Autistic Time headcannon that entered my brain and refuses to leave:
Time bites his knuckles when stressed so they’re a bit scarred and calloused. Warriors always tried to redirect that stim into something less harmful when he knew Time as Mask during the war
And Wars doesn’t realize Time was Mask at first in the events of LU, but then he sees Time biting his knuckles and the dots ~ connect ~ and he realizes all the mannerisms and facial expressions are the same so he finally recognizes Time
I am honor-bound to ask about the Sky WIP so, what going on with my boy there? BUT also! Murder Mystery on a Train?! Sounds delightful. :D If I can't pick two you can choose between them. ;)
You can absolutely pick two, thank you for the ask!
I think my only Sky one on the list was Sky on the surface, is that the one you mean? Since I made my list of autistic chain headcannons the idea of Sky going to the surface and being so completely overwhelmed and overstimulated lives absolutely rent free in my head. I haven't actually written anything for this one yet but I think about it a lot. The general idea of the fic will be that Sky goes to the surface, there's just WAY too much stuff for his brain to process and it's completely different to any routine he's used to, and Fi has to guide him to a safe space for a meltdown. And also Fi helps him figure out how to deal with so much stuff bc he's only used to Skyloft and that's small and always the same.
Murder mystery on a train is an idea that I LOVE but haven't done much for. Literally the only thing on the doc (besides my formatting stuff and such) is "i want an lu murder mystery on a train au" and that's it. I hope to get to it one day but I have other WIPs that are much more in progress so I haven't yet.
Including some gender and sexuality bc for me those are very tied to my autism. Most of this is rooted in their personalities, but some of this just appeared in my mind and didn't go away XD. Infodump incoming!!! :D
Time
Time uses they/them pronouns bc they literally have no idea what gender is
Has a lot of verbal shutdown episodes. They're able to communicate with sign language most of the time
Almost completely nonverbal as a child (Mask era)
When they do speak it's very monotone
More shutdowns than meltdowns
Time does really prolonged eye contact (to the point of awkward for allistics) bc it's all or nothing for them
Favorite stims: humming, playing ocarina, tapping their chest/collarbone
Lots of verbal stims, so nonverbal episodes and shutdowns can be hard to recover from since they can't do their favorite stims
If given the opportunity, they will only drink milk. No other sustenance.
Must be reminded to eat, can't interpret their bodies' internal cues very well
Very confrontational - will absolutely throw hands at ableists
So incredibly loyal. Once they think you're family, they will never, ever, ever let you go or let anything happen to you
Special interests: cows, masks (as a child, not as prominent anymore), and Time has memorized every single "dad joke" they've ever heard and LOVE telling jokes to break tension or cheer the others up
Asexual, biromantic, sex-positive
Warriors
Highest masking because of his time as a soldier
Hard for allistics to identify as autistic bc he's so good at masking
He has a lot of anxiety surrounding unmasking and showing his autistic traits, so he simply does not
That obviously doesn't work, so during the war he was constantly stressed and had meltdowns or shutdowns very frequently
Zelda and Impa tried to help, but there was so much going on that they couldn't do much
Mask and Wind helped a LOT during the war. Warriors wanted to make sure they were taken care of and could show their autistic traits, so he became a lot more comfortable with his own and created a more accepting environment
SO good at people reading, because he just memorized everything and watched everyone's every move
That gets quite overwhelming and causes shutdowns a lot
Doesn't have verbal shutdown episodes super often, but when he did in the war Proxi would copy his voice and speak for him. He's able to communicate with sign
Scarf is comfort item
The most ritualistic of the whole chain. Wars has very specific routines for most things that he does, and breaking routine is the biggest reason he has meltdowns
His meltdowns are very internalized, and he just likes to be left alone
He is now very confrontational about ableism
Also very very very loyal
He also has a lot of black and white thinking, and a strong sense of justice
Favorite stims: swaying while standing, shifting weight from foot to foot, spinning
When he's really happy he'll bring his arms up and like shake them back and forth in front of himself? Like his hands are flapping/shaking back and forth, but in fists, and his elbows are bent to his hands are almost in front of his face (I can see it in my mind but I'm having trouble explaining it)
Special interests: battle strategizing (could tell you very specific facts about any battle from any point in time that he's studied), loves to sew
Asexual, aromantic, sex-neutral
Wind
He has never once sat still in his entire life
Has never finished anything in a timely manner, ever
Always asks a lot of clarification questions, and he gets confused when allistic people get offended by his questions
Also has ADHD
Little to no voice volume control
That becomes an issue with the Links that are more sound sensitive, so it's something they're all trying to work on finding a compromise for
Favorite stims: rocking, chewing
He has a chewy stim toy that he wears around his neck. Grandma made it for him so he would stop putting things in his mouth
Loves the sensory aspects of being underwater
Always walking on his toes. As a child he was always toe walking, but his Grandma didn't know to correct that, so now Wind physically can't stand flat footed for long periods of time
He has a lot of trouble with routine. The autistic part of him wants the routine, but the ADHD wants spontaneity and usually wins
Has a lot of trouble keeping his things tidy and with personal hygiene (Wars helps with hygiene bc he is excellent at it due to his routines)
He doesn't really have shutdowns, just meltdowns
They involve a lot of loud screaming and self-injurious behavior
Biggest sensory issues: FOOD (bc he wasn't introduced to a lot of different foods and textures on Outset Island), under-stimulation
Special interests: sailing, pirates, also characters from a storybook his Grandma used to read to him and Ayrll every single night (at Wind's insistence)
Hyperverbal
Most likely to infodump
Asexual, aromantic, sex-repulsed
Wild
No gender. What's gender. Genderfluid, changes pronouns based on mood, and usually sticks with one set for long periods of time
Lost the ability to mask when they lost their memories
So they're the easiest for allistics to identify as autistic
Most people in their world don't care, but they have experienced some ableism since they can't mask
Entirely nonverbal. They use the sheikah slate as an AAC device
Cloak is comfort item
Favorite stims: hand flapping and bouncing on their toes
They walk almost exclusively on their toes and always have the dinosaur hands
Even mix of meltdowns and shutdowns
SO so so bad at understanding body language, sarcasm, etc.
They have a lot of trouble existing in a group. Like they'll wander off or do something dangerous and then not really understand why what they did was wrong (BUT they still love the chain of course)
Biggest sensory issues: crowds, lots of voices talking at once
LOVE deep pressure
Special interest: cooking, horses, cataloguing plants in the sheikah slate
Pre-calamity one of their special interests was sheikah tech, so they secretly LOVED going around with Flora researching sheikah tech
Asexual, panromantic, sex-repulsed
(Despite these being my autistic wild headcannons, I use almost none of these in Authenticity lol. Wild's autistic traits in that fic are primarily based on my own)
Legend
Gender?? Who's she?? Genderfluid, similar to Wild, but pronouns change more frequently
Not very good at accommodating themself
They often push themself WAY past their limits and then have long burnout periods
But they've gotta save the world, so it's fine, right? (Answer is no. It is very bad)
Must be reminded to sleep, and they have a lot of issues with sleeping
They often come across as rude to allistics, but that is generally not their intention, they're just bad at (allistic) communication
When they intend to be rude you'll KNOW
They have a really hard time communicating feelings and emotions, which frustrates them a lot and is hard for people trying to help them
This is especially an issue for the chain bc most of the time none of them can "read between the lines" and figure out what Legend is trying to say
Has never once gotten rid of anything because what if they need it? And also it is a part of their stuff and it has it's very specific place, so if it was gone then that place would be empty and then what would they do??????
Everything has a Place and they HATE when people touch or move their stuff
Biggest sensory issues: clothing, textures
Pants are a battle. People have given up.
Pants make Legend's legs THROB and feel like thousands of tiny knives are stabbing their skin. So they simply do not wear pants
Favorite stims: twirling their rings and other jewelry, rubbing good textures, humming (Marin's song)
Harmful stims: hitting things or themself (usually hitting their thighs)
Special interests: magical items, jewelry (jewelry with magical properties are the COOLEST SHIT)
Pansexual, polyamorous
Hyrule
There is no gender here. Gender makes no sense. They/them
They also have ADHD
Love asking questions because they want to understand every single detail of all these new exciting eras
Absolutely can't tell what tone they speak in
Really bad at paying attention to their surroundings
Attention span is practically nonexistent
They often wander off without even meaning to and don't realize until they're completely lost
Sometimes need to be reminded to do self care tasks
Have frequent verbal shutdown episodes that last for a long time. They can communicate with sign, and they also sometimes stick close to Wild and use Wild's AAC slate function
Favorite stim: running their hands through their hair (their hair is almost always dirty bc of this), shaking/twisting their hands
Harmful stim: skin picking
The skin picking is an ISSUE because it sometimes causes blood, and the blood curse is a thing
Biggest sensory issues: crowds and voices and also bright lights
Tendency to freeze and shut down when overwhelmed (this was an issue a lot during their adventures, but not so much now that the chain has their back)
Special interests: biology/anatomy, and there's a series of books they once found in an abandoned town that they LOVE. Books are hard to come by in their era so those are their absolute most prized possession
Asexual, aromantic, sex-repulsed
Sky
Bi-gender, he/she
Comfort items: sailcloth, Loftwing plush toy from Zelda, Master Sword
He carries around the loftwing plush absolutely everywhere he goes. She has a special protected pocket in his bag for when it isn't safe to carry her in his hands. Her name is Brenda (because my favorite stuffed animal friend is named Brenda and I'm in charge XD)
Favorite stims: jumping/bouncing in place, flapping his arms like a loftwing, humming, moving his fingers in the motions of playing his harp
Harmful stims: pulling her hair, hitting his ears when overstimulated
Eye contact???? Absolutely not. She will look everywhere except the person speaking to her
His biggest sensory sensitivity is sound
There was never much going on in Skyloft (other than things he was used to) and it's pretty small, so he got VERY easily overwhelmed on the Surface when he first started his adventure. Fi often had to guide her to a safe spot where he could get through a meltdown or shutdown
She still gets really easily overwhelmed and usually is nonverbal for the first bit of time after a portal shift while he adjusts to his surroundings
He's not great at communicating at all during his verbal shutdown episodes
When she gets overwhelmed she freezes and shuts down. He's more likely to have a meltdown once he's in a safe place
Since he gets overwhelmed so easily, Sky needs a LOT of sleep. More so than the other Links. Sky is banned from taking middle watch
She loves doing tasks that require intricate detail, like woodcarving and embroidery
Special interests: loftwings of course
As a child Sky related much more to her loftwing than he did any people, so his relationship with his loftwing is one of the most important things in her life
Bisexual, polyamorous
Got SO confused when people say he isn't supposed to have more than one partner
Like why??? He likes them both??? The more the merrier???? Makes no sense, does not comprehend
Twilight
Very good at routines. He loves routines. They're so great
Also, similarly, patterns. Twilight can pick out patterns in anything
He gets really irritated when something breaks pattern or is slightly uneven
He loves being on a farm and doing morning routines of feeding the animals
He's always always always related more to animals than people
Animals make sense, people don't
He's still not very good at allistic "social standards," so he's among the easiest for allistics to identify as autistic
Hyper-empathetic
But he doesn’t always know how to help. Wolfie is great for this
He has trouble with the sensory changes that come with shifting to/from his wolf form. Wolves and Hylians have very different sensory experiences, so adjusting between the two takes him a while. Once he's adjusted it's fine, it's just the adjusting itself that's hard
Has verbal shutdown episodes after meltdowns. They don't last super long, and he can usually talk again after a good night's sleep. He can communicate with sign during the episodes
Wolf pelt is comfort item
Favorite stims: touching good textures, rocking, humming
Harmful stims: biting his knuckles
Absolute favorite stim is rubbing his soft wolf pelt on his face, specifically over his mouth and on his upper lip
Special interests: goats, wolves. He knows every. Single. Fact.
Second most likely to infodump
Asexual, biromantic, sex-positive
Four
Too much gender to pick just one. They/them
Comfort item: a little wooden action figure toy thing their grandpa made for them. Four's had it their whole life and never ever goes anywhere without it. It's usually in a special pocket on the inside of their tunic
Most black and white thinker of the group
Four can't grasp or comprehend any nuance or sarcasm or anything in the abstract
They ask SO MANY questions, bc that is their way of understanding the world
They don't really understand most of Time's dad jokes, but they like it when the others laugh
Must be reminded to eat and drink water
Does not like touching other people or being touched by other people
Has more meltdowns than shutdowns
Their little body can't contain all the big feelings and the feelings have to come out somehow
Like Legend they also have a lot of trouble communicating feelings and needs
Biggest sensory issue: sensory symmetry. Everything must be even!!! Also big feelings ^
Favorite stims: they really like the smell of metal, bouncing on toes, spinning, love stim toys
Four never really stops stimming, but they've learned to do it discreetly (bc masking)
They love tinkering, and they love stim toys, so they've made themself a LOT of stim toys. They also love making stim toys for the rest of the chain. (They made a perfectly silent and very discreet one for Wars bc he has the most trouble unmasking)
Harmful stims: head banging
Special interest: tools. Four wants collect every tool in existence, and wants to know exactly what it does. Especially blacksmithing tools, bc Four also really likes blacksmithing
Demisexual, biromantic
Disclaimer: every autistic person has a different way of experiencing the world. I am only one person, so my experience is largely limited to myself. I tried to have links be very diverse in their experiences :)
Feel free to add some of your own autistic or otherwise neurodivergent headcannons!!!!!
