Special Interest - Blog Posts

It is time for the rawest of fuckin data

Anyways, this isn't the FINAL information i just wanted to show yall a snippet before i put everything together (which will take time bc im a full time student and i work)

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Overall we had 454 responses!

Q1 was generally about autistic identity.

80.4% of respondants identified as autistic (self or professional diagnosis was acceptable). 12.5% were unsure and 7% did not identify as autistic. I included a chart.

Q2 asks about if the respondent currently has an interest in fishes/marine life or if they have in the past.

83% of respondents said they do have a current interest in fishes, while 10.8% used to. 6.2% never had an interest in fishes.

As far as reasoning goes with regards as to why autistics like fishes: I haven't gone through EVERYTHING yet, but the common trends so far are: Comfort, they got there from a different special interest, the amount of diversity within fish groups, and because a lot of them are unusual. I'll go more into depth when i read them all and write my thingy.

What id do differently: In the future I wouldve liked to include one part for other neurodivergents and one for neurotypical folks, just cuz it'd be cool to see if there's a difference between why we like it vs neurotypicals. This was just to find out why autistics tend to like fishes so much, so that was something that popped into my mind AFTER i had gotten a fair amount of responses. I'd mosty just wanna focus on tightening up my questions.

I'll try to get the writing out when i can!

So real 😼💅

These are mine 😽✌️

every autistic bitch got their two main interests like this

There is a very specific and painful uncomfortable infuriating frustrating dreadful sad feeling of desire, when you care so much about something, and you just want to tell someone about it.

To take a character and make someone else care about them they way you do

To show someone how fascinating a topic is

To demonstrate how intricate a story is, how intertwined the world is

To bundle up the bright, overflowing bundle of care/excitement/intrigue and share it so someone else can experience it too

…

But sometimes, perhaps often, there is no one to tell.

No one you haven’t bothered recently. No one who has a similar interest. No one who will be willing to read the outpour. No one who would care. No one you haven’t already handed a new interest.

And that desire to share, give, offer, show, and tell someone sours. It melts into a charred mass of dread in your stomach that seeps into the subject itself, if only a little.

Here are all my armadillo things and a list of what they are

Big squishmallow: a generic armadillo that I have decided is a six banded armadillo to round out my cellection.

Large crochet one: giant armadillo

Blue and pink one: southern long nosed armadillo

Small blue and purple one: southern naked tailed armadillo

Teal squishmallow: Brazilian three banded armadillo

Cardboard one: nine banded armadillo

Snow globe one: screaming hairy armadillo

Tapestry: southern three banded armadillo

Charm: greater naked tail armadillo

Here’s my check list

Lmk if you want to know more

I made it through Christmas and only cried once!!!!!

Now I will lie in bed and look at my gifts and use every gift I can immediately.

Anyone want to hear about the stuff I got? /hj

When your most recent hyperfixation is fading without a new one to replace it but your sanity hinges on constant distraction ✨

Ew I've been thrust into being PRESENT in my OWN LIFE 💀

Partner: Yeah, it’s annoying when people talk for too long.

Me: So no special interest rants.

Partner: No, it’s fine when you do it.

Me: FDJDHSKDDBSK

Every year my Sonic special interest resurfaces and takes over my brain for like half the year and then goes dormant again ... THIS TIME IM PREPARED !!! EXCITED FOR THE SONIC INTEREST RESURFACING !!!!! time to PICK UP THOSE OLD AUS !!!!!

As a Twilight fan I must combine Twilight with each of my special interests at some point . I did it with Sonic and Cookie Run Kingdom, Invader Zim is next and OH boy am I going overboard with this

To my fellow neruodivergents do you also ever see your special interest and get so compassionate over it in a good way that you feel like you're going to explode and your skin is going to melt off but in a good way because it's a reaction to a special interest ????????

all i wanna do is eat nectarines and think about aurora borealis st. elmo’s fire gigantic jets ball lightning green flash earthquake lights and will-o-the-wisps

GUESS WHO GOT A (SORT OF) JOB BITCHES

So I’ve recently started volunteering at my local aviary shelter, doing the more maintenance jobs, like cleaning, washing food bowls and toys, changing light bulbs from time to time, fixing broken appliances, re teaching the owner how to use TikTok, things like that. I also help set up our stands and hand out flyers, and get attention to any of our fundraisers, which we sometimes do because other shelters need help. AND NOBODY THOUGHT TO TELL ME, THAT THE PENGUIN COMES IN REGULARLY . So I’m helping clean up for the night, and get asked “hey, can you stay with me a few more hours. Mya (one of our parrots) is sick, and I could use the extra help with whatever might come up, as she’s supposed to be under constant watch.” I get it, I really do, and I was worried about our sweet Mya just as much as they were, and so I agreed. The lights in the front started flickering, so I go up there to check on it/clean up. BUT GUESS WHO THE FUCK I SAW. THE ARCTIC BIRD HIMSELF, AGAIN. I’m confused thinking “are we getting robbed” when he smiles, waves and asks “not surprised you work here! I assume your helping keep an eye on Mya? Where is she?” I’m still a little baffled, so I just point to the back and he thanks me, meanwhile dialup noises are playing in my head as I try to figure out what the FUCK is goin on. So I go into the back and find him helping watch after Mya.

It’s been two hours. We’ve been sitting here talking about birds the whole time, and at some point the riddler showed up to “pick up his boyfriend” and we’ve started talking about the genetic relationship between vultures and storks

I learned how to make ice cream a while ago and my life hasn’t been the same since I have gained that literal sweet piece of knowledge.

*stares at you with my big ol eyes on the street at night* “do you want to hear about this super cool historical fact”

Coining post time!!!

Term: Special hyperfixation

Meaning: When something isn't clear between if it's a hyperfixation or a special interest. So it's just called both in an easier way.

Extra: This term is for neurodivergent beings, thought of with AuDHD beings in mind, but if a being genuinely has hyperfixations and special interests, they can use it. This term can be added to similar things as hyperfixation and special interest can. Such as alters/headmates/etc. that hold special hyperfixations just like those that hold special interests and hyperfixations.

So far, there is not a flag or symbol, if any being wants to make one, that is 100% fine.

This term is free to use. Credit is appreciated but not required.

- Shay 🐾

One of our hyperfixations/special interests (we aren't quite sure which it is, lol) is service dogs.

Does anyone want to hear (or see, lol) us rant about service dogs?

If multiple beings say that they want us to rant about service dogs, we will post at least one post about service dogs!!

- Shay 🐾 (Shirley 🦮 might be in the background rn, lol)

Guess we are answering from main account/blog now.

Our hyperfixations tend to be more related to our sources and other games, movies, and shows, lol.

Also, animal related things, especially service dogs.

[Some of these could also be special interests, we aren't entirely sure of the difference for us]

- Shay 🐾

What is your in-depth opinion of fire?

Depends on who is being asked.

There's Den and Moonfire who love fire, lol!

Most of the rest of us mostly just like looking at fire but not being too close, lol.

Not sure what else to say here.

- Shay 🐾

My partner got me my favorite Beatles album for Christmas!!!

being autistic and having a normal special interest <<< being autistic and having your special interest be display refrigerators in hardware stores

someone ask me about my display fridge opinions

I honestly don't mean for this to come across as ignorant or anything like that but I just seen your post about learning kanji's and they're Chinese characters? I didn't know Japanese used Chinese characters? I've only started learning mandarin but I never knew that Japanese used the same characters?

It’s not ignorant at all, please don’t feel that way! Years and years ago in Japan there was no comprehension of such characters, but some Japanese people were sent to China as scholars to basically learn everything about Classical Chinese and due to this there was a sudden (but still rather small) increase in Chinese literacy. It still took a while for Kanji to be fully incorporated into the Japanese language, and even the two other alphabets (hiragana and katakana) are said to be based off of the way in which Chinese was written during this time, in attempt to break down the language barriers between the two nations. Until these alphabets were used the Japanese didn’t have a writing system at all! This means that immigration and visitors from China and Korea in particular have had an influence on the way in which the Japanese language has evolved, and this is most likely why there are some similarities between Japanese and other languages you may study. Chinese and Japanese characters still have particular differences, so somebody who speaks Japanese/Chinese may briefly understand a text based on characters from their original tongue, but in general the strokes are sometimes varied and the pronunciation is completely different so they wouldn’t be able to read it fluently like one might expect (even if the character looks nearly identical.) Sorry if any of my information is wrong- this is just some general knowledge that I’ve picked up from my own research and studies!

god gives his most niche fandoms to his most autistic warriors

It makes me happy when they listen

thinking about writing a fic about genloss bc we are severely lacking in the comfort department still and i need it. to be clear the last time i wrote fanfiction was when i was 12 and it was about Spider-Man BUT this is making me want to try again

I kinda feel like since i was a kid i always preferred bringing new people, people who don't really know about my interests into my interests because i kept waiting for them to experience the same rush of excitedness and happiness that i had when engaging in it, and i didn't understand that that is not how it works...

Does anyone else prefer to enjoy their special interest alone? Or with people who’ll engage with you but don’t know anything about it instead of people who know a lot about it?

Sometimes it’s just refreshing. Sometimes I don’t want my headcanons or personal opinions on Doctor Who challenged because it’s too upsetting. Sometimes I want to pretend the fandom doesn’t exist. Sometimes I prefer explaining basic lore in the most complicated and off-track way possible rather than dealing with other Whovians.

Special interests really feel personal- it’s sorta strange how allistics don’t feel that intense connection, but I’m also just a bit envious.

I love doctor i loved the teaser trailer i loved little details like the doctor hiding behind donna's mom or ncuti being there or that game master that everybody is talking about but i am not catched up enough yet, i love it and i have been having the flappy hands since i saw it

DOCTOR WHO! Especially the classic show, with the wacky special effects and costumes <3

Then there is space, stars and all that stuff, i love them! :D

…YES

Autism meme

I was yapping about register (sociolinguistics) in therapy when my therapist asked if I (as an undiagnosed autistic person) use sociolinguistics to understand other people.

While I have thought about that, I'm not entirely sure that's the case? Sure, linguistics as a whole is a special interest, but where my interest really lies in the whole thing is historical reconstruction of protolanguages.

Like, you're telling me we don't know where the gender system in Indo-European languages came from? Or where Arabic triconsonantal roots came from?

Sociolinguistics, while useful as a field of interest, just isn't quite mine.

Hehehehe let me see * pulls out my special interests from a hat*

1. Warriors (cats)

2. Kirby

3. Pokémon

4. Digimon

5. Studio ghibli movies

Anyone is welcome to join this thread

I saw this meme going around on twitter and I think it'll be perfect for this account.

List 5 topics you can talk on for an hour without preparing any material.

Went on a date to Denny's and saw the big fish at the pet store afterward.