The Decoy Favorite

There’s a decoy answer for favorite-song questions.

It’s not some random song you pretend to love. You actually do love it, and that’s what makes it useful. It can go out in public. It can survive somebody saying, “Eh, I never liked that one.”

The real favorite can’t be trusted with humans.

Once they know the title, they might play it while you’re doing something completely unrelated and weren’t prepared to have your internal organs accessed. Maybe they’ll say it’s overrated. Maybe they’ll love it, but now they’ve attached it to their ex or their dog. A vacation you weren’t on might end up in there too.

The song comes back carrying their stuff.

Even excitement can be a problem. They put it on immediately, right there in front of everybody, and watch you while it plays. Wonderful. Your secret emergency exit is a group activity.

Every now and then, the real answer slips out. You say the title and start walking it back before the other human has even opened their mouth.

“Well, one of my favorites.”

“Mostly the older stuff.”

“It’s kind of embarrassing.”

“Depends what mood I’m in.”

“I don’t listen to it all the time or anything…”

You’ve taken a perfectly honest answer and roughed it up yourself, just in case.

If they love the song too, the questioning begins. Which part? Since when? What do they think it means? Have they noticed that the bridge is the damn point?

They skip the bridge.

Well, now you know.

Some faves are just faves. Others have been holding a specific part of your rib cage together since 2009, and they’re not available for public handling.

Once somebody else’s voice gets into a song like that, you might never hear it alone again.

— Autistic Ang

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If you just muttered, “Oh, for fuck’s sake, that too?”... ⬇️
Adult Autism 101