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Okay I'm having some Complicated Thoughts:
Ever since Renarin was confirmed as queer/m I've seen a surge in posts where any time he thinks about being different/other/not fitting in people assume it's queer foreshadowing? And I get that. But please don't forget he's autistic.
Ever since Renarin was confirmed as queer/m I've seen a surge in posts where any time he thinks about being different/other/not fitting in people assume it's queer foreshadowing? And I get that. But please don't forget he's autistic.
Especially not when it comes to his bond with Glys/him not being the same as the other Radiants. It's been established from WoR where he assumed Shardblades screaming at him was an autistic response, to his breakdown with Jasnah in Oathbringer about being "wrong" again.
#RoWSpoilers
The scene in RoW when Dalinar gets uncomfortable at him identifying himself as the blackness at the edges and Renarin straight up stands up for himself and says "no that's me. And it's okay. Even if you don't get it/it makes you uncomfortable." Is so huge???
The scene in RoW when Dalinar gets uncomfortable at him identifying himself as the blackness at the edges and Renarin straight up stands up for himself and says "no that's me. And it's okay. Even if you don't get it/it makes you uncomfortable." Is so huge???
There is a BIG metaphor in how Dalinar treats Adolin vs Renarin as kids that REALLY hits home if viewed from an autistic perspective? Bc so many autism parents cannot cope with their kids not being what they want - bc they're nonverbal/touch averse/don't make eye contact etc.
They're not "normal". They don't conform to their narrow idea of what their perfect parent/child dynamic looks like. They can't be proud of them/love them for who they are. They neglect or abuse them or try to 'fix' them to make them normal. Dalinar rejects Renarin bc he's not-
Like Adolin. He can't fight and Dalinar can't interact with him on his terms so he just doesn't even try. And he does improve. He pushes back against Sadeas's ableism in TWOK for example and says he's proud of him. But his treatment of Renarin has clearly left its scars?
And there's absolutely toxic masculinity/gender/culture issues baked into Renarin's fervent desire to be a soldier because it's what his father wants. But if you look at soldier as a substitute for "normal"/neurotypical and Renarinâs autism as being other/the reason he can't...
Then what he wants is to be normal. To be like Adolin. To be like everyone else. To 'fix' himself so his father will love him, and be proud of him, and treat him like he does Adolin/even other soldiers he relates to/has a deeper parental bond with on some levels like Kaladin.
Renarin accepting his role as Radiant and needing less and less of his father's approval/acceptance in RoW is So Big then? Because he's being able to embrace who he is. And even to stand there and say "no this is me. You saying it's not isn't going to change that" is so powerful?
I understand queer folks relating to Renarin and his otherness. And I don't want to tell people how to read a character or gatekeep representation/people finding comfort in him. Just please do be aware of the analogies set up and how HUGELY important Renarin is as an autistic MC.
