#anyway this was brought to you by Henry Creel/vecna from stranger things season 4. He was literally just some kid that likes spiders

[small-plants]

I really hate the trope of when a villain is trying to be displayed as creepy and stuff through mannerisms and it’s just… autistic traits. I don’t think it’s always intentional but just the whole you can tell this person is evil because they have harmless mannerisms that are just… me when I’m not masking. It’s really annoying to see over and over again. Like oh this guy has an obsessive interest with something most people find scary clearly this leads to them being evil and trying to murder people instead of just like learning facts?

They act differently when they are alone and are only a nice “normal” person for show but are actually Strange and Weird when they drop the mask and therefore must be manipulative and Evil.

They talk less or in a different cadence or tone that is “creepy” so that the viewers know they’re evil. Even though that’s just how some people talk???

They don’t understand social cues and customs as well, clearly this is going to be their motive to destroy the world.

They don’t feel or display emotions “normally”, clearly this means they are unfeeling and evil.

Constantly seeing harmless traits I have only be shown in villains really doesn’t help with the feeling like there is something inherently Wrong and Bad in me that I must suppress no matter what, which has been a common feeling since I was in elementary school.

This doesn’t exist just in fiction either. For example I know someone at school who people will make jokes about how he’s going to be a school shooter and when asked why they literally just say because he’s quiet, laughs and smiles too much or too little in conversations and makes unusual eye contact? Like he’s actually really nice and also tries to be polite and respectful what more do you fucking want from him. Sorry someone doesn’t perfectly fit your arbitrary social norms, no that does not mean they are going to kill you where the fuck did you get that from how are those things your “evidence” that someone is actually Bad and Evil.

I don’t necessarily hate villains who happen to have autistic traits If they are written well I just really hate it when those traits are seen as just like inherently evil and the villain has no coherent motive other than just being weird and evil which seems to happen a lot.