Keep your aspie supremacy away from me! Keep it out of your discord servers. I hate it I hate it. Stop it. Just because you don’t struggle as much doesn’t mean low support needs autism needs to be a separate disorder. Doesn’t mean it needs to be separate from ASD. That’s bad. Stop it!

tao xu is autistic/adhd and you can't change my mind

we all pretty much agree isaac, charlie and tori are autistic, and i've already seen posts about why nick might be autistic too (1 , 2). there's also our adhd lesbian darcy. but i don't think i've seen any autistic/adhd tao posts. so here you go. also i decided to put images to separate the text and i can't believe i dont do that more often when i write very long posts (image descriptions added in alt text)

i will mostly focus on tv tao but most of this also applies to comic tao too

tao has some very clear routines and rituals in his life. he always bought juice for elle and himself, and when elle changed schools, it was hard for tao to stop that routine. movie night is sacred to him, and that ritual getting interrupted and cancelled upset him a lot. tao's issues are, in part, because he has routines that he's gotten used to getting interrupted. the way he lives his life, his friend group, everything, it worked in a specific way. but it suddenly starts changing and quickly. movie night is not the full gang anymore, charlie is hanging out with different people, and elle changes schools, which throws off the balance in tao's friend group. those things aren't bad (it's made clear that charlie spending time with nick and elle being at an all girls school is a GOOD thing), but they affect tao because of how much it changes the things he was used to

he talks to elle about her new school and is able to put things into perspective: elle leaving truham is a good change. but he isn't able to do this with charlie because he doesn't talk to him about nick after they officially start going out (because it's a secret)

tao also has trouble letting new people in. tao is very loud and blunt, and despite seeming very confident, he obviously has trouble making new friends and talking to others. which is why the idea of losing one friend is just the worst nightmare for him. he loves his friends so naturally he doesn't want to lose them, but when you don't have many friends and you have trouble speaking to others and finding people you are comfortable with, it's even worse. interestingly enough, elle struggles with the same thing, but slowly gets over it when she becomes friends with tara and darcy. tao struggles with it a bit more. he just can't let nick into their friend group. he doesn't approve of nick being at charlie's party, he refuses to get to know him. the obvious reasons are that he genuinely thinks nick is like the other rugby guys and will eventually hurt charlie, but the less obvious reason is because tao is scared of letting new people in, and nick being part of the group means the group being different

i think, also, we could say tao has trouble reading social cues and understanding social situations that other people do seem to get. we just see him interacting with his friends, a little bit with nick, and then harry. with his friends he clearly has no trouble just being himself, being goofy and having fun. when it comes to other people, though....he clearly didn't get (at first) that charlie's relationship with nick was none of his buisiness. he got caught up in the idea of protecting charlie from what he considered a potential threat, that he kept getting involved more and more and i don't think he even realized how much he was getting involved. elle even calls him "the king of getting involved", which tells me this is something tao just does. he doesn't get when his involvement is too much and he doesn't see when his help isn't needed until it's too late. i don't blame him at all, i get where he's coming from......

there's also the thing with harry. tao impulsively responded to harry's rudeness, he defended charlie, he even ended up in a physical fight with harry. tao has a huge sense of justice, and often takes matters into his own hands. charlie, instead, kept quiet, didn't respond, tried to keep a low profile. in part to protect nick, but also because he didn't want to make things worse by challenging harry. tao later gets that. him getting involved in that situation and responding to harry only made things worse. harry didn't have anything specific against tao before, but after tao stood up to him, harry started targetting him as well. i am not saying tao is at fault for being targeted by harry. harry is a bully and an asshole, tao did the right thing by standing up and he was brave to do so. but after getting targetted by harry and realizing charlie and nick are in fact dating, he understands why charlie's solution was to just let harry be an asshole and silently walk away. charlie knew he wasn't in a position to stand up to harry, so he didn't. tao, on the other hand, is much more confident and while he was in a less dangerous position to be challenging harry, he still got picked on.

okay let's get back on track. tao's special interest. it's obvious. he's a film person. cinema is his special interest. movie nights are really important to him, he cares about sharing his interest with the people he loves. he wants to share weird and dark films with his friends even if they don't understand the movies. when he reconciles with charlie, he tells him he has a long list of movies he has to show him, and that's just..........i love it. tao bonding with his friends and showing how much he loves them by sharing with them the thing that is most special to him

also, the way i see it, tao was hyperfixated on nick and charlie's friendship/relationship. literally it's the main thing he thinks and talks about, elle is even tired of tao only ever talking about nick and the situation with charlie. and this all negatively affects tao's life, because he just is't able to move on with his life and realize a lot of things about himself (like his crush on elle) because all that's on his mind is nick and charlie. hyperfixations aren't always about a piece of media or random topic, people with adhd can get hyperfixated on anything, and that includes people and ongoing situations around them

also there's something about tao always wearing a beanie wherever he goes whatever the weather is, like it's a comfort object for him. you could argue it's bc he's a fictional character and that's just His Accesory. but every choice in heartstopper is very conscious, tao wearing beanies all the time is an important part of him. he barely takes it off. the moments i can remember that he doesn't have it on that seem very intentional are: when he's having honest conversations with elle in a comfortable place, when he confronts charlie and during sports day. i feel like tao without his beanie on is a vulnerable tao. he opens up a lot to elle during those moments . he is in a very vulnerable position during sports day, and when he's lashing out to charlie and being honest about his pain. also in the comics, when charlie tells tao he's going out with nick and that tao was the last to know because he might have been the reason charlie got outed, tao didn't have his beanie on at first, but then he gets stressed out and feels guilty and he immediatly puts it back on and leaves

another thing i find interesting is that tao refers to himself and his friends as "borderline outcasts". now, i don't know if he was exagerating or if he genuinely meant that, but either way, this just tells me they're The Weird Kids (my beloved). charlie has been ostracized, bullied and rejected for being the gay kid. isaac mostly keeps to himself and is a quiet, chill boy who doesn't socialize too much even with his friends. and then there's tao. who is obviously labeled as weird, loud and annoying by others. which, surprise surprise, is what many adhd and autistic kids are called by their peers. i don't think tao was ever bullied, at least not at the level charlie was, but he clearly was rejected by many kids and had trouble finding his small friendgroup

anyway help me spread my autistic/adhd tao propaganda by reblogging this :)

I am simply not seeing enough people talk about the significance of Isaac’s purple and green leaves!

In the show’s past, animations such as the leaves and butterflies are used as a tool specifically to convey a character’s crush or romantic excitement. BUT NOW Isaac gets leaves too because he is experiencing a different spark of excitement around figuring out and finding comfort in who he is.

You don’t need to experience romantic attraction to feel the leaves! ANYBODY CAN GET THE LEAVES 🍃💜💚

Elle Argent as Jesus Christ: Heartstopper art analysis.

Yesterday, I made this post where I wordlessly compared Elle's art piece for the Lambert School to the painting that draws her attention at the Louvre, Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus, a depiction of Jesus breaking bread for his disciples after his crucifixion and subsequent rising.

Elle's perspective on the painting / a full view of the painting (source)

The first thing I noticed that helped me draw the connection between these two paintings was their composition, the basic triangular lines that guide the eye in each painting; from Jesus and Elle in the center to the innkeeper and Tao at the top.

Heartstopper also clearly wanted us to make some connection between Elle and this Caravaggio: they focus on her face before they show us the painting, so we wonder what exactly it is she's seeing, which increases its narrative importance. I assumed she recognized herself in a painting; she did, but not in the way I expected.

"my parents would never accept who I truly am so I want to make others feel like I feel and have control over them"

Vs.

"my parents would never accept who I truly am so I want to do my best to accept others and myself"

mr. farouk:

tao and elle both share a big trait: they are terrified of change. the difference is in how they both react to this and how they deal with it

elle avoids change and things that are new. she avoided making friends and talking to people at her new school, because of the fear of rejection. she avoids her crush on tao because she's scared to tell him and of everything changing for the worse. and this negatively affects her life

tao does the opposite. he is scared so change that he reacts, he actively tries to stop change. so he lashes out about charlie not hanging out with him that much and not feeling appreciated by him, he insists to charlie that he should move on from nick bc he is worried about charlie's safety and the uncertainty of the future, and he is scared that their friend group is falling apart and the dynamics changing. he gets really intense about it (and i get it, bc it really is scary to be in that position). he gets involved in everything, even things he should just leave alone

in the end they both face their fears, elle does much earlier, by getting out there, letting new people in, and accepting her crush on tao (even being almost ready to tell him). and tao confronts charlie about how he's feeling, he's finally honest about these feelings he's having and he apologizes for whatever harm he caused. elle talks about change being good, and helps tao see this too

they're both okay in the end

Kids 🌺

FACTS! I’m 20 years old and I know so many people my age and older who are not only virgins, but haven’t even had their first kiss. And that’s totally normal. Also Nick and Charlie have only been dating for like 2 months?? That’s a perfectly normal progression for a relationship, Euphoria and Riverdale have just rotted people’s brains so hard that they’ve forgotten about normal, tame teenagers

harry during heartstopper s2 e4

charlie: "do you remember the first time that you kissed me? you didn't even ask, you didn't pause to wonder whether it was what i wanted and I went along with it because I had a crush and I didn't know any better. I didn't realise that you had all the control. When I eventually did realise, I thought this must be what I deserve, someone taking whatever he wants from me, whenever he wants treating me like I'm nothing the rest of the time. Now when ever, anything good happens in my life, there's a voice in the back of my mind, telling me I'm worthless, and that I don't deserve it, and now you want me to forgive you so that you can feel better about yourself? I'm glad you realise what you did was wrong, but you don't get to ambush me into forgiving you. 'Sorry' doesn't make up for everything you did to me. I really hope you become a better person so you don't hurt anyone else, but I don't wanna be there to see that happen. I don't wanna see you ever again."

me:

there is just . so much queer joy and representation this season it makes me want to scream and cry and love !!! a toast for gays for bisexuals, for lesbians for trans and disabled queer folks, for not one but TWO canon aro/ace people, for late-in-life-feeling-like-you-missed-out gays, for queer friends with platonic friendships, for understanding consent even in queer relationships, for love and freedom and life

Casting a spell of Pay Your Actors And Writers And Give Us Season Three, likes to charge reblogs to cast

Me when the themes and motifs connect in my brain

I understand that a lot of people feel gross when it comes to disability stuff, like stomas and incontinence products and difficulty bathing, things like that, and if you need "gross positivity" because you feel gross, I'm not talking about you here.

But if you're abled or not disabled in a way where people call you and your body gross, maybe consider leaving those "gross positive" posts to people with those disabilities because people can easily interpret that coming from an abled person as "I think you're a gross yucky person who uses diapers and doesn't bathe often enough but don't worry I love you anyways"

HE MOUTHED “OH FUCK”

Behind any virus there is an antivirus

I could not be a Fazbear technician