club. He's scary in debates and it's well known that he went to the world championships for Aikido, so. He's hella feared

Only, he's also terrified of the other students? He was definitely bullied in middle school, and has awful social skills outside of debate. He's got one friend, who. Is more than a friend, since he and Haru are boyfs now. So.

Yeah his deal with I think this one is, Fool Shiho? Anyways. His deal with Makoto is like, "I'll help you learn intimidation and debate shit if you help me make friends"

He's awkward and hella just. Autistic, he's hella autistic. Resting bitch face, unless he's with his boy. They've been together since their school trip the year before, not exactly secretly, but they don't outright show it.

They have matching phone charms. They spend the night at the other's place all the time, in this one it's Haru's mom that's alive, and she adores Makoto. Sae, is alright with Haru

Anyways. Uhm. Yeah?

[assassinmidnight]

Their resident Genius

The BAU is called in by Scotland Yard to help with a case, Spencer becomes intrigued when he hears that they have their own resident genius.

_________

Spencer Reid x Holmes!Autistic!Female!reader

_________

Honestly Spencer was unsure why Scotland Yard had called them in, he always knew that their team was one of the best but the fact that Scotland Yard had called them in had surprised the Genius a lot.

--

“Okay team, we’ve been called in by the English. We’re gonna be gone for a bit so pack accordingly. Airstrip in 30,” Hotch called. “Wait, the English? You mean Scotland Yard? Scotland Yard called US in, why?” 

“Really Reid, I thought you’d be the most excited to meet their team. Apparently they have their own resident genius,” The reply from Hotch had Morgan smiling “Resident Genius? Is he smarter than Reid? Man I have to see this,”

--

During the entire flight Spencer had been thinking of the so-called Genius. He didn’t really believe in genius as a word but he had become intrigued. He wondered if Hotch was honest, if he was correctly informed. Spencer had for a long time kept track of Scotland Yard but he’d only heard of Sherlock Holmes being their resident genius, but he was a consultant not an official agent. Did he decide to join them officially?

“Reid stop, I can hear the cogs turning in your head and it’s keeping me from my sleep,” 

“Shut up Morgan,” Morgan looked over “Reid I get it, you’re stressed about meeting new people and maybe even someone who can go against you in brainiac power. But dude chill, it’s gonna be all good, chances are they aren’t even close to your level.” 

Spencer took that into consideration, it’s true most people who are called geniuses aren’t close to his level.”

_

“Okay team we’re gonna meet the people from Scotland Yard. Behave,” Hotch sounded more serious than he looked.

Spencer was surprised when they entered the building, it was nothing like their own. This place was not messy or filled with people stuffing the rooms, it was all quiet and strict as if it was a classroom. “This way to the office,” Hotch pointed towards a room and they all headed there.

“Ah Agent Hotch, thank you for coming,” The man smiled and shook hands with Hotch, “This must be your famous team of profilers,” The man quickly looked at his watch before looking up again. “We should wait with the introductions, one of ours is running late,” Morgan smirked “Your resident genius?” The man looked up surprised before nodding, he looked like he was about to answer but got interrupted by the door swinging open.

“I’m sorry for being late, you know how my brother is,” A woman came in, a bit out of breath. She looked around 21 and had (y/h) colored hair, quite long too.

She seemed to realize the company they had and went beet red, Spencer thought she looked pretty cute. 

She turned back to the man, “So this is the BAU team lestrade? The best profilers,” 

“Wait you’re Greg Lestrade? You worked with Sherlock and Dr. Watson,” The two brits looked over at Reid, the girl cocked her head to the side before smiling. “Dr. Reid I presume. I’ve read a lot about you, three PhDs and working for the FBI at 24, impressive,” now Reid turned red earning a laugh from Morgan. “You did your homework,” The woman looked at Morgan, “Yes I did, I like knowing who come here, Agent Morgan.” 

“Y/n behave. I know you prefer working alone but no need to be rude, you are better than your brothers aren't you?” The girl named Y/n sighed and nodded. “Good, introduce us to the UnSub.”

__

Throughout the entire briefing Spencer had been staring at Y/N, he couldn’t figure out how such a young woman was part of Scotland Yard. He tried to profile her but all he could decipher from her movements, which were many. She fidgeted a lot, tended to stare at the wall and kept her arms crossed over her chest. She was distracted, bored and introverted. That profile didn’t fit someone in this field. 

“Yes Y/N?” Hotch's voice brought Spencer from his thoughts.

“Dr. Reid, why are you staring at me so much? Is it really that hard to profile me?” Her voice was quite gleeful. She was proud, she had an advantage and she knew that. “Mm, yes sorry, I was profiling you but it wasn’t hard. You are clearly bored by this, unfocused throughout the entire briefing and you are closed off. These are not common attributes in Agents, that’s why I was staring,” He felt pretty proud of himself until “You didn’t introduce me Detective?” “No, I thought it best to keep the introductions til we're all here. But it seems like you know them well enough which I expected but you should probably introduce yourself,” Lestrade smiled and Y/N nodded. “My name is Y/N Holmes, little sister of both Mycroft and Sherlock. I am the one who usually works alone in my cave but apparently I was needed for this case. And no Dr. Reid I was not bored or unfocused, quite the opposite actually. I was just in my mind palace,”

“You’re the sister of Sherlock? Wait you’re the resident Genius,” Y/N laughed at Morgan’s reaction. Once again she cocked her head to the side, smiling. “How many PhDs?” She turned to Reid, “None, school bores me. Also resident genius isn’t what I would call myself, creative genius with hypersensitivity. All the Holmes boys got none of the emotion so I got all of it,” Reid nodded. “Well now that we’ve been introduced to the most interesting thing in England, how about we get started.”

__

“You still thinking about Miss smartypants, Pretty boy?” Reid tossed a pillow at Derek, but he did nod. “There is something about her, she wasn’t looking at me but knew that I was watching her. She assumed Lestrade had introduced her to us but was happy when she got to do it herself and she pointed out that she is more creative and sensitive than her brothers who are known sociopaths. I can’t understand her brain, or her profile,” Morgan stared at Reid before laughing “Dude it sound like you have a crush on Miss Holmes, well if she is as smart as they say your kids will definitely be something out of this world,” Morgan kept on laughing even when Spencer turned around on his bed.

__

“Welcome to my cave, don’t touch anything without asking.” Y/N was stern, her look was cold as well Spence nodded. “So um, why am I working here instead of in the field?” he asked, she looked at him annoyed before turning to her screen. “Because your boss thought it would be best to keep the two geniuses in the same room.”

The two kept working, Reid was surprised at all the tea Y/N was drinking and how she compulsively played with her bracelets whenever she was thinking. OCD, that did fit but something still felt off. “Just ask, get it out of the way before you drive me absolutely nuts” she looked at him expectantly. Spencer gulped before asking the question “Why can’t I profile you? I know it’s nothing on my end so it must be something on yours,” She shook her head and smiled, looking back at her screen. Spencer sighed thinking she wasn’t going to answer. 

“I am autistic with traces of OCD and dyslexia, that’s why you can’t profile me. I don’t fit the general profile for autistics. I have a deep emotional understanding but I lack logical intelligence that is usually paired with the diagnosis. My OCD traces are caused by my autism and the compulsive behaviors are mainly caused by anxiety. I suffered deep trauma in my childhood like both my brothers but unlike them I never emotionally distanced myself, this is why you can’t profile me Reid, I don’t fit the general profiles just like you,”He was surprised at her answer but considering what she just said he really shouldn’t have. 

“Wow, that’s- that’s a lot. Wait, you profiled me?” He was genuinely surprised, she laughed at him, breaking her cold act. “No I didn’t, but most intelligent people are the same,” he nodded before laughing with her.

__

“So thanks to the BAU and our own Agents we’ve managed to catch this killer and he will soon be behind bars,” JJ announced on the news. The team were currently at Lestrades house having a drink. Reid kept looking over to Y/N, ever since they’d solved the case she’d been distant towards him, it hurt for some reason. He thought they were getting along, especially after they’d started to talk about Dr. WHO, guess not. 

“Something wrong, Reid?” He turned and saw that the voice belonged to Lestrade, he nodded. “In my experience with the Holmes siblings, they rarely act like this unless it’s something that will actually impact them. You should talk to her, as much as she detests it she is like her brothers and when angry instead of being consumed by emotions like them she turns them off and goes all logical. Easy to have a conversation with if you watch your words,” When Spencer didn’t move Lestrade pushed him slightly making him go over to Y/N.

“Why are you ignoring me?” She turned to him, cup of tea in her hand, she sighed then gave him a strained smile. “Reid, go back to your team,” “Not until you tell me why you’ve been ignoring me?” She gave him a cold look before sighing again. “I have been ignoring you because I like you, Reid. You are going back to America so I am simply distancing myself to get used to not having you around any more. It’s all logical,” 

“You like me?” he was genuinely surprised, he found Y/N cute and even had a bit of a crush on her, something he’d never admit to Morgan but he never thought she liked him back.

“Of course I like you. You are smart and cute and have these small quirks about you. You are funny and a geek and get almost every single of my pop culture references,” Reid just looked at her with fond eyes, she liked him back and was now rambling on about why. It was cute, really cute. He pressed his lips against hers, successfully muffling her rambles. She seemed surprised at first but soon reprocrated the kiss.

“WHO IS THAT GUY KISSING MY BABY SISTER!” The two geniuses broke apart, red and turned to the voice. Seems like Sherlock Holmes had invited himself in and based on the look in his eyes said one thing, the high functioning sociopath was not happy with Reid kissing his sister.

[vee-isaweirdartist]

Ah yes, an opportunity to show my silly sad fella:

(Art is old WAAAY before I had to leave Instagram, hencee the watermark being my user there)

This lil guy is Faker_Test.zip, a enemy test for frontiers! originally his concept was a corrupted coco, but one corrupted so badly, that they don't even remember what happened, they're just lost in anger, and once Sage entered the cyberspace their only mission was to watch Sonic & friends fight, or the player in this case, so eventually Faker could turn into a glitchy version of sonic, and replicate many things the very player does, even guessing the player's moves to be quite the small, yet dangerous Enemy.

.. Sadly, he was scratched, and the team just left models, concept art, code and the very ai Faker uses, in a .zip file on Frontiers.

Eventually, one of them young teens with such a love of breaking games and seeing whatever leftovers the team made, discovered Faker's file, unzipped him and, once he noticed his purpose.. he put it in his game.

After some weeks of playing and messing with Faker's ability to learn, he discovered something a bit somber, Faker's files weren't attached totally to Frontiers so, the little fellow could just go in and out if he pleased, thankfully Faker didn't know that..

until that moment.

Faker never was finished

Faker never was chained to the game since, the team never finished his code

Faker only knew this person behind the screen, he had to learn from them and, give them a challenge.

and so he learned to escape, with no back ups, with nothing more than a note left on the teen's computer

"Thanks for freeing me, and playing with me."

After a while being in a .zip, seeing how everyone plays and plays and.. enjoys this other enemies you never got to be part of, it's kind of sad. You know deep care and excitement was put into your creation.. yet even your own creator doesn't question the orders to, hide you. A big grief was already destined to be born in such a naive yet smart mind made out of code.. Faker just wanted to accomplish his destiny but, even that teenager that awakened him reacted badly their first interactions.. if he couldn't become a lovable character or enemy, what could he be?

And that's when, traveling within many platforms to sink more in his grief and pain and rage, he saw quite the interesting recommendation.

Sonic.exe, a creepy, menacing fictional being.. maybe they were fictional or maybe not? his ai couldn't really catch a grasp of it.. but people loved it. They loved the aggressiveness, the blood, and these egocentric beings only made to be edgy creepy drawings of Sonic. Of course

If he couldn't be lovable being kind, might as well, even against his own beliefs, become lovable being someone's biggest fear.

(Sorry for taking this as a whole yapping trigger I'm so autistic for my own little silly goofballs )_!$(!_)

I want to see everyone's EXEs, grimdarm / creepypasta OCs, etc., doesn't matter what franchise!! I wanna see your spooky lil' fellas, even if they're just silly guys.

[spencer-reids-adventures]

hello! i absolutely adore your writing style- you are so talented. i think i read your community fanfictions??? although I not so sure If that really was you lmao -- I wanted to ask you if you could maybe write more about autistic! penelope? if not that's totally fine too. I just really like how I just "get" your spencer - I really can relate to it i mean - and I would love to read more about penelope since she is my favorite in cm!! (and also penelope centric ff are really rare????) maybe something like how everybody in the team slowly "found out" or her and her favorite stims idk im not creative lmao!! anyways this was just an idea? request? -- since I do really really enjoy ur writing-- I hope u have a great day!! xx

thank you! i have written a lot of community fic, so that was probably me, haha :) :)

here is some autistic penelope for you...

---

Penelope is in her office when Emily comes in without knocking. 

“Garcia, where did you go?” she asks. “You haven’t been answering your video calls. We need you on this case. What’s going on?”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Penelope says desperately. The monitors in front of her have been turned off. “I just– I needed a minute.”

Emily softens. “Did something happen? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Penelope flaps her hands lightly in front of her. “I just, there was so much going on in that last video we watched, it was so– so horrible and brutal and I got overwhelmed.”

“Is that why your computer is off?”

“It’s not my computer, it’s just my monitor. I’ll turn it back on in a second, I swear…”

“I guess I didn’t realize things like this affected you so much.”

“It’s hyperempathy,” Penelope explains. “I feel too much sometimes, and I don’t know what to do with it. It’s, ah… it’s a symptom of my autism.”

“Pen, I didn’t know.”

“Now you do.”

-

The video call connects quicker than Penelope anticipates, and she’s suddenly greeted by a screen full of JJ’s face.

“What’s that in your mouth?” JJ asks, scrunching her nose.

Penelope lets the silicone cookie pendant drop from her jaw, eyes wide.

“You weren’t supposed to see that,” she says quickly.

“Wasn’t supposed to see what?”

Penelope runs her fingers through her hair a few times, then tugs on the ends with her fingers.

“You weren’t supposed to know that my necklaces are chewable,” she explains. 

“Why are they chewable?”

“They’re for stimming,” Penelope tells her. “You know, for– it’s sort of a neurodivergent thing. An autism thing. I’m autistic.”

“Thanks for telling me.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You’re going to sanitize that thing, right?”

Penelope laughs. “Yes, absolutely,” she promises.

-

“Hey, mama,” Morgan answers the phone. “What do you got for me?”

Instead of a quip or some flirty innuendo, a sob comes over the line.

“Penelope?” Morgan says quickly, the smile leaving his face. “What’s wrong?”

She sobs again, but no words come out, and Morgan has already started walking down the hall to her office. When he gets through the door, she takes two steps towards him and then collapses into his arms, shaking. The lights in her office are off, the monitors dim except for one, which has Spotify pulled up, but no music playing.

“Baby girl, did something happen?”

She shakes her head but doesn’t let go of him, squeezing him tighter and tighter until he takes the hint and squeezes back. Almost immediately, he feels her relax against him.

Penelope pulls back and steps back over to her computer, where she turns on a playlist, and the music fills her office. She grabs a bunny figurine from her desk and squeezes it.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Morgan asks.

Penelope picks up her phone, and a moment later Morgan’s vibrates.

Can’t talk right now.

Morgan frowns. His phone vibrates again.

Can you just sit with me? I’ll explain later.

“Sure thing, baby girl.”

-

“Hey, Garcia, have you got any updates?” Rossi asks. 

“Have you got any updates?” Garcia repeats without thinking about it. “Yeah, I’ve got the suspects bank records right here…”

They get back to work, and no one says anything – but Rossi is confused. He’s only been working with Penelope for a few weeks at that point, and she’s still a mystery to him.

It happens again a few days later.

“Is there any more coffee in the kitchen?” Morgan asks the group.

“Coffee in the kitchen?” Garcia repeats.

“Yeah, I just opened a new bag,” Reid adds.

Rossi is confused, but doesn’t say anything until later that day when he’s alone with Garcia in her office.

“Hey,” he says. “I noticed that sometimes you tend to… repeat the things people are saying after they say them. Why do you do that?”

Penelope blushes bright red.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “It must seem really weird if you haven’t been around me much. I do it a lot – it’s called echolalia. It’s common among people who are autistic.”

“And you’re autistic?”

“I am.”

“Okay,” Rossi says. “Thanks for explaining it to me.”

-

“Hi, I’m Penelope Garcia,” she introduces herself, holding out a hand.

“I’m Spencer Reid,” her new coworker replies. “I, uh, don’t shake hands.”

“Cool,” Penelope replies. “Nice to meet you.”

She catches him spinning in his chair later that afternoon, and tapping on his desk with his fingers in patterns whenever he’s not actively writing or doing something else with them. 

Over the next few days, she notices that he gets his coffee at exactly the same times every single day, and he often whispers under his breath before speaking, and he’s got a drawer full of fidget toys in his desk.

“Are you autistic?” she blurts out when he’s in her office one afternoon, then slaps her hand over her mouth in embarrassment. “I’m sorry,” she says. “That was inappropriate, I think.”

“You’re fine,” Spencer says with a small smile. “Yes, I am. You too?”

“How could you tell?”

He shrugs. “I wasn’t sure until you asked me just now. It takes one to know one, I guess.”

“I guess,” Penelope laughs.

“Anyway, welcome to the BAU,” he says. “It’s nice to have someone on the team who gets it.”

“It is, isn’t it,” Penelope says with a smile. “I’m happy to be here, and I’m happy you’re here too.”

-

On Penelope’s first day of work, Hotch takes her aside and leads her into his office, closing the door behind them.

“I’ve got the information from your resume,” he says, “as well as your arrest file. But I want to know if there’s anything else you’d like to tell me about yourself before you officially begin as our technical analyst.

“Like what?”

“Anything. If you have any allergies. If you have any disabilities that might require accommodation. If you have any unique talents or challenges we haven’t discussed. Anything about yourself that you’d like me to know or like to have on file.”

Penelope hesitates, debating back and forth whether she wants to disclose such a private piece of herself. On one hand, she doesn’t trust these people. On the other, she does trust Hotch, who kept her out of prison – and to be honest, she could use the accommodations.

“I’m autistic,” she finally says. “I can bring you proof of my diagnosis if you need it.”

“That would be great,” Hotch replies. “Let’s discuss what kind of accommodations we can get going for you.”

[soundsfaebutokay]

So I've recc'd this video before, but it deserves its own post because it's one of my favorite things on youtube. It's a Tedx Talk by comics writer, editor, and journalist Jay Edidin, and I really think that it will connect with a lot of people here.

If you live and breathe stories of all kinds, you might like this.

If you care about media representation, you might like this.

If you're neurodivergent, you might like this.

If you're interested in a gender transition story that veers from the norm, you might like this.

If you love the original Leverage and especially Parker, and understand how important it is that a character like her exists, you will definitely like this.

Transcript below the cut:

You Are Here: The Cartography of Stories

by Jay Edidin

I am autistic. And what this means in practice is that there are some things that are easier for me than they are for most people, and a great many things that are somewhat harder, and these affect my life in more or less overt ways. As it goes, I'm pretty lucky. I've been able to build a career around special interests and granular obsession. My main gig at the moment is explaining superhero comics continuity and publishing history for which work I am somehow paid in actual legal currency—which is both a triumph of the frivolous in an era of the frantically pragmatic, and a job that's really singularly suited to my strengths and also to my idiosyncrasies.

I like comics. I like stories in general, because they make sense to me in ways that the rest of the world and my own mind often don't. Self-knowledge is not an intuitive thing for me. What sense of self I have, I've built gradually and laboriously and mostly through long-term pattern recognition. For decades, I didn't even really have a self-image. If you'd asked me to draw myself, I would eventually have given you a pair of glasses and maybe a very messy scribble of hair, and that would've been about it. But what I do know—backwards, forwards, and in pretty much every way that matters—are stories. I know how they work. I understand their language, their complex inner clockwork, and I can use those things to extrapolate a sort of external compass that picks up where my internal one falls short. Stories—their forms, their structure, the sense of order inherent to them—give me the means to navigate what otherwise, at least for me, would be an impassable storm of unparsable data. Or stories are a periscope, angled to access the parts of myself I can't intuitively see. Or stories are a series of mirrors by which I can assemble a composite sketch of an identity I rarely recognize whole...which is how I worked out that I was transgender, in my early thirties, by way of a television show.

This is my story. And it's about narrative cartography, and representation, and why those things matter. It's about autism and it's about gender and it's about how they intersect. And it's about the kinds of people we know how to see, and the kinds of people we don't. It's not the kind of story that gets told a lot, you might hear a lot, because the narrative around gender transition and dysphoria in our culture is really, really prescriptive. It's basically the story of the kid who has known for their whole life that they're this and not that, and that story demands the kind of intuitive self-knowledge that I can't really do, and a kind of relationship to gender that I don't really have—which is part of why it took me so long to figure my own stuff out.

So, to what extent this story, my story has a beginning, it begins early in 2014 when I published an essay titled, "I See Your Value Now: Asperger's and the Art of Allegory." And it explored, among other things, the ways that I use narrative and narrative structures to navigate real life. And it got picked up in a number of fairly prominent places that got linked, and I casually followed the ensuing discussion. And I was surprised to discover that readers were fairly consistently assuming I was a man. Now, that in itself wasn't a new experience for me, even though at the time I was writing under a very unambiguously female byline. It had happened in the letter columns of comics I'd edited. It had happened when a parody Twitter account I'd created went viral. When I was on staff at Wired, I budgeted for fancy scotch by putting a dollar in a box every time a reader responded in a way that made it clear they were assuming I was a man in response to an article where my name was clearly visible, and then I had to stop doing that because it happened so often I couldn't afford to keep it up. But in all of those cases, the context, you know, the reasons were pretty obvious. The fields I'd worked in, the beats I covered, they were places where women had had to fight disproportionally hard for visibility and recognition. We live in a culture that assumes a male default, so given a neutral voice and a character limit, most readers will assume a male author.

But this was different, because this wasn't just a book I'd edited, it wasn't a story I'd reported—it was me, it was my story. And it made me uncomfortable, got under my skin in ways that the other stuff really hadn't. And so I did what I do when that happens, and I tried to sort of reverse-engineer it to look at the conclusions and peel them back to see the narratives behind them and the stories that made them tick. And I started this, I started this by going back to the text of the essay, and you know, examining it every way I could think of: looking at craft, looking at content. And in doing so, I was surprised to realize that while I had written about a number of characters with whom I identified closely, that every single one of those characters I'd written about was male. And that surprised me even more than the responses to the essay had, because I've spent my career writing and talking and thinking about gender and representation in popular media. In 2014, I'd been the feminist gadfly of an editorial department and multiple mastheads. I'd been a founding board member of an organization that existed to advocate for more and better representation of women and girls in comics characters and creators. And most of my favorite characters, the ones I'd actively seek out and follow, were women. Just not, apparently, the characters I saw myself in.

Now I still didn't realize it was me at this point. Remember: self-knowledge, not very intuitive for me. And while I had spent a lot of time thinking about gender, I'd never really bothered to think much about my own. I knew academically that the way other people read and interpreted my gender affected and had influenced a lifetime of social and professional interactions, and that those in turn had informed the person I'd grown up into during that time. But I really believed, like I just sort of had in the back of my head, that if you peeled away all of that social conditioning, you'd basically end up with what I got when I tried to draw a self-portrait. So: a pair of glasses, messy scribble of hair, and in this case, maybe also some very strong opinions about the X-Men. I mean, I knew something was off. I'd always known something was off, that my relationship to gender was messy and uncomfortable, but gender itself struck me as messy and uncomfortable, and it had never been a large enough part of how I defined myself to really feel like something that merited further study, and I had deadlines, and...so it was always on the back burner. So, I looked, I looked at what I had, at this improbable group of exclusively male characters. And I looked and I figured that if this wasn't me, then it had to be a result of the stories I had access to, to choose from, and the entertainment landscape I was looking at. And the funny thing is, I wasn't wrong, exactly. I just wasn't right either.

See, the characters I'd written about had one other significant trait in common aside from their gender, which is that they were all more or less explicitly, more or less heavily coded as autistic. And I thought, "Ah, yes. This explains it. This is under representation in fiction echoing under representation in life and vice versa." Because the characteristics that I'd honed in on, that I particularly identified with in these guys, were things like emotional unavailability and social awkwardness and granular obsession, and all of those are characteristics that are seen as unsympathetic and therefore unmarketable in female characters. Which is also why readers were assuming that I was a man.

Because, you see, here's the thing. I'm not the only one who uses stories to navigate the world. I'm just a little more deliberate about it. For humans, stories formed the bridge between data and understanding. They're where we look when we need to contextualize something new, or to recognize something we're pretty sure we've seen before. They're how we identify ourselves; they're how we locate ourselves and each other in the larger world. There were no fictional women like me; there weren't representations of women like me in media, and so readers were primed not to recognize women like me in real life either.

Now by this point, I had started writing a follow-up essay, and this one was also about autism and narratives, but specifically focused on how they intersected with gender and representation in media. And in context of this essay, I went about looking to see if I could find even one female character who had that cluster of traits I'd been looking for, and I was asking around in autistic communities. And I got a few more or less useful one-off suggestions, and some really, really splendid arguments about semantics and standards, and um...then I got one answer over and over and over in community after community after community. "Leverage," people told me. "You have to watch Leverage."

So I watched Leverage. Leverage is five seasons of ensemble heist drama. It's about a team of very skilled con artists who take down corrupt and powerful plutocrats and the like, and it's a lot of fun, and it's very clever, and it's clever enough that it doesn't really matter that it's pretty formulaic, and I enjoyed it a lot. But what's most important, what Leverage has is Parker.

Parker is a master thief, and she is the best of the best of the best in ways that all of Leverage's characters are the best of the best. And superficially, she looks like the kind of woman you see on TV. So she's young, and she's slender, and she's blonde, and she's attractive but in a sort of approachable way. And all of that familiarity is brilliant misdirection, because the thing is, there are no other women like Parker on TV. Because Parker—even if it's never explicitly stated in the show—Parker is coded incredibly clearly as autistic. Parker is socially awkward. Her speech tends to have limited inflection; what inflection it does have is repetitive and sounds rehearsed a lot of the time. She's not emotionally literate; she struggles with it, and the social skills she develops over the series, she learns by rote, like they're just another grift. When she's not scaling skyscrapers or cartwheeling through laser grids, she wears her body like an ill-fitting suit. Parker moves like me. And Parker, Parker was a revelation—she was a revolution unto herself. In a media landscape where unempathetic women usually exist to either be punished or "loved whole," Parker got to play the crabby savant. And she wasn't emotionally intuitive but it was never ever played as the product of abuse or trauma even though she had survived both of those—it was just part of her, as much as were her hands or her eyes. And she had a genuine character arc. My god, she had a genuine romantic arc, even. And none of that required her to turn into anything other than what she was. And in Parker I recognized a thousand tics and details of my life and my personality...but. I didn't recognize myself.

Why? What difference was there in Parker, you know, between Parker and the other characters I'd written about? Those characters, they'd spanned ethnicities and backgrounds and different media and appearances and the only other characteristic they all had in common was their gender. So that was where I started to look next, and I thought, "Well, okay, maybe, maybe it's masculinity. Maybe if Parker were less feminine, she'd click with me the way those other characters had." So then I tried to imagine a Parker with short hair, who's explicitly butch, and...nothing. So okay, I extended it in what seems like the only logical direction to extend it. I said, "Well, if it's not masculinity, what if it's actual maleness? What if Parker were a man?" Ah. Yeah.

In the end, everything changed, and nothing changed, which is often the way that it goes for me. Add a landmark, no matter how slight, and the map is irrevocably altered. Add a landmark, and paths that were invisible before open wide. Add a landmark, and you may not have moved, but suddenly you know where you are and where you can go.

I wasn't going to tell this story when I started planning this talk. I was gonna tell a similar story, it was about stories, like this is, about narratives and the ways that they influence our culture and vice versa. And it centered around a group of women at NASA who had basically rewritten the narrative around space exploration, and it was a lot more fun, and I still think it was more interesting. But it's also a story you can probably work out for yourselves. In fact it's a story some of you probably have, if you follow that kind of thing, which you probably do given that you're here. And this is a story, my story is not a story that I like to tell. It's not a fun story to talk about because it's very personal and I am a very private person. And it's not universal. And it's not always relatable, and it's definitely not aspirational. And it's not the kind of story that you tend to encounter unless you're already part of it...which is why I'm telling it now. Because the thing is, I'm not the only person who uses stories to parse the world and navigate it. I'm just a little more deliberate. Because I'm tired of having to rely on composite sketches.

Open your maps. Add a landmark. Reroute accordingly.

[tsuki-sennin]

Maaaaan, First Love Hero should never have been cancelled, Broken Heart Night sucks. ...I wonder if we'll get to meet the mangaka at this week's festival! ...to be clear, I want to meet Kiito-sensei, not the other one.

Anyways here's Donbrothers Episode 22! Spoilers, I guess...

-Ah yeah, manga fans. Very safe.

-Pitch Black Academy.

-Haruka.... Kanata.

-Homegirl really rode her self-insert to the top, we stan.

-Ew.

-...I mean, I can't blame Haruka entirely, this almost seems like an ideal writing environment for me personally.

-Ahhhhh, New Term, new arc!

-Yeah I'm with Sonoza here, what the hell?

-OH MY GOD HARUKA'S NEW STUDENTS ARE HER TEAMMATES

-...and Sonoi, but

-T

-Tsuyoshi, oh my god

-This is brilliant.

-...and to think I thought of Haruka as the braincell of the team at the start of the season.

-Oh my god, Sononi/Oni Sister Team Up.

-Oh yeah, Jirou.

-He's feral.

-"I'm sooooooooooorry, I have to go sicko mode!"

-Oh my god Tarou.

-"We need this man! He's very funny and st"

-My name is Don Dragoku!

-The Don clan...

-Brothers in arms.

-"Onii-chan! :D"

-"Ototo... :o"

-Cicada.

-"Noooooo :("

-Oh my God, Haruka.

-NOOO NOT TSUYOSHI LEAVE THE MAN ALONE

-I read a post on here, can't exactly remember from who, saying that Tarou felt like an analogue for neurodivergent children. ...I feel like everybody in the main cast is that to an extent, but I think Sonoza especially fits this mold right now. Think about it, he develops a hyperfixation on this otherwise extremely random short-runner manga that's been reduced to a punchline plagued with controversy, and he's using it as a method to learn how to sort out his own feelings. That tends to happen with autistic children, speaking from firsthand experience. He doesn't experience or understand emotions the same way allistic folk would expect or want him to, and because of that, he very easily alienates the people around him as he seeks guidance.

-Donbrothers makes me feel things, and feel them deeply.

-Humans fall in love for all sorts of reasons, Sonoza. Sometimes it even just kinda happens.

-We bonded!

-This rich dude... he looks familiar, where do I know him from?

-Ok, this man is apparently played by Tet Wada. Apparently he was in Sex and the City II and Royal Pains, which're all definitely things I've seen.

-Daaaaamn, he had dinner out.

-Wow, he's been winning all this time.

-"You're kinda boring, Goda-san."

-3-3-5! Oh, this guy's definitely Denji-ki.

-He's an epic gamer.

-Magical Girl Haruka!

-Oh my god, Bishoujo Kamen Onitrine.

-B

-Banana

-Baron da?

-It's a slump of a festival! We all just wanna go eating and fighting!

-Corporate bastard.

-OH FUCK SONOZA FOUND IT

-You could say "Once upon a time" to this man, I guess.

-"Haruka, where the FUCK have you been? Did you get kidnapped again?"

-OH MY GOD TAROU YOU NEARLY SHOT THAT OFFICE WOMAN

-H

-Haruka, you hjklh;hl.

-"Is that me?"

-Haruka, don't do that

-Oh god, Naoki Shiina real.

-B

-Bun

-I wanna hold off on cursing them out, but you've probably noticed that I have a rather low opinion on them.

-Rightfully so, I feel.

-Good luck, Haruka-san.

-They don't even speak, huh? Really dedicated to this gimmick.

-Wonder if thee's somehing bad.

-Sononiiiii!

-Oh nice, they're friends.

-"Yeah, this is pretty epic."

-Oh my god, beef stroganoff.

-"It tastes like fuck."

-Shinichi, I don't think CEO Man wants a Haiku.

-Oh

-Well, ok!

-AVATAR CHANGE YES

-Ooooooh, Fiveman! Five Guys, Burgers and Fries.

-Poor Jirou :(

-Hell yeah man, get up!

-Man, this action's so cool.

-"Cool Story Bro!"

-Our story reaches its climax, it seems!

-Wahahaha!

-We're back in cyberspace.

-Awoooooo!

-Tsuyoshi and Tarou confirmed non furry.

-Ooooooh, Kyoryu Gold! Hell yeah Jirou.

-You deed it!

-...where he at?

-Peachyyy!

-"GIVE ME ROBOT POWER!"

-I swear to god, if you don't give your employees massive raises...

-Shiina Naoki...

-Ohhh

-Oh no, Tsubasa's stuck.

-Dog man forever.

-Jirou robot confirmed :o?

-Okay, while we're still here, I have a theory about Naoki.

-It is my belief that Naoki is an entirely artificial entity created by whatever force is compelling the Donbrothers to fight, and their purpose is to anger and goad Haruka into doing what this force wants. Think about it, the rebranding of their doujin to ride off of Haruka's success, getting all the fame and fortune she wanted, being so far above Haruka's apparent skill level that they even predict how she throws tosses the manuscript in frustration... all of it seems deliberate in making her mad and forcing her to grow up as a character.

-When Haruka gave up her powers in Episode 10, Naoki Shiina was nowhere to be seen, perhaps suggesting that they were specifically part of her curse. There's also how little we see of them otherwise. Their secretive nature aside, we only see their one work, with nothing suggesting that they even did anything else, and thus have so little clout that it's a miracle this complete nobody took on a huge publishing company and won.

-Something else worth noting is that Shinichi called Haruka's OniSister form a rabbit all the way back in Episode 3, and now we have what's essentially an anti-Haruka represented as a rabbit... this is 5D chess on Inoue's part, I swear.

-Anyways, enough straining my brain, I'm going to destress by listening to Don't Boo for a few hours </3.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hi Steph! Would you happen to have any fic recs that involve John meeting the Holmes family? I always think that's such an interesting dynamic to see! Also, I think this goes without saying but I love your blog and appreciate your contributions to the fandom! Thanks!

Hey Nonny!

Ah, thank you! I’m glad you enjoy my blog!

Oooo! Yes, I love that dynamic too!! ANNNNND!!! You’re giving me the chance to make a part 2 for a REALLY OLD LIST!!! So YAY!!! I found a bunch on a text doc I haven’t posted yet, so HERE WE GO! Hope you enjoy, and as always, everyone please add your own!

PARENTS AND FAMILIES Pt. 2

See also: 

Parents & Family

Meeting the Family With a Fake Relationship

Do You Love Me? by whitchry9 (K, 641 w., 1 Ch. || Friendship, Family, Epic Bromance) – John asks Sherlock perhaps the most important question.

Once Upon A Time by ProfessorSquirrell (T, 908 w., 1 Ch. || Family, Snippets of Life, Romance, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Implied Drug Use, Angst with Happy Ending) – There is a room in Sherlock's mind palace where nothing gets deleted. And it looks like this...

Crisis Averted by Spartangal22 (T, 2,188 w., 1 Ch. || HLV Fic, Missing Scene After Confronting Mary, Canon Compliant, Sherlock Whump / Mary Shot Sherlock, Family / Friendship, Hospitalization, Sherlock POV, Holmes Brothers) – Lying in the hospital, Sherlock receives some surprising visitors, and manages to deal with two problems he's been having lately. A missing scene from HLV about a formal introduction that was never made and a visit that was never shown.

The Only Available Transportation by blueink3 (T, 5,379 w., 1 Ch. || Post S4, Fluff and Angst, Insecure Sherlock, Caring John, Parentlock, Sherlock’s Birthday, Family, Misunderstandings) – It’s possibly the desperation that’s seeped into his voice despite his best intentions, or perhaps it’s just a mother’s intuition, but she knows that whatever he’s calling about is Serious, hangover be damned. “What’s happened?” she asks, tone soft and as comforting as a hot cup of tea on a cold winter’s night. “Mummy,” he begins, voice catching. “I think John may be moving out.”

On the Steadfast Approach of an Oncoming Darkness by 2bee (T, 7,772 w., 1 Ch. || Apocalypse, Minor Character Death, Sort of Parentlock) – The world is ending. Not fast, but slowly, like falling asleep with a fever.

The Name Game by ItsClydeBitches221B (K, 8,958 w., 1 Ch. || Humour, Family, Platonics / Friendship, Sort-of Parentlock, John/Mary, Mary is Nice, Five and Ones, Baby Watson, Mycroft Loves Baby Watson) – The names that baby girl Watson comes up with for her extended family. Or: how everyone—Watsons, Holmes, and others alike— just learned to give up and embrace their weirdness.

The Burning of the Leaves by blueink3 (M, 15,915 w., 3 Ch. || Post S4, Angst, Reichenbach, Parentlock, Past Jolto, Idiot John, Sherlock’s a Mess, Puppies, Fluff, Possessive / Jealous Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Sherlock POV, Matchmaker Sholto, Melancholic Feelings, Emotional Sherlock, Domesticity, Love Confessions in the Rain, Kissing in the Rain, Pet Names) – After the events of series 4, Major Sholto invites John and Sherlock to lunch one day. It nearly proves to be too much for their tenuous relationship as the past haunts the present, putting the future that Sherlock so desperately wants at risk.

Permanent Fixture by vitruvianwatson (E, 18,836 w., 9 Ch. || Post-S4, Parentlock, Slow Build, Friends to Lovers, They’re Good Parents, Blushing Sherlock, First Kiss/Time, Explicit Consent, Sexual Content, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Big Feelings, Crying, First Kiss, Fluff, Anxious Sherlock, Inexperienced Sherlock, Emotional Communication, Love Confessions) – Now, as Rosie sat curled up against Sherlock’s side, John watched and wondered exactly how he had ended up here. Domesticity had never suited him before, not at any point in his life. His disastrous marriage had been proof of that. But somehow, here in the warmth and safety of 221B Baker Street, here with Sherlock Holmes reading medical jargon to his daughter, Sherlock’s bony feet nudging against his leg, John couldn’t imagine anyplace that would make him happier.

Dropping the Act by jadztone (T, 27,258 w., 10 Ch. || Parentlock, Fake Relationship, Mary’s Family, Post-S4, Cuddling & Snuggling, Bed Sharing, Pining, Christmas) – Sherlock and John are quite happy living together with Rosie in Baker St. They might be even happier if they didn’t act towards each other like their love is only platonic. Mycroft brings troubling news in the form of Mary’s parents wanting to know just what their grandchild’s home life is like. The boys decide to spend Christmas pretending like they are in love in order to seem more like a "normal" family. It's easy enough to pretend when all you're doing is dropping the act.

An Acquired Taste by kinklock (E, 31,059 w., 4 Ch. || Vampires AU || Vampire Sherlock, Misunderstandings, Bat!Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Humour, Magical Realism, Fluff and Angst, Blood Drinking, Holmes Family, Slow Burn) – At Montague Street when Sherlock was forced to sate his body’s needs, he was at least able to wander about the flat as much as he pleased. At Baker Street, it was mini-bags in a mini-fridge and bedroom confinement.

Chaperones by MissDavis (T, 34,114 w., 7 Ch. || 11 Years Post-S4, Fake Relationship, Parentlock, Disney World, Bed / Room Sharing, Friends to Lovers, Fluff, First Kiss, Obsessive Sherlock, Insecure John) – Right. Of course. Everyone assumed they were a couple and no one would question it. John put his elbows up on the table so he could rest his head in his hands. "You want to pretend to be a couple so we can chaperone a trip to Disney World with Rosie's class and you won't have to share a room with a stranger?" "Exactly." Sherlock beamed at him. "Don't worry about the cost. The Birmingham case last month paid more than enough to cover expenses for all three of us."

Where The Ghosts Have Voices by HappyJuicyfruit (M, 37,691 w., 12 Ch. || Supernatural AU || Ghosts, Magical Realism, Light Horror, Fluff and Smut, John Can See Ghosts, John Whump, Emotional Manipulation, Dark Magic, Coma, Injury Recovery, Blow Jobs, Anal, Happy Ending, John’s Past, Mr Holmes, Powerful John, Holmes Brothers, Sherlock’s Past, Past Viclock, Drug Abuse, Hair Pulling) – John has lived his whole life as an outcast. It is only when he meets Sherlock, that be realizes being a freak might not be such a bad thing, and that the curse he has lived with his whole life may be a gift after all. (TO READ)

Anchor Point by trickybonmot (E, 49,856 w., 80 Ch. || Truman Show AU || Psychological Drama, Suspense, Slow Burn, Dark Characters / Fic, Alternating First/Third Person, Protective John, Anxious/Worried Sherlock, Tender Moments, Love Confessions, Hand/Blow Jobs, Cuddling, Jealous John, First Kiss/Time) – The world tunes in nightly for Sherlock, the ultimate in reality TV: Sherlock Holmes, a real person with a legendary name, unknowingly lives out his life in a staged setting contrived by his brother. Things get complicated when a retired army doctor joins the show to play the part of Sherlock's closest friend. This fic borrows its concept from the 1998 film, the Truman Show. However, you don't need to have any knowledge of the movie to enjoy this story.

The Hollow Woman by ScopesMonkey (M, 51,335 w., 22 Ch. || Post-TRF, Major Character Death, Mystery, Romance, Friendship, Family, Angst, Crime, Reunion, First Kiss / Time, Nightmares, Doctor John, Jealous Sherlock, Jealous John, BAMF John, Angry John, Dub-Con, Rough Sex, Bottomlock, Possessive John, Villain Mary, Open Ending) – Forced to return to London sooner than expected, Sherlock falls into a case too close to home. Part 1 of the Hollowverse series

Repairing the Broken Things by BakerTumblings (M, 75,252 w., 15 Ch. || S4 Compliant, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Medical Trauma, Hospitals, Big Brother Mycroft, Misunderstandings, Realizations, Severe Accident, John Whump, Pneumonia, Medical Procedures, Bed Sharing, First Time, Healing, Happy Ending) – "I'm calling today to notify you that there's been an accident."

Points by lifeonmars (E, 53,791 w., 42 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || HLV Rewrite / Canon Divergence, Married Life, Pregnancy / Baby Watson, Drinking to Cope, Boxing / Fisticuffs, Clueless John, Angst, Minor Medical Drama, Tattoos, Christmas, First Kiss/Time, Eventual Happy Ending, Love Confessions, Doctor John, Sexuality Crisis, Slow Burn, Case Fic, Drugging, Blow/Hand Job, Emotional Love Making, Parenthood, Passage of Time) – What if His Last Vow never happened? This fic picks up a few months after John and Mary's wedding, in an alternate universe where Magnussen doesn't exist, but Mary is still pregnant. Life continues -- just in a different direction. And slowly, Sherlock and John find their way to each other.

The Monument of Memory by J_Baillier (M, 79,663 w., 14 Ch. || Post S4 Fix It Fic / S4 is Canon, Angst, Family Drama, Guilt, Case Fic, John Loves Sherlock, Complicated Feelings, Mentalism / Hypnosis, Murder, Grieving John, Sherlock is a Bit Not Good, Team Work, Trust Issues, BAMF John, Psychological Trauma, Protective John, Autistic-Spectrum Sherlock, Parentlock, John POV) –  A genius traumatised by a past he's only beginning to recall. The psychopath sister that time forgot. A missing woman and a mentalist who may or may not be a murderer. And, in the middle of it all, stands John Watson.

Kintsukuroi by sussexbound (E, 91,823 w., 20 Ch. || S4 Compliant / Post-TLD, Grief / Mourning, PTSD, Internalized Homophobia, Therapy, Past Abuse, Alcohol Abuse, Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Depression, Anxiety, Bed Sharing, Love Confessions, Cuddling, Suicidal Ideation, Masturbation, Minor Character Death, Sexting, Frottage, Inexperienced Sherlock, Rimming / Anal / BJ’s, Emotional Turmoil, Finding Each Other) – “I love you.” Sherlock sees the words hit John with almost physical force. He reels back a little, jaw twitching and eyes filling. “I love you,” he repeats, a little softer, a little more gentle, as earnest as he possibly can. Because they’ve been teetering on the brink of this thing for years, and it had become painfully obvious over the last few months that they were at a tipping point. This had to happen. Now it has. Now they can see where they end up. The tears in John’s eyes spill over, and he wipes at them angrily. “Do you even know what that means?”  

The Summer Boy by khorazir (T, 94,706 w., 6 Ch. || Post S3/Post TAB/Alternate S4, Friends to Lovers, Asexual Sherlock, POV Sherlock, Flashbacks, Bullying, 1980′s Kid Sherlock, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Inexperienced Sherlock, Grief/Mourning, Pining Sherlock, Case Fic, Sherlock’s Past, Awkward Conversations, Anxious Sherlock) – About half a year after the fateful events at Appledore, Sherlock and John embark on a private case in Sussex. For Sherlock, it’s a journey into his past, bringing up memories both happy and sad that he has locked away for almost thirty years. For John, it means coming to terms with the present – and a potential future with Sherlock. Part 1 of the The Summer Boy series

The Wedding Garments by cwb (E, 105,390 w., 36 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Alternate Future AU || Alternate First Meeting, Dating / Arranged Marriages, Romance, First Kiss/Time, Heavy Petting, Cuddles, POV Sherlock, Virgin Sherlock, Idiots in Love, Slow Burn / Falling in Love / Dev. Rel., Nervous/Anxious Sherlock, Jealous/Cranky, Hiking, Vacation Homes / Honeymoon, Sherlock’s Family, Horny John/Sherlock, Patient John, Massages, Hand Jobs, Assassination Plots, Hand Jobs / Oral Sex, Case Fic, Emotional Love Making, Bath Time Fun) – This is the story of a young consulting detective who wants nothing to do with marriage and an army doctor who wants to find true love. It's 2020 post-Brexit England and the British government is encouraging arranged marriages. Candidates meet through state-run agencies and date in hopes of finding love (and tax benefits). Sherlock doesn't need or want a spouse, at least not until John Watson shows up. Hesitant to give in to his more carnal urges because of the way they derail his mind, how will Sherlock progress toward the more intimate aspects of a relationship? The answer lies in a very special wedding gift.

The Bang and the Clatter by earlgreytea68 (M, 137,049 w., 37 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Baseball AU || Slow Burn / Dev. Rel., Possessive/Obsessive Sherlock, Jealous Sherlock, Mutual Pining, Body Appreciation, Depression, Closeted Sexuality, Family, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Ogling Each Other, Anxious Sherlock, Panic Attack, Drunkenness, Talk of Forever, Big Feelings™) – Sherlock Holmes is a pitcher and John Watson is a catcher. No, no, no, it's a baseball AU. Part 1 of Baseball

The Lost Special: Family Matters (As Do Relationships) by ShirleyCarlton  (M, 144,688 w., 40 Ch. || S4 Fix It Fic, Unreliable Narrator, John’s Mind Bungalow, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending) – Sherrinford is not really the name of some high security prison. That was just a figment of John’s frantic coma dream. And Eurus is not actually Sherlock’s sister. That’s just something random she said to John before shooting him. Sherlock and John were never actually estranged. That was just their act to cover up what really happened to Mary – or Rosamund Moran, as her real name has turned out to be. Sherlock does have a secret sibling, though, and his name is Sherrinford. After finally eliminating Moran – though in a rather dramatically different way than they had envisioned – and exposing the truth about Eurus, John encourages Sherlock to delve into his past and to find out whether the reasons to keep Sherrinford away from Sherlock were the right ones, and to discover what really happened in 1981. Along the way, Sherlock and John gradually, finally, stop keeping each other at a distance, and eventually become a proper family of their own.

Proving A Point by elldotsee & J_Baillier (E, 186,270 w., 28 Ch. || Me Before You Fusion || Medical Realism, Insecure John, Depression, Romance, Angst, POV John, Sherlock Whump, Serious Illness, Doctor John, Injury Recovery, Assisted Suicide, Sherlock’s Violin, Awkward Sexual Situations, Alcoholism, Drugs, Idiots in Love, Slow Burn, Body Image, Friends to Lovers, Hurt / Comfort, Pain, Big Brother Mycroft, Intimacy, Anxiety, PTSD, Family Issues, Psychological Trauma, John Whump, Case Fics, Loneliness, Pain) – Invalided home from Afghanistan, running out of funds and convinced that his surgical career is over, John Watson accepts a mysterious job offer to provide care and companionship for a disabled person. Little does he know how much hangs in the balance of his performance as he settles into his new life at Musgrave Court.