#i do actually write him as having some kind of tic disorder honestly. just for the funny silly

[watatsumiis]

dottore with a tic disorder call that dottourettes --

[liminalweirdo]

spoilers for super dark times and josh’s character/motivation behind the cut. seriously, it’s spoilertown. proceed with caution.

Hate those articles that say that Josh is a character that helps us “spot the warning signs” in Psychopathic Children tm “before it’s too late” and honestly first of all what the fuck????

second of all, bitch WHERE?!

Look at him, he’s DISTRAUGHT. He literally almost passes out after Zach pulls the sword out. His scenes alone after Daryl’s death are Josh fucked up with guilt. This isn’t a kid who sits and plays with coins on the hardwood for the entirety of a school day in his day-to-day life. Look at his bedroom. This is a kid who keeps himself busy. He shows multiple clear indicators of stress and guilt afterwards. Josh doesn’t have any psychopathic “warning signs”, he’s a kid, a literal kid, that made a fucking MISTAKE?! The trajectory of the film doesn’t make sense for this reason, this is my biggest problem with an otherwise pretty perfect movie.

Like, this kid made a very big mistake and then very rapidly lost a very small but crucial support network, and it overwhelmed him.

Also, not only are psychopathy and sociopathy real personality disorders that real people have, and thus shouldn’t be used as just a “movie villain quirk” or the entire reasoning/motivation behind why someone “acts evil” (which is just incredibly lazy character creation), but Josh just... isn’t a psychopath. Neurodivergent? yes, absolutely. (I realize there are other problems with this. To be 1000% clear, NO I do not think that it’s Josh’s neurodivergence that causes him to be violent either. It’s a tragic thing that happened and spiralled a collection of tragic events, and I don’t think any of them are related to his ND brain. Neurotypicals can be and often are perpetrators of violence.) Again, this is more of a film canon issue, but: Why was Josh so weird? Why is Josh so blunt and straightforward and why doesn’t he look anyone in the eye? Why doesn’t Josh want to change their safe bubble of Josh&Zach to Josh&Zach and OTHER PEOPLE? Why does Josh shut down under (immense) pressure? Why does Josh have persistent, canonical stims and tics? If you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person and Josh is not going to be like everyone on the spectrum, but as an autistic person, I spent the whole movie thinking “oh this kid is me, it’s me” and then?!!??! This kid is SURPRISE, a “psychopath” who murders people! I’M SORRY, LIKE WHAT?!

I’m not explaining this as coherently as I want to but I am percolating on it more so I can write more cohesively about it later. Basically, my overarching thought is: Josh is clearly ND and it SEEMS LIKE (i’m not saying this was the intent) but it SEEMS LIKE that neurodivergence just translates to “psychopathic murderer” as though that’s some kind of a) logical reasoning or b) a real and common thing (it’s not), and that is not great. That’s so not great, particularly because things involving violent teenagers and violent men involve the media FREQUENTLY pointing out that those people are autistic, often without any actual medical confirmation. This associates violence with autism. This is so incredibly rarely the case and is playing on such cause/correlation bullshit that it’s like saying “the killer was lactose intolerant.” And it sure does vilify autistics for no fucking reason.

I’m not a professional, but Josh is more clearly on the spectrum than he is exhibiting signs of psychopathy, even if they wanted to go the (bad) “psychopathic villain” route. This is one of the main reasons why the ending was so disturbing, but also confusing. The ending’s nonsensical “twist” is actually kind of just throwing people with real personality disorders like psychopathy or sociopathy under the bus, while somehow also saying “people who act autistic are going to become violent” and those things are both super not great. (new title? no, i’m kidding, i still adore this film)

I just... I don’t know. I guess I don’t know why this choice was made, in the film. I don’t even know if it was a choice. It’s extremely possible that I’m just reading into a character too much because my autistic brain relates strongly to Josh’s character. Until the murdering happens.

Even the scene where Zach comes to see Josh in his bedroom afterwards and Josh is just in shutdown mode is so similar to my autistic shutdowns that I have a hard time seeing that scene as anything else. Is he annoyed with Zach? YES, but not because he’s “a psychopath” now, it’s because he’s fucking done. He’s out of spoons. He cannot handle any more of this shit. Zach is outwardly expressive, he’s raised by a single mom who’s a good parent, he can voice his feelings. Josh doesn’t have that upbringing. Like, a lot of the time I think Josh has Zach and no one else and now he feels like he doesn’t even have Zach.

Also, hopefully we all know by now that autistic people are MORE LIKELY TO BE THE VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE than they are to be violent themselves. And psychopaths and sociopaths are also uh... not commonly or inherently violent, either.

If they wanted to make a film about a psychopath, I feel like they could have done it with more attention and tact (and also like... maybe not made him one that murders people), but as it stands Josh is not the main focal point of the film, adding to the confusion of the ending.

Anyway I would like to talk about this more.

Again, I’m not a professional and I am open and willing to hear other people’s criticisms of this theory (if you’re polite), and would love to talk about all this more in general. Like I said, my headcanon of Josh as autistic might just be me. I’m not saying it’s fact.

Disclaimer #875 I really do love this film. I’m not trying to call anyone out, I’m more just wanting to discuss this as the theory of the film itself because I really don’t think any harm was intended here by anyone, I think it was just more a case of unfortunate ignorance.

[thebeautyoffanfics]

Hm can I get some headcanons for Mitsuba, Kou, and Nene with a best friend who has tourettes (specifically coprolalia) hehehehe :)

(platonic) mitsuba sousuke and gn!reader, (platonic) kou minamoto and gn!reader, (platonic) yashiro nene and gn!reader

a/n: of course!! I don’t personally have tourettes, but I had a period not long ago where I went on a “learning about Tourettes” spree, so! I hope my knowledge is at least somewhat accurate :D If not, I do apologize- I sincerely hope I don’t misrepresent anything! Either way, thank you so much for requesting!! <3

warnings: none <3

word count: 1,608

Mitsuba Sousuke <3

To be completely honest, he was slightly thrown off when he met you. He never met someone with Tourettes, and wasn’t insanely familiar with it- especially coprolalia.

After you explained what it was, he’d nod, unsure what to say. “That’s… something I’ve never heard of.” He told you honestly, resting his head on his hand. Yet, he didn’t think any less of you than he thought of anyone else.

Once the two of you got closer, he thought it was cool to learn more about Tourettes. After a while, he likes to think that he has a pretty decent grasp on it, and feels rather proud of himself.

When the two of you become closer, he occasionally will openly laugh at some of your tics. He doesn’t mean anything rude by it, and will tell you he wasn’t laughing at you. If you brush it off, telling him that it was okay, he’d be a bit more comfortable when you said something particularly funny.

At some point, if he hears you tell someone to fuck off, he’ll snort every time. He’ll look over at you, a hand by his mouth as he says, “You tell them, (Y/N).” Tell him to fuck off, and he pretends to be offended- of course, he isn’t actually hurt, he’s just obliged to act that way. All in his personality, y’know-

On a bad tic day, Mitsuba definitely doesn’t laugh. He genuinely feels bad for you, because, even if you say some admittedly funny things, he knows it isn’t easy. No matter how you tell him it’s fine, and that it’s basically a part of you by now, he knows that doesn’t make it any more ideal.

While he isn’t exactly sure what to do during those days, especially should you have a tic attack, he stays with you throughout it. If anything had upset you, he does his best to comfort you- overall, he sits there with you, not judging you, and making sure that you don’t end up hurting yourself.

Mitsuba is surprisingly patient with you- if you’re struggling to get a sentence out, he sits there, head on his hand, his usual less-than-impressed expression. Despite that, he doesn’t mean any harm, and you’re aware of it.

Genuinely snorts sometimes- especially if you’ve developed a new tic, and he doesn’t quite expect it. Honestly, as I’ve said, he doesn’t mean any harm- and he’ll control himself if he hurts your feelings. It simply catches him off guard sometimes.

BUT, if someone (an ignorant someone, as we are all painfully aware that people can be extremely dense, to say the least) makes a negative or insensitive comment, he’s ready to go off on them, should they be aware that you have Tourettes, and be aware of what it is. So, he will go off- scolding them, calling them rude words, explaining that you can’t help it.

If it’s one of those “stop cussing” comments, especially coming from someone who you’ve already established with that you have Tourettes, he’s the one saying fuck off, right to their face. He’s not going to put up with people like that, and he sincerely hopes you won’t either.

Though he knows that you have Tourettes, he won’t treat you differently because of it. He’ll brush off your obscene outburst, usually with a snicker, continuing the conversation at your own pace. He didn’t befriend you because of it- and he wouldn’t stop being your friend because of it. Overall, Tourettes or not, you’re his friend (Y/N). And that's how he's bound to treat you.

Kou Minamoto <3

I’m sorry, he’s honestly really clueless-

He tries, he tries his absolute best. He supports you, and he listens to you explain what it is, but he’s just a bit thrown off by your tics. He won’t be rude, of course! He just does his best to understand, and doesn’t judge you in the least. He may be clueless, but he’s still a sweetheart <3

When he hears you suddenly blurting curse words out, he sort of assumes it's a normal part of Tourettes. Once you explain that it’s not as common as portrayed- actually, that only about 10% of those with Tourettes have Coprolalia- he’ll raise his eyebrows, his eyes filled with interest.

“Ah, you’re special then! Wait-”

While Mitsuba laughed in the last set of headcanons, it was your turn to laugh- Kou… he tries his best. He never means any harm, and would never do anything he thought would cause harm. That involved some… interesting words of encouragement. Sometimes unnecessary, oftentimes much appreciated.

If you need help on a particularly bad tic day, he’s there for you immediately! Struggling to type? Hand over your phone! Struggling to write? Don’t worry, you can take his notes! He’s your #1 supporter, as he would be for any of his friends- he’d feel rude if he didn’t try to help you when you were struggling.

Feel free to refuse his help, of course! His feelings won’t get hurt, and he’ll just be happy that he offered to help!

Change your mind, and he’ll immediately help you, no worries about refusing it previously- he’s got ya, he’s got ya.

Like Mitsuba, he’s also very patient. Sitting there, his eyes holding the same interest in your words as they would if you were continuing on flawlessly. He’s rather good at ignoring your tics, focusing solely on your intended words.

If someone makes a rude comment, he’ll get defensive- but, he’ll calmly, though a bit cooler than his usual tone, explain to them that you have Tourettes. If they continue to be rude after having him explain that, he’ll be less kind. Kou doesn’t put up with rude people, especially towards his best friend. He’s gonna defend you all day long, if that’s what it takes.

Don’t bother with an “I can defend myself, Kou-” because he’s well aware. He’ll say that he knows you can, but he’s going to defend you no matter what. You’re his friend, and it’s his job to protect you- or in his eyes, it is.

He treats you just the same when you’re having a tic attack. He isn’t exactly sure what to do, so he figures doing the same will work. He may ask if you’re alright, but he typically leaves it at that. Actually- he isn’t entirely sure what a tic attack is until you explain it. Once you explain it, he’ll ask you what he should do when it happens, and he will follow your instructions exactly- whatever they may be.

Overall, he’s Kou Minamoto! (Y/N)’s best friend and #1 supporter and #1 defense!!

Yashiro Nene <3

She had a slight grasp on Tourettes before meeting you, and definitely takes your words, along with some research she does at home, to understand what it is completely! She even looks into Coprolalia once you tell her you have it.

Like the other two, she’ll do her best to treat you normally. She’s well aware that you’re just as human as anyone else in the class, therefore you don’t deserve to be looked at as anything other than. Who cares if you’ve got any sort of disorder? You’re a person, not a circus act, and that’s final.

If you want others to ask questions, or are comfortable with jokes being made about it, that’s 100% your business. Yashiro isn’t going to get defensive if she knows it’s alright with you. In fact, if someone makes an offhand comment, she gives you a certain look, basically asking “is that alright?”

Depending on your response, her reaction is different. If you don’t mind, she ignores them. If you do mind, she’ll glare at them. Yashiro isn’t the best at harsh words, but she still stands up for you, giving them a piece of her mind.

Yashiro is probably the most casual about it? She’s not quite as protective as Kou, but she isn’t quite as casual as Mitsuba. She’s just… an average, loving friend. Defending you when you need it, and holding the patience and care that you’d expect from, you know, a friend.

She’s a professional at brushing off Hanako’s teasing by this point, so brushing off your outbursts is no effort! Just as she pretends Hanako isn’t there, she’ll pretend your tics aren’t there. She’s patient with you, as the other two are, letting you take your time. She won’t get offended if you interrupt her with a tic, instead letting it happen, then continuing like nothing happened.

Yashiro definitely makes sure to establish that there is no need for you to apologize!! She’ll touch your arm, looking you in the eyes and telling you that you can’t help it, therefore it’s not something you should apologize for! You didn’t mean any harm, and she’s aware that suppressing the tics is either hard, not good for you, or nearly impossible. Especially around her, she doesn’t want you to feel obliged to suppress your tics.

“You’re my friend, (Y/N)! Don’t worry about it, really. It’s not your fault, so don’t apologize.”

Should you have a tic attack, she’ll try to comfort you, making sure that nothing caused it to happen. If something spurred it on, she’ll get you away from whatever it is, while also getting you away from anything you could hit yourself on, should you have tics that involve moving your body. Once it’s over, she’ll make sure you’re alright, doing her best to continue to comfort you. Overall, Yashiro really is a sweetheart. She’s your friend, and glad to be just that- and, as your friend, she’s going to stick up for you, and treat you like any other person should. We love her <33

[derivativealigner]

Well, I’m done rewatching season 2 of south park and I’ve taken plenty of notes and screenshots to document all the facts and tidbits I thought were interesting or just funny. Under the cut is a collection of notes where I progressively start caring more and more about fake children

Kenny’s house is full of empty bottles, his family eats frozen waffles for dinner, and his dad is drinking at the dinner table

Kenny’s and Kyle’s dads have some history. They were best friends as teenagers

Kenny’s dad is kind of anti-Semitic, he says Kyle’s dad was successful because he’s Jewish

Cartman kind of expresses agreement with Stuart’s anti-Semitism, which I think is the first time Cartman’s been clearly anti-Semitic

Kenny’s house has rats, but his room has lights that shut off when you clap twice

WOW KYLE wtf he says “Kenny's not really my friend, Ma. I don't give a rat's ass about him.” FUCKING RUDE

Kyle and Kenny have a fun little sleepover where they play “ookie mouth”, a game where they take turn spitting in each other’s mouths. This episode (S02E10 Chickenpox) is great for fans of K2 despite how absolutely disgusting ookie mouth is

The McCormick house was something Stuart and Gerald built as teenagers. A fort in Stuart’s mom’s backyard

Gerald went to community college

Gerald and Stuart have a fun fist fight by a pond

Kyle makes a haiku: Fatass Cartman was / not on the school bus today. / What a big, fat turd.

Kenny makes a haiku: When you rub your dick, / you might find a discharge that / winds up on the floor.

Kyle makes another: Ass full of pork fat / jiggles like a Jello mold. / Mouth is flapping, too.

And another by Kyle: I bet you don't win. / They don't let big fat asses / perform on TV.

Cartman responds: Shut your God-damned mouth / or else I'm... gonna... kick you / square in the balls... asshole

I spy with my desperate eye the beginnings of Craig’s gang, featuring Kenny with wonky eyes

Bebe thinks Kyle has a hot ass and she’s not shy about saying it

Bebe writes a note to Kyle, and Stan tries to pass it on but Mr. Garrison thinks it’s Stan’s note for Kyle and makes him read it out loud. So he reads: “Dear Kyle. You have got such a great ass. I could sleep for days on those perked cheeks, let me tell you. I'd like to live with you and wear your ass as a hat for all eternity.” (If that happened to me I’d be embarrassed forever)

POV: You’re Stan and you just said you love Kyle’s juicy ass in front of the whole 3rd grade class

The first time Stan’s mom and dad get a divorce is in S02E12, way sooner than I remembered

Bebe kisses Kyle when they’re playing truth or dare in their clubhouse, probably Kyle’s first kiss. Kyle thinks it’s disgusting (despite having played ookie mouth with Kenny which is arguably more disgusting)

Bebe breaks up with Kyle and goes off with Clyde, who says “Bitchin’ 😎”. Later Clyde is with Bebe, Stan, and Wendy at the club house

Cartman and Kyle have a fist fight once again. Kyle hated Cartman way more than Stan did very early on, kind of all along really, they truly were destined to be arch enemies

Kenny has food stamps

Oh, and Cartman’s made poor jokes about Kenny and twice (I think) Kenny has punched him in retaliation in the past 2 seasons. Kenny’s family is probably a bad and violent example for him

By the way, if you’ve ever wondered what Kenny says in the theme song but never looked it up, in seasons 1-2 he sings “I like girls with big fat titties, I like girls with deep vaginas” but in the remastered versions of seasons 1-2 (which is the version I’m watching) they changed it to the season 3-5 lyrics: “I have got a ten-inch penis, use you mouth if you wanna clean it”.

When an evil twin version of Cartman says nice things, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny stare at him in horror. Stan says, “Dude, this is creepy.”

Also, the boys say dude a lot. At least Stan, Kyle, and Kenny do, Cartman not as much

Kenny’s mom hits him when he’s hogging the blanket from his brother. Kenny makes a sad face and it made me feel bad :(

When evil twin Cartman comes to give the McCormicks some supplies, Kenny’s dad asks if that was his “fat, racist, foul-mouthed friend” so Cartman clearly has a reputation

When Stan gets scared of his evil fish, he wakes Shelly up and she slaps him. Their mom sees it and says nothing

But on the other hand his mom buries a body that Stan’s fish killed because she thinks he killed it so I guess she’s not entirely a bad mom

Kenny was supposed to buy a pumpkin for Halloween but he could only afford a squash and his friends are really mean about it. The more I watch the more I feel bad for Kenny (and Stan)

Cartman kind of has a shitty friendship with Kenny. He says “I hate you Kenny” because of the squash

Kyle is really annoyed by Cartman saying “hella” all the time, nobody else is as annoyed

Evil Cartman sings a cute little song while wielding a knife: You guys / are my best friends, / through thick and thin, / we've always been together! / We're four of a kind, / having fun all day, / palling around and laughing away. / Just best friends, / best friends are we!

Stan still has his dog, Sparky, in season 2

After Stan’s fish kills Kenny, Kenny’s mom comes over to ask about her son and she’s drunk and upset. Honestly seeing Kenny die all the time makes me kind of sad

Stan says Kenny’s squash isn’t a bad little squash. Very heartwarming. The squash gets first prize at the pumpkin carving contest :)

Cartman’s grandma and extended family live in Nebraska

When the boys go to Cartman’s family to have Christmas dinner, Kenny’s dad tells him to take any leftovers and bring them back home (he does it very gently and Kenny just says “okay” and why do I care that this fake child dies all the time and barely has food at home, like why the fuck do I care so much???)

Cartman’s mom is wearing glasses when she drives. She doesn’t do it in the later seasons but maybe she has contacts

Cartman and his mom sing a road trip song for 4 hours. Kyle says “please stop” but when they ignore him, he kicks Cartman’s seat and makes Cartman hit his head

Stan has a complicated relationship with his family, he says they’re dead to him because they didn’t want him to go on a road trip to Nebraska so Stan went without telling them

Kenny doesn’t eat at the dinner table with Cartman’s family, he just shoves the food in a bag :( I feel so bad for him

Stan, Kyle, and Kenny all hit Cartman after they wake in the night to make sure they’re not dreaming

Under his coat, Cartman wears a pink tank top that says BEEFCAKE. He wore it in S1E02 Weight Gain 2000

Charles Manson invites Kenny to go to a more secluded location and Kenny just says okay and goes, but honestly he should know better since he’s aware that he keeps dying

Cartman bonks his cousin Elvin on the head and gives him brain damage. Elvin gets better though

THE NEXT EPISODE IS GNOMES!!! TWEEEEEK!!!!

Token gets named when he’s put in a group with Wendy, Bebe, Clyde, and Pip. Craig’s gang is getting closer to becoming a thing!!

IT’S OUR FUCKING BOY TWEEK TWEAK BITCH YEEEEAAAH

Tweek says he’s awake at 3:30am because he can’t sleep, ever

Jesus, Tweek’s dad kind of sucks immediately. He says he might have to sell Tweek to slavery if his coffee shop goes out of business

Cartman says Kenny’s family is happy being poor and on welfare, “right, Kenny?” and Kenny says “fuck you” which is completely justified

When the underpants gnomes don’t appear, Tweek is worried he’s going insane and pulls on his hair

His parents say Tweek is jittery and anxious just because he has ADD (but the kind of severe jitteriness and anxiety Tweek has isn’t a symptom of primarily inattentive ADHD, even though people with ADHD do experience restlessness and can even have some tics and are more likely to have anxiety as a comorbid disorder than a neurotypical person is, but I mean come on, we all know Tweek’s slurping way too much coffee so even if he has ADHD beneath all that, his parents should stop giving him coffee and they definitely should not start lacing it with meth. Basically what I’m saying is that Tweek’s parents are full of shit)

Actually Tweek’s mom is kind of okay. She tells Tweek’s dad that he’s being shitty for using kids to advance his agenda. But… the agenda is against big corporations and I hate to say it but Tweek’s dad kind of has a point

Ew, the boys are giving a pro big corporations speech. That aged really poorly considering how shitty billionaires are

Aww, look at Kenny! He got scared of a crocodile that Steve Irwin is about to bother by jamming his thumb up its butthole

The boys are really excited about Steve Irwin jamming his thumb up a crocodile’s butthole

Oh my God, Kyle calls Cartman a fatass penis

Kenny is a mediator between Stan and Kyle. They ask him which one found this ice man in a cave first, but Kenny just deflects and agrees with Kyle’s name suggestion (Steve) for the ice man

I kind of like Dr. Mephesto. I’m glad he came back for Fractured But Whole

Stan and Kyle are having a terrible fight about who found the ice man. Kyle says they’re not best friends anymore and that Cartman is his new best friend and Cartman says “Sweet!”, then Stan claims Cartman as his new best friend and Cartman says “Killer!”

This prehistoric ice man episode is actually funny, I love it

Stan and Kyle are having a fight to the death

They reconcile and become best friends again. They both agree that Cartman’s a sucky best friend

Well, that was the last episode of the season. This was fun. South Park is actually a fun show

Kenny deaths:

S02E10 Kenny is in the hospital because of chicken pox. He laughs at Cartman’s joke so hard that his heart flatlines like beeeeeeeeeeeeeep

S02E11 Kenny’s head explodes after Stan and Kyle make him watch planetarium lights at a high intensity

S02E12 Kenny gets trampled in a mosh pit

S02E13 A cow impales Kenny’s head with its horn

S02E14 Ozzy Osbourne bites Kenny’s head off

S02E15 Kenny is killed by Stan’s evil fish, he gets spun in the fish tank until the water’s red

S02E16 The police shoot Kenny who came outside with a white flag during a hostage situation, then the police hit his dead body with a baton and handcuff him

S02E17 Kenny gets crushed by the underpants gnomes’ mine cart. The gnomes are horrified but Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Tweek are kinda like whatever

S02E18 Kenny gets squished underneath a conveyer belt

Onto the next season I go. I’ll watch the movie too since it was released around halfway through season 3

[slashersdownsouth]

S/O with a Motor Tic Disorder

Hey, i don't know if asks are open right now so ignore this if they aren't (sorry never done this before). Anyways i was wondering if you could do some of the slashers with a s/o that has a tic disorder? Thank you!!!! I love your writing!!

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

Howdy~

Thank you for the kind words~ very encouraging! If motor skills is something of a struggle, I hope everything gets better for you. Right now I have a lot of slasher matchups to work on, but I'm taking a little break for this reactions post - thought it was really good. But don't worry friends - I'm working hard!

Alrighty, let's begin!

Request By: @this-is-just-an-alias

Michael Myers

'Biting the lip'

• When he first met you, he knew something was different about you..

• You seemed ordinary enough to him, honestly.

• He knew you biting your lip was a thing, per se, but he didn't realize it was brought on by anxiety

• He saw you on the phone with a relative, he saw you getting jumpy and looking a bit flustered. Then he noticed it - the way the biting turned into nibbling and chewing

• "She's eating her face." he's thinking

• Once you explain, he won't think too much of it

• He doesn't mind it, it's a thing of yours and he's not one to judge on things.

• He'll probably just walk up to you and slide your lip out from between your teeth with his finger

• If that doesn't help, he'll steal you some lip balm so you don't chap up too much or so it can at least taste good

Thomas Hewitt

'obscene gestures/words'

• Thank goodness Sheriff Hoyt has a sense of humor, you flipping off the other victims while getting in the backseat of the car was the only reason you're still alive today

• You kept your hand up the entire time in the car , even when you walked in

• Of course, now at the dinner table, you calmed a bit, but the tension was high and so were your stress levels

• Now Luda Mae thought it was nice to have a guest, and an attractive one at that.. *wink wink Thomas*.

• Thomas kept his eye on you, he wasn't sure what, but you looked ... eerily calm but jumpy at the same time

• When Uncle Monty suddenly slammed his cane on the floor, both hands were high with the middle finger up - one at Monty and one above your head.

• Hoyt was dying, Luda Mae is trying calm you down a bit, Monty was not amused and Thomas is thinking, "what the fuck?"

• Once Luda Mae has you all calm and cleaned up, you take a moment to explain. Now she has no idea what it's like, but she can understand how much you struggle with this, so she'll take you under wing and care for you.

• She explains to Thomas it's like when she bites her nails when she's nervous and that he needs to be patient

• After nearly two years of living with the Hewitt's, it's gotten better thanks to Thomasand his mama, but sometimes Thomas will catch you flipping off the laundry hanging outside

Bubba Sawyer

'Sticking the tongue out'

• No lie, Bubba thought it was cute.

• He didn't mind the tic, cause it only happens when you're really excited about something!

• He figured that out when he presented you with jewelry he personally made just for you

• You were so giddy, your tongue just kept poking in and out of your mouth

• He knew your excitement was genuine, he'd try to groan out some incoherent words and just squeeze you with hugs

• Of course you've explained it to him it's just a tic, it could go away with time. He doesn't really want it to though, but he understands tics aren't normal for folks

• We've lost count for how many times Drayton and the boys (besides Bubba) threaten to cut off your tongue and throw it in the chilli bowl eww nasty fools

Jason Vorhees

'jerking'

• Now he met you when you were making a shitload of noise in the forest

• He understood something may have been wrong with you and you WERE alone, so he took you a cabin

• Once you saw him again, you explained your tics and how this was like a syndrome and how you jerk your arms and legs alot when your extremely anxious

• Now, he knows syndrome means sick. So you're sick. No worries, he'll take care of you.

• He'd watch you and show you around when you were generally calm. Letting you know where traps were and how to access him quickly

• He would be busy around the camp, taking care of traps and trespassers and such

• But he'd never be gone for too long in fear of you getting anxious

• He wouldn't want you to start jerking and hurt yourself

Brahms Heelshire

'wrinkling the nose'

• Now as his "caretaker", he's been observing you through the walls for weeks

• He saw how you'd scrunch up your nose when you got frustrated with anything

• It was a minor detail really - but he caught it pretty quickly

• Now it wasn't a big deal. It's just like a little scrunch.. kind of like when you smell something bad

• Thus made Brahms a little more conscious about personal hygiene thank God

• It wasn't until that new delivery boy called you out on it and made you visibly embarrassed/uncomfortable about it that he knew it was something you struggled with

• After that, he made sure to always do his best to help you and give you little eskimo (nose) kisses when you felt down

Billy Loomis

'blinking'

• When people are happy, they usually smile. Not you, you blink. Excessively.

• Now Billy, in all honesty, if he doesn't understand is gonna be all like, "can you chill the fuck out?"

• Once he knows, he'll feel a bit bad, cause this is a struggle of yours and him being a dick isn't helping.

• He'll research on how to help someone with tics, different exercises to help, write notes and try to be a little more positive around you

• When he learns that it happens when your happy, then he'll think it's kinda funny and a tiny bit cute

• If anyone tells you shit, they somehow appear on the next day's homicide news. Coincidence?

Stu Macher

'animal noises'

• Being with Stu has always been the funniest times of your day, hell, the BEST. Period

• Now, he's never spent the night, and for that you're kinda glad cause you have this "habit" of making noices when you're tired.

• One night though, he knocks on your window around 11 at night and you half asleep, just unlock it and let him crawl in

• He doesn't say much, just undresses into his tank top and boxers and slides under your covers and you just mold to him

• You know Stu though, he's a talker. He's talking about his day, and you're honestly trying to keep up but you're keep nodding off

• Then begins the "woof! woof! meow! woof!"...

• Stu is just stunned... and he's dying of laughter on the inside... he's googling "why is my gf making animal noices?"

• If he can't find anything, he's recording your ass so he can play it for you in the morning, this is your cue to explain.

• He actually thinks it's a good thing! Appreciates you sharing and tries to help should you feel down or upset about it.

Bo Sinclair

'snapping the fingers'

• Bo is a very hot-headed man, it takes a patient and strong person to deal with this slasher

• Sometimes, he says stupid shit and directs his anger at you and it's just stressful

• When the stress builds up and just pours out like a full cup, your hands have a mind of their own

• You just start snapping your fingers and it's difficult to calm your nerves to stop

• Bo never sees it first hand cause you hide it - you don't need more judgment from people who'd never understand

• One night though, Bo is blowing steam off at you again and runs out the house to check on any passing trespassers

• This is your chance to snap in the privacy of your room and you don't even realize you're crying

• You're just sitting on the bed,, crying and snapping and yea, that looks unnerving

• When Bo walks in and sees this, he thinks he finally drove you insane

• Now, everyone may not think the same, but Bo still has compassion, so when he sees this, he's heartbroken

• He'll just sit behind you and hold you close, whispering apologies to you and rubbing your arms so the nerves will relax

• Once you two talk, he'll try his best to cool it with the anger and should he hear you start to snap in future arguments, he considers that his cue to calm the fuck down and shut the fuck up

Vincent Sinclair

'twisting the neck'

• When he saw you, no lie, he thought you were trying to kill yourself via neck break

• He's thinking, "oh no, this one's a cuckoo".. might as well ease their pain

• But when he sees how your friends ignore it and leave you to do you, he thinks you're a captive and that they're torturing you "I'll save you sad girl!"

• He'll kidnap you and keep you in his art studio so you don't have to witness what he and his brother do to your friends

• Of course, you're scared shitless and this just makes the tic react even worse

• He has no idea what to do with you, honestly. He's looking through his dad's medical notes and he can't find anything

• Once you calm a bit, you willingly explain to him what a tic is, and how yours is simply twisting your neck

• Of course it's a dangerous one and sometimes your neck pops and you feel like you've given yourself whiplash, but Vincent's been so kind with you that it's actually helped your habit

• I guess living here in Ambrose won't be too bad

♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧

Hope you liked, will post new stuff very soon

- Cowgirl

[markoftheasphodel]

Thoughts on the Jagen Club (FEH-centric)

So I drafted this last year, when I started playing with “Depression Meals” and then “This Could Be Us,” then sat on it for about a year. The rundown on Gharnefs compiled by @airlock inspired me to finish this up and get it out because it ain’t doing me any good sitting in my drafts, is it? This basically just served as my initial round of impressions on how FE Heroes was treating my beloved class of “veteran horsey-type knights” aka Jagens and why the Heroes representation inspired me to write crack ‘fic and less cracky explorations of the gang.

So, here goes...

Jagen: Good Grandpa

Jagen rocks. No, seriously, I love this guy and I love what Heroes did with him visually and character-wise (unit-wise... well, none of these are top-tier units and we will leave it at that). See, one gets the feeling Jagen's had a really good life up to at least late middle age. He came from a small but prosperous kingdom where life was good, he served a worthy king, and basically he's got joie de vivre animating him even in his obvious old age.

(This is one reason I kind of view Jagen as the actual ideal knight in FE. If you're a young knight and you end up like him, good on you. You end up like some of these others, my condolences. Kids like Roderick and Silas should take note.)

He's not that complex-- just a good-hearted old warhorse stomping around to prove he can keep up with the colts. My favorite line is probably the one he uses for a bad level-up, though-- a bracing shot of self-contempt: “I have dishonored my rank and my country.”  

Gunther: Bad Grandpa

He looks like Axe Jagen. Past middle age, thinks himself as a parent-figure to his liege Corrin, offers to chat over tea. But unlike Jagen, his kingdom's a mess, his life is shot through with tragedy (the scar on his face is, as usual, representative of more than skin damage), and Gunther lets it all hang out during one of his specials quotes: “I will have my revenge!” That and the line “My armor has known...so much blood” hints that there’s more to this guy than tea parties. So what’s the deal with Gunther? Uh... depends on which route(s) of Fates you played. Heroes doesn’t really pick a “side” as far as Gunther goes so IDK look up Revelation on a wiki I guess. It’s wild.

But the way he presents himself is quite engaging! Would have tea with, etc.

Titania: Team Mom

Confident and chatty Titania is the resident ray of sunshine among veteran horsey-riders. She’s happy to take up menial tasks because they gotta be done, but she’s definitely working for a cause on a level beyond “money talks” or even abstract honor. She’s into training, but for the stated reason that practice and being on top of one’s game keeps one alive, and Titania is very, very invested in everyone staying alive. Training isn’t a quirk so much as it is part of her overall practical and constructive approach to life and duty... though there are a couple of hints that Titania’s beginning to feel her age (she’s like, 30!).

And then we get her Valentine’s alt, Warm Knight Titania, who keeps the practical “money can’t buy happiness” approach to life but is very obviously all wrapped up in the feelings for her Commander that went unspoken during his lifetime... and the prospect of a second chance thanks to all these alternate timelines colliding.

Overall just as Jagen IMO represents a damn good representation of an ideal knight at the end of the road, Titania-- despite or perhaps because she quit being an actual knight-- is a beautiful integration of Duty and Training and Covert Romantic Feelings and Familial Affection without coming down too hard on any one element.

Frederick: Wacky Uncle

As a 3DS-era character there's not much surprising about Frederick for anyone who's played Awakening. Endearingly voiced by Kyle Hebert, Freddy adores his lord Chrom and hates disorder and bear meat. He’s got an alt, summoned from a beach vacation, who is obsessively cleaning up seashells and confessions to “sinning” by which he apparently means taking a break.

I admit to holding a subversive view of Frederick in that his zeal to be a great knight is undermined by all of his tics and quirks and that's part of why he and everyone else ended up dead in the original timeline-- and Heroes doesn't change my mind on that point. His fixation on clearing the garden weeds and rising early to pick up pebbles sound less like doing the menial tasks that somebody’s gotta do and more like make-work that Frederick does because something compels him to. Still, Frederick's rocking so much joie de vivre of his own that it's impossible to not like the guy. The man likes what he does, what can I say?

Still should’ve had “Pick a god and pray” in his arsenal of voiced lines somewhere.

Finn: Hot Mess #1

When Finn-- the only member of this crew whose home games never came out worldwide-- hit FEH I remember one Redditor snarking that they didn’t understand why other fans were so excited about another Frederick-style “lapdog” character. Finn indeed presents as the latest model number of “stoic and dutiful knight” on the surface... and then the trauma, debilitating melancholy, and lack of self-preservation leaks out line by line (and given two of these tell-tale lines are at 1* rarity, it’s meant to be obvious).

His identity is all wrapped up not just in some conception of being a knight but in his lance (a gift from his late lord Quan, of course)-- an object, a tool. He's at least two decades younger than Jagen (and Gunter), but whereas the old guys are determined to prove they've got life in them yet, Finn's past caring if he survives the next battle. Unlike Titania, he’s not fondly reminiscing about the happy little moments raising his adolescent liege Leif or his “daughter”/ ward Nanna. He’s not interested in pulling weeds or doing the laundry-- he’s anxious to know the layout of the castle in case it gets torched... when he’s not obsessively repairing that lance, that is. He’s got zero quotes on the value of training compared to least three indicating he's fine with ending up dead. So yeah, Finn’s basically Antimatter Titania.  Meanwhile he’s voiced to sound about twenty years older than he looks, which seems to be deliberate for both NoJ and NoA.

Finn’s more like a cautionary tale to the Rodericks and Silases of the world-- sure, you can be this guy, but who’d want to be? He sure looks pretty in his attack art though...

Seth: Hot Mess #2

Ooh, boy. Seth has what's arguably the greatest storyline scene FEH has afforded a supporting character in all of Book I... possibly in all the mainline Heroes chapters. It evokes his rebuke to Ephraim in Eph's version of Ruled By Madness and it's awesome. But the Seth we get in Heroes is a very... intriguing... look at what's underneath the shiny surface of the Silver Knight. There’s some Training stuff, a sense the man has Opinions but is struggling to stay in his place, a reference to the wound he got from Valter and an admission he’s not fun to be around. And then it gets a bit weird.

“Do not trouble yourself over my well- being. I would play the pawn gladly, would it bring us victory.“

He isn't just unattached to his own survival the way Finn is, Seth is actively advising the Summoner to keep enough distance to make it easier for them to send Seth to die. Repeatedly. Maybe the pain of his half-healed wound is driving him mad, maybe he's afraid unspoken feelings for Eirika will turn him to the dark side, but Seth is kinda messed up. And whereas honestly every iffy thing about Finn was already there in the Jugdral games and their side materials, Seth’s FEH presentation came as a shock to me and I’ve seen it flat-out called “Out of Character” elsewhere. The hint of a playful side from his support chain with Natasha, for instance, is nowhere to be found here. It’s odd and kind of compelling and yet not terribly likable, in my opinion. Frederick needs to chill and Finn needs a hug (and probably some anti-depressants), but Seth... I dunno. He needs friends, maybe? Cormag when.

“I answer destiny's call!” is a damn good line, though.

Bonus Clive and Mathilda (The Lovebirds): 

The Legendary Knight and her Idealistic boyfriend are not technically Jagens (that’s Mycen, subverting the archetype almost as soon as it was established), but they’re veteran cavalier/paladin types in their late 20s, likely of an age with Seth and Frederick at least and not many years younger than Titania and Finn. So, how do they measure up personality-wise? 

Clive and Mathilda have the advantage that their Heroes incarnations hit at virtually the same time their FE15 selves did, so there's not as much revelatory about them. Same VAs (Grant George is fantastic), consistent designs, consistent personalities. Clive struggles a bit with his dilemmas from FE15 and has a hilarious line where he’s taking care of his own horse because the Order of Heroes apparently has no staff (for the record, he says he enjoys caring for the horse). Mathilda meanwhile has a couple of quotes about her love for Clive and quite a bit about her concerns regarding Clive’s sister Clair. They’re not very extreme personalities-- even Titania, well-rounded as she is, comes across as more extreme than Clive & Mathilda thanks to her open zeal for life. I’m not quite sure how they’d come across to someone who hadn’t played FE15, as the nature of Clive’s doubts in particular are merely hinted at here. 

They’re good supporting characters but there’s a reason my Jagen-club stories don’t use them as focal points.

Not available: Mycen, Arran, Oifey, Marcus... after two damn years.

[ameliabaggs]

Embarrassing admission:  I’m a savant.  Stick with me and I’ll explain, but it’ll take awhile.

Understand that I’m not saying this to brag.  This is not easy for me to admit to myself, let alone anybody else.  It’s taken me over a year to write this.It’s actually as difficult for me to discuss this as it is for me to discuss the fact that I actually have coprolalic vocal tics.  In fact autistic people’s discussions of savant skills often resemble Touretters’ discussion of coprolalia:  There’s a tendency to try to make out like they’re much rarer than they are.  

About 10% of Touretters are thought to have coprolalia, that is vocal tics that sometimes involve involve swearing or other offensive words (like slurs).  It’s embarrassing to Touretters as a whole because to a lot of people Tourette’s is like a punchline to a joke about cussing.  Similarly, about 10% of autistic people are thought to have savant skills (I suspect the number is higher), and autistic people are just as embarrassed by the fact that savant skills have become a stereotype.  10% is one in ten people. That’s not actually the tiny minority that people would have you think it is.  And I do believe savant skills are under-reported for reasons I’ll get into later.

Some background about myself

I was first recognized as being autistic at the age of fourteen.  I was in a mental institution following a suicide attempt, at the psychiatrist I got was randomly assigned.  In other words, he had no reason to be specifically looking for or expecting autism when I first became his patient.  I would remain his patient until his retirement and subsequent death in my twenties.

Anyway, after he met me, he asked to meet with my parents.  My mother describes him interviewing her extensively about my early development, asking pointed questions about certain things.  She said he very quickly said of me, “Your daughter sounds like an idiot savant.”

A note on terminology

Idiot savant sounds outdated or downright rude, depending on your take on things.  Even in 1995 when this was taking place.  To understand what he was saying, you have to understand the history of terminology around savant skills as well as his own personal history.

So first off -- my doctor was old.  He was trained and did his residency at a time when Southern mental institutions were still fully and officially segregated by race.  His age and specialty in child psychiatry meant that he had met a lot of children over the years, including a lot of autistic children.  It also meant that he used a lot of terminology that would at best be considered quite old-fashioned today, because he learned his clinical vocabulary in probably the early sixties.

Idiot savant does not mean a specific type of savant.  It has nothing to do with the outdated classification of idiot which usually meant what today would be referred to as a severe and/or profound intellectual disability.  There was never an IQ cutoff for being an idiot savant.  Idiot savant meant “wise idiot” and was meant to cover the unevenness of cognitive skills that was characteristic of cognitively disabled people with savant skills.

So him saying I was an “idiot savant” would be the same way that someone today would say “Your daughter has savant syndrome.”  He was not making a judgement about my IQ, which at the time had only tested as high, at the age of five, largely due to the effects of hyperlexia, a learning disability involving early reading ability usually combined with comprehension issues, that is in some contexts itself considered a form of savant skill.

People talked about idiot savants, and then it became autistic savants (except that this term would only be applied to autistic people, who are not the only people with savant skills), and these days it’s savant syndrome. You don’t need a cognitive impairment of any kind (such as autism or intellectual disability) to be a savant:  There are a lot of blind savants, for instance.  Today people mostly just say savant or savant syndrome.  

But definitely understand that idiot savant was its own term, separate from both low IQ/intellectual disability in general and the classification of idiot in particular. In fact, very few people identified as savants throughout history, including when the term idiot savant existed, have ever fallen into the official classification of idiot or any of the terms that replaced it.  

The confusion people have about the technical term idiot savant (mistakenly relating it to idiot in particular or intellectual disability in general) is very similar to the confusion over the term psychomotor retardation.  Psychomotor retardation refers to a mental and physical slowing associated with certain medication side effects as well as a number of conditions such as depression.  It has absolutely nothing to do with the category called mental retardation, a recent but now outdated term for intellectual disability.  They both have the word retardation in them because it means slow, but they refer to entirely different types of (purported) slowness.

Back to my own history

So he called me an idiot savant before he even used the word autistic to describe me.  Both words came up in the first few sentences of that conversation, but idiot savant was the term that came up first.  Savant skills were the first unusual thing he recognized in me.  Within a month, after further interviews, conversations, interaction, observation, and formal testing, as well as consultation with a team of psychiatric and neurologic professionals, he diagnosed me with autism.  Within the description of my diagnosis, he mentioned idiot savant qualities.

The actual autism diagnosis happened in a way that was extremely common in the nineties.  He knew that I met the full criteria for autism.  He told my mother I was simply autistic.  But in the nineties, saying someone was autistic was equivalent to saying “This person will never improve, all therapy is wasted, don’t spend any more money on them than it takes to permanently institutionalize them.”  He knew it would be terrible if the insurance company took this take on me -- which they were already trying to do without that encouragement.  So on paper, he alternated between saying I had a complex and diagnostically confusing developmental disability, and saying I specifically had PDDNOS or atypical autism.  Using PDDNOS/atypical autism as a substitute for a flat-out autism diagnosis was extremely common in the 1990s and had nothing to do with whether you actually met full criteria for autism.  

My diagnosis was changed to autistic disorder later on by the same doctor, after the danger had passed and an autism expert had suggested making the change but suggested I go back to the psychiatrist who knew me the best to confirm that this was an accurate thing to do, since the expert in question did not know my family or have years of observation and testing to go on, whereas my psychiatrist did.  This was after a bunch of misdiagnoses that would take way too long to explain but that were also quite common in the nineties, in fact some of them were among the most common psychiatric misdiagnoses of autistic people.

The savant thing

So... at the time of my autism diagnosis, autism was an abstraction, and a word I did not understand how it applied to my life.  Words like ‘underlying developmental disability’ and ‘pervasive developmental disorder’ and really anything with ‘developmental’ in it might as well have been gibberish.  Even when I heard these things over and over, most of the time I ignored them.  I’d occasionally read a book by Donna Williams or Temple Grandin, identify to one degree or another, but not grasp what autism was any better for having read these things.  And most of the time, while others in my life apparently thought about this diagnosis a good deal, I didn’t.  The savant stuff was way under my radar most of the time as well.

I was an adult before I understood why I was diagnosed with autism.  I was also an adult before I really saw that I’d been labeled as having savant skills or savant qualities, and before my mother told me the story of my initial diagnosis. And to be honest, I mostly ran away from the label, inside my head, and neither said much about it nor thought about it any more than I had to.

Like many autistic people, I was conscious that the popularity of Rain Man had caused people to view autism as inevitably involving savant skills.  Being a savant had become a stereotype.  And Rain Man was an unusually talented savant.  Most savants have neither his degree of savant skills nor his sheer number of savant skills.  He was based on a small number of real people, most notably Kim Peek, who had agenesis of the corpus calosum and a huge number of highly impressive savant skills.

Like many other autistic people, I was very critical of the concept of savant skills.  I thought it was just a way of passing off talents as somehow unexpected or pathological or both, when they happened in disabled people.  I thought it was just a shorthand for giftedness, a concept I have a great deal of trouble accepting as real or useful, at least not as it’s currently defined.  And in many cases it has been used in these ways and autistic people are correct to be suspicious and critical.

And honestly I was afraid of it.  For reasons I still can’t articulate, it really terrified me to face the idea that I might be a savant for real.  But as I discovered, I am.

What kinds of savant are there?

One of the things that had me confused about savant skills was that, like many  people, when I think of savant skills, I think of the most extreme skills.  Those are also the rarest kind of savant skills.  Prodigious savants, as such people are called, are uncommon.  They have never been the most common kind of savant at any stage in the development of the idea of savants in general.

So here are the modern, official classifications of savant.  Remember here that I don’t make up the words for each kind of savant skills and may not  like  them.

Splinter skills are the least spectacular kind of savant skill.  They represent talents that are highly impressive specifically when compared with the cognitive difficulties the person has in other areas.  They are very common among savants.

Talented savants are savants with talents that are likewise in contrast the person’s difficulties, but they would very obviously be things the person would be considered talented for regardless of disability or lack thereof. They are also pretty common among savants.

Prodigious savants are the rarest kinds of savants.  They are people who have skills that would be considered not only highly talented but well beyond the range most people even consider humanly possible for someone to have a skill in.  Like the way Stephen Wiltshire can fly over a city once and then do a detailed and almost entirely accurate sketch of he entire panoramic view from memory.

Knowing these categories, I can see that I have a lot of splinter skills and sometimes veer into the realm of talented savant.  This is a much better representation of my areas of talent than te concept of giftedness in general is, because the the term savant refers to a talent in a relatively narrow area surrounded by areas of great difficulty.  That contrast has been a fact of life for me forever.  Like back when my hyperlexia gained me a high IQ at a time when I literally didn’t know what the word test meant.

Hyperlexia is something that’s sometimes considered a savant skill and sometimes not.  In my case, I feel like it is, because it’s an extreme and isolated talent that came seemingly out of nowhere and that is accompanied by extreme cognitive difficulties in areas that most people would assume to be related to the areas of talent.

I also had musical savant skills.  Perfect pitch is another thing that’s considered a savant skill some of the time and not others.  But the fact that I was first chair, first violin in the junior high orchestra by the age of seven, I can’t read that as anything other than an obvious foray into the realm of talented savant.

Up until I was in my early twenties, I had a spatial (not visual -- closer to kinesthetic, or the way blind people map space) map in my head of every place I had ever been, indoors or outdoors.  I never got lost.  Ever.  I don’t know why I lost this but while I had it, I can’t see it as anything but a savant skill.  My mother, who has severe spatial awareness problems (she’s very visual -- she and I are opposite kinds of proof that visual and spatial are not the same skill), has used me as a navigator since I was a small child,

I also have something that I feel like must be extremely common and not usually recognized at all.  I would call it a partial savant skill.  It’s a skill that isn’t quite a skill because it has no outlet.  I am constantly composing detailed, complex, original cello music without even trying.  But with no way to play it in realtime, and no way to write it down (translating to musical notes is a laborious, slow process for me), the music remains in my head and never shared with the world.  So I don’t know that this counts as a “real”savant skill by objective measures, but it feels like a savant skill with a  crucial piece missing.  I wonder how many people have partial and/or unexpressed savant skills like this.

I think my art (specifically, painting in recent years) falls somewhere in the category of either splinter skill or talented savant skill.  Which may always be a subjective thing, and it’s difficult to judge the quality of your own work.  But this has less to do with some objective measure of quality, and more to do with the way in which the art takes place and the way the skill developed and functions.  Savant skills are more than just the presence of an unexpected skill, there’s specific ways they are learned and function in a person that mark them out as different from your average talent of the same level.

And people do hide their savant skills sometimes, even when they are obvious savant skills.  I am not open about all of my savant skills.  Additionally, not all savant skills are in areas where people normally look for savant skills.  The current savant experts focus almost entirely on certain areas for savant skills, to the exclusion of other skill areas.  

Additionally, many disabled people develop skills that are entirely unknown to nondisabled people and therefore unmeasured and not accounted for in descriptions of possible savant skills.  It is entirely possible, in fact probably common, for people to have savant skills in these unmeasured skill areas.  I am no exception to this.   I have savant skills I can’t even describe because nobody has ever acknowledged the existence of the skills in question never mind come up with language for them.

Anyway, I eventually realized it was important that I face the fact that I have savant skills.  It’s more than a little embarrassing.  It’s not something I wanted to admit to myself.  I’ve spent over a year agonizing about how to articulate what I’d found out about myself.  As well as whether to tell anyone about it at all.

I know a lot of people don’t believe savant skills are a thing.  I have read several books on the topic and concluded that they are a thing.  And that they apply to my life.  I’m not capable of explaining all the details.  And calling something a savant skill is and should be very different than just a way of saying that someone disabled has a talent or qualifies for some definitions of giftedness.  (In fact, I don’t believe in any common concept of giftedness that I’ve ever heard of.  I do, however, now believe in savant skills.  They’re entirely different ideas.)

Anyway, I can’t explain why this was so hard to believe, herd to face up to, and hard to admit.  But it was.  I still can’t escape the fact that I have savant skills, and I’m better off not trying to escape or deny it any longer.  I have to admit that the doctor who first categorized me as autistic was right about the savant thing as well.  As I said, i’m not bragging.  I’m simply publicly admitting that my combination of skills and difficulties -- both current and past, since some skills have vanished and others have appeared over time -- fits the savant pattern perfectly, both in areas that are usually widely recognized as common savant skills and in areas they would never even notice.

[plush-anon]

plush reviews: pirates ahoy! (collected)

for my own personal reference, decided to collect the singular posts into one, w/ breaks between each original post below the cut

I will say this, the opening credits for this one are pretty dang good - nice visuals flow together with some wonderful music to create a compelling overview of the Bermuda Triangle and some of the wild theories commonly associated with it, as well as how far back these myths go. Kudos 🤗

also, I did not realize how short this movie is - paused it for a second and it’s only 70 minutes long apparently. huh

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oh man, good times - I forgot how stilted and choppy the WNSD animation could get in some shots.

annnnnd there’s the cotton candy fog. it moves like it’s on a skateboard being pulled across the screen XD

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finally cut to the gang - i honestly like this shot of everyone in the car. daphne paints her nails like my sister used to when we were young - on the dashboard on long car rides 😅 the nausea from the smell led to some “fun” trips, lemme tell ya 

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oh Casey Kasem, even in old age your Shaggy was memorably good

also the joke on Fred’s age never gets old XD like, you guys grew up together as kids in this continuity, how could you not know his age, much less that he’s obvs not in his 40s? still a fun one tho

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another thing i forgot about WNSD continuity - Shaggy’s character model being like 2 feet taller than Fred in some shots

also the gang being legitimate friends and liking each other and getting along, unlike some portrayals *side-eyes sdmi*

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i think this is my fave version of fred’s parents, although i do love Professor Huh from be cool scooby doo. they are EXACTLY how i picture the people who raised the sdway/wnsd version of Fred to be 

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holy crap, i forgot Kathy Najimy was in this 

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actually, here’s a thought: why haven’t they graduated Frank Welker to playing Fred’s dad in a show, and hired someone else to play Fred?

granted, the man still (uncannily I might add) sounds exactly like he did in the 60s (hOW?!?) but it’s strange they haven’t tried to do that yet apart from maybe pup named sd, where he played fred’s… uncle, i think and i guess kind of with the new scoob 2020 movie, where he only plays scooby

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…i think the captain of the ship just got beamed aboard the Enterprise o_O 

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the alien has the general head shape of the ones from Alien Invaders and the claw hands of dr claw from inspector gadget

also, whoever designs fred’s facial expressions in this movie is having waaaay too much fun (although kudos for actually… you know… making them. some characters have very minimal face movement and it’s rather unsettling, especially when the voice acting is actually pretty decent)

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i gotta say, good on fred’s parents for encouraging their son’s interests and talents, as well as getting him a birthday gift that he can not only enjoy, but also inviting his friends along for.

…unlike SOME incarnations *glares at sdmi*

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holy fcuk shaggy just brought back the ghost of captain cutler, glow-in-the-dark diving suit and all O_O 

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dang, velma’s lounge wear looks cozy. i’m glad they haven’t tried to force her into something weird

camp scare put her in a white bathing suit, which was… really odd for her, color scheme wise. altho the storyboard artists reaaaaaally wanted to do a drawn out, slo-mo play-in-the-water thing with velma and daphne in that one, so maybe that contributed to it? idk

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i do like that the gang inadvertently solves every mystery on a mystery cruise - that cracks me up 

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cripes, they keep cutting back and forth between a decently animated shot of the gang on a polished background, and this almost MS Paint looking rough animation of the castaway being guided on the deck, which is all flat colors and rough black lines. it looks terrible

the animation quality is all over the place here

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and suddenly man in a jetpack

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RON PERLMAN?!?!?

how the FRICK did they get him on this movie cast?! this is post-hellboy!

( also apparently arsenio hall voices the captain. who the heck had all these high rollers on speed-dial at the studio that day)

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actually, here’s a thought: given the voice cast we have, and how i’m actually able to follow this without having to look at the screen all the time (i’m folding laundry rn), this could make for a really decent comedy mystery radio show.

think about it! get a decent voice cast and writing team, and there’s a lot you can do with Scooby on the radio. you may not be able to do the chase scenes as well, but those can be worked around pretty easily with a solid writing team. i’d be interested in seeing that come to reality in all honesty - it could be fun!

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another thing i just noticed: Scooby hasn’t talked NEARLY as much in this one as he does in later shows/movies. I forgot how much I missed that from him 

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wait a tic that’s Dan Castellaneta as the hypnotist

seriously, who was able to get all these people on board for a Scooby Doo DTV about pirates

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now here’s an interesting moment/snafu: Shaggy and Scooby canNOT be hypnotized, according to this movie, but the clown in SDWAY was able to hypnotize them both using the exact same method - a gold circular object on a chain swung back and forth.

then there was Legend of the Phantasaur much much later able to hypnotize Shaggy so successfully he overcame his panic disorder

was it because they weren’t allowed to eat prior? their meal was continuously interrupted before they were dragged onstage. maybe being actively hungry and denied food when it’s right in front of them blocks them from being hypnotized properly…?, idk but it’s food for thought, for sure 😁

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ehehe, one of the background guests is wearing a Tin Man costume from the Wizard of Oz

alas, this is prolly as close to a crossover as I’ll ever get between my first two fandoms ever and maybe that’s for the best

(honestly kind of surprised there's never been a scooby themed oz-related adventure tbh public domain and recognizeable)

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it took about half an hour into the movie for the title villains to actually encounter the gang, or almost exactly halfway through the movie. that’s actually pretty odd for a scooby movie, isn’t it?   especially when they haven’t encountered any other mystery except the fake-y ones (a lot start off with an in-progress mystery to finish up before being introduced to the main)

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welp, villain’s been spoiled, it’s ron perlman’s character as the pirate captain…

*sighs* Pirate Captain Skunkbeard

like… you get freaking Slade from the teen titans, Hellboy Himself, to voice your baddy… and you give him a name like Skunkbeard.

could have been something cool like Capt Barnaby Bones, or Cuthbert Butcher the Red Pirate, or SteelHook Slater, or Morgan “Moonscar” McWright (okay, that one’s been used before, but the point stands dammit!)

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holy moly, one of the pirates just tried to cut scooby and shaggy’s head off with an actual blade

it cut clean through their costume heads with one swipe

jesus christ on a bike, what is WRONG with you?!?!

(sometimes these scooby dtvs have moments like this. moments that explain how it is shag and scoob have what is likely ptsd for days)

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*gang follows trail of oozy green liquid sheen to the pirate ship*

now see, i thought those wooden ships weren’t supposed to pollute the oceans back in the day

(tho it does work as a solid clue i’ll grant em that)

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shaggy, why aren’t you more excited to go into the cotton candy fog? it’s clearly grape and green apple flavored! 

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…i think one pirate just killed another one during that sea shanty there

brutal

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so i didn’t mention earlier, but tim conway is fred’s dad, and i think he’s the only voice star in this i’m not surprised at - he’s been on the new scooby doo mysteries as their celebrity guest of the week, so him coming back is more like a belated reunion

that being said, his voice work here varies wildly between ‘what the heck take was that’ and ‘hysterical’ - it’s quite odd

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and suddenly the cruise ship is sunk, and the gang is on an island

alrighty then

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the captions are cracking me up right now - not a single one has spelled “bananas” right

it only spells it as “banas” 🤣🤣🤣

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“Prepare to suffer the wrath of Capt Skunkbeard!”

…nope, that’s still not intimidating. try again sir.

(truly i am made to sail the seas, for i am salty af on this name)

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‘Seize them!’

fade to black

come back in on gang tied to the pirate ship mast

…really? the gang has escaped far worse than a group of pirates before (and usually to some funky tunes), and you’re saying they were captured just like that?

fred, please tell me this is a plan of yours, otherwise this is just dumb

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sooo the pirates want to find a place that matches a painting of stars from 200 years ago… without ever stopping to consider that the painting could just be a pretty picture?

it’s a small painting, and i don’t think that star maps were really used like that back in the 1800s when it was purportedly made (at least not from what they look like on wikipedia… none of them look like pretty wall paintings)

these pirates are kinda dumb, methinks

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the ghosts of the bermuda triangle, including world war fighter places, old exploration ships, and a sea monster are apparently trying to stop the pirates

because the pirates want to time travel and rule the sea throughout time

and they needed the pretty pretty picture to lead them to the time travel macguffin they want to retrieve… which is also the sole reason the Bermuda Triangle is all bermuda triangly to begin with, when it fell to earth from space itself.

…say what now?

...that has to be one of the dumbest time travel plots i've ever heard and i sat through endgame twice

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the macguffin is a solid gold meteor

a giant hunk of gold literally as larger as twenty of the pirates put together, and you want to use it to time travel instead of selling that shit and being made for life

why are none of you smart

---

yet again i see scooby shoot someone with an item that should have killed them outright and ended the mystery right there

moon monster madness had scooby shoot the alien with a missile on the moon, and pirates ahoy has him shoot a cannon at someone point blank with only a wooden door immediately between them

shrapnel should have shredded that pirate to bits, if even that much was left after that

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okay, the time travel thing turns out to be a hoax the hypnotist uses to convince the billionaire to finance his search for the literal meteor of solid gold located in the heart of the Bermuda Triangle

that’s a relief at least - Scooby Doo has done some weird shit in its days, but time travel does not need to be one of them

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well, at least we finally have the answer to who would win in a fight - homer simpson or scooby doo?

(obvs scooby, of course :D)

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according to velma, everyone on the cruise was hypnotized into believing they were pirates (including fred’s mom), but doesn’t hypnotism only work if the person actually subconsciously agrees with/goes along with the suggestions?

does that mean that at least one person on the cruise ship wanted to behead someone, since they nearly succeeded with Shag and Scoob? does that mean the fred’s mom secretly wants to kill her husband, since she tried to have him thrown overboard the ship while she was hypnotized?

the questions this raises, they are unsettling thoughts indeed 😨

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“Wouldn’t you like a nice ski trip to the Himalayas?”

“And risk a run in with the Abominable Snowman?! Forget it!”

exactly one year later (no joke, it came out exactly one year later):

“Join Scooby and Shaggy as they run in terror from the Abominable Snowman in the Himalayas, in Chill Out Scooby Doo!”

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And that was Scooby Doo Pirates Ahoy!

That was a relatively fun, if dumb, done-in-one mystery. What really saves this one (especially given the REALLY inconsistent animation quality, from acceptable to ‘someone used MS Paint didn’t they?’ levels) was the voice cast. I don’t know what blackmail they had on these guys, but the voice acting was really dang good.

Probably too good - the bad guys’ voices are so memorable you know immediately who they are when you hear them.

The time travel spiel was unbelievably dumb, only saved by the fact it was a hypnotic ruse, and some of the stuff doesn’t quite mesh that well? Like the padding on the desert island, and some of the really weird plot contrivances like the painting being the exact map to a giant ass solid gold meteor :/

Still, a solid set-up (mystery cruise in the Bermuda Triangle) with some new elements (Fred’s parents, an absolute delight) make it a fun film for the wee ones. I’d call this a keeper at the end of the day.

Then again, I really have forgotten how nice it is to see the gang as actual supporting friends and have it feel sincere. Be Cool Scooby Doo was mostly for humor, but the kids still felt like they liked each other well enough.

WNSD on the other hand really made them feel like actual friends, based on body language around each other, general closeness, and a warm comradery that’s hard to replicate. For the flaws this show has, this is certainly not one of them.

That’s all for tonight folks. Sleep well, me hardies yo ho!

[thisguyfred-blog1]

PHYSICAL !!

1. Describe the character’s height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy? He’s about 6 feet. Fit or athletic, I guess. 2. How old is he? Nineteen. 3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch? He carries himself decently. 4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities? You tell me.* 5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid? He’s actually pretty graceful/fluid, believe it or not. 6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror? How attractive is he to me or to himself? Because he’s a looker. But he doesn’t put much thought or effort into his appearance. It doesn’t matter to him. 7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred? Light and clear. 8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style. Dirty blond, long, wavy and soft.*** 9. What color are his eyes? Blue. 10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features? His hair. But we’ve covered that. 11. What are his chief tension centers? Shoulders. 12. What is the character’s wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does he have six of the same suit? Beanies and t-shirts. The occasional fanboy collector’s item. It’s pretty casual. 13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them? Yes and yes. 14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences? Fred is going to dress how Fred wants to dress, any place, any time. 15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando? Briefs and occasionally commando.

SPEECH !!

1. What does this character’s voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse? Basically Fred from the movie. So he sounds like TJ Miller. Very recognizable. (Though I do imagine him saying some words like Alex Saxon. I can’t help it.) 2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate? He has a habit of talking both too fast and too loud. His excitement gets the better of him. 3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics? None that I can think of off the top of my head. 4. What languages does he speak, and with how much fluency? He likes to think he can speak some French, Spanish and Japanese if he tries but… he can’t. 5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations? He shouldn’t. 6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words? I don’t know if he’s a good impromptu speaker, but that’s what he is.   7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change? Eloquent unless he’s caught off guard or emotional or something.

MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL !!

1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart? He is surprisingly intelligent. I’d say a good mixture of both. Most people don’t know it though. 2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate? He’s usually thinking on his feet. 3. Describe the character’s thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical? A bit of all I think. His imagination clouds his judgement but he doesn’t have bad ideas. 4. What kind of education has the character had? After high school, which he barely got through, he became a student of San Fransokyo Institute of Technology and was then transferred to Walt Academy. 5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about? Writing and mascotting. 6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert? He is as extroverted as they come. 7. Describe the character’s temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven? Even-tempered, cheerful and laid-back. 8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic? Enthusiastic. He just wants to be friends. 10. Which is his default: fight or flight? This is hard to answer because it totally depends on the situation. He’s the kind of guy to turn the other cheek – but if something really serious is going on, he isn’t afraid to fight. 11. Describe the character’s sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks? He’ll laugh at anything. 12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them? No. 13. What moments in this character’s life have defined him as a person? Losing his friend was hard. He’s lowkey still struggling with that. Otherwise, he’s had it pretty good. Nothing has impacted him hard one way or another. 14. What does he fear? Losing anyone else. 15. What are his hopes or aspirations? To be happy and make others happy. That’s it. 16. What is something he doesn’t want anyone to find out about him? It isn’t that he doesn’t want people to find out, but he doesn’t like people knowing or acknowledging his sadness. He would rather keep it to himself, ignore it, put on a smile and worry about someone else’s feelings.

RELATIONSHIPS !!

1. Describe this character’s relationship with his parents. It’s alright. He’s fairly close to his dad, as close as he can be to someone he hardly ever sees. He loves his parents. It would be nice to see them more often, but he doesn’t hold their constant traveling and neglect of their own son against them. You’ve gotta love people for who they are. 2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like? No. 3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can’t stand?He’s not super close to anyone in his family but he doesn’t hate anyone in it either. 4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them? Baymax, Honey Lemon, GoGo, Hiro and Wasabi. He would do anything for them. He would have for Tadashi too. Fred loves people unconditionally and they became the family he never had. 5. Who is the character’s best friend? How did they meet? Wasabi. They met at school. Though really, all of his friends are his best friends if you ask him. 6. Does he have other close friends? Baymax, Honey Lemon, GoGo and Hiro. 7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people? He makes friends easily. 8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends? Family, because he figures if your friends are close enough, they are family. 9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once? He’s single. 10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse? He would never even think of juggling two relationships. He would never cheat. 11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest? I’m not sure that Fred has ever had a real crush. Mostly just infatuation on people that were nice and cute. They never lasted more than a week. 12. What does he look for in a romantic partner? Common interests. Mutual love and respect. The basics of a good relationship. 13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any? He doesn’t, but he would love to be a dad one day. 14. Does he have any rivals or enemies? If he does, he doesn’t know it. 15. What is the character’s sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale? It is hard to put a label on Fred because he simply doesn’t do labels. Love is love and gender means absolutely nothing when it comes to that. I guess you could say he’s panromantic/pansexual, a three on the scale, but again -- it’s hard to put a label on him. 16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him? He appreciates it but he could be in a relationship without sex. Love is what’s important to him. 17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits? He isn’t very kinky. He might be into costumes or something. Who knows?

BELIEFS !!

1. Do you know your character’s astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type? Born on August 15th (yes, I gave him my birthday so I won’t forget it) he’s a Leo. Parts of it fit, parts of it don’t. 2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life? He believes that everything happens for a reason. He believes in good things. He believes there is an afterlife and a God of some sort. He just doesn’t have all the answers. And he doesn’t need to. 3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it? Be loyal and be kind. That’s just who he is as a person. I don’t think anything could compromise it. 4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent? He is curious but completely tolerant. 5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them? Fred doesn’t hold prejudices.

DAILY LIFE !!

1. What is the character’s financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt? Rich. 2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him? Uh, it’s hard to say, honestly. He thinks everyone is his friend. 3. Where does he live? House, apartment, trailer? Is his home his castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does he share it with others? He lived in a very big house before coming to Walt and he loved it. Now he’s in a dorm which he shares with Penelope, bless her soul, and he loves it too. He isn’t hard to please if you haven’t noticed. He keeps his side fairly neat and tidy, but there is an overwhelming amount of comic books, plush Japanese monsters and other questionable objects stored everywhere. 4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on? Collector items, comic books, foreign knick knacks. A bunch of nerdy stuff. 5. What does he do for a living? Is he good at it? Does he enjoy it, or would he rather be doing something else? He’s a student and he’s doing his best. He’s happy with it. 6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time? Reading comics, writing, watching cartoons. He’s never bored. There’s always something to do. 7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods? He eats like an average person. He isn’t a health nut or a foodie. He just eats what he wants when he wants it. So far it’s worked out okay.

ASSOCIATIONS !!

1. Color? His favorite color can change daily. He has issues with picking one favorite of anything because he just loves so much all the time. I would say blue or orange would be his go-to though. 2. Smell? Freshly cut grass. 3. Time of day? Noon. 4. Season? Spring. It’s so cheerful. 5. Book? He’s more of a comic book kind of guy than a novel kind of guy. 6. Music? Pop punk. 7. Place? Japan or wherever his friends are. 8. Substance? None. 9. Plant? Cherry blossoms. 10. Animal? Kaiju Dragon. Dogs, cats, ferrets, lizards -- he genuinely loves them all.

EVERY * LEADS TO A PICTURE !!