#autism coding tropes

[soullessjack]

idk i just think it’s a little weird that almost every character who gets the “innocent baby” / “little ray of sunshine” treatment usually ends up just having neurodivergent traits and actual negative traits in the show that nobody pays attention to. like idk man it just feels like diet infantilization to me and it’s a teeny weeny bit uncomfortable to see all the time

[philosophicalmisuse]

Victor from From and Autistic Coding in media

Just finished season 1 and a couple eps into season 2, enjoying it lots so far! Only spoilers for season 1 I think, maybe mild for season 2

Just seen a couple of people discuss Victor and Autism and neurodivergence in general and wanted to add my two cents

I reckon he's autistic-coded (and I think the distinction between is autistic and is autistic coded is important) -

- trouble socialising (esp with other adults, but having an easier time with kids - socialising well with people below and above ur peer group is fairly common)

- restricted interests (the peaches being the one thing he liked to eat jumped out to me - thought it was so sweet how donna made sure that he had some and that she was rationing them for him specifically, both so others wouldn't have them and so that he could have them regularly for as long as possible and genuinely took seriously how important it was and attempted to hold back other supplies in case they ran out to provide an alternative but was aware it likely wouldn't work - she looked at why he liked the peaches and accommodated his needs not just in terms of well this will keep him happy but in a caring way for him as a person, such a little thing but damn made me like donna so much)

- the visual language of how he's presented - wearing his (casual flannel) shirt buttoned all the way up to the neck and pants cuffed, just like how he did as a kid, holding onto an object from his childhood, posture that is overly "correct", slightly shambley walk, 'evasive' body language that avoids eye contact etc - ! important to specify here that I'm not saying all autistic people dress or move like this, I for one hate things touching my neck so you wouldn't catch me dead in a button up all the way to my neck, but this visual language/costuming/physicality is super common for male autistic-coded characters as a visual shorthand to express restrive patterns of behaviour/outsider from social norms of dress, so it jumped out at me right away. Two other examples that spring to mind are young Sheldon and elementary Sherlock Holmes

- the language/tonality he uses - often repetitive to express the rules while not always explaining why (example being when jade takes his violin and ransacks his room, he doesn't explain why jade shouldn't go into his room or how it made him feel, he visually shows distress and repeats the rule that jade violated, even when jade explains his pov - victor responds in his face to the comment I thought you were dead, seemingly understanding that that's reasonable, but it's not relevant to the rule as he isn't dead so he repeats the rule) - he's often fairly monotone/expressionless as well - I don't know how to explain this but some of his inflections/patterns of speech are very familiar to me in terms of how I and other autistic people I've met talk. There's something about how and where the voice goes up and down in a sentence that I can't really explain

- disliking change (eg. peaches)

And I'm sure there's more but these are the main ones I remember

NOW!!! onto my broader points

I have seen some people online argue that:

he's not autistic he's just traumatised

This is rational and I get it! He's presumably been alone since a very young age so not 'socialised', he's had to learn the rules of this place and stick to them or die and so on. The behaviours of cPTSD and asd have a large amount of overlap.

However, my first point would be that a traumatised autistic person (which is most autistic people tbh) look/act different from traumatised non-autistic people. Most autistic people that you meet are traumatised, and there's a lot of traumatised people who aren't autistic. Having cPTSD and having a trigger to a specific sound, for example, is different from having SPD and getting tired/stressed/having a meltdown from most sounds being too loud and your nervous system being unable to distinguish between a relevant loud noise and an irrelevant loud noise and giving you all noises at the same level and stimulating your nervous system to react to them the same, for example. In cPTSD your nervous system is likely also inflating lots of noises, because lots of noises were relevant to your survival in a traumatic environment - but in SPD (something many ASD people have and some argue may be a major facet of the disorder that has, until recently, been unhelpfully diminished in diagnostic resources) this would happen whether or not you were traumatised.

The collection of traits in the DSM is descriptive of a way of processing the world around you - and when people argue that Victor is autistic, they're saying that he is behaving in a way that appears to be characteristic of a certain combination of traits. Additionally, he was old enough to experience some socialisation, and had enough resources to experiment with other ways of dressing - there presumably have been other people that have come to the village over the years, as well. What I see in the character is a very traumatised autistic adult using patterns of behaviour that are explicitly autistic in order to survive in a terrible situation, HOWEVER I would argue that it doesn't matter very much

Regardless of whether he is or is not autistic (he's a fictional character and we can never have enough info to really know unless the characters or creators of the show explicitly say it, ofc) what is relevant in my opinion is that he is CODED to be autistic.

The way the character is presented is similar to a lot of tropes in media about how autistic characters are presented. Whether you think that the character in and of himself is or is not autistic, I think it's fair to say that the way he is characterised is similar to a lot of other male autisic-coded characters in media

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

It's important both in terms of how we analyse/interpret the specific media, and how this can impact social understanding of autism more broadly

First of all, it may tell us something about how Autism is portrayed in media. An autistic character in another piece of media who has not experienced the same levels of insane trauma in a horror setting is thought to behave similarly to a character who has experienced these things.

Secondly, it tells us about how the other characters in the world relate to Victor. Why do they instantly see him as being weird, when initially the only thing he does is simply have a conversation with a new resident? He's instantly seen as a threat by the dad, explicitly seen as weird by everyone else, where the young girl who murdered someone is seen as someone safe, and positive for taking care of the child and distracting them from the horrible new situation they find themselves in.

Honestly, he's initially presented as a sexual threat to both children - I've seen some ppl online refer to him as 'paedophilic'. Why is this?

I would argue it's because autistic traits, down to the way autistic people move and speak, are seen as inherently threatening and other. I don't even blame the people who do read him as predatory, as it's so common in media to be presented with people who look/behave like Victor ending up being creepy and weird. Autistic people are infantilised, seen engaging with children, and the audience is told they're weird - even the dad was so strongly hostile to Victor harmlessly talking to his child BEFORE he took him into the forest (something that I completely agree any parent would be reasonable for responding to extremely hostily). It was clear this was something Victor was used too as well.

This is a common trope. A weird, socially inept older person forms an unlikely friendship with an open-minded child - who is often discouraged from being friendly with this person, as they are viewed as sinister and a threat from adults in their life. This is used as a double-bluff - the real threat to the child is actually the young woman who the adults are fine with spending time with their child, as they view her as fundamentally non-threatening.

This enabled me, as a viewer, early on, to discount the information that was alluding to Victor being a threat - but its also a really frustrating trope, because it relies on the fact that audiences do see autistic patterns of behaviour/speech/movement as fundamentally other/threatening. Even if you subvert this trope by making the threat come from somewhere else, and tell the audience that really they're bad/foolish/wrong for thinking Victor was a threat, you're still using the same tropes that make real autistic people be viewed with suspicion simply for existing in the world. Victor is still portrayed as creepy, and still has to earn the protagonists trust in a way other characters don't. He, and other autistic coded characters, still start off in a deficit, at a negative, where other characters start off with a neutral or positive. This really does impact real life people as well!

Another trope that is used that is relevant is the 'weird' character having a special amount of knowledge about the problem at hand that other characters discount because of their weirdness (knowledge often initially only shared with an open-minded child character). This is so frustrating! I even remember this coming up in The Dressmaker, when the intellectually disabled character (I think? It was one of those very generalist disabled character presentations, to my knowledge) witnessed the crime but no-one thought to ask them who did it till the end, and initially presumed he had done it or something (I still enjoyed the movie tho). Its bizarre to me that none's asking Victor what he knows - he even expresses early on to the kid that noone listens to him or cares, from memory. I find this so frustrating, and is again really common - and is also a part of the othering of autistic coded characters - they're 'not of this world', but are part of both and none at the same time.

While this is something that many autistic people feel and experience, it's partially because we're ostracised from our peers because we're so 'weird', so it's really frustrating to see this replicated time and time again in fantasy, horror and thriller genres especially - it sort of reenforces a social standard that's causing the problem. Rather than create understanding and support the elimination of notions of 'weirdness', even if the character is important and initially creepy but not a threat, they're still not of this world. It's still reasonable to see them as weird, because they are weird. The characters are rational for responding to the autistic coded character as if there's something off, because there is - even if they're ultimately on the same side.

This also has real-world impacts. People discount likely threats in favour of fear of unfamiliar behaviour. For example, the whole predatory thing - autistic people are more likely to be victims of predatory behaviour, not perpetrators of it (for example, autistic women are 3x more likely to have been sexually assaulted than non-autistic women). However, there's these stereotypes in media where an autistic character is so weird that they're viewed as threatening - and, in some crime genre tropes, for example, the threat is confirmed. Even though most predators are stand up members of the community (compensating for their misdeeds via good acts) and people are surprised that they were perpetrators of horrific crimes - crime is often so horribly mundane - the media focuses on portrayals of mentally ill loners, utilising coding that is similar and sometimes the same as the coding of autistic characters. Not saying that no autistic person comments a crime of course, they demonstrably do, but utilising a media shorthand for violent/predatory criminals that is also used for autistic characters - as it is much more conforting for audiences to feel as if they would be able to tell from someone's weird behaviour if they're likely to be a threat - can have some really troubling real world consequences. Also not saying that no autistic coded character can possibly be portrayed as a villain - I really enjoyed Zac's plotline in Bones for example, especially the relationship that the two characters had - but it's the focus on these 'weird, socially inept' villians, over the far more common absolutely totally 'normal' person/family member/ local upstanding citizen that makes people disproportionately fear/stigmatise autistic ways of being

Then, other shows play off of this coding to 'subvert' it, reenforcing the connection along the way

All this being said, I really like Victor, I loved his relationship with Donna, and I'm really enjoying the show more broadly. However, I could defs see a lot of the narrative of s1 coming because of the shows use of autistic coded behaviours for Victor

I found it interesting that some fan theories have actually centred Victor's neurodivergence, and suggested that other characters are also neurodivergent and that might be why some of them are here/chosen - I find that interesting, especially because of the use of 'psychosis' in the show being a conduit for seemingly real voices of people who have passed away there

It will be interesting to see where they take it, and I'm excited to see what else happens in season 2 and even more excited for season 3 - but yeah, Victor is defs autistic coded, and some of those tropes do have negative knock-on consequences. Defs something that will impact my enjoyment of the show, depending on where they take it! It could be awesome and exciting and could be devastating or eye rolling etc but still excited to watch

[foenixed]

How it feels watching the obviously autistic coded character always be the butt of the joke and get laughed at and called weird, even by their friends, and wondering if anyone could ever truly respect you or if they'll always see you the same way as all the TV characters do.

[medufasa]

NEW KINNIE ALERT 😍

SHE LOOKS SO CUTE IN THIS PHOTO

but omg she's just like me fr. Shes a black girl who goofs off a bunch, is overly kind, loves snacks, compassionate, easily amused/distracted, a bit naive LIKE SHE HITS THE FUCKING NAIL (in her PCFS asks vid she also seems to be good/have a liking towards art. LIKE ME)

She also seems a little autistic imo which makes me extremely happy bc I also think I am too, making her relate to me x 1000

Hell even the big boobs and big hair thing I used to relate to (I shaved off my hair 🙁 USED TO HAVE SUCH A NICE AFRO THO IT WAS HUGE)

I have a bunch of kins but she's def one of my top ones, and why I especially like her is because you don't see black female characters in media with a more sillier (WITHOUT coming across as the "funny black friend" character trope), kinder and overall different personality,, more than the stereotypical rude/"ratchet"/"ghetto"/loud/impatient ones. A huge reason on why I respect Erica from TETOCU so much too, because she falls so far away from the typical black girl stereotype and actually has a personality. WHILE BEING HIGHLY INTELLIGENT AND GIFTED AT THAT 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿

Growing up as a black girl these types of characters are so fucking important to see. Its a very small selection and I just named 2 characters, but again there's not much to choose from (and it's just especially great when the one you relate to actually looks like you. It breaks the harmful stereotypes and show that we as a race and gender obviously have a diversity of different personalities).

Shes great :)

Another thing I love is how she's in a anime-esc series, which as you probably know we're not too greatly represented there either. And the fact that it's a black man too who made all this,, it always made my heart so happy bc growing up a black person with alternative/nerdy interests (such as anime and even drawing/animation/art in general),, that was seen as lowkey impossible for some reason. Bc I guess to most; black people only like rap and stuff.. 💀

@emezie

[bonni]

me, crying at the end of the fontaine archon quest: I know non-humans learning about humanity and learning to love and understand humans and in that way becoming human themselves is an overused trope but by God does it make me cry every time

ash: yeah that's because you have autism

[soulbornincoldandrain]

a separate post is in fact just the jeff (watching) thru abed (tv)(trope)(screen) to britta (emotional conclusion) direction of thought vs britta (conflict)(hurt)(?boiled potato) thru abed (tv)(fourth wall)(distance) to jeff (solution)(likeable)(fictional) or jeff reducing loved one thru archetype to find a solution he cant process vs love finding him anyways because that's how love works in real life and people have depth and often in good ways and britta finding embarrassment and self flagellation is often lonely and stupid and world ending and resolution reaching her anyways thru that because sometimes love finds you oddly unexpectedly and perfectly like a neatly wrapped punchline in a bow because all ur friends are crying and somebody loves u to reach out amidst the chaos anyways and it works. so u take it. and you reach forward still. sometimes in being the antithesis to ur coolguy bestfriend you are brave enough to be sad and embarrassing and you inspire bravery within others still and people love you. pr whatever. who knows i dont even watch tv.

[the-spaced-out-ace]

maybe happy ending is great because it said "fuck the trope that all non-humans are autistic coded. oliver has robot autism. but only oliver" and i really appreciate that

[the-most-humble-blog]

🖠 THE DAY KRYPTONIAN SATAN AND TWO DEMONS CAME TO EARTH (The darkest day in cinematic history — and your dad still won’t talk about it.)

---

You don’t remember fear. You remember Marvel villains in eyeliner crying about their feelings. You remember purple raisins yeeting daughters off cliffs for a glitter rock. You remember brooding TikTok gods giving TED Talks before swinging.

But fear? Real fear?

It wore vinyl. Walked through the White House. And told your species to shut the fck up.*

Zod. Ursa. Non. They didn’t invade. They descended.

They weren’t "bad guys." They were Kryptonian wrath given bone structure.

They didn't want power. They wanted compliance. They wanted posture.

And they came dressed for funeral domination.

💸 ZOD: SATAN WITH A HAIRCUT

Zod wasn’t a villain. He was a fascist prophet with laser eyes and god issues.

He didn’t conquer. He corrected. He didn’t want your city. He wanted your resistance—deleted.

"Kneel."

It wasn’t a threat. It was a final instruction.

He didn’t monologue. He judged. He didn’t perform. He executed.

He made you understand that your entire species was a typo.

💅 URSA: EROTIC DEATH INCARNATE

Ursa didn’t seduce. She noticed.

She scanned a room like a panther deciding which vertebrae to step on.

She was the weaponized sexuality of divine judgment — beauty not for pleasure, but for penance.

Her silence wasn't flirtation. It was a death sentence wrapped in lipstick.

She didn’t raise her voice because she didn’t need to. You heard it in your lungs.

🧷 NON: NECK-SNAPPING SILENCE

Non didn’t speak. He breathed judgment.

He was autism-coded annihilation — not because of trope, but because he was pure elemental will.

He didn’t grunt for attention. He grunted because your fear was taking too long.

Non was the final question:

What if Frankenstein’s monster loved no one, and hit like a ballistic missile with daddy issues?

He snapped spines like glowsticks. And didn’t understand why the crowd was screaming.

⚔️ THE PHANTOM ZONE WASN’T PRISON

It was an ethical loophole. The only place you send gods you’re too afraid to kill.

They didn’t get locked up. They got sealed in myth.

The Phantom Zone wasn’t a timeout. It was a quarantine dimension for judgment incarnate.

We didn’t open it. We punched a hole through it with curiosity and arrogance.

And three wrath avatars floated through. Wearing vinyl. And no patience.

---

💥 SUPERMAN DIDN’T FIGHT THEM. HE REMOVED THEM.

Clark didn’t debate. He didn’t plea.

He unmade.

Zod didn’t beg. He commanded.

And Superman crushed Zod’s hand, lifted him like judgment incarnate, and broke his fcking neck against the fortress wall with the American flag watching.*

Not because it was tactical. But because Zod made Martha Kent scared to look at the sky.

Clark erased that feeling with his fists.

He ended them not as a hero. But as a son.

And he did it with god-tier Kansas rage.

---

🦖 THIS IS WHY YOUR DAD TURNED IT OFF

He didn’t say why. He didn’t need to.

Because real fear isn’t jump scares. It’s existential humility.

It’s watching something enter the room and realizing you’re not the apex species anymore.

---

📊 MODERN VILLAINS COULD NEVER

They get:

Spotify playlists

Sad monologues

Emotionally supportive armor

TikTok edits

Therapy wolves

Zod didn’t need a backstory. He was the end of yours.

🚨 TL;DR

Zod wasn’t a villain. He was a precision fascism virus with abs.

Ursa wasn’t hot. She was sex-coded extinction with warpaint.

Non wasn’t strong. He was tactile obliteration.

Superman didn’t win. He deleted the threat. And barely survived doing it.

🔥 CALL TO ACTION

🔁 Reblog if you remember when villains actually scared you 🩸 Save if “kneel” still echoes in your spine ⚡ Share if Thanos never made you clench 🕏 Bookmark if you still don’t trust vinyl trenchcoats

⚖️ BLACKSITE LITERATURE™ NOTICE

This is cinematic villain scripture, mythic terror cadence, and pop culture trauma commentary protected under Blacksite doctrine, dark satire, and artistic apocalypse license.

If you’re offended:

They wouldn’t have heard your scream.

🔁Reblog to keep my signal to mankind going strong.

---

[agirlandherquill]

writecamp

welcome one and all to this sunny, summery affair! this post is to hereby invite writers to a not-so-little game commencing June 1st - rules to follow - till the end of Summer, August 31st - i know, this challenge is going to be a LOT and a long one, but i for one absolutely cannot wait!

now you may be asking, what is this game and what are the rules? well, dear writer, the purpose of the game is simple - for writecamp, all you have to do is pick a prompt from a given list and compose something with it, prompts could be a word, a trope, a place, a feeling, anything at all, it all depends on the day (if you took part in writemas, you'll be fairly familiar with how it all works :) ) and as for the rules, well, this author sincerely hopes they are as equally simple to follow: if you accept the challenge, be sure to share your responses, share the game with friends, family, anybody you'd like, and that's it, utilise the prompt from the challenge, share your work, and tag me in your responses!

and now for the important part: how is the game going to work?

each day of summer, starting June 1st, i will post the writecamp daily challenge - containing all sorts or prompts to stir the imagination pot

the game is open to all, and if you join late, no problem! just embrace the writery spirit of summer and play along! (you don't have to complete every day's challenge, but whatever you do, always be proud of yourself!)

bonus part (completely optional, but lovely if you choose to do it) - alongside your challenge entries, make sure to find a blog on writeblr, a writer you admire or one you've only just found, and pay them a compliment! (something so small but so, so important <3)

and since this post is an invitation to everyone out there on writeblr, in order to participate and be notified of the challenge posts when they go live, all you have to do is interact with this post and you're on the tag list!

any questions, let me know, and happy writing!

~ A Girl and Her Quill

~ ~ ~

tag list time! open tag as always too!

@the-ellia-west @willtheweaver @tildeathiwillwrite @drchenquill @365runesofthesystem

@coffin-hopping @godsmostfuckedupgoblin @a-mimsy-borogove @frostedlemonwriter @i-do-anything-but-write

@r-u-living @thatuselesshuman @lead-to-code @sunflowerrosy @theaistired

@phoenixradiant @autism-purgatory @corinneglass @tiredpapergirl @patheticexcuseforawriter

@missmisanthrope @littlestchildofthemoon @morganxduinn @thebrownleathernotebook @rmhashauthor

@lamuradex @fantasy-things-and-such @glasshouses-and-stones @hattonthehatman @humbly-a-doppelganger

@ramwritblr @s-pendragon7 @thelastneuron @heartreactor @ihauntmyhouse

@shiningstars-world @scaewolf @just-emis-blog @joeys-piano @ramitola

@yrndrgn @riveriafalll @lawrencespen1777 @theverumproject @zackprincebooks

@justjariel @orion-lacroix @jupiter---daydreams @vinniehorrible @stars-forever

@thewritingautisticat @whatwewrotepodcast @anaisbebe @appleandsnow @urnumber1star

@chaotictravelerrants @andagii-projects @dragmewithyoutonirvana @a-bi-cat-with-books @fearofahumanplanet

@just-a-domesticated-cryptid @attemptingwriter @kitkins13 @ray-writes-n-shit

@theonewholivesinthemovies @rheas-chaos-motivation @bookwormclover @sunflowerrosy @seastarblue

@aalinaaaaaa

[glacierberries]

favourite snirius trope is severus saying the most autism-coded stuff ever and sirius looking at him like he hung the stars, while laughing.

[loulits]

Mapping Neurodivergence in BSD: A Headcanon Exploration

💭✨ Neurodivergence has always been one of my biggest special interests, and something I love about fiction is how much space it gives for different interpretations.

Bungou Stray Dogs is accidentally one of the most neurodivergent-coded series I’ve ever seen—whether it’s intentional or not, so many of the characters just feel ND in ways that go beyond typical genius or eccentricity tropes.

Whether it’s Ranpo’s hyperfixation on mysteries, Kunikida’s compulsive need for structure, or Chuuya’s impulsive emotional outbursts, these characters reflect real-world neurodivergent traits in ways that are compelling, complex, and painfully relatable.

This list is a collection of personal headcanons based on their behaviors, interactions, and underlying motivations.

✨ I'll be doing deep dives into each character here, analysing their traits in more detail! (Of course, this is all just for fun! Everyone interprets characters differently, and that’s part of the beauty of fandom. 🖤)

🕵️‍♂️ Armed Detective Agency

Osamu Dazai – Autism (Masking & Situational Manipulation)

🔹 Highly intelligent but emotionally disconnected in ways that seem intentional. 🔹 Uses humor, dramatics, and exaggerated behavior as a social mask. 🔹 Deeply perceptive of people’s emotions but doesn’t always engage genuinely. 🔹 Alternates between hyperfixation (on suicide, on outplaying opponents) and emotional dissociation. 🔹 Sensory-seeking behaviors (bandages, physical playfulness when teasing others).

Edogawa Ranpo – Autism (Hyperlexia, Special Interests, & Social Processing Differences)

🔹 Hyperlexia: Genius-level reading comprehension and information processing from an early age. 🔹 Doesn’t understand or care for social norms—he thrives best when people adapt to him, not the other way around. 🔹 Fukuzawa accommodating his intelligence and treating him with respect instead of condescension was a turning point in his life. 🔹 Low frustration tolerance for perceived incompetence but deeply loyal to those he trusts. 🔹 Sensory & executive dysfunction struggles? Can’t dress himself properly, avoids certain textures (like food).

Doppo Kunikida – OCD (Perfectionism, Order, & Intrusive Thoughts)

🔹 Highly structured routines—his notebook is more than a quirk, it’s a lifeline. 🔹 Ritualistic behavior: Needs things to go exactly as planned or he experiences distress. 🔹 Moral rigidity: Struggles when ideals don’t align with reality, leading to internal conflict. 🔹 Likely experiences intrusive thoughts—his strong reactions to things outside of his control seem rooted in anxiety.

Atsushi Nakajima – Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD) & PTSD

🔹 Hyperaware of how others perceive him, even in neutral situations. 🔹 Intense fear of failure, especially when it might lead to abandonment. 🔹 Struggles with self-worth due to past abuse, leading to cycles of self-doubt.

Yosano Akiko – PTSD & Possible Hyper-Empathy

🔹 Deep emotional trauma from her past but keeps it buried under a tough exterior. 🔹 Uses dark humor as a coping mechanism. 🔹 Highly attuned to others' suffering despite her cold demeanor.

⚡ Port Mafia

Chuuya Nakahara – ADHD (Hyperactive-Impulsive Type) & RSD

🔹 Impulsive emotional reactions—anger, excitement, frustration, all at max volume. 🔹 Struggles with authority but is also fiercely loyal when trust is earned. 🔹 Hyperfixation on proving himself, especially post-Dazai. 🔹 Likely has rejection sensitivity dysphoria (RSD), leading to intense emotional reactions when he feels slighted.

Akutagawa Ryunosuke – Autism (Demand Avoidance) & CPTSD

🔹 Blunt, socially unfiltered, and struggles with nuance—his reactions are either extreme aggression or complete silence. 🔹 Sensory hypersensitivity (his strong aversion to being touched). 🔹 Struggles with emotional regulation—anger is his default reaction because other emotions are too vulnerable. 🔹 Demand Avoidance: Will resist authority figures unless they earn his respect.

📖 Other Figures

Edgar Allan Poe – Social Anxiety & Autism (Special Interests & Sensory Sensitivity)

🔹 Hyperfixation on gothic literature and storytelling. 🔹 Difficulty with in-person social interaction, preferring structured, written communication. 🔹 Likely hypersensitive to noise and prefers solitude.

✨ Which headcanons do you agree with? These are just my personal interpretations! Neurodivergence is super broad, and while I love diving into ND traits in characters, it’s totally cool if you see them differently. This is all for fun, so feel free to share your thoughts!

💡 I’m also open to requests! If there’s a character you’d like me to explore more deeply, or if you think I missed someone, feel free to drop an ask or comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts and keep building this list together!

[shirecorn]

this is a bit silly but i have strabismus and i never see anyone make designs with it. so thanks! it made me feel really nice!

I know four people with strabismus! It's actually really common occurrence in real life.

This particular design based on the canon appearance of a My Little Pony character.

In both canon and fandom, she is shown to be extremely clumsy, makes many mistakes, and speaks in somewhat of a monotone. A lot of people consider her autistic-coded.

Both autism and strabismus are great! But misaligned eyes have been used as a shorthand for stupidity in animation and comics for a very long time. So I don't like to pair them, personally.

Apparently strabismus does occur more frequently in autistic people! But there are way more people who have it who are allistic.

I'm of the opinion that you can pair traits together that just happen to align with stereotypes as long as you have those traits represented separately in other characters. There's quite a few ponies who are easy to interpret as autistic, but she's the only one I can think of with strabismus, and unfortunately her personality is easy to write off as "stupid." A good way to fix this without changing the character is to have a variety of other allistic characters with strabismus and other traits that don't reinforce stereotypes.

The same goes for other over-done tropes that combine traits. If your only gay character is a cop, that's suspect like you're just checking boxes. But if you have lots of gays in a variety of professions then cop becomes just one of the many flavors of gay. The same goes for childlike or autistic asexuals, and ethnic stereotypes like aggressive black characters, or tech-support indians. All of these people exist! But they also exist (much more frequently) without those combinations. So adding diversity to your world is important.

I don't think I have any ocs with strabismus, so I'll bestow the honor on one or several of them. I'm glad my art made you feel nice, I hope to do more of that in the future!

[wings-of-fire-confessions]

im so happy im not the only one who hates listener because she’s so ableist and just a jerk in general

i never understood why listener x clearsight got so popular when clearsight would never go for her ass with the way she treated whiteout and even clearsight herself she would talk shit about clearsight’s choices or opinions and imo she isn’t the only “better choice” for clearsight like hello? whiteout exists? which leads me to another point i wanna make

back when the fandom around the release of darkstalker came out, whiteout x clearsight was treated oddly. people treated whiteout as if she was an infant when she’s literally a day younger than darkstalker and it felt so ableist how people would say that clearsight x whiteout was “wrong” because whiteout is “too young” yet theyd be fine with darkstalker. twitter was the worst with this. it was the typical “character is autistic coded = they get treated like an infant because autism stereotype” trope and i hated it. its a lot better now but now I see it happening with sky and i just oml.

.

[catboymoments]

i feel like some of the ppl dying on the ‘lu is ace’ hill rn are so afraid of thinking anything non-human can fuck that they’d rather butcher a character than be seen as a freak idk… like guys it’s okay aliens are allowed to have sex! u don’t have to be there or jack it while they do! also the annoying trope of seeing anyone who’s shy and tends to repress emotions or be analytical and ace-ifying them even if it literally contradicts their arc. or dare i mention the ace hcs around any autism coded character that ppl will fight like rabid beasts about… bc the autistic community isn’t infantilized enough already

let me be clear. i LOVE ace hcs i don’t care if u think a character is ace. but to argue with the creator of said character??? to act like people are weird for not agreeing with you??? to double down even when it’s clear sex is very important to this characters emotional/relationship arc??? idk. kinda weird!

anyway hi fran sorry for the rant i’m just so exhausted watching ppl fight you, lu’s literal creator, on whether the guy fucks. i cannot imagine how you’re feeling.

you are so real and ily

[erlie]

M/M Books part 3

More books with happy endings!

Galaxies and Oceans by N.R. Walker

Heartbreaking book about loneliness, learning to trust and accepting help. I don't remember much about this, it's been a couple of years since I last read this but I remember adoring this. I did give it 5 stars! Spicy.

Dear (Future) Husband by P.M. Laine

If you like isekai, wuxia, danmei and awkward bumbling while trying to woo your favorite character, this is perfect book for you! Support an independent author who is also my friend! Little spicy!

Better Than People by Roan Parrish

Roan Parrish is one of those authors who rarely disappoints. This is a read about overcoming anxiety, loneliness and getting dogs. Absolutely heart warming. Spicy.

Haven Heart -series by Davidson King Hug It Out / A Dangerous Dance

Okay. Hear me out. I know these are cheesy AS HELL and take that protective bad boy with a heart of gold and runs with it. Maybe too far. BUT. Over all, it is a solid series if you want crime bosses and mob vibes (I have read books 1-7). The second and third book are best in the series BY FAR.

Hug It Out is grumpy/sunshine romance where other one doesn't want to be hugged while other does that literally for living. A Dangerous Dance on the other hand is rivals/enemies to lovers scenario with two hard headed bad boys. Smutty smutty!

London Calling -series by Alexis Hall Boyfriend Material

I love a good fake relationship, especially when we are flipping off some tropes! Unexpected, funny, adorable and the second book is just as strong. Alexis Hall also rarely disappoints. A bit spicy.

The Remaking of Corbin Wale by Roan Parrish

It's been years since I read this but I do remember loving it. Corbin is autism coded, in a good way (as someone who is non-autistic) and the challenges of dating are done so well.

The Murderbot Diaries -series by Martha Wells

Okay this is not M/M romance by any means. But there are queer characters in the background. I just can not NOT recommend this. Murderbot is so relatable and funny and I love them and A.R.T.!

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4

[ckret2]

do you think that ford was deliberately coded as autistic, or that it was more of a happy accident?

Happy accident. I think he was specifically written to be The Eccentric Loner Genius, which is a very common trope. It's also a very autistic trope. But "autism" isn't what most writers are thinking about when they're writing the trope, they're thinking about other Eccentric Loner Genius characters.