Bug Lady

Bug lady

Wannabe

I usually don't like my headcanons to hit too close home (my home, mind you), I want them to feel relatable but not expose too much of myself.

This is why in spite of me having autism, I don't hc a lot of characters having autism. I don't feel comfortable with putting said thing out there.

WIth that being said, with my very much recent obssession with TNMN, I feel a little more willing to work with this, probably because the characters are pretty much a blank slate.

After some careful analysis, I very personally think that if there's gotta be someone in the apartment with autism, those would be three tenants:

Robertsky Peachman, Dr. W. Afton and Rafttellyn Cappucin.

Why them? Due to how I have characterized them (even though I haven't posted about them, but I do write. I just don't publish them.) I have been able to see some characteristics about them that just scream "THEY HAVE THE 'TISM (AND SO DO I)!" but I mean... its the 50s, of course they don't know, and most probably, will die without them knowing...

And as all cases of autism, they all have stark differences between them and how autism manifests, and sameness too!

They are all on the "high functioning" spectrum. (mind you, I DO know this term is not accurate and outdated but this is what I grew up with and what I have experienced, ok? Don't bite me on the throat)

All of them are bad at socializing: Robertsky is too blunt, Afton is too uninterested and Rafttellyn is too shy.

They all have their own fixations: Robertsky with shoemaking and peaches, Afton has the math and science autism and Rafttellyn loves collecting dolls and figurines.

They have their own mannerisms and stuff:

Robertsky loves the repetitive sound and motion of sinking the nails on the shoe. He will get angry if you cut his peaches, he has to bite them, always starting with the right side. Too dense, which makes him prone to not knowing if someone insulted or fucked over him. Robertsky has the tendency to observe people's shoes and thinking what type of maintenance they could need, sometimes he has even gone directly to people going like "your shoes look rank!" and then having Albertsky drag him out of the scene while apologizing akwardly before things escalate.

Afton, well, he's a bit like Sheldon Cooper: Stiff and often very serious to the point is funny. He likes having all his things in place, very perfectionist and feels like a failure for the slightest deviation (probably a mix of autism and asian tiger parenting). Like Roberstky, can't read too deep into people, which makes him suceptible to manipulation (thing that his boss gladly used against him :'/). Lines up things with the lines of the flooring, he has had to learnt that some things in the apartment are not symmetrical and will not line up, basically had to condition himself into ignoring these things around them or he will have a meltdown. Likes to mix his food, even things that aren't ideal to mix, once he mixed american biscuits into his coffee while Mia looked at him in absolute horror.

Rafttellyn can only have purses and bags with straps, she just likes to cling and hold onto her things. She wears gloves, not only as a fashion statement but because touching things with her bare hands all the time just feels wrong. As I mentioned, she collects dolls and figurines, she has a name for all of her dolls and can recite them from head to toe, she's usually very mousy, but if you give her leeway to talk about them, she will talk your ear off. Often too reserved to the point she gives Francis a run for his money, but has had to learn how to mask it (as if women with autism weren't often more prone to masking enough), she's extremely grateful that Alf has been there to help her open up more to people instead of giving up on her and treating her like an impossible case.

John Hamagami, from The Creative Illustration Book (1990)

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eyes without a face

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