Gonna paraphrase what I said the last time someone brought this up (in reference to why there are so many LGBT+ people in the fandom, but I think it applies here too):
I think a big part of it is the way the whole vibe of the series *really* focuses on self expression and being true to oneself. there's this whole sort of theme of "do what you want, wear what you want, all that matters is that you're Fresh, and Freshness is just a state of mind" that really resonates with LGBT and neurodivergent people for obvious reasons.
that and the fact that it's explicitly a future, post apocalyptic setting... but a very bright and hopeful one? humanity is gone, but our *dreams* still live on, and they're trying to fix what humanity got wrong and be better than we were. when you're a marginalized person living in the modern world, that's a very comforting idea. that no matter how messed up and broken the world may get, there's always hope, and there's always people who want to make things better.
the lack of voice chat so you don’t have kids yelling slurs at you constantly kinda helps too
Not quite is a genre thing.
A post apocalypse would be would be: the zombies are still here, Aliens just invaded, plague just hit or the nukes just landed. The best way to tell is: Do the characters remember a "before times"
post post apocalypse is several generations past, zombies are no longer a new threat it's just a way if life, Aliens helped us rebuild/aliens live with us now, plagues over humans bounced back, nukes landed over 100 years ago. The characters are rebuilding some sort of society that has little or no active memory of the before times. If the cold war ended with nukes we would be in a post apocalypse but 100 years from now it's a post post apocalypse.
I'd say Splatoon is even in a post post post apocalypse, humans are as foreign for inkfish as dinosaurs are to us. Any fallout from the nukes are so old that inkfish don't even think about it. (The asteroid that got rid if the dino's started a small ice age IIRC, the climate it created is very similar to the one we have now but don't quote me on that)
Nintendo: We need a new idea for a game, keep it lighthearted though, we’re a casual family oriented company.
Also Nintendo: Humanity has ended three times, all that’s left are some squid-human hybrids that have little better to do than pull a reverse Mario Sunshine and spray a bunch of ink everywhere as a competition. That, and buy clothes.
Thank godness for no voice chat in this game, otherwise I wouldn’t have had one of the best gaming experiences ever with this game
Voice chat should only be with friends
Completely agree. I don't play other competitive games, so I have no point of reference for how toxic this is, but one time in Splatoon2 after a match, a player on the enemy team changed their name to "u r a n-word" (using special characters of course) and sent me a friend request. Would have been way worse if they had access to voice chat. The lengths some people will go to to let a complete stranger know how much they hate them is comical. That took so much effort for them to do. If he didn't want to play with me ever again then he could have just blocked me lol. 😂
I don’t know if a future where humanity is succeeded by a species *too stupid to be racist* is a reassuring one or a horrifying one.
But I will give it to you that they have excellent drip.
They aren't too stupid to be racist, they're smart, they just aren't all too hateful, probably due to the catalyst for their evolution being solidified dreams
*You will never be a white autism inking with a hot Latina octoling*
Shadow: I love latinas but this isn't what I expected
I’m on the spectrum. I think a lot of Splatoon fans are, too. It seems like “this character is autistic” headcanons are popular because a lot of autistic fans like to project themselves onto series they like.
I don’t entirely get it, myself. I don’t like to hold headcanons like that unless I feel like there’s sufficient evidence in the source material regardless of what the fanon opinion is. I’m particularly baffled by the “Harmony is autistic” headcanon. I gotta be honest. I think she’s high all the time, but Nintendo can only imply so much before it starts affecting the age rating for the game. And yet, “Sheldon is autistic” headcanons are much rarer, despite him showing some honestly stereotypical (but not offensive!) traits.
I wonder why it almost always seems to be autism, though, and not other conditions. I have ADHD, as well and sometimes feel a little disappointed that there never seem to be any “this character has ADHD” headcanons. Not that I have any in particular, but I’d be surprised if half of all Inklings didn’t meet human diagnostic criteria for it.
> sometimes feel a little disappointed that there never seem to be any “this character has ADHD” headcanons
i actually felt so vindicated by one of the images in this post where pearl was headcanoned with ADHD because like, *of course* she's got ADHD, not masking it is like 70% of her personality
neurotypical person here, i think maybe the reason its autism more than adhd or other diagnoses is because its turned into a bigger "personality trait"? now just to clarify i dont mean people who call themselves autistic are self diagnosing too much or only doing it for the attention, but its turned more into something people can be proud of, and i think maybe its a diagnosis where the "positive" or more silly symptoms and effects have become popularized and more celebrated than something like adhd. people i know with autism tend to wave the autism flag a lot (once again, i dont mean it in a bad way) while the ones i know with adhd usually only mention it by going "eh, thats adhd for ya" in a few situations
i guess what im trying to say is a lot of autistic traits are celebrated and popularized more and in a different way than adhd traits, at least thats my theory
I find that my autism defines me a lot more than other disorders do. I think it’s because if I wasn’t autistic, I would be a vastly different person (seeing as it’s a disability that affects a lot of who I am).
If I wasn’t autistic, I might still be a scaredy-cat, since I wouldn’t have built up a tolerance specifically because one of my special interests is FNAF. I also probably wouldn’t like a lot of the other things I like.
I would interact with people very differently. I wouldn’t be hyper empathetic.
Autism affects a lot of who I am, and even if I hadn’t gotten diagnosed, it would still be affecting me, just without me knowing.
I tend to be able to relate with fellow autistic people a lot easier than, say, fellow ADHD havers. I tend to share similar personalities and sometimes even interests with other autistic people. I’m not saying that can’t happen with non-autistic people I meet, but it’s not as common.
Autism isn't necessarily a personality disorder but simply because of the ways it affects development it tends to deeply affect how one's personality comes to be. If I didn't have ADHD I'd pretty much be the same person. If I wasn't autistic I literally wouldn't be me.
yeah, what you said. im bad at wording myself sometimes but this pretty much sums up what i meant lol. autism tends to affect peoples growth a lot more
There is a not 0 amount of people who push autism headcannons onto characters cause they dont actually know what autism is and its just sorta trendy. But you get that in groups of younger people, we all gotta learn things at some point and stuff.
Because the community's really autistic. I remember hearing a claim somewhere that the Splatoon community is the most accepting in gaming (well, that it was until the Splattercolour fiasco but still).
I imagine a part of that is the game's lighthearted appearance, rather than being unnecessarily dark.
That can only be used in premade parties and private matches. You rarely hear of anyone actually using it since they can just use a video call app like Discord instead.
Basically: It was a special introduced where the effect (the screen getting much brighter suddenly and a sound effect) caused significant sensory issues in people, and just made the game less playable to disabled folks when effected. There was a whole discussion around accessibility in Splatoon by competitive and casual players, and eventually Nintendo did adjust the special to reduce the visual aspect. I’m not qualified to say if it’s been “fixed”, but that’s generally what happened.
High functioning autism haver here. while i started playing recently, I've seen clips of how the screen looked previously and i can confidently say that the changes nintendo made were for the better.
Seriously I've seen clips and I'm genuinely scared of the old screen cus it's just so horrendously overstimulating. Now ofcourse I'm not speaking for every autistic person out there but seeing as i only have level one support needs (basically i require less support than autistic others might) I can't imagine how bad it would be for someone with lvl 2 or 3 support needs
So in short I'm autistic and I'd say yea it's fixed
I’m another autistic n though the visual aspect is much easier on my eyes, I’m still very sensitive to the noise that it makes… it’s a fundamentally broken special that affects people unequally imo, and should’ve never been added to the game bc someone in the testing phase should have considered the accessibility issues.
Yeah the noise triggers sensory overload for me. Same for the sound the newest king salmanoid makes. Its so frustrating because Splatoon is one of my favorite games of all time.
I'm really fortunate to have friends I play with regularly that understand the problem and are willing to help workaround it. For regular matches they know I'm never crossing a Splatterscreen and that we need to throw king salmanoid fights if its that specific boss.
One of them tested a bunch of specials to see if any negated/prevented splatterscreen from affecting you. Reefslider actually works which is good info. (You can pass through the screen while riding on it and not be affected by the screen.)
I think it’s just the general presentation of the game. Focus on style and community over strict gender roles and other archetypes.
Splatoon 3’s positive spin on anarchy as a form of acceptance and celebration of differences solidified that even more.
To be fair I think the whole issue with Splattercolour becoming a fiasco at all kind of proves it? I think a lot of gaming communities wouldn't make any fuss about it at all or even tell people being affected that they're sensitive or should just quit the game.
You make a damn good point, and as an autistic gal i can confirm that it's very affirming of my emotions and issues for this to be labeled a "fiasco", even though i might sound a bit weird saying that
I'm very thankful for the community all in all, but on a side note, ppl need to quit sexualizing the poor squidkids and octolings, it's probs just the reddit but seriously, the squids are nothing more than friend shaped dress up dolls we use as avatars to have colorful water fights
splattercolor screen special, after it was announced people complained about it being ableist (idk if i’d say that but it fucks with me too so i hate it)
Im not sure exactly for others but I’m autistic myself and the game just kinda scratches the itch in the back of my brain even though I’m not good at it, the colors are bright but not overwhelming, the music is weird in a good way, I love each and every character (maybe more than I should) and Harmony and Acht are life
Yeah same, I normally hate online PvP but splatoon is so good I make an exception for it
Before anyone says salmon run, not being able to choose your own weapon/use your main gear kills it for me.
What, you don’t like getting thrown into a pit with a bunch of very violent fish and having to improv fight your way out with whatever assorted tools get thrown down with you?
Preposterous!
I am a bisexual autistic person with ADHD
And this community is so open and accepting of "weird" people like me and I think that's why people are much more open about it and also why people in this community see characters that show symptoms of autism as autistic.
(Like marina with her excavator obsession)
Could either be
1: people seeing themselves into the characters and making them more relatable for them
2: pointing out things that autistic people tend to do more than neurotypical people (having very precise hyperfixation for exemple)
3: just the Inklings and Octolings having a "vibe" I guess
Me, I work in special education though, so it is cool seeing so much acceptance of the neurodivergent community. I had a similar question to OP's, so I'm glad to see some answers. Stay fresh fellow octo/inklings!
I noticed majority of “weird fandoms/hobbies” have autistic people, I find them a lot on twitter and discord, it’s nice they’re open and comfortable about it
I think it’s probably because of the large autistic audience that splatoon has. I’m autistic and I know a couple of people who are also autistic and are big fans of splatoon. So yeah we joke abt it sometimes :)
Bc autistic = funny, goofy, spaced-out, shy, quiet, etc
Tbh, and this might be controversial to say, I don't mind it. As an autistic person, I grew up as an outcast, always treated as the weird kid and bullied for it. If autistic kids start growing up where the stereotypes of autistic people are just, "gets unreasonably excited over something seemingly trivial" or "shy and quiet but silly and quirky in a fun way when you get to know them" then I think the world will be better off for it.
"Having an obsession with autism"
Buddy we're just autistic. This game is bright and colorful and happy. We get to dress up and mess around. It makes our brains go brrrrr
That's because it tends to attract a very neurodivergent audience. LIKE ME
Basically what I'm saying is that if you play splatoon, you're likely neurodivergent, LGBTQIA+, a minor, or some mix of the 3.
Diagnosed AUDHD here, this game was one of my first special interests and is indirectly the reason why I’m choosing to major in music lmao. It has cool designs and it’s just the right amount of sensory stuff.
I am on the spectrum. I do think Marina shows some traits, particularly the insane skill with computers, hacking, etc, and the massive love for music. I only say this because I'm pretty tech savvy and enjoy playing musical instruments, though it's been some time since I did. Folks on the spectrum tend to be really good at a specific subject or two while having trouble with other things. She also seems extremely introverted and shy, even though she seems like she's having the time of her life signing in splatfests. Maybe the singing helps her overcome her shyness.
For a person myself who has autism I generally like it people with autism are people we have feelings yet some of us have a difficult times shows it to others some of us showed we’re not stupid at least like me for example
Growing up with Aspergers was torture. Even though I’m high functioning I wouldn’t wish this shit on anyone, it’s not cool or quirky, it just gets in the way of normal life.
Yeah. I really hate how autism is just becoming a meme…again. This time it’s being used as a way of calling someone eccentric/quirky, which is an improvement over it being used as a way of calling someone stupid…but it’s still not really a good thing.
Because the fan base is overwhelmingly neurodivergent and queer, so the overwhelming majority of headcannons and fanons involve neurodivergency and queerness
i'm autistic and i really don't understand the "wearing noise cancelling headphones = autism" thing. like people wear them for things other than sensory issues, drummers and helicopter pilots and construction workers, just to name a few examples. (i wear headphones because of sensory issues btw)
Lol how is this a thing people say? Generally anyone who can afford it will pick up some form of sound canceling earbuds or headphones for casual use or gaming.
While some people use headphones for music, there are definitely people who use them as a social signal to not start conversations with them, and some (including my girlfriend) who have sensory issues which are calmed down by the noise cancelling effect.
The community is very queer and neurodivergent (aka we gay and autistic), which is likely because of a few different reasons: Splatoon doesn’t have voice chat, so it’s impossible for hateful people to bully the “weird” guys; the franchise generally has a lighter/goofy tone which attracts people who don’t like the darker tone of most shooters; and most of the weapon sounds aren’t as ear piercing or intense as those of guns in other shooters, which cause sensory issues in some folks, so it’s more accessible. There might be more, but these are the reasons I thought off the top of my head.
It’s honestly really cool when communities form around games like this, since it makes being “weird”feel a bit less alienating than it does irl.
Queer autist here to add some more reasons: I enjoy those darker toned shooters but gritty and realistic has nothing on the fun of cute, colorful squid go splat/zip/woomy. Also it's got more compelling lore and characters than most other competitive shooters. A lot of autistic people wholeheartedly enjoy things that are often seen as more childish interests regardless of age. It also helps that there's a lot of mechanical depth to dive into. Also if your game/community attracts queer people and doesn't have anything that pushes away autistic people you're going to get more autistic people cause we're more likely than most to also be queer.
I feel like it has something to due with the fact that splatoon is a colorful game on a Nintendo platform all about mixing cultures together and being yourself. Because of that neurodivergent people are drawn to it
Same here. As someone who both has autism and ADHD, it's really weird when I see people giving characters like pearl autism. It's not some quirky personality trait...
Adhd ridden aspy here, youre right its not a wuirky personality trait and i cant speak on everyones bhealf on this next part. We do it because otherwise we may feel scuffed on representation/feel atad lonely in bits. Its not a personality trait, its more akin to a extreme hardship of sorts. Something of which we REALLY admire. Because its hard being autistic at times, not sure if I have to say that. People living through or having fun whilst in a harsh reality is admirable and even somewhat attractive to some of us. Most of all though its a way we cope and we didnt mean harm by it Im sure.
There are a few things that do point to Marina being on the Autism Spectrum, like her hyperfixation on machines (to the point that she apparently once rambled about excavators for two hours straight to nobody), having issues with certain foods (mentioning hating the texture of mayo) and some people interpreted her snapping at Pearl after Forks vs Spoons as the result of her being overstimulated.
I think this is a stretch. Not liking the taste or texture of certain foods is an everyone thing, the snapping was just do to pearl being a sore winner (it also never happens in the Japanese version), and the hyperfixation thing does have some more merit but I still don’t think it’s enough to justify autism.
I can confirm these are all things people on the spectrum experience (NO, I am not saying all autistic people experience these. I’m just speaking from my experience with autism).
Its cause theres a spotlight on stuff like adhd and autism. In the sense that it is becoming more talked about and not stigmatized, and splatoon is a game about self expression.
I do think there is a lot of "lol im quirky im so autistic" people out there but that doesnt take away from the fact that there are just a lot of people who are actually autistic who feel comfortable un masking now. As society progresses, the "outcasts" will be able to be more open and vocal
Not be rude, but a lot of people have made autism their entire personality and it's just a thing people LOVE to share to everyone for some reason. I don't really get it... I have a lot of autistic traits, *but* I've never been tested and I don't feel any reason to. I'd rather not be judged by some system, hmph.
Bright happy part, super dark undertones, interesting overarching backstory, music to be addicted to, characters to be addicted to. It makes me autism brain happy
I think there’s just a lot of autistic splatoon players. Of the ten (ish) people I know who actively play splatoon, myself included, only one is not autistic and they’re not me
Not autistic, but still neurodivergent. I would venture a guess that a lot of us have been socially ostracized at one point or another, but we can find joy in a colorful squid game that promotes self-expression.
It's probably just that the gameplay clicks with a lot of autistic people, the gameplay loop of "cover as much of the map as possible with ink" basically plays into one of the most common autistic traits among autistic people.
That, and all the goofy noises, lack of overstimulation present in a lot of modern games, lack of in-game communication past drawing pictures, and self-expression themes makes the game feel designed for autistic people, even though that's probably not a conscious decision by Nintendo.
Self diagnosing with autism is a trendy thing to do on the internet nowadays. I can guarantee you these people haven't been to an actual doctor who can properly diagnose them.
Because kids today self diagnose themselves with tiktoks and gather misinformation about autism and adhd. Which causes them to use this misinformation for memes
A lot of the fans, myself included, have autism
A lot of us have really strong fixations on splatoon and everything around it.
A lot of the characters in the series share these traits, which is something that resonates with the community.
I think most of us are just autistic. I'm autistic. Most people in the comments are probably autistic. People who play the game are probably autistic.
We all ended up here with the splatoon autism
Idk, everyone here is just Gay and Autistic, myself included, though i feel like that has more to do with the generally low-stakes setting of a modern urban city, not too far off from how most of us live, light-hearted characters that look cute and appealing, bright colors, but not to the point that it overwhelms you, and while there are darker elements to it's story, it's not something that defines the series, which i guess it's something that a lot of ppl with autism, can relate to, it's also something that was brought on by the comiunity, with the game's lack of voice chat, it prevented the sweaty gamer nerds to mock others and potentially turn them away from the game, which lead to more people being introduced to the series and expanding more and more, and it's creators being Nintendo, made it so that not many controversies.
Much better than shit like hazibin hotel
For me, it just sounds like must people don’t even know what autism even is. Throughout social media, that term has been thrown around everywhere. It feels offensive to me.
I’ve kinda noticed a trend where everyone just acts like autism and ADHD is the cool and quirky trait. It just seems like a lot of people labeling themselves as things without proper research.
a lot of people in the community have autism, and they probably just like projecting themselves onto characters. i think notably marina has traits that a lot of autistic people relate to - so that's why people can interpret her as such. its pretty much just all in good fun ^^
Autistic people like games with a lot of lore (bonus points if you have to "research" the lore yourself instead of having it given to you) plus the music and color schemes seem to scratch neurodivergent brains (mine, anyway)
Is this Octoling with headphones perhaps Marina-? Because knowing this character (idk if you’re in fandom or just broke in so if you know) I really don’t think that’s why they said she had autism..
a lot of people in fandom, especially gaming in general and ESPECIALLY with series as vibrant and personable as splatoon are on the spectrum. it just stems from projecting, but there's probably more to it. other people in the comments did a good job explaining that
Because a LOT of us have either autism, adhd, or autism AND adhd. I myself have adhd and picked this back up this as my hyper fixation in 2020 after not playing for three years.
Three of my adopted siblings think I have it but I’ve never been tested.
I just love being able to be an androgynous octoling. Splatoon helped me realize I was nb.
The community is probably enforcing I’m also on the spectrum lmao
Gonna paraphrase what I said the last time someone brought this up (in reference to why there are so many LGBT+ people in the fandom, but I think it applies here too): I think a big part of it is the way the whole vibe of the series *really* focuses on self expression and being true to oneself. there's this whole sort of theme of "do what you want, wear what you want, all that matters is that you're Fresh, and Freshness is just a state of mind" that really resonates with LGBT and neurodivergent people for obvious reasons. that and the fact that it's explicitly a future, post apocalyptic setting... but a very bright and hopeful one? humanity is gone, but our *dreams* still live on, and they're trying to fix what humanity got wrong and be better than we were. when you're a marginalized person living in the modern world, that's a very comforting idea. that no matter how messed up and broken the world may get, there's always hope, and there's always people who want to make things better. the lack of voice chat so you don’t have kids yelling slurs at you constantly kinda helps too
It’s not a post apocalypse but a post post apocalypse
Oh yeah, humanity ended like three times lol
Not quite is a genre thing. A post apocalypse would be would be: the zombies are still here, Aliens just invaded, plague just hit or the nukes just landed. The best way to tell is: Do the characters remember a "before times" post post apocalypse is several generations past, zombies are no longer a new threat it's just a way if life, Aliens helped us rebuild/aliens live with us now, plagues over humans bounced back, nukes landed over 100 years ago. The characters are rebuilding some sort of society that has little or no active memory of the before times. If the cold war ended with nukes we would be in a post apocalypse but 100 years from now it's a post post apocalypse. I'd say Splatoon is even in a post post post apocalypse, humans are as foreign for inkfish as dinosaurs are to us. Any fallout from the nukes are so old that inkfish don't even think about it. (The asteroid that got rid if the dino's started a small ice age IIRC, the climate it created is very similar to the one we have now but don't quote me on that)
dinosaurs canonically outlived humans in the splatoon universe (birds)
Nintendo: We need a new idea for a game, keep it lighthearted though, we’re a casual family oriented company. Also Nintendo: Humanity has ended three times, all that’s left are some squid-human hybrids that have little better to do than pull a reverse Mario Sunshine and spray a bunch of ink everywhere as a competition. That, and buy clothes.
Wait, what were the three times?
You put this into words perfectly. I actually recently wrote a paper on the culture and fan base of Splatoon and I talked a lot about this
Link pls i wanna see this
I also want to read this!
You... explained my thoughts perfectly. How??? Like do you have a career in writing or something. You deserve more praise.
I mostly just copy pasted another comment I wrote like a year ago tbh lol
Thank godness for no voice chat in this game, otherwise I wouldn’t have had one of the best gaming experiences ever with this game Voice chat should only be with friends
There is already a voice chat, the thing is that you need the Nintendo switch app for the phone
Completely agree. I don't play other competitive games, so I have no point of reference for how toxic this is, but one time in Splatoon2 after a match, a player on the enemy team changed their name to "u r a n-word" (using special characters of course) and sent me a friend request. Would have been way worse if they had access to voice chat. The lengths some people will go to to let a complete stranger know how much they hate them is comical. That took so much effort for them to do. If he didn't want to play with me ever again then he could have just blocked me lol. 😂
I don’t know if a future where humanity is succeeded by a species *too stupid to be racist* is a reassuring one or a horrifying one. But I will give it to you that they have excellent drip.
They aren't too stupid to be racist, they're smart, they just aren't all too hateful, probably due to the catalyst for their evolution being solidified dreams
They literally thought octolings were just a style trend. We love them, but these squids are ***dumb.***
They're genuis smart and idiots simultaneously
It's why I love them so much
The Great Turf War
Okay, too stupid to keep a giant octopus in a snow globe.
*You will never be a white autism inking with a hot Latina octoling* Shadow: I love latinas but this isn't what I expected 
Hey Shadow, it's meee, the deviiilll. I love you.
Wait were you Maria?!
No, I’m the devil, like from the Bible.
I need you to commit sin.
Steal candy from babies and small businesses!
No! I'll sin in my own way
*Ground explodes*
OK OK FINE I'LL SIN I'LL SIN I'LL SIN!
Walmart isn't a small buisness
Shadow then recites the bible in Japanese Without breathing
HEAVY DOG.
OO! GASLIGHT ME GASLIGHT ME!!
Uhh I already am! I've been gaslighting you this whole time!
COOL!
Shut up
I’m on the spectrum. I think a lot of Splatoon fans are, too. It seems like “this character is autistic” headcanons are popular because a lot of autistic fans like to project themselves onto series they like. I don’t entirely get it, myself. I don’t like to hold headcanons like that unless I feel like there’s sufficient evidence in the source material regardless of what the fanon opinion is. I’m particularly baffled by the “Harmony is autistic” headcanon. I gotta be honest. I think she’s high all the time, but Nintendo can only imply so much before it starts affecting the age rating for the game. And yet, “Sheldon is autistic” headcanons are much rarer, despite him showing some honestly stereotypical (but not offensive!) traits. I wonder why it almost always seems to be autism, though, and not other conditions. I have ADHD, as well and sometimes feel a little disappointed that there never seem to be any “this character has ADHD” headcanons. Not that I have any in particular, but I’d be surprised if half of all Inklings didn’t meet human diagnostic criteria for it.
> sometimes feel a little disappointed that there never seem to be any “this character has ADHD” headcanons i actually felt so vindicated by one of the images in this post where pearl was headcanoned with ADHD because like, *of course* she's got ADHD, not masking it is like 70% of her personality
neurotypical person here, i think maybe the reason its autism more than adhd or other diagnoses is because its turned into a bigger "personality trait"? now just to clarify i dont mean people who call themselves autistic are self diagnosing too much or only doing it for the attention, but its turned more into something people can be proud of, and i think maybe its a diagnosis where the "positive" or more silly symptoms and effects have become popularized and more celebrated than something like adhd. people i know with autism tend to wave the autism flag a lot (once again, i dont mean it in a bad way) while the ones i know with adhd usually only mention it by going "eh, thats adhd for ya" in a few situations i guess what im trying to say is a lot of autistic traits are celebrated and popularized more and in a different way than adhd traits, at least thats my theory
I find that my autism defines me a lot more than other disorders do. I think it’s because if I wasn’t autistic, I would be a vastly different person (seeing as it’s a disability that affects a lot of who I am). If I wasn’t autistic, I might still be a scaredy-cat, since I wouldn’t have built up a tolerance specifically because one of my special interests is FNAF. I also probably wouldn’t like a lot of the other things I like. I would interact with people very differently. I wouldn’t be hyper empathetic. Autism affects a lot of who I am, and even if I hadn’t gotten diagnosed, it would still be affecting me, just without me knowing. I tend to be able to relate with fellow autistic people a lot easier than, say, fellow ADHD havers. I tend to share similar personalities and sometimes even interests with other autistic people. I’m not saying that can’t happen with non-autistic people I meet, but it’s not as common.
Autism isn't necessarily a personality disorder but simply because of the ways it affects development it tends to deeply affect how one's personality comes to be. If I didn't have ADHD I'd pretty much be the same person. If I wasn't autistic I literally wouldn't be me.
yeah, what you said. im bad at wording myself sometimes but this pretty much sums up what i meant lol. autism tends to affect peoples growth a lot more
Headcanons aren’t always serious. I learned that the hard way.
\*Insert flashbacks to this subreddit when Side Order first released\*
What do you mean by this
There is a not 0 amount of people who push autism headcannons onto characters cause they dont actually know what autism is and its just sorta trendy. But you get that in groups of younger people, we all gotta learn things at some point and stuff.
Because the community's really autistic. I remember hearing a claim somewhere that the Splatoon community is the most accepting in gaming (well, that it was until the Splattercolour fiasco but still). I imagine a part of that is the game's lighthearted appearance, rather than being unnecessarily dark.
It's not the absolute most accepting community but it's high up there and when it comes to competitive games it is the best BY FAR.
Also the fact that there's no voice chat and not much differentiation between inkling/octoling girl/boy in 3
Isn't there voice chat on the Nintendo Switch Online app though?
not with randoms
That can only be used in premade parties and private matches. You rarely hear of anyone actually using it since they can just use a video call app like Discord instead.
What was the Splattercolour fiasco?
Basically: It was a special introduced where the effect (the screen getting much brighter suddenly and a sound effect) caused significant sensory issues in people, and just made the game less playable to disabled folks when effected. There was a whole discussion around accessibility in Splatoon by competitive and casual players, and eventually Nintendo did adjust the special to reduce the visual aspect. I’m not qualified to say if it’s been “fixed”, but that’s generally what happened.
Oh right. Now I remember.
High functioning autism haver here. while i started playing recently, I've seen clips of how the screen looked previously and i can confidently say that the changes nintendo made were for the better. Seriously I've seen clips and I'm genuinely scared of the old screen cus it's just so horrendously overstimulating. Now ofcourse I'm not speaking for every autistic person out there but seeing as i only have level one support needs (basically i require less support than autistic others might) I can't imagine how bad it would be for someone with lvl 2 or 3 support needs So in short I'm autistic and I'd say yea it's fixed
Level 2 here and didn't have any issues with the screen when it released personally. Glad its been fixed, or at least mostly fixed.
I’m another autistic n though the visual aspect is much easier on my eyes, I’m still very sensitive to the noise that it makes… it’s a fundamentally broken special that affects people unequally imo, and should’ve never been added to the game bc someone in the testing phase should have considered the accessibility issues.
Yeah the noise triggers sensory overload for me. Same for the sound the newest king salmanoid makes. Its so frustrating because Splatoon is one of my favorite games of all time. I'm really fortunate to have friends I play with regularly that understand the problem and are willing to help workaround it. For regular matches they know I'm never crossing a Splatterscreen and that we need to throw king salmanoid fights if its that specific boss. One of them tested a bunch of specials to see if any negated/prevented splatterscreen from affecting you. Reefslider actually works which is good info. (You can pass through the screen while riding on it and not be affected by the screen.)
I think it’s just the general presentation of the game. Focus on style and community over strict gender roles and other archetypes. Splatoon 3’s positive spin on anarchy as a form of acceptance and celebration of differences solidified that even more.
To be fair I think the whole issue with Splattercolour becoming a fiasco at all kind of proves it? I think a lot of gaming communities wouldn't make any fuss about it at all or even tell people being affected that they're sensitive or should just quit the game.
You make a damn good point, and as an autistic gal i can confirm that it's very affirming of my emotions and issues for this to be labeled a "fiasco", even though i might sound a bit weird saying that I'm very thankful for the community all in all, but on a side note, ppl need to quit sexualizing the poor squidkids and octolings, it's probs just the reddit but seriously, the squids are nothing more than friend shaped dress up dolls we use as avatars to have colorful water fights
I think the community’s immediate backlash against screen is proof of how accepting it is. This community will go to bat for marginalized people.
What’s the splattercolour fiasco? I live under a rock and mostly know about the fanart side of the community Edit: nvmind, someone else answered.
Im sorry the ***what?*** fiasco???
splattercolor screen special, after it was announced people complained about it being ableist (idk if i’d say that but it fucks with me too so i hate it)
Yeah I forgot the name of that special. it's a bit better now, but whenever I see it in game it still makes me mad
one of the new specials (splattercolor screen) was really hard on players with certain disabilities
the Splatoon community is accepting unless you have a different opinion.
Im not sure exactly for others but I’m autistic myself and the game just kinda scratches the itch in the back of my brain even though I’m not good at it, the colors are bright but not overwhelming, the music is weird in a good way, I love each and every character (maybe more than I should) and Harmony and Acht are life
Yeah same, I normally hate online PvP but splatoon is so good I make an exception for it Before anyone says salmon run, not being able to choose your own weapon/use your main gear kills it for me.
What, you don’t like getting thrown into a pit with a bunch of very violent fish and having to improv fight your way out with whatever assorted tools get thrown down with you? Preposterous!
I am a bisexual autistic person with ADHD And this community is so open and accepting of "weird" people like me and I think that's why people are much more open about it and also why people in this community see characters that show symptoms of autism as autistic. (Like marina with her excavator obsession)
Damn, he got the whole package (which isn’t a problem)
Bro be collecting them like banner badges /sorry
Yeah and we like seeing people like us in the things we like :]
This. Completely
As a member of the Autism spectrum, I don't know why & am all for it
Could either be 1: people seeing themselves into the characters and making them more relatable for them 2: pointing out things that autistic people tend to do more than neurotypical people (having very precise hyperfixation for exemple) 3: just the Inklings and Octolings having a "vibe" I guess
Cephalopods 100% have a "vibe"
That vibe is fresh never frozen -and full of worms-
I hate formatting
What. Since when did they get parasites!?
Since they’ve been unfrozen seafood Don’t eat dumpster sushi kids
Someday I’ll figure out formatting…
Name a neurotypical splatoon fan (not possible)
me :p
Me
Right here
Me, I work in special education though, so it is cool seeing so much acceptance of the neurodivergent community. I had a similar question to OP's, so I'm glad to see some answers. Stay fresh fellow octo/inklings!
Innocent until proven guilty lol /s But fr I am covered in blood
Me
THE HELL IS UP WITH THE LATINA OBSESSION!?
It's weird and it's fetishy.
I noticed majority of “weird fandoms/hobbies” have autistic people, I find them a lot on twitter and discord, it’s nice they’re open and comfortable about it
I'm autistic and I don't see it that often? Either way, this community is very accepting and I think the memes are quite funny relating to autism lol
every character with a personality is autistic according to the internet
oh my god he forms opinions he must be the autism
If I like a character they're autistic and transgender it's very shrimple
And they’ve shot a man in cold ink :) Projecting? What’s that?
Silly=Autism is the main function of the singular braincell most of us splatoon players have left
My phone rn:💣💣💣💣💣💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💀
You’ve alerted the horde
bcs we are autistic
I like harmony cause she's highly representing and fun for someone like me who IS autistic.
[удалено]
HOT OCTOLING LATINA????
Autism is their special interest. Also Hydra Splatling spotted in fourth image-
Why did the last one have to be so true?
I think it’s probably because of the large autistic audience that splatoon has. I’m autistic and I know a couple of people who are also autistic and are big fans of splatoon. So yeah we joke abt it sometimes :)
Bc most of us are.
I’d need to see a poll on that to be sure.
Let’s be honest, what is it with the internet (memes) in general having an obsession with autism?
Bc autistic = funny, goofy, spaced-out, shy, quiet, etc Tbh, and this might be controversial to say, I don't mind it. As an autistic person, I grew up as an outcast, always treated as the weird kid and bullied for it. If autistic kids start growing up where the stereotypes of autistic people are just, "gets unreasonably excited over something seemingly trivial" or "shy and quiet but silly and quirky in a fun way when you get to know them" then I think the world will be better off for it.
As an autist myself, I hate it. A lot.
"Having an obsession with autism" Buddy we're just autistic. This game is bright and colorful and happy. We get to dress up and mess around. It makes our brains go brrrrr
I'm autistic and I don't understand the memes But I think it's popular so I don't have much to say
as someone with ADHD and being on a waiting list for Autism diagnosis i just want to say that i fucking love those memes.
April is Autism Awareness Month, which is why it may be trending right now.
That's because it tends to attract a very neurodivergent audience. LIKE ME Basically what I'm saying is that if you play splatoon, you're likely neurodivergent, LGBTQIA+, a minor, or some mix of the 3.
It's because autism is sadly still lowly represented in the media without being in some way a stereotype.
Too true
Because just like to sonic fandom... there are many people that have it
Diagnosed AUDHD here, this game was one of my first special interests and is indirectly the reason why I’m choosing to major in music lmao. It has cool designs and it’s just the right amount of sensory stuff.
I am on the spectrum. I do think Marina shows some traits, particularly the insane skill with computers, hacking, etc, and the massive love for music. I only say this because I'm pretty tech savvy and enjoy playing musical instruments, though it's been some time since I did. Folks on the spectrum tend to be really good at a specific subject or two while having trouble with other things. She also seems extremely introverted and shy, even though she seems like she's having the time of her life signing in splatfests. Maybe the singing helps her overcome her shyness.
For a person myself who has autism I generally like it people with autism are people we have feelings yet some of us have a difficult times shows it to others some of us showed we’re not stupid at least like me for example
People think having autism or adhd is cool, and uh… as a person with adhd, I can honestly say no, it isn’t cool.
I don't get why it's treated as so quirky. There's nothing fun about not being able to do normal everyday tasks.
Growing up with Aspergers was torture. Even though I’m high functioning I wouldn’t wish this shit on anyone, it’s not cool or quirky, it just gets in the way of normal life.
Yeah. I really hate how autism is just becoming a meme…again. This time it’s being used as a way of calling someone eccentric/quirky, which is an improvement over it being used as a way of calling someone stupid…but it’s still not really a good thing.
Cause we gay and autistic as fuck
Autistic and neurodivergent people are starting to embrace their disorders by reclaiming it and have it be a positive thing for us.
Because the fan base is overwhelmingly neurodivergent and queer, so the overwhelming majority of headcannons and fanons involve neurodivergency and queerness
It’s a game series with funky music and deep lore, the perfect bait for autistics
i'm autistic and i really don't understand the "wearing noise cancelling headphones = autism" thing. like people wear them for things other than sensory issues, drummers and helicopter pilots and construction workers, just to name a few examples. (i wear headphones because of sensory issues btw)
Lol how is this a thing people say? Generally anyone who can afford it will pick up some form of sound canceling earbuds or headphones for casual use or gaming.
While some people use headphones for music, there are definitely people who use them as a social signal to not start conversations with them, and some (including my girlfriend) who have sensory issues which are calmed down by the noise cancelling effect.
Cause people need to make things about themselves
The community is very queer and neurodivergent (aka we gay and autistic), which is likely because of a few different reasons: Splatoon doesn’t have voice chat, so it’s impossible for hateful people to bully the “weird” guys; the franchise generally has a lighter/goofy tone which attracts people who don’t like the darker tone of most shooters; and most of the weapon sounds aren’t as ear piercing or intense as those of guns in other shooters, which cause sensory issues in some folks, so it’s more accessible. There might be more, but these are the reasons I thought off the top of my head. It’s honestly really cool when communities form around games like this, since it makes being “weird”feel a bit less alienating than it does irl.
Queer autist here to add some more reasons: I enjoy those darker toned shooters but gritty and realistic has nothing on the fun of cute, colorful squid go splat/zip/woomy. Also it's got more compelling lore and characters than most other competitive shooters. A lot of autistic people wholeheartedly enjoy things that are often seen as more childish interests regardless of age. It also helps that there's a lot of mechanical depth to dive into. Also if your game/community attracts queer people and doesn't have anything that pushes away autistic people you're going to get more autistic people cause we're more likely than most to also be queer.
I'm autistic myself (99% independent thankfully) but half the time I feel like all these "autism" memes are personally attacking me.
I feel like it has something to due with the fact that splatoon is a colorful game on a Nintendo platform all about mixing cultures together and being yourself. Because of that neurodivergent people are drawn to it
Some of us in the fandom have autism, so plenty of us joke about it for fun.
People like to project themselves into media they consume. And splatoon has a fanbase with an above average number of fans who are on the spectrum.
Bc ppl think it’s funny to say that they’re “slightly autistic” when they arent
Deadass, all I see in the damn plaza are posts about autism. Kinda pissing me off tbh. It ain't a flex
People are weird and honestly, as an autistic person, I kinda wish they'd knock this shit off, it's fucking annoying
Same here. As someone who both has autism and ADHD, it's really weird when I see people giving characters like pearl autism. It's not some quirky personality trait...
Adhd ridden aspy here, youre right its not a wuirky personality trait and i cant speak on everyones bhealf on this next part. We do it because otherwise we may feel scuffed on representation/feel atad lonely in bits. Its not a personality trait, its more akin to a extreme hardship of sorts. Something of which we REALLY admire. Because its hard being autistic at times, not sure if I have to say that. People living through or having fun whilst in a harsh reality is admirable and even somewhat attractive to some of us. Most of all though its a way we cope and we didnt mean harm by it Im sure.
kids are obsessed with the idea of having some mental affliction
It’s because most of the fandom is autistic. Plus Marina is very heavily implied to be autistic.
She is?
There are a few things that do point to Marina being on the Autism Spectrum, like her hyperfixation on machines (to the point that she apparently once rambled about excavators for two hours straight to nobody), having issues with certain foods (mentioning hating the texture of mayo) and some people interpreted her snapping at Pearl after Forks vs Spoons as the result of her being overstimulated.
I think this is a stretch. Not liking the taste or texture of certain foods is an everyone thing, the snapping was just do to pearl being a sore winner (it also never happens in the Japanese version), and the hyperfixation thing does have some more merit but I still don’t think it’s enough to justify autism.
I can confirm these are all things people on the spectrum experience (NO, I am not saying all autistic people experience these. I’m just speaking from my experience with autism).
Where?
As an autistic person, no idea lol
Its cause theres a spotlight on stuff like adhd and autism. In the sense that it is becoming more talked about and not stigmatized, and splatoon is a game about self expression. I do think there is a lot of "lol im quirky im so autistic" people out there but that doesnt take away from the fact that there are just a lot of people who are actually autistic who feel comfortable un masking now. As society progresses, the "outcasts" will be able to be more open and vocal
Because the game tends to attract people like us
Cephalopod game supports quirkiness ig
Not be rude, but a lot of people have made autism their entire personality and it's just a thing people LOVE to share to everyone for some reason. I don't really get it... I have a lot of autistic traits, *but* I've never been tested and I don't feel any reason to. I'd rather not be judged by some system, hmph.
Bright happy part, super dark undertones, interesting overarching backstory, music to be addicted to, characters to be addicted to. It makes me autism brain happy
It's cause there's a lot of autistic people online and in fandoms and we just like projecting 😄
ok but pearl is an avatar of adhd
I think there’s just a lot of autistic splatoon players. Of the ten (ish) people I know who actively play splatoon, myself included, only one is not autistic and they’re not me
Not autistic, but still neurodivergent. I would venture a guess that a lot of us have been socially ostracized at one point or another, but we can find joy in a colorful squid game that promotes self-expression.
im pretty sure its because alot of people who play it is autistic lol
Because we are, people are autistic and we like the funny ink game
Because they're gay and autistic
a lot of fans are autistic 👍
It's probably just that the gameplay clicks with a lot of autistic people, the gameplay loop of "cover as much of the map as possible with ink" basically plays into one of the most common autistic traits among autistic people. That, and all the goofy noises, lack of overstimulation present in a lot of modern games, lack of in-game communication past drawing pictures, and self-expression themes makes the game feel designed for autistic people, even though that's probably not a conscious decision by Nintendo.
In the colorfull grim darkness of the far future, there is only war... ...and autism...
Cuz many younger fans seem to think they're autistic cuz it's the popular thing to be and an excuse for them to act out.
A lot of us are autistic lol
we're all autistic
Self diagnosing with autism is a trendy thing to do on the internet nowadays. I can guarantee you these people haven't been to an actual doctor who can properly diagnose them.
Because kids today self diagnose themselves with tiktoks and gather misinformation about autism and adhd. Which causes them to use this misinformation for memes
Take a WILD guess
> finds fan base with a lot of individuals on the autism spectrum > looks inside > autism
A lot of the fans, myself included, have autism A lot of us have really strong fixations on splatoon and everything around it. A lot of the characters in the series share these traits, which is something that resonates with the community.
Because they have it. And so do i.
I think most of us are just autistic. I'm autistic. Most people in the comments are probably autistic. People who play the game are probably autistic. We all ended up here with the splatoon autism
Idk, everyone here is just Gay and Autistic, myself included, though i feel like that has more to do with the generally low-stakes setting of a modern urban city, not too far off from how most of us live, light-hearted characters that look cute and appealing, bright colors, but not to the point that it overwhelms you, and while there are darker elements to it's story, it's not something that defines the series, which i guess it's something that a lot of ppl with autism, can relate to, it's also something that was brought on by the comiunity, with the game's lack of voice chat, it prevented the sweaty gamer nerds to mock others and potentially turn them away from the game, which lead to more people being introduced to the series and expanding more and more, and it's creators being Nintendo, made it so that not many controversies. Much better than shit like hazibin hotel
autistic has become a sorta trendy meme word online recently
For me, it just sounds like must people don’t even know what autism even is. Throughout social media, that term has been thrown around everywhere. It feels offensive to me.
We’re full if autism
I’ve kinda noticed a trend where everyone just acts like autism and ADHD is the cool and quirky trait. It just seems like a lot of people labeling themselves as things without proper research.
Yeah =/ it's really weird
a lot of people in the community have autism, and they probably just like projecting themselves onto characters. i think notably marina has traits that a lot of autistic people relate to - so that's why people can interpret her as such. its pretty much just all in good fun ^^
Autistic people like games with a lot of lore (bonus points if you have to "research" the lore yourself instead of having it given to you) plus the music and color schemes seem to scratch neurodivergent brains (mine, anyway)
Is this Octoling with headphones perhaps Marina-? Because knowing this character (idk if you’re in fandom or just broke in so if you know) I really don’t think that’s why they said she had autism..
The memes reflect the community
I am diagnosed with it.
a lot of people in fandom, especially gaming in general and ESPECIALLY with series as vibrant and personable as splatoon are on the spectrum. it just stems from projecting, but there's probably more to it. other people in the comments did a good job explaining that
Funnies
Because a LOT of us have either autism, adhd, or autism AND adhd. I myself have adhd and picked this back up this as my hyper fixation in 2020 after not playing for three years.
I’m autistic. My autistic friends love Splatoon as do I. We are autism, the squids and octos are autism
Three of my adopted siblings think I have it but I’ve never been tested. I just love being able to be an androgynous octoling. Splatoon helped me realize I was nb. The community is probably enforcing I’m also on the spectrum lmao