The hard truth about autism acceptance that a lot of people don’t want to hear is that autism acceptance also inherently requires acceptance of people who are just weird.
And yes, I mean Those TM people. Middle schoolers who growl and bark and naruto run in the halls. Thirtysomethings who live with their parents. Furries. Fourteen-year-olds who identify as stargender and use neopronouns. Picky eaters. Adults in fandoms. People who talk weird. People who dress weird.
Because autistic people shouldn’t have to disclose a medical diagnosis to you to avoid being mocked and ostracized for stuff that, at absolute worst, is annoying. Ruthlessly deriding people for this stuff then tacking on a “oh, but it’s okay if they’re autistic” does absolutely nothing to help autistic people! Especially when undiagnosed autistic people exist.
Like it or not, if you want to be an ally to autistic people, you’re going to have to take the L and leave eccentric, weird people alone. Even if you don’t know them to be autistic. You shouldn’t be looking for Acceptable Reasons to be mean to people in the first place. Being respectful should be the default.
This reminds me of that global warming comic, like
Man. For years and years I saw people on here saying things like, “Superwholock/MCU/whatever fans have [insert veiled reference to autism here], lol” and starting those “cringe” type blogs to mock those people, repost their art and whatnot. It’s only just occured to me some of them are probably old enough to have kids now.
I’ll always love Call the Midwife but I’ve felt it’s been getting a little repetitive as of late, doing the same kinds of storylines over and over and not really evolving as much as I know it can. (It’s hindered a bit by the constantly rotating cast, I always thought.) Well, the Christmas Special changed all that! Really good. Full of both callbacks to the past and hints of what the future might look like. Lucille and Cyril got married, everyone got a bit more closure over Barbara’s death (finally) and I got to learn how important leeches are to medical science. Hooray!
My only real quibble is that Valerie wasn’t there or even mentioned, I forget where she ended up in-show but she really ought to have been at the wedding.
No, that’s not a warning, that’s the title of the fic! I mean, there ARE spoilers, big ones. But the fanfic is also called “Spoilers.” Ya with me? Okay good.
Title: Spoilers Fandom: Spider-Man Summary: Two characters from different universes talk about their lives and relationships. Notes: Disney seems determined to excludebisexual relationships from their Spider-Man franchise. This is… not the case here.
Okay I can’t get this dumb au out of my head so let’s just go for it – The Goes Wrong Show Ghosts au.
Chris Bean inherits an old theatre (the Cornley Theatre) after a distant family member’s death and decides it’s the perfect place to put on his shows. He drags along his friend and trusty stagehand Trevor and the two begin trying to fix the theatre up.
Chris can see the ghosts that haunt it after a near death experience (that’s obviously caused by Robert), and Trevor can’t. But he does believe Chris after the ghosts haunt him for a week straight. Speaking of the ghosts, in no particular order you have…
Robert, a WW1 soldier who died the day he became an officer in the theatre that was being used as a training base. He has the power to touch things, though it takes a lot of energy, and uses said powers for chaos. As he should. Died via heart attack after a bomb unexpectedly went off near the theatre.
Sandra, a 1920s flapper who used to sing at the theatre. She has the power to talk to people through spirit boxes, microphones and recordings but it’s very inconsistent, much to her annoyance. Died after accidentally being knocked out the window during some mid show, ahem, mingling.
Max, a 1960s janitor who worked at the theatre just for the chance to watch shows for free. He has no powers, but he is by far the happiest to be there, which is sort of a power in itself. Died after slipping on his own cleaning supplies and falling down the stairs.
Vanessa, a Victorian lady who was given control of the theatre after her father’s passing. Her power is sight, as in she can occasionally be seen by people, which is a shame she since she’d rather not be seen at all. Claims she died of stress after a show went horribly wrong.
Dennis, a medieval jester who worked and lived in the castle that was on the land where the theatre is now. Sometimes people can hear his bells ringing when they walk by, and he is convinced he’s possessed by a demon, though he doesn’t seem that bothered by it. Died after accidentally drinking poison meant for the king.
Annie, the youngest of the ghosts, a 90s stagehand turned actor who performed the occasional show in the theatre. She can mess with the lights and the sounds/music if she tries hard enough. Died via electrocution after a leak in the roof caused water to get into some of the equipment she was holding.
And Jonathan, a…well, nobody’s actually sure. He’s a very vague on when he died and his past is general and no can remember when he showed up. All he has to give away what time he came from is his underwear and socks as he is otherwise naked, and they’re not much help. He can make things levitate, but only if they’re very light. No one has any idea how he died. If you ask, he’ll say it had something to do with a grand piano.
While eagerly awaiting No Way Home I spoiler-blocked everything, but some cosplays that people wore to the premieres and midnight showings slipped through the cracks. And hey, there’s no spoilers involved here, so check them out!
(Reddit doesn’t embed properly, sorry. Still worth clicking through though.)
I saw it! Small spoilers, then big spoilers beneath the cut:
This film is one hundred percent fan service (references to the comics, the games and even the memes are all included) and it’s all the better for it. A absolute crowd-pleaser, even in the subdued and quiet cinema I went to (ya gotta avoid that Omicron) there were some muted cheers at a few points.
