[ SECRET POST #3129 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3129 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 026 secrets from Secret Submission Post #447.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

07. http://i.imgbox.com/XFEcswCY.png

Transcript by OP

[fscom]

Collapsed for length

Re: Transcript by OP

[fscom]

CHARACTERS PICTURED IN BACKGROUND: Soundwave and Optimus Prime (Transformers: Prime); Groot and Drax (Guardians of the Galaxy movie); the Twelfth Doctor (Doctor Who)

SECRET'S TEXT: I'm autistic and I have autistic headcanons for certain characters in certain fandoms. I wrote fanfics for 1 of them. I don't pull my headcanons out of nowhere, I base them off onscreen observation and mentally fill in their specific sensory issues, how much help they may need with everyday stuff, how they stim and what their meltdowns or shutdowns are like. 2 of my headcanons are nonverbal* and need help with daily living skills, but they are completely competent and able to defend themselves in fights. The rest are verbal and self-sufficient.

I don't force my autistic headcanons on anybody else and demand they see the characters that way, I just write or talk about them. I understand that people are going to disagree, but I never expected to see the disagreement come in the form of anon hate on Tumblr. (It doesn't bother me; I delete it and roll my eyes.)

Maybe the issue is I can't view it from a neurotypical or allistic POV, but I seriously don't get it. Mental illnesses and physical disabilities seem to be okay headcanons to have, but autism isn't?

Why?

*Nonverbal = Someone who can't communicate effectively with their voice. Both headcanons are able to say one phrase on their own. One is only considered nonverbal to aliens and not his own species.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm sorry it happens. But if you want an explanation, it's because the Internet is stupid. More specifically, it's because not everyone does this:

I don't force my autistic headcanons on anybody else and demand they see the characters that way, I just write or talk about them.

and so people get all heated up about it and then it becomes a Thing and then all of a sudden everything is awful

[dani_phantasma]

Probably this. People forcing headcanons ruins the fun for a lot of people including other headcanon-ers who just want to have fun with it.

It's why I hesitated posting my own autistic headcanon of one character and when I did write a thing on it (which I lost when the power went out) I had this HUGE long disclaimer about how "this is just a headcanon I'm not saying everyone should have it, and please if you agree don't force it on people blah blah blah" I find it really sad that I felt like I had to make that disclaimer.

[erinptah]

Yeah, this. For some reason I've mostly seen autistic headcanons expressed in the form of "this character is autistic, and if you don't take that into account when judging their actions, you are a bad and ableist person."

...although even those people don't deserve anon hate on Tumblr. Just disagreement and eyerolling.

[(Anonymous)]

That's an odd thing for people to get upset about. Like, you write fics and people flame it and are attacking you for having autistic headcanons? I don't understand, I thought fandom was all about that type of interpretation these days.

* OP *

[(Anonymous)]

My fics don't get flames. I get the anon hate on Tumblr. The hate usually consists of "X isn't autistic, stop pretending they are!" or "Why are you making Y retarded?"

I just delete it. I get boggled because I have a deaf headcanon and a blind headcanon and a mental illness headcanon and I don't get any hate for those. It's just the autistic one. That's what confuses me. The hate itself doesn't bother me.

(frozen comment)

[(Anonymous)]

Did you used to rant all over tvtropes using the sceen name antvasima? Just give it up, please.

(frozen comment)

[(Anonymous)]

Give what up? Having a headcanon and being upset at getting hate about it? They're probably not and you're probably just paranoid/projecting.

(frozen comment)

[(Anonymous)]

Oh no they are autistic and they have an autistic headcanon! How raaaaare on the internets!

(frozen comment) OP

[(Anonymous)]

Nope, sorry. I've visited TV tropes, but I don't have an account.

[(Anonymous)]

Sorry, but the scenario you described sounds like too much of a stretch, or perhaps you're not setting it up plausibly enough for your readers. Writing is great in that you can do anything you want with characters, but if you don't write it in such a way that people nod slowly and think, "Wow, I never thought of that way but this feels natural", they can and often do react badly. What seems like a neat twist to you might feel really forced to a reader who doesn't think the context makes sense.

OP

[(Anonymous)]

I see what you're saying. My fics for the one character where I do write with the headcanon make it seem plausible. I've had NT's thank me for the perspective. I haven't written fics for the other headcanons.

I'm probably making myself obvious now. XD Oh well! If someone wants to see my fics I'll happily link to the series on AO3.

[(Anonymous)]

One possible reason (when it's NOT trolls) could be that there's a meme/trend online with people claiming to be mentally ill/have various disorders, and use them as a "get out of jail free" card for various misdeeds. (i.e. "I'm a mentally ill teenager, so go kill yourself" or "I have autism, so I can be an asshole"). Obviously the people who say those kinds of things aren't the norm, but for people who've interacted with those kinds of people, it could form a negative association.

This is especially frustrating with antagonists, because it can sometimes come across as "well, antagonist didn't really do the bad thing/can't be held accountable for the bad thing because [reasons]". (See: Loki apologism for that sort of thing.)

It could also be that the person who disagrees with your headcanon also is autistic, and just doesn't agree.

Lastly, it depends on what you're using as "evidence". For example, with Groot, yes, he only says "I am Groot" during the film. However, if you're a comic book fan who believes that, like in comic-canon, Groot is physically incapable of saying anything beyond that, but is capable of expressing complex thoughts/emotions*, it can be annoying to hear people reduce that down.

*Not that people that are autistic can't express complex thoughts/emotions, just that the reduction of "well, the only thing we hear is "I am Groot" therefore he can't communicate at all" rather than "well, the only thing we hear is "I am Groot" but that's how his species speaks" (if that distinction makes sense) can be annoying.

To put it another way, you have a species you made up that has a tendency for hyperactivity. This is normal for your species. Someone comes along and claims that that hyperactivity means that ALL members of that species of ADHD, despite hyperactivity being normal for that species. This would be reductive, and annoying.

I'm NOT saying that's what you are doing, but those are some reasons (NON-TROLL) people might have a reaction to your headcanons.

Does any of that make sense?

OP with headcanon

[(Anonymous)]

Yes it does. The fics do center on Groot. I borrowed from the comics(the fics are MCU) and added a neurological component for why he says "I am Groot" and yes it is still communication.

The thing with autism, especially when it's nonverbal, is behavior is communication too. I have Groot communicating through behavior and it'll be ignored, so he shows his frustration and he gets labeled as aggressive instead.

Rocket understands Groot because my headcanon is he grew up on Halfworld in the cage next door to Groot, so he learned to understand Groot before he(Rocket) could speak himself. He knows what Groot is saying 99% of the time because it comes natural to him. Groot can emit scents Rocket is able to smell, but Drax, Gamora and Quill can't. Those scents communicate along with his voice and movements.

I like to play it that every Flora Colossus is unique. Rocket can understand Groot because he knows him; he would not be able to understand another Flora Colossus right away. Groot's "I am Groot" for 'this sucks!' will not sound like the "I am Groot" from another Flora Colossus who is saying 'this sucks!' because they're all different. Flora Colossi learn each others' unique communication patterns just by exposure as they grow up together from saplings.

And my headcanon is the entire species has neurology identical to autism, so it's culture shock for Groot to realize the opposite is true for aliens. His species evolved in a calm, slow-moving, quiet environment, so his home planet is perfectly attuned with his sensory needs. He doesn't seem impaired at all on his homeworld.

He recognizes he is seen as impaired(and he IS compared to, say, Gamora or Rocket) in the eyes of other species.

Rather than running on the idea of Groot 'overcoming autism' I write about him learning to accept that his normal is different and that it's okay to be different. I take those notions that autism makes people less and turn it on its head by having Quill and Gamora come to understand Groot is as competent as they are and it's his sensory issues and ability to communicate that sometimes get messed up. He's not a "person locked inside his symptoms" as they initially see him. He's just Groot to them.

Later on, I have Groot using a datapad to type on so he can be understood. His use of language is amusing because he writes to meaning instead of worrying about perfect grammar. "I want to go outside" as Groot types it comes out as "I wants to goes outsides." Yet he can still express complex ideas and if you pay attention to what he wrote instead of how he wrote it you see he's competent as hell.

BUT, and here is the BUT, I do fully understand others don't see it that way.

The next BUT is that's still no reason to tell me I'm a horrible person for making Groot "retarded" and I should choke on pills. Perhaps the association thing is the reason. I've learned that trying to defend my point is impossible to people who don't want to listen. I certainly don't plan to stop the headcanon just because people don't like it. That's giving in to the hate and I refuse to do that.

All I know is I never shove it at people, as I said. I just talk about it or fic it. (Or blog it, since Groot has a Tumblr too lol!)

[(Anonymous)]

Maybe if you dumped the neurotypical word, it is insulting. The words are "normal" and "not-normal", stop trying to push the meme that auties are some sort of X-men.

[(Anonymous)]

Please don't troll

[(Anonymous)]

I am so sick of this pro-autism agenda crap.

[(Anonymous)]

Are you the author of that Groot fic that's been rec'd here a few times?

[(Anonymous)]

Autism secrets always make the trolls come out in droves, and its so boring after a while. We get it, you're an edgy anti-autism troll, blah blah blah.

[(Anonymous)]

I totally understand, OP. I'm also autistic and have a single autistic headcanon fic posted. After the kind of messages I got from posting that single story, I'm probably never going to post a fic with autism in it, in any context, ever again. One person even accused me of 'fetishizing retardation'... I can't even begin to explain how that made me feel.

[(Anonymous)]

Good God, this thread is proof of how shitty people can be to autistic people. "be proud of yourself? LOL that's retarded" "Some autistic people were jerks now I won't listen to any of you ever, you all want special treatment."

If not that then straight up dehumanizing.

[caerbannog]

Sorry you're getting all this shit. I hope you continue to have fun and share your headcanons!

[raisedbymoogles]

Okay, most of these I get, but an autistic Optimus Prime?

...actually, I kind of dig it. Your ideas intrigue me, OP.