#neurodivergent king bc i said so

[ventipinkdrinks]

sumeru is so neurodivergent 

#cyno collei tighnari alhaitham kaveh nahida #theyre all neurodivergent #bc i said so #and queer bc i said so #except nahida but thats just bc i feel weird putting sexuality hcs on the itty bitty genshin charas #genshin impact #sumeru #ya know what throw my trans king scara in the mix too he is also neurodivergenr #once saw someone say ___ isnt nd they just have trauma as if u cant be nd and traumatized"

[catwouthats]

Young Justice (98’) and their ACCENTS because it drives me insane

Bart Allen: Internet/game accent with a southerner twang (plus, speedsters process the world around them differently, including language, so I imagine there is a sort of “speedster accent” since he’s not used to speaking slow)

Anita Fite: Bayou, Haitian, and slight Jamaican accent (probably got not as strong after less time with her relatives. Btw her dad is Jamaican. Also, where did she move to with her dad after gma’s death? Bc that would influence it too)

Tim Drake: Gotham accent (NY or NJ. Mid-Atlantic) kinda privileged white boy version.

Kon El: I hc him as speaking in a “charming” city/suburb way (Delaware aka metropolis), while trying to hide that ever so slight rural mid-west accent from slipping out at certain words

Cissie King-Jones: A suburban east-coast accent (She is from Pennsylvania) but add the fact she goes to an all girls school (groups can form their own dialects)

Cassie Sandsmark: suburban east-coast accent mostly. (mixed slightly with NYC style accent)

Slobo: he’s from another planet, but if ya interpret how they spell what he says mixed with his personality you get rough city-southern (slurred speech with some consonants spat. Harsh, gravelly voice.)

Secret: She grew up in Rhode Island (suburbs I think?), so New England accent. Also, based on how they show her speech bubbles/text: soft spoken, week voice, strained

More languages headcanons:

- Kon tries to avoid saying words like “dog” around his friends and crushes. When he does have to say it, he’s very conscious of how his pronouncing it and will pause a moment before saying it slightly slow.

- Because of Bart being neurodivergent, he picks up accents easily. And his accent can fluctuate occasionally into the accent of who his speaking to. (This is technically canon)

- A Valley Girl moved to Cissies school and infected the whole school with her accent. She then has a slight valley accent for a bit (never fully goes away)

- Bart Allen confuses the FUCK out of other southerners since he speaks so fast with a slight southern accent.

- Bart’s voice is fucking weird in general bc he had to get used to speaking 10x slower than normal (bc VR world n shit)

- It’s canon that Cassie says “like” a lot, and I just wanna point that out again

- They all mock the way Tim speaks

- Nobody mocks the way Bart speaks (some of them want to but literally don know how to since his accent is so weird)

- Slobo’s accent is slightly softer than Lobo’s (genetic runt n all). He tries to force it to be harsh most of the time though.

- Secret is so soft spoke with a strained voice bc of her ptsd. After she becomes human again she is slightly better, but the way she strains her voice hurts her now since it’s a solid body.

- Not exactly a hc, but did Anita smack Kon after he mocked her accent? Bc if they didn’t show it in the comic, I hc she did. Kon tried to be better after mocking her accent that one time though (This is canon. She pretended something he said once was a racist thing and he got so scared. She laughed at him for it and said she was just messing).

- Strangers sometimes stare at Bart and Slobo talking to each other bc their accents are so odd. When one of them notice, they silently signal to the other, and then they both suddenly stop talking to turn ominously to the person looking. (They also later let Anita in on their trick bc they noticed that some racist people occasionally shoot her weird looks. They love scaring bigots with this trick.)

- After all her parents died, Anita noticed her accent start to slip and that frustrated her, so she made sure to make sure to have her Haitian accent prevail (visits to her hometown, etc.)

#sorry for not including Snapper n Roy. idk enough about them #yj98 #young justice comics #young justice #young just us #bart allen #anita fite #tim drake #kon el #cissie king jones #cassie sandsmark #slobo dc #slobo #greta hayes #linguistics #dialects #dc comics #odd headcanons

[mamawasatesttube]

do u have thoughts on tim’s autism & how he masks/doesn’t mask around ppl he’s close with? personally i think bart is his vibrating weighted blanket. this ask was brought to you by me yesterday at a concert rocking in place so violently people thought i was on molly peace and love

lord i know i DO have such thoughts but most of them infuriatingly just out of reach at the moment. (<- brain nerfed by a migraine today and also for the past like 2 weeks at this point. augh) lets see what i do got.

in general? tim drake KING of masking. his masks have masks. i dont think he really does it consciously either; i think he grows up just kinda repressing facets of himself depending on his audience and assumes everyone does that. (i don't think he ever gets a formal autism diagnosis or anything as a kid, either. even if a teacher or someone clocked him and mentioned it to his parents i don't think they'd get him any sort of child psych eval. not in the "oh theyre horrible neglectful awful abusive one dimensional figures" way, but in the "sometimes parents take the idea of their kid having any mental health or neurodivergency issues as a personal insult and then sweep them under the rug bc it is easier than addressing any of said behaviors in themselve as well" way. hopefully i am explaining this ok. and you get what i mean. its not like we know much abt janet to begin with but i just dont think jack drake the republican is particularly supportive of nd kids. this is a tangent. anyway)

so to tim i don't think he ever really consciously considers it as masking. it's more of him internally clocking and cataloguing people who are okay to express certain thoughts and behaviors around, in a whole complex categorization system in his mind. very few people get to the category of "fully free expression is allowed" in his head; even his closest friends take yeeaaars to get there. like i don't think that happens until postcanon (postcrisis no flashpoint edition).

bart is def good at being a vibrating blanket. kon is really good at being a weighted blanket (ttk makes his ability to squish people godly). cassie is someone who Gets him really well and makes it easier to communicate even when he's struggling to do so. but even when he trusts them with his life i do think he has trouble actually reaching out or letting them know if he's, like, feeling overstimulated or anything. this is in large part bc he isn't really aware that not every single person has this complicated categorization system of "what can i and can't i act like in front of this person" system going on in their minds at all times.

#answers #Anonymous #i KNOw i had another thought but its gone now #maybe if it comes back to me later ill add on to this. sorry anon you get migraine rimi rambles :T #i don't think i even fully answered the question but alas #tim

[titan-god-helios]

pt1 of oddly specific things that give me gender affirmation/euphoria (that may not be that odd but i didn’t expect them so shut up <3 /lh):

wallets !!!! a good stereotypically masculine wallet that’s small and leather and still has lots and lots of usability and looks like something a dad would use makes me feel so masculine !! love it

any type of trouser or bottoms with more than two pockets

windbreaker jackets - they make me go “FUCK YEEAAHH im such a boy a man a male tm yessir” and idk why they just do tho, even the fem ones to an extent

plantssss i love plants and they make me feel like a little gardner boy just yessss

energy drinks for some reason ???? they make the internal man dialogue of “IM A MANNN” go haywire so much

hairbands on my wrist and an excess of those wooden beaded bracelets or even stone beaded jewellery

cross earrings but just bc they look cool (i’m an atheist so yuh, i still love people who have religion too, y’all are awesome <3)

doing the thing with your hair where you take hair from one side and flip it on the other with one hand and its kind of like running your hand through your hair but with long hair…. esp of my other hand is on my hip and i scrunch my face ?!?!?!??!? so boyish i feel so good

dancing like an absolute idiot. i dont know why but every time i just do a little jig for myself by myself my gender is just like “yessssss you’re a boy frfr slay king”

watches !! big chunky analogue watches

following on from the last point, clocks too

mushroomsssss they make the more nonbinary side of me jump for joy cause like “yes ofc im a fucking forest goblin dude i love mushrooms im just a goblin guy leave me alone and let me love the shrooms”

sketching in public. it just doessss

camoflague clothing !! i mean this was probably obvious but when i came out to myself and i wore camo cargo pants (with loads of pockets mind you) i just freaked out in joy i felt so manly that day it was glorious

singing !! singing my favourite songs as low as i can go with it still sounding good

just being as stubborn as possible but in a non problematic (for the most part) way. like if you give me the option to make things easier and more convenient or not i’ll choose the harder option. idk it just makes me feel manly (is this toxic masculinity ?? i dont know but i try to remind myself that this only applies to non mental stuff so i don’t end up self-harming againnnn)

being unnecessarily overdressed

not brushing my hair till its perfectly untangled and just letting it be a bit wild - this came with me figuring out that my hair type is waywayway wavier/curlier than i thought my whole life and learning to take care of it the best i can whilst i have like zero products for waves/curls on hand and as a bonus i felt more masc !!

looking at the stretch marks underneath my boobs in the mirror. i have a large-ish chest i think (DD cup), plus i’m a lil chubby, so i have loads of stretch marks around my chest, and the ones underneath look like top surgery scars, so if i’m having a particularly rough day with my chest dysphoria i’ll look at em and feel a bit better

using my stim toys and accommodations with friends and by myself for my autism and adhd - being capable of taking care of myself finally makes me feel really confident and as a result quite masc as well

stimming by flipping my beaded bracelets between my fingers - this is specific to greek and possibly other cultures similar to greece but it’s typical for a lot of greek men to flip long-ish beaded loops (?? they’re not jewellery and specifically made for this but idk what they’re called so) between their fingers in a similar fashion, and it’s a thing that my dad does a lot when bored. whether neurodivergent or neurotypical it’s a very common thing for men and so doing it makes me not only feel good stimming but also feel manly as fuck ! it feels even better now that my mum saw me doing it once and said “what are you a man ??” and being closeted i had to say “idc im just flipping a bracelet why does it have to be gendered” BUT INSIDE I WAS SO HAPPY

playing card games - when i was younger and even now my dad and grandpa would let me sit in on their card games late at night when we visited them in greece and now when i play card games i always feel so calm and comforted and quietly masculine

drinkingggg now hear me out yes im a minor but i’m also half greek so as a result whenever my parents drink im allowed a bit too (under supervision ofc). anyway that out the way, i have a pretty fucking high alcohol tolerance and considering the fact that it comes from my dad (being asian, my mum’s tolerance is dogshit) plus the stereotypical “men can drink more” stuff i feel SO MANLYYYY when i can quite literally drink more than my dad and feel okay whilst he’s starting to be tipsy (just to clarify though, the stereotype is bullshit and should NOT be perpetuated as much as it is, at least with intent. you guys with low alcohol tolerances are just as manly !! maybe you’re even more manly than those with high tolerance !! and women with high tolerances, you’re still very fem and very cool and valid as a woman and those who aren’t binary or aligning you are valid as your gender or as no gender no matter what tolerance you have <33)

caring about myself more. and i don’t mean in a “i’m gonna have a nice fucking bath and be happy about it” way i mean in a “i’m going to feed myself well, drink lots of water, get good exercise and be respectful to myself at the very least” way. and also in the bath way. baths are nice

collecting shit !! idk dude but having a collection of dumb shit just makes me feel so masc and good cause i swear to the stars nearly every dude i’ve met and stepped into the house of has a collection of SOMETHING whether it’s games, books, rocks, crystals, cookbooks and recipies or art supplies or whatever makes them happy. like legit fucking anything and i like collecting stuff too so its a bonus !!

just being nice. just being a nice dude makes me feel so manly

being silly and myself and doing dumb shit and being unapologetic about it (im still working on being able to do this since i struggle a lot but when i can it feels so good !!)

being stupidly loyal to something equally stupid /pos. like yes i have had this stuffed animal since the dawn of time no i will never get rid of her. she’s a genderfuck lesbian rainbow tiger from buildabear workshop who goes by the name of Roxy i will never get rid of her >:(. and so what my ring is so rusty it makes my skin green every three days ?? i clean it and take it off when it gets out of control back off bitch its mine. why are you so concerned about my shoes ????? fuck you i like them how they are (falling apart and dishevelled, the sole is halfway off already and it hasn’t been even remotely okay since three years ago) and they still fit and work so i’ll wear them until i literally cannot anymore. its so fun and it’s such a “just some guy” activity AND it makes my autism goblin feel safe and good too so its great would reccommend

just talking about stuff i like and that makes me feel good but not to anybody in particular. maybe in my notes, maybe on tumblr (like right now !! i’m doing this one right now !!) maybe on my personal dm to myself. it just makes me feel like a boy i love it PLUS i dont actually have to stress about humans on the other end of it so i feel way more confident and comfortable and as a result even MORE manly !!

ice cream on cones. i will not elaborate

travelling and exploring !! like legit anywhere. as long as i’m moving from one place to another and exploring the world i feel so happy and right and also masculine it’s great i love travelling so much. on holidays i enjoy the act of travelling even more than the holiday itself tbh

(to clarify i identify as male but a bit fucked in the gender - if you want a label i still identify as nonbinary but male aligningg <3)

#autism #nonbinary #trans rights #transgender #transmasc #trans boy #trans pride #trans man #trans people #trans #trans positivity #trans posting #male positivity #masculine #masc positivity #achillean #boy #boys #long post #long reads #dysphoria #gender fuckery #genderqueer #gender #gender identity #queer stuff #gender stuff #queer #gender dysphoria #gender euphoria

[mate-de-ensalada]

Tales of having a neurodivergent sister and why it's so fucking funny (┛✧Д✧))┛

My family just had a conversation while my mother and uncle hugged my sister about all the topics that should not be talked about around my sister because they are her special interests and she gets very excited and jumps and becomes INCREDIBLY HYPERACTIVE (It's something we don't want to happen on a Saturday at 9 pm). So my amazing mother lists some of her topics of interest /Hyperifications such as:

dark and oscure mangas

minority rights

the entire Star Wars universe (which she introduced to her and me in December of last year and like any Neurodivergent teenage girl became her new hiverfixation )

Greta gerwing

and my favorite

Pedro Pascal playing the role of father

( yes she said it like that ,also my sister is a lesbian so it's even more funny) I add

Madoka magic and the Palestine Israel conflict.

The best thing about all this is that it all started bc of a discussion she and my uncle had about the BARBIE movie, which is another of her hyperfixations . Another brilliant thing and why we both ended up dying of laughter is that they (my family with the exception of me and my mother) were very worried about her !!! giving her blankets, huges, telling her that she should rest and even saying that she was about to have a PANIC ATTACK or that she was sad and angry .(when it was really the happiest moment of her life plus she's 16 she can handle this totally right ) they gave her a one meter long stuffed animal and a blanket!!! .

After all she calm herself by watching funny see lions videos and told me I should publish this one tubler bc it was funny as fuck.

I think it's also important to mention that my mother was really chill and explaing that there was nothing wrong with her that she was just a excited and that's all .

That said , this is why it is necessary for people to learn about neurodivergences, bc you might think the person in question is having a really bad time when the reality is that they just want to argue with you about how you didn't understand the Barbie movie. She did end up with a little meltdown but just a little one. So remember our Neurodivergent kings and queens just need to be love and shown see lions videosvideos .

She's right behind me while I write all of this, so it's all approve by her 凸( •̀_•́ )凸.

A shity graphic description of her with her big ass plush and blanket

#ADHD #hyperfixation #star wars #autism #neurodivergent family #greta gerwig #pedro pascal #adhd awareness #sisterhood

[bluinary]

With no hate to that previous post I just reblogged bc its valid in and of itself:

I get what they're saying, but it's actually *not* like Rick Riordan broke into your house and moved all of your furniture.

It's more like you *bought* furniture and installment services from Uncle Rick's Home Goods in 2008, a lovely niche shop focused on serving our underserved community of neurodivergents. And then, despite your furniture from that time still being exactly as it was when you bought it and billions of exact copies being for sale, when Uncle Rick said, "Hey guys, I'm going to make this same line of furniture out of completely different material, and Im adopting a new installation tactic, but it's going to stick to its general function and purpose," you giddily clapped your hands and said, "I can't wait to see the exact same thing made out of entirely different materials!" Forgetting, of course, that that is literally impossible.

And **then** you came home and found that Rick (whom you left the door open for!) moved all of your furniture slightly to the left. Also he replaced every item with near-identical copies.

"I liked it the way it was very much, thank you!" Then don't get the update, idiot. It is so optional to watch this show. You had to wait a week between every episode. You had to torrent every 40 minute video on a weekly basis, or drive to visit your one family member who won't give up Disney+ anyway. And when things started proving to be different, *you* made the conscious choice to see where things were going. Now you're mad and miffed that it wasn't as faithful an adaptation as The Lion King 2019 was to the original 💀. Coming from an AuDHDer, please understand that your neurodivergent rigidity can only be accommodated so much, my friend. Real people worked hard to make this. Different people from the book's production. *More* people than the book's production. And you know what's crazy is that, despite all of this, some of the tone of minor scenes may have changed, but nothing major truly did. We did it-- we got a faithful adaptation!! If it's not your cup of tea, if your mind's eye just cannot be topped, it's all good. Just say, "this seemed cooler in my head." But oh my god, I'm tired of the Rick slander. The overall crew slander. As if people didn't work their asses off to make this show happen at all. "Rick Riordan broke into my home--" you let him in. *You* watched the show; you let him in and consented to whatever the fuck he was going to do (which...wasn't even much).

If you are scared of coming home and finding your special interest moved slightly to the left, stop letting the author back in through your front door.

#pjo tv show #vent #i didnt want to reply to OP bc i dont know them and their post just seemed like a vent too. #this is in response to many many others ive seen blaming rick for their viewing experience #i dont know rick either. but tbh his work speaks for itself. #and if we want more of it we need to not do The Twitter Thing of smashing and trashing anything remotely made for us #just bc its not perfect. or in this case because its slightly to the left of the original source 🙄 #its in response to the people who are like....being hostile about it. #im really fucking disappointed in this fanbase. i used to think we were a far more positive place. #but genuinely trying to be on here and look at fun posts about pjo between eps has lead to much of the fun being squashed #because ***everyone is complaining****. #yall are insufferable. go join the illiteracy club on tiktok and watch the latest marvel movie or something. #the positive posts are becoming so few that Tumblr has shown me the same posts over 5 times each. #You Are A Tar Pit ❤️ #not op of the last post btw. again they seemed nice. their analogy was just....it accidentally summed up the problem perfectly.

[imaginarianisms]

i may or may not have said this before but my muses who're native women are badass native women in various ways.

bellatrix/beretta is a femme fatale witchy goth mother sex worker / sugar baby, assassin & supersoldier, marie/maverick is a warrior, swordswoman, supersoldier & assassin & eventually brothel madam & pâtisserie owner, clementine is an assassin & a survivalist & a witch in her own right during the apocalypse in her canon verse, leah is a wolf shapeshifter who protects her community from those who would harm her people & community, lyanna is an esteemed equestrian, warrior & potentially a greenseer & skinchanger in interpretation & was deemed queen of love and beauty & later became a woods witch & fought in the war of the five kings, sansa is a politically savvy princess turned queen in her own right who is canonically the pinnacle of femininity by westerosi standards & she's an it girl in her own right, sherry/sherissa was a stripper & a sugar baby & a sex worker who ended up marrying a mafia boss & influencing ergastulum politics, loretta is a mafia boss in her own right of her own crime syndicate even as a child & a GIRL at that & can carry her own & is a damn good shot for her age, & katniss is a survivalist & revolutionary icon in her own right. they're allowed to be tomboys, hyperfeminine or somewhere in between or neither, they're allowed to be disabled & neurodivergent & queer, they're capable of being world leaders, military leaders & spiritual leaders & revolutionaries, they're allowed to be on any aspect of the morality scale, they're allowed to come from wealthy families or raised in poverty, they're allowed to be shown in jewels & riches & wear pretty & sexy dresses & be covered in flowers & have poetry written about them & walk down damn runways & be full of themselves bc native women are just as modern & sexy as white women & other nonnative women & most importantly they FIGHT BACK. we already have a bunch of antinative stereotypes about natives being violent & native women being assaulted or abused or killed off onscreen but they can't be hurt so easily, they can get their vengeance quickly, & can fight back against their enemies just as hard.

#out of the galaxy. || ooc. #& yes this applies 2 my n.onnative i.ndigenous m.uses who aren't t.urtle i.sland i.ndigenous but im focusing on t.urtle i.sland n.atives rn

[lovediives]

✨🕊🌕 for kaira? - @yuzuru-p

✨ - share some headcanons about your f/o! this can be visual headcanons, sexuality or gender, disabilities and neurodivergencies, etc! kaira, my beautiful husband.. let's see where i can start. starting from his height, he's around 5'6, maybe 5'5 if i'm going to be honest. skin is pretty clear, you can tell a bit he's wearing makeup to make his eyes seem a bit sharper. it could also be connected to his tribe too. (thinking..about that last part bc in general makeup seems to be very important to yokai..) i am normal about kaira and sharp teeth but i think in general that he would have fangs like a snake because he's the snake king.. making him more connected to his yokai side. i think he's lean with slight muscle. in general, i think he has moments about being insecure about his looks and body especially since he's a half human half yokai. but i think it would be silly because i think to many people he's considered very attractive and his most defining features are his eyes. which, honestly, he totally got from his dad. (my headcanon is that his dad is the human side and his mother is the yokai side) there's no specific reason other than he just like me fr. oh my god im still on visual. for sexuality, he's bi demiace. no other reason than me thinks it fits.. he's not cis. hes agender honestly, uses masc terms, but that's about it… he/they kaira real.. OKAY no disability headcanons so far.. this can change in the future. BUT OHH BOY FELLAS HAVE I INTRODUCED YOU TO BPD KAIRA? there's no way he doesn't have bpd. like the way he acts, the way he's so reluctant to trust people. but he wants to be loved so badly. he needs to be loved and respected. he'd do anything to be accepted. like dont make me sick bpd boy. i love you sooo much. i think other than bpd, i think he has some anxiety which makes him just lash out and get angry instead of ever just freezing or freaking out. he's a very angry person but eventually he calms down.. sorta!

🕊 - would your f/o kill a man for you? how would they do it? would they get caught?

yes. he would, especially to protect the few things he feels like.. "belongs" to him. he would do it in a heartbeat, no questions asked. simple slice, one two.. the only issue is. there's no way he wouldn't get caught. he obviously did it in the moment and he isn't thinking straight during it. and then he starts to panic because he forgot in the moment that he was king of the yokai and not that outcast he was before. i think in general though, he wouldn't kill a human… and death in yokai doesn't matter all that much. so i think he would freak out and then like two seconds later the yokai in question comes back, begging for forgiveness, and kaira nearly passes out from how stressed out he was. i think i would have to comfort him for the next four days because i feel so bad about freaking him out like that (i didnt even do shit. i just said this yokai was mean to me :( ) and in turn, kaira would kinda just ride the high of all the attention he gets from it. and mutters something stupid like.. "i'd do it again if needed to.."

🌕 - what kind of fashion subculture would your f/o be partial to and why? do they prefer form over function or function over form? I ACTUALLY THOUGHT ABOUT THIS BEFORE.. i think he wears his traditional outfit because of how its connected to the izana tribe. but when he's out and about just trying to fit in with the other humans. he's totally wearing alt punk. HEAR ME OUT ON THIS. but i really think he would like fashion despite the fact that the fashion is basically against who he is. but like he's lowkey kinda selfish in general in minor aspects. so he would do it in enjoyment and then try to avoid asking about his political stances. he loves the dark colors, he loves the accesories. he can go all out on the entire outfit and no one would be like "isnt that too much?" because its alt punk. he loves it sooo much. but don't ask him about it or else he gets embarassed and tries to just walk it off. other than that he wears dads clothes. which i was joking. that fucked up bucket hat.. hopefully i understood this right, but i think he would be the type to be function > form ngl. outfits like these btw.. vvvv plus its very cute to think about the contrast because my s/i prefers to wear cuter/light colored outfits LOL

#asks #kaira ♥ #azrael tag ⭐ #yuzuru-p #THANK YOU FOR THE ASK AZRAEL MWAH MWAAAHHH

[thegoblinboy]

regarding your eddie headcanons: YES! I'm also convinced he's neurodivergent and fails his classes not bc he's dumb or uninterested but bc he has trouble focusing.

And what you said about him being a cuddly person... I can totally see that, but I also get the feeling that he hasn't got a lot of people he's physically close with. So he's probably really touch starved and holds himself when he's upset :(

Lastly, I also think he probably has abandonment issues. We don't know what happened with his parents yet, but I'm sure whatever it was left its scars.

This is definitely how I’ve been picturing the other, and I can’t help but gush about how I know Steve would be there to help the other out. Like he’s clearly a dumbass and not completely piecing together what the other needed but he’s just there with the other. That and also the kids, seem to even take a more of a liking to to him)

At first the group used to talk or Joke about how Eddie clearly wasn’t graduating anytime soon. Steve never said much about it but he was secretly hoping the other boy would making it through this year so that the two of them could be in the same yearbook. One last time. Though it hasn’t looked promising when he switches his classes and ends up in a few of Eddie’s.

The boy seemed to be like a energy ball that couldn’t be contained. Something on him was constantly bouncing, one of his hands was constantly messing with something, and his eyes were there but it didn’t seem like he was really processing what was going on. At first Steve figured it might be because the other boy was still in shock about everything. But that didn’t seem to be the issue as Eddie snapped out of it when Steve sat down next to him and gave him the hugest grin there is.

“Oh look at this! What have I done to deserve your time and lovely throne near me- King Steve.” He teases with a smirk. Watching the other very carefully as Steve raises a eyebrow. His eyes going down to the others black nails, which if he was honest- was totally badass.

“It was the last seat Munson.” Steve snorts a little before adding, “That and you looked like what a earthquake would be like in human form, kind of hard not to catch someone’s attention when you’re moving all around.” He says amused as he looks down at the paper he was handed. The thing was he wasn’t being mean about it. Though Eddie truthfully couldn’t tell and was about to say something as the Teacher announced partners. Of course he was with Steve.

Steve looks down at the paper reading it in one go as he pulls his desk closer to the other so they could talk more in private. When he finishes he can tell that Eddies attempting to read the paper but it seemed like the amount of chatter going on seemed to be distracting him. Steve hadn’t seen anything like this is anyone before so he was really curious. He gives the boy a minute before moving his hand patting the others arm.

“Here I can read it for you if you want?” Steve offers calmly looking at the other to see if it was okay. Eddie had this frustrated look on his face but just grumbles a little bit about how he hoped that this was going to be his year.

Steve lets the other be for a second before he starts reading off the others paper word for word. Eddie moving to give him all of his attention not wanting to admit that the others voice was smooth and not to rough that it hurt his ears or overwhelmed him like the teachers or everyone else’s.

And that’s how it starts, by times the end of the class is over Eddie feels proud for getting something done and hands it in to the teacher who looks shocked his writing was eligible let alone even on the paper. “Good job Munson, whatever you did this period you should start doing that with more of your classes.” The teacher says as Eddie blushes a bit. He was sort of upset about this comment but pushes himself out of the class before he ripped her head off.

Oblivious Steve was unaware of how upset the other was as he runs up to Eddie after a second holding the homework l. “Hey, do you want to work on the homework with me later?” He asks curious.

“Steve, don’t patronize me. I’m not some stupid charity case that needs help with school.” Eddie snaps as Steve raises his hands up defensively noticing how close they were. He has always noticed how the other was never aware of personal space. Not that he minded, he would take that over being beat up.

“Um- what are you on about Eddie? I thought we could get the homework done after school while we wait for the Dustin and the other kids to get done with detention. Unless you canceled your DND session- but either way I really need your help on question five. I don’t know what half the words mean and you’re a geek of sorts.” Steve rambles out as he wasn’t sure what the other wanted.

Eddie makes a oh face as he realizes the other was babying him like some people had tried doing in the past. Majority of them were girls though that thought they could ‘change’ his freak ways.

“I- oh yeah we can do that.” Eddie says softly acting a lot less defensive then before as Steve gives him a smile.

“Ok, we’ll then see you after school.” Steve says with a friendly smile leaving the other shocked behind him. No matter how much time passes Eddie’s sure he’s never going to get used to the fact that Asshole King Steve is one of the nicest people he’s ever met.

True to his words, and five minutes late Steve finally meets Eddie in the DnD room. Eddie was already upset because his anxiety started to kick up when the crowded hallways got worse during last period. Unlike others, everyone was racing to leave. So he just kept his arms wrapped around himself as he sits looking at the DND map. His homework was already out and on the table but he has barely even read anything. All the words were blurring together and his brain couldn’t function.

Steve’s entering the room, and apparently it had started to storm out as a loud clash of thunder hit right as the door closes shut and Steve’s jumping accidentally dropping his stuff his go to reaction to cover his ears. Breathing a little heavy as he disappears for a second but comes back to reality as he looks startled when he sees Eddie’s concerned look.

Quickly picking up his bag he scurry’s over sitting down shaking a little bit. As he focuses on catching his breath. After everything with the Russians, he’s noticed that he’s more sensitive to things. For one, he got hit in the head way to many times to count that his ears were starting to get effected by it. Everything coming in louder then what it’s supposed too. That and he’s always been nervous around thunder. When he was younger it had reminded him of his Father who yelled very loud when he was pissed.

Eddie raises a eyebrow, “you cool Harrington?” He asks. Unlike the other he had found that storms and the rain were very calming for him. Though to be fair he listens to metal music to fall asleep. That should already show how different the two are. He was no longer hugging himself and honestly he didn’t think he recognized the Steve in front of him.

He had grown used to the fearless Steve who stood tall and fought everything to protect everyone with out hesitation. He went swimming in the middle of the fucking lake risking his life for gods sake. This honestly took Eddie by surprise the other didn’t like thunder. He figured the other would enjoy storms, but his hunch was wrong.

“Yeah- just um. Yeah?” Steve stutters awkwardly really unsure what to say embarrassed that he was being seen like this. Eddie catches the hint and drops it before seeing the other jump out of his skin when another boom hits.

Eddie can’t help but feel responsible for this scarred puppy like boy. Huffing to himself because he knew he was going to regret it he moves dragging Steve and his chair closer to him. There was barely any room between them now and Steve wasn’t really focused on that. More of the loud noises coming from outside.

“Ok, Harrington.” Eddie starts trying to distract the other but the other was off in la la land again. Eddie understood, he had been doing the same on and off sense everything went down. Though he never thought he would see Steve have the same problem. He had seemed so used to it and now Eddie recognized how the other bullshitted. To be fair Eddie does the same.

Eddie sighs figuring the homework is going to be forgotten as he moves and pulls the shaking boy over manhandling him to his lap. He can’t help but laugh a little, “Welcome to my throne King Steve. If I ever see you sitting in my seat ever again I’ll kill you.” He jokes as he hears Steve snapping back to reality looking confused.

“Why the hell am I in your lap?” Steve asks blushing trying to get out. He knew how bad he was when he starteed to cuddle someone in anyway. He got attached and then really weird. Sure he didn’t really mind Eddie, but he didn’t think he was close enough to him to throw away all of the stereotypical guy rules.

“You were shaking and not responding so I snatched you.” Eddie shrugs as one of his ringed filled hands holds the others hip looking at the other amused. He enjoyed making Steve flustered it was a funny thing to watch. Though it’s forgotten as Steve jumps again shaking worse as he covers his ears. The thunder was to loud for him. Eddie bites his lip as he pulls off his leather coat and wraps it around the other to help make him feel secure as he pulls him to his chest. Squeezing his arms around the other.

“Eddie, you really don’t know personal space do you?” Steve teases as Eddie chuckles.

“Nope. Though to be fair you look like you’re on the verge of a panic attack and I know being coddled pretty much helps me calm down.” Eddie shrugs trying to act like this was no big deal. In a way he still didn’t understand some of the society norms or social cues.

Steve jumps once more as he’s pretty much forcing himself further into the others chest. He was also very exhausted. He had problems sleeping to begin with and he knew he was going to fall asleep on this guy who’s probably going to go around school telling everyone Steve Harrington’s the hugest gay out there.

Staying bundled up Steve finds his face buried in the others shoulder and hair as he falls asleep gripping onto the others leather jacket around him for dear life.

Ok so this isn’t my favorite I’m running off from no sleep but majority of the ideas here make sense to me though I can’t picture Eddie forcing Steve to cuddle with him to calm his anxiety down. But you know what who cares right now I don’t 😭 but honestly out of Steve and Eddie I feel like Steve would have the worst abandonment issues. (Like Dustin leaving for camp was probably the worst thing he could’ve thought of in season three) though I do plan on writing more. I’m better at writing small fanfictions not one shots so I’m still getting my strength up with that lol. Plus I feel like all of these ideas about Eddie I’m going to use in a fanfiction when I come up with a plot lol

#steveharrington #stranger things #steve harrington #eddie stranger things #steve x eddie #eddie munson #bxb #steddie #steveddie

[susie-dreemurr]

(This was made as a response to someone, but I decided to make this it’s own post for me to link when my friends question my sanity. Long post warning.)

I was still fixated in TOH, already had it as my favorite shows, but my blorbo was Hunter (though Luz was getting there). Still, Hollow Mind managed to double my love for the show. Which was inevitable because, come on. My two favorites had the best episode ever and I’ve been a sucker for angst since I was like eight. I was also feeling vindicated bc I hated fanon Philip. It was an insanely good episode

I didn’t really care for the collector when Hollow Mind first aired, because I too immediately made the Bill Cypher connection. Which, fair enough past me, HM didn’t really present them as anything but evil. Same with Edge of the world. I cared more for exploring other’s characters feelings with him as a plot device which, *looks at pfp* A Lot Has Changed.

We get to the next episode they appear in, one that made me 10 times more mentally ill. O Titan where art thou. It’s then we get the 1st glimpse at The Collector’s loneliness + suffering over their imprisonment and their screams gave me chills dude. I was like “oh this show is really gonna explore the solitary situation as the horrifying thing it is huh D: still evil but I feel bad for him at least mercy kill him pls”

After that, then came Clouds On The Horizon, which finally made me put two and two together that Belos was going to betray the collector (in my defense I was in the fallen Angel theory grind). Their interactions were gold and then the fucking monologue collector has when king listens is EVEYRHTING my fav scene fr fr!!!!! So when that episode ends im like. “OKAY. OKAY. Not only was he on fantasy solitary and then met a puritan, the puritan has also been manipulating them for like 400 years, even now where he can free them but chooses not to until the DoU so now it’s crashing down of them. Buuuut just because they’re a victim of belos too doesn’t mean he’s not evil too. I love them so so so much, they can give some great commentary on trauma.”

At that point I had already reached a high blorbo-like mental illness status. I didn’t even post much abt the lumity kiss and the Luz & Hunter sibling grind, i focused more on those insane two minutes of the collector 😭. Then Dana Terrace thought that I was not focusing on them enough, because she drops King’s “crazy insane episode” Tide.

Not gonna lie… I had to wait at least 2 days for my analysis brain to turn back on, bc every time I saw their physical design my mind went “omg a baby yayayayayayayy” 😭 Srsly the ep gave me a whole different perspective: “lonely neurodivergent kid with god powers who, while is said to be the Grand Huntsman, doesn’t even have anything against titans as species. They play destructive, chaotic games because he doesn’t understand morals. And that’s dangerous, but it also opens a path to redemption. Not only that, they (almost) killed off Belos!!! They’d be on my top list for that regardless!!!!”

So yeah I’m. Not fixated on toh the show, but literally just the Collector now. Oh how the turn tables

#the owl house #toh #owl house #long post #collector toh #toh collector #collector #mine

[ignatius-pennyfeather-ix]

abed for the character ask!

favorite thing about him:

so many! i really love how he is clearly neurodivergent and also very passionate about creating films and everything bc as a nd who loves cinematography and film analysis and even just creating short documentaries, i see so much of myself represented in him. i also love how he uses tv/movies to make sense of the world. i watch television frequently and i also use it to understand people and relationships so again i see a lot of myself in him!

least favorite thing about him:

nothing. abed can do no wrong ever.

favorite line:

it’s from the bottle episode, when he says that he is “entombed alive in a masoleum of feelings i can neither understand nor reciprocate” this quote changed me. it’s such an accurate description of what it means to be nd for me. really reminds me especially of when i was younger discovering there were so many invisible rules i suddenly had to follow. and also a trobed-specific one- look, i know it’s from the gas leak year but when he said “for the first time in my long history of being locked inside things, i knew someone would come” to troy like it makes me cry. i just love them so much and i love how they love and protect each other.

brOTP:

for sure him and annie

OTP:

trobed you already know

nOTP:

like i said before i know some people can but i can’t see him with anyone other than troy. trobed or tro home.

headcanon:

random but i don’t think he listens to music a lot. he just doesn’t seem like the type idk.

unpopular opinion:

i don’t think i have any unpopular opinions. it’s hard to tell bc the…community community on tumblr is small and i’d say mostly like minded people.

song i associate with him:

soldier, poet, king. shoutout to that amazing trobedison edit!

favorite picture:

i love abed’s outifit in the choloroform episode, i when he and troy were bert & ernie, but above all:

i didn’t really like this episode but jfc he’s so attractive

#sorry this took so long for me to respond to #and thank you for asking me abt abed i love talking about him #community ask game #abed nadir #trobed #nbc chuck

[thatone-highlighter]

Hello!!! I am here to rant about something random to you!!! Since I want to rant and I figured you might at least slightly relate bc of how you’ve talked ab SU :]

Yknow that when we had that CAWM post and in part of it we talked about how these shows [AT and SU] are important to us? I was just thinking about like why AT specifically connected to me so much [and also how that extends to characters?] like, of course AT was very important to me when I was younger, but I’m just kinda wondering why AT is the thing that extremely stuck with me. There are thing I could argue built more of who I am today then AT [even tho AT did definitely contribute to who I am] Like The Lion King which got me interested in animation and art, and I probably never would have even watched stuff like amphibia without it getting me into animation! Maybe AT was just a right time right place type of thing, maybe my autism was just like “oh yeah that’s OUR thing forever now.” OH that’s another important part of it ! I’m like 99% sure my neurodivergency has contributed to AT becoming as important to me as it did, I call AT my special interest, which definitely has a ton of different definitions depending on the person but for me it’s like, my default, it’s the thing I’m most likely thinking about and the thing I see the world through if that makes sense?

And !!! How this relates to my favorite character/s in AT [for context even tho I’m p sure you know this: my all time fav is PB and Fern is also a top fav] I see myself a lot in my favorite characters, I’ve said that AT is a part of me, and that definitely extends to characters. You can see that easily in how I take characters names actually,,, a little side note, but I’ve considered using heart as a name before, which I feels hammers this point home even more since heart is ofc my wjh fave [tbh I still really want to use heart as a name but idk if it would be weird since their like an oc and not a tv character and I’m too nervous to ask Mal lmaoo] and also, I end up seeing these characters just, as me a lot, like in the same way that AT is such an important part of me that it feels like you couldn’t separate it from me, I also feel like my favorite characters in a way because their so important to me [ofc this type of connection varies between characters, I think I feel this most for PB] and I also definitely feel like the neurodivergency has contributed to this, and I think this happens to others too [I mean how many people named Marcy have you seen around the Amphibia fandom shgdhdhshs] autism is weird [extremely positive] and makes me identify with my silly little blorbos a lot.

Anyways, I wasn’t really going anywhere super specific with this, and I don’t really have like, a question for you to answer to in this or anything, I just wanted to talk about my experiences and thought you’d maybe like to hear about em???

I dont really know what it id about su that got me into it. I think it might have just been a perfect thing at the perfect time. I had the ability to watch it, the autism liked it, i was at an impressionable age. The stars perfectly aligned and then it consumed my entire life for the next 5-8 years and counting. Theres nothing specific about it no specific plotlines or characters that specifically connect to me in a specific way its just. Special to me, its comforting and nice.

I dont really like, consider anything my special interests? I dont really know what counts as one so i dont call anything it. But yeah, to me its just, i dont even know how to put into words what SU is to me. Its what i spent hours upon hours thinking about at school, whenever i had downtime, every week on the way to soccer training i would sing songs to myself to keep myself entertained, to this day every time i get bored and start singing to myself Love Like You is the first song i go to. Its so important to me its such an important part of so much of my life, i truely very much would not be the person i am today without it.

I have a weird relationship with names, if i could i probably wouldnt have a name, every name ive used feels good for a while and then eventually it just, stops. Even duck which is a name i Love and in years of using it online it has never stopped being one i like, the idea of making it my Actually Legal name just, isnt there. The relationship you seem to have with names where you take the names of your favourite characters is very interesting to me, its cool. In concept i get the idea of seeing yourself in a character and relating to them that way, but in practice i think i have too flimsy of a sense of self to really see myself in anyone else. I think it would be cool if you added Heart to your name arsenal. On the server a few people have asked why we have a Heart role if its empty, but me and Mal both agree that it we could never give it to anyone else, theres no way we could ever give the role to anyone who wasn’t you, it would feel too wrong its Your role.

Thank you for talking to me about all this, i love talking to you about each of our fav Cartoon Network shows,,,,,,

#thousand word adventure time post 2-electric boogaloo #i feel like i ended up so off topic what i was responding to each time but eh #i fr missed talking to u like this bestie #i know it wasnt that long but it felt like Ages #uwu love u bestie #Tree Man Posts #asks

[mountainoverdewingit]

my biggest glow up was fully diving into anti-capitalism and becoming self-dx positive. only reason i was finally able to get help for my autism instead of convincing myself everything i noticed and the struggles i was having were all my fault

#self-dx ofc requires a ton of research and shouldn't be done willy nilly #but i think all the people i interact with are well aware this is what i mean #and don't think i mean 'just say you have any mi or neurodivergency bc you're bored' #also in coming to my parents with my research they told me a dr said he thought i was autistic and then just... didn't dx me #like?!?!?!?!? you thought i would be autistic and didn't follow up on that king? #also four different teachers fron my elementary school begged for my parents to get me tested for autism #and my parents thought they were joking or being rude so they just did not #oliver stoppin now

[ananas-pineapple-thing]

WHY does the bare 2000 promo video have so many closeups on One i’m just tryna vibe here 😡

#i do not want to see it #i am looking away #mine #i really want to draw this cast because i love them but i’m busy with my annual Terrible SA Poster Redraw that i will not post 😌 #anyways 2000 lucas’s outfit.... King... Icon #if I had to make my own designs for the characters i’d just draw 2000 lucas #actually that sounds fun mayhaps I will do that one day 🤔🤔🤔 it’ll be POC bare bc i said so #i mean 2000 bare was actually very diverse compared to... every other production I’ve personally seen/listened to lol #especially for being a 2000 production 🤔 yall would think it would be the whitest #also not to read to much into random casting but matt being a poc while jason is white is super interesting #because it would be realistic for matt to be just as talented but overlooked because of his race #(i mean jason is also far more charismatic than matt which was important for choosing romeo but whatever) #i saw an SA production that did this with moritz it was really smart #kind of like DWSA but less extreme? #canonically the teachers hate him because he’s #(probably) #neurodivergent but if they’re also racist or ableist it adds an extra layer to how helpless moritz felt in that situation #also in DWSA it makes sense why ernst is failing too :( he’s not stupid they’re all just horrible to their deaf students #i liked the detail where ernst moritz and otto are visibly waiting for melchior to sign what the teacher is saying behind his back #why do my tags always get away from me 😳 #if u read all of that i owe u financial compensation

[loan-hh]

Ranking the Madrigals

I'm going to preface this by saying that if I could put everyone in the first place, I would. But then it wouldn't be a ranking so what would be the point. Obviously this is entirely subjective, if you disagree with anything feel free to comment I'll be happy to discuss since I'm not too sure of some of the places myself.

1. Mirabel 🦋

This is unusual since I always end up caring very little about the main character but she is genuinely so well done

Honestly I just relate to her a lot

Waiting on a Miracle has become one of my favourite songs and I don't think I'm able to listen to it without crying

Expresses the neurodivergent experience wonderfully, whether intentionally or not

The part when she sees herself in the vision breaks me :(

Love the fact that she decorated her whole dress

I'm constantly changing first place because I just can't decide between her and Bruno, this is technically illegal but they should share first I'm sorry

2. Bruno 🐀

Relatable AND funny AND well developed AND adorable AND has apparently neurodivergent traits? king

We all know why he is this high I just want to hug him

Love how he has nothing to do with the expectations built around him

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Jonathan Sims but his stupidity makes him cute instead of messing up everyone's plans

I, also, want to disappear and become a cryptid that lives with animals and mumbles nonsense to his imaginary friends

Not meaning to make this personal but like, the fact that he thinks his family is better off without him is such a mood

Eye horror mmmmm

Also a creative mind

Green is my favourite color :)

And Bruno is one of my favourite names I literally would have named myself that if it wasn't for the fact that I already knew someone with that name in my social circle

The rats are a plus

3. Alma 🕯

Alright, I know this one will probably be a bit controversial

She's one of the most complex characters in the film and I appreciate that so much

I don't like when people villanize her. Yes she obviously made huge mistakes but the whole point of her arc is that she realizes this and changes for the better

She isn't evil, everything she does comes from a place of fear from past experiences

When I think of her I think of her younger version because during the whole first part of the movie her present version is made to look like an antagonist, which is fine, it's how stories work otherwise there would be no arc or it would be meaningless

The image of her screaming brings me to tears everytime, everything Mirabel says about her at the end is so true. She went through so much completely on her own

And everything she does is to protect her family, even if she had to realize that it was doing the opposite.

4. Antonio 🐆

Cute but competent

Has the best gift and the best room

Honestly I just envy him. So much.

Extra points for being the kid™ without being annoying or just a brainless prop and actually having a role

5. Camilo 🎭

Killer dance moves (like everyone in the family but he is just extra expressive)

Funny

Love his singing voice

Also got the best verse in the entire film, or he made it the vest verse

I just like his design ok

Reminds me of my actual cousins

His gift is cool but I would rank him higher if he had more development

sEVEN FOOT FRAME RRRRATS ALONG HIS BACK-

6. Luisa ⚖

Overwhelmed gifted team

She's only here because of how much I relate to her internal challenge bc until I saw her song I honestly didn't care much

I think the fact that every time she is upset it's portrayed mostly in a humorous way makes me feel a bit more distanced compared to other characters

7. Agustín 🎹

I have no arguments for this I just really really like him

Dumb (affectionate)

He's so genuinely supportive I love him. I think he's the first who actually tries to make Mirabel feel understood since he puts himself in her place through his own experience

Also I just love the fact that he is called Agustín? like that feels like such a common name here but at the same time I would have never expected to see it in a piece of media. Honestly I think if it wasn't for this film I would have thought it was just an Argentinean name

Sing me a song piano man aw yeah

8. Dolores 🔔

Love her voice and how she sort of whispers when she sings

Also has an awesome verse and I love her dance in the wood step thingy

Would have liked to see more of her arc as well, so much potential

I love me some pining

I just feel like she is super gentle and understanding yet it isn't her whole purpose so she isn't just reduced to an attempt of a perfectly kind character and is actually fun and flawed

9. Pepa 🌦

Again. Please give me more development

There is just so much implied struggle with how she has to constantly repress her emotions and I really wish that had been explored the same way it was with Isa and Luisa

So expressive. Star aunt potential

(Star aunt is what I call my favourite archetype for female characters, examples are Natiqa from The Arcana and Kyra from Our Life)

10. Isabela 🌺

I have to admit that I straight up disliked her, maybe hated her until What Else Can I Do, because she was mean to Mira and I felt super defensive over her the first time I saw the movie

Obviously I like her final version a lot more

I also didn't care for her power at first because it seemed to be focused only on the flowers but damn the carnivorous plants yes please

Reminds me a bit of Nadia from The Arcana but that is partially because a friend of mine is obsessed with both of them and it led me to make that connection

11. Julieta 🥟

(I know that's a dumpling just pretend it's an empanada ok)

So loving so caring so competent

Love the fond exasperation when helping Agustín

I just feel like she was made to be a perfectly caring protective figure and doesn't have space for complexity outside of that

12. Félix ☀

Sorry king someone had to be last

Definitely feels like an uncle I could have

Such a good husband his dynamic with Pepa seems so fun and real

Honestly I just don't have much to say, there's a reason I left him for last

#disney encanto #the madrigal family #La familia Madrigal #Ranking #Opinion #mirabel madrigal #bruno madrigal #alma madrigal #antonio madrigal #camilo madrigal #luisa madrigal #agustin madrigal #dolores madrigal #pepa madrigal #isabela madrigal #julieta madrigal #felix madrigal

[himboarcher]

reasons i've seen folks say that grad critics hate grad:

they hate travis (in fairness, i’ve def seen some comments of people shitting on trav for the sake of shitting on trav, but it’s not super common and typically gets downvoted into oblivion on reddit.)

it's not balance / travis isn't griffin (???????)

they hate neurodivergent people (again, in fairness, i have seen a handful of comments that could come across this way! but most of the time when travis being ADHD or his NPD is brought up, it's by defenders saying that criticizing travis is ableist because he's neurodivergent or, in one particular comment, infantilizing him bc of it and literally comparing grad to putting a kid's artwork on the fridge. there were some comments early on that pointed to him being a narcissist as the reason for things people disliked about grad, but everyone seems to have realized that that's a shitty train of thought and left it behind.)

they're just toxic haters (again, there are a small handful of people like this because this is the internet, but the genuine criticism greatly outweighs their bullshit. i 100% think that the people, which is mostly just one dude who is also insufferable on reddit, who have been responding rudely to positive tweets under the episode announcements lately are out of line and need to stop. there's been an influx of that lately, presumably because people are frustrated that after over a year of grad going on, there's been no improvement to most of the major issues. that's still no excuse to be a dick to folks, though.)

vs some of the actual reasons i don't like grad:

the racism / racist tropes, and the way that they’ve straight up ignored this criticism and will likely never acknowledge it. pretty wild considering a core tenet of their brand is their willingness to acknowledge when they’ve messed up and do their best to course correct.

clumsy attempts at inclusion that are shallow and often end up being fairly offensive ("...ask me about my wheelchair," anyone?)

on a related note: i don't think that travis had bad intentions, but as an nonbinary person, it feels othering to me that travis only has enby characters give others their pronouns unprompted. i'm thinking specifically of kai here. having listened to their introduction, i don't think it's as bad or awkward as some people have said, but i can't remember travis ever having another NPC tell the PCs their pronouns, especially not a cis character. it's not a huge deal, but it's something that rubbed me the wrong way. admittedly, i don't think it would bother me so much if travis hadn't dropped the ball so much with performative inclusion in the past.

okay i'm putting the rest under a read more because even without getting into all of the problems i have with it, this got Long.

little to no player agency. player choices are ultimately meaningless and have little to no effect on the world. even when he seems to go along with a plan they come up with, it always ends with them having to go back to travis' pre-written script (see: subpoenaing the xorn, but not really because they had to go with travis' original plan of "send the xorn home through the rift".) the players repeatedly get told things about what they think or feel or what they've been doing to an unnecessary degree. fitzroy is the only one who really gets space to play and decide things for himself, and that's only because travis has decided he's the main character.

the NPCs are all too nice and willing to give the PCs anything they ask for and more, unless the PCs are trying to follow their own plan and then the NPCs are completely useless. but honestly, aside from gray, all of the NPCs are just.... nice. travis refuses to even let his antagonists be mean or cruel or even more than just slightly rude, because that'd be a bummer and we don't want that! the "twist" of gordy the lich king actually being polite and chill is not a twist at all because everyone is like that in this world. the NPCs are also wildly overpowered, but then suddenly absolutely useless when the PCs actually want their help.

too many cliffhangers that are dropped immediately at the beginning of the next episode. i feel bad for travis because so many of these cliffhangers actually set up good momentum and seemed like things were gonna get interesting, but almost every single time he just dropped them at the beginning of the next episode. like when althea showed up to interview the boys and the next episode started with travis being like "actually you went to sleep, she said she'll be back tomorrow!"

that time travis specifically said in his exposition dump that the thundermen left their horses behind because they thought the centaurs might be offended by them riding horses, only to later on rag on them for being surprised that the centaurs had horses they could ride.....

also the centaur arc in general, but i already listed racism above, so.

the way that the toxic positivity and parasocial tendencies in the mcelroy fandoms have made a large portion of the fandom take ANY criticism as a personal attack on travis and/or on themselves for enjoying something others consider bad, either morally or just quality-wise. it’s okay to admit that something you like has problematic elements or just isn’t as good as it once was. you can and should engage critically with the media you consume.

related to above: the way travis has handled genuine criticism, which is to throw public tantrums on his twitter or make weird passive aggressive tweets & ultimately ignore all the genuine criticism and advice he's been offered by claiming it's all subjective, even after he specifically asked for it and set up an email for folks to send in genuine, objective advice for him (after he threw a tantrum on twitter and replied to someone's criticism publicly, which resulted in his followers dogpiling on that person bc how dare they insult their internet best friend). while i was writing this last night, he actually announced that he’s taking a break from Twitter and acknowledged that he’s been using it as an echo chamber where he can easily get validation from folks, and honestly i’m happy for him that he’s recognized this problem and is stepping away for a while! i hope he’ll genuinely use this time to reflect on how he’s been behaving and find a more healthy way to use social media. i’m leaving this point in because i think his Twitter being such a positive echo chamber was encouraging him to do stuff like this, and him somewhat acknowledging his behavior doesn’t mean it can no longer be discussed.

rainer. extremely cool concept in theory and i was very into it until that awkward "does anyone want to ask about my wheelchair?" moment. also when travis had her use her mobility aid to RAM INTO A DOOR instead of just fucking knocking???? also all the times travis has tried to force a romantic relationship between her and fitzroy, despite fitzroy displaying no interest in her in that way. also, just to clarify: as an ace person, i don’t think this is aphobic! (and it’s kind of a stretch to call it that imo, especially since griffin never explicitly said that fitzroy's aromantic!) i just think it’s weird and awkward and a little uncomfortable for me personally, mostly because it reminds me of the times i’ve been in similar situations.

less of a problem than a lot of the other stuff and more just bad writing, but the forced emotional moments. in general, nothing in grad feels earned (why are the boys heading a war? when they have multiple actual heroes with combat experience on their side and a supposedly powerful secret organization? and the thundermen are like 21 years old max and have only had like ~10 fights in the entire campaign?) but there've been a couple times where travis has tried to force unearned emotional moments, presumably because he knows people enjoyed those with the last campaigns. but the difference is that in balance, the big emotional moments happened because they were earned. in grad, it's just travis throwing a baby pegasus at us for a few minutes and then the next time she shows up, it's supposed to be a tearful goodbye.

there are absolutely no stakes. remember when the thundermen got told that if they left, gray would kill 10 students? and then they left and came back and it turns out that what gray actually meant was, "i'll tie ten students who are mostly nameless NPCs to a tree and throw some dogs at them that you can easily stop in time, then throw a tantrum because how dare you but i'll leave before you can really do anything to hurt me lol" travis did have fitzroy's magic get taken away, but like. it didn't really do anything? also all he had to get it back was be coerced into using drugs by an authority figure and trip in the woods?

we're told that the school is weird and the hero system is corrupt, but the world of nua is still presented as more of a liberal utopia than anything? althea getting fired because of a corrupt villain is the only time we've somewhat seen corruption, but even then, she was still allowed to get (what seems to me, anyway, but admittedly i don't know for sure bc nothing about the HOG makes much sense) a fairly important job from the very people who stripped her of her hero license or whatever the fuck heroes need?

travis doesn't actually seem to understand how capitalism or bureaucracy works and just chalks up everything to "red tape." also more on the rest of the boys than him specifically, but the "let's destroy capitalism!" thing turning into just pushing some filing cabinets over................... okay.

and one last piece of extremely subjective criticism: it's just kind of.... boring. i think a lot of people, myself included, would be willing to overlook 90% of the problems with graduation if it didn't feel like such a slog to get through.

also people saying that we can't or shouldn't criticize graduation because it's "free" is absolutely absurd for several reasons. first, something being free does not make it above criticism. second, there ARE people who directly financially support the show with monthly donations. three, there's a difference between something being free and something being not for profit. podcasting is their full time job. they make their living off of money made from TAZ and MBMBAM (and probably their other shows to a lesser extent). this not a fun home game that they are graciously recording and sharing with us. it is a product they are producing that they make money off of, both from ads in the episodes and merch & books based off of these podcasts. they have marketed themselves as professionals, and both griffin and travis have been on panels where they are marketed as professional DMs and appear alongside other professional DMs (which makes it incredibly frustrating when people say that travis is just a newbie DM and we can't criticize him because of that. if he's a newbie, then he should not be taking part of panels as a professional DM where he speaks as an expert). TAZ is free in the same way that an episode of NCIS is free. i may not pay for it directly, but the creators are paid to create it and profit off of me consuming this product. so saying we should be grateful for any mcelnoise that the benevolent good boys share with us and that we're not allowed to criticize it "because it's free" is absolutely wild.

#negativity cw #i guess #anyway this is not meant to say that you cannot enjoy grad. #but i'm tired of folks on this website acting like there aren't genuine problems with it #and saying that people just dislike it bc they hate travis etc etc #taz graduation #i genuinely don't expect anyone to read this bc it's so long #but here ya go. #long post