HATENA.BLOG
The Day After the Mouse's Past.
I've noticed something strange about the way people interact with us, those who think differently. It's often not outright malicious, (though it teeters the line) but opportunistic. Whether we want to realize it or not, some people learn to read the rhythm of our kindness, our directness, our willingness to take things at face value— to then use to their advantage.
It's rarely the obvious betrayals that sting the most, but the soft manipulations that slip right past us because we assume good intent. Many autistic people operate on a simple yet dangerous assumption: "I wouldn't do that to someone, so why would anyone else?" It's an innocent kind of logic that's rooted in empathy, but it can leave us rather defenseless to reality.
When your moral compass runs on sincerity, it's hard to imagine that someone else's might run on convenience or control. This can make even the brightest red flags look harmless when you assume others are guided by the rules you live by. We analyze ourselves endlessly while missing the patterns that others leave behind intentionally. Our trust becomes a fragile lens, one that reveals sincerity but highlights a blindspot to detecting calculation. It's in this vulnerable space, where manipulation can move unnoticed.
I stayed kind, through and through. It was never an act. But kindness doesn't equal blindness. I saw the small manipulations, the quiet power plays, dressed as vulnerability. The motives were almost theatrical; a performance of control disguised as connection. What they will never understand is how self-destructive it all is. The way their harm circles back, consuming them and everyone around them, while being ribboned in their own insecurity and ego.
It's foolish to imagine that kind of chaos leaves no trace, or that there are no consequences for them trying to puppeteer what they can't comprehend. Perhaps that's the saddest part... Intelligence when quiet, is often mistaken for simplicity. They never expect the mask they sculpted for you to smile back knowingly. Watching them recoil from the silence they rightfully earned feels almost poetic— a clear lesson written in their own undoing.
People like that don't get to stay. Once you see the pattern, you stop mistaking it for care. Cut them loose. Anyone who treats you like a mirror instead of a person doesn't deserve the reflection. And if you think the shoe fits, lace it up and let me know what size you're wearing.
