#i get allistic all the time telling me ‘’well if you can do that thing then you must not have any struggles at all’’

[vanderdyks]

I geniunely cannot stand when allistics try to say Resident Alien is actually making fun of autistic people because they believe Harry is too childish now because I JUST-

In the beginning, Harry tried SO MUCH HARDER to fit in with the humans around him. He mimicked their speech patterns, consistently observed them, emersed himself in their activities so they wouldn't suspect he was different.

The Harry now? He doesn't care. He's loud in places he should be quiet. He talks how he wants. He laughs FREELY. He's learned large crowds of people? Not for him. He doesn't like being touched by strangers.

He's just Harry. Himself. Because he can be. Because he's realized even if some of the people of Patience find him strange, it doesn't matter. They'll never guess he's from outer space.

Have you noticed that every other alien we have seen is not like Harry? Not the greys, or the half human hybrids, not even Heather. When Heather is around humans who know she is an alien, we get to see the difference, but when she isn't? She fits in so well with any other neurotypical human.

Not Harry though. So yes, he is autistic because I said he is. Because I am autistic. And if you're allistic, you don't get to tell autistic people they shouldn't headcanon Harry as autistic (even though it is very obvious they're purposefully playing him as neurodivergent now.)

When you take an autistically coded character that a lot of autistic individuals relate to, and try to argue the character is actually a "child" and being "infantalised," you're actually being ableist.

You're saying that the traits we have resonated with are childish... Harry seems like he's "regressed" because instead of trying to adapt and pretend to be human, he is becoming something else entirely. Not human, but not fully alien either.

The body of doctor Harry Vanderspeigle was once just a disguise. Now it IS Harry's. It's his body, his own skin. And he's gotten comfortable in it and you know this because you deliberately witness times where he might be holding his hands like he would his claws (primarily when he's sleeping.) His brain doesn't realize he's not in his normal form, because in many ways, this is his new normal form.

He has emotions. He cares. He's in completely new territory and finding himself. And in doing so, that carefully crafted human mask? It's fallen a bit.

So that thing you label as "regression" is a thing I label as progress. He's learning still. Let him learn. Let him be. And give it time. And I hope to GOD Harry never becomes fully human to the point we can't recognize him. I hope he never loses his unique inflictions, or his love for pizza and pie. I hope he continues to love the quiet. I hope he ALWAYS laughs obnoxiously. I hope he always runs like he doesn't know what to do with his limbs. I hope you always see his emotions throughout his body because they simply cannot be contained. I hope he continues to jump when excited or pace when he's angry. I hope he stays obsessed with Law & Order forever.

Because if you take all that away, you're taking away the bits that make him Harry. You want a carbon copy human. I want the autistic alien struggling to understand human nature.

That being said, of course you can express your opinion him. And it can be discussed because everyone is going to have a different perspective.

But you don't get to dictate an autistic perspective if you are not autistic. Or try to cancel anyone for it either.

I love Harry. And I relate to him SO MUCH. And I love how much representation I can see him through him for me. Because I personally believe Alan and the writers have chosen to keep presenting this character as ND.

It's okay to dislike the direction of his character development. It's okay to find the flaws. It's okay to share that perspective. What's NOT okay is dictating the feelings of others because they might not agree with you.

I don't find him childish. I see him as an autistic individual trying to navigate a society that his brain hasn't been hardwired to understand.

And if you think he's too childish, please look closer at the why you think he is. Really be introspective on this one.

Because Harry is a parent. And has a child. And he has relationships. And he takes care of himself. Not only that, he is the town doctor and takes care of everyone else too. He is the smartest. He is the strongest. None of the characters have had to worry about the wellfare of Harry specifically. Its why no one realizes the greys have captured him. Because of course Harry would be fine, hes the alien expert. He knows what he's doing. So while everyone else spent so much time worrying about each other, no one was left to worry about Harry.

So ask yourself why you believe Harry has become "too childish" and if your answer comes down to any of his quirky traits or his misunderstandings of human nature, then you really need to consider if what you're actually uncomfortable with is autism/autistic traits.

[crazycatsiren]

Just something on my mind right now.

Allistic people, if you have an autistic friend, what you should be mindful of is that if you want your friend to go out and hang out with you and company, you ought to refrain from giving them a hard time about what they have to do in order to keep themselves safe and sane while they're away from their safe space (home) no matter the circumstances.

Speaking from personal experiences here, I know I want to get out of the house, go to places, spend time with friends, have fun. But if me leaving my comfort zone (which is never an easy thing to begin with) is met with the punishment of no accommodation and no consideration, well, guess what, I ain't going to want to do it again, at least not with the same people again.

It's not a switch that can be turned on and off. I can't make myself 100% socially palatable on the best of and highest masking days. As I was telling my husband the other night after us returning from a summer fest, a little bit of advocacy such as "this place is overwhelming/overstimulating/sensory overloading for her" goes a long way. (Context: I snapped after I was made the butt of jokes for the evening, for being "oblivious", because I was bombarded by noises, crowds, smells, and heat from all sides in every direction, and therefore couldn't focus on anything, because sensory hell, because autism.)

[orange-ghost]

My hottest take on disability media is that this film (as much as it deserved a good 90% of it's backlash; my GOD it was ableist, harmful, horribly written, horribly paced, and clearly not well thought-out) ...would NOT have been as poorly received had the titular character had low-support needs as opposed to high.

I'm serious. I saw that some of y'all's knee-jerk reactions were "AUTISTIC PEOPLE DON'T ACT LIKE THAT!" and "BUT I'M NOT LIKE THAT!" and... I mean? Yeah? She's one girl, she obviously can't represent the whole spectrum.

But I'm sick of this lateral ableism, "I'm-not-like-other-girls"-esque attitude some of us Autistics have towards the others. We learn to look down upon those who can't take care of themselves or get by in the world like we can; the ones who can't mask; the ones who are sometimes dealt the most abuse in life because they'll never have the privilege of being able to verbally speak up against it or live without a caretaker. Because what often happens is:

Autistic people who need a lot more support than we do wind up becoming allistics' Default Setting™️ idea of Autism.

Autistic people who are very different (usually more independent, sharper intellect and maybe inclined towards more mature[?] interests) then come into those allistic people's lives.

The allistics then begin to infantalize them the same way they infantalize the Default Setting™️ Autistic people around them, then refuse to listen when asked/begged to stop; denial of autonomy.

Instead of directing the VERY warranted disgust, anger and resentment towards the ableist allistic people doing this to us, we direct it towards the initial victims of this treatment; who, frankly, ALSO don't deserve to be treated like literal babies or burdens like that in the first place!

Instead of trying to find solidarity? In-fighting ensues.

I don't know, that's always irked me and it's been in my brain for like four years. Because think about how much we learned in a short period of time around the movie's release. The woman...

Forced a 14-year-old Allistic child to imitate a disabled person when she didn't want to;

TAUGHT her to do so via forcing her to watch meltdown videos filmed & posted by Autistic kids' parents (likely without the child's consent);

Dissed Autistic actresses online for no fucking reason, really.

Named a movie after a disabled child character who's treated more like a prop and isn't even centered in the film's story (and lowkey repeated the pattern twice, if you guys remember Felix's storyline. He was just shoved into this for like... sadness points?)

Teams up with the "most popular" Autism organization even though it has been VERY accessible and public knowledge for years that they've earned a pretty negative reputation for themselves.

Portrays unnecessary prone restraint as a GOOD thing.

...And has MULTIPLE instances of questionably racist undertones. Including within the first 5 seconds of the film.

And yet, some of y'all's priority was the fact that "I'm not like that! I'm FUNCTIONAL!"

...Yeah. Yikes.

Something tells me that Music would've gotten significantly less backlash had Maddie been made to portray somebody who could consistently speak verbally, stimmed in more subtle ways, and didn't have so many meltdowns.

We feel so much shame & discomfort at just sharing a diagnosis with somebody more disabled than ourselves that we will reject it (and them) the moment it happens, without a second thought. Because the thought of being treated by abled society as even more disabled than we are already terrifies us. Because we KNOW that disabled people as a whole are not treated well.

Hell, clearly Sia internalized something like that as well because she wound up being diagnosed as Autistic herself, and she WROTE the damn thing!

Yeah, I've... got a couple of words for all this. 😬

Assimilation. Trauma. Internalized ableism, even. Let's unpack that in 2025, please!

[unproduciblesmackdown]

yea.... 😭😭😭

now my logical followup is rewatching rogue one for the first time since seeing it (multiple times) in theaters i believe? Will i cry a lot, which i am always prone to do w/media & things but all the more so lately, it seems

[sunnywalnut]

I miss when autistic rep was on accident. I feel like every time a neurotypical/allistic person tries to write somebody with autism on purpose, it just comes off as "he's a total jerk, but he's REALLY GOOD at what he does" instead of "this guy's facial expression doesn't change very much, but I promise you he's absolutely happy to help. Also talk to him about birds. He fucking loves birds."

And I don't mean "he loves birds" as in "this guy wears bird shirts 24/7 and corrects you if you accidentally call a pigeon a dove." No. I mean "he loves birds" as in "he's able to name the sound of the bird just by it's song and point to it and it's just sitting on the rooftop next to you" and if you ask questions he gets this little smile to his face and answers them all and even tells you about some drama about two researchers who were unsure of they could call two birds different species since they were so similar and then gives you the answer of they can, because their beaks are different and that means their diet is different or whatever.

Not every autistic dude in media has to be "UwU save me from the world and take care of me bc I'm just a smol beannn✨"

Sometimes they're just Chad from maintenance who seems to love his job a bit more than he should, but it's all good bc everything that's fixed works even better than it was before it was broken. He's not creepy or anything. But he WILL call you over if he sees you walk past in order to show off his latest repair and talk to you about what he did. Everyone loves Chad. They're happy that he's as dedicated to his job as he is. Plus it makes the office a lot more bearable to have him around because he always seems to wear this gigantic grin and talk with his hands.

You're absolutely able to have "cute" autistic characters. I have cute autistic characters.

I have a little elf girl that counts each individual strand of her hair when she's nervous and climbs trees. She loves baking, so much so that she will make everything gluten free, kosher, dairy free, vegan, whatever you need in order to make sure you're included. As soon as she steps into a garden, she's completely covered in dirt. And yes, she's extremely friendly and doesn't understand social cues. And sure. She has her boyfriend take care of things for her, like keeping her safe from creeps when she's in public, and shutting down scammers before she can pay them, but it's not because she's dumb. It's because he elected himself into that space. And he knows full well that if she decides to scurry off to whatever wonderful thing that has caught her eye, that she'll wander back to him when she's ready. She knows how to defend herself. And he trusts her. And she does things for him as well. Which is something I don't see in autistic/allistic relationships in media at all.

Like do y'all really think our partners are just our glorified babysitters???

We're not just there to sit still and look pretty.

We're there to be your emotional rock. We tend to have high empathy. We can listen to your problems and validate your emotions. And sure, we might give you some advice that seems a bit wonky at best, but anyone can do that. Not just autistic people.

Sometimes we take over financial decisions, for one reason or another. I had a partner that would always come to me for financial advice despite living on their own and having more than enough money to do what they wanted with, but they knew that I could budget better. I'm good at math. And no, not a "math wiz" all A's kind of good. But a "I can do big number addition/subtraction and sometimes multiplication within seconds in my head" which was also really helpful in my culinary class when my teacher would put me in charge of making sure we were on target with how many servings of food we had. Not every autistic person has to be leagues above the rest academic to be autistic. My allistic brother had straight A's for YEARS. Much longer than I did. I had A's and B's.

You can come to us if you need a hug. Or to cuddle. Or to body double. Or just to hang out. Some autistic people like touch. We crave it. I can guarantee you that if we were friends and you climbed up on the couch next to me and laid your head in my lap, I would let you. No questions asked. I'd even pet your hair. And I'd ask you about your day. I can't count how many times high fives have turned to hand holding with my friends because they needed a loving talking to about how great they are. Or a back rub when they're crying. Not all of us are going to stand there, staring down at you while you're curled up on the floor and be like "STATISTICALLY SPEAKING-" yeah no. And the people who DO that likely are trying to relay information that they know that they think will help you feel better. We're odd, but we're not heartless. Let me get down on your level. Sit with you. And then I'll talk to you about how tears are actually really healthy and it's good that you're able to cry. And also I'm proud of you and let's get you some water, okay?

We can take care of you too!!

I give all my friends hair care advice bc I've spent too much time watching hair stylist videos. I tell them to make sure they lotion after every shower when they complain about dry skin or body acne. I tell them to drink water after they cry. Or wash their face. Or alternate ways they can get around invisible barriers and still get what they need done. You know how many times I've had to sit down problem solve with my loved ones for over an HOUR bc their ADHD decided not to let them brush their teeth or take a shower? I have a whole ARSENAL of advice to give you. And yeah. If you're close enough where I can head over to your place, I WILL do your dishes(bc somehow they're less gross than mine). I WILL wash your hair for you, or fold your clothes or clear the counters of trash. Not because I think you're lazy or nothing. But because I see something that needs to be done, and I do it. Because I love you, it's simple, and hey, I'm here anyways, right?

Like shit. Every night I have a sleepover with my best friend, I do the dishes that were in her sink before I even came over while she starts on dinner. Because I love her. And that's my way of paying her back for picking me up. I clear all our trash, and the scraps of tea bags that she missed in the mornings. Because I love her. And it's simple enough I can do it myself. I chop the garlic as we cook together because we're working as a team. And yeah. After it's all over. We sit on the couch like a bunch of lazy dogs and watch TV and chat and do whatever. And sometimes. We don't do anything but just enjoy each other's company. Because as adults, we don't get a lot of time to just relax.

We all have our own strengths and weaknesses. And sure. Being friends with an autistic person isn't always sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes our behaviors or our tenancies can be stressful. Like sensory meltdowns, or our bluntness(which is honestly usually just us saying exactly what is true without sugar coating it. Like if you said the sky was purple I'd be like "nah it's blue rn" and people find that blunt and rude. But to me, that's just a fact. I'm not saying you're dumb. I'm just saying it's blue right now.) or sometimes, even when we get super hyper about our interests. I would know. I'm autistic myself. And I irritate myself.

But it seems like in media, the irritation is all people can see. Even in "supportive" families that I see in shows and such, everyone's always stressed all the time.

You're telling me ONE LITTLE CHILD is tearing this entire family apart? (*COUGH COUGH Young Sheldon COUGH*) Not only is that stupid, that's just inaccurate.

If you wanna be accurate, maybe don't have every autistic person you write be a "high functioning" male in a doctor's coat who's transphobic as fuck and his excuse being he's autistic.

If you know the bitch is outwardly transphobic, don't fucking put him in the room with trans people.

And also?

Autistic people are allowed to learn the difference between sex and gender. We're ALLOWED to learn about queer identities. And we're ALLOWED to be queer ourselves without being labeled as idiots who don't know any better.

I've YET to see a show about an outwardly queer autistic girl who is able to make awesome friends and overcome her challenges WITHOUT succumbing to being an asshole on purpose.

Except for The Owl House. And Luz isn't even canonically autistic. It's just speculated.

THAT is good autistic representation.

Not whatever the fuck "The Good Doctor" is supposed to be.

My Personal List Of Good Autism Rep Recs(non canon, sadly):

-Good Omens(not explicitly canon, but multiple characters behave in a way that could be labeled as autistic. Plus Neil Geiman, the writer himself is autistic)

-The Owl House(again. Not explicitly canon. But great. The whole show is about accepting yourself as you are and is kinda along the lines of Gravity Falls. In fact, she was in a relationship with Alex Hirsh, creator of Gravity Falls. And also she's bisexual with a CANONICALLY BISEXUAL LEAD!! Also is lovely for mental health allegories too)

-Gravity Falls (the whole Pines family just REEKS autism to me. Noncannon.)

-How To Train Your Dragon(Hiccup is autistic as hell and you can't convince me otherwise. Non canon)

-Adventure Time (some of the humor is dated, but enjoyable. Also Princess Bubblegum. Need I say more?)

-We Bare Bears (slice of lifey. Sometimes childish. Sweet as hell though. Grizz feels very autistic to me, but that could also be because I enjoy how huggable and easily excitable he is. Everyone loves him. He's loud, he can absolutely be obnoxious, but he loves his bros and tries his best to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. He also does his best to fix any problems he makes. Which in my book, makes him a good guy. Some people also claim Ice Bear is autistic. But personally, I feel like he just doesn't talk much. What do you guys think?)

[lavendergalactic]

+ young sheldon !! i love talking about young sheldon pls talk about something related to it in reps i beg of thee

OHH IM SOOO GLAD YOU ASKED!! HERE IS MY BIG INFO DUMP ON SHELDON AND AUTISM:

you know i actually started watching young sheldon then i decided to watch the big bang theory while locket catches up to where im at, but now i am watching the entirety of the big bang theory first and then rewatching young sheldon to get the whole experience because watching tbbt just makes young sheldon so much more exciting

be warned, LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF YAPPING UP AHEAD LMAO (also i am only up to season 5 of the big bang and season 4 of young sheldon)

i see so much of myself into sheldon cooper 😭 we are on a very similar part of the autism spectrum (except im not a savant like he is) and yes, i'm saying sheldon cooper is autistic, at first glance you might think "but lavender, sheldon cooper is an autistic stereotype!" here is where i'm going to say "yes, but also no!"

yes sheldon is a white guy and a savant who loves trains, which is a stereotype, but let me tell you something.. autism is a spectrum and with it being a spectrum- you're going to get guys like sheldon cooper LMAO

a common harmful stereotype is "autistic people have low empathy / don't have any empathy" but the reality is that autistic people DO have empathy, it's just that they don't show it in a way allistic people will notice or understand, therefore the stereotype: you can easily apply this to sheldon, a lot of people think he has no empathy but there are many moments where he does, in the big bang theory you can see he clearly cares for his friends and amy and in young sheldon you can see he cares for his family and paige and tam etc! (take the hot beverage thing he has as an example) it's just that he doesn't show it in a way allistic people would. and i think it's really nice that they added that to sheldon cooper's writing, i think that's really incredible that they wrote him like that and didn't put that harmful stereotype on him

another harmful stereotype of autism is "autistic people can't fall in love" and all i have to say to that is:

which totally debunks that really popular stereotype, if sheldon cooper is an autism stereotype, then he's not a horrible bad representation, he still is treated like a normal human being but with special needs which is great to see especially in an early 2000s show

yes sheldon adds onto the "autism is only in white guys" stereotype, but be mindful that sheldon cooper was created in the early 2000s where there really wasn't much autism research and sheldon would have been called "aspergers" too, which is a very outdated term. and i'm saying this because back then all research was done on white little boys so there's really not much we can change about that except for make more autism rep in media with poc and women so it's not just white men :3

it would be lovely if there was really great autism rep in the early 2000s but we dont live in a perfect world 😭 autism is still new and still being researched as we speak, and only now we're getting better autism representation in media which is perfect! and i need to see more!!!!!!!

with the "but he's OCD" thing, yes i can see OCD traits in him but to me he's more autistic, and did you know OCD traits can lap over into autism a lot as well?? i actually got misdiagnosed with OCD before getting diagnosed with autism, that's how much they overlap. and that makes me self insert into sheldon even more because so many people think he's OCD when no he's just autistic with a fear of germs and a big dislike of physical touch

"what about his knocking ritual?" yes he HAS to do it to feel comfortable ("*knock, knock, knock [name]" and repeat three times) but thats his only ritual he is shown to do and it's not like he thinks anything irrational is going to happen if he doesnt do it, autistic people like routine and show repetitive behaviour (it's yet another OCD/autism trait overlap me thinks)

i see so much of my younger self in young sheldon and so much of my current self in older sheldon it's actually so crazy, his need of having a spot on the couch, being really upset when things turn out unlike he expected, being pretty blunt and not thinking things through, self inserting heavily into fictional characters etc i really do think he's autistic because he has many of my autistic traits

i really cannot believe not many people are talking about this, they just bring up the fact he "has OCD" because amy said he has a single trait of it and because he has a fear of germs

and when i try look for more people talking about sheldon with autism everyone brings up the repeating gag of when he says "my mother had me tested, and i'm not crazy" but let me tell you something about that, mary in tbbt said "but i do regret not going to that specialist" in season 5 or 4 i think idk.. which means that was probably only one test and they actually wanted to do more but mary didn't do it since i'm guessing she doesn't want her son to be "crazy" (which she would have a lot of internalized abelism ofc 😭 she's an old christian texan)

about mary cooper, i think she also has autism too actually! or at least that's the side of the family sheldon got his autism from since autism is genetic, that's why she knows so much about sheldon's needs and really connects with it and understands it. she has moments in young sheldon which makes me think "hm this is giving high masking for your whole life autism..."

this is going on for way too long im sorry hELP ... uhh i also thing raj is gay, amy is autistic too, and leonard has BPD 😋 even though you asked for young sheldon all i can really think is "sheldon with autism"

i could probably keep going if you were talking to me and this'll end up being an hour long info dump but i think i'll leave it here for now

[sonnyinthesky]

Could someone help me with identifying support needs?

I am diagnosed level 1 autistic. Does this mean i have low support needs? It was never explained to me. In fact none of my diagnosis was. I don't know what the level means really and google isn't helping.

I can do ADLs myself. Such as having a shower, feeding myself, moving around, dressing, etc etc, but i often (always) need reminders.

I wont shower for weeks if i dont have someone demanding me constantly until i do, or when i was younger, physically forcing me in. I can't brush my teeth. I mean technically i can once i know i need to and have the toothbrush ready but i cant get to that point independently yk? I eat constantly, because i cant tell when im hungry so I interpret any discomfort as hunger which has caused many health issues. I often wear the same clothes for weeks because i forget i need to change them. Its only when i smell that i realise "oh i need to change my clothes".

As far as iADLs go, i can do some but not all. Im great at shopping, i love it, its a routine for me to go to the supermarket every day independently. I can also navigate public transport really well. I can't however, make a phone call or manage money or clean a mess or tidy my house or wash dishes after cooking. Its not laziness, i genuinely want to do those things, but being faced with the task causes me to freeze and/or meltdown and nothing gets done.

I need a lot of help and support from my mum every day to live happily. I cannot work or attend school, and i cant live alone yet. I cant drive either because i simply cannot wrap my head around the car and it causes so much anxiety that i have a meltdown every time i try. The theory is easy for me but the practical part i cant do.

I cant go to school or work because i struggle too much with the social aspect and the overstimulation. I had meltdowns before going and immediately after when i did go. And during i would have such panic and anxiety that i had to leave half way most days.

I cant live alone because i cant manage money or clean or any of that. I also would have no hygiene because i wouldnt shower or change or brush my teeth without help.

Thats all the things i cant do. But what are the things i can do? Do they outweigh that?

I can communicate well with safe people or about safe topics. I obviously dont communicate in an allistic way because im diagnosed autistic, but i can speak and mask when needed. I do suspect i have selective mutism, but generally i can talk most of the time and in emergencies.

I have been described by a lot of people as intelligent. I know a lot of facts and can learn quickly. I read and write really well. Im kinda shit at math but that's because i dont try at all and havent practiced in years.

I can cook (but not clean up after) and shop and go places that are familiar and accessible via public transport.

I can make friends if i really want to.

I can easily navigate social media and the digital world and do so safely.

I can mask and suffer through my sensory issues. I couldnt for a long time but now i can ignore sensory issues (it doesn't feel good but i can). I can also act neurotypical if i try.

So: what does this mean for me support needs wise? I know my level is 1 because im diagnosed that way, but are my support needs the same?

I dont ask to self diagnose or invade spaces i dont belong etc etc. im pretty sure im low support needs, i just am curious to know more about what autism is for me, because i was never told. My doctor diagnosed me but never told me anything about it and i want to understand.

Thank you for your help! Here is an autism creature for your troubles

[flickersprout]

hello would you be willing to say your million opinions about the mystery twins?

WHY YES

I am unwell about these people thank you so much for asking /gen (long post incoming)

I'm a little more familiar with Cellbit's character than Bagi's, so probably have more headcanons about him. I am actively trying to get more unhinged about Bagi because she is so cool and everyone should tell me their Bagi headcanons

Bagi headcanons/opinions:

She should be transfem. as a treat. her being transfem lets me make the twins identical, and anything that makes it more obvious how related they are makes them funnier

Her being transfem also adds fun layers to her relationship with Tina, as Tina is a demon pretending to be human. All I'm saying is you could do some fun parallels and contrasts about presentation and the self

Also if you make her and Jaiden and Baghera all transfem, you get the fun fed-sisters-plus transfem solidarity that exists only in my head

She can only barely cook. She never learned as a kid and then got fucking frozen, and she's tried to learn as an adult but it's not going well

When she thinks about raising Empanada, she gets kinda caught between wanting to pass on the pacifist, live-and-let-live mentality that she pretends to have and the more defensive/aggressive ideas she actually has. She does like the idea of pacifism and doesn't want Empanada to grow up bitter, but... peace isn't what's kept her safe and alive

Empanada's first death resolved a lot of those conflicts. A kinder world isn't coming, so she has to raise a fighter

Her "pretending to be an ethical vegetarian" thing is hilarious to me. girl you aren't pretending to be a vegetarian you just are one. you can lie about your reasons but girl. you don't eat meat

Cellbit headcanons/opinions:

He can't cook even a little bit. Federation pet -> child soldier -> jail-> struggling adult? yeah he never fucking learned to cook

Relatedly I think he's a picky eater but has weird tastes. Like i think he eats instant microwave/just add water foods raw and likes it because he learned to eat it like that at some point, but can't stand a lot of "real food" because he just never got used to it (this is partly based on me lsjkhd)

He owns a butterfly knife and he's good with it. He picked it up as a hobby after Fuga when he was in therapy because he needed something to fill his time and it was a socially acceptable way to carry a knife. He can do all kinds of tricks now

Just pre-purgatory (and probably still now tbh) sometimes the butterfly knife suddenly reminds him too much of a real knife or triggers some kind of intrusive thought that scares him. His reaction to this is to just let go of the knife midair. He's very lucky no one's gotten hurt yet

He 100% remembers more of his childhood with Bagi than he admits. He pretends he doesn't because even acknowledging that he was a child once undermines his image of himself as a monster (upsetting, unhealthy self-image, sure, but one that's kept him safe. monsters aren't afraid of anything. monsters can't be hurt. children, though?)

As much as I understand and will read about autistic!Cellbit headcanons, I don't agree (i am autistic, for the record). He's actually really good with social cues, like scary good, and obviously has really strong theory of mind. Like I get where people are coming from but we need to defend an allistic guy's right to just be a fucking freak (/lh /nm)

I want to call Cellbit and Baghera "hunters" instead of "chainsaw killers." again I get where people are coming from. it's funny and I'll use it. however hunters would go so hard. same genre as codebreakers and bloodhounds. do you see my vision

[solardrake]

There was a post on here a while back which described navigating social spaces while Autistic like trying to walk through a minefield. One wrong move and, well, you blow up. blowing up hurts, so you create systems, rules, you try and find a rhyme or reason as to how the explosives are laid out so that you might make it through unscathed. I've come to know this as "Masking".

There's a moment where every autistic realizes that they are different, because they step on a mine that, to an allistic, isn't even there. It's a crushing weight to know that there is a seemingly invisible force that will hurt them again and again unless they hide who they are (begin to mask) and try to forge a path. For me it was middle school when I learned this; when I realized I didn't truly have any friends because public school is cruel and othering. So, I changed how I spoke, learned how to tell jokes, developed hobbies that would make me more likable (which is how I started art) until, finally, 8 years later It seemed like I was on the other of the field: I had finally made it.

That all shattered in an instant, in 2021, a decisive step ended with a fireball so large fragments of me are still being found in the field. So, hurt and stricken with the loss of acceptance that I so briefly had, I did the other option that post talked about: I stayed still. Just..didn't move, because if I did I risked being hurt again. New year's 2022 I had moved up north, but still I remained where I was. 2023 came and began to pass, and instead of keeping pace I watched as it sped by.

To put it bluntly, I was burnt out both socially and in my art, full of resentment for what hurt me and shame for not being able to mask as effectively; that version of me had died in the explosion. All these terrible feelings reached a boil when my shame and resentment towards myself was inadvertently aimed towards someone I loved. In that moment I saw that I was rotting...

And I saw how empty I was.

So much of myself previously was dedicated solely to masking in an attempt to fit in, that when fitting in became no longer an option that huge part of myself became void of purpose, and so that part of me itself became a void.

I don't really remember the months after that, but in October I had gotten my hands on a book: "Unmasking Autism" by Devon Price. The introduction to that book was like an electric shock to my heart, revitalizing me and reversing the decay- his and other autistic folk's experiences described in the book was so alike mine that I suddenly understood my emptiness and was aware of the fractured mask hanging from my face. Armed with knowledge of my ailment the author then gave me a path out of the minefield...back from whence I came. Retrace my steps. Understand previous blunders, forgive myself for them, and exit the field to forge my own way to live and navigate life freely without fear of being reduced to bits.

I will struggle to post this, I know I will. Part of me masking, one of my guiding rules through the mines was to *never* make sincere personal posts because "sincerity from someone you follow who's not known for it is uncomfortable" (getting into the why of this is a whole other can of worms). But I will do it anyways, because the time for me being avoidant of my feelings are over.

In 2024, I will be fully embracing my autism. I don't know what i'll look like without the mask- I probably still haven't gotten rid of it fully- But I will be more genuine...probably uncomfortably so, My blog will be more self-serving (and probably my art too once I detangle my worth as an artist from how "good" it looks), I'll reblog cringy fandom stuff and say weird things and blog at length about how much I love airplanes and large industrial systems and freak furry things. I will be deadpan and monotone and just be so unapologetically autistic, because then i'll truly be me. ok bye bye

[veryferaldistributions]

Why “Some Like it Bot” Hits Differently

The season 12 finale of “Bob’s Burgers” is a fantastic, Tina-centered two-part episode called “Some Like it Bot.” Most of the episode is comprised of Tina’s “Blade Runner” friend fiction in which she, Jimmy Jr., and Zeke are robots that have to pretend to be human and avoid getting “wiped,” or having their personalities erased. She writes this because she was excited about a new t-shirt she bought that she was eager to show off at school, but that Tammy said on the Wagstaff News was “weird.”

Even in this fantasy world, Tina is a babysitter, and there’s a part where the girl’s mom finds out Tina is a robot and thinks she is “dangerous” and calls the police, despite never having evidence that Tina means the kid any harm. This is a great analogy for how allistic people may view autistic people as potentially harmful.

Towards the end of part one, Tina sings this amazing song called “What if They’re Right.” And for me, and many other neurodivergent viewers, something really hit home about the lyrics. Specifically this one: “Feel’s like something’s wrong with me and they know it/they took one look my way and exposed it.”

Growing up undiagnosed is brutal specifically for this reason. It really does feel like everyone can tell there’s something “wrong” with you except for you. It’s like bullies can smell it. No matter how hard you try to fit in, to wear the right clothes, to say the right things, something never quite clicks. And you end up asking yourself for years and years what that thing could be. And when you finally know, it’s this overwhelming sense of “my god, all those wasted years! Why did I try so hard? Why couldn’t I just be me and know I’d never make them happy no matter what?”

And Tina’s sense of justice in this episode, slightly warped as it may be, just adds to the autism part of her character. We do go too far, we can make split decisions that cost us our jobs, our schooling, even our relationships. And we may think we’re doing the right thing the whole time even when we’re doing something very damaging. But we can still mean well.

I love that the show keeps adding depth and dimensions to these already well-formed characters. This episode felt so raw and personal and real. It’s one of the best Tina episodes, if not THE best Tina episode.

[thewhumpcaretaker]

♥︎ Whump Dating Sim: Longing for Flight - Part 2 ♥︎

Current Heart Level: ♡♡♡♡♡ (0/5)

Last Poll | Masterlist | Image Source

Last week, the winning answer was to kick the medical supplies towards Allister and let him patch himself up. You get two relationship points!! I think I forgot to mention this, but each heart costs five relationship points. The second response would have given one point, and the third one would have given zero points, if you're curious.

Time to pick up where we left off...

CW: passing out, hospitalization, panic attack

“Suit yourself. I won’t come any closer.” You kick the medical supplies towards him and they slide to a stop next to his lap. He looks between you and the box for a minute as if he’s expecting it to explode. Then their brows furrow in confused gratitude. “…Thank you,” he says, but it sounds more like a question. They're still holding the gun on you as they open the box with shaking hands and start looking for what they need. But at least they don’t seem quite as paranoid about your presence.

You watch him sadly. He’s not going to get much done without your help. The blood is draining out of his face. He struggles for a minute, then tips his head back against the window and curses, fighting a wave of wooziness. His gun arm is becoming too heavy. It drops to his side and he starts slumping sideways. You rush forward and catch him before his head can hit the floor. So much for his protests. But at least he felt like he was in control for a moment before passing out.

You manage to slip him out of the building without incident, carrying them down the stairwell while the next wave of guards emerges from the elevator. It’s easy enough to get them back to headquarters, but it was a close call. The medical team confirms that they were only minutes from death when you brought them in.

The first thing to do after he’s stable is embed a tracking chip under his skin, in case he escapes. He looks so innocent with his eyes closed and his flesh covered in bruises, an IV trailing from his arm. It’s difficult to believe that he’s killed almost a hundred people just from the counts your own team knows about. But the fact remains that he’s dangerous.

The wallet in his pocket contains a huge amount of cash and a fake ID that reads “Bruce Silver.” But when he finally wakes up, he gives a different first name – Allister. You tell him yours as well, and apologize for the situation that he find himself in. You also confirm what you had thought - that he goes by he/they. But they won’t give a last name no matter what you try. So you'd better just start your main line of questioning, preferably by making him feel safe enough to talk.

Tagging: @bluelolblue

Please comment, ask, etc. to be added to a tag list for updates!

[massiveharmonytiger]

Quick rant because my week has been terrible and I've had it with people. I saw a post about how autistic people need to learn nuance especially when it comes to "seeing themselves as more moral than other people." It's a complaint I've seen directed at autistic people quite often. Disturbingly, this particular complaint was posted by an autistic person.

Respectfully, autistic people don't have to do a damn thing. I'm all for learning nuance, it's a wonderful trait for everyone to have and tricky for many people to grasp regardless of neurotype, but NTs and allistics get away with having unhealthy, incorrect and biased opinions about themselves all the time. Everybody gets egotistical sometimes or sees other people as less moral at some point. Why do autistic people always have to be nitpicked at and held to a higher standard? Besides, we can all be assured that if our so-called "superiority" gets out of hand, someone will always be around to tell us exactly what we're doing wrong and bring us down to earth. That's just the autistic experience.

This sort of thing is only seen as a problem when it starts hurting people but a) people often claim to be even be hurt by healthy behaviour like distancing yourself or creating boundaries and b) an autistic person having the opinion, which may be correct or incorrect, that they were more (insert adjective) in some situation, has never hurt me because I'm autistic and communication is about self-expression to me. I don't see it as a power play and if you do, maybe you should double check that you've understood what was really being communicated. Learn some nuance, if you will.

And if it is a power play, well, autistic people have earned the right to do that as well. There must be some way you've learned to deal with toxic people that has less to do with labels and more to do with the actual person.

Don't let people gaslight or gatekeep you out of being human and making mistakes. We are all capable of growth.

[alliumdykes]

I don’t like dteam at all either but from my understanding wasn’t the air horn just gnf? He’s the 26 y/o that always acts like a middle schooler.

it’s so funny to me that two years ago I hated gnf but couldn’t really explain why because everyone would tell me I was getting mad at his “autistic traits” whenever I would get annoyed at his whole loud = funny bit. To me he’s the most immature and boring streamer ever who only cares about money idk why he was even in that stream if he didn’t even care.

he has no empathy for anyone at all which I’ve been saying for years but every time I did I got called ableist even though IM AUTISTIC

will never understand why people like watching him besides the fact that people project their gay and autistic tendencies on him and he never apologizes for anything so they can pretend like he’s never done anything wrong

Im Autistic as well and honestly I’ve never seen him have any autistic traits too, plus loud = funny doesn’t seem like autistic humour (to me at least, I cannot stand loud noises)

Plus the no empathy thing is most likely from only allistic fans, I get that as an autistic person who is very empathetic I hate it when we are shown to have no empathy, but dude literally has done so much bullshit to other members on the dsmp (Eret is an example I think of, as well as bee duo with Micheal) when it was still around.

And i think it’s also because he looks physically attractive (short brown hair, brown eyes, pale skin, no glasses) in western societies anyways where most George/dteam fans are from. And more attractive you are, the more good of a person you are. This isn’t me bullshitting either, we are more likely to believe a physically attractive person then an ugly person.

I think it’s also because of the kind of culture that dteam fans have, where the dteam can do no wrong and are perfect little angels that can do anything.

Also I wasn’t sure who was doing the airhorns exactly, I’m really bad with loud noises and from what I’ve read people say it was George or George and dream. I was asleep and had things to do so I couldn’t watch any of the streams. Still it doesn’t really matter since it was incredibly disrespectful what he did.

Idk maybe I’m looking too far into this, I never interacted with the dteam side of the dsmp fandom except for when I first joined for like a week. It’s probably just George never realising that he’s no longer twelve and that his actions affect other people too.

[soupbabe]

Hi!

Could I request Viviano Westwood and Thunder McQueen (either poly or separate I don’t mind!) with a chubby autistic male reader please?

I’ve been having a bad time at work with sensory overload and communication issues :,) I just need a big jojo mans to validate me lmao

(also I love your plus-sized reader content SO MUCH ❤️)

Poly!Thunder McQueen and Viviano Westwood with a Chubby! Autistic! Boyfriend

ANON ILY !! I've been wanting to write for McQueen for a while, thank you!! Especially w a fat reader 😭💕💕

- My first thought was them both prioritizing communication cards !!

- If you are or tend to go non verbal, these are absolute life savers for them

- Both men can get pretty anxious when you don't talk and having blunt, but effective cards to show them can ease Viviano's and then eventually McQueen's worries about your well-being

- You all are very attentive to each other's needs please don't ever be shy in telling them if you're not feeling okay

- Viviano the kind of guy to see that you're overstimulated in a public space and start yelling at everyone to shut up so his boyfriend can have some peace and quiet 😭 /hj

- He means well but he's very loud and does not think

- I do think that McQueen and you share stim toys

- I think he knows his luck and overprepares when going out, so in case you forget something he always has an extra pair of headphones or something to help you self soothe

- Wait wait head empty only thinking about a bf pile

- Ugh the pressure <33 like two big n stupid weighted blankets <33

- I just know they want to be as close to you as you allow them to be, they love feeling how soft you are omg

- McQueen loves your chest sm, "world Harsh and cold bf chest soft and warm kind" of thing

- Viviano is pretty much the same, but he's a bit embarrassed about it. He's never been too good at communicating his wants so he just likes to keep his arms around you, maybe give you a lil squeeze, and hope you don't say anything

- tbh I think all 3 of you have big staring problems

- While you and McQueen have trouble making direct eye contact, Viviano will pierce into your soul and mean nothing of it

- He'd be so hard to read because you think you accidentally made him mad, his face gives you no hints, but he just think you look good today and he can't help but stare

- McQueen too because he's just so emotional- he might need something to help communicate too because it's hard to decipher happy tears from ones of distress

- tbh I think this post is a long way of me saying that there's something neurodivergent about everyone in this group

- seriously there's not a single allistic man in here

[ravenousnightwind]

The illusion is that "I'm better than this, I can get better". While things can improve, if you have depression, it doesn't just go away. It doesn't just get better because you try harder. People used to tell me "if you just tried I know you could do better" or "you need to try harder, believe in yourself" people said this, to me, a then 8-12 year old who had zero idea of what was going on. Zero understanding about what depression or adhd or autism even is/was

(To be fair, back in the 90s there wasn't as much info, but it's no excuse to be cruel. I wouldn't count this as cruel exactly but a lot of people equate it to being lazy, which it isn't.)

People would ask me why I didn't want to go to school, and I really didn't know, but looking back I remember how I felt and I can identify what it was now. It was because it was hard to get up, it was hard to do anything. I knew I had a problem, but at that age, I just didn't understand why I couldn't do things. Yet people would physically attack me because I was "being lazy". Like not getting up in time. But of course, when you literally try to pick up an autistic child of that age who doesn't feel well, you're gonna be met with a bad reaction.

It's only now at age 35 that I can identify not just how cruel my parents were but the school officials that literally mentally, emotionally, and even physically abused me. While I did grow up in a better setting than some people I've met or known, it was the one area in which my parents failed me. They didn't know why, just as I didn't know, but it's hard to..forgive it, because I feel like I would have made a different choice.

It wasn't that my parents didn't try to understand, but it was that they made choices that were just less cruel than what the school officials did to me. It set me back as a person. It stopped me from living what allistic and non-disabled people call a "normal life". Secretly unbeknownst to me. My entire family didn't believe that I could actually take care of myself. It was only after I moved that they saw what I was capable of. They literally told me this was the case after the fact, and it hurt me, because they told me all those years to believe in myself..but they...didn't even believe in me!!!!!

All those years I hated myself, I literally believed I was nothing and worthless. That I was a burden, that I was just bad. Even the school counselor told my mom that I was a bad student!!!!! Like..just because I couldn't do work, or because I..had problems. And..even though I'm passed all that now, it's still there. The pain sometimes rushes back in and I feel it all over again.

But you know...I say to all you right now who have read this far. Never give up on yourself. Never let anyone tell you you're bad or evil. To deal with what you, what we have to deal with. It isn't easy. They can't understand the weight of what we have to carry every single day of our lives. So I say, you're not lazy, you're not a burden, you're not bad. We're just people with problems. It's okay to have problems. It isn't our fault. We never chose this life.

[aeide-thea]

god that one poll that's like 'what do you call your mother's friends' and every time i see it i'm just like. sitting! on! my hands! bc i am Not the Target Audience for that post in so many ways lol…

like 'well, nothing now bc she's dead, where's the Dead Mother option in yr poll, but also even before she was dead she had no friends bc my parents both just absolutely retreated into the toxic claustrophobic bubble of our little family when they became parents, as far as i can tell, and gave up on socializing outside it! so i've literally never needed any language to describe 'my parents' friends' bc that isn't a category that's ever been part of my life!'

which is like. upsetting to say because we jump so quickly to equating 'no friends' with 'unpleasant loser' and while my mother was frequently very unpleasant to me, cf many past entries on this blog, she was in fact capable of being really enthusiastic and charming! it's pretty clearly where i get my own capacity for that from (insofar as it hasn't totally atrophied lol), which is ironic bc she did so much to smother it in me! so she absolutely could have had friends, is the thing, she was just too depressed &c to either maintain the ones she'd had when she was younger or cultivate new ones. which i have enormous sympathy for, for obvious reasons! so i hate to be like 'she had no friends' bc it feels like a really unsympathetic reductive summation of a life that was bookended by real suffering and suffused with it too. but. on a factual level it's true. :/

so—i don't know what i'd call parents' friends, because the situation never arose! but frankly i suspect it would be exactly the same as friends' parents, namely: you do your desperate best to avoid ever having to address them at all, which is not actually ime all that hard? (assuming everyone involved is sighted and possibly also allistic, that is, because eye contact, or at least 'who your face is turned towards when you're speaking,' is a major factor in making this strategy work.)