another thing that was heartbreaking in water 7 to me was the way that with robin gone, sanji and zoro had to step up and be the "adults" in the situation(despite only being 19) as they really had no other choice--like when sanji broke up the first fight that luffy and usopp had, clearly on the verge of having a mfing panic attack himself over seeing his family fall apart. with zoro, it was in the way he took a quick "im feeling upset but i dont like to feel upset so im taking a nap" nap, had to gather himself and be the one to reel in luffy and draw that hard line on fighting robin if she truly did betray them, despite the rest of the crew finding him cold for it. theyre all just so young and have been through so much im losing my mind. goodbye 8Y0U9DSFIO
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Why I think Annie Cresta from THG is Autistic-coded!
We never get much information on Annie in the books, so she is kind of a mystery. But based on the information we do have, and all the lovely character building fans have done for her over the years, I can infer she is autistic.
-Annie was called “mad”, but as we know she actually had PTSD (seemingly with psychotic features). Annie was described by Katniss as being strange, laughing at odd moments, staring off into the distance, and covering her ears and squeezing her eyes shut randomly.
-Staring off into space and covering her eyes and ears can be explained by her PTSD symptoms. Zoning out/dissociation is common in trauma survivors, and covering her ears and eyes could very well be her response to traumatic flashbacks. But PTSD does not explain her laughing at odd moments or having a “strange” personality.
-As an autistic woman, I instantly related to Annie when it was revealed how much everyone thought Annie was weird and, sadly, it seemed people did not talk to her much because of this. Autistic people are very commonly seen as weird due to our mannerisms, speech patterns, perceived social awkwardness, stimming, our special interests, etc.
-Also, Katniss, and everyone else, seemed to think it was a little odd that Finnick was in love with her, to them they seemed like an odd match. Annie, the strange, “mad” girl, and Finnick the hot, charming guy (which for me felt relatable since people seem to be unable to imagine someone who is autistic being desirable to someone). And everyone but Finnick seemed to kind of infantilize Annie a bit. This commonly happens to autistic people, the assumption that we are child-like and can’t be in romantic relationships, especially with someone who everyone sees as conventionally attractive/hot! *eye roll*
(That is also something I love about Annie and Finnick’s relationship. I love the weirdo ends up with popular person trope and they definitely fit that <3)
-In the Mockingjay book when Katniss and Annie ride in the hovercraft together, Katniss says that Annie is not crazy, she is just strange and laughs at odd moments during conversation. To me, this came off as her not really knowing how to talk to Katniss and maybe not understanding when it is “appropriate” to laugh when conversing. Annie may have laughed during the conversation because it was quiet and awkward and she didn’t know how to continue it.
-Also, when Katniss mentions that often Annie stares off into the distance at nothing, that is another autistic trait. Autistic people often fixate on “nothing” as a form of stimming (self-stimulatory behavior), and as an escape from the, often overwhelming, world around us. Staring/zoning out is also often paired with other stims like repeatedly blinking, fidgeting, vocal stimming, etc. Also, since I think it was mentioned that when she zoned out she would sometimes be smiling, I doubt at those times it was trauma related. She would have likely just been lost in thought, probably thinking about something that made her happy.
-This brings me to another thing, Annie covering her ears and squeezing her eyes shut. While this is intended in the books to be a trauma response, and it is a pretty accurate one, not really any bad psychology there. I just think there is more to it. While, unlike what the books insinuate, it is not likely at all that Annie is always ill. People with PTSD will generally be quite stable/in their normal state when they are in a safe environment. But when Katniss meets Annie, she is not in a stable state. She’d just returned from the Capitol where it was insinuated that she experienced sexual assault, Mags had just died, she is all the sudden in District 13, and she had only just got Finnick back after two months. So it makes complete sense that she would be having flashbacks in such a triggered state. But, I also think that covering her ears and closing her eyes could be a stim and a reaction to overwhelming noises or sensations. Especially since she has experienced such drastic change! Since autistic people are sensitive to big changes and her PTSD was triggered, her sensory differences/issues would be triggered as well!
-I also like to imagine Annie as a marine biology nerd when she in District 4, I think that would be her special interest!
-So yeah! That is why I think Annie Cresta is a late-diagnosed Autistic woman (diagnosed in District 13 at age 23) with PTSD *mic drop*
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