#btw this isnt meant to be negative towards you AT ALL anon!

[the-implications]

i recognize your concerns around this, and as someone not officially diagnosed with anything and therefore not entirely certain if i have autism or not, i think some primary details to remember is:

richie being autistic is not canon, and therefore was likely not on the forefront of anyone's mind when writing/acting him. If you're autistic and relating to certain traits, that is likely connected to the fact that these ARE relatable characters. I myself relate heavily with richie, having been a big "nerd" pretty much all my life, and I was never diagnosed with autism (of course, there can still be valid reasons to hc any character as neurodivergent, regardless of canon) but trying to say that he's making an imitation of autistic people actually feels a tad bit weird in itself.

"the way he talks and moves" could be boiled down to. just. theatre? it depends on what you mean by this. because with stage acting, actors HAVE TO over-exaggerate their movements to be visible to the entire audience, and speak loudly and clearly, to be heard by the entire audience. this can come off as a bit odd for the proshots because we are essentially watching this show in an unintended form.

I think it's perfectly valid to say that you find richie as a character off-putting, or just straight up dislike him entirely. But i don't find it reasonable to try to blame it on the actor for doing his job.

jon matteson is the fandom's babygirl so i feel uncomfortable bringing up any problems i have with his characters publicly so we're doing it here

the way he plays richie feels super icky to me....the way he talks and moves feels like an imitation of an autistic person but not in like. a respectful way. but in the way kids in middle school would do to mock you for your autistic traits. the way that shows like the good doctor stereotype autism. and that seems to be The Joke with his whole character in general after the anime stuff. on one hand he seems super supportive of the autistic community with his support of autistic paul headcanons on the other hand theres THAT.

respect if other autistic/nd ppl find comfort in richie but it just makes me feel really gross

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