#neurodivergent child audience

[karmaphone]

seeing analyses of Luke's line 'I didn't think you'd give them to Grover' like girlies thinking he's some uwu sad boy who didn't mean to hurt his fwiend - I mean. How are y'all gonna explain away him poisoning thalias tree then lmfao

[cathalbravecog]

i'm the antonymph of the internet

[artsycloudysleepy]

genuinely love bluey. wish it was a thing when i was younger

[hasellia]

Jax didn't change. At all. He is still the same arsehole from the first time we saw him.

From what I remember; he was dismissive of Ragatha, manipulated an emotionally vulnerable Kinger, pushed Gangle to her potential death and didn't give two fucks that Kaufmo died of dismay. All in episode 1

What changed, is that the audience saw what happens we Jax doesn't get his way.

Jax doesn't just seem "disappointed" here. He seems seething, like a child, and we get a good wide close up of his face just to make it's clear he's absolutely not happy in any way.

Episode 2 seems to be setting up how different people react to being in a seemingly inescapable scenario, a la time loop nihilism.

You have Pomni and Ragatha who try to reach out to others, trying to build a supportive collective. There's Kinger and Gangle, who are stuck in survival mode and need that support assistance. Not everyone is in the mental position to help out as they want to be. With enough time and reassurance, Gangle may be able to break out of her insecurities. Kinger... I'm saying this as someone who relates to Kinger the most out of the cast: I think my king is stuck with his chronic anxiety and neurodivergencies. Someone give him a Lexam and Intuitive. So with Jax...

Jax is playing a video game. To him, this is just Undertale with multiplayer and he wants to see what happens on the genocide route. He's so under stimulated for meaning that he wants to fuck around and find out. If you want to find out what happens in a boring co-op game, what's funnier? Jumping into the enemy pit yourself, or getting your buddy to jump in instead. He may not even see the main cast as other players. What separates Gumigoo from Ragatha? The princess? The goop monsters? ... Kaufmo? Jax just might have lost his sense of humanity in everything but himself. Cogito ergo sum. I think Jax is meant to be a criticism of people who unironically think everyone is varying degrees of those NPC roleplay videos.

So yeah, I never saw Jax as Bugs Bunny. He was always a toxic League of Legends player stuck in VR coop game to me. We're just thankfully spared of his gamer words. Maybe when we see more of Zooble, we'll see someone stand up to him. No promises.

[nanowrimo]

5 Tips for Building a Sustainable Writing Practice

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. First Draft Pro, a 2023 Camp NaNoWriMo sponsor, is a great writing app—whether you’re writing solo or with a co-author. Here are a few tips for building a sustainable writing practice, brought to you by author Ariana Brown and First Draft Pro.

We’ve all heard the advice to “write every day,” as if it were that easy! Translation: suck it up, no one cares if you’re tired. But what if there was another way to get writing done, without being unkind to yourself? 

Hi, I’m Ariana Brown, and I teach writers how to create a writing practice that is sustainable, flexible, and fulfilling. Most of my students are chronically ill, disabled, neurodivergent, or simply exhausted from the daily stresses of life. I know writing isn’t your only responsibility—capitalism makes sure of that! But I strongly believe that writing should be an enjoyable activity you look forward to.

Below I’ve compiled my top tips for exhausted writers who want to be kinder to themselves—and still get the work done.

1. Add pleasure to your writing routine.

Sensory pleasures are neither frivolous nor are they only for children. They’re a crucial part of being alive! They give us something to look forward to when times are tough and we need motivation. Candles, soft blankets, cold beverages, mood lighting, dance breaks, yummy treats—whatever you choose, make sure it’s something you love. Paint your nails a fun color so you have something beautiful to look at while you’re typing away. Make a playlist of your favorite songs and after you finish a chapter, blast one song so loudly you have to get up and dance. Then, get back to writing. Remember, even for the most focused among us, pleasure is a better motivator than shame.

2. Be clear about your intentions.

What brought you to writing in the first place? For some, it was the ability to escape into our imaginations. For others, it was the chance to finally express what we’d been holding inside. Identify your reason for writing, then ask yourself: Am I still enjoying this? Do I still feel connected to my reason for writing? If not, explore how you can strengthen your connection to your inner child’s reason for writing. 

3. Work with your brain, not against it.

If we know that everyone’s brain works differently, why do we force strict discipline and linear processes on ourselves? My advice: find or create a writing process that works for you. Maybe you love outlines; maybe you prefer to see where the words take you. Either way, make space for wandering, play, and discovery as you write. Take brain breaks. Doodle, map, dance, and draw when you get distracted. Body double with other writers, try new exercises and prompts to make the writing sing, and take plenty of breaks to stretch your body and talk to friends. We come to writing with our whole selves. Listen to your body, don’t shut it off.

4. Find a writing community.

You don’t have to wait for a community to come to you! I offer co-writing sessions on Zoom four times a month for my Patreon supporters, but do what works for you. Attend local open mics as an audience member and cheer on your peers. Invite your best friends to your living room once a month for a two hour writing/crafting session. Or check your local library and bookstores for free workshops and author events. You don’t have to do this work alone.

5. Develop a gratitude practice.

Finishing your draft is a huge accomplishment, but it’s not the only milestone to be celebrated. Consider creating opportunities to thank yourself throughout your writing practice. You’re doing an amazing and difficult thing. The fact that you keep showing up is worthy of celebration. Whether you decide to journal, rest, pray, meditate, or reward yourself, a little gratitude goes a long way.

Ariana Brown is a queer writer from San Antonio, TX, based in Houston. She is the author of We Are Owed (Grieveland, 2021) and Sana Sana (Game Over Books, 2020), and a national collegiate poetry slam champion. Ariana holds an MFA in Poetry, MS in Library and Information Science, and a BA in African Diaspora Studies and Mexican American Studies. She has been writing, teaching, and performing for over a decade. Follow her online @ArianaThePoet and www.arianabrown.com. 

[pinktrashgoblin]

SERIOUS POST.

This may have some uncomfortable topics. But please read this whole thing. It’s important to be transparent, and I don’t want Cin to spread more shit.

my deepest apologies to people who are just here on my blog and reblogging my work for fun.

EDIT: I can’t believe I have to say this but don’t fucking harass anyone mentioned in this post. That just reflects on YOU.

Alright, Cin. Since you want a response so bad, here ya go.

So what is this whole thing about?

User @/cintagonisupset is going around telling people this.

I’m already seeing the impacts, having my friends come to me about this. You’ve got my hands tied, so I’m making my statement.

First and foremost: I‘m not going to pretend that I didn’t make dirty jokes in my server in the past, before my birthday when I was 17, a minor myself, and before I banned such jokes last year. With 100% earnest I know this was a bad idea, and I have taken the time to be more careful about what I say around certain audiences. I am not perfect. But in his haste to fuck me up, he left out some crucial details.

1: I was 17 at the time, a minor myself, and was and still am in high school. I was a high schooler, making high-school-tier jokes in a server of other high schoolers. I am not ACTIVELY MAKING THESE JOKES like he says I am, and I do not condone the idea of doing so.

2: I am autistic. I struggle with social cues, with decision-making and so forth. I am only recently 18, but that does not mean I am mentally or emotionally mature, far from it. Mentally I am still a child. I struggle more than the average person with judgement, and often slip up around those I let my guard down around. I am working on this to avoid things such as this.

3: I am incredibly susceptible to peer pressure. In a place where those jokes were made, I wanted to feel like part of the group. So, as I often do, I mirrored behavior to feel like I fit in. I wasn’t sitting my high-school ass down and going “Let’s make raunchy jokes with kids!”, I was thinking in terms of “Maybe if I talk like them, they’ll like me and I’ll fit in somewhere” without fully realizing what everything meant, and without being able to properly process the social queues associated.

4: This was MONTHS ago. I do not actively do these things, nor condone them, I think it’s fucked up and I’ve done everything I can to be better than that. But to misrepresent the situation as me actively doing so isn’t great either.

So with that out of the way.

Do I think it was a good idea? No, absolutely not, but let’s not pretend that this is unheard of in high school and definitely on the internet. Since the dawn of time kids have made stupid jokes with one another. I was a middle schooler once and a high schooler now, I know exactly what goes on in those places. Let me restate: that doesn’t make it good, but let’s not pretend I’m the only high school kid who’s ever made a joke like that around their peers.

My point is, once this thing has become so normalized all over the place, in school, in media, it becomes difficult, especially for a neurodivergent such as myself, to deduce what to and not to do. I have fundamental principles and rules, but that does not mean I am not susceptible to being pressured into this sort of thing.

As I mentioned: I am not emotionally, or mentally, mature. I don’t know everything. I don’t fully comprehend the nuances of things. I am not always aware of what I am saying. I cannot understand social queues in the same way you do.

Make your conclusions as you will, but this is my stance, and this is the truth.

Also, maybe don’t tell people to kill themselves and that nobody likes them? Just a thought. (BTW: As mentioned I am autistic, it’s not as simple as “grow up”.)

TL;DR: I made raunchy/dirty jokes in my server when I was 17, in high school, with a bunch of other high schoolers, and Cin is telling me to end my life because of it.

Please consider my words. I have worked hard to build what I have, and feel it is important to be transparent. I want nothing but to make a positive impact on this community and the people within it. This does not mean I am perfect, but I am trying my best and my intentions are good.

Feel free to ask me, or leave opinions in the reblogs and replies. This is a conversation, not a preaching.

Also, about the art thief thing: I genuinely have no fuckin clue what he’s going on about there.

Edit: I have deleted the “P.S.” section regarding a suspicion I have to avoid further conflict.

[ryttu3k]

A question, spawned by a thread on Reddit! Explanation will be beneath the cut, please have a read after replying to the poll.

This is the doll character EC, from the Australian 90s children's show, Lift Off. EC was able to move independently and served as a friend to the child cast.

For responses: 'positive emotions' includes feeling warm, affectionate, etc towards EC. 'Neutral emotions' includes feeling ambivalent, not having any particular feelings regarding EC in particular. 'Negative emotions' includes feeling fear, disgust, disconcerted, etc towards EC.

Beneath the cut, a longer explanation on EC, and why I'm asking this question.

Lift Off was an Australian kids TV show that aired from 1992 to 1995, aimed at 3-8-year-olds (I was five when it started), partially fantasy but largely educational, aimed at helping kids learn how to deal with problems and difficult emotions, learn about the world, and foster empathy for others. In the first episode, two of the main cast of kid characters find a discarded doll, who, much to their surprise, starts to move independently. The kids befriend the doll, named EC, who becomes a main cast member.

In this clip, Poss and Kim find EC.

EC, short for 'Every Child', was designed to be an audience stand-in, allowing the entire young audience to project upon them, to be a vehicle for imagination. This... may have backfired for a lot of people, because thirty years later, what most people remember of Lift Off is of being completely terrified of EC, the faceless, non-speaking doll.

This article on the ABC, with Luke Carroll, one of the child cast members, opens by mentioning kids being terrified of EC. This article on Buzzfeed is entirely on how scary EC is. This post on r/AustralianNostalgia also goes into it, and this recent post on the same (which prompted me to make this post!) shows a positive response from OP, but with a lot of comments to the contrary!

(There were EC dolls available for sale - albeit with a plastic head, not a cloth one. I desperately wanted one.)

So, I'm extremely curious about how people initially respond to EC, particularly those who didn't watch Lift Off as a kid. There's a thread on the first subreddit post that has me thinking:

"We had an EC toy and I never once found it creepy. I loved playing with EC and played in a similar vein to the kids on the show. I've since found out that I'm quite neurodivergent so maybe that says something? I loved this show so much and have since shown it to my kids."

"I loved EC too… and I’m ASD, maybe that’s the secret"

"Exactly me! Was my fave toy ever. I remember all the scenes where he made cool magic happen"

Another comment:

"I adored Lift Off. Had my own EC doll because he just had the loveliest vibes (still have him somewhere), had the Purple Backpack as my very first school bag, got the magazines every month... it had me transfixed. Diagnosed with ASD in my 30s, which might explain it. But that show was just pure, undiluted joy for me."

I adored EC, wanted an EC of my own, and I'm autistic. I'm wondering if a positive response to EC is linked to that - with clearly projected body language and a lack of facial expression (or facial features!) and spoken word, EC definitely communicates in a non-'normative' way, which I found extremely comforting. I vastly preferred EC and Lotis (the sapient artificial intelligence controlling the building's elevator) to the human kids, honestly!

So, how do you feel about EC?

[snakesandferns]

I’m going to weigh in on this

It’s perfectly okay to perceive any ship involving tfa bumblebee as pedophilic, and to be disgusted by it.

However, it’s not okay to attack others based on this, or to throw very serious accusations around.

Due to the nature of the show, none of the characters of Transformers Animated have confirmed ages, so it’s impossible to make a canonical call like that. It’s valid to interpret and headcanon certain characters as children or as adults with neurodivergency. If you see Bumblebee as a child, and shipping him grosses you out, congratulations, you’re not a pedo.

But if others make it clear that they see him as an adult, and that’s why they ship him, you shouldn’t have a quarrel with that. They don’t ship him because they’re trying to push certain content. The only circumstance it should be a problem in is one where the shipper perceives and portrays him as a child.

In the end, the show is geared towards a younger audience, and as a result, characters will act immature and childish at times to appeal to that audience. It doesn’t need to be taken that seriously, unless you want it to, and if you do, you need to understand that your opinion isn’t the only one.

if you’ve made it all that way here, thank you for reading. Recently, my dash has been plagued by both sides of this argument, and I felt the need to weigh in.

[sinvilles]

additional thoughts: why cancelling the show actually did Orel's character so so so dirty

disclaimer again: I'm unconcerned about redemption because I'm not a fuckin lutheran. I'm a writer and I like sociological stories and seeing characters achieve wholeness within narrative. moral orel is a unique case because the story was cut short halfway through, and all character arcs were arrested at their lowest point in the narrative, except for some characters on the side who were just kind of beginning to shine.

The gist of the matter is that Moral Orel was cancelled because the executive producer's favorite character was supposed to grow up and he had a problem with that not being very funny. Orel was supposed to go from a naive and well-meaning albeit trouble-making child to a very mature and thoughtful young teenager. The beginnings of this were in Nature, and the way people respond to that you'd think this was the point of his character arc, that the end of it was just him realizing his dad wasn't shit and that's the conclusion of his story. That was just the start.

Orel was supposed to experience profound loss for the first time. He was supposed to grow more open minded and perceptive and thoughtful, and actively question his small world and what was being fed to him. Orel was going to have a crisis of faith. HE WAS GOING TO HAVE AN EMO PHASE. There was a lot that was going to occur for his character, but it was cut short and so when they put that happy ending in the finale it feels more like aftercare after a deeply bleak and unsettling turn of events. Just because you get aftercare from a story that only resolves issues to a halfway point, doesn't make a proper ending. The narrative, the writers, the audience have emotional investment in these characters.

Sure, we joke that we hate the characters and that they deserve their misery- and where the story ended, they deserved their misery. It didn't have to be that way. These characters are well written enough to hate, to love, to consider and reconsider over and over. Secretly we all wanted them to grow- even Clay, a character so damaged and ruined he seems bereft of any of god's mercy.

But this assumption that Orel had a full character arc- its insulting to him. Especially the jump to "and then miraculously he had a happy family with Christina the end." Characters become whole through their struggles, because through it they reach a sense of understanding. Orel had come to a couple of understandings by season three- God isn't just in church, and his father is a flawed and hurt individual. Then what? does he just repress everything and go about his life? Hating his father and opposing him was the start of a new arc, not the end of his story. Fuck man, it makes him seem immature.

I mean, if its the end of anything it feels like the end of his innocence, not his story. In one of the unmade scripts, Narcissism, there's this confession to Putty:

shit man he's worried about his dad getting sadder? This child is so beautiful and pure, fuck man I wish the fandom remembered him like this and not like the bleak combined ending of Nesting and Honor. 13 is such an unlucky number. they should have stopped at Sacrifice. and also:

YES OREL, REPRESSION IS BAD! You're doing so good baby boy

Beforel Orel was a fun excursion, and it brought a new angle to his (very strongly hinted to be neurodivergent) character. but it mostly told us things we already knew. and the thought that we'll never get any more.... shit hurts. Idk I don't have much to say other than I'm sad. in conclusion

[therainscene]

Since The First Shadow has folks talking about Henry’s queerness (or lack thereof), I wanted to share my take on it as someone who tends to interpret him as gay.

I’m not going to be talking about his relationship with Patty, though -- I can’t afford to see the play and don’t want to rely on secondary sources for this, so I simply can’t comment on it. (I’m sure they’re lovely together, though.)

To me, Henry’s queer-coding isn’t a question of whether he’s literally gay -- it’s a question of what role his villainy plays in the story.

The biggest non-Patty-related criticism against queer interpretations of Henry is that it would carry an uncomfortably homophobic implication: that queers are dangerous predators.

This was a common belief in the 80s, and the show references it by having Troy chuckle at the idea of Will getting "killed by some other queer" -- a prediction that comes symbolically and unpleasantly true when Joyce finds him with one of Vecna’s vines literally shoved down his throat.

It's tempting to try and solve this problem by interpreting Henry as straight -- the homophobic implications of his child-assaulting villainy will disappear if he's not queer, right?

Well... in my opinion, no.

A key aspect of Henry's character is that he's different. Whether you interpret that difference as queerness, neurodivergence, or simply that he has powers -- the fact remains that he is fundamentally the sort of person whom society looks down upon with fear and suspicion.

If he’s not a predatory queer, then he's a remorseless psychopath. If he's not a remorseless psychopath, then he's a vessel for an evil alien. There's no way to escape the implication that he’s dangerous because he’s different.

Eddie’s character resonates with this principle too. Indeed, our introduction to him is a monologue in which he complains about being treated with suspicion just because he’s different.

Given their similarities in this regard, I think it’s interesting that the show endears us to Eddie in the same breath it makes us fear Vecna. It almost feels like a test--

We know you’ll sympathize with a weirdo who sells drugs to troubled minors when you get to see things from his perspective, but can you sympathize with a weirdo who hurts troubled minors when you don’t get to see things from his perspective? Will you jump to unfair conclusions about Henry in the same way the town jumps to unfair conclusions about Eddie?

My point here isn’t that Henry did nothing wrong or that his villainy is justified -- I’m pretty sure he did commit the murders Eddie was scapegoated for and I’m pretty sure that’s a bad thing -- but he’s always held at arm’s length from the audience. The show plays the role of Jason, encouraging us to blindly hate him on gut instinct instead of giving him a fair trial.

It’s an easy test to fail, because it does seem like we get to see Henry’s perspective -- he has a whole villain speech, after all.

But the trouble is, this speech takes place within NINA. What we’re watching is footage that has been curated by his abuser and shown through the eyes of a traumatized girl who barely understands what happened -- secondary sources who are invested in viewing him as a threat.

Consider that Henry’s hairstyle mysteriously changes during the massacre. It’s one of those subtle costuming choices that isn’t meant to be consciously picked up on, but which registers at the back of our minds and leaves us feeling unsettled -- this Henry isn’t like the Henry we were looking at before.

The obvious way of interpreting this is that the mask has finally slipped -- the “nice” Henry was fake, and now we see him for who he “really” is. But I’m not inclined to interpret it that way, because of all the hairstyles they could have chosen... they just so happened to opt for one that resembles Brenner. (Pun intended.)

This isn’t Henry with his mask off -- this is Henry as Brenner wants him to be.

Fear-mongering over the existence of queer people has long been a useful tool for those in power -- in the 80s, fear of AIDS did the job nicely -- and so too has Brenner forged Henry into a tool to further his own goals, no regard given to the harm he causes in the process.

Like the “predatory queer”, Henry is defined on his oppressor’s terms, and like Eddie, it makes him a useful scapegoat. He only became what he did because of an unethical institution, and treating him as the problem is just as short-sighted as blaming gay men for the AIDS crisis.

That isn’t to say Vecna hasn’t become a genuine threat, though. Will makes a prediction as to how S5 is going to end--

--and while I’m not expecting things to end as violently as Will implies here -- that’s not Will’s thing -- I do believe that Vecna is going to be defeated by his hand. As tragic as Vecna’s origin was, he still made his own choices once he was free from Brenner, and he’s likely too far gone at this point to be capable of earning his happy ending.

But that’s what makes it so important that Will gets his happy ending.

Queer characters have been exclusively cast as villains or tragic sadbois for so long that I can completely sympathize with people’s hesitance to embrace Henry as a tragic queer villain.

But villains only exist within the context of the heroes who challenge them... and in a show about a queer-coded villain who personifies the anger and despair of being abused for what you are, a loving gay boy who breaks the cycle of abuse by learning that he has the right to be the hero of his own story is the perfect foil for him.

[ladykakata]

I just saw your post about ian’s disorder and how it distorts his reality and makes him question why mickey remains in his life and you really hit the nail on the head. people rarely talk about gallavich’s relationship battles from ian’s perspective unless it’s to criticise him and I think a lot of people find it difficult to relate to his issues ig? but mood disorders go hand in hand with anxiety, identity and confidence issues. but I also think its a writing issue because so little of ian’s experiences with his illness comes from his own perspective. so it makes sense the audience tends to sympathise more with mickey because we don’t get to see ian’s personal struggle or his reasoning for certain behaviors and s10 is one of the rare examples where he got to explain his issues and the audience still couldn’t understand. sorry this is ranty lol but I’m just happy to see more meta that defends some of ian’s actions 😊

Thank you <3 It makes me sad to see so many comments practically demonise Ian, and while Ian DOES do questionable things, he's no more or less blameless than Mickey.

A comment on my post mentioned that Ian fought for Mickey just as much as Mickey fought for Ian ... in the early seasons. Remember, Mickey literally beat Ian up in frustration over the situation with Svetlana and the forced marriage. Does him attacking Ian get him off the hook for what he did? No. Does it justify it? No. It's context, not justification, which can be two entirely different things. Ian refused to let Mickey go, he loved Mickey and was visibly heartbroken at the idea his man was slipping away, even if Mickey was trying to cover up his own upset by acting aggressively. Stans might paint Ian as in the wrong again, saying he should have been supportive of Mickey going through the forced marriage and understanding it's not as 'easy' as Ian makes it sound for Mickey to just deny his father. But bearing in mind, their relationship was still very young, Ian knows Terry is a disgusting and violent man, but the sense of doom and horror is not the same unless you've grown up with it and lived it like Mickey.

Ian fought for Mickey. And Mickey fought for Ian during his bipolar struggles. Keeping score is NOT wise in relationships, so I wouldn't call this keeping score, more them trading places in who is asking the other to stay or saying they love the other during dark times.

Another point is that this was all before Ian's bipolar condition really started to manifest, so Mickey must have been even more confused that the man who was distraught over him entering a meaningless marriage was suddenly pulling away and questioning his devotion. Emotional permanence is difficult in a lot of conditions, again I am not bipolar myself but DO have pretty erratic emotional issues that mean I can go from feeling adored to feeling like the scum of the Earth everyone hates, and there's the persistent background hum of feeling unwanted that's lifelong. Ian gets a triple-hit in that he's a middle child (younger than Fiona and Lip, older than Carl, Debbie and Liam), he's inherited Monica's bipolar disorder and his chronically unstable home life tends to lead to the idea of feeling wanted by his parents and forgotten by most. I wouldn't be surprised if he felt like his mother just rejected him/abandoned him considering how often she is gone, Frank has literally attacked him unprovoked and it was only when he grew in height and gained some confidence he really started to push back, and he is neither the baby of the family nor the parent figures that Fiona and Lip were forced to be. The people he tends to form relationships with tended to lean towards lust with no real chance at a stable, happy relationship (Kash, a married man with children, and Ned, who is the same albeit Jimmy is an adult) before Caleb and Trevor, which wouldn't surprise me if he again subconsciously thought he was disposable.

I guess I'm picking up on the side effects of Ian's neurodivergence, and it pairs with a comment remarking on how people are supportive of mental health disorders until their effects affect them, then suddenly everything is unacceptable. Again, some of Ian's actions are not justified - I'm once again referring to him baiting Mickey into a physical fight by calling him slurs - but he himself explains why he did it. Mickey looked past it, and I do wonder if he's realising that yeah ... Ian, the man HE knew and who was proudly gay with very little tolerance for homophobia, suddenly turning around and calling him slurs was incredibly out of character and likely another moment of Ian's brain lashing out.

Ian did negative things to Mickey, and he should apologise. Just as Mickey has done things to Ian and should apologise. One is not better than the other. Mickey's reasons for doing things can lie with his upbringing, PTSD and circumstances, Ian's reasons can lie with bipolar disorder, his upbringing and circumstances. But they are still well-intentioned for each other, and I think they do help bring out the best in each other.

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

i think Helaena can be autistic but also a happy and joyful girl , autism ≠ depression. the way the portrayed the only neurodivergent character on screen as unstable, shunned depressed, and with no importance to the plot feel very ableist and weird , but then they're the ones who made the guy with a foot disability a feet fetishist 🫠

Hi OP, finally answering this because the trailer dropped and still the only Helaena shots we have are from her Jaehaerys' funeral. There is also one still photo of her. If you haven't seen it, here she is, apparently sewing the funeral shroud for her little boy:

So it seems like season 2 is going to continue on this trajectory for Helaena as a character who exists in order to suffer beautifully.

Don't get me wrong. I am glad that the show is going to wring the full emotional effect from Blood and Cheese, not just shock value. The audience will feel the real horror of a six year old child brutally murdered in his own home and the psychological torment of Helaena. It should be terrible, it should be devastating, and I hope they do not pull any punches.

What's disappointing about how the show has handled Helaena is that they didn't really put any effort into building up her character before her tragedy. It's all well and good that she likes bugs and she's touch averse, but what are her opinions? Who is she closest to? How did she react to becoming a mother so young? To what extent does she understand her visions? What does she value? She can be happy and cheerful, or she can be frustrated and angry, and hell, she can be depressed too, but I need to know why. It's telling that I can describe the basic internal motivations for each of the male children, including Luke who was a glorified plot device, but I cannot for Helaena. Aegon wants to feel loved, Jace wants to prove he's as worthy as any trueborn heir, Aemond wants what his brother has, Luke wants to be free from his family's expectations. Helaena? Fuck if I know. I guess she wants not to die horribly.

The ableism is an issue. F&B is full of women who were deemed "simple" -- Gael, Daella, Jaehaera-- without being given much else to define them, and HotD adds another (there's something, I think, to the way the "simple" Targaryens are always women and how disability kind of used as a way to remove them from the narrative and shunt them aside, often tragically). And while it's great to see an autistic person represented on screen, the show consistently has an issue with treating representation as characterization. "Autistic girl who likes bugs" is not a personality. Autistic people, (even those with horrifying prophesies I assume), do have hopes and dreams and feelings about things. The one peek we get into Helaena's life is at the in episode 8 when she roasts Aegon and even that scene is open to interpretation (and gets taken wildly out of context). Now, I can read a lot into the actor performances, but ultimately, lines that could have given a glimpse Helaena personality were cut. It's as if they're afraid that if they give her an opinion on anything she would lose that (frankly kind of infantilizing) "pure cinnamon roll too good for this world" "i would die for her" sympathy from people who are not inclined to be sympathetic for her family as a whole.

(And anon, you're right about Larys. And let me say, turning Larys' clubfoot into the punchline of an OnlyFeet joke also does not inspire confidence that they'll handle Aegon II's eventual disability with any sensitivity either, especially when Mushroom's accounts of his last few months are incredibly mean spirited. We need to start that discourse now so they get the memo).

Sadly, I don't think the show really has any intention of course correcting with Helaena in season 2. I imagine at most we'll have her try to warn Aegon and/or Aemond about Blood & Cheese but they won't understand her warning, and then this will be a vehicle to further their guilt and grief. And while we do need to see Aegon's guilt and his grief, I also want to know if Helaena blames herself, if she wishes they'd run away when they had the chance, if she thinks Aegon could have done something, if she is angry at Aemond for killing Luke, if she wants revenge. I do think, with the public funeral for Jaehaerys, they are going to show that the smallfolk are fond of Helaena, and hopefully that will be expanded upon this season and in season 3 because her death is the catalyst for the revolt that sees Rhaenyra driven from the city, and we should understand why her death has such an impact before she actually dies.

[coochiequeens]

When I say "Stop transing minors" I don't just mean medically transitioning, I also mean stop exposing kids to overly sexualized situations.

By Shay Woulahan April 24, 2024

A 14-year-old girl who identifies as a “drag king” and is being transitioned to a “boy” has reportedly been performing sexually suggestive shows at LGBT clubs and bars across Vancouver, Canada. The minor, who is disabled and autistic, goes by “he/him/they/it” pronouns and is taking testosterone under the permission of her mother.

The child, who was born female but identifies as a “boy,” uses the stage name “Nova Tropica” and has performed in at least three LGBT bars in Vancouver, all of which are adult venues that serve alcohol. Among the clubs Nova has danced at are The Fountainhead Pub, Steamworks brewpub, and The Junction.

According to Gays Against Groomers, during her performance at The Foundationhead Pub, a gay bar located on Davie Street, the child danced with only tape covering the front of her breasts.

The child as seen in an uncensored video posted to Instagram.

Nova maintains a YouTube channel where she often uploads footage of her performances.

In August of 2023, she shared a video of her dancing on stage in a bar to the song “Bubblegum B*tch” and is seen collecting dollar bills from audience members. In another video, Nova is seen dancing alone to the Britney Spears’ controversial song “If U Seek Amy,” which is intended to sound out the letters “F-U-C-K me.”

In some of the videos posted to her YouTube account, she is seen dancing to an adult crowd wearing only a cut-out bathing suit, an outfit she has also posed in for photos shared to her social media while wearing clear, stiletto “pleasers,” a form of platform high-heel most frequently associated with stripping, pole dancing, and the sex trade.

As well as posting footage of her performances to YouTube, Nova also maintains an Instagram page where she posts clips of herself dancing on stage while exclusively adult crowds cheer her on. In many of the videos, Nova is wearing revealing clothing and, during one performance, she even spreads her legs for the audience.

On her Instagram, which was made private shortly after her activities were first exposed by Gays Against Groomers, Nova also frequently posted about her mental health struggles, though continuously insisted her “neurodivergence” was unrelated to her desire to transition.

“The only way they could even correlate is through the way I view my gender,” Nova said in the caption of one post where she described herself as a “demon boy” and said she’s “everything Lucifer wants her to be.”

In another post, in which she wears a cut-out swimsuit she has performed in, Nova said she “loves” how testosterone is starting to affect her muscle definition.

Nova’s transition has been supported by her mother Chrysta. On her own Instagram page, Chrysta posted about how she had been struggling to access hormones for her daughter since she was just 11 years old.

In the post, Chrysta acknowledges that Nova is experiencing poor mental health, but attributes her condition to “being born in the wrong body.” She also condemns the Canadian political parties attempting to pass legislation which would protect children from medical transitioning.

“I will not allow any government to MURDER my child,” Chrysta said in one post. “Forcing a child to live in a body that is not authentic to their person is MURDER.”

The post was made in reference to the People’s Party of Canada, which developed a 7-point plan to protect women and children from the harmful effects of gender ideology, such as banning men from women’s spaces and sports and banning genital mutilation surgeries and cross-sex hormones for minors.

Not only has Chrysta facilitated Nova’s transition, but she also confesses to monitoring her social media, meaning she is aware of the inappropriate videos and photos being posted online of her minor daughter.

In one post, she addressed rumors that an adult Drag King had behaved inappropriately in messages with her young daughter, claiming the concerns were “false accusations.”

But her notice was not the only suggestion that Nova has been in contact with adult drag performers.

On Instagram, Nova spoke about attending a youth summer “drag camp” hosted by “Rose Butch” and “DeeDee LaCraze.”

DeeDee LaCraze also operates a YouTube channel called “Drag4Kids” where he has made multiple videos in full drag singing nursery rhymes. LaCraze hosts his youth drag camp along side Rose Butch, a trans identified female who calls herself a “non-binary drag thing.”

The summer camp, held in July 2023, was made available for children as young as 7.

There has been an uptick in the number of children performing drag, often in bars and clubs, in recent years. Last April, a video went viral showing a young “drag queen” dancing at a party sponsored by a gay hookup app.

Arguably one of the most well-known “drag kids” is Desmond Napoles, who goes by the name “Desmond is Amazing.” Desmond rose to fame at only 11 years old in 2017 after being featured on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Soon after, the child appeared in YouTube and Facebook streams alongside adult men, and was even filmed joking about snorting ketamine.

With the increase in “drag kids” has come further scrutiny of the sexual predators involved in the drag scene. In 2022, a “drag kid” mentor and a former elementary school teaching assistant faced child pornography charges following an investigation into exploitative material shared on the internet.

[blackcat419]

HotD themes part 2: Disability in the HotD universe and team green.

Disabilities, whether the character was born or gain it later in life, are all concentrated on team green characters.

Born with disabilities

Larys Strong

Larys is the first disabled character we see on screen. His clubbed foot affects everything from his walk, who he socializes with, and his costuming from the iron boot. Before the 10 year time skip, Larys seems like a Varys/Littlefinger type, a spy master who knows a lot of things and we as the audience don’t know how he knows that. After the time skip, Larys becomes expressly evil with his disability linked to his evilness. Having his fetish be feet is one of the worst writing decisions I have ever seen. So Larys is the most clearly visibly disabled character and is shown to be a kind later, abuser, and general creep.

Helaena Targaryen

While Helaena is not stated to have autism or being neurodivergent directly in text, her actor aphis has said she plays her as being neurodivergent. She is fixated on bugs, knowing lots of facts about them, and spends her time on screen with bugs. Helaena is also adverse to touching which is another trait common for people with neurodivergent or autism. Atleast helaena isn’t vilified for being neurodivergent but she does get the “disability superpower” trope with her prophecies.

Disabilities gained later in life

Aemond Targaryen

Aemond is disabled in an act of violence by his nephews, one which he is blamed for by his father and by fans. He’s also later framed as villainous, vengeful, and sadistic for having his eye cut out and for wanting justice. This is probably the most grievous examples of ableism in the show as Aemond is suppose to accept his disability and move on with life and not bother anyone about it. He’s not allowed to feel anger or want justice for it and is treated as unreasonable for wanting some form of justice.

Aegon Targaryen

Aegon is an alcoholic and is shown to be so from the age of 12. This is very concerning as alcohol affects your development as a kid. Instead of treating it like a serious issue, Aegon is beat up and reprimanded instead of trying to get help for him. It’s treated as a moral failing of his instead of an addiction that he’s been dealing with for over a decade.

To be shown

Jaehaera and Jaehaerys

While we have not formally met the dragon twins, we know from the book that Jaehaerys has 6 fingers (interestingly this is a dominate trait so it’s most likely due to a genetic mutation instead of inheritance) and Jaehaera is described as never acting like a normal child. So both are born with disabilities and we have seen how the fandom has treated these babies.

In conclusion, disabilities are only shown as part of the team green side and are used to other and vilify the characters. Even if the show writers did not intend it, it create ableist themes and encourages the fandom to be abelist to these characters.

[alleyskywalker]

I sat down to write my reaction post to the second ep of HOTD and…realized Idk how to approach it, where to start. And not because I hated every single thing about it – like with ep1 there were lots of good or at least interesting moments. There were other choices I wouldn’t have personally liked in any circumstance but that weren’t necessarily bad in and of themselves if they’d been in another show, surrounded with other context or other scenes. The problem is how ridiculously biased this writing is and how that bias and the ridiculousness of it permeates everything, even the parts that were good or fine or reasonably in character. We knew, of course, even from S1, that the writing was biased. But this season it feels especially blatant.

How am I supposed to feel about say…Jae’s funeral? On one hand, a gut-wrenching scene, carried so well by Olivia and Phia’s superb understated acting. It’s a scene that has every reason to be there – royal funeral processions/spectacles were (and still are) normal. And even if it’s not a regular occurrence in this universe (questionable), it’s a very good and smart play by Otto. On the other hand, is it not suspect that the funeral of this child was less of a melancholy moment of mourning like Luke’s funeral (despite the obviously grieving family) but focused on Helaena’s panic attack at being too close to too many people, and with the distraction of Jae’s cart getting stuck in the mud (was that supposed to be symbolic of something???). Do we not remember TB shrieking long before the episode aired that the Greens have a public funeral for Jae “just to make the Greens look bad”? These people are known for the worst faith takes, so what does it say that the writers apparently agree with them?

How am I supposed to feel about Alicent’s inability to successfully, if at all, to comfort her children? Is this a potentially interesting exploration of how her own grief, guilt, self-blame/low self-esteem, and complicated relationship with her kids due to their common and individual family traumas (and, in Helaena’s case…neurodivergence, I guess?) have and are affecting her? Or is it just a low-key attempt at character assassination, given that last season she was shown as perfectly capable of showing affection to her children (more than one with Aemond, hugging Helaena and making other attempts when she was less receptive, even kissing Aegon at the coronation despite their turbulent relationship)?

Is Alicent’s self-blame and guilt a potentially interesting exploration of how grief can affect people, of what happens when a person feels they are breaking some moral or ethical or religious code of conduct that they sincerely believe in/believe they can be punished for breaking? Or does the narrative blame her too/knows that a large chunk of the audience will too or at least will find the self-blame and guilt pathetic or unsympathetic (because goodness knows that’s all Twitter/X has to say on the matter, it seems).

How am I supposed to feel about Aegon hanging the ratcatchers? Of course, Otto is right – this was a terrible thing to do, not just because it was politically a misstep, but first of all because there were many innocent people executed without trial. It’s a canonical event, and in context of Aegon’s grief and fury, it’s interesting in and of itself, it’s part of the commentary on the wreckage that war and nobles’ games cause. I’d have no issue with it, except…. Why was this made into a literal cartoon-villain-esque kick the dog moment? By making me feel sorry for the sad, cute puppy am I supposed to think that hanging Cheese was somehow wrong? After he sawed off a child’s head? And why is it that the smallfolk get angry when Aegon hands the ratcatchers but not when Rhaenys trembles dozens of smallfolk in the dragon pit? How come Aegon is held accountable for all his mistakes, at least by the people closest to him, and Criston very specifically sends a kingsguard member to impersonate his twin and kill Rhaenyra, but the show removed maximum responsibility from Daemon and of course made sure that Rhaenya was just appalled by the whole thing. (And suddenly cares about Helaena? I actually rolled my eyes at that line so hard it hurt.)

What am I to think of the messy/awkward/complicated TG family dynamics? They’re interesting! They’re fun! They could make for some great television (and fic lol). I could/should/would enjoy this. But on the other hand, when TB get all these bonding moments, or the potential messiness (e.g. Rhaena feeling ignored by her father) is ignored in like 85% of situations? And when this imbalance is not at all in the book? (When it feels like they wanted to cut/held off on Daeron specifically because he was so sweet and mild tempered and beloved by everyone?) It becomes frustrating, not fun.

At what point do I need to decide that this show isn’t worth it? After all, I think the sentiment that “maybe this is just not telling the kind of story you want to hear/watch” is generally a wise approach. Except…that would hold if this was an original show or if it was one of those “loosely based on/inspired by” things that were not pretending to be adaptations. But when you’re advertised an adaptation, you’re not coming in blind. Ideally, you’re coming in knowing what sort of story you’re coming for, at the very least. Unlike  ASOIAF, the Dance is a fully finished story. There shouldn’t have been any “nasty surprises” like some people got in the last seasons in GoT…

But they mentioned Daeron by name. Tom’s acting is incredible. We know I’m not going anywhere for now lmao.

Maybe I won’t do my usual type of notes/reaction post this time, after all I’ve said so much of what I most feel right now anyway.

Sorry for the depression/pessimism guys. I’m just so tired.

[misterghostfrog]

Alright I haven't been on here for a while but I'm a man on a mission. A week ago my sibling published their first poetry anthology! They've been working on the collection for years through a lot of different parts of their life and it covers a lot of their experiences as someone raised as a woman with a lot of neurodivergence and disability. And they've begun trying to do marketing work and so far it's going...

Very poorly

They've only gotten traction on tiktok... because a group of people started sharing the video around making fun of their voice (they have a speech impediment) and are mostly just getting harassed and made fun of for their disability. And since I'm not allowed to hunt people for sport I'm taking their book to the spite and gay people website in hopes of helping them find an audience

In their words

Little Girl is a book of poetry encompassing my personal journey from childhood to adulthood. The works speak on larger social issues, as well as a troubled home life, and the effects of being an adult diagnosed with neurodivergence. Melancholy and hopeful. Truthful, but never cynical.

The book itself has several years worth of work and has a cheerful rhythm reminiscent of Shel Silverstein to contrast the more serious topics. Such as child abuse, sexism, and disability. Its a long-term labor of love, and I hope it'll find the right folks on here

Only ten

Clean hair, nice clothes,

‘What will your father think of those?’

From the tender age of ten.

Taught how to dress for men.

The line between pretty and a whore.

‘Oh you cannot go out that door’  

While the boys grew out of their clothes.

Girls turned into short skirt shows.