#all spider-people are neurodivergent and you can’t change my mind

[mooonbae]

[ my favorite neurodivergent coded characters 14/♾️ ]

[hatsunemikuismyspiritanimal]

"When I grow up, I want to be a black widow spider..."

  Pre-K 4 was a nice time. At the end of the year, we had an assembly to celebrate moving on to Kindergarten. Our teacher asked each of us what we wanted to be when we grew up: everyone responded doctors, police officers, engineers, lawyers, firefighters, you name it—the best of the best. But 4-year-old me had other ideas. I wanted to be a Black widow spider. Yes. A black widow spider. Your eyes do not deceive you.

Hello, I am going to talk to you about how we need to do more in schools to include people who are neurodivergent. The Cleveland Clinic explains the word neurodivergent like this: 

'The term ‘neurodivergent’ describes people whose brain differences affect how their brains work. Meaning they have different strengths and challenges from people whose brains don’t have those differences.'

When I was in kindergarten, my teacher would tell my mother that I didn’t pay attention. Hell, I couldn’t read until I was in 2nd grade, not because I didn’t know the letters or words but because I couldn’t focus. That all changed when I took medicine for ADHD. But being medicated for ADHD doesn’t change who I am.

I have always been an atypical kid, but as I grew and matured, I became more anti-social, my self-esteem went down and I became less hyper…actually, never mind about that part, everyone sees me running and prancing around on the school campus like Looney Toon with my headphones on. 

My mother wants me to be more social and said “It’s because of those headphones you wear all the time that you don’t have more connections!” but I can’t help it, I love music. ADHD can cause a person to become hyper-focused on something they enjoy.

There are a lot of things that I like that most people don’t like, for example, bugs. Remember the black widow spider? Well, I have always loved bugs and found them fascinating. I have quite the powers of observation. I can find things in the woods that most people would miss. And have you ever taken the time to notice the details on a bug’s wings? The patterns or the colors?  I took a college-level course about entomology when I was ten.

People understand hyper-focus when it comes to sports and schoolwork, but there are other non-traditional areas that interest people too. 

Recently, when I went to my doctor, he said, and I quote, “This is the most normal conversation I think I have EVER had with you.” I knew exactly what he meant by that and it hurt. I’ve been told that I’m lazy, I’m a daydreamer, I disappoint people, I let people down. The list goes on. Again, this hurts. 

Sometimes, I think about what it would be like if I didn’t have ADHD, like “Would the things I normally struggle with be easier or not?” I look at a math test and think “You got this.” When I get it back, I look at it and think “You IDIOT. You don’t got this. YOU DON’T GOT THIS.” but it’s true and I hate that, I know hate is a strong word, but that’s exactly why I’m using it.  I try to be book smart but I don’t wanna get hit by a car and be like “X to the power of 5 is 300.” I want to try and be a mix of both street and book smart.

I try my best to have a positive outlook on life, enjoy the little things, and not lose hope but sometimes I feel like “I can’t do it, I don’t know how to do it, I don’t want to do it, I’m too lazy to do it. It’s stupid. It’s hopeless. I’m screwed. I want to quit.” I feel guilty when the teacher has to slow down or wait for me. I feel like I waste people's class time or make everything longer and more annoying. Ask yourself, How can we be patient with each other and accept that we all learn at a different pace? 

Remember the definition of neurodivergent? It’s all about how the brain works - strengths and challenges. My brain works - it just works differently. ADHD is different for everyone. Sometimes we see differences as something weird or scary, which can cause misconceptions and stereotypes.  

Some scientists say that humans only use 35% of their brains.  So, you can only use 35% of your brain, but if you can’t use your brain, use 50% of your heart, and if you can’t use your heart, then use 67% of your soul, if you can’t use your soul, then I don’t know what to tell you. But if you do have all of those, you could add all that power together, and you will get 0.87675%. I wish I could say 152%, which is mathematically impossible, but hey, life’s full of surprises.

Before I end this speech, I want to tell you something, you are a beautiful person with beautiful qualities and talents, and even if your name is not Elizabeth, you are all queens (And Kings). Also, “Fight with your heart half-heartedly,” they say…I’m kidding that’s not even a real quote. Instead, it’s just something from my heart…only 50% of it. So, you should “Fight with your heart wholeheartedly.” 

Thank you for reading.

[scenefox2003]

No, Camila is not a good mother. And here’s why.

Yes, this sounds like a very harsh statement, but hear me out. Camila, on the surface, seems like a decent and loving mother, especially when compared to say, the Blights, who are much more obviously and stereotypically terrible. But from the very beginning she displays some VERY toxic and harmful behaviors towards her daughter Luz. Her sort of parenting, even though she has good intentions, can do some horrifying and long lasting damage to the mental health and self esteem of a child. How do I know? My mother was exactly like Camila. And like Luz, I still loved her. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t do some serious harm. And those same things are happening to Luz right now.

First up, let’s state the obvious. Luz is neurodivergent. This isn’t even just coding, either. Dana Terrace has outright stated this is her intention. And like many neurodivergent kids and teens, she often gets in trouble in school without realizing why. The things she does are still bad, of course, and she still needs to face the consequences of her actions and learn why they’re not okay. The first two things she does (going a bit too far in the school play and doing that freaky eye thing at cheer tryouts) aren’t even that bad, but her bringing spiders, snakes, and fireworks to school are obviously huge issues. Those last three are obviously cartoonishly crazy acts that have been played up by the writers for humor and to get the idea across, but even if we take this all at face value Camila’s handling of the situation is STILL HORRIBLE. Notice what she criticizes here. Not the fact that her daughter brought dangerous animals and explosives to school, but her love of fantasy. Yes, they’re related, but Luz’s love of fantasy can still exist without her breaking school rules. Not only that, but taking Luz’s neurodivergency into account here, The Good Witch Azura and other fantasy tales are clearly a special interest or hyperfixation of hers. Her love of Azura goes much farther than that of a normal neurotypical fangirl, she uses this character to help navigate through her life. She chooses to stay on the boiling aisles because Eda and King remind her of characters from the book. She chooses to take the risk and try to befriend her rival, Amity, because that’s what Azura did. Even in season two, when she’s talking about her future, she states Eda and Azura as her role models. Not to infantilize Luz (trust me, that’s the last thing I want to do) but this level of connection to a fictional character is unusual for a fourteen year old who just really likes something. Luz clearly uses this character as guidance in a world she doesn’t understand (which funny enough, is both the boiling aisles and earth) and what does Camila do?

She forces her to LITERALLY throw it away. Right before she has to go to a scary and uncomfortable place for THREE MONTHS, that SHE FORCED HER TO GO TO. That’s the time when Luz would need that special interest the most. It isn’t just a book she loves. It’s a coping mechanism, a genuinely harmless and positive part of her life, that she is shamed for. Being shamed for an interest or hyperfixation is such a terrible feeling I can’t even begin to describe it. But if you’re neurodivergent, you know what I’m talking about. What makes it even worse is that Luz literally cannot control what she loves. She can’t just find a new hobby, not that she should even have to, because when you have a special interest or hyperfixation, that thing becomes such a huge part of your life. And most of the time, it’s such an amazing and wonderful thing. And for Luz, it clearly is. Azura LITERALLY LED HER TO FORMING THE STRONGEST RELATIONSHIPS IN HER LIFE, with Eda, King, and Amity. That’s huge, considering Luz clearly has a lot of trouble forming friendships back in the human world. Luz’s love of fantasy is not a problem. Her “weirdness” is not a problem. But that’s what Camila sends her to camp for. To change her interests, her personality, not her actions. That, and for something even worse.

This line hurts my soul. I don’t even have to explain why this is an awful thing for a mother to say to her daughter, it speaks for itself. But I’m gonna explain anyway. Luz doesn’t have any friends. But that’s clearly not her fault. Just look at what happens when she goes to the boiling aisles and FINALLY meets like minded people. She makes tons of friends without changing at all, because Luz is a genuinely good person with a great personality. She’s kind, excitable, and always eager to help others. This is INCLUDED with her “weirdness”, and often directly related to it. Luz is not the only weird person that exists, even in the human world. I had pretty much no close friends as a kid, then I switched to a school full of open minded (and many queer and neurodivergent) people, and now I have TONS of friends who are just like me, who like the same things, that I didn’t have to change myself at all for. This is how real healthy friendships work. And the sad thing is, Luz wouldn’t even HAVE to go to the boiling aisles for this to happen! If Camila really wanted Luz to make friends, all she would have to do is send her to some sort of fantasy or roleplaying camp full of people like her who share her interests. But instead of blaming the judgy bullies for why Luz doesn’t have any friends, she blames Luz for just. Being herself and liking some unconventional stuff. This is so, SO disgusting and harmful. It can lead to so many problems, destroy yourself esteem, and ironically enough it makes it HARDER TO MAKE FRIENDS. Forcing yourself to be someone else to make someone you’re not really compatible with like you just doesn’t work. Believe me, I’ve tried. This is LITERALLY HAPPENING TO LUZ RIGHT NOW. IN THE MOST RECENT EPISODE SHE NEARLY RUINED HER CHANCE WITH AMITY BECAUSE PEOPLE HAD MADE HER FEEL WEIRD ABOUT HER INTERESTS AND PERSONALITY IN THE PAST. That’s why I’m making this post, even though I’ve thought this for a long time. The damage the human world has done to Luz is starting to show. Even after all these months of being loved for being herself and proudly being an advocate for being weird, that instinct is still there. And it lasts. For years. I’m eighteen years old, I’ve been in a supportive environment for six years now, and my parents have been fully supportive of me and my interests and quirks for two. But that instinct doesn’t go away. The deep rooted shame whenever you do something harmless that’s outside the norm, something you were directly told not to by the people who are supposed to love you unconditionally doesn’t go away. And Camila, the only person Luz truly cares about, perpetuated that. And that’s truly awful. I get it. Parents aren’t always perfect. But this is beyond imperfect. It reminds me of a line from Gwendolyn in Keeping Up A-fear-ances. “Your curse is a part of you, and I love every part of you.” Camila clearly loves Luz, but she doesn’t love every part of Luz. And in order to truly love someone, you must fully love them, quirks and all. I hope we get to see Camila learn this before the show ends, but most of all I hope that the show openly states that her parenting is awful. It could save so many kids from so many years of pain and an inferiority complex.

[necropsittacus]

answer all the ones you have an interesting answer for, i guess?

i had FAR too much fun with this and it’s horrifically long so. Apologies For That. also thank you friend

2: What’s your dream pet? (Real or not)i really want some finches, when i'm actually in a place to care for an animal? maybe a pigeon3: Do you have a favorite clothing style?in real life i actually Wear button downs and black jeans most of the time for convenience. *ideally* it would be something more like "unholy union of like three different goth aesthetics, and sith fashion, and also Pirate. and spikes/chains/glowy lights." it's probably good for everyone else's eyes that i'm too cheap to redo my entire wardrobe in line with my ideal aesthetic sensibilities. i also have a set color scheme; at most one bright color, which is generally red, blue, or purple, and everything else should be black or grey. 8: What is your Greek personality type? [Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Choleric, or Melancholic]melancholic with choleric leanings.9: Are you ticklish?nope! im pretty sure i trained myself out of it 12: Do you prefer tea, coffee, or cocoa?tea. i like the taste of coffee if it's very heavily creamed and sugared but it does terrible things to my body so i don't drink it. too much chocolate also makes me sick14: Would you rather be a vampire, elf, or merperson?VAMPIRE. practically already am. 16: How tall are you?5'7"-5'8". measurements have varied. 17: If you had to change your name, what would you change it to?starscreamthis one is Already a name change? i've been through a few names and honestly i'm pretty happy with "ren." i thought about changing to something people could actually spell right on the first try, but nothing Felt right? 20: Do you like space or the ocean more?ocean! but both are pretty neat21: Are you religious?yes, but it's not remotely clear what i actually believe, just that it's Something  23: Would you rather be nocturnal or diurnal [opposite of nocturnal]?i'm already practically nocturnal tbh and it's fun 30: Favorite movie?i really appreciate the star wars prequels32: How many pets have you own in your lifetime?nine; six fish and three budgies, not all at the same time37: What is your eye color?green38: Introvert or extrovert?i think the whole dichotomy is a bit overhyped and doesn't exactly apply to me. my situation is more that i act like extroverts are "supposed" to with close friends but people i don't already know and like very much are deeply exhausting to be around and i'd rather not40: Hugs or kisses?depends. hand/forehead/cheek/etc kisses are intensely blessed and important to me, but i don't particularly enjoy making out or whatnot, and hugs are Very nice. 42: Who is someone you love deeply?tumblr user @autisticsansa​44: Do you like tattoos and piercings?yeah!45: Do you smoke or have you eiver done so?yeah, occasionally. obligatory disclaimer that it's a terrible habit and you shouldn't start. it's more a "i'm extremely anxious and need to do SOMETHING" thing than a regular habit, though. 57: Have any mental disorders? [Only ask this if you know the user doesn’t mind!]several. it's just not 100% clear which ones. the most recent Professional Opinion was OCD and CPTSD with probably related anxiety and depression. also autism but i don't think that's quite the same thing58: What does your URL mean?it's a pun on "neurodivergent" that i stole from someone else's post about liches61: What makes you unfollow a blog?if your opinions start pissing me off too much or you post things i consider morally objectionable or dangerous to me. also if we have a sufficiently bad personal fight. i don't really care if a mutual or someone i've been following for a long time stops having common interests with me or anything like that, at that point i'm invested in You as a Person and will stick around for that64: Favorite animal(s):all birds. also cetaceans69: What is your star sign?i'm a fake scorpio. i have been telling people i'm a scorpio and tagging zodiac posts accordingly for literal years, out of a combination of the stereotype applying to me much better than the one for my Actual Birthday and residual influence from homestuck. 76: Do you like birds?i LOVE birds.86: Can you run a mile within ten minutes?i can't run a mile at ALL i'll have an asthma atatck88: Can you touch your toes and keep your legs straight completely?no and trying hurts90: If you were an animal, which one would you be?goth cockatoo94: Would you rather be able to fly or read minds?both of those sound fantastic. i want to say fly, though, both because bird thing!!!!, my latest batch of Attachment/Projection Characters has me thinking about the idea a lot, and mind reading seems like it would likely become a burden on me. i struggle enough with other people's feelings about me as it is96: Winter or summer?winter. summer is consistently a miserable time for me101: Favorite type of shoesaesthetically, high heeled black lace up boots. irl i mostly wear combat boots, though103: Are you a vegetarian or vegan? If so, why?vegetarian. i don't really Know why; it was how i was raised, i have no actual desire to eat meat, and i'm reasonably certain trying to start now would interact disastrously with a lot of my preexisting food issues. also, some of you are incapable of not responding to asshole vegans by acting like eating meat is a moral imperative and it's ok to bully people who don't. so even if i did want to, i wouldn't out of sheer spite106: Do you like bugs?depends on the kind. bees/wasps, dragonflies, and butterfly/moth type things are all fine. i'm deathly afraid of crickets107: Do you like spiders?yeah! i think they're cute109: Can you draw:not very well, but i keep doing it anyway114: Do you prefer cloudy or sunny days?cloudy. bright light tends to hurt me115: Someone you’d like to kiss or cuddle right now:i'm in an odd place right now where i'm either not sure if the people i'm closest to (and/or most want to Become close with) would be comfortable with anything of the sort, or know for a fact that they wouldn't be, so i'm going to refrain from naming anyone, but certain friends129: What would you want written on your tombstone?"túrin turambar dagnir glaurunga." for old times' sake/the sentimental value. i doubt christopher tolkien would give anyone permission for that, though131: What is something you love but also hate about yourself?arrogance, ambition, drive to succeed out of sheer Spite. it's a very good aesthetic, but i don't imagine it's very pleasant to actually *interact* with someone with a complex about being #1 132: Do you smile with your teeth showing for pictures?nope. i exclusively either smirk or keep my face as blank as possible; i don't think smiling like that looks good on me. 133: Computer or TV?computer. i don't actually know how to operate a television139: What nicknames do you have/have had?a lot. tends to come with changing your name 500 times. atm i don't really have any, to my slight disappointment140: Did you have any pretend or imaginary friends?i had imaginary enemies as a kid143: Do you prefer giving or receiving gifts/help?depends? it's hard for me to help people, especially to guess what kind of thing actually Is helpful to them, and i absolutely LOVE being given things, but also if i know someone well enough that we're giving each other things i would feel absolutely terrible not reciprocating, and doing it makes me happy. 145: How many languages do you speak fluently?only english, unfortunately. i have like a six year olds level of russian, which i want to improve, and i think i Could get there with japanese eventually if i start taking classes again147: Are you androgynous?honestly i can't really tell? not deliberately so, particularly, but i think i have a very Traditionally Feminine kind of pretty face and the way that combines with mostly masculine presentation and facial hair is pretty androgynous148: Favorite physical thing about yourself:this isn't a Specific Thing per se, but i do think HRT has been taking my appearance in a very "g1 seeker" direction and i am DELIGHTED151: If you could go back into time and live in one era, which would you choose?hm. viking stuff is a Big Aesthetic, but also i think i deserve to be a sickly victorian gentleman and die of tuberculosis154: Do you like to kiss others’ foreheads or hands for platonic reasons?YES. this is one of my favorite forms of affection irl. also hand kissing is The Most Valid kind of kissing. 155: Do you like to play with others’ hair?yes!!!157: Something that makes you nervous/anxious:talking to people when i'm not 100% sure where i stand with them or how much they like me. especially if i'm requesting anything.168: Do you like to wear makeup?i used to. i probably still would if i could do it without being read as a woman, but as it is the discomfort of being misgendered outweighs the joy of Having Sparkly Colors on My Face

[tieflng]

past imperfect future unknown signup letter (wip)

hello gifter! you’re probably eva. if you’re not eva, i’m sorry for assuming!

overall i’m interested in really getting into the weird aspects of these canons-- all of them have canonical time loops or at least heavily implied cycles, and what if it were more explicit? i love canon detail, i love worldbuilding and worldbuilding headcanons, i love really intricate explorations of place or character or relationships, i love adversarial or inimical dynamics and i love close conspirators and found family. rich with detail and thought, i think is my overall preference. something that makes me think.

also have a deep, deep soft spot for requested characters as autistic, otherwise neurodivergent, and gay/trans/nb when not shown in canon. for pyre especially i’d love an exploration of any of the requested characters as moontouched.

as far as general dnws go:  detailed hand/eye trauma, detailed unsanitary descriptions, detailed descriptions of spiders or insects, mentions/references to coronavirus (fictional plagues/diseases are fine), homophobia/transphobia-- fantasy or otherwise, canon-typical or otherwise.

for pyre, please no requested characters in m/w relationships, i see most of them as gay. for transistor, no requested characters shipped with each other, royce or grant x women, requested characters x process (just nasty), or anything to do with suicide, even the canon suicides. for bastion, no requested characters shipped with each other, and nothing that justifies the calamity or ura genocide, vilifies the ura, or has rucks as a sympathetic character.

pyre: Baby You Know I Have Scribes Brain. again. i’ll break this down by characters or relationships and what tropes i was thinking of, though if a different trope combination strikes your fancy i’d love to see it! ‘time travel via dreams and visions’, for example, works Very well with canon and i’d like to see any take on it.

vagabond girl: i like her name to be chae! unstuck from time? traveling back to a traumatic experience in someone else’s past? time travel via dreams and visions? an exploration of what being moontouched means-- any unrequested relationship with scribes would be good, but ESPECIALLY interested in gol and khaylmer-- can’t tell khaylmer his fate? parallels with the nomad scribe who sends her home if she’s liberated, and with the grand traitor who was the original example of her archetype. meeting either of them when they were younger? or their in-depth conversations with a young chae?

khaylmer rope-caller: khaylmer as being the only person who can remember multiple timelines Really interests me, though i could also see that with gol. gol and khaylmer stuck in a time loop together, being the only ones aware, either doing their spy vs spy bullshit ad nauseum or else reluctantly being forced to team up together-- i see their topside relationship as one of deep fear, misunderstanding, and loathing, and khaylmer as older enough to be an uncle figure to soliam. soliam and khaylmer’s dynamic really interests me, too-- so close and trusting right up until the betrayal, a betrayal soliam didn’t even realize until later.

any of the tropes involving a love interest are gol/soliam and i could see them from either perspective-- soliam traveling back and meeting a younger gol, or gol realizing in a vision that he ends up with the Actual Emperor......go ham!

gol golathanian: if you write any of these tropes with gol golathanian i’ll love you forever. looping character keeps dying, accidentally ending up in past self’s body, meeting a younger and brasher version of the master-general, wildly op time traveler (as befitting an eldritch basketball saint), needing past soliam’s help? but basically anything, if you’ve seen me around you Know i have golathanian brain.

soliam murr: ‘time travel back to before redemption/when they were still a massive jackass’ was Made for this man. so was, in a way, traveling back just to savor the past, or else desperately trying to change his past-self’s ways and avert the empire’s fall. soliam unstuck in time on the banks of the river sclorian, having visions of alternate timelines? i just really want regretful sad soliam murr. some angst here is more than welcomed.

ha’ub & ti’zo: i didn’t have anything specific in mind for these two, i just love the idea of a family reunion! let ha’ub visit his favorite grandson and impart some imp wisdom.

bastion: the ng+/restoration ending HEAVILY imply a time loop and a repeating cycle, so why not lean into that? like ‘original outcome cannot be changed’ is literally the point of the game imo. jawson’s bog and the who knows wheres also have elements of time travel through dreams and visions to them. and what about kid’s alternate shadow selves? what’s their story? any of the requested characters with any of the requested tropes, exploring the alternate kids, deep dive into the process of the restoration ending, zulf’s relationship with kid and zia, all that good stuff.

transistor: royce centric, absolutely, though i’d be very down for red or grant’s view of him as a deep dive. i’m really fascinated by recursion and royce’s status as a visionary, maybe red and royce as the only people who remember through recursions? if you can get into the nitty gritty of what the process Does and what cloudbank Is i will love you, same with really getting into royce’s head and examining his past and his mental state.