Steven Grant post 1 | Steven Grant post 2 | Marc Spector & Jake Lockley post 1 Steven Grant post 3 | Marc & Steven post 1 | Reblogs are appreciated & encouraged on this post & the ones linked! This post is being written by someone (me) who has Autism Spectrum Disorder & is also mentally ill. There’s a read-more break but please read this entire post! It’s just as important as my other ones! Moon divider by @/firefly-graphics.
I saw a post about atypical autism traits & I wanna talk about it because I feel so fucking seen!!!! I'm gonna talk about how it manifests in both Marc & Steven!! I'll be referencing the post heavily so I recommend reading the post as well to understand the points I'm making!!!!!!
Let's talk about their appearance / Personal Habits: Note: Not everything in this section will be mentioned, just some things.
Steven dressed comfortably while Marc dress practically but to them, their outfits are both comfortable & practical. They aren't wearing too much, too little, their clothes feel nice, they're comfy for their sensory needs, etc.
Marc especially dresses practically, wearing bots he can run in, clothes that aren't baggy so they won't get caught on things, he wears a watch to tell time easier, and he dresses in very neutral colors to blend in. Whereas Steven wears looser fitting clothes, and comfortable shoes (sometimes sneakers or dress shoes), he is dressing solely for comfort but he is still dressed practically.
Steven always wears a light jacket, his pants don't hit the floor, his shoes are clearly for standing/walking around, and he also has a pocket. In the said pocket he stores his work badge and his glasses, & I would assume any other small items he might need readily available at all times!
Both of their ways of dressing are very practical & sensory-friendly for them & their specific needs. Even in the asylum they are dressed in outfits clearly representing their needs; Steven's is baggier while Marc's is more fitted & nothing covers his hands or hangs too low!
Both of them not only look very young but they both act young, more so Steven than Marc. Steven has this boyish look to him in the way his face is much brighter, his eyes are wider, his face is fully expressive & so on. Whereas Marc, who still looks young, tends to look older than Steven but not by much due to how he holds his brows, and his eyes, he seldom expresses unless he is around Layla/Steven.
An example would be the boat scene where he makes a wide expression with his mouth almost as if he's clicking. He does this when he tells Layla "It doesn't matter--" it's for a split second & then it's gone like it never happened! Yet he opening makes faces around Layla & around Steven--even around Taweret--he openly frowns & looks worried around them, he looks angry around them, etc.
Steven gets starry-eyed & smiles brightly, he looks gutted when he's sad or upset, he frowns fully with his entire mouth, he makes a grossed-out face when shoving his hand in Alexander's gullet, etc.
Another thing I notice is Steven can be very chameleon-like & will simply blend in to get by, Marc does this as well. Steven does it primarily in the museum & Marc does it all during episode three---he is actively just trying to skirt by & not get noticed. Even when he's with Layla he is relying on her & on her actions & motives---he's not taking lead unless she gives him the lead because he does not know what to do otherwise.
Also, Marc's sense of style seems very--basic---as if he isn't truly sure who he is or how he should represent himself. Unlike Steven who clearly has an aesthetic & even Jake who has an aesthetic---Marc does not. Marc seems to, again, want to just blend into the world around him in hopes that no one sees him, no one speaks to him, & no one learns anything about him.
I don't know about Marc but I know steven enjoys reading, obviously, he is seen reading every Egyptology book known to man in his cozy flat. We see that he does this gladly & doesn't even seem the teensiest bit lonely or perturbed by it. Furthering that he's very much a homebody & I think Marc is as well--they prefer being home in their controlled space where they know what everything is & how everything works--this also falls into their controlled habits like Steven's nighttime alarms.
Let's talk about their Intellectual / Giftedness / Education / Vocation Traits: Note: Not everything in this section will be mentioned, just some things.
We see that Steven is very skilled in Egyptology & he seems to be very very skilled in public speaking as well--more so than Marc. This falls into how passionate he is about his job, how he's always begging donna to promote him & why he is so devastated when he gets fired unceremoniously.
I also think this causes Steven to be more of a visual learner than a verbal learner. We see him reading book after book & while he listens to the staying awake podcast I don't think it helps him because he may not be fully comprehending it. Verbalized instructions seem to confuse him & they seem to confuse Marc as well as evident at Senfu's sarcophagus.
Marc gets visibly overwhelmed & Steven seems t be having a difficult time properly explaining how the map works. They both are tired & overwhelmed during this entire scene & I think it plays a big role in why Marc gives in & gives the body to Steven. Not only can Steven solve the puzzle but he can piece it together faster than he can explain it verbally to someone like a game of telephone.
As for their obsessions/hyperfixations, Steven's is obviously Egyptology & museums whiles Marc's--from my understanding--seems to be baseball! I say this because of the Chicago Cubs memorabilia in his childhood bedroom & the hat he wears in episode three that he subsequently runs back for.
Let's talk about their Emotional / Physical traits: Not: Not everything in this section will be mentioned, just some things.
Neither of them is emotionally immature however they are very emotionally sensitive--especially Steven. Marc tends to mask his emotions fairly well until he doesn't & Steven doesn't hide his at all. It's very easy to tell when Steven is unhappy or excited while it's harder to gauge with Marc.
Both of them have lots of anxiety & fear but I think they mutually hide it pretty well once they understand what's going on. Granted, again, Steven is less likely of the two to fully mask his while Marc tries to seem as direct & steadfast as possible. I, personally, think a lot of this is due to Marc's need to mask to protect himself & to protect Steven because we notice during episodes 5 & 6 that he is openly showing emotion in ways he hadn't before (also like the mask has been lifted) & we see him shaken multiple times outside of reliving memories.
We especially see this in scenes with Layla & the scene when he fronts directly after Jake. In episode three he is not nearly as expressive & is showing his discomfort in the form of anger while in episode 6 he is genuinely worried--both of them are---& they make that known to each other. Neither of them is masking their true feelings at this point & is pulling the veil back bit by bit.
Steven seems to dislike bright lights--I assume this from how dark their flat is--I think he also dislikes loud noises. Marc most likely dislikes them as well but he is better at pushing his way through it than Steven/is more used to dealing with loud noises etc. However, Steven seems very very sensitive to touch because not only is shoving his hand in a mummy's gullet fucking gross but it probably feels horrendous! Same with the fact that not only did the weird fucking jars of--yknow--people's insides--smell awful but it was probably much worse for Steven who, most likely, has sensory processing disorder along with his ASD.
Moodiness is something I never realized was fully a part of ASD until a year or more ago. However, I don't think Steven or Marc are ever being moody during the show----I think they are under extreme stress & are trying to mask it while frantically trying to understand each other.
I've talked about their stims in the posts linked above so I won't go too into that again but, they absolutely stim & self-soothe pretty heavily. Steven, once again, doing it more than Marc because Steven is very much an un-masked Autistic adult.
Steven & Marc both seem to be pretty vocal about injustices or perceived injustices & lash out accordingly. Steven tells Harrow what he is doing is wrong without fear even though he knows he shouldn't, Marc lashes at Khonshu repeatedly because not only did a teenager die but they died because Khonshu told Marc to do something he didn't want to do. We see this in how Marc & steven argue with one another as well because they are receiving each other as unjust & are subsequently projecting & perpetuating uncivil arguing tactics on one another (I have a post going into this as well, it's linked above).
They both have meltdowns/get triggered very easily, Steven shuts down after confrontation (I speak about this in other posts as well) & Marc shuts down for similar reasons. We see Marc do this with Layla & even Khonshu---Steven does it primarily with Donna & on occasion Marc.
Let's talk about their Social / Relationships habits: Not: Not everything in this section will be mentioned, just some things.
Out of the two, Marc is not only misunderstood by others but he is perceived as cold-natured & unfriendly; none of these things are true. As I mentioned in my first post about him he is a masking autistic adult--he is not cold, mean, or unkind---he is just keeping his guard up for his own safety.
steven on the other hand is very outspoken, he infodumps readily, he talks loudly when excited, and he also talks very quickly while excited. He is perceived as friendlier, softer, and calmer---that is because he is not masking.
As mentioned above they both tend to shut down when overloaded/stressed. they will even shut down on one another purely from the overwhelm & the probable meltdown they are surprising. However, we also see Steven heavily act like he knows what he's doing in the tomb--like he has all the skills that Marc has--which is obviously not entirely true. I think it's less about impressing Layla & more about Steven wanting to get by on his own as he has always done until recently.
We also see that Steven & Marc have a considerable lack of friends, this may be why Jake tried setting up the date.
Steven is only friends with Crawley, Layla, & possibly friendly enough with JB. He has no other circle outside of them & eventually, he befriends Marc but still, his circle remains limited & Marc's is just as limited. Marc has Layla & steven--I don't think he has anyone else that he considers a friend to him.
I think the both of them desire a romantic relationship of some kind as evident by steven getting ready for the date. Personally, I think he's dated before on & off & obviously Marc was/is married to Layla & he takes their marriage very seriously--so much so that he tried divorcing her as a means of keeping her safe from him & Khonshu. This is probably also why Marc gets so upset when steven begins falling in love with Layla & later kisses her without his express permission to do so.
Noticeably we see how Steven stares at Layla but is unable to verbalize his affections. He even says "I know I'm not bloody alone! I've got Layla!" when Marc tries to comfort him--I think this is both out of stress & out of Steven's fixation with Layla. I do think he is truly in love with her he just---is very unsure as to how he should voice that properly/if he is even allowed to voice that.
If you made it this far I appreciate you dearly! These are all merely my observations & all I ask is that you are respectful, I have had a few nasty comments/tags on my posts & I am not afraid to block you. I'm making these posts to be cathartic for myself because for once in my life, I am being represented in media as someone who is real & not robotic.
