#autistic Newt scamander

[salientseraph]

Where are my newt scamander enjoyers!!!!

[afrenchaugurey]

So... I quit my WIP yesterday, just the time for a little fluffy soothing Yule fic. I wrote that short OS in a couple of hours yesterday and posted right away on an impulse because I missed and needed them.

"A soft Yule"

https://archiveofourown.org/works/52428934

I hope you'll enjoy and Happy Holidays no matter what you celebrate (or don’t).

[themysteriousphoenix]

Almost At Peace

I wrote something. I am surprised as the rest of you...

After the election and all of the chaos that came with it, Queenie gets a little pep talk from none other than Newt Scamander.

/OS/

https://archiveofourown.org/works/49095490

[uefb]

Hey, so I just watched the third Fantastic Beasts movie and I was wondering if you noticed any autistic traits of Newt's in that one? I remember spotting so many in the first two, so I was kind of disappointed that I wasn't able to find anything new this time. (Honestly, it felt like there wasn't much character exploration at all with Newt, except maybe at the very end?)

Hi, beanwood! Thanks for the ask. It’s interesting you noticed this! Because I will admit that I noticed less of Newt’s autistic qualities in the 3rd film myself (though I did notice some!). I think there are a number of reasons for this decrease — in fact, it is something @afrenchaugurey and I have discussed quite a few times actually! I’ll go into that later. First I’ll share what I did notice (from memory), when viewing Newt through an autistic lens as an autistic & neurodivergent person watching Secrets of Dumbledore (SOD/FB3).

(I’d like to apologise in advance for some language that might not be fully autistic-affirming moving forward. While I am autistic myself, I am also a researcher in fields that have traditionally pathologised autistic traits, and my language unintentionally reflects my training on occasion. Unfortunately, I currently do not have the spoons to go through and ensure that everything sounds appropriate. I therefore appreciate your understanding and patience.)

Anyway, while I agree with you that there are less autistic traits than in previous films, below are some arguably autistic traits or co-occurring indicators (based on my own experience and knowledge of clinical & empirical research) that I noticed! (Though these are not exactly new, which is what you may have been hoping for.)

Newt does stim quite a bit in the SOD/FB3, though it is subtle, mostly relegated to his coat pockets and consistent but very slight rocking/fidgeting/re-adjusting. You can see a rather crappy TikTok video (as I wasn’t doing edits on my computer yet) I made a few years ago (on an acct that is no longer active) highlighting Newt’s exceptionally subtle stimming in the first hour of FB3 here.

Newt continues to avoid eye contact during both one-on-one interactions and when addressing groups.

Newt does not always seem to notice subtle emotional nuances or jokes in group settings.

Newt seems, reasonably, attached to his case when Bunty takes it from him, even wordlessly asking Dumbeldore about it with a hand motion at one point. This could be interpreted as his case being a fixture of routine or comfort, common in autistic folks.

Newt’s flat affect, in this film, seems to be somewhat of a a boon to interacting with high-profile officials, as he seems somewhat unbothered by the high stakes of the situations and the potential social & political risks of simply walking up to — say — Herr Vogel, for example.

Additionally — regarding special interest — his hyperfocus on his creatures while talking with Theseus’ jailer in the Erkstag seems out-of-step with what one might expect from someone about to walk into a pseudo-authoritarian prison setting.

When Newt finds Theseus in the Erkstag, he answers Theseus’ questions about the creature situation by somewhat info-dumping about a laboratory experiment he’d conducted on creature behaviour to explain his reasoning. He seems not to entirely notice that that response probably wasn’t that reassuring to Theseus at all.

Newt does not reciprocate social interactions on several occasions — he misses his brother Theseus’ social cues in the first big group scene; he does not verbally reply to several characters in the films (such as Herr Vogel’s assistant), even when such reciprocal communication (or even basic serve & return) might be expected.

Newt does seem to lose some access to speech under extreme pressure during his back-and-forth with grindelwald about the Qilin twins. (This is reflected more in Redmayne’s performance than the script, IIRC.) While this is typical for many people, it harkens to newt’s earlier characterisations.

Newt utterly misses the loaded communication from Bunty while he has his case open toward the end of the film in Bhutan (when Tina’s picture is visible). Then, Bunty says something in response to Newt saying you don’t know what you have until it’s gone (referring to his case), which was apparently in reference to her own crush on Newt (now that Newt is pretty obviously with Tina). Newt did not seem to clock this comment as anything at all. (…..and, frankly, neither did I. I had to ask my wife to explicitly explain the scene to me after my 4th or so rewatch. I remain clueless and it is lucky I am married, given my utter inability to read romantic nuance.)

So yeah, I agree with you that the last film demonstrates fewer autistic traits consistent with Newt’s behaviour in the first 2 films, apart from those marked final scenes (Tina/newt, newt & dumbledore.) One could argue that the noticeable behaviour in the scene between Tina & Newt outside the bakery is due to either (a) the removal of Newt from a high-stress, goal-focused heist situation into a more intimate personal situation combined with (b) social anxiety manifesting around people he cares deeply about (particularly given his history of miscommunication with Tina), or social anxiety around romantic situations in general. It’s also possible that (c) a heightened sensitivity to physiological cues associated with anxiety or ‘butterflies,’ due to sensory sensitivity affects his behaviour in the Newtina scene — physiological stress (in my anecdotal, personal experience) can make one flustered or struggle with speech, as attention is repeatedly and emphatically and uncomfortably drawn elsewhere in the body. (Or it could be something ENTIRELY different, like a script rewrite or massive editing that jettisoned consistent character development.) But, whatever the case — yes, I agree Newt seems most…. Well… Newt! in his interactions with Tina and Dumbledore at the end of the film.

(Though if you haven’t seen the missing scene of Theseus & Newt between Newt leaving China and Theseus & Newt going to Hogsmeade… That’s rather a treasure trove of autistic-coded Newt, imho!! You can watch it here.)

As for the reasons why this change may have happened… I believe there are a few possibilities…

Personally, I think the fact that Secrets of Dumbledore (SoD/FB3) is structured more like a “heist” film than the earlier FB films plays a big role in that — character development was secondary to plot (which was, admittedly, a bit convoluted).

From an out-of-world (e.g., non-character, non-plot, non-worldbuilding perspective), I think it’s quite possible that Warner Brothers & co. were trying to appeal to as broad an audience as possible. I say this for a few reasons… (a) reactions to Newt as a character back in 2016 and 2018 were as polarised as you would expect for an autistic-coded main character in a mainstream action/adventure series. This might have inspired a shift in characterisation in FB3. Additionally, (b) by 2022, FB3—according to Warner Bro.—needed to be a box office hit. It was affected by Covid filming issues, JKR’s continued inane & controversial comments, actor drama & controversy, and generally non-HP level earnings at the box office for Crimes of Grindelwald/FB2…. Messy! Producers might have thought a less socially awkward/autistic Newt would make it more palatable. I haven’t seen any evidence of producers’ defending newt’s characterisation since the FB2 era. But who knows. This is all guesswork.

However, from an in-universe perspective, some time has passed since CoG/FB2. Based on Lally’s comments in Jacob’s bakery at the beginning of the film, approximately 1 year has passed (1927/8ish?). According to the screenplay, 5 years have passed (1932). (I tend to align myself with the 1932 timeline, due to subtle historical indicators; my own beliefs about Tina & Newt’s different characterisations in FB3; and the lack of lasting impact Leta’s death seems to have on Theseus & Newt by the time FB3 rolls around.) Anyway. I mention the time skip because I think it’s possible that a time skip allows for Newt’s character to minorly shift in a few ways…. (a) It allows Newt to settle into his confidence as a respected magizoologist, as well as gain distance from (i) World War 1 and (ii) young adulthood insecurities — trauma, anxiety, and diminished sense of self and belonging can exacerbate traits of neurodivergence. (b) A time skip additionally — (theoretically) — allows for Newt to become more comfortable with people like Jacob, Theseus, Dumbledore etc. (and for them to become more used to him!), potentially further diminishing Newt’s anxiety or certain autistic traits. Because autistic traits like stimming, for example, often correlate with higher levels of social stress or attempts to manage uncontrollable situations in controllable ways, Newt may rely less on these self-soothing methods because there is frankly less of a need. Conversely…

Newt might also be more self-aware by FB3. He’s in his 30s by now. It’s possible that he’s masking his autistic traits during the middle of the film due to the political environment and high stakes situation in which he is functioning.

Anyway! Long story short, those are my thoughts!!!!! (Hope you actually wanted them, because you tapped into UEFB special interest, infodump mode.) I’m sure there’s more to be said, but that’s all my old brain can do for now. Thanks for the ask, beanwood, and I hope you are well!

Finally, I’m curious: What inspired you to ask me this in particular? Was it my utter flooding of the #autisticNewtScamander tag over the past few years? A particular post? My fics? Byyye.

[warmerthanhotcoco]

quiet space

You're playing Quidditch with the other Gryffindors when you see Newt Scamander walking into the Forbidden Forest. Of course you fake an injury and slip away to check on him. Just out of curiosity. …Right? When inside the Forest, he finds you instead.

"Oi! Quit daydreaming and fly!" "Are you even listening?" You turned around and shook your head in apology. "Ah, sorry." You waited until a good half-hour of the practice had passed to bang your arm on a goalpost, successfully injuring yourself. The Captain sighed in disappointment and told you off for a solid ten minutes before sending you off to Madam Pomfrey. Wasting an idle fifteen minutes battling Peeves in the corridors, you ran back to the Quidditch pitch knowing the Gryffindors would have left. But to your dismay, you couldn't find the one Hufflepuff either. Where did he go?

You grabbed your broom and took off, swirling around the grounds before landing in an opening in the Forest. Just when you did, something moved by the tree behind you.

Whipping your wand out, you spun around, broom held mid-air like a baton ready to bash the beast's head. But there was no beast in sight. You frowned, narrowing your eyes and mumbling a revealing charm. A single leaf wiggled in response. Slowly, a twig detached itself, climbed down the tree to your eye level, and stood on a lower branch.

You chuckled to yourself, lowering your defence wards and weapons before taking a step closer to the tree. "Hello there," you gave the Bowtruckle a little wave. The two leaves atop its head twitched in caution. It squeaked and ran, disappearing into the foliage. "Hey, wait! Oh come on, I'm not that scary!"

"Not at all, he's j-just extremely s-shy," a soft, low voice stammered a little to your left. You looked around to find a young boy in yellow robes fixing his glasses, the Bowtruckle on his shoulder trying desperately to hide in his ridiculously messy mop of hair. Beautiful, glittery hair.

"Well, then I shan't be surprised if Bowtruckles were your favourite species," you grinned, smacking his upper arm, laughing when he jumped at the touch. "See?"

"S… Sorry, just bad with…" Newt Scamander waved at your hands vaguely.

"Physical touch?"

He nodded, head tilted low.

"Aww, sorry. You'll get used to it," you smiled. "Shoulda prepared yourself for it when you first agreed to be best friends with clingy me." With that, you sat on the grass, laid your broom beside you, and patted the ground. Newt nibbled the inside of his cheek, weighing the pros and cons of spending a free afternoon with you in the forest, before quickly sitting across from you.

You both crossed your legs and removed your cloaks –– the forest was far too warm. You tossed yours against the tree, striking perfectly and letting it sink to rest on the roots. Newt shuffled over, picked it up, patted the poor fabric, folded it neatly and placed it atop his own. You could see a subtle head-shake, lips twitching at the tips. "What's so funny? I'm tired from practice, okay?!"

He nodded, letting out a chuckle before beckoning the Bowtruckle down. "Say hello," he patted it.

A low grunt and a wave followed, making you laugh. "Oh, you're hardly friendly. Hello. Say, Scamander, why are you here anyway? Don't––" you added, when he opened his mouth warily. "Don't tell me you just walked in, I saw you coming in here an hour ago."

"I… Ju– Just…" He gulped, eyes darted back up. Seeing you waiting with a patient smile, his shoulders relaxed a bit. "I come here… to s… study."

"You study here? Merlin's beard, the Forbidden Forest is your quiet space? Takes a damn lot of courage to even come in here, you're in the wrong house!" You clapped, laughing and cheering. "Makes sense. You do love animals, it would make sense to want to study in the middle of a bloody jungle. And for someone who's boggart is an office desk…"

His mouth twitched in a smirk, making you laugh. "It's not exactly Care of Magical Creatures, though…"

"Oh?"

He nodded again.

"Let me take a wild guess." He looked up, eyes far off but alert, the way they always were. "You're writing your own book on magical beings?"

"…" He gulped and shook his head vigorously, hair flying. "No, no, just ta..king my own notes," he denied slowly.

"If that's what you call it for now, sure," you flashed a grin. "I don't know about your writing skills, but I do know you're mad about these ones," you waved at the Bowtruckle, holding out your pinky finger, waiting. The creature pulled a face but relented. You felt a little leafy twig wrapping around your finger and glanced at Newt, beaming with pride. "Look! He likes me!"

Newt was probably surprised too, the way he smiled a little grin. "Who wouldn't?" you heard him mutter.

"I heard that," you smirked, holding out your free hand. The Hufflepuff gazed at it for three long seconds before clasping your hand in his own. "…"

"Wanna go back inside or stay? I could bribe a Prefect of ours to help get in after curfew."

"… Stay." He didn't stutter this time.

[tua-simp]

I need to autism out rn, I started watching Fantastic Beasts, I felt very close to Newt, found out Newt is supposed to be autistic, freaked out, found out he has a kid, then thought about if his kid would also have autism and I want to say yes, so I am now drawing fanart of Newt and his child (who can someone please name, I’ll do it if I have to) just stimmy and line up animal toys

[freedomforthewin]

Happy Autistic Pride Day!!!

[icarus-last-fall]

okay so wrong fandom, wrong character, wrong everything but

asexual Newt Scamander

it just makes so much sense in my head, he’s ace but at first he doesn’t know it cause like he’s the type to learn how babies are made just because of magical creatures and he has a very scientific vision of it like it’s just a way of reproduction and he figures everyone feels like that and then one day queenie reads his mind and talks to him about this and he learns that a majority of people actually enjoy sex and the idea of it and oh he’s asexual

I hope this makes sense somehow

[dmitri-smerdyakov]

Fuck JK Rowling but it makes me so angry to think we could have had a complete Fantastic Beasts series with an autistic lead who isn’t a total stereotype, who is loveable, who has a love interest instead of just being infantilised…and instead we’re getting a seven season Harry Potter reboot/remake that no one asked for or wanted on HBO Max.

When I was going through the process of my autism diagnosis, feeling anxious and worried about what being diagnosed would mean, knowing that Newt Scamander - a character who is adored by so many in a major franchise - was being played as autistic helped me tremendously. I saw much of myself in Newt, and it made me feel seen that an autistic person like myself could be the hero, that Newt wasn’t a joke or stereotype. It was so important to me coming to terms with my diagnosis that a character I loved was like me and not limited by being autistic.

I’ve mentioned this before but on the opening day of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore in the UK, there was a boy on the row in front of me. When Newt came onscreen, he started bouncing and flapping his hands excitedly - like me, he was autistic and saw himself represented on the big screen.

“But Luna Lovegood” - you know what, controversial but fuck your “but Luna Lovegood”. Her actress sided with the TERF, and Luna is NOT confirmed to be autistic, it’s just a popular fan headcanon. Meanwhile Newt Scamander has been confirmed by Eddie Redmayne (not JKR, fuck her) to be on the spectrum. I’m not saying she definitely isn’t because I can definitely see it, and it’s wonderful autistic people can relate, but I’m talking about a character who is intentionally written and portrayed as autistic instead of just fan headcanons.

What does having a love interest have to do with this? Believe it or not, this isn’t me just being a shipper: too often are autistic people infantilised, as if we can’t love other people or that people are incapable of loving us. But - as anyone following me most likely knows - Newt Scamander has a love interest, Porpentina “Tina” Goldstein, who he’s canonically married to in the future. They even have a grandson who is called Rolf and marries the aforementioned Luna.

In the three films, we only got a few scenes (and then JK Rowling cut Tina out because Katherine Waterston called her out on multiple occasions for being a transphobe) of Newtina but what we got showed that not only is Newt capable of forming a romantic attachment but also Tina clearly loves Newt as he is, quirks and all. She understood his odd compliment of “salamander eyes” because she knows his special interest is magical creatures and it’s his way of saying he adores her eyes. She read his book and genuinely made an effort to learn because she knew magical creatures were important to him, and we saw her grow from thinking he was writing an “extermination guide” to giving him the name for his book, “Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them”. My girl Tina LOVES Newt for who he is and always has, and that’s beautiful.

Seeing an autistic person not only fall in love - he spends the whole of the 2nd and 3rd films lamenting on how beautiful she is, talking about her and with her picture in his pocket/suitcase - but also being loved for who they are is something so rarely seen and is so important.

I’ll be the first to hold my hands up and say that the second and third Fantastic Beasts movies weren’t the greatest, by the way. I will agree to that. The first one seems like a damn masterpiece in comparison, even with its problems, but I’m still angry.

The fact that JK Rowling’s bigotry has contributed to losing this rare example of autistic representation in a major mainstream franchise is something no one talks about when discussing her actions, and it hurts that no one seems to care about canon autistic representation.

[achillesleftheel]

Me: I don't have a taste in comfort characters what????

The comfort characters in question:

[emxmarauders]

Newt Scammander is neurodivergent. I will stand by this forever

[afrenchaugurey]

Hi ! I posted the second chapter of the little New Year fic. This one is a lot of world building. And ... puffskeins.

The introduction scene :

Huffs and puffs gave their tempo to their steps in the cold cold night, glittering smokes under the silvery light. Under their soles, the frozen snow squeaked, implored them to find a shelter and end its suffering soon, to allow for a new pristine path to appear, peacefully renowned by the flakes sent by the fairy-floss clouds.

Nose buried under his old school scarf, Newt would have wanted to stop his gaze on every detail, every iced plant, every crackled puddle, every paw printed on the ground, but the group hurried to the slightly reclusive house. Tina’s fingers had woven with his, her thumb stoke his scar in soothing circles. As his breath naturally took the rhythm of her caress, he could tell that she was with him, perfectly present; even though she talked with Sebastian and Theseus, sharing anecdotes and thoughts, while Newt’s lingered in the air.

Soon, the page of a new year would turn, offering them a blank partition to sing their story. Yule’s energy would gradually vanish as the Sun would fight, bringing Litha to life every day even more.

For now, winter’s powers filled the air, and Newt could feel the magic tickle his skin, agitate his cells and erect the hair on his nape.

A week after the last Litha, his life had been given back to him.

A week after Yule, he was ready to start a new existence.

All he had to do was to put his affairs in order .

[leresq]

The only Harry Potter character I will ever care about is Newt Scamander btw.

[uefb]

Chapter 7 of Older, or Two Brothers and a Train Station up now :)

Summary: In which the Scamander parents get a bit too busy for caretaking; the extended family proves themselves rather useless at babysitting without inflicting borderline-trauma; and Theseus finds himself handling the unwieldy consequences (e.g., Newt). (yes, this is the lull before the storm...)

Excerpt:

In retrospect, Theseus maybe should have noticed earlier than he did that he had been very seriously tasked with watching his little brother on and off for the majority of the summer, far more than his usual elder brother duties. And it wasn't like he was tasked with it because he did not have anything else better to do himself , but because, by July, their parents—almost overnight—became truly and impressively and inordinately busy. 

…Really busy.

With Muggle London’s recent fascination and consequent reliance on the electric tram [4], Helios was dealing with an influx of opportunistic magical troublemakers that pulled him out on investigations and into raids at every hour of the day and night; while Rowan had become rather single-mindedly preoccupied with several of her hippogriff mares (who were having a difficult laying season), all on top of her other preexisting business and family commitments [5]. 

At first, Rowan had roped her younger sister Willow—a mediwitch at the St. Mungo Children’s Ward—into helping Theseus with Newt a few afternoons and evenings a week, but after several attempts at having him stay over at hers entirely on his own (particularly on the nights before his appointments), that method quickly proved disastrous. Newt apparently did not like that he was unfamiliar with Aunt Willow’s flat and customs; and Aunt Willow was disturbed by waking up every morning to a childless cot, which forced her to search Newt out in a state of panic until she stumbled upon wherever he had tucked himself away the night before [6, 6a]

(Theseus never really thought he’d have to listen to anyone receive a lecture on why sleeping in the broom closet or the bathtub or on the floor behind the wood-stove instead of a perfectly suitable mattress was inappropriate, but Newt did a lot of things that made him question his previous understanding of the world.)

Before Helios and Rowan consented to explicitly using Theseus as a full-time third parent, however, they had tried Helios’ siblings. Both sets of grandparents were out of the question because Grandfather Ptolemy was about as warm with Newt as their father’s brother Hesiod was; and Rowan’s mother was frailer even than their Longbottom great great grandparents—even Newt seemed to tiptoe about her house (even if he did so exceedingly unsuccessfully) whenever they visited…

And that left only Helios’ older sister Hippolyta, down at the border of Devon and Cornwall at Rame Head [7].

Theseus knew the very moment his parents decided to ask her that sending Newt there would absolutely not work (which was unfortunate, for Newt could have been very entertained on the Sound under different circumstances)... But, because Aunty Hippa had always adored her youngest brother, she immediately said yes anyway, despite the fact her formerly aristocratic husband Arundel Helston Mount-Edgecombe was—according to Helios—a “piece of work” [8]; and even though Theseus and Newt’s only real cousin Eloise (a very pretty, very poised, and very disturbingly intelligent nineteen-year-old witch) was almost always in as much trouble as Newt was, if for remarkably different reasons… 

Not the ideal location for an inquisitive six-year-old with very little regard for hierarchical respect or social niceties, Theseus personally thought.

But, because Theseus was just fourteen-almost-fifteen, he could only watch as Helios and Rowan approached Newt where he sat on a small boulder near the treeline, gently tugging the illustrated copy of Black Beauty out of his hands—(a book which Aunt Willow had bartered for him at a Muggle Curiosities shop while he stayed with her, in an attempt to bribe him into compliance)—and nudging him until the he’d made room for them to flank him on either side [9, 9a]. They explained in clear and calm language that Aunty Hippa had asked for his company for a few weeks, after which Newt asked if they still lived near the sea, and, upon hearing the answer—while still looking minorly concerned—nevertheless leapt off the rock to tear past Theseus and disappear into the house, where he proceeded to scour every shelf and trunk for "the book about oceans!" and Theseus' now-too-small bathing costume, from when they'd still lived in Dorset [10].

It was very clear his little brother was under the impression he might get to meet a sea serpent, and Theseus wasn’t cruel enough to disavow him of that belief if it made him happy enough to venture off the farm without complaint. Neither of their parents did anything to dampen his spirits either. In Newt’s wake, in fact, Rowan simply caught Theseus’ eye with a wink and a shrug, and then turned back to Helios briefly—letting him tuck an errant curl behind her ear—before rushing off after Newt to supervise his attempts at packing.

Newt was gone the next morning. Beaten-up binoculars hanging off his neck—a crab net woven through the front straps of his pink linen dungarees [11, 11a]—he had tolerated Theseus’ affectionate attention for a full half minute, even promising to write (with Eloise’s help, of course).

Not that the child even had time to fulfil that promise, though, for the owl Theseus received from Eloise six days after his little brother’s departure only proved his initial instincts unfortunately correct… 

[newtwolf]

My fav autistic characters! (hc & canon)

[autisticcharacterslist]

Newt Scamander from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Special interest: magical creatures. A shy, socially awkward zoologist dedicated to saving misunderstood creatures, providing a safe space for them, & educating himself & others about what makes them special. Struggles to make eye contact. Monotone & flat affect. Distrusts the establishment. Loyal to the few friends he has. Deeply empathetic with a desire to help others.