#it's written by an autistic author and explores stuff like how the main character wants to keep her diagnosis more private

[libraryleopard]

Young adult contemporary coming-of-age novel

Set in Australia

Epistolary format

Follows an autistic girl as she navigates her final year of secondary school as she writes letters to her missing brother, Rudy

Explores the uncertainty of finishing school, complicated social dynamics, and navigating the world as an autistic teenager

No romance (except for the protagonist dumping her terrible boyfriend near the start)

[blindbeta]

Hello. Your blog made me think about a book I read when I was in middle school. It’s about a group of special education students in a school for kids with superpowers trying to prove they are capable of participating in a competition the other students were allowed to be in. The main character is blind and at some point is given the ability to see through a kid with telepathy sending images to his mind. It’s not the same as a seeing person and is described as more like a slideshow, plus he goes back to not seeing when the telepathic kid isn’t there, but I was still wondering if you would consider it a problem that he was given the ability to see in the first place. I was already upset as an autistic person that the only developmentally disabled character is constantly patronized or ignored by the physically disabled characters, including the main character, and no one is ever challenged on how they treat him. Said developmentally character dies in the end by sacrificing himself, which is what leads to the main character basically going ‘Wow, I guess he was able to understand what’s going on this whole time.’ (That’s not a direct quote but it might as well be.)

Also the characters are only given the right to compete because the blind character is given the ability to see.

Book Talk: A book that brushes against the cure trope and problems with inter-disability ableism. A.K.A. This book should have been written by a blind person.

Oh thank you for sharing this with me, nonnie!

The first thing that comes to mind is, could the blind character see before? Because if he cannot remember seeing before, planting images in his mind probably wouldn’t look like actual sight, and it probably wouldn’t make sense to the blind person’s mind. It is true that directly putting images in a person’s mind would be different from making it so their eyes could see, in which their brain definitely (italicized) wouldn’t know what to do with information randomly coming in from eyes that hadn’t worked previously. So I can’t imagine putting images in someone’s mind could mimic sight and actually make sense to that person. Even if it is described as a slideshow. It is still images.

It might work if that person could see before. Or if the telepathic kid was giving the blind person commentary on what was going on, such as, “There is a large, round table just ahead of you. You can reach out to touch the edge and walk it. There are no chairs.”

That said, I would consider it a problem, yes. Mostly because the blind person has to rely on a sighted person to give him vision instead of just describing things to him, and the group was not able to compete until the blind person was able to see. Which is ableism. This may be seem as an overreaction by some people, but think of it this way: the blind person is only deemed capable when he is able to see the way an able-bodied person can. Rather than giving the blind person accommodations and equal opportunity, they waited for him to just . . . see?

I think this would have been a much better situation if it was written by a blind person, who could avoid most of the negative stuff or play them in a way that showed why they were bad. For example, showing the ableism of the people not letting the disabled people complete until they were told the blind person could see via telepathy. This could have been portrayed as a bad thing and perhaps the higher-ups could have been tricked or something, and the blind person couldn’t actually magically see.

Again, if the person went blind at a later age, it might be okay, but I would still prefer the blind person not be able to see images when he feels like it. Because some blind people can’t do that. I might also feel okay with a telepathic person feeding close-up/larger images to a person with low vision, as long as they didn’t become dependent or use the telepathic approach when assistive technology would be readily available.

To add, when I said blind people can’t do things such as see on a whim, I didn’t mean to imply blind people shouldn’t have powers like flying for the same reason. I meant that if you’re going to write a blind person, wherever they are on the blind spectrum, they should still be blind. Being given the ability to see, especially with no consequences for the blind person, is not something that usually happens. And if it does, there is usually surgery or something unpleasant involved. Giving a blind person temporary sight or temporarily better sight is brushing up against the cure narrative and can have some unfortunate implications if people aren’t careful. A blind writer would know this.

As for the part about the developmentally disabled character being mistreated by the narrative, I’m sorry you had to read that. I will say that sometimes physically disabled people don’t understand developmental disabilities or mental illnesses, but I genuinely feel like that is ignorance and internalized ableism and could even be a function of white supremacy encouraging ableism. Disabled people should at least make an effort to understand other disabilities and treat other disabled people fairly and with respect. Disabled people should not be ignored and certainly not patronized by other disabled people and it also bothers me that this likely portrayed by a non-disabled author. It either seems like the author felt like this was normal or they wanted to show disabled people treating each other badly with no real exploration of the topic.

As for this character dying, I think it sounds ableist given what you told me about the rest of the story. I don’t think killing a disabled character is bad on its own, but it is bad the majority of the time, because writers usually have ons or two disabled characters in the whole story. I also think, in this case, the type of disability matters as we, because not only was this developmentally disabled character mistreated, he was the only developmentally disabled character. And then he died.

This book doesn’t sound so good. I’m glad my blog is helping people question things they may not usually question.

-BlindBeta

[practicefortheheart]

i'm open to any genres but my favorites are probably fantasy & historical fiction! i enjoy a little sci-fi & just normal realistic fiction as well

Okay! I’m not that knowledgeable about high fantasy, but I have some magic realism and things like that! I’m also focusing on female authors, because I feel like it, but there are some men on the list. 

Classics, to get it out of the way

Everything by Jane Austen. But I would like to recommend Persuasion. It’s the last novel she finished and it shows. It’s more mature and the main character, Anne Eliot, is older than the other heroines we’ve seen before. It’s a beautiful love story with a lot of pining.

Historical Fiction

Everything by Tracy Chevalier. I love everything she’s written. She does a lot of research and I always learn a ton while reading her books. She always writes interesting female characters. Her last book was lovely and featured some lesbian representation: A Single Thread.

Historical Fantasy / Magic realism

Madeline Miller. You probably already know about The Song of Achilles, but her second book, Circe, was just as good. Less gay, but absolutely heartbreakingly good.

The Thief of Time by John Boyne. About a man who’s body stops ageing at the end of the 17th century. He tells his story, weaving in big historical events he happened to witness.

Magical Realism / Fantasy

Neil Gaiman. I mean, does this need any clarification?

The Binding by Bridget Collins. This book is so good, it has a very interesting premise and a lot of angst and gay pining. Excellent. 

I need more fantasy / sci fi gays please

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and the sequel The Lost Future of Pepperharrow (I’m reading this at the moment) by Natasha Pulley. This book ticks all my boxes: a lot of actual historical people/ events I can research on the side, soft domestic gay love, a mixed race relationship, non neurotypical characters, autistic representation. Mysterious and funny and just so refreshing. 

How about some gay stuff by female poc authors bitch 

The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas. This is basically time travelling poc lesbians. And a locked room murder mystery. All in one book. Awesome. 

Babyji by Abha Dawesar. A coming of age story where a young girl from a traditional family in Delhi explores her sexuality. 

Jackie Kay. I have read her autobiographical novel Red Dust Road, about her search for her biological parents. Her novel Trumpet is on my to read list.

Gimme more poc authors pls

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I can recommend Purple Hibiscus. I have Americanah on my to read list.

I just want to read about young people being fucked up but in a poetic sort of way I can relate to somehow

Sally Rooney.

Okay I have more but this seems like something to start with I guess? 

[knifehecker]

undertale day [long post]

it’s the 15th!! happy 4th birthday undertale!!! normally i try to do a little art or something but this year i decided to do something a little different. there’s a lot of content that’s become core tenets of my experience with the fandom -- changed the way i thought about the characters, how i engage with the fandom, opened my eyes to new ways of writing -- and i thought it’d be neat to compile some of those into one post to share with other people. so without further ado!!!

40-minute Deltarune Piano Medley - FaceImplosion [MUSIC]

ok, i know this is deltarune and not undertale, but this medley incorporates songs from both games so i’m gonna say it counts. and honestly, i could say a LOT about this piece!! i’ve watched and listened to a lot of ut/dr medleys, and this has to be the most lovingly crafted of its type that i’ve ever seen. Ever. a lot of care has been put into the order and combination of the songs (some funny, some sad, some mindblowing, ALL amazing) and the art is so good that every time i listen i find myself watching along. there’s a lot of easter eggs, especially for the attentive listener/watcher, and this medley deserves far more than the 6k views it’s gotten so far.

Undertale Album Project - Various Artists [MUSIC]

Songs From Mt Ebott is a collaborative album project that contains dozens of tracks from a score of different artists. i have a lot of favorite tracks from this album, not to mention the individual track art created for each, and if you’ve never heard of this project before, i really recommend giving it a listen! (FaceImplosion also did a piano track for this album, by the way, which i’m linking separately because it’s one of my aforementioned favorites.)

Chara - tigerblossom [MUSIC]

im not gonna lie. this was my favorite piece of fan music for a long time. it’s a medley mashing a few different songs together, short and sweet, but it comes together in such an incredibly heartfelt way at the end that whenever i end up listening to it i find myself wishing the track was about five minutes longer. they also have an underfell version of your best friend that i recommend giving a listen!

Photographs - FuriousPoplar [FIC]

in terms of “post-paci everyone lives au”s, there’s been a lot of ground covered by a lot of different people, and after a while the concept feels almost a bit...same-y? but this fic covers a sorely-needed conversation between an alive chara and asriel in a way that i’ve never seen approached by anyone else before. it’s cathartic, it’s extremely well written, and it doesn’t shy away from the ugly sides of trauma and recovery, which is so greatly appreciated. it also hit me...REALLY hard, which i think is a testament to how amazing this piece is.

Turn Back - foxsgloves [FIC]

i read this one pretty early on in my time in this fandom, and it’s continued to influence me long after. the premise: frisk keeps loading over the brief time asriel has his body in the epilogue, and simply spends time with him as they both prepare to move on towards the end. it’s sad. it’s cute. it’s amazing. it’s something i go back to reread sometimes late at night when i want to reread something friendly and familiar and a little sad. and its been one of my favorites ever since i read it.

You Wear Your Grief Like a Badge - Draikinator [FIC SERIES]

how do you even TALK about ywyglb? do i talk about nate’s impeccable voice in their writing? how true to character they are with the kids? how they set the scene of a post-pacifist world still shaking with the echoes of the past? the series starts with flowey taking frisk’s soul captive while chara and sans form an uneasy alliance in order to get them back, and then spirals into a tense, sweet, funny, awful, heartbreaking experience that reshaped how i viewed the boundaries of my own writing. draikinator’s writing has been and continues to be a huge inspiration to me, and i heartily recommend giving any of their stuff a try.

A Numbered List of Things That Aren't as Badass as They Sound (ex. Monsters, Suicide, Burning in Hell) - rosyy [FIC]

a brief glimpse into chara and asriel just before It Happens, While It Happens, When It Happens. the prose here is the sort of flowery delirious feverdream you’d expect from a kid dying of buttercup poisoning, and i love it to bits. i also want to mention a dr who crossover by the same author, because it has kris as the doctor and frisk as the stray they adopt, and its also the perfect antidote to the angst the first fic provides.

Risen Up (or, Of Fallen Children and Mountain Kin) - paradoxpangolin [FIC]

oh jeezums, how do i even start with this one? post-paci, frisk comes to the conclusion that the best way to ease the tensions between human and monsterkind is to put on a musical about their time in the underground!!!!.....except this leads to its own host of complications, and things get a bit Messy. this fic hasn’t updated in a bit, but it contains so much in its 140k of already published writing that i feel the need to urge you to read it anyway. i’m really partial to autistic frisks, and this fic has what’s got to be my favorite portrayal of that in ... probably the entire fandom? honestly, most (if not all) of the characters in this fic are autist, and it’s just. very good. i love.

you’re like a mirror, reflecting me - batterytriplicate [FIC]

a daemon au exploring what frisk and chara’s journeys might have been like with the extra distinction between monster dust and daemon dust. i completely forgot about this fic until i was trawling through my ao3 history for this post, and i’m really really glad i found it again. i think i was in the middle of trying to figure out this exact au when i first found this fic, and it did everything i was thinking of (and more) so much better that i felt more than content leaving it at that. so if you like his dark materials and want to see a fantastic little daemon au, give this a shot!

soulless-pacifist - vsemily [ASK BLOG]

soulless-pacifist..... if you’ve never heard of this askblog, you’re in for a treat. i wasn’t with it from the very beginning, but i started reading towards the  middle of its main story arc and stuck with it to the end, and suffice it to say, it has to be my favorite fandom askblog to date, purely for how well its written, how well its drawn, and how it’s one of the....only askblogs i’ve ever seen come not only to a FULL conclusion, but to a satisfying one! the mun also worked with a programmer to create a fangame for its final arc, which is so above and beyond that im still kind of in disbelief. in short: this askblog followed frisk and their passenger after the events of a soulless pacifist route, and continues on with them as they grow together and find their place with a whole host of twist and turns in store.                also, memes.

Shine your light with me, chase all the dark away - FancifulRivers [FIC]

this au follows frisk and chara after the events of the game. unlike most post-paci runs, though, chara has their own body back, while they and frisk are hiding back in mt ebott after the monsters have left to avoid the complications of being runaways and also.... incredible guilt and trauma. things don’t really work out like that, though, and i really recommend this read. fancifulrivers has also been an incredibly prolific writer who’s uploaded a lot of really good ut fics, so this is a great starting point to jump off of for their other stuff!

repercussions - proximally [FIC]

this fic... i think this one fic is the one that’s impacted me the most during my early days of this fandom. it’s short, and sad, and is a twist on the soulless pacifist ending that i was left thinking about literally for months after i first read it. instead of saying any more and risking spoiling it, i’ll just leave the author’s desc:  “You made a mistake, and you pay for it with your life. “

The Great Boondoggle - Masu_Trout [FIC]

the premise of this fic is pretty simple. post paci, frisk is walking home. they come across a Bad Guy. hijinks ensue. but what sets apart this fic from others for me is the way frisk is written here. when this fic was published in early 2016, most frisks i came across were the...sweet harmless woobies that were pretty typical from the fandom. this is one of the first frisks i came across that was kind of mean, and a little cold, and had very obviously had a long upward climb to being the sort of person who chose mercy instead of fight. this portrayal is a lot more common nowadays, which i’m super grateful for, but since this is one of the first fics i came across that really nailed this portrayal, i felt i should leave this here. i also recommend their pokemon/ut au, which is toriel and frisk centric and i also love to bits.

and....well, i was gonna say “that’s it”, but i honestly had to cut quite a few things from this list to keep it from stretching the dash too much. there’s been a lot of incredible content created by this fandom over the years, and this is by no means a comprehensive list of my favorites. but these are some of the ones that impacted me in a really special way, and if you were kind enough to check them out and maybe even liked them, please consider leaving a kind comment for the creator! if you’re the author of one of these pieces reading this right now: thank you so much! im looking forward to finding even more favorites in this year and the next.

[autisticblueteam]

“Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you’ve written, then pass on to at least five other writers.”

Tagged by @anneapocalypse​!

Okay I surprised myself by having to narrow this down from a list of nearly 10? Much easier than I expected to pick out fics I was proud of, much harder to narrow it down than I expected.

Tell the Truth and Run [Tumblr | AO3] (South/Connie): This is a way more ambitious project than I’ve ever usually done, but it’s one that’s really close to me and I’m proud of? It’s got a long way to go, but I’m having fun writing it and it’s been making me fall even more in love with South and Connie which is always a plus to anything. Well that and it’s letting me really explore them more.

Pressure [Tumblr | AO3] (Maine/Wash): Utterly, uttlery self-indulgent this is my favourite fic I’ve written for these two. I don’t even have anything more to say I just love it a lot.

Long Day [Tumblr | AO3] (Carolina & Epsilon): Some good wholesome autistic Church siblings antics during their time away from the rest of the group, this was just nice to write? And I’m still proud of how I wrote the dynamic and the mechanics of what Church actually does.

Left Behind [Tumblr | AO3] (Carolina & Epsilon): This fic got me possibly my first ‘how dare’ so I consider that a success. It’s also probably the saddest thing I will ever goddamn write. I don’t know if I can ever recreate the raw emotion I got into this?

A Little Help from Our Friends [Tumblr | AO3] (Wash & Carolina): Wash and Lina’s friendship is very important to me and getting this fic down was great. I’m actually pretty proud of some of the subtleties in it, and the dialogue. 

Worth a Shot [Tumblr | AO3] (Carolina/Kimball): I actually hesitated putting this on here because I go back and forth on how happy with this I am? I sometimes wonder if I should have made it a little more serious or in-depth but… I’m pretty proud of it. I like to think it��s a good balance between my leanings towards fluff and more serious stuff; and I hope its in character. This is where I’ve fleshed out my Kimball the most, developed parts of my Lina, and examined some of her relationships too.

Honourable mentions would be my Finding Themselves series (aka my two Autistic Character Analysis Fics which are meant to eventually have others joining them) and Transmission (the trans Wash fic I wrote recently).

I realise now I don’t actually know that many other writers off the top of my head I could tag so uh… If anyone wants to do this go ahead and say I tagged you I guess?