#and that's the point to me!

[marinsawakening]

I'm not a fan of this narrative in many autistic writing spaces that writing autistic characters is easy for autistic people, that we do it naturally, that we do it by accident and it requires no thought whatsoever. I think it's a gross oversimplification of what it means to write autistic characters well and promotes stagnation in your portrayal of autistic characters.

It's true that many autistic writers will accidentally make characters autistic/struggle to write non-autistic characters because our own autistic thought patterns are so ingrained to us. For many of us, writing autistic characters feels like second nature. What I resent is the assumption that a) this is true for all autistic writers, and b) this means you're automatically great at writing autistic characters.

First: this is not true for all autistic writers. I actively practiced writing autistic characters for years by creating isolated scenarios specifically about autism to explore what you'd have to do to write autistic characters, before I felt like I had the skill to write autistic characters in scenarios not specifically about autism. I am still practicing. I don't think I'll ever stop practicing. Incorporating autism into the narrative did not come naturally to me. I'm sure that I regularly incorporate autistic traits and patterns into characters intended to be neurotypical on accident, but to me, that is not the same as writing an autistic character and does not translate to writing autistic characters naturally. Stating 'autistic writers don't struggle to write autistic characters' as a universal truth is just wrong.

Second, even if you do feel like it comes naturally to you to write autistic characters, you should note that what you are writing is a reflection of yourself. You do not represent all or even the majority of autistic people. If you want to diversify your portrayal of autism by incorporating autistic traits that you do not have, you will likely have to practice. If you only rely on your personal experiences with autism to inform all of your autistic characters, you will create a one-dimensional portrayal of autism.

Third, something you will quickly notice if you seriously try to write different autistic characters is that the traditional narrative tools utilized in writing are often unsuited for autistic characters. An easy example: eye contact is often used in dialogue to signify importance. If a piece of dialogue is especially important, the author will often have the character 'turn to look at [protagonist]'/'look [protagonist] straight in the eye' to signal to the reader that they need to pay attention. If you have created a character who hates eye contact, do you still do this? Would your character be able to look someone in the eye, even if what they are saying is important? If not, how else do you signal to the reader that this piece of dialogue is important and they need to pay attention? What do you imply when eye contact is utilized as an important, foundational aspect of conversation?

That's an easy example that's pretty easy to solve if you give it a few seconds of thought. There are ones that are a lot harder. How do you write from the perspective of a non-verbal autistic person who does not think in words, in a medium relying entirely on words to convey thought? (That's something I still struggle with greatly and do not feel confident in writing, but hope to figure out through practice.) A lot of basic narrative structures and cheats that authors take for granted fall apart the moment you try to apply them to a character who is sufficiently removed from them. This can very much apply to autistic characters.

For me, the trick in writing autistic characters is less in making them stim or be socially awkward or whatever, and more in thinking about how them being autistic affects basic narrative structures. Autistic people often stim; in what ways can you use stims to your advantage in characterization? How do you show intimacy in characters who are touch-averse? How do you make it clear what your other characters are feeling when you're writing from the limited perspective of a character who cannot tell? Do you even want to, or would it be more effective if you didn't? Again, basic examples, but you get my point.

I believe that relying on a kind of 'natural instinct' when writing autistic characters often leads to rather boring portrayals of autism. I don't mean to discount it entirely; it can obviously be helpful, and there are many people for whom overcoming a reliance on writing clichés is much more natural than it is for me. But by taking your ability to write autistic characters for granted, you may be passing up the opportunity for much more diverse, creative portrayals of autism. It is worth thinking about the ways you write your characters, what kind of personality traits you often give them, and how you can make your character's voice more unique while writing. This advice is by no means limited to autistic characters or even minority characters; it's general writing advice.

And of course: utilizing neurotypical writing tools to write autistic characters will create flattened portrayals. Figuring out how and to what degree you wish to discard writing conventions is, in my opinion, integral for writing good autistic characters.

#my posts #writing wise #actuallyautistic #yeah i'll throw this in the main tag. I am passionate about this #i'm not gonna pretend like i'm some kind of flawless expert who's great at writing autistic characters of all kinds all the time #as i said specifically i still very much struggle with certain kinds of autistic characters #non-verbal characters are especially difficult for me because the way I view the world centers so heavily around language #and that's the point to me! #your own experience with autism is by no means representative of the whole of the autistic experience! #certain autistic characters can fit fairly easily into a neurotypical narrative. others absolutely cannot #i think it's worth practicing and experimenting with all kinds of autistic characters #rather than relying purely on your own experience

[beaft]

a small child came into the café today and asked to buy a chocolate truffle. he tapped a credit card on the reader and it did not go through, mainly because it was not a credit card but in fact a junior cinema pass. i gently explained he couldn't use that to buy things in shops and he looked so gutted that i was like "...but just this once you can have it for free, don't tell my boss though" he said thank you and walked out with his truffle and as he went i heard him chuckling to himself and saying "yes..... yes!!!!!" like the sickos comic

#slightly dotty child or world's most precocious scam artist? you decide. #i asked where his parents were and apparently they were queuing for a table at the restaurant across the street #he even pointed them out to me #so don't worry this was not an unsupervised bébé #be shh now #containment breach

[starbuck]

i say i like tragedies and everyone’s all like ‘why do you like sad stories? are you depressed?’ and never ‘how was the catharsis? was the catharsis fun?’

#i don’t know how to explain this to normal people 😭😭 #for the record my coworkers didn’t directly question me on this #but i think i have vastly overestimated the amount of the population who is aware of like. Films. #NOT claiming that i have seen a lot - but i’ve mentioned three *REALLY* well-known films in the past four days #and got blank stares each time #the one of them was a REALLY good reference too… someday my top-notch association skills will be recognized #my first act as Mansion Acquaintance of the [redacted] Director will be to force everyone to watch a 40s romcom i didn’t even like #i’m getting off the point #the POINT is that It’s About The Catharsis

[cemeterything]

anyone who thinks dostoevsky's writing is dry and humourless is missing out on passages like this

#🐉 #i dont think my version is the most common translation because its worded a bit differently #(but still gets the same point across) #however im glad because this bit makes me howl every time i remember it

[muffinlance]

My baby daughter got her adorable puffin-print dress absolutely CAKED in mud crawling around the yard and my first thought was "oh no her beautiful dress"

And my second thought was "oh huh it really WOULD be easy to unconsciously steer her away from playing in the dirt. Unlike my son, whose outfits are usually some kind of solid dark easily washed pants plus a shirt that doesn't trail in the dirt like a dress does."

Anyway something something gender roles start getting shoved on kids from literal birth, but with a little time to think about things, YOU TOO can let your children of any gender absolutely destroy their clothes in the dirt pit they're digging in your garden

#all clothes provided through hand me downs and grandparents #we asked for non strongly gendered or branded things and that mostly worked for firstborn boy #but baby girl has gotten nothing but the cutest little dresses #that I am absolutely not going to stress if she destroys because it's not like they'll last until next summer anyway #at which point she'll be big enough for her brother's dirt-compatible pants #now if we can get her to stop EATING the dirt that would be GRAND #her pronouns are om/nom #literal definition of a baby

[gentil-minou]

Everytime I see posts like this I get filled with such profound sadness

Cause you know who has the same brainrot as you? The same unhinged feelings as you after you've read the fic? The person who always wants to scream about the fic with you?

THE PERSON WHO WROTE IT

I never used to leave comments but since I got into the habit of commenting on everything i enjoy it's been incredible. Especially when the author gets back to me about it and we get to have a discussion of what other ideas they had. One writer replied to my comment with a 5 paragraph essay detailing the Floorplan of the building the characters lived in and it was incredible

Anyways this is all to say that if you find a fic that just makes you want to scream from the rooftops, leave a comment saying that to the author and maybe they will join you and you can scream incoherently together

#i really think people have reached the point where they forget theres a person just like them who wrote the story #and it makes me sad its wonderful talking to authors #also this screenshot isnt mine i found it on twitter skkskfksk #fanfiction #fanfic #ao3 #archive of our own

[tofixtheshadows]

I've been thinking a lot lately about how Kabru deprives himself.

Kabru as a character is intertwined with the idea that sometimes we have to sacrifice the needs of the few for the good of the many. He ultimately subverts this first by sabotaging the Canaries and then by letting Laios go, but in practice he's already been living a life of self-sacrifice.

Saving people, and learning the secrets of the dungeons to seal them, are what's important. Not his own comforts. Not his own desires. He forces them down until he doesn't know they're there, until one of them has to come spilling out during the confession in chapter 76.

Specifically, I think it's very significant, in a story about food and all that it entails, that Kabru is rarely shown eating. He's the deuteragonist of Dungeon Meshi, the cooking manga, but while meals are the anchoring points of Laios's journey, given loving focus, for Kabru, they're ... not.

I'm sure he eats during dungeon expeditions, in the routine way that adventurers must when they sit down to camp. But on the surface, you get the idea that Kabru spends most of his time doing his self-assigned dungeon-related tasks: meeting with people, studying them, putting together that evidence board, researching the dungeon, god knows what else. Feeding himself is secondary.

He's introduced during a meal, eating at a restaurant, just to set up the contrast between his party and Laios's. And it's the last normal meal we see him eating until the communal ending feast (if you consider Falin's dragon parts normal).

First, we get this:

Kabru's response here is such a non-answer, it strongly implies to me that he wasn't thinking about it until Rin brought it up. That he might not even be feeling the hunger signals that he logically knew he should.

They sit down to eat, but Kabru is never drawn reaching for food or eating it like the rest of his party. He only drinks.

It's possible this means nothing, that we can just assume he's putting food in his mouth off-panel, but again, this entire manga is about food. Cooking it, eating it, appreciating it, taking pleasure in it, grounding yourself in the necessary routine of it and affirming your right to live by consuming it. It's given such a huge focus.

We don't see him eat again until the harpy egg.

What a significant question for the protagonist to ask his foil in this story about eating! Aren't you hungry? Aren't you, Kabru?

He was revived only minutes ago after a violent encounter. And then he chokes down food that causes him further harm by triggering him, all because he's so determined to stay in Laios's good graces.

In his flashback, we see Milsiril trying to spoon-feed young Kabru cake that we know he doesn't like. He doesn't want to eat: he wants to be training.

Then with Mithrun, we see him eating the least-monstery monster food he can get his hands on, for the sake of survival- walking mushroom, barometz, an egg. The barometz is his first chance to make something like an a real meal, and he actually seems excited about it because he wants to replicate a lamb dish his mother used to make him!

...but he doesn't get to enjoy it like he wanted to.

Then, when all the Canaries are eating field rations ... Kabru still isn't shown eating. He's only shown giving food to Mithrun.

And of course the next time he eats is the bavarois, which for his sake is at least plant based ... but he still has to use a coping mechanism to get through it.

I don't think Kabru does this all on purpose. I think Kui does this all on purpose. Kabru's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder should be understood as informing his character just as much as Laios's autism informs his. It's another way that Kabru and Laios act as foils: where Laios takes pleasure in meals and approaches food with the excitement of discovery, Kabru's experiences with eating are tainted by his trauma. Laios indulges; Kabru denies himself. Laios is shown enjoying food, Kabru is shown struggling with it.

And I can very easily imagine a reason why Kabru might have a subconscious aversion towards eating.

Meals are the privilege of the living.

#Dungeon Meshi #Delicious in Dungeon #Kabru #Kabru of Utaya #Laios Touden #Dungeon Meshi meta #you can have him in the tags too. as a treat. #Dungeon Meshi spoilers #this was directly inspired by livelaughlaios's post about Kabru self harming but I decided it got too long to make it a direct reply #this is a theory I've been working on for weeks because I kept noticing this while skimming for screencaps #I'm hesitant to trigger tag this because of the way certain subcultures on tumblr operate #but if anyone needs me to add a content warning please let me know #also I included image descriptions! I did my best #I think they even help illustrate my points but my god were they sad to write. Kabru is so fucking sad you guys #musings with Dea

[alfheimr]

mithrun 🌞

#dungeon meshi #mithrun #objectively an awkward pose but its not the point. i just wanted to draw his face and hair at that angle. the rest is small potatoes. #shoutout once again to clip studio paint asset ID 2031117 “liquid” brush which made it much easier for me to plan & line his hair <3 #“liquid” brush is my new best friend.

[iwasbored777]

We're not appreciating the Weird Barbie enough. It's said in the movie that she helps everyone who need help while they always see her as someone who's not as good as them. She was friends with all dismissed Barbies and Kens, was there to offer support and safe shelter for everyone who needed it in Kendom, without her nothing in the movie would've been alright. When Stereotypical Barbie calls her "ugly and unwanted" she still helps her.

She was representing a woman in women's world who was pushed aside by other women because she didn't fit in but still had more wisdom and kindness than everyone who thought they're better than her.

#weird barbie #barbie #Barbie movie #everyone looks at her as a queer person i see her as me I'm a straight person who got bullied simply for being different than the rest #but it's beautiful that we all see ourselves in her whatever our story is #cuz that's the point of characters like her #i changed wisness to wisdom sorry english isn't my first language and i forgot which one is more correct

[transarsonist]

but no yeah lets have the conversation:

"the CEO doesnt want to run that kind of website" Excuse, shouldnt have bought the 'go nuts show nuts whatever' website if thats the case. APPEAL DENIED

"we have to follow the TOS of the appstores we're hosted on" Excuse item one, no you dont, item two, you have since those days implimented infrastructure that would allow pornography and sex work on this platform Without violating TOS of any applicable app store. APPEAL DENIED

"we own the site we get to make the rules" Incorrect, this site has only ever made profit when the users willed it. we collectively own the site as a hive mind and no legal change in ownership will change that. APPEAL DENIED

"we have to keep this website safe for the children who use it" Argument based on fallacy banning pornography and sex workers does not prevent pornography and sex work from occuring on the site, it only forces aforementioned users to hide and avoid labling their content appropriately, which REDUCES the safety for children and sex workers alike instead of increasing it, this has been shown to the point that making this argument at all is tantamount to admiting fascist intent APPEAL DENIED

#politics #tumblr #tumblr staff #very well #if you will not allow me to rate this conversation as “appropriate for everyone” with the associated tags it would be best associated with #then it simply will not have those tags #this is case in point

[laughingcatwrites]

As a reminder that good exists out there, a coworker recently confessed to me that he found out his child is questioning their identity (kid's gender redacted for this post). The kid is keeping it from him, so he can't say anything to them or show that he knows, but he's doing his best to get mentally prepared and educated so that he'll be ready whenever his kid does feel comfortable enough come to him.

For context, this guy is a big, bulky middle aged dude who loves sports and typical outdoor "manly" activities. As his coworker and friend, I know he's a kind and sweet teddy bear of a person, but his kid probably views him as a stern, authoritarian figure, the way most teenagers view their parents. His family lives in a conservative area, so I'm sure between that, their dad's looks and interests, and the fact that their dad is a Figure of Authority, the kid is worried that they won't be accepted.

But you know what? When he found out about his kid, the first thing he did was reach out to his closest queer friend and ask for resources for parents of questioning children. His biggest fears are that his kid will be bullied or discriminated against and won't feel comfortable enough to be themself. His second action was to find himself a mentor in another parent who went the same situation (kid coming out in a conservative town). The other person is preparing him for some of the struggles his kid may face and the fights he may need to take on as a parent to make sure his kid is safe and treated well.

Something I want to emphasize for people focused on language as the primary method of allyship is that when we spoke, he used some outdated terms and thoughts about gender and sexuality. That does not make him bad. These were the terms and thinking used about questioning teenagers when he was growing up and he never needed to learn more current ones. But now that he does have that need, he's throwing himself in head first because that's his kid and he's darn well going to make sure that his kid feels welcomed and has a safe place to be themselves even if they never come out to him.

#I'm so proud and happy for my coworker and I've been trying to figure out how to let him know how amazing I think he is #what gets me the most is that he's keeping this super down low to avoid giving any hints to his kid #he has a lot of queer friends so he already is known as an ally but there's always a chance it will be different if it's family #and he took that chance and crumpled it up into a ball and slam dunked it into the garbage for three points #and decided that even if his kid wants to hide it from him for the rest of his life he will still do what he can to make their life better #pflag #parents doing their best #parenting win #good news #allyship

[gibbearish]

love when ppl defend the aggressive monetization of the internet with "what, do you just expect it to be free and them not make a profit???" like. yeah that would be really nice actually i would love that:)! thanks for asking

#yes i want things to be free like ??? that is not a weird desire #'but but it costs money to keep up' ok and? how is that my problem #the government has plenty of murder dollars they could reallocate a few to make internet services universal if they wanted #also these companies were perfectly capable of supporting themselves before the internet got drowned with ads so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #edit: muting notifs on this post bc new additions have kind of petered out #so no one feel bad about adding something someone else has said‚ it is not bothering me im just trying to keep my #notifs page cleanish lol #also since i saw some people are being redirected to read my tags: firstly hiiiiii this is a special secret message for you:3 #secondly i have learned since making this that the reason they were able to support themselves previously was because #of investors bankrolling everything #and theyre now finally realizing that theyre never going to actually make a profit and arent as willing to invest #however thats just a minor correction and doesnt change my overall point #once again. so many murder dollars #so thats why im just adding it here in the tags rather than making an actual correction #anyways . love yall 💕 #origibberish #bigger gibbers

[girlboyburger]

alright tumblr, here's your homegrown cowgirl C:{

what do you think of her?

#this was fun! took me awhile since life is nuts rn trying to move but #id like to do smthg like this again somwtime #my art #furry #fursona #anthro #furry fandom #cow #cow girl #fat #< - not enough art in the fat tag. i will change this o7 #tumblr polls #sketch #doodle #edit: bf pointed out the tummy could be bigger so i biggified her a little

[bloodbruise]

the bitches traumatized by saltburn would never survive the fics in my ao3 history

#its between me and god at this point #ao3 #ao3 fanfic #saltburn #marauders #jegulus #wolfstar #drarry #rosekiller #marylily #pandalily #steddie #reddie #stranger things #harry potter #queer #remus lupin #sirius black #james potter #regulus black #larry #gay #anderperry #ronance #byler #stucky #stony #ao3 writer #writers on tumblr

[bookshelfpassageway]

yknow i dont go here but sometimes i gotta go: seriously respect clowns. they have the worst pop culture representation in the world and also the best most thorough honor code. they're just here to be silly little guys who bring joy and are very conscientious about doing so responsibly. let them to their merriment in peace you dont hafta take potshots. i dont go here but like maybe i should, you all seem super chill

#my posts #im mad bc i saw a clown knight adoptable which fascinated me as a concept and then someone bought him and made him evil :( #thats so. boring. its SO BORING IM SORRY THERES A COOL CONCEPT IN THERE BUT THATS THE BORING WAY #maybe ill make my OWN oath of clowning paladin someday #...wait that's actually GOTTA be a dnd subclass somebody's made at some point #anyway also the occasional YouTuber taking potshots and being mean like you dont need to do that theyre just minding their own business :( #we should all strive to be sillier and weirder and more kind forever

[threefuckencrowsinatrenchcoat]

Myself included tbh

#it’s a lifestyle #spn #it’s kinda a tumblr rite of passage at this point too #literally yesterday I found out ab the soap2day closing like this #and then ten minutes later people started texting me and posting on other apps freaking out #supernatural #destiel #destiel confession #destiel confession meme #dean winchester #castiel #this is also a little bit for the 196 girls who are inevitably gonna see the template eventually #196 #Reddit 196 #reddit refugee #HOW ARE PEOPLE STILL SEEING THIS ITS BEEN LIKE 6 MONTHS