Character Development: Lalli

[hexdit]

Edited the panel as a standalone.

All hail the Most Wonderful Of The Known World's Cinnamon Buns.

[Polycoria]

I'm an individual with autism, and I've just started reading the comic- sorry if this has been discussed before.
I just... noticed a lot of things with Lalli that remind me of my own or others' tics and coping mechanisms- is Lalli autistic? I think that would be pretty cool.

[Polycoria]

A legitimate question from somebody that lives with autism- I've noticed that there have been a lot of traits that might be called 'childish' or 'catlike' by many, but to me, they look like traits somebody with autism would have. Socially awkward, difficulties understanding tone even in his own language, unusual emotive responses, odd physical quirks like covering his ears when he's overwhelmed... like, it'd explain a lot, and it'd be understandable if the world that exists in the comic isn't very good at identifying autism.
I dunno. I'm autistic, and I really like Lalli- there's a lot of things he says or does that I feel very connected to, and I've only been reading this comic for a day.

[Ragnarok]

Welcome, new Minnion!

IIRC, Minna has stated that Lalli is neurodivergent in some way, but neglected to give details.

Personally, I've headcanoned him as such, as it fits very well with his displayed behavior.

[Polycoria]

I really like that he's divergent- the more I read through this comic, the more I appreciate seeing the growth between characters and their interactions.
It's my headcanon, now; I like to think that even post/post-post apocalyptic worlds can have a place for people like me

[Mebediel]

Welcome, Polycoria!

Like Ragnarok said, Minna has answered like this when she was asked that question during her twitch streams:

Q.: Have you ever thought about making Lalli a canon autistic character? As an autistic person, I really recognize a lot of Lalli's personality traits as autistic traits, and it would mean a lot to the autistic community to have more positive representation of autism in the media! thanks~~
A. (1:24:11): No, I don’t think I’m gonna make him like diagnosed for anything, because then I would kinda lock myself into how I could write him, so I’m just having him as, leaving kinda up to, what part of his strangeness is because he wasn’t properly socialized as a child and what part is, you know, just the way he is, so I’m letting people like just [] for themselves, if that makes sense. I personally like characters that kinda leave it up to the reader to, like decide what they want to see in the character because that way more people can see themselves in them. Like, some people might just be like “Oh, I’m not super-great with people, so I see myself in Lalli!” and stuff like that, [] them being super specific about it. I’m glad to hear that you find, a lot that you, what’s the word, empathize with Lalli.

(The "[]" were parts that transcribers couldn't figure out.) I think she also said more specifically said elsewhere that he is neurodivergent, but I couldn't find the transcription.

So headcanon away! It's a headcanon that makes a lot of sense, and I agree that it does a great job to show that post-apocalyptic worlds have places for neurodivergent folks

[Róisín]

Polycoria, hello and welcome to the commentariat. Yes, Minna has described Lalli as 'neurodivergent', and his character and behaviour certainly track with those of some friends and relatives who have been diagnosed with autism. I like how Minna has made a place for him in her world - scouting is probably where many folk like Lalli find where they fit and can be useful.

[Demopans]

It also helps that neurodivergent people tend to be savants in some way shape for form, so maybe Lalli is a more talented mage than Onni?

[Grade E cat]

I think hard evidence points towards Onni definitely being the better mage of the two. Though one of my "stolen from the comments" headcanons is wondering if due to luontos getting stronger with hardship, Tuuri's death could have mechanically given Lalli a boost in raw power.

I personally like the fact that if one reads Lalli as an autistic character, he avoids a few things that tend to be associated with autistic characters in other works of fiction, such as being super-talented and/or super-knowledgeable in some nerdy domain. While magic is definitely the part of Lalli's array of talents that tends to be associated with intelligence and knowledge the most, it takes a backseat to his scouting, in which he's just as prone to human error, if not outright goofing up, as anyone else.

[Suominoita]

And of course, reports are the biggest stumbling block for Lalli.

Still, not interacting much is understandable, considering only his family even speaks his language. It's also a part of Finnish way to not say anything unless you have something meaningful to say. Especially important as Finnish magic goes by the language.

[Polycoria]

Yeah, I'm just gonna hardcore HC him as autist- like, even when he's conversing with others (through his native language or through dreams), the way he speaks seems to be tilted. There are times he's speaking fine, and it's like, it's hard for him to convey something that 'everyone else' might find super easy to state and convey. I really see a lot of his behaviour quirks as very much like my own- and, like Lalli, even if I'm like... talented, at something, I'm not a savant at anything. For the most part, I seem 'normal' to most people, if a bit blunt, harsh, or straight to the point, or have difficulties finding ways to communicate with people, even when we're speaking the same damn language to each other.
The trait I liked the most with him, was how he covered his ears- when I'm incredibly overwhelmed (for good or bad reasons), I tend to cover my face with my hands completely, and curl away from the source of what's overwhelming me.

...

Also, I've kinda noticed that people like me tend to mimic animals, especially cats. Part of the reason I was asking was, I was afraid that maybe he was 'like that' because he was just basically being portrayed as a person with catlike responses and features. It's nice to know that there's room for him to be more than just 'weird catlike magic dude', and that the author openly left room for him to not just be a play on how 'he's basically like cats in this world'.

He's definitely my favourite character, and I can't wait to see more of him, and his interactions with everyone around him.

[Dan_Urios]

I think hard evidence points towards Onni definitely being the better mage of the two. Though one of my "stolen from the comments" headcanons is wondering if due to luontos getting stronger with hardship, Tuuri's death could have mechanically given Lalli a boost in raw power.

I personally like the fact that if one reads Lalli as an autistic character, he avoids a few things that tend to be associated with autistic characters in other works of fiction, such as being super-talented and/or super-knowledgeable in some nerdy domain. While magic is definitely the part of Lalli's array of talents that tends to be associated with intelligence and knowledge the most, it takes a backseat to his scouting, in which he's just as prone to human error, if not outright goofing up, as anyone else.

Although Onni is hardly neurotypical. I don't think he's autistic, but I truly think he has a serious case of general anxiety disorder.

[Róisín]

Agreed. I tend to headcanon Onni (and indeed all the Hotakainens) as PTSD. They just express it in different ways.

[thorny]

The whole society's got to be kind of PTSD, don't they?

I suppose by now some younger people living in some of the more sheltered locations don't feel like it; but it's only been 90 years, and I expect the society as a whole is still reeling.

Bear in mind the whole Silent World is still full of trolls who used to be people, many of whom were children, and almost all of whom were somebody's beloved family members: and all of them still in pain. And the still-human survivors know this -- and also know that the same thing may happen, at any time, to themselves or their loved ones.

So not only is the society still dealing with the reverberations of having almost everybody either die or trollify over a period of a few weeks -- but it isn't over.

[Róisín]

True indeed. The fact that it isn't over would haunt everyone.