#how does this represent aspd

[wet-canid]

I'm offended?

[redd956]

Writing & Worldbuilding Good Disability Representation

Unsurprisingly many people have struggled to write disabled characters, while others worry about making mistakes when trying to nail good representation.

In all honesty writing disability can be complicated, because disability itself is so broad. Eventually everyone once in their lives will be disabled in one way or another, whether temporary, from old age, due to mental illness, or simply born that way.

There's so many different kinds of disabilities, and so many different ways they can affect us. The levels of impairment is drastically different from person to person and disability to disability.

Importance of Good Representation

One of the questions I hear the most from older people when it concerns the "oddly diverse" casts of modern shows, is , I explain kindly to them the importance of representation from the perspective of the represented.

I always ask them when you think of Indian-Americans what characters do you think. Due to the Simpsons most pull up Apu, but when I ask if they think Indians like being represented by Apu their mood of the situation changes.

I tell them subconsciously we naturally recall other forms of representation we've seen of a group when encountering someone from said group, good and bad. These characters we see in media are subject to be what we recall, and when they're poor quality people get things wrong or support bigoted stereotypes.

Now when it comes to those disabilities, representing someone wrong can give people the wrong impression how those disabilities work. I would know, I've been told a many times that I'm too young for Fibromyalgia.

When a certain type/variant of disability becomes more prevalent in representation people come to believe it's the only type. Ambulatory wheelchair users, non-limping cane users, and those not completely blind face obnoxious individuals all the time, people who are convinced that the disabled individual is faking because it's not what they're used to hearing about.

If every representation of those with a disability is negative or villainized, then we have issues of demonization forming (think those with ASPD, DID, Bipolar Disorder, or Borderline Personality Disorder)

Avoiding the Inspiration Porn

One of the most annoying tropes of all time, in not just writing, but in reality television, game shows, documentaries, and so much more when concerning those with disabilities is the dreaded "Inspiration Porn"

You've very likely seen it before.

A story about a person with disability so impairing or disabling overcoming all their hardships so that they do one highly specific thing, and isn't just so inspiring, aren't they so cute doing the thing, you should feel inspired right now, you don't have that disability so now it's your turn, alpha red-pill grindset rhetoric, blah blah blah-

Almost every time a disabled character is the focus in a show they are simply there to be something for the audience to feel inspired off of. It tells the lesson of "no matter how bad your life is, it can always be worse."

It's dehumanizing for disabled people to just be a ploy of inspiration for non-disabled people.

It covers up the real struggle in the story, claiming that disabled people are compliant, never complain, and can never be shot down. Disabled people let their pain and problems stop them all the time. Hell! So do non-disabled people.

Not everyone has these resources, or mental resilience, and there is so much more to a disabled character than the arch of achieving something despite a illness.

Disabled people are achieving something despite a illness, they're just achieving something. They're people. I wouldn't say, "Wow Mary got a STEM masters, even though she's a girl."

Sounds sexists doesn't it? Well now think about how disabled people feel when the yearly America's Got Talent season plays inspiring over the top music as a person with a disability does something talented (only to never win anyway).

Common Stereotypes

Ooooooo a disabled villain, a classic. Oh it's the overly innocent childlike Autistic character. And here is the wheelchair bound engineer-

There are many stereotypes for the many disabilities out there. When it comes to disabled characters in general an classic was the disabled villain, often hand and hand with queercoded notions too.

Two major reasons why the disabled villain happens

Writers want a character to look tough or resilient, so they add things like an eyepatch, disfigurements, mechanical arms, etc.

The ugly metaphor of one's inner quality being equal to their monstrous outer qualities. Their broken nature shows in their broken appearance.

The first one is not as annoying, and is much easier to ignore or even explore, creating a more interesting villain. The second...

Although an interesting recurring metaphor, like in James Bond books, if you think about it longer you realize it's ableist energy. Does this mean that all disabled people are also evil on inside?

Having a villain who is disabled isn't bad on its own, however make sure they're not just an extension of the minority-villain.

The same goes for all other disabled characters. Do research on the common stereotypes. Is every psychopath a murderer? Is every wheelchair user calculating and highly intelligent? Does every Autistic person speak with altered distinct speech?

Tons and tons of media, well received and hated, have made use of harmful stereotypes in a mindless way. Even more I hate when I see this trope in fandom.

One of my all time favorite FPS characters is Jager from Rainbow Six Siege, but almost every other depiction of this powerful soldier, part of an international anti-terrorist team, proven to be highly intelligent and adaptable, is shown as innocent-minded and childlike.

Like c'mon people, really?

Cheating Representation

If I show you a disabled character, except they're never hindered by their disability, it's rare ever mentioned, and plays no role in their character ever you'd feel cheated in representation.

If I showed you a character who was only their disability, you'd feel annoyed that they're devoid of personality and are just there to be like, "Hi my name is Fibromyalgia."

Writing a disabled character is a balancing game. They are dynamic like all other characters. A character is not just their species, sexuality, or gender. They are apart of the world you're building.

Many disabled people feel cheated when a disabled character gets a magical or technological cure that basically removes the disabled aspect of the character. I think a good example of characters who have sci-fi/magical additives to their disabilities, that act as aid can be found in Arcane, Avatar the Last Airbender, Adventure Time, and also Steven Universe.

Blending In With The Worldbuilding

An easy mistake everyone can make when writing a disabled character, especially in a fantasy setting, is forgetting to blend them in with the worldbuilding.

Is that a modern wheelchair in a clockwork setting? How come magic isn't included with these kind of things? Can eyepatches be enchanted? Hear me out

Are there disabilities unique to the fantasy species present, in the magic system, or even one you made up solely for worldbuilding's sake?

Why hasn't healing magic or sci-fi medical technology prevented an amputation? Maybe there's rules that play a role here. Let's take for instance some wordbuilding examples from my SOA series.

Although healing magic is prevalent, any healer, cleric or chromatic magic caster, needs just as much medical knowledge as a modern surgeon to get their job done right. The greater the injury the more difficult it is for the magic to work properly, and for the caster to have enough mana or even skill to attempt it.

Amputations are very common to this factor, on account of Castellian warmongering, magic backfiring, and widespread aggressive mercenary groups.

No one's head has ever been reattached successfully by even the most skilled of healers throughout history, cases of so being moments of divine intervention or inexplicable magical wonder.

Amputations are usually replaced by robotic prosthetics in Projectian planets, and Castellite. In Okiea, technology inspired off of the Quinn (a species) has allowed for the popularity of the versatile but fragile Quinn-Style prosthetics. In nations with clockwork deposits, clockwork has always been popular.

Other nations simply buy these prosthetics or designs off of each other from other planets. From most expensive to least- Projectian - Mondiean - Castellian - Quinn - Clockwork - Arethian

Due to expenses, impoverished communities rely on rudimentary prosthetics, such a hooks, still hand molds, and similar.

It is both more difficult and more dangerous to cast through the majority of prosthetics. You have higher chances of magic backfiring, blowing the prosthetic apart and potentially more remaining of the affected limb. It is like they've never casted before with that arm, leg, or tail. Most materials used don't take to casting well anyway, except for the Quin and Clockwork prosthetics.

Sci-Fi, Healing, and Medical Technology

A lot of times, especially for things like amputations, and other injury-acquired disabilities, the immersion can be broke when the disability isn't supplemented by medical technology or magic in high fantasy settings.

If androids exists why doesn't realistic prosthetics exists? If we have floatation devices why don't wheelchair float so that they can better go up and down terrain? Can I have a madmax style battle wheelchair? Why didn't magic just fix the problem?

When worldbuilding with magic and technology I play by the rule- ALWAYS REMEMBER INNOVATION

Intelligent species, like us humans (if you can even call us that anymore), have a natural drive to innovate upon everything we find. We get a new invention, discover a new resource, or come up with a new technology we worked hard to find every single thing we put it into.

In a fantasy world the same would be done with magic, and the technology available. If I see a versatile hoverboard, a floating city, or platform elevator I might wonder why a character would appear with a regular everyday wheelchair, unless there's a worldbuilt explanation for it.

If there's bionic creatures, why no replaceable eyes for eyepatch wearing characters. What magic or technology can make the lives of those who face mental challenges easier?

Are there creatures similar to service dogs about? Or are service dogs a more universally accepted thing than our own world. When worldbuilding you can really play around, making things both better and worse for the disabled characters at play.

Magic, Species, and Casting

When fantasy species and magic are present I wonder if certain disorders are unique to them, and how disorders I'm already familiar with might affect them differently.

What does a orc with dwarfism look like compared to a dragon with dwarfism? Is it even called dwarfism at that point? Can elves be born with extra ears like some cats? Can batfolk have a disability that makes their echolocation impaired?

As for magic is it rare, but well known, that some people are unable to cast? I personally hate the trope of a magical world except there's one character who doesn't have any powers. I don't mind it as a concept itself, but I've just seen it so many times, and often in cheap poorly done settings.

There's so many other ways one could be disabled in the sense of magic, in a world where everyone else has powers. I think D&D wild magic is an amazing example of this.

There's also the conversation of curses acting as a disability themselves. With magic be so widespread, especially in a setting where we have spellcasters like witches and warlocks, why aren't curses widespread?

Does one not grumble every time someone in public has to ask about the story of how they got cursed just like a burn victim explaining their traumatizing past?

Don't Be Afraid To Explore The Bad

All the time I discover people incredibly nervous to work with themes of discrimination, war, torture, and similar things. I think it's important to explore settings where not everything is kittens and rainbows. I also think it can be equally as fun to explore a setting devoid of certain kinds of hate. Both are fun, and have advantages in their storytelling.

But often times stories need conflicts, and one of the most easiest to pull from, is discrimination.

I don't think anybody is terrible for enjoying a sort of angsty or whumpy aspect of writing disabled characters either. We all write and read different kinds of things for many many reasons. Maybe a story filled with darkness and hopelessness evokes a strange somber feeling of hope.

Grim darks, dystopias, and whump stories have come around for a reason. Just try to make sure that any hidden lessons you accidentally form in your writing don't give the wrong impression (I'm looking at you Saw)

[lilyblackdrawside]

Alternate operators are usually made to represent an operator in a later stage of their life, usually to show growth and/or other significant change.

In this process they tend to be put into a different job or branch, but usually retain some of their gameplay themes of their original version.

I will list these parallels now in a long post.

Lava the Purgatory: Lava’s notworthy trait is deploying with a ton of extra SP so she can use her skill right away and Purgatory retains this. I want to also bring up an aesthetic touch that I really like: When Lava attacks, she lifts her knife then shakily holds it in position for a moment before swinging it down, the start of this motion is when her attack hits. This gives her a rather lengthy delay between acquiring her target and hitting it. This long windup is actually something that all Splash Casters have. They all take quite a bit of time to swing their staff in some way (or sword in Dusk’s case) and it’s pretty noticeable when you watch them next to another Caster. It isn’t usually detrimental at all, except for Dusk who regularly gets smallfry kills sniped out from under her windup which makes stacking her talent a bit harder than it should be at times. Purgatory however, has a very quick attack animation where she makes swipe with her knife and leaves a sick dimensional tear behind in its path. This is a really nice way to show how much more experienced she is now.

Skadi the Corrupting Heart: There’s really nothing here that parallels Skormal, but that’s very much on purpose because this isn’t Skadi anymore. Skalter has a skill that raises her max HP, by a higher % than Skormal even, but that hardly counts. Skormal’s S3 is called „Tidal Elegy“ and all of Skalter’s skills are songs of some kind, so there’s that. There’s also Skalter gaining extra ATK from being near a Hunter, whereas Skormal gives extra ATK to the Hunters. This could be something.

Ch’en the Holungday: Her ammo-saving support is akin to Ch’ormal’s SP support, but that’s a bit shaky since she doesn’t even share the full effect, only half of it.

Nearl the Radiant Knight: There’s nothing here, but once again on purpose.

kralter: has a crit talent and an offensive recovery multi-hit skill

Specter the Unchained: Becomes unkillable with S2, which also has a drawback on expiring (death) and with S3 she regains her multi-targeting from her Centurion days. Hibiscus the Purifier: She’s still a Medic! Her S1 gives extra ATK too! Yeah there’s nothing here.

Gavial the Invincible: Gavial has healing-over-time and Gavialter has damage-over-time (on herself) and also a self-healing skill. And she has a talent that increases her ATK and DEF. The parallels are thin, because she’s going back to her days of killing people instead of medicing them.

Greyy the Lightningbearer: His kit is built around slowing enemies and he deals splash damage. Even still does some arts damage too.

Texas the Omertosa: She has a skill that drops swords on people and stuns them, which she also very strikingly did in her Vanguard days.

reedler:

there’s fire

Kirin R Yato: She has a low redeploy time, which is the one standout quality of Yato. That’s because she’s a 2 star, so she doesn’t even have a skill or anything but thanks to her talent, becoming an Executor works quite nicely for her.

Rathalos S Noir Corne: He was the first Musha Guard who didn’t just get +100 ASPD from the Tenacity talent. Noirlter instead gets up to +50 ASPD and +50% DEF, recalling his roots as a Defender. This comes out even more with his S1, which is a very defensive skill.

Silence the Paradigmatic: With her S2, she gets a freely deployable Drone that lets her have mapwide presence. Instead of healing, it gives a large amount of Sanctuary so it’s more of a preventative measure than one for recovery, but it’s very powerful. Very beautiful. She also has a recovery aura in her attack range, which is similar to Sormal’s Drone providing area healing.

Eyjafjalla the Hvit Aska: Her S3 is performed like Eyjormal’s.

Swire the Elegant Wit: There’s nothing here. She’s not providing squad support because she’s on vacation. Ask nicely and she’ll buy you a drink if you’re cute.

Jalter: Her S2 still gives evasion.

Fang the Fire-Sharpened: Retains the cost reduction on her talent.

Wiš’adel:

Still inflicts Stun wherever she goes and is all about exploding large amounts of enemies. She also has a defensive aspect with her camouflaging talent that helps her not get shot.

Vina Victoria: Her S1 deals damage in the same are as Siege’s S2, her talent 1 buffs her allies.

Whitewolf the Decadenza: She’s got Silence and deals Arts damage.

Thorns the Lodestar: He has a range extension on his S3 and deals arts damage over time.

So overall, there’s usually something they take from their original version. I think that’s neat and it’s fun when there’s a direct evolution on a concept that was a core of their former self. Of course, this shouldn’t always be done because it would be constricting for designing them. But when I make a custom alter for an operator, I like to carry something over in a direct way.

[temporal-discounting]

Apparently some people over on the hellsite formerly known as Twitter have described Ed as a psychopath. Many people have pointed out the racism inherent in this take - and while I wholeheartedly agree with that, I would like to focus here on what psychopathy actually is, and why it is absurd to apply that label to the character we see on our screens in OFMD.

To preface this, I am a research psychologist by training and have done some work on psychopathy. I am by no means an expert, though, so any corrections to how I have represented psychopathy here are welcome. This will be quite a long post, so I'm putting the rest under the cut.

OK, so what is psychopathy? The truth is, it has a very messy status. It does not appear in the DSM-5, which is the diagnostic manual for psychological disorders. Someone with psychopathic traits would likely be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). But psychopathy as a construct is widely used in the scientific literature - especially clinical and forensic psychology - and it is used to describe a specific type of personality that overlaps with, but is distinct from, ASPD.

At the core of psychopathy is a lack of empathy and remorse; psychopaths see others not as fully realised people with rich inner lives, but as instruments to be used in pursuit of their own goals. Violent behaviour is not necessary or sufficient to be a psychopath but many psychopaths will use violence as a tool to further their own agenda, and they will not feel bad about it.

While 'diagnosing' fictional characters is a folly, in this case I think there is clear canonical evidence that Ed is not a psychopath.

Ed does not lack empathy. He empathises with Stede immediately - the very first thing he does when Stede wakes up is to reassure him that his crew is OK.

And there are numerous, non-Stede examples too. We see Ed empathise with the crew following the fuckery, with CJ when he lies about being mutinied, with Fang when they go fishing together...

Does Ed lack remorse? Very clearly not. His remorse over killing his father is absolutely fundamental to his character. And that remorse has led him to build up walls around the violence he has perpetrated and ordered as Blackbeard ("I didn't kill those guys, the fire did").

Ed's behaviour towards Lucius and the crew from 1.10 through to 2.2 could be construed as using violence instrumentally to achieve one's own goals. But the narrative makes it pretty clear that this behaviour is attributable to an acute mental health crisis - not to an innate personality type. And crucially, he feels remorse about this behaviour. He tries to make amends. He tries to do better.

Finally, Ed's entire arc of wanting to leave piracy behind would be very difficult to reconcile with him being a psychopath. He is unwavering in this desire from the moment we properly meet him - so much so that he is willing to leave behind the only person he has ever loved.

In summary, Ed is empathetic, he is plagued by the violence he has committed, and he wants to be a better man. These traits are wildly inconsistent with a psychopath.

So, er.... thanks for coming to my TED talk, I guess?

[antisocialsharky]

Hi, so I don't have ASPD, but my best friend does. I've been doing research on ASPD to understand it better and while I think I do have a general idea on what it is and its causes, I can't find any reliable source other than pwASPD speaking their experiences and like one Psych Central article.

I was wondering if you could give some guidance on where to look for more details on how ASPD affects people in different ways and if there's any reliable websites to look at?

Hi!

This is actually quite the challenge indeed, since theres not even an agreement on what information about ASPD is "reliable" and should be trusted! So theres unfortunately not a website or a collection or anything that I can point you to!

But I do have some general advice (which is solely based on what I personally think gives you a well rounded understanding of the condition):

• read both, the current DSM-5 ASPD criteria (with all sections under the criteria list itself) and the proposed alternative criteria in the back of the DSM-5 (its a downloadable PDF). then take that information and compare it to any more recent scientific articles about ASPD and see whats confirmed, whats prevalant, where research isn't sure, etc. (you can find articles usually by typing "x symptom in ASPD scientific article" into google. if you have access to libraries they also have some printed versions of psychology related magazines/journals sometimes)

• also look into the history (wikipedia actually details some of those steps nicely, but earlier versions of the DSM-5 do as well) to understand how the category evolved, as that especially furthers understanding on the distinction between sociopathy & psychopathy, the term changes, current debates, etc.

• once you have a good outlook on it from that point, possibly also consume some articles/books on general personality theories and the general info about specific symptoms and how they come to be, as well as trauma theories => then you combine that with your understanding about ASPD as a specific condition and a lot kinda falls into place rly?

• then you round that up by reading about peoples personal experiences on all types of platforms and mediums! you have to kinda assume that any experience may fall somewhere on the spectrum (tho many ppl may also group experiences under the ASPD label, that arent technically truly caused by it...but yk you'll never rly be able to judge that, unless you are a specific persons therapist/the person itself, so assuming it as a possibility is usually the way to go)

=> You may wanna teach yourself how to spot a reliable scientific article, which means you gotta learn how scientists are supposed to word stuff, what good sources look like, how conclusions should/can be drawn and whether or not the math is right. at the same time you gotta remember that science is never fact but always just an assumption based on evidence that seems true in the moment/supports the theory. so personal experience & science do not always get along! oh and pay attention to where the studies are done, with how many people, who those ppl are, etc. => aka whether the findings even represent a broad enough group of ppl so they can generalize that! (theres books on this shit too)

=> Additionally theres (at least) 2 different perceptions of ASPD going on rn! 1. ASPD as a personality disorder and this being a valid concept and 2. ASPD being a trauma response that ofc affects your personality but that doesnt mean its disordered or wrong in any way. Its helpful to take a look at both perspectives and also do some reading & thinking on personality disorders as a concept overall, what recovery as a concept means for these conditions, etc.

Well and tbh the best and most reliable source for you, may just be your best friend! Cus in the end their individual presentation is what matters and what you would benefit from understanding! So make sure to ask questions if ur friend is comfy with that and learn about what they personally need & are like!

Long story short: Understanding ASPD starts and ends with a well rounded overall understanding of psychology & a sort of grip and feeling for how broad presentation spectrums are and what science can & can't capture. Its something you kinda aquire once you spend a lot of time in these spaces and the amount of reading you do & exposure you have? Which is maybe not a satisfying answer, but it is what it is, cus unfortunately ASPD is still underesearched!

[raddisheat0r]

I strongly disagree with this. 

Your first argument “The prisoners in Arkham need somebody like Bolton to keep them in line. Lyle does that, extremely well.” ‘The Prisoners’, the people held within Arkham Asylum are mental patients, they are mentally ill. Harley Quinn has HPD (histrionic personality disorder) and was stuck in an extremely abusive relationship leading to her life of crime, Arnold Wesker has DID (dissociative identity disorder) and doesn’t believe that he committed the crimes but the puppet on his hand. Jonathan Crane has ASPD (as well as other personality disorders), however, in the Btas, it is quite clear he is a very disturbed individual.  

Your second argument “Just because he jerked them around a little, doesn’t mean he’s some hellian. Also, that kind of treatment improves behavior.” Perhaps you may have not noticed because the BTAS is a kids show from the 90s but it is heavily implied that Bolton abuses the patients of Arkham, this has been shown in other media in recent years. To suggest that “jerking patients around (…) improves behaviour.” Is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. It doesn’t work in real life, why would it work in Batman? The Batman universe (ignoring all the supernatural stuff, we’re just talking about Batman n Gotham) reflects real life, corruption, mental illness and (yada yada)  

Your third statement “I don’t agree with how he was kidnapping pretty random people though, like a news reporter, Commissioner Gordon, etc…. If he hadn’t done so he'd be innocent in my eyes.” Obviously, you watched the show with your eyes closed, Lyle Bolton, was a character supposed to represent a republican extremist. You can tell by his room and by his use of the wording “liberal media”. Him kidnapping “random” people is him trying to control the city of Gotham to become what he thinks will be better.  

And…Commissioner Gordon…a random person?? HE’S THE POLICE COMMISSIONER!!!

Fourth statement “I also don’t understand the hate for him. The other Batman villains have done way worse. At least Lyle does something beneficial for Gothams society”  Again, the reason for his hate is because he abuses the patients of Arkham Asylum and other fans of the series actually have empathy. I think the crimes of Lyle Bolton vs The Rogues Gallery can be debated but someone else can do that. The entirety of Gotham Society is corrupted, That's why it’s the most crime filled place on earth. yknow what would make it better? An abusive head of security, so he can make the mentally ill patients even more mentally ill, so they can break out and reek havoc on the good people of Gotham.  

Fifth statement “I don’t understand why Bruce wouldn’t buy a better security system for Arkham in the first place. Bolton knows what he’s doing sooo” That's why Bolton got the job in the first place, because of his record but Bruce fired him because he mistreated mentally ill people. Arkham, while also holding mentally ill people holds geniuses, I find it difficult to believe that, let’s say The Riddler, a self-proclaimed genius would have a difficult time with a new “high tech” security in Arkham, the reason it was a wasn't a "revolving door" was because of the abuse. I personally, don’t think the entire problem with Arkham is the security but the doctors, funding, and the system itself.

[unstablemotions]

People really need to stop using the word "neurodivergent" as if it is a synonym to AuDHD. It's like saying "bird behaviour" and then only list things that a flamingo does. Like yes, that's a bird so it is "bird behaviour" and some of flamingo behaviours might overlap with what most birds do, but it doesn't represent all the thousands of other bird species out there.

'Neurodivergent' encompasses way more than just autism and ADHD. Yes autism and ADHD are some relatively common neurodivergencies and often do coexist with other neurodivergencies, but they are not the only ones and yet people keep saying "neurodivergent experiences" but then only list symptoms/experiences of ADHD/autism.

I get not wanting to personally disclose all of your different conditions and it might be more comfortable to say "neurodivergent" about yourself. That's totally valid and this is not a critique of anyone doing this! This is a perfectly fine use of the word neurodivergent! But when you're talking more generally, please be more specific if you just mean autism and/or ADHD. Please remember not everyone who's neurodivergent is AuDHD or have any overlapping symptoms with AuDHD. Some people might even have conditions with seemingly opposite symptoms to that of AuDHD yet they are still neurodivergent.

Heres a simple illustration for those who still don't get it:

[Image description: Illustration showing how the word 'neurodivergent' is an umbrella term. The image shows a folded out umbrella with the words "Neurodivergent Umbrella*" written on it. Under the umbrella, there's listed a bunch of different conditions which fall under the term "neurodivergent". The conditions listed are as such: "ADHD, SPD, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Misophonia, Schizophrenia, CPTSD, DID and OSDD, HPD, PTSD, Epilepsy, ABI, ASPD, NPD, Dyspraxia, OCD, BPD, Down Syndrome, Synesthesia, Autism, Bipolar, Dyscalculia, Tic Disorders, FASD". In the bottom of the illustration there's a note reading: "*Non-exhaustive list".]

[dismissivedestroyer]

Hi hello I might be a bit feverish still so this might come off as some nonsense rambling but!!

LITERALLY YOU'RE SO CORRECT!!

Like, Bob and Moloch don't have HALF of the complexity that Dexter has (this doesn't mean i don't like them, i actually love them), Moloch is just "Evil-because-demon", and Bob is just "Evil-because-yes", since as far as we know, he doesn't have any backstory to tell us why he is the way he is. He's just an evil cannibal serial killer for the sake of being evil and eating people.

With Dexter, the situation's way more complex, because he really isn't evil. He's morally grey at best, made some questionable choices to keep his "urges" under control, but not evil at all. It took him ONE YEAR of psychological torture to snap and decide to kill the kids, and even then, he fought it as much as he could.

I really like how Pelo wrote Dexter, honestly. It's really rare to see ASPD (antisocial personality disorder), which i'm like 90% sure Dexter was canonically confirmed to suffer from, represented in a way that isn't just "Ohoh look at this EVIL MONSTER with NO EMPATHY who doesn't CARE FOR HUMAN LIFE and so he's gonna KILL EVERYONE OHOH". And it bothers me a bit how much the fandom leans into characterizing Dexter exactly like this. Like, his issues are barely acknowledged as a whole, and if they are, they are represented poorly. Idk maybe it's just cause Spooky Month usually leans into horror tropes and stereotypes, so the fandom chalks Dexter up to the (still ableist btw) "Mentally Ill Serial Killer" trope, but the fact is that Dexter in canon is NOT LIKE THIS, and they always make him so WIDELY out of character... It's like the fandom saw his mental illness, saw the fact that Dexter's personality is still at times very harsh, brutally honest, and sassy and sarcastic (mostly in the doodles Pelo does), and decided "okay yeah we can't baby-fy him, turn him up to the other extreme"---> and made him this heartless insane guy

Anyway. Big fan of how Pelo gave us a character that actually struggles with his mental illness and also makes bad choices and isn't a perfect human being but also not an irredeemable evil monster that just wants to murder people for fun.

[raincamp]

personality disorders in Avatar: The Last Airbender

i just rewatched The Beach episode of ATLA and i realized something during the fireside traumadumping scene. Ty-lee, Mae, Azula, and Zuko all represent each of the 4 personality disorders in cluster B.

Azula is NPD (narcissistic), feelings of inadequacy, jealousy, a need to feel superior, and to be perfect. she usually puts on her grandiose shell; she has a duty to represent herself as fire nation royalty, and it's rare we see any of her feelings at all. but the shell was cracking in The Beach, and her vulnerable self was showing. she admitted to feeling jealous of ty-lee, and even more amazingly, she showed a little bit of empathy for zuko, even if it was an act, it was still a roundabout way to show that she does care and does have feelings. we even see her admit to feeling like a monster, inherently flawed. a common sentiment for a lot of people with NPD.

Ty-lee is HPD (Histrionic), being raised in a family of ten other people who looked exactly like her, she was always invisible. as Mae said, she has "attention issues" of course she did, how could anyone pay attention to her when she was seen as just like all of her other sisters. In the beach, we see her relishing in the attention that she gets from the boys around her, as she makes them feel like they have a more intimate connection than they actually do. she chooses to wear bright pinks and draw attention to herself instead of blending in and wearing reds and dark browns like everyone else in the fire nation.

Zuko is BPD (Borderline), being abandoned by his father at a young age, we see zuko consistently push away the one person who cares about him (Iroh) because he sees any lack of support in his mission to capture the avatar as a form of abandonment, despite his uncle's continuing emotional support. in The Beach this abandonment trauma is shown with his insecurity in his relationship with Mae. When he sees her talking to another guy at the party he automatically assumes that Mae has moved on and that this guy is her new boyfriend.

Mae is ASPD (antisocial), this is the one i know the least about, i'm still learning about it, but i've read a lot of personal accounts of pwASPD who talk about an inability to feel emotion, or empathy, or to care about anything. this is Mae's biggest character trait, she's always talking about how much she doesn't care about anything, she hates that nothing exciting happens, she "doesn't hate" zuko because she can't feel love for him, but she knows that he's the exception to everyone else in her life.

maybe im not the first to point this out, but if i was a psychologist i would do a much deeper analysis of this. it almost feels intentional, but maybe it was just a happy coincidence on the writers' parts. just thought it was interesting

[lottievintage]

Hello!! I’ve been seeing your posts a lot, and i also wanted to ask,, How would your oc (or ocs) interact with Dani? His info is pinned on my profile if you wanna reply!1!1!

For this I’ll focus on Ruth, this is because I know Dani wouldn’t care for Joetta and Jason. With his ASPD, I tried to add it to this interaction.

They could honestly be friends, they both have some things in common, inheriting bad traits from their mothers, are near violence and have no problems doing business the hard way, and are quick to violence when provoked. (People piss them off on a daily basis, SAVE THEM.) And they have a love for music and know Spanish.

Dani probably heard about the schools head girl and class representative when the whole thing about Mandy and her got out. I know people with ASPD lack empathy, and you said he wouldn’t fight or fight with the Jocks so this is just perfect for Ruth, he can use him for business purposes.

But once he finds out from Algie that she was one of the Ghostfaces, and has a knack for violence, he might be kinda…interested? Most people are scared of Ruth but I feel like he would just see her as a normal person, which intrigues Ruth.

“Why isn’t he scared of me?”

Dani comes to Ruth for certain jobs, and maybe favor her than the preps because she gives away more money than them, and is actually— surprisingly to Dani…a good person?

“So the rumors are false, you ain’t a bitch.”

“Huh?”

I could see her singing with him since he seems less judgmental. She knows Spanish too, so this would be good time for them to use “Code names” or speak to each other in secret.

“Have you seen his haircut?”

“Yup, his parents must not care about him.”

She can’t hate him, she has no reason to. If you want them to be closer, they’re could be an awkward moment between them where Dani would apologize for his cliques mean behavior and for them to make her do the stuff she does. Since he knows what’s it like to be a crash out and need to get your lick back.

Ruth was a little put off by how his voice sounds, she’s has sensory issues so he might have to lower his voice. It would calm her nerves fine.

I would like them to physically fight, not as in…”we hate one another fight” but more so on training. Like— make her try and kick him in the face, he will block it, and try to punch her back, she will block also? I dunno. Maybe she does it so when she becomes a detective she will be ready. Overall, good friends.

I would like to go deeper with them so I’ll ask you this back, I don’t wanna mischaracterize him.

LOVE YOUR OC HE SO HANDSOME :>

[regretevator-confessions]

the fandom needs to be more mindful of what they say to people (very much focusing on artists and cosplayers) and how it comes across. as an artist, ive experienced weird and disgusting comments towards the regretevator characters ive drawn, and ive seen even worse things being said to cosplayers. there have been situations where i am 100% confident that the cosplayer does not know the person making uncomfortable comments and innuendoes just because they felt like it.

there are a lot of issues with the fandom that could be fixed if yeucc and other creators just gave the characters canon ages, or even just age ranges. i get things like shipping wars are gonna be in all fandoms no matter what, especially in fandoms that are as new as regretevator, but the whole “ageless but adults” thing is just really weird. i get that putting ages wont completely stop what im referring to in specific, but it will definitely get the fandom to enforce at least something if somebody were to be weird about a character whos age starts with a 1.

pest’s character shouldve had more thought put into it. there are a lot of different ways to represent aspd, and i feel like he was created using the little pop-up you get on google that shows you “symptoms and treatments”. there were better ways to go about it. i find it so bad that i prefer some fandom interpretations rather than the canon personality. i know people irl who have aspd, and they are absolutely nowhere close to being similar to pest other than sharing the disorder. while i dont mind his personality in the slightest, i think it would’ve been a lot better to not give him aspd. it might give people the wrong idea and make them generalize the disorder.

the wiki page somehow manages to be the best sources of information on these characters. ive used the wiki so many times that my computer recognizes it after type “r”. its always super quick to make get updates, and has been better managed than some other wikis that ive seen. i get thats what its supposed to do, but i think its really refreshing all things considered.

.

[originallyjustolookatmemes]

For everyone with ASPD, you deserve good representation.

Help me write you an Aroallo ASPD character that represents how we can heal and be ourselves to spite our trauma without having to bend down to prosocials.

How can you help? Reblog with ramblings or comment about your personal experience of living as a pwASPD. if you aren't a pwASPD, reblogs and likes still help!

i've tried my best to do the research necessary, but the amount of ableist sites that get shoved in my face with a basic google search has pissed me off. im taking matters into my own hands and asking y'all directly for your experiences.

I haven't gone for an ASPD diagnosis because it is simply not in the cards for me right now, and would potentially be harmful for me, but i check many boxes. But I dont trust myself enough to write a solely ASPD character based off only my own experiences.

Thoughts, advice, encouragement, all is appreciated.

(Post made by Shawdios on YT)

Spice (legal name Simon) is a felinefolk/birdfolk hybrid who works as a bartender for his side of the bakery-bar Sugar & Spice that him and his caretaker formed. He grew up bouncing around in the foster system and treated like a oddity to hide due to his odd mix of genetics. But his last caretaker, Sugar, he grew to see as a genuine mother to him because she was the first to believe his side of the story and not treat him like an "Other".

Due to his feline side, he often was found hunting down squirrels, birds, and rodents as a young child. Some of which he toyed with as they died, others he simply bit and killed. This behavior off put many of his foster parents and got him transferred around to different homes quite a lot. Spice was quite the delinquent as a child, he often was provoked into fights that he most of the time lost. (The first time around at least.) But he always got a cruel form of revenge depending on the bully who knocked him down. The fighting got worse once he hit middle school, to the point where he was once expelled for half blinding another child with his claws (and going home with a broken wing and shoulder himself) By the time he's finished highschool, Sugar had adopted him and done her best to help him mellow out and process his traumas from bouncing around the system and being treated like a thing to be tamed. But, he still gets in enough trouble to gain a Conduct Disorder Diagnosis and later after he graduates an Antisocial diagnosis.

The entirety of his moral system as an adult is built on what would or would not disappoint Sugar. He's perfectly content to live out his short life baking with his mother figure, mixing drinks, and curled up by a sunny window with his nose burried in books till his bad genetics kill him, but Sugar tries to get him to at least try to interact with others. And he holds her in such high respect that he does his best to maintain a good reputation with those that stop at the bar.

His care for the world revolves solely around himself and Sugar till a birdfolk with one wing named Autumn violently enters his life (and Re-enters Sugar's) and then violently leaves it five years later.

[coffinsister]

Thinking about ASPD through the lenses of tar souls.

ASPD is both a genetic disorder, and a trauma disorder, I find the fact that tar souls can simply not hatch, or not be fully tar, very curious.

Just thinking about Ms. Graves having the exact same disorder as her daughter, represented as her having a tar soul, but simply, because of her own life experiences, the personality disorder never showed through as much.

So she was an unhatched tar soul.

Ashley's genetics, together with all the trauma she constantly underwent, at a very early age, became her into a fully hatched tar soul.

Which shows on her very heavy anti-social personality disorder syntomps.

And apparently, Andrew who shares her same genetics, and has gone through quite a good bit of trauma as well, it's not a fully hatched tar soul.

Which adds up in the sense, that while Andrew doesn't really seem to feel the innate type of empathy that most neurotypicals can feel, he does seem aware of the situations around him, and how he's expected to act in response to them.

(Plus, his own self awareness about knowing that he's feeling differently from how the "Normal" people around him feel.)

I do wonder if that's going to stay that way, or if the events that are still to come will end up making Andrew's soul fully tar, also represented as showing fully dissociative anti-social behaviors, which do fit with how he behaves in the incest route of the second chapter.

[antisocialsharky]

the guy who's 14, I got a lot more questions, but for now I'll just give the big ones. 1. is there like a limit of how many questions I can ask before it gets like too much 2. what does it mean if like I'm under 15, and fit into five of the seven things on the dsm-5 for aspd, but only three out of the fifteen for conduct disorder 3. what should I do if I can't see a profesional

1) There is no limit to the questions you can ask, answering questions is basically a hobby of mine. Which sounds sarcastic, but its genuine xD

2) Well right now, that (officially) only means that you show behavior that might fit those criteria points you named. Three out of fifteen is technically whats needed to get a conduct disorder diagnosis, so if they are present in the severity & longevity thats required, a professional might see those as sufficient evidence. The ASPD symptoms you say you fit, might then be represented as the "callous-unemotional traits" or "with a lack of prosocial emotions" specifier (that some professionals use), but may also simply be grouped under further CD evidence. That would depend on the professional you have and whether or not they are a supporter of the "be specific with PDs in teenagers" thing.

(I am probably repeating myself, but thats the official stuff. What you think/believe unofficially is not my business.)

3) That very much depends! A professional is needed for an official diagnosis & any official prescribed treatment/medication/etc. If you can't see a psychologist/psychiatrist you won't have access to that for the most part. Theres a few options you can explore tho, depending on what your goals are:

• school counselors/trusted teachers or similar people can be contacted to at least either have someone to talk to, or get some stuff on file, if you think you'll later need evidence that it has been a problem for a while => theres always the problem with them being bound to tell the adult(s) responsible for you or alert authorities, if you pose a danger to anyone or yourself, or if there might be evidence of a crime

• general doctors can sometimes prescribe therapies that might not be ASPD specific & they can't diagnose you, but some therapies do actually help with managing some symptoms, if such is of interest to you. theres something called "progressive muscle relaxation" that teaches you to intentionally relax every part of your body, ground yourself and calm your mind => helpful with aggression & impulsivity (GPs may prescribe it for aggression, stress, anxiety, frequent headaches, etc.). then theres also a therapy type (idk what you call it in english) thats basically building stuff, taking part in arts & crafts, channeling emotions into doing something productive, etc. (GPs may prescribe it for aggression, concentration difficulties, overall emotional dysregulation, etc.). sometimes they can also help you access local group therapy things, more rehab oriented organizations that offer sport & music programs, etc. theres a lot of different ways to get access to stuff that might overall be cool & help with some of the symptoms (tho once again, that depends on whether or not symptom management and/or reduction is a goal of yours

• You can also always just do stuff privately if symptom management is important to you/a concern. you dont need specific therapies to engage in skills and find hobbies that are regulating and help you avoid damage that possibly goes along with the symptoms.

• If you are satisfied with the way you are right now and all you want is a diagnosis and then possibly proper treatment by a professional, I suppose all you can do is wait tho

[rottika]

i love how each of your character who is an abuser either has ASPD and NPD!

Eugh, well, prepare for an essay because I have a lot to say here.

Well, first of all, you are misinformed on that. While Arthur, Blair, and Vince (who I am assuming you are referring to????) all have ASPD (Arthur having comorbid NPD and Vince having comorbid BPD), a LOT of other characters on the morally questionable/reprehensible list like Freddie, Victoria, Elliot, Angel (currently a character in development), and Arthur’s (unnamed) bio dad don’t have ASPD or NPD at all. In fact, Freddie, Elliot, Arthur’s bio dad, and Angel don’t have any personality disorders or any mental health issues period, despite many of them being on the morally shitty scale.

This is also kind of besides the point, but I also want to point out that, time and time again, I have made clear that my characters and their shittiness is bolstered and exaggerated on purpose and is not supposed to be at all 100% realistic. It’s a black comedy mostly built on absurdist, out of pocket humour. It’s an outlet for me to cope with my past trauma and pain. Some of that pain, yes, originating from people with mental health disorders that influenced the way they treated me.

Just because a couple of my bad characters have cluster B personality disorders (I literally have a cluster B personality disorder myself, that being BPD) does not mean that I think everyone with such a disorder is an abuser??? Like, sometimes mentally ill people do things that are bad. Shocker, mental illnesses warp peoples’ perceptions of the world, themselves, and other people. Sometimes mental illness is painful, for both the sufferer and those in their life. Sometimes mental illness is scary. Sometimes those perceptions can inspire people to make mistakes or to hurt others. From experience, I’ve hurt people deeply without meaning to because of how my mental illnesses causes me to view the world (which is my responsibility, of course, but did stem from my disability nonetheless). Disorders are “disorders” for a reason. Again, I must stress, just because a couple of my characters with disorders are bad doesn’t mean I think the average mentally ill person is an evil sadistic murder rapist abuser or something.

I think it would be a fair criticism to suggest I include more positive representation for people with NPD and ASPD, because I would agree! Maybe I should include more positive rep, I think that’s a great idea. But heavily implying I’m ableist because a couple of my abusive or bad characters—out of a VERY long list of them, by the way—have mental illnesses is just… not at all representative of my feelings on the matter.

Plus, just want to point out that being passive aggressive is more likely to get my borderline ass to lash out and refuse to hear any valid critique as a whole—I was very tempted to just block and ignore this rather than taking a second to actually consider what you were saying. Maybe approach me with a bit more tact next time, gorge. I’m open to criticism when it’s constructive.

[waltzingophidian]

12, 18 & 27 for the Arknights ask game

This turned out super long, so here's a readmore.

12 - favorite operator of each class

Vanguard: Saileach - This is probably the least competitive class for me. I love her struggle w/ her role as an icon & needing to view her own choices and decisions from an externalized perspective (her oprecs are cool). Buffs/debuffs also have a special place in my heart, so her ASPD shenanigans also appeal to me. Tbh, Muelsyse might've been here if I owned her, but I don't, so she isn't.

Guard: Irene or Viviana - They're both really precious to me as characters. Irene was the one of the early designs that drew me into the game, and I love her straining-yet-earnest attempts to live up to her role & narrative of having to accept that situations won't always have clear solutions and she will have to make her own judgements. Viviana was just... the most insanely relatable thing in Zwillingsturme - I love the way she was both loved and yet trapped within her tower, living her life through images and stories, and how she now looks back on it with so much pain yet still cherishes her storm-ridden childhood home. Zwillingsturme is a story about looking back at the past and not being sure what to feel, and she is so the epitome of that.

Defender: Mudrock - Mudrock! Who doesn't love a big lady with a hammer? Tbh, I would probably be sleeping on her if not for the Ambience Synasthesia skin - I don't love the VFX her others options have, but the geometric crystalline shields? They're enchanting! I think there's also something fun about having a very pragmatic/clear-headed ex-Reunion member who has always been concerned with carving out a niche for her & hers first. It rounds the faction out nicely (as does Crownslayer's recent debut as a low-level participant burnt by the movement)

Sniper: Typhon - Who doesn't love a short girl with a huge bow? I know it doesn't fit her narrative, but I really am happy that she ended up with the super grody recurve bow she did - that thing is a classic to me. Her rugged mystical survivalism is really fun too - she's kind of a liminal person as a non-Cyclopes Sarkaz in Sami, and being a 'hunter' that's nonetheless steeped in both Sami and Cyclops ritualism fits into that. (Tbh, my love of the Collapsals also extends onto her somewhat - pinning malevolent shadows with her arrows is an A+ image) As a unit, the Besieger range is insanely convenient on so many stages, her S2 is really comfortable for me, and her S3's tracking is really cool conceptually (even if she struggles in the numbers).

Caster: Nymph! I love her! I love how she is the cutest and scariest thing in the world! I love her pinkness and her dark outfits! I love her emotion-touching, soul-opening powers! I love her silly broken S2 that's so unlike most of the powerful skills in the game! I love the way her furniture set represents her inner mind & how she self-conceptualizes! I love that said furniture set is canonically physically real because some poor engineer had a spiritual revelation! I love that she is a silly goofy and yet part of grappling with the Djaj's legacy of horror and abuse, and that she gave us a real civilian perspective on Kazdel. I want to play more IS5 to see how she plays into the various endings there.

Medic: Reed the Flame Shadow - This is the last segment I am writing, so it is slightly difficult to say something I don't already say earlier or later... I love the idea of a character growing up as a shadow of another person, and ending not by becoming full and individual and complete, but by embracing that shadowy half-existence and devoting it to something better, becoming a person the people around her need and deserve. I love that she does it as a leader, as her people's shining light, and how uneasily these two truth sit together. I love her folding the pain of fire into herself as she heals and burns. And, as an operator, the enemy on-death explosion is simply way too satisfying.

Supporter: Skadi'mla, but it's competitive - Skadi'mla is obviously the winner here: The Seaborn dragged me into this game, and a yearnsome heartbroken metamorphic singer-goddess is a concept precision-tailored to kill me on the spot. But also I am also v passionate about Arturia, and CE! Gods, Civilight Eterna, a digital shadow that only wishes to rest and to help, yet understands that being part of the present would only contort everything around her again. I love how even this specter of Theresa captures & exposes how powerful & warping her charisma was.

Specialist: Ascalon or Dorothy - Ascalon is here purely for gameplay. I love how ambushers play and she is the peak ambusher for me. I love having a private bog I can deploy on the battlefield, and every enemy that dies in the swamp makes me giggle like a schoolgirl. For Dorothy, I really love that she is a mind-melding virtual reality idealist, and the game entirely accepts her kind-heartedness and goodwill, says that she is an ally even when her instincts have to be tempered, that her wish and her vision are ultimately good. It would be so easy not to, and yet the game loves her. (And also her mines are also delightfully active, there's a really fun call-and-response in throwing a mine one square before an enemy.)

18 - favorite faction

Abyssal Hunters were the ones that dragged me in initially, but Iberia matches what I love tonally more - I love their overwhelming sadness and a yearning from a brighter past and passion for culture & art that they had to give up in the face of their circumstances. They all wish and hurt so much, I adore them.

Honorary mention to Tara - I am pretty sleepy on Harmonie, but every time the Draco siblings are on screen I am clapping, and Mandragora has no right being as entertaining as she is to me. They share the same need for art to define themselves through that I talked about with Iberia, but I also really like how the Draco's stories play so much with their shared fire motif, and the amount of mythology that entangles the two Dracos. Sure, Victoria may have a parliament now, but we have to admit that kings are cool.

27 - most used operator

I have an almost-entirely consistent cast I bring to every event (someday, I'll be nicheknights - maybe go for the burgeoning Laterano ammo team, that'd be funny), so this is turning into a seniority contest instead. Purely in terms of who's been the go-to the longest, it's Kirin R Yato, whom I repeatedly restarted for and who has been patching holes in my play before I even got to Act I.

(For the record, the current default squad is Kal'tsit, Viviana, Kirin R Yato, Saileach, Logos, Wis'adel, Nymph, Reed the Flame Shadow, Ines, Ascalon, Virtuosa, Skadi the Corrupting Heart. Kal'tsit and esp Viviana can flex depending on my needs, and I should honestly go and make space for Typhon again - maybe Wishy can sit down for a while.)

In terms of operators I bring unreasonably often... I basically never swap Skadi'mla and Virtuosa out, even though they're both kinda 50/50 on whether they fit the stage. My fondness for replacing proper blockers with Just An Ascalon is also very strong (see earlier).