Everyone else seems to have their soapbox lately when it comes to Star Wars and representation, so here's mine.
On Autism representation.
I can't think of many examples, but the two that spring to my mind are Thrawn and Tech from TBB. In my opinion, I think they are both done well.
I haven't seen much complaining about Thrawn, but the Tech posts have been rampant. Saying he's tone-deaf, unfeeling, robotic, and misses the point frequently. People have said that this is bad representation. The thing is, that is how Autism can present itself, especially in someone that has been more socially isolated. Something that Tech experiences. His social life is limited to the rest of TBB (which all have various aspects of neurodivergency themselves) , Kaminoans (who are an entirely different species and culture that are also isolated), and the other Clones (who have been shown to treat TBB badly).
I see so many traits in him that I see in myself, my family, and a friend of mine. All of these people fall somewhere on the Autism spectrum. Because that's what Autism is, a spectrum. Everyone experiences it differently.
-leg bouncing when he's anxious
-info-dumping
-meticulously collecting information about topics that he's interested in
-not understanding "it's a feeling" in relation to flying
-frustration when things aren't going according to plan and when the things they are supposed to do are interrupted
-seemingly tone-deaf direct comments on what he sees
-focusing on what's important to him and ignoring other things around him
Everytime he does one of these things, I smile to myself, because I feel seen. The reactions of others around him are so accurate as well. Hunter rolling his eyes/shaking his head. Wrecker saying "yeah yeah we know". I've experienced those reactions my whole life.
Before you criticize representation, and automatically assume that it's bad because it might not be perfect, consider the opinions of those represented. Not their family members, not health professionals, not what you think it is.
Also that ableism term you all like to throw around? Dismissing the experiences of those with the conditions you're critiquing because they don't fit into your narrative is far more ableist than the thing you think is bad.
Oh. My. FORCE. How did I not notice that?
Wait, so the the original four are pretty obvious, but where do Echo and Omega fit into this? I mean, Omega could be April (clueless but fiesty at the beginning, eventually becomes one of the badasses), but I'm lost on Echo. Also, any ideas for AZI and Gonky?
The realization that Crosshair is the Raphael of the family just hit me like a train
The Tism;)
[ from Pinterest ]
Last Resort by Papa Roach (Kayzo remix, specifically)
If you see this you are OBLIGATED to reblog w/ the song currently stuck in your head :)
I die every time I see this! Fives delivers that line PERFECTLY. It was nice knowing you Kenobi. 🤣
Wholly agree with this (and love it!), just gonna add a couple things:
First, and I can't believe we're here, but: Aaravos might have just made it on the best cartoon dad list, AND JUST FROM ONE EPISODE! That's gotta be a record.
Second... I think this point could get even more sad, so sorry in advance; Leola was executed for breaking Cosmic Order, right? Because she gave magic to humans... Aaravos also gave magic to humans, and a far worse kind at that, while being a menace to any other form of Order he could find..... and was imprisoned. I'm sorry, WHAT?
And while we're mentioning it, let's look at that prison, shall we? It's a big pearl, sure. Inside it, it's a near-perfect replica of the home Aaravos and Leoa lived in before her execution. Outside, it rests among bones that could very well be LEOLA'S REMAINS, inside a body of water that Aaravos made with his tears over the span of 100 YEARS!!! And someone chose THAT as his prison, like they're trying to rub salt on the wound.
All this, on top of your point, makes me think that they, while definitely not wanting humans to have magic, were more concerned with getting rid of a child they could not understand or control, while trying to keep "one of the Great Ones" with them, and subsequently got petty when that (unsurprisingly) backfired.
The whole situation reeks of toxicity and ableism under a perfect facade.
Ok ok ok SO!
I think everyone has realized that Leola was autistic. It was heavily implied both through the flashback images and Aaravos' narration-
She lined up her toys, flapped her hands (it was also shown in the trial scene), seemed to be sensitive towards loud sounds (like the other startouch elves when they talked), and walked on her tiptoes. All of those are classic signs of autism.
But there's one thing I haven't seen anyone else bring up, and that's that her giving her human friends magic and breaking the "cosmic order" or whatever could also be because of her neurotype!
Autistic people tend to have very strict senses of morality and fairness, and will disregard rules if they don't fit their idea of right or wrong. Personal example here, I used to constantly do things I was told not to because I thought the rules in question were bogus.
It's not hard to guess that Leola would find the rules about humans not having magic to be unfair- after all, her and all the other elves, and even the animals around them are full of it! So in the mind of an autistic child, this would be incredibly unfair. And she had the power to "fix" the situation! So why wouldn't she?
Why wouldn't she try to help her friends? Because it would break the cosmic order? That's vague as hell and she was a KID!
And the startouch elves atomized her, for breaking a rule she probably only half understood and thought was stupid. Because she was autistic.
Had this thought and wanted to share, makes the whole thing even more tragic.
I would never be able to share this enough. We should be accepted, not prevented.
THIS.
You said this far better than I ever could. I'm autistic myself, and I can relate with Tech in a few ways, especially the infodumping (and being ignored or silenced when I do it 😅) and being WAY too literal, so it's nice to see that there are others who feel the same about Tech.
i decided to yell into the twitter void about tech today because i’m an autistic person who is tired of seeing a fictional character who exhibits behaviors similar to my own condemned for those behaviors and called a negative stereotype.
I just woke up, man... but no, Tumblr chose to get personal today. 😅 Well, at least I'm fully awake now.
ND culture is spending your whole childhood being told you're "too sensitive" and "need to toughen up." Then realizing as an adult that it was basically just "traumatize the ND kid until they stop melting down." Bonus points if the adults in your life still feel justified in how they treated you because you "turned out OK" despite needing years of therapy.
.
You know he jumped on this the moment he heard his opening.🤣 Fives had to be laughing from beyond the grave.
Is there an Echo in here?
S01x06: Decommissioned
I was wondering about this, too. Why don't they call her sister, or she calls them her brothers? She's known she was a clone like them the whole time, so what's up here?
Anyone else find it odd that they don’t call omega sister I thought clones saw each other as brother but is that ably the clones that grow up together?
Yes I talk, or rather text, too much. I mostly just add my two cents to other posts, but I'll try not to where it's not welcome.
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