Group sticker design I made for a cosplay convention
Went to a cosplay convention last weekend!
Probably one of my most memorable moments. I went as Jay Walker and meet many fans and got approached quite often for pictures!! It was such a new experience for me but a very enjoyable one.
This illustration I made into stickers to give away to Ninjago fans that I meet! I will probably do the same for future cosplay conventions.
I am very grateful for being introduced to this show. And very happy to have met some fans of the show!! ⚡️
Group sticker design I made for a cosplay convention
Went to a cosplay convention last weekend!
Probably one of my most memorable moments. I went as Jay Walker and meet many fans and got approached quite often for pictures!! It was such a new experience for me but a very enjoyable one.
This illustration I made into stickers to give away to Ninjago fans that I meet! I will probably do the same for future cosplay conventions.
I am very grateful for being introduced to this show. And very happy to have met some fans of the show!! ⚡️
hello everyninja! i've been planning on making a rewrite/re-imagening of the lego ninjago movie. i made a little form because i am interested in learning about the different ways people interpret the movie characters since we get little info on them (i've done lots of lots of research though!), and to gather more ideas!
Hello, my name is Linney, also known as lavakisses on AO3 (okay yea nobody knows me I’m just trying to sound cool here, okay?)
Despite all
i hope i actually go through with this idea... please do let me know if there's any interest in it at all. ( ´ ω ` )
i'm tempted to tag lava too because i brought them up here but wouldn't want to rig the votes there. </3
the lego ninjago movie is a really autism-coded movie
i was going to make a post rambling about why i think tlnm is a (likely unintentional) really good portrayal of what it means to be an autistic teen and how being a ninja represents masking, mainly by explaining why i think each of the ninja are all autistic, from the perspective of an autistic person.
...then it started to get long. really long. not only that, but i wanted to be thorough, and i ended up looking to actual diagnostic criteria as a helpful baseline for gathering my thoughts. so i decided to chop this up into individual posts for each of the ninja.
starting off with the one that resonates most with me: cole
why i think tlnm cole is strongly coded to be autistic (as well as the other ninja) after analyzing all of the clips he's in. below the cut for your convenience!
first, the informal part of this, and how this interpretation draws from my lived experience:
for starters, im autistic! i went through school struggling with this aspect of my identity and the hurdles it presented to me. not only that, but im semi-verbal autistic—this means that i can struggle to put thoughts into speech, speak in short sentences, have difficulty communicating, and need to prepare responses in advance because improvising is stressful. people who are semi-verbal are also prone to verbal shutdowns, which occur in high pressure or stressful situations (not to be confused with selective mutism, which occurs due to anxiety, often in social situations).
i have reason to believe that, in the context of the ninjago movie, cole is semi-verbal autistic. i analyzed all of his scenes and connected it both to my lived experiences and diagnostic criteria for autism, and im really passionate about this subject. now for the actual evidence and reasoning!
i cross referenced both the DSM-5 and ICD-11, where ill cover each characteristic of autism that i believe he meets. most of this is from the ICD-11, as its easier for me to understand. also, remember that this is my personal interpretation, and this is not to be taken as canon or as objective truth!
1.) Persistent deficits in initiating: difficulty starting conversations or social interactions and limited ability to engage others in social settings.
from what I noticed throughout the scenes cole is in, he doesn't seem to initiate verbal interaction on his own, save for three scenes. any other time he speaks, it's in response to someone else or something they did.
the three scenes' dialogue are as follows:
- "How was your trip?"
- "Master Wu says he's 167 and he's your.. younger brother. ... How is that possible?"
- "Woah, check out those old photos."
if you haven't noticed, one of these can almost be argued that it isn't actual initiation, and that it's a verbal response to a situation (see: sensei wu coming back from his trip). there's something more important that i want you to note, though, which is the fact that any time cole initiates dialogue, he's seeking some form of information or input. as an autistic person, i have a huge tendency to seek explanations and new information; making sense of things just makes sense for me. all that is to say he definitely meets this criteria!
2.) Sustaining social communication and reciprocal social interactions: challenges in maintaining conversations or social interactions over time; difficulty responding to social cues and maintaining the flow of interaction; limited ability to share interests, emotions, or activities with others. [don't worry, this one's more split up!]
2a.) Challenges in maintaining conversations or social interactions over time. — as we just covered, cole struggles to initiate social interactions, but i also think he struggles to maintain them. even when he initiates by pointing out the old family photos, he doesn't further add to this conversation, not indicating any interest in maintaining dialogue. instead, cole seems more interested in soaking in the new information. all throughout the movie, even when he has lines, he doesn't make an effort to hold conversation—he says his piece and seems satisfied with just that.
2b.) Difficulty responding to social cues and maintaining the flow of interaction. — this is also briefly covered later, but cole seems to struggle with social cues and responding appropriately, like when they're in class, and garmadon attacks the city. he doesn't panic, and is instead very casual about it. also, he's shown to let other people take the lead in conversations several times while he just sits back and listens.
2c.) Limited ability to share interests, emotions, or activities with others. — this is one of those characteristics that's harder to judge due to his limited screentime, but he doesn't seem very emotive sometimes, and he appears to be the most disinterested in the conversation with garmadon out of everyone else. that isn't to say he doesn't engage—he does, even laughing along with the others at some point, but on the bridge he struggles to take interest in what garmadon has to say, though that could be due to the stressful situation at hand.
3.) Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech [ex. hand-flapping, lining up objects, echolalia]:
this one is the most simple to me, but, early into the movie, cole is seen doing several repetitive motions like nodding his head to music, tapping his hand against his desk, humming—these can easily be interpreted as him stimming. i would also argue that his usage of headphones (and stereo) fall under this category, due to its repetitive nature.
4.) Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of behavior [ex. extreme distress at small changes, rigid thinking patterns, needing to take the same route every day]:
considering that we only actually see lloyd's routine, i can't say for sure what cole's is like. however, i'd argue all of the ninja adhere to strict routine when it comes to garmadon attacking the city (tlnm seems to go for a more vigilante superhero route than the show does, and i could argue that many vigilantes are autism coded)—they all ask for a bathroom pass, go to their lockers, and enter their mechs. at the end of it, they return back to their warehouse. it all feels very coordinated and purposeful, and the movie makes it feel as if this is common routine for them.
if you ask me, the ultimate weapon fiasco is definitely a threat to this routine, and could assist in explaining why the ninja are so distressed during it—besides the moral qualms of the ultimate weapon, that is.
5.) Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus [ex. strong attachments to unusual objects, excessively narrow interests, or intense focus on specific topics]:
now, i'm not fully going to cover why i think music is his special interest here, but we can easily see that music is a restricted interest that he's very fixated and focused on. i believe that his stereo and headphones illustrate his attachment to atypical objects, as he brings them to school and carries them around with him, and i also believe that he shows a lot of focus for music specifically, especially considering the way he uses it to understand new concepts and connects it to things whenever he can.
6.) Hyper or hyporeactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment [ex. apparent indifference to pain or temperature, adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or touching of objects, visual fascination with lights or movement]:
there's probably a lot i could say here, but i, ironically, don't have the words to verbalize it. one notable display of this characteristic, though, is the fact that cole seems very adamant on tactile sensation, considering his adamance on listening to music through analog mediums. his introduction literally has him adamant that he would "never do that" in reference to a digital medium.
again, you could interpret this as him fitting a stereotype of some music fans, but i'd argue it's because of the tactile nature that he's drawn to it. i mean, turntables, a stereo, a jukebox? not only that, but his stereo seems to play cassettes, which id argue adds onto this.
lets focus on the turntables though with the most glaring instance of this: his mech. not only does his mech tie into my belief that music is his special interest (will be expanded on later), but controlling his mech through turntables is way more hands-on and tactile than buttons or sticks.
also, the fact that he's always listening to music—not to mention high-energy music like rock. sure, the fact he enjoys rock is a play on him being the master of earth, but, in this instance, it lends to the idea of him seeking more sensory input than the average person. his mech even has a ton of flashy lights in it! you can't seriously tell me that he doesn't read as a sensory-seeking autistic person.
Shorter sections that are kind of stretches (at least the first three):
- Abnormalities in eye contact and body language: unusual eye contact, facial expressions, or body posture — this one is definitely a bit of a stretch, considering cole is pretty good at making and maintaining eye contact, but there is a few times where he seems to slightly avoid it or struggle to know where to look, especially when he's not actively in conversation.
- Deficits in understanding and use of gestures: difficulty using or interpreting gestures like pointing or waving — difficulty doesnt just mean you can't do something, but that you struggle to do it the "correct" way. when cole does go out of his way to gesture (see: asking lloyd if he has a mental block, waving to indicate he's open) it seems very exaggerated and animated.
- Difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts: challanges in adapting behavior to different social situations — during the scene where garmadon attacks while the ninja are all in class, cole can be seen sitting at his desk listening to music. his posture is relaxed and casual, and i would argue he struggles to adapt his behavior to the situation (that being the attack). while everyone else is freaking out, he pulls one headphone off and, still not bothered, asks for a bathroom pass with less urgency than even the other ninja. similarly, when lloyd's arm is missing, he, like the rest of the ninja, visibly panics and is scared, while someone who doesn't struggle with social adaptability would probably keep their emotions in check in order to reassure the person who's injured and not cause further panic. you could chalk this up to teenagers not having this skill, but.. they're ninja, dude.
- Difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends: struggles with engaging in pretend play or forming peer relationships — i would argue that the whole "inner piece" thing is the ninja, collectively, struggling with imaginative play. it's easier to understand the ultimate ultimate weapon as physical pieces because that's more tangible, while abstract concepts like containing the power are more difficult to understand. doesn't exactly correlate to the intended meaning (that being children struggling to engage in imaginative play with their peers), but i'm sure you get the gist!
now, the main reason i'm here: cole's special interest
i already covered it briefly in section 5, but the most notable aspect of his character that's autism coded is his interest in music, which i interpret as his special interest. a special interest is often described as an intense fascination with a particular topic, hobby or piece of media—what seperates this from neurotypical hobbies is the intensity of it, the purpose for their interest in it, and the way they approach their special interest.
where a neurotypical person may partake in a hobby a few times a week, an autistic person's special interest is extremely important to them, and often consumes a lot of their time, thoughts, and energy.
where a neurotypical person may try a new hobby in order to socialize, an autistic person is into their special interest because of their own fascination with the subject, and can be a way to cope or relax in a neurotypical society.
autistic people also tend to memorize everything they can about a special interest, whereas a neurotypical person doesn't take quite an intense approach to their hobbies.
now that i've covered that, i truly believe that cole's fascination with music is not just a hobby of his, but a special interest. almost every time he is with others or interacting with them, music comes up somehow. he's listening to his stereo in the hallway, he's using his headphones in class, he even seems to focus more when music is brought up.
section 6 in particular lends itself to this idea because of one thing i discussed: his mech. he literally uses music in the entire design of his mech, from using turntables to operate it, all the way down to the subwoofers covering the thing.
even beyond the mech, cole tends to make comments about music where he can, and, like i said, uses it to help him understand new ideas and abstract concepts (the other ninja also do, in a way, but it's most prominent with cole).
when sensei wu tells him he's the earth ninja, cole comments "We both spin!" in reference to his records, which is a point for bringing up his special interest.
there's also the scene where sensei wu is playing the flute, which seems to keep the ninja on track, and where cole even comments "Dope fluting, Master Wu," despite his apparent lack of energy.
can we talk about how sensei wu (and later lloyd) use music to help the ninja comprehend abstract ideas like their elemental powers and the "inner piece"? they literally use SNAP!'s The Power to understand that they have.. well, powers! this lends itself to all of the ninja being autistic, but also cole's special interest being music.
even when fighting garmadon's underlings, cole is making comments about music ("Have you heard my latest track? It's a smash!") sure, quippy hero lines and puns but.. come on.
another thing is that, while everyone is talking to lloyd about his interaction with garmadon, cole is making his way to play music in the jukebox. it's a pretty serious conversation, so i'd say this is notable both as a lack of social awareness and cole's fixation on his special interest. he seems more alert when he hears sensei wu's flute, being the one to ask, "Where's that tranquil music coming from?"
all of this is to say that cole shows a lot of interest in music, to the point i do believe it represents an autistic person's special interest, even if that (probably) wasn't the intention of the people making that movie.
conclusion:
cole is really strongly coded as autistic in this movie, and it means a lot to me, especially as someone who's semi-verbal and really underrepresented. i hope it can mean a lot to you—even if it doesn't, i hope you can appreciate my passion and my insight! thank you so much for reading!
noticed a little influx of movie cole on my feed and it reminded to post this movie lava piece i did some days ago! (˶ˆᗜˆ˵) more doodles under the cut!
i'll probably post some more movie lava stuff over the coming few days as they've taken over my brain for a couple weeks. not all drawings, though.
