The 'Talk'. Explanation

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Author here, I would like to point out that this explanation is based on my autism alone and how I see it. Everyone operates and views it differently, please don't think I'm trying to speak for all people with it.


Charlie had so many thoughts running through her head that she had to run her hands through her hair just to help ease some of the anxiety she had.
After she had informed everyone to stay away from the room while Vaggie was examining Y/n, Alastor was the only one who seemed to hear it despite reading a newspaper from who knows where.
"Good to know they weren't broken from last night" he cackles from behind the paper.
Charlie visibly flinched.
"You know something? I don't think I've ever heard that human shout that loud before" Angel said out of the blue "guess its true after all, the quiet ones are always the loudest"
Husk was the only one to groan at the innuendo "for f*ck sake, can't you go one day without making a dirty comment?"
"Only if you ask me nicely"
Husk just rolls his eyes and stays silent, slouching on the sofa as Angel blew him a kiss.
Before Charlie could say anything to Angel, laughter could be heard down the hall, causing everyone to look at the hall in confusion. Even Alastor had lowered his newspaper to look at the hallway in confusion with a tilt of his head.
"I thought you said she was checking the injury" Angel stated.
"She is" Charlie replied in confusion "why is the human laughing?"
"Don't look at me" Angel shrugged "maybe Vaggie found a tickle spot and is proceeding to torture the second radio host with it since she can't kill the strawberry pimp?"
Cue Alastor snapping his neck to look at Angel menacingly.
"Vaggie wouldn't do that Angel"
"Just throwing it out there Princess"
"SHH!" Charlie practically jumped from her seat to cover Angel's mouth "it's bad enough the human knows we're demons, we don't want them knowing that you were all once human or that I am of royalty" she whispered as she begged Angel.
The spider rolled his eyes and pushed her hands off of him "keep your t*ts on lady, I'm not that stupid, secrecy is my specialty"
A snort from Husk says that he disagrees.
"Besides, I think Alastor kind of spoiled that little issue, since he openly admitted that he used to do something in his life yesterday, I think" Angel added.
Alastor didn't comment as he was already deep into continuing his reading.
Charlie just sighed tiredly as she sat back down "I almost forgot about that, I'm honestly surprised Y/n hasn't tried asking about anything, so strange"
"You've stated before that they were still processing that we're real, and considering they're mentally challenged. Or 'Simple' as some call it. It wouldn't surprise me that they're still accepting it" Angel snorted "what a f*cking loser"
"Considering I literally broke a rib last night, I think they don't have to process anymore" Charlie mumbled to herself "and that's not nice Angel, please don't say anything like that when they come in"
"They won't be cummin' anywhere near me"
"For f*cks sake, Angel, shut the hell up before my spear goes so far down your throat you'll have to stick a toothbrush up your ass to clean them" Vaggie growled as she stormed past everyone to grab the radio.
"Charming as ever my dear" Alastor replied "and how is our gracious host?"
Charlie immediately perked up at the thought too "are they okay? Did I cause more damage than I thought?"
"Fractured ribs near the waist area, they'll be fine so long as they don't overdo it" Vaggie informed her as she turned on the radio and placed it on the table next to the sofa "they're just going through their routine and want to talk to you afterward, maybe the others too"
Charlie could feel herself pale "er..."
Vaggie gave her a reasurring smile and pat on the arm "nothing to be concerned about, they just thought it would be best to answer questions you might have after the, shouting from last night, they had a feeling you would like to know more"
Right, last night "I suppose I am a bit curious, but why can't I just ask you about it? You clearly have knowledge about this"
"Because I'm not autistic Charlie, they are, they know what its like to have it, they live it, breathe it, they exist with it, if there's anyone who can help you understand what it's like to live with it, it's them"
Charlie looked at Vaggie in silence, her eyes silently begging Charlie to understand it from a different point of view. She reluctantly agreed. Then Vaggie turned her threatening glare on Alastor's hidden face.
"Was there something else you wish to discuss with me?" he says after a moment.
"They will be resting for the whole day" she replied "they can't push themselves anymore without breaking the fractured ones, so they won't be able to join you on your walk"
The air became tense as Alastor slowly lowered his newspaper to look at Vaggie through slitted eyes. She didn't budge an inch.
"A shame" he sighed in disappointment as he placed the newspaper on the table, got up, and slowly made his way to the back door "no matter, I'll just take the scenic route"
No one said anything as he left, the tension finally evaporating.
A few minutes later they hear another door opening and closing, Charlie didn't need to look to know that it was the human walking down the hallway and into the room they were all sitting in. The TV was off so only the sound of the radio filled the background.
"F*cking hell you look even more pathetic than before" Angel exclaimed as he looked at the human's sorry state.
They looked pale, wearing a black hoodie and loose-wearing bottoms, holding onto their injured side and limping badly towards the kitchen, faint grunting being heard with every step.
"Well" the human grunted as they entered the kitchen "as the coconut said to the palm tree, hang onto your nuts baby this ain't no ordinary blow job"
Silence. Then Angel proceeded to howl in laughter, head leaning back as he practically squeezed his lungs of all the oxygen they had been holding.
"They're lucky Nifty isn't here" Husk growled.
As Angel continued to deflate like a balloon, Charlie watched from the little view she had of the human, using the kettle to make a drink. Oh, they were thirsty.
She was about to get up and help them, but Vaggie quickly held onto her wrist to hold her back. When Charlie turned her head to look at Vaggie, the white-haired woman slowly shook her head with eyes that warned her not to.
Charlie also noticed that Vaggie was holding herself back as well. She didn't fight back though, only sat down and waited for Angel to calm down from his laughing fit as well as the human to return with their drink.
"I've. Never. H-heard o-o-of. A j-joke l-like that. Before" Angel stuttered as he reached the end of his laughter "you gotta tell me more later"
"That's the only one I know of but I'll let you know if I remember anything else" the human replies as they make their way to the sofa, drink in hand, and proceed with the ridiculous effort to sit down without aggravating their injury while also trying not to spill their drink.
When they did succeed, they hissed under their breath as they tried to find a more comfortable position, along with a sudden comment "I'm sorry for shouting at you all last night"
Charlie looked at Y/n in confusion, but one look at Vaggie told her that they had planned this "you don't need to apologize, we're the ones that caused the outburst in the first place"
"Doesn't mean I should take it out on you though" they mutter as they rest their cup on the sofa's arm.
The set-up was Vaggie sitting on the left side of the sofa, Charlie in the middle with you sitting on her right side, the same place Alastor had just sat in. Angel was sitting in an armchair to your right with Husk sitting in another armchair on Vaggie's side.
Which made it very easy for Angel to flirt with Husk.
"Go ahead and ask your questions, can't promise I'll be able to answer them all though as I'm still learning myself" they continue as they lightly tap their cup handle "just don't speak too loud it leaves me disoriented"
"Maybe I should wait until you've woken up more" Charlie looked at the human in concern, they looked ready to fall over.
The human shook their head "I'm awake, my body is just taking a long time to catch up"
"You don't sound like it" Angel stated.
"My brain is a campfire, constantly burning, never resting" they replied simply.
Charlie had no idea what that meant, and when Y/n looked at her, they seemed to understand as well because they continued.
"The moment I wake up, the fire is burning, logs are being gradually added to make it bigger and warmer, my brain is the logs being added to the fire, my body. Never stopping. Always working, it's a miracle I'm able to get any sleep"
Charlie still didn't understand it completely, but she thinks she got the gist of it "and that's what your feeling now?"
"Unfortunately" they reply, sounding more awake now despite their yawn "it's also how I feel after talking for long periods of time, like as 'long as my job' period of time, I prefer being by myself than being around people"
This made Vaggie and Charlie even more confused.
"If you don't like talking so much, then why did you take up work at a radio station?" Vaggie asked in genuine confusion.
The human stayed silent for a moment, then took a small sip from their cup before cradling it in their hands.
"I made a promise to someone that I plan to keep it until I drop dead"
This time it was Charlie's turn to stop Vaggie from pressing further into the reply. Charlie quickly changed the topic to something else.
"You said that your mind is like a campfire, do you think you can describe what this, autism, is like?" Charlie asked cautiously, hoping she hadn't insulted the human somehow "I had asked Vaggie about it but she told me to ask you"
When Y/n stayed silent, Vaggie continued the conversation.
"I know some things about it, but even I don't know much, I was honestly lucky this time"
"Well you've been doing a good job so far" Y/n replied with a small smile on their face "heck you're the first person to actually treat me like a proper hu- person" they take another big sip of their drink before continuing "as for describing it, well, it's different, everyone is built different, like how you guys have different forms and personalities"
"Right, I believe Vaggie told me that as well" from the corner of her eye Vaggie nodded in confirmation.
Tapping the cup again, the human frowned in thought, humming for a second as their eyes looked around the place as if looking for something "can you pass me the radio please?"
Vaggie picked it up without hesitation, handing it to Charlie who then gave it to the human, she even got a thank you from them after handing it to them. Bonus.
They watched as Y/n places it on their lap and turns the volume off, then the switch. The girls stayed completely silent while Angel and Husk watched with bored expressions.

You stare at the radio with full concentration as you try to figure out how to describe the feeling of what you felt. Despite working radio, words were never a strong suit of yours, much less describing things.
Still, they had asked, and you promised to answer their questions. You plan to stick to it.
Fiddling with the radio for a moment you finally speak up "human bodies are machines like this or the TV" you point to both items "we're just, built differently" you shift slightly in your seat "in mechanical terms, I'm a radio, but my wires are, not neat and pristine"
You pause for a moment to finish the last of your drink and place it on the floor so that you didn't break it. This was going to take a while.
"You all know how a radio works right?" when you get confirmation you continue while gesturing to the radio "my body is obviously the casing and wires, everything needed to function properly, my brain is the frequency dial you use to change channel's as well as the on and off switch, and the volume dial is my emotions, communication and senses"
You pause again to see if they are following you so far, they seemed to be as if they were staring at you intently with a focus you had never seen before. You hold the radio up for them to see.
"Right now, as you look at it, the radio is completely fine, no damage, no holes. Nothing, but underneath it all, it's a mess of tangled wires with their protective casing ripped off in some areas. A small, subtle hole hiding in plain sight that might look harmless but can do more harm than good under the right circumstances"
You lower the radio and place it in your lap again, lightly running your hands over the surface of it as you take a deep breath, as much as you can anyway.
"When not under stress, the radio works fine, a bit of static here and there but nothing too concerning. But when a problem does come up and you ignore it for too long, that's when things start to get out of control"
You turn the radio on and begin to fiddle with both radio dials, raising and lowering the volume while changing the frequency dial at the same time. The demons just look at you in confusion, continuing to do so when you mute the volume to speak again.
"That was what was going through my head during your argument last night, my brain was trying to process the emotions you were all creating while your voices shook my wires, my ears, that kind of show stresses me out so much that I literally short-circuit and shut down, I explode, both inside and outside, the radio strains from the pressure and, well the hole gets bigger and water somehow finds its way inside and attack the exposed wires"
As if to prove your point you flip the volume up to max, causing everyone to flinch and cover their ears, you just flinch but quickly turn it down again while giving them an apology.
"That's what it sounds like to you?" Charlie muttered as she rubbed her ears.
"It got worse since you guys showed up, worse when Alastor started talking to me" was your reply "your argument was the equivalent to his volume, if not more so"
You turn the entire thing off and place it on the floor carefully not looking away as you continue to stare at the object.
"When the pressure is gone, you're left with a smoking piece of half-melted plastic with more holes than there should be, sparks flying in different directions. It should be broken, unfixable, and yet despite everything it just went through, it's still receiving and broadcasting a channel, weak, but reading it loud and clear"
You lift your head up to look at Charlie, trying your absolute hardest to look her in the eye "the speakers are terrible, I can never hold a conversation properly because I'm always a blubbering mess, it's why I don't like speaking to people, I can't look people in the eye because it feels like they are trying to yank the wires out of my body"
You take a deep-ish inhale and slowly draw it out.
"That dance you saw when you got here wasn't a dance exactly, it was me trying to expel all the hazards out of my body through a more safer manner, as well as singing"
By this point you practically flopped backward into the sofa, flinching slightly when you hit your ribcage wrong. Looking at the ceiling in exhaustion.
"I'm constantly tired, yet always energized, loud or quiet, never resting, always restless, I'm..." unfixable, broken "exhausted" of pretending I can feel anything at all.
You don't see Charlie look at you with tears threatening to spill, nor see Vaggie and Angel look at you in concern.
"Dear me, what's with all the gloomy faces around here?"
You jump forward and grip your side, hissing in discomfort.
"Just having a discussion that your not invited to" Vaggie snapped at Alastor.
Despite your confused look, Vaggie didn't back down. But when you turn to see Alastor he had completely disappeared.
Until you felt something touch your head, causing your entire back to stiffen at the contact.
"And how are you feeling this morning my dear?" he asks as he runs his claws over your head.
You have to try really hard not to whimper at the feeling "drained but ready for the day"
"That's what I like to hear"
HOW CLOSE DID HE GET?! HE'S PRACTICALLY ON TOP OF YOU WITH THAT VOICE!
He continues to speak but you don't hear him, there was only one thing running through your head as he continued to speak directly next to your ear, the smell from his mouth, it should have been obvious from the start.
Alastor reeked of death and rotten meat.

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