Haruka isnât autistic-coded â he has an intellectual disability (and why that matters)
(AO3 Mirror)
A lot of people in the MILGRAM fandom (especially English-speaking MILGRAM fandom) state that Haruka is autistic-coded, as if itâs fact. Most recognize that Haruka is coded as disabled. (If you didnât recognize that, I hope this post will help to explain why.) However, to state that he is coded as autistic specifically is incorrect. Haruka is coded as intellectually disabled.
Now, there are likely two things that contribute to this issue. One is the invisibility of intellectual disability as a whole, and another is the fact that a lot of this has to do with things that only someone who speaks Japanese would understand (such as complex vs non-complex words in Japanese).
In this post, I plan to lay out what an intellectual disability is and how it differs from neurodivergencies such as autism or ADHD. After that, I want to discuss the way Haruka speaks and uses words, the symbolism in his MVs, and how this lends to him being coded as intellectually disabled. Finally, I want to discuss why this even matters at all. Because, in truth, viewing Haruka as autistic instead of intellectually disabled leaves the viewer misunderstanding his story in a huge way that seems far too common in English-speaking MILGRAM fandom. So, I hope you listen to what I have to say.
What does it mean to be intellectually disabled?
Confusing autism and intellectual disability (henceforth referred to as ID) is not an issue unique to the MILGRAM fandom. They are quite commonly mistaken for each other, in the same way that autism and ADHD are both commonly mistaken for each other. And for the same reason, too â autism and ID are comorbid. This means that, if someone is autistic, they are more likely to have an ID. For this reason, it makes perfect sense to headcanon Haruka as autistic. I headcanon him as autistic, myself, actually. But, in this post, Iâm going to be strictly talking about his coding, not headcanons, and he is very specifically coded with an ID.
So, whatâs the difference? In the words of the National Institutes of Health, âWhereas ID is associated with general deficits across developmental domains, ASD is in fact defined by the observation that social communication deficits are particularly impairing.â (Source)
To say this in laymanâs terms, autism is primarily characterized by difficulties in social communications. Cognitive abilities in autistic individuals vary, just like with allistic individuals, but the defining features are issues with social interaction and nonverbal communication. Autism by itself effects how effectively one communicates, but not intelligence. On the other hand, ID is a limitation on intellectual functioning, just like the name implies. This causes issues in areas like learning, problem-solving, and abstract reasoning.
A lot of people think ID is a synonym for âlearning disabilityâ. âLearning disabilityâ is an umbrella term that covers things such as dyslexia and dysgraphia. This isnât the case. For one thing, ID can be a diagnosis on its own. ID is subdivided into syndromic ID, where intellectual deficits are present with other signs and symptoms, and nonsyndromic ID, where ID is, itself, the diagnosis. Examples of syndromic IDs include fragile X syndrome, and Down syndrome. For another, those with learning disabilities tend to have average to above-average intellectual abilities. Their disorder affects their ability to acquire and process information, but they are still able to learn. In contrast, ID affects the ability to learn at all, as well as affecting development and general function.
ID is a debilitating disorder. Many people with an ID cannot live independently, require help with self-care activities, and have limited communicative abilities. Understanding this â particularly, how ID is often a disability that requires a caregiver â is a key point to understanding Haruka as a character. But thatâs to be covered later.
Words
The reason why this is a problem in the English fandom specifically is because the main thing tipping off the viewer to Harukaâs ID is the way that he speaks.
âWeaknessâ, Harukaâs first-trial song, is written entirely in INCREDIBLY basic, elementary-level kanji â mostly hiragana and katakana. In fact, his first-trial song is misspelled in a lot of official releases of the song (âWeeknessâ), which is a good way to get the same effect across. This is not the case across all platforms, though, for whatever reason. He also writes, in his trial 1 interrogation, with only that elementary-level kanji; often only one-word answers. The only complicated characters he knows are usually ones that mean something along the lines of, âIâm a stupid, idiot child,â which can be assumed to be because thatâs what he has heard his whole life.
While Iâm unsure if it is ENTIRELY in this basic kanji, his second trial song and interrogation is at least mostly written like this, as well. At this point, Muu is teaching him how to read and write (or, thatâs whatâs implied), but, even with that one-on-one attention, he is still speaking like a child most of the time to the Japanese ear.
When heâs forced to use or listen to words outside of this elementary-level kanji, he gets audibly confused, as well. In the AVIOT earbud collab, he has the voiceline, âPairing seems to be in progress,â but, if you listen, he says âpairingâ like itâs a question. (âPair-ing?â) He doesnât know the word is an English loanword that isnât often used in everyday conversation, so heâs struggling to say it.
He also struggles when speaking to Es in his interrogations. He tries to say, âI will acknowledge any falsehood or silence,â but the words used are very advanced in Japanese. As such, he struggles with it, repeating, âFalse-hood? Si-lence?â Multiple similar exchanges happen in his interrogations, with Haruka misunderstanding words Es uses, and stuttering over unfamiliar words. The implication is that Haruka struggles with higher vocabulary or unfamiliar words, and with speaking and communication in general. He apologizes multiple times to Es for struggling, saying that he is not intelligent as an explanation multiple times. Additionally, in his second trial investigation, he talks about how he could never do the same things as everyone around him. When Es calls him stupid, he agrees. Es even states, âYou really have no learning ability whatsoever.â When, mind you, having delayed or slowed learning is, like, the symptom of intellectual disability. Itâs quite blatant. (Why is this not fandom consensus yet, again?)
Moving on from the point of how Haruka uses words, we can talk about other forms of word-based MILGRAM media. For example: when introducing himself, he says he thinks heâs 17, which implies that he isnât actually sure. Additionally, there is lots of evidence for his intellectual disability in his interrogation questions:
He considers it impossible to learn another language
His dream is to âlive normallyâ
He states he disappointed his father (not inherently an ID-related thing, but also, makes sense with his coding in mind)
Many answers imply that heâs been unable to live his own life, and he doesnât really have any aspirations outside of being given attention
Finally, we have the lyrics to his songs. Again, on top of being written in very basic kanji, we have lines like the following, which include repeated themes of needing a caregiver (being âhopelessâ by himself), not being able to do what others can do, hating how he was born, and struggling to function. (I have bolded examples that I think are especially apt.)
âWhy was I born like this? Why does it hurt so much?â / âWhy was I born to be me? Why does it hurt so much?â
âInstead you kept calling me âhopelessâ / You never called me by my name / You were always comparing me to someone elseâ
âIf I tried and couldnât say it, you would get angry at me and say âYouâre hopelessââ / âWhen I tried to understand it, youâll make that disappointed face againâ
âI just wanted to be your good boyâ (what did the MILGRAM team want us to think when they included this line? likely that heâs childish or âhasnât grown upâ, right?)
âMommy, look / Iâve done greatâ (calling her âmommyâ instead of âmomâ â again, ask what the MILGRAM team wants us to think when they included this)
âIf only I could do what anyone else could doâ
âItâs enough, I am a âdisappointmentââ
âMy life started in a wrong spotâ
With regards to his relationship with Muu, he doesnât understand why Muu using him would be a bad thing, or how she is manipulating him. People with ID tend to have poor judgment, and Haruka not being able to tell the difference and not caring about the difference between negative and positive attention shows this (although his trauma definitely also plays a role).
Finally, we have the trial song titles.
Weâve already discussed how âWeaknessâ is sometimes alternatively misspelled as âWeeknessâ, and that is because the title in Japanese is, arguably, misspelled, too. The Japanese title is a play on the phrase jakuniku kyoushoku, which is equivalent to the English phrase, âSurvival of the fittest.â More directly, it translates to, âThe weak are meat, the strong do eat.â The character for âstrongâ (kyou) is replaced by âtogetherâ (also kyou) â with the implication being that Haruka forgot which version of the word was correct for this situation. This also works to create a pun, of sorts, as this makes the title more like, âThe weak are meat, communal eatingâ, creating an emphasis on the fact that there are more people eating than there are âweak peopleâ. There are differing ways to interpret this pun, but one way is to view it as a statement on Harukaâs status as a minority, oppressed (âeatenâ) by the majority.
On the other hand, we have All-Knowing and All-Agony. In Japanese, this song title is Zenchi Zennou, which can be translated as âOmniscient and Omnipotentâ, used to describe the Christian God. Once again, we have what we can assume is Haruka misspelling the title, creating a pun. One that is much more on the nose, as the character for âabilityâ (nou) is replaced with the character for âworry, distress, painâ (also nou).
It seems that the reason why Haruka uses new complicated words (aside from the words meaning âidiotâ and the like) in All-Knowing and All-Agony is because Muu is teaching him. It features the more complicated âéŁâ (shoku; food), when we know from Harukaâs 2023 birthday portal that Muu is bringing him meals. It also prominently features Muuâs name, 怹 (yume; dream), which is more complicated, as well.
Imagery
Now, we get on to the non-verbal, more visually-based evidence for Harukaâs ID. Be prepared for a lot more images!
Going back to Muu teaching Haruka how to write: itâs not just clear in his usage of kanji, but also how he writes. Comparing his handwriting, it becomes much easier to read after Trial 2âs start, and his writing is soft and bubbly; much like a teen girlâs writing might be.
All of these improvements are able to be linked back to Muu (both his style of writing and in the more complicated words that he knows), who we know is looking after him. Considering this, itâs pretty clear why he sees her like a maternal figure.
One of the Minigram comics shows the prisoners eating curry udon together. Of the four shown (Amane, Haruka, Shidou and Mahiru), Amane and Haruka are the only two who make messes out of their clothes. Since the other two characters in the comic have active roles, and Haruka has the most passive one, Harukaâs inclusion can be assumed to be because he is the only prisoner aside from the child, Amane, who would make a mess while eating.
Childish themes and imagery are seen scattered throughout his MV, as well, especially his first one. He draws with the skill level of a child, which is a very prevalent motif, and he is shown to sleep with a plushie.
Additionally, he seems to have trouble putting on his clothes. He wears two entirely different socks â not just different colors, but also two different lengths. His pant legs are also two different lengths when he tries to roll them up in his Trial 2 art, and he seems to exclusively wear slip-on shoes up until he befriends Muu (where we can presume that she begins helping him, and even then, they're not done properly).
There are various visual parallels drawn between himself as a child and himself as he is now (for example, the way that his clothes are a mix of his current shirt and the vest he wore as a child in All-Knowing and All-Agony), and he often compares himself to a child wanting praise.
Even the violent acts that Haruka is shown committing are also a sign of an ID. People with IDs tend to have meltdowns, and devolve into fits of violence. The reasons for these meltdowns vary depending on the person, but reasons can include anger / frustration (especially in reaction to not being able to communicate well), sensory overload, and confusion.
You may note that Harukaâs mother reacts the exact wrong way for dealing with these meltdowns. When trying to help someone experiencing a meltdown, especially a violent meltdown, the last thing you want to do is appear frightened. The number one piece of advice everyone gives for helping someone experiencing a meltdown is to remain calm. Itâs also not advised to leave the person alone, either, because that sends the message, âI want to avoid you when you feel this way.â (Which I suppose, for a neglectful mother like Harukaâs, would be technically accurate, but still not at all helpful.)
It only makes sense that Harukaâs tantrums continue to get worse and worse.
But after the meltdowns fade, he seems to not understand what heâs done. Heâs shown experiencing fear and confusion after he hurts something, even shown as his child self at one point. A major part of IDs is being unable to connect actions to consequences.
Finally, we go onto his body language. Frankly, I considered putting, âImagine this as a real person doing these things and not an anime boy, and youâll see my point.â Which is true. But I decided to go a little more in depth.
Swaying is heavily associated with people with IDs. This is, in part, because people with IDs have reduced postural balance, and general body balance. Because of that lack of postural balance, people with IDs tend to slump quite heavily, as well. Both of these traits are shown very obviously with Haruka, in All-Knowing and All-Agony.
In the same MV, heâs also shown biting his nails. Like autistic people, people with IDs stim, and this could also be a version of hand mouthing (repetitive contact between the hands and the mouth / tongue), which is also heavily associated with / often seen in intellectually disabled people. He's also shown doing this in promo art.
So, why does this matter?
Haruka being intellectually disabled is a huge part of his story, and, when taking it into consideration, it changes how one views his story a lot.
Haruka being treated better as a child makes more sense with this framework. He wants to return to when he was a child because his level of intellect then was seen as more ânormalâ. There wasnât as much obviously âwrongâ with him yet. Children are expected to be a little slow, but itâs when they remain that way that many parents begin to become concerned. He yearns for when his mother didnât know he was disabled, and when she treated him better for that reason.
Haruka being severely neglected / abused by his mother would be awful, no matter what, but him being intellectually disabled makes it so much worse. He needs attention and care from his caregivers even more so than the average child does, because he has trouble even functioning on the day-to-day without help. This is why he thrives under Muuâs care; she is meeting his support needs. Likely not perfectly (sheâs just a teenage girl, and she is almost certainly not trained or educated in this regard), but even with the amount of support that she is able to give, Haruka is thriving. Heâs more confident, heâs learning how to write, and heâs eating more consistently.
Without that care, he struggles so severely that he melts down regularly, going into fits of violence over the fact that his support needs arenât being met (on top of all of the other emotional baggage that comes with any child being neglected by their parent). Harukaâs mother continued to ignore these cries for attention, for help, for care⊠Until it went too far.
The way that Harukaâs story is viewed changes drastically with this information. If Haruka was autistic, it would affect very few of the things that I listed. So much of Haruka's story hinges on specifically his intelligence level, not how he socializes. And do you have any idea how many people Iâve seen say, âHeâs a neurodivergent with a shitty mom, but so am I, and I didnât kill anyone about itâ? No. If you are not intellectually disabled, you do not get to compare your experiences as if they are equal. If you donât have an ID, your experiences cannot be compared in this way.
Haruka has a debilitating disability that requires support which he was not getting. He was experiencing ableist abuse at the hands of his mother, and he didnât know how to handle it. All of his violence happened during his meltdowns, and his disability makes it harder for him to connect his actions to the consequences, or find alternate ways to solve his problems â this is all extremely important information and context when youâre discussing whether or not his crime is forgivable.
If you still donât forgive him, thatâs alright. But to neglect this aspect of his character is, to be frank, baffling, if youâre trying to participate in the spirit of the series and understand everyoneâs crime to the fullest extent. And to make jokes, comparing your own experiences to Harukaâs, since you assume him to be neurodivergent and nothing else, does a huge disservice to his story! And, when itâs done to demean him? It honestly comes off a slight bit ableist.
So, Iâd like everyone to keep this information in mind moving forward. Donât infantilize Haruka for his disability. But do consider this information in your analysis posts, your discussions, and so on. Iâd like to see this become common knowledge in the MILGRAM fandom, especially since the idea of him being specifically autistic-coded is so widespread by this point.
Thank you!
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Thinking about Gale's spellbook.
Not the old one, the one he carried when he was Gale, the Wizard of Waterdeep - a gorgeous, leather-and-silver bound thing that bulged with a lifetime's worth of accumulated knowledge. There were spells in there penned over wine and cheese with Elminster; in a flow state that bordered on the spiritual after a night with Mystra, remembering her instruction, the feel of her soul against his. That spellbook was the testament to his success, the proof that he had excelled beyond the excellent -
And then Mystra cut him off from the Weave, and it all become meaningless.
His own runes, rendered incomprehensible; beautiful spell-glyphs that turned from condensed power and knowledge to worthless pieces of art. He has to start anew, from the ground up - reforging his connection to the Weave without Mystra's guidance (without her, without), relearning schoolboy spells. Humiliatingly easy magic, the kind he used to do like it was breathing, except this time he has to study and work and try and try, Tara urging him on with firm but gentle words.
He learns different spells, now. Mage Armour, Shield, Magic Missile. Not the kind of spells that he'll ever need on a day-to-day basis; spells that'll keep him alive long enough when he makes an exodus to the depths of the Underdark, or the centre of some desert wastes, and goes supernova.
The new spellbook is a plainer thing, small enough to fit in a robe pocket (because extradimensional storage spaces are no longer things he can make with a thought). And then he's snatched by a Nautiloid, and... honestly, he'd swear that the spine just wants to hold onto blood-spatters, no matter how many times he cleans them out. The pages get spotted from all the times he's had to flick them open in driving rain; the corners get creased from being shoved in and out of his robes.
And absolutely nothing can protect it from the unstoppable force of his friends.
Karlach nearly sends the whole thing up in flames one night by gesticulating a bit too wildly. Wyll laughs too hard one night and sprays wine all over Gale's new notes on Abjuration. Scratch picks up the entire thing and runs off with it when Gale's back is foolishly turned, and it's only a stern talking-to from Halsin that saves the whole thing from becoming a chew toy.
Smiley cat faces, doodled on the pages in Yenna's untidy hand. A helpful comment from Karlach on the Fireball page: 'AKA FUCK YEAH LET'S GO!!!!' A few lines of Wyll's perfect handwriting, a memento from a long discussion about how infernal energies could enhance fire magic; a few observations from Shadowheart on warding enchantments. Some terse comments on psionic magic from Lae'zel that Gale finds himself weaving into his Shields, and they do seem to hold up a little better now. (Other hands on his spellbook! Touching the pages he carries close to his heart! The man he was would never have believed it.)
He thinks of them all, as he writes new spells. Counterspell, because nothing will touch them. Spells that will carry his people from danger and shield them from harm. He watches Astarion pace before the fire one night and inscribes Sunbeam with a cold smile of promise to Cazador; he glowers at Mizora over the edge of the pages as he ponders what spells would be best suited to killing a devil.
A wizard's spellbook, Elminster told him once, is a reflection of their soul. Gale of Waterdeep's spellbook was a marvel; perfect and polished and resplendant. Untouched by any hands but his own.
Gale Dekarios's spellbook is battered and beloved, covered on every page with the fingerprints of his friends.
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