Anonymous Author

Thoughts & Stories from Me

[beautifulandscary]

I wanna know what people assume about me because of my tumblr.

[telvi1]

Put an assumption in my ask. I’ll confirm or dispute it. I’m not gonna be mean or anything, I’m just very interested. You can go anon if you want.

[xkeptic]

pls

[painfog]

Stimming Research Survey

Calling everyone who stims!

Hi, I am an autistic student and I am conducting a survey into stimming and stim toys, as part of my ongoing Extended Project Qualification to design an original stim toy. 

It would really really help me out if you could fill this in, or at least reblog it to boost it. You don’t have to be autistic to take part, and any self-diagnosis is valid. Anyone’s responses help!

Thank you so much <3

[anonymusauthorin-blog]

Limitless (Film) Review, Short

Since I liked the spinoff tv show pretty well, I decided to watch the movie.

It was visually noxious with a wandering plot and an unsympathetic, undeveloped main character and unnecessary gore.  As a straight-up male power fantasy, it did fine: once the MC was on NZT, he could do anything.  He decided to change the world, but what that meant to him we never learned. The ultimate resolution of the thin intrigue plot was forced at best.  Not a single notable character of color played a role, though no discriminatory slurs, mocking, etc of any marginalized identity were ever used.

Would not recommend, unless you’re looking for an emotionally numb action masquerading as sci-fi.

[anonymusauthorin-blog]

Limitless (Film) Trigger Warnings

I’ve had the inkling to write up some trigger warnings for films/tv shows before, and haven’t seen this one done yet, so here it is.

Gore (blood, stabbings, bloody slashing, punching, off-screen dismemberment, dismembered hands)

Woman being chased down

Drinking blood

Suicidal thoughts (he decides not to)

Drug use (includes both taking pills and using syringes)

Flashing/pulsing visuals (I don’t know if they’re enough to trigger epilepsy or migraine, but they definitely gave me a headache/sensory overwhelm)

[anonymusauthorin-blog]

Common reasons I don’t reblog art pieces

it’s sexual/nsfw/etc.

it includes depictions of self-harm

it otherwise references common triggers

it depicts a fandom I’m not familiar enough with (it’s not you, it’s my social anxiety)

…there was another one. I’ll edit it in later

[autism-asks]

Neurodiverse Digital Art Contest (Aug. 31, 2017 Deadline)

Hello, everyone!

We are holding an art contest for neurodiverse digital artists of all skill levels! This is a long post, so bear with me!

We have been hard at work getting things set up to bring original video content to the Autism Asks blog. As part of this process, Sabrina and I have been discussing what to do with our YouTube banner image and profile icon. We have decided to turn it over to our followers, fans, and the broader autistic and neurodiversity communities.

All submissions will be featured on the Autism Asks blog with select submissions appearing on the YouTube channel, under a Creative Commons license.

Art Contest Rules:

Artists should be neurodiverse in some manner and will be creating two items as a matching pair. Be sure to consult the image included with this post for an idea of the channel layout. NOTE: The TV background image is not required.

First item: 100 x 100 pixel profile icon

Some things to think about - The profile picture placement ranges from the top left of the Text and Logo Safe Area to the top left of the Desktop Computer Max area and should not obscure visually critical elements. You may use or incorporate the Autism Asks blog’s current profile picture, which is available below.

Second Item: 2560 x 423 pixel banner

Some things to think about - While the banner size itself is large, the primary usable area is in the Text and Logo Safe Area. Primary visual and text elements should be within this area to appear correctly across all devices. Areas outside of this space may include added text or visual elements, however they will not display on all devices. If you wish to include your signature we suggest doing it in the Text and Logo Safe Area.

Additional Notes:

Both items should be visually similar in that they are matching or complimentary styles

The text, “Autism Asks” should appear in the Text and Logo Safe Area

The neurodiversity rainbow infinity should appear in either the icon or the Text and Logo Safe Area

Additional consideration for display on YouTube will be given to submissions featuring an autisticat

You may use Sabrina’s autisticat (available below), or make your own

If you have already made an autisticat, you are welcome to use it

Submission Requirements:

Files may be submitted in the following formats:

PSD

JPEG

PNG

Submissions must be made via email to autismasks dot gmail dot com as either an attachment or an external link (such as Google Drive). Please note that services like Tumblr will resize images and compress them in a way that makes them unlikely to work for the YouTube channel.

If you would like your name or a credit included when we display your submission, please be sure to explicitly state this in your email and provide the appropriate information. You may also include a link to your personal or professional portfolio, or your tip jar, patreon, etc. This will displayed on our blog with your submission and in our YouTube channel description.

Creative Commons License:

All submissions will be shared on our blog. Select submissions will be featured on our YouTube channel for a period of one week to one month (depending on the number of submissions).

All submissions will be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Contest Deadline:

All submissions should be sent in by the end of day, Thursday, August 31st, 2017 (don’t worry about timezone - if it is before September 1st somewhere in the world when you submit, we will accept your submission).

Final Word:

Autistic artists are an important aspect of our community, especially because creativity in autism and other neurodiversities often defies the negative stereotypes society has about us.

This contest is meant as a fun way to engage with the broader autistic and neurodiversity communities, and to encourage neurodiverse artists of all skill levels to share their work when they might otherwise choose not to.

While we encourage freelance or professional neurodiverse artists to join in if they are interested and inclined to do so, please understand and while we are happy to link to your professional site when sharing your submission, comissioned branding is not the purpose of this contest, and is not an offer of paid work. Thank you for understanding.

Most of all… MS Paint is your friend! Have fun with this!

- Sam

[toadpeee]

“Your art isn’t valued by the number of notes you get” okay but. If you spent 6 hours baking a cake for a party, but no one at the party eats your cake, it’s still disappointing.

[i-wear-the-cheese]

This articulates something about the different between value and validation that I didn’t previously register on a conscious level.

[anonymusauthorin-blog]

There are some days when I prefer not to share my art at all for this very reason.  

[selene-the-dragon-princess-deac]

Remember that movie in which Jack Black was a teacher and building a rock band and when a little black chubby girl asked to be a singer he only said “sure! let me hear you” and the moment she started using her beautiful voice his lit up like all of his dreams came true, PLUS the same little girl was scared that people would make fun of her because she was fat and he started listing awesome singers with some weight on and included himself and told her that people wouldn’t laugh because she is awesome at what she does and that is all that matters PLUS that it’s ok to enjoy food?

Also, when a little boy asked to be the band’s stylist he just said “sure, go ahead fancy pants” like, there wasn’t a single second of questioning it, he went into “ok, that will be your position then” right away

That fucking movie is an hour and a half of Jack Black teaching kids to love themselves disregarding all of the stereotypes

[thirst-empress-deactivated20170]

And don’t forget the Asian guy said he shouldn’t be in the band because he thought he wasn’t “cool enough”. Jack Black didn’t miss a beat by making up a secret handshake between he and the kid.and telling him he’s amazing at what he does playing the piano. After that the Asian kid even stood up for himself against a bully.

[goldstar-goldfish-deactivated20]

And he put the violent kid with anger issues on drums and let him constructively work out his aggression.

[ima-fuckingt4ble]

School of Rock is fab basically

[wagwias-is-gone-deactivated2014]

Two kinds of people:

People who took the news of feathered dinosaurs like this:

And those who took it like this:

[butch-king-frankenstein]

I hate it when people say “science ruined dinosaurs” as though dinosaurs are just some pop culture monster invention and not real things that existed and that we are continuing to make new discoveries about

[quetzalpali]

Amen

[atomic-darth]

Listen I don’t care if you think feathers on a dinosaur look stupid if a 9 ton apex predator is coming at you at 25 mph, you’re not going to laugh at its feathers. YOU’RE GOING TO HAUL ASS

[bronata]

(Run. Just run.)

[probablycthulhurpgideas]

Okay so I was going to reblog this on my main blog but then I scrolled up to switch the blog and when I saw it was on my Cthulhu blog I started thinking about cool feathery dinos chillin with Cthulhu and that’s a really nice image in my head so enjoy

[euclid-class-dm]

Bird dinosaurs were actually Cthulhu’s ancient servants.

[constantlyonfirerpgideas]

This gives me yet another fantastic idea…

Feathered dragons.

[needledreamweaversrpgideas]

ajdlgkhdfsgjadshljkdhsdgjkfsk hello i am Here for this

[neurodivergent-crow]

also that dinosaur is wearing Pan Pride colors so I’m pretty sure feathered dinosaurs belong to pansexuals/panromantics now. sorry i don’t make the rules.

[sylveon-rosepetal-deactivated20]

DINOSAURS BELONG TO PANSEXUALS AND PANROMANTICS!

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

[neurodivergent-crow]

haha i knew at least one of my pan followers would enjoy this 😁✨❤

[everyzig314]

♥

[azcrowleyfell]

Are you a carpet or hardwood or tile autistic? Are you a silk or corduroy autistic? Are you a messy or neat autistic? Are you a hugging or touch aversive autistic? Are you a cat or dog autistic?

[windwardstar]

Advice and a Pep-Talk from one Autistic Writer to Another

I’ve seen enough “how to write autistic characters” directed at allistics but I’m not sure I’ve really seen any posts directed at autistics written by other autistics that’s just general writing advice. So here’s some tips and tricks and a pep talk.

1.   Write as many autistic characters as you want. It’s totally ok for every single one of your characters to be autistic. If other people can write stories without any autistic characters, you can write ones without any allistic characters. (After all, how can you write an autistic allistic character if you’re not autistic allistic. /s)

2.   Let your characters stim! It’s a great way to include body language in a way that feels natural for us.

On the topic of stimming, try and vary the stims your characters use. This is something I generally take care of in editing. Everyone would run their hands through their hair, but when they did that, it just became a filler description, so I cut the action from most of the characters and left it for a few. At that point, the stim became theirs. (I also then got to have lines like “Den ran his hand through his hair to calm his thoughts, a motion more like his brother than him.” which is like Look, characterization!)

3.  Body language and facial expressions are hard. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve described the body language or facial expression without actually saying what the character was feeling while writing, and then in editing have no idea what they were feeling.

It’s totally OK to write something like “their eyebrows jumped up in surprise as their jaw dropped towards the floor.” It’s descriptive enough to follow the “show, don’t tell” rule, but still names the emotion the character is feeling. It also lets you use non-standard body language (aka autistic body language and stimming) in a way that allistic readers can pick up on.

Reference sheets are a great way to have some standard allistic ways of expressing emotions via body language. This is a great way to make sure that if a character is expressing an emotion but it’s not something you can state in the story (or that your character is unaware of), that it’ll still be something your audience can pick up on.

4.   It can take a while to really get a feel for your characters. I tend to only really have their characterization solid enough to keep them consistent after I’ve written the initial rough draft. This is one of the reasons my first step after completing my initial draft is to rewrite everything. It’s just the easiest way I’ve found to make sure all the characters are in character - because if I tried to go through every single line and figure out what wasn’t in character, I’d be lost.

If you’re confused about why a character is doing something because you forgot what you were thinking and are having trouble figuring it out from context, it’s ok to take that bit out and rewrite it. Sometimes it might be because a character is acting out of character, and in that case it’s a good thing you’re fixing it.

5.      The details you include in your writing because you’re so detail oriented really makes the story come alive. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten told it feels like my world exists beyond the story and that my characters have lives beyond what’s mentioned on the page because I think about every little detail and make mentions of them.

Our attention to detail also tends to let us do unintentional symbolism and foreshadowing really well. We try and make every little thing relevant and tied into everything else, which is something that comes naturally to us and I’ve seen so many writers struggle with.

6.     Infodump in the rough draft as much as you want. If it keeps you writing, go for it.

You can remove (or better integrate) infodumps (because they tend to not be all that interesting to readers since they stop the story in their tracks) and any inconsistent details when you edit.

If you want to avoid just infodumping in the story itself, write down EVERYTHING about your characters, your world, your plot, everything you want to explain and anything that is relevant to know for the story in a separate document(s). For me, it gets the urge to explain EVERYTHING out of my system and helps me include only what’s needed when I’m writing. (Plus it makes a GREAT reference material for when you’re writing.)

7.      If you don’t explain something well enough, that can also be fixed in editing. This is where beta readers are useful since they can let you know where they’re confused and where more information is useful. This is also where taking a break between writing and editing can help, since if you’re confused it’s likely a spot where you need to include more information

(Again, this is advice for autistic writers from an autistic writer. Allistics and Writing blogs are encouraged to reblog this since this is writing advice, but unless you are autistic, please do not comment.)

[anonymusauthorin-blog]

One downside to learning the ins and outs of discrimination is now you can see all the awful, glaringly bad moments in media entertainment.

[anonymusauthorin-blog]

tfw someone mentions a pairing you never considered and you realize you ship that

[lgbtqblogs-deactivated20141230]

Two brides have become two of the most kickass women in the world by marrying to protest against homophobia in Russia.

Alina Davis, a 23-year-old trans woman, and Allison Brooks, her 19-year-old partner, donned matching white floor-length bridal gowns and married at a civil registry office earlier this month.

As Davis is still legally regarded as male, the office had no choice but to hand them a marriage certificate.

The couple said officials chided them, and appeared to be violent.

‘She called us the shame of the family and said we need medical treatment … I was afraid my pussycat [an affectionate pet name in Russian] would beat the fuck out of her,’ Davis said on her VK page.

But the couple were allowed to sign the papers, meaning a gay couple in Russia are legally recognized as married – even if it’s through a loophole. ‘This is an important precedent for Russia,’ Davis said.

Russia banned same-sex marriage and outlawed ‘gay propaganda’ in 2013.

[the-fury-of-a-time-lord]

holy jesus look at these two warrior princesses

they are my heroes

YOU GO GIRLS

[a-winnie-or-a-freddie]

“Oh, you don’t wanna recognize my gender? Okay then lol guess you have to recognize my marriage”

that is amazing

[transrants]

TRANS EXCELLENCE

[a-little-bi-furious]

Okay but other reports state that Alina identifies as androgyne but feels more comfortable as a woman, it definitely is trans excellence but the label she uses is not reported correctly here.

[transrants]

Thanks for the info! (This means it’s not only trans excellence but also NONBINARY EXCELLENCE YEAH!)

[neurodivergent-crow]

i want to marry them both

[neurodivergent-crow]

Feeding the Ferals: PLEASE READ!

I’m here to talk to you about feral cats and share some facts with you.

I know that feeding them comes from a good place, but unless you are also engaging in a TNR program, you may actually be doing far more harm than good.

One pair of feral cats and their offspring can produce hundreds of thousands of cats in their lifetime. These cats and kittens often die horribly from things like starvation, wildlife attacks, anemia from fleas, getting hit by cars, diseases, dehydration, exposure, etc.

A feral cat’s average life expectancy is only 5 years, whereas the avg life expectancy for indoor cats is 15-20 years (that’s 3-4x longer!).

Feral cats are one of the top ten most invasive species in the WORLD*. (*among vertebrate species)

They also kill birds whether or not they are hungry, and are responsible for wiping out entire species of birds.

There are many downsides to feral cat populations continuing to grow, and this is just a few of them.

So what CAN you do to help them?

The best and healthiest thing you can do for feral cats is to work with a local rescue’s TNR program. Many humane societies will also assist you with this. TNR stands for “Trap, Neuter, Release.” It involves the setting of special, non-harmful traps to catch a feral cat. The cat is then taken to a facility where it is fixed, given a rabies vaccine, and often has its ear clipped so that people can tell at a glance if it is a fixed feral. The cat is then returned to the community in which it was originally trapped to live out the rest of it’s days without making more babies. Most of the time this is done at no cost or very low cost to the person who contacts TNR organizations.

Feral cats are everyone’s responsibility, ESPECIALLY if you are feeding them. TNR is so important and can actually increase feral cat lifespans (fixed cats fight less and wander less - this prevents death from fight injuries or subsequent infections or getting hit by cars).

By all means please keep feeding them. Some of them used to be house cats and can’t hunt properly on their own. But please remember that TNR literally saves lives.

Other ways to help your ferals once they’re returned:

- ensure they have a source of fresh water. that’s so important. if you live in a place where winters get cold, get a heated dish so the water doesn’t freeze.

- shelter is also important. an upside-down tupperware bin with a couple holes in it and some hay works great. bonus points if it’s slightly lifted above the ground to keep it drier. If your area gets cold, styrofoam in combination with hay can make shelters much warmer. some places even have outdoor heating pads you can place inside your feral cat shelter.

- spread this information! most people aren’t aware of the problems feral populations both cause and face, nor are they aware of how accessible and helpful TNR programs can be!

Remember, it’s most often done at no cost or very little cost, and if the little cost is of concern: remember you’ll be saving money in the long run because the population will not be exploding and you won’t have 60 mouths to try to feed.

A local TNR program is just a google search away!

PLEASE SHARE AND RAISE AWARENESS! 🐱🐾🐦

[startrekds9]

Exactly when does this become irreversible?

[anonymusauthorin-blog]

From Memory Alpha:

[Melora] was created by Evan Carlos Somers, who wrote the initial draft …As Somers himself uses a wheelchair, the story held special importance for him, with his experiences of working in the narrow studio offices contributing to the personality of the character. (The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine Vol. 6, p. 60)

The producers initially thought the character would be male, but Somers always envisioned her as a female, and a love interest for Bashir; "'Zero-gravity sex with Bashir' was a prime element to the story in my mind. I also liked the idea that by falling in love with someone who isn't disabled, and having this cure presented to her concomitant to a growing love affair, maybe Melora is doing it for him. How can she turn this cure down? He loves her and he would never want to do anything wrong for her. But she didn't really think it out. In fact, she was surviving, and functioning very well, prior to her arrival on the station. Now, she's faced with a difficult assignment, but when she leaves, things are going to be OK again. She doesn't have to be cured, and she doesn't have to do it to please Bashir." (The Official Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Magazine Vol. 6, p. 60)

[butteryplanet]