#ngl almost every nd member has autistic traits but blaine Rachel and Brittany are the most coded

[lobstercardigan]

Hey, I just saw your Rachel defence post (love that) and I was wondering if you could expand on why you see Rachel and Blaine as autism-coded? It’s not something I’m super familiar with and I’d love to hear your thoughts!

YES!!! I love talking about this so much <33

The thing about autistic coded characters is that those traits are usually the main reasons people dislike them which is. Sad but not surprising LOL like how a lot of people say blaine and rachel are selfish or annoying for wanting things to be a certain way or being socially unaware ? And dramatic oh my gooood. That lack of social awareness and not picking up on cues or reacting the same way to things as most people would is definitely a big part of autism. People saying they’re over dramatic or overreact to things irritates me so much cause first of all,,,, that’s like 50% of the show LOL like?? People get so mad about blaine’s reaction to kurt cheating cause it was “over dramatic” (which I don’t even think it was but I’m the same person as him so maybe I’m biased) but like… at least with my experience with being autistic, people always think I overreact to things when they feel like the right response to me.

Very long answer under the cut :D

Same with Rachel obviously cause I think we’ve all seen about a million people say she’s dramatic. But I think a key thing that allistics don’t understand and just mock us for is how we care about things / react to things? Like things that don’t matter to most people may matter to us or vice versa and they’re both super ambitious too so. Like how Rachel is very commonly seen as selfish and it makes me want to rip my hair out cause no she’s not?? Singing and Broadway and all that - that’s her hyperfixation. It’s that thing she just wants to think about and talk about all the time yknow it’s how I am with glee. Her and blaine both can get very fixated on being better and doing their best and all that. Wanting to be the best or get the part or the solo or whatever doesn’t equal ‘I don’t care about any of my friends.’ There are quite a few instances where we see Rachel get fixated like that but then realize how it could come off or affect others and she turns it around. The ones I think of off the top of my head are her asking Finn to purposely throw the duets competition in s2, when she wanted to run for class president but realized kurt needed it to get into nyada and told everyone to vote for him and stuffed the ballot box for him?! When Mercedes was upset because she wanted the closing spot in night of neglect and Rachel went out and gave her a pep talk and told her to go take the spot from her because she understands what it’s like to want something so bad and feel like no one’s listening.

Something else a lot of people dislike her for is her getting into funny girl and then leaving to do a tv show. A lot of people think that was ooc but I don’t really think it was? It’s another hyperfixation thing to me. Like for me I can be so deep into something and love it so much and it’s all I think about and then all at once for some reason I just don’t care anymore and move on to something else. That’s how it works. And dropping out of nyada along with that,,, that quick decision making and stubbornness are also autistic traits fun fact! Needing things to be a certain way, needing schedules and needing things to happen as they’re planned, having a hard time seeing different points of view than our own, not understanding how things may affect others….. all that definitely applies to Rachel and blaine at least I think so. And honesty is a huge thing to both of them and that’s really cool to me cause I’m the same way. Like when they get upset about things it’s not usually because of the actual thing that the other person did, it’s because they didn’t keep their word. One of my biggest issues with being autistic is that when people say things it always feels like a promise to me. I remember everything. Even little insignificant things like someone just casually saying hey maybe we could do xyz next weekend. Like things that are just suggestions or thoughts that the person doesn’t even remember saying but I remember it and get super upset if it doesn’t happen. Especially if an actual promise was made and then broken…. I fall apart lol. And I think that’s exactly why blaine cheated. Kurt promised him in dance with somebody that nothing would change when he went to New York. That they would call every day and blaine could come visit and that blaine wouldn’t be alone. And then he was. And that was so hurtful to him that he acted out. Like obviously there was no feelings there when he did it. He didn’t have a desire to be with someone else. He was upset and didn’t know how to communicate it and mr lighthouse was there and it was an easy quick way to try to take out that anger and he felt awful and disgusting the second he did it. I know I have a very very hard time expressing my feelings or even being able to figure out what it is that I’m feeling. It’s so overwhelming sometimes the only way I can find to get it out is to do something without thinking about it like break something or yell or whatever. That’s why autistic people have meltdowns. Something gets us so overwhelmed that where most people would be able to calm themselves down and talk about it, we just Can’t.

On that same wavelength (sort of) , I wanna loop back around to the lack of social awareness I mentioned at the beginning cause I think it’s the easiest thing for allistics to be able to see and understand when I tell them about the hc. It’s easy for people to mistake that for someone being mean but the key difference is they aren’t doing it to be mean. When they’ll say they’re the best or they deserve something or point out something they think someone could change or whatever… it’s never an attempt to be mean and hurt someone’s feelings. It’s just that that internal filter most people have doesn’t work as well for us autistics LOL. It’s kinda hard to explain so bear with me… but like? When I think of something, I know my intentions behind it if that makes sense? Like oh my god it happens probably every day where I’ll say something and the other person will be like ?????????? Because I just don’t understand how things can come off. I think a lot of that is just these weird unspoken societal rules that neurotypical people seem to have ? Like I saw someone explain their autism as feeling like everyone in the world got a rule book on how to be a human but them and wow that is accurate lol. It’s hard for me to grasp how tone or wording can change the meaning of something because I’m like okay why can’t you just actually say the thing you’re thinking why are there rules on how to say things LOL like sarcasm or jokingly making fun of people I don’t get it at all. Like I had to ask my friends to not ‘jokingly’ make fun of me because in my head I’m like ? Well why would you say it if it’s not true?? Sorry this is very long winded and I don’t know if it makes sense but I think that lack of awareness socially is the biggest reason I hc them as autistic and coincidentally the biggest reason people hate them LOL

I think it’s easier to see with Rachel because she’s just a lot less affectionate than blaine is? Like she’s a very devoted and sweet friend once she really trusts someone but blaine is pretty sweet to everyone unless they give him a reason not to be. And he’s just more clingy both emotionally and physically than rachel is. And I don’t use the word clingy in a bad way like everyone else does because.. I’m the same way? That’s another thing with blaine that I see as an autistic trait and it goes along with the socially unaware thing because. Honestly I didn’t realize this until like a week ago but you know how most people have like. Boundaries in relationships? Like not wanting to be together constantly or wanting space or feeling smothered? That doesn’t compute with me and it doesn’t with blaine either - we see that in New York, New York! We get attached to people differently than neurotypical people do. Like how I’m so attached to blaine. It’s almost like a hyperfixation on a person LOL it’s just like once you find someone who understands you and who you trust and love they’re just all you wanna think about. You want to include them in everything and be with them all the time and I’ve realized that most people see that as creepy or annoying (looking at you kurt calling him an annoying clingy psycho) when that’s not what it is at all??? Like I’ll just explain it from my personal experience for reference. I love being alone. I need to be alone a LOT. I have a veeeeeery small social battery and get wiped out really quickly. But with my best friend, none of that is true. Because she understands me and how I function and lets me be myself and I just love her! Like I’m just like yes I wanna hang out every second that you aren’t busy and talk 24/7 and know your schedule and all that. And it’s ruined a lot of my friendships honestly because I guess most people don’t experience that? Like they need time away and don’t wanna constantly talk and I just didn’t realize that and it’s hard for me to understand. And that’s exactly how blaine is with kurt and why that episode makes me So Sad because like. I don’t know I know pretty much everyone collectively agrees that blaine was in the wrong there and IT MAKES ME SAD LOL :( he just loves Kurt so much and loves being with him and being near him and talking to him and hanging out with him and :(( honestly I still really don’t understand why people want time away or think you can be Too in love with someone because . Well Autism. But it’s just like…. That kind of stuff doesn’t compute with us we don’t pick up on oh hey maybe this thing I’m doing is secretly annoying the other person because our perception of that stuff is different.

That’s my number one thing with blaine that makes me :((( like. People expect him (and autistics in general) to just. Understand that kind of stuff when we just don’t? And instead of just communicating their thoughts or telling us what they want us to do they expect us to just Know? Somehow?? And get mad when we don’t? And that folks is why, contrary to popular belief, I think autistics have WAY better communication skills than allistics do cause we JUST SAY IT INSTEAD OF EXPECTING PEOPLE TO READ OUR MINDS ?!??! LMAO I literally still don’t get it but like. The vast majority of Rachel and blaine’s problems with people in the show could’ve been solved in about 5 minutes if the people who were annoyed with them would’ve just explained that they were annoyed and why.

AND!!!!!!!! My favorite talking point tbh when people let me ramble about autistic blaine is just the entirety of klaine before original song. Kurt is openly being flirty as hell and giving him heart eyes and all this for months and blaine does not one single time pick up on it and I think that’s beautiful and goes right along with the idea that autistics are oblivious cause like. Oh my god I’m gonna ramble again I’m so sorry but this is another thing I relate to blaine so hard on. Like knowing Kurt’s coffee order and paying for his stuff and being physically affectionate and sweet and all that…. It’s not inherently romantic for us it’s just. What we do when we care about someone? Like how in s4 blaine is always holding Tina’s hand and hugging her and snuggling up with people and giving cheek kisses and all that ITS HOW I AM TOO AND IT DRIVES ME BONKERS HOW EVERYONE ASSUMES ITS ROMANTIC??? LOL but yeah he didn’t pick up on Kurt’s (obvious to most people) flirting because like? Those are just nice things to do or say to people when you care about them to us like if you like me romantically JUST SAY IT LMFAOO my poor baby didn’t know :( and this is so funny to me but like. The blackbird scene when blaine realizes he Does like kurt like that? I didn’t know that’s what was happening when I watched it the first time LMAO he’s just making a face I thought he was just sad cause pavarotti died and cause kurt was sad and thought kurt’s voice was pretty. And then I saw the kiss scene and I was like Oh okay I missed that memo HELPPP I call that The Blaines Autism-Ception™️

BUT. This is the last point I’ll make I swear but you know in silly love songs where blaine says “I don’t know what I’m doing. I pretend like I do and I know how to act it out in song” YEAH. That is autism I don’t care I’m not open to any other suggestions or constructive criticism that is Me and it’s so personal oh my god. I’ve seen so so many people say blaine was good in season 2 and then annoying after that and it fills me with so much rage because HE WAS SO OBVIOUSLY MASKING IN SEASON TWO?????? LIKE ITS OBVIOUS TO ME IN GENERAL BUT ESPECIALLY THAT LINE HELLO??? My theory (and it’s canon because I am blaine actually and I said so) is that Dalton was so safe for blaine because he could blend in. The uniforms and the way they’re expected to carry themselves and talk and act and all that? That was So easy for blaine to just slip into and go with the crowd and fit in. And people liked him that way. And singing is clearly the thing that 1. He LOVES and helps him express himself and 2. He’s recognized for. He was good. Everyone thought he was good. We know from the whole show that the number one thing he craves is validation. He’s never felt good enough to his family or to himself and the things he did get that validation from were academics and music. And I think it’s the same for Rachel! They’ve both always felt so different and left out. It’s like well if no one likes me for me at least they like me for my talents! So they throw themselves into that. The amount of hurt on blaine’s face when kurt makes that “blaine and the pips” comment CAUSES ME SO MUCH PAIN GOD he never meant to leave people out :(( but I think that because kurt is just so unapologetically himself, blaine naturally opened up around him. They had the same interests and they loved listening to each other ramble and talk about their passions and sing and that was just amplified when blaine started hanging out with Kurt’s friends. And when kurt saw those glimpses of the real blaine, he encouraged him and loved it and that to me is why blaine seems “annoying” (no offense but everyone who calls him annoying should die) because he stopped just trying to blend in and be someone else because kurt loved him for exactly who he was. And that’s why I love klaine so much god especially s2 klaine just :(( they saved each other they really did and I don’t think Rachel was ever really masking but rather her turning point was when she too realized that some people loved her for exactly who she was and I think blaine was a big part of that honestly because they can relate to each other on so many levels and don’t have to tiptoe around each other like they do with other people. Especially for Rachel like blaine understand her passion and her attitude and didn’t assume her honesty was meanness and its so <3333

In conclusion I love my autistic Anderberry twins and think they deserve the whole entire world And I’m sorry this response was so long LOL you opened the floodgates asking me to explain something I’ve been analyzing the everloving shit out of for a year so thank you but also my apologies LMAO