#dghda headcanons

[clockworkcheetah]

From the list you reblogged, I request sadness/coping for the Rowdy Three!

Overall I think the rowdy 3 cope with sadness the same way they deal with all emotions- destruction and chaos. Put their pain onto something else. But to get specific:

MARTIN

he’s calmer than the other rowdies, due to already being an adult (a young one) when he was bought into the blackwing (so had a childhood and wasn’t isolated) however, I think he grew up in a ‘boys don’t cry’ environment that continued into BW, so he’s not great with handling his own sadness. He smothers it with anger at the world (go on. Hurt it.)

He bottles up his own sadness- cant be weak for others- but maybe in those rare moments where they are calm he’s a little wistful

GRIPPS

not great with coping with sadness, like the rest of them. He gets more upset by being sad, which makes him even more sad- so he prefers to dismiss it, focusing on something else. Can’t get upset by the thing if you don’t think about the thing!

Its not that he never denies the sadness, he’s pretty unapologetic with crying, although he doesn’t cry that often- doesn’t like how tears feel. Feels weird

if not breaking shit, he copes with painting his nails by the time theyre painted he’s usually feeling much better

CROSS

also doesn’t know how to handle being sad (theres a theme here asdfghjkl;), he tends to look to martin as a way to know how to handle it. Doesn’t cry, usually gets even more loud and rough. Sadness is the bad kind of rush for him, stresses him out and theres too many bad emotions and he hates it. Copes by well, hurting inanimate objects as they all do. Has the highest energy when expressing his upset than the other rowdies

VOGEL

weirdly hes the opposite- rather than high energy, he just kinda stops. Super quiet, almost lethargic. He doesn’t speak- or gives short answers. The rowdies don’t really know how to handle It, but they usually give him space (but still keep an eye)

thanks for the ask!! 💖

send a fandom/group of characters and a theme for headcanons!

[holistic-midnight-snow]

Agency Cases

Some cases the agency have been working on since S2

Case 1 Dirk returned to London to collect some things and sort out his agency, with the assistance of Todd and Farah. While there, he comes across a strange building that everyone else, including Farah and Todd, seem to treat as completely normal

Despite it - obviously - being an Evil Building - only Dirk seems able to see this. He gets very nervous around it, and even after pointing out to Farah and Todd that the lift goes down to a suspiciously long list of minus number floors, they don't believe him until the demonic ✨glamour ✨starts to show cracks and they get a sense of the horror. Every now and then, a person in the restaurant or passing on the street screams and runs away traumatised just by sensing the building's energy through its failing barrier mechanism. The inhabitants of the building enlist Dirk to help them restore the shield, and Todd and Farah apologise to Dirk for not trusting his instincts in the first place.

At the end the three of them stare at the building, and Todd shakes his head in disbelief. "How did we not know this building was evil?" "I know right?" Farah agrees in astonishment. Meanwhile Londoners carry on obliviously behind them. They've seen weirder.

Case 2

Amanda is trying to encourage Dirk to eat more healthily and is helping him prepare a salad. When he chops a radish in half and gasps, showing her what he's found, she thinks he is just trying to get out of eating the salad.

Dirk is sure that this is a message. He doesn't know from whom, or what it means, or why, or how... but he knows it's a message.

Amanda knows Dirk well enough to trust him on this so they investigate.

They go back to the market stall where they got the radish and uncover an exotic vegetable black market trade, only just managing to save the rare Peruvian Fur-Lined Potato from going extinct.

It turns out this is the lynchpin of an eco system that, if it had gone extinct, would have had far-reaching and catastrophic consequences.

In the end, the radish was just a radish.

Case 3

Their latest case. Dirk doesn't know what this is, but he's absolutely certain that it's a new case...and I for one believe him.

Who are these cats, and is it connected to the fact that no one has seen the Rowdies for a while? What are these images, and above all - Why?

It's up to the agency to figure it out.

[sacred-algae]

what's your favourite thing about writing dirk?? any extra hcs or personal things you like to add when writing him?? (coming from someone who adores how you write him being autistic)

I am so sorry I haven't gotten to this until now! I was busy when you sent this in... I still am busy (I'm procrastinating, send help) but we're doing it now! And AHHH TY! I'm glad it hits for you! I said in another ask, my favorite thing about writing him is hands down the voice. I love how absolutely absurd the things he says are, and he says them with complete mundanity. For Dirk, the absurd is mundane and I think there is something so fun in that. It's also very autistic. I think autistic people see the world with a greater sense of absurdism than allistics, whether that be positive or negative (because honestly it does depend! autism is beautiful but it still is a disability and Dirk is an excellent example of this.)

I think my favorite absurdist Dirk quote I've ever written is from chapter five of the Muse fic, Hate This And I'll Love You (I added the bits before it for context. Really it's the bovine burglar bit that's my favorite):

        The apartment was dark, save the TV that shuffled through Netflix’s screen saver slideshow. Odd, Todd never leaves the telly on.          So what’s a detective to do? He investigated.          He called out once more, “Todd?”          He tip-toed his way into the living room, he wasn’t quite sure if it was Todd or a mysteriously bovine burglar watching their television so he aired on the side of caution. One never knows when there might be a cow stealing back your, or rather it’s milk.

HTAILY was really an autistic indulgence in every possible way, and not only with writing a favorite character as autistic and highlighting it. When you take into consideration I wrote this before I read Dorian Gray, this was the original Jack Harkness/Dorian Gray fic for me. Crossing over my niche special interest (Muse) with a hyperfixation (DGHDA), which is why I consider it my favorite/best finished fic I've ever written. And I'm so glad it's gotten the love I think it deserves!

The famous "Angst Song" scene was actually a personal detail to answer that part of your question! Muse's "The Small Print" is a song I have a lot of childhood memories attached to! Back before Muse's Origin of Symmetry was my favorite album, Muse's Absolution was my favorite and "The Small Print" was hands down my favorite track on it. I have vivid memories of dancing like a madman to it in my kitchen while unloading the dishwasher, which was my main chore as a child. I played what I called "the silverware game" where I had to only unload one type of silverware, starting with the butterknives and ending with the small spoons, and not mix up the sizes of the forks or spoons when picking them up, otherwise I lost... and I think that really speaks for itself with how autistic it is.

So yeah, when crafting a Muse-inspired fic, having Dirk dancing and stimming to "The Small Print" at some point was an absolute no-brainer. It was always going to be there one way or another. And it honestly makes me a little emotional to know that when people think of my writing autistic Dirk, that scene is the one they remember. (iirc you mentioned loving that scene before, and I know other people have said that too)

[summery-captain]

This is gonna be a long one: a total of 18 posts following Dirk's actions, behaviours and phrases that are indicative of him being autistic and also kinetic (having ADHD). Disclaimer that I'm AuADHD and that's how/why I've come to analyse him like this, the devil works hard but my special interest in him and the show works harder

I'll divide it up by episode so it's a bit easier! I'll link the next ones here as I make them, let me know if you want me to tag you in the next ones. There won't be images, just descriptions of the general scenes. I'll make a post later on of the main scenes/moments that make me see him as AuADHD, if you see a "*" next to any of these it means it's going in the TL:DR post later.

S1E1 - "Horizons"

> The episode opens with Dirk being extremely off put by the phone ringing and he repeats himself when answering ("Awake, yes I'm awake, I've been awake"). He then realizes he's late and that sends him into panic. - Has trouble organizing and keeping track of time/significant dates and tasks

> In the murder scene at the hotel, right before he picks up the shark kitten his hands tremble slightly and he seems hesitant for a second to take it. - has to mentally prepare when touching a new/different texture, in this case the kitten's fur

> When Zimmerfield and Estevez are analysing the footage of the day the murder happened, Dirk is seen (in the gorilla mask) looking around as if lost/confused of his whereabouts, even if he's been told (by himself) where he needs to go/be. - Has trouble with directions and verbal instructions, gets lost easily

> *"Pfft, time! I laugh at the concept, I can spend a whole day without even trying" - time blindness/hyperfixation/"daydreaming"

> "How did you get in here?!" Todd says. "Through the window, obviously", he answers. Then, later in the same scene, Todd says "You can't just break into my apartment!", "Clearly I can, I just did" - takes questions/statements literally, answering exactly what is being asked/said

> When he gives his speech of interconnectedness Todd looks more confused and annoyed by the second, he doesn't want to hear any of it. Dirk doesn't seem to realize this and just goes on and on, taking Todd's initial silence as confirmation that he can keep talking, interrupts Todd every time he tries to answer/say anything - has trouble with social cues and with when/how to stop talking

> "No one watches the news, except for old people. And me- occasionally" - is immediatelly defensive of interests/habits that may seem odd to others

> "None of your business" Todd says when he tries to offer him a ride "You don't even know my business!!" - again, takes things literally. I also think he is fully aware that Todd doesn't mean that literally but feels compelled to answer nonetheless

> In these next scenes they're already at Amanda's. "You said you were gonna stay in the car." "I lied though." - is blunt/direct - "Did you see how I snuck up on you? I was trained as a ninja by the CIA- Sorry, that's a lie too", he looks pained and his eyes focus on a random point, he's clearly mentally scolding himself, he finds it hard to filter out thoughts before saying them out loud

> "What's wrong with you exactly?" - is blunt/direct and without much tact when talking to Amanda about pararibulitis

> "Is it THAT important that you're not to be identified as my friend that you felt the need to argue about it?" - he's hurt and needs specific clarifications for previous social interactions and demonstrates rejection sensitive dysphoria (panic/meltdown/overload due to perceived social rejection) when Todd keeps rejecting him every time he tries to connect with him. It's hard not to spiral, especially because he's been told by himself that Todd is his best friend. He knows it didn't happen overnight but he was so excited about the prospect that being met with a very different reality is really staggering for him)

> When watching Todd and Amanda jam, he daydreams, imagining himself jamming with them, interacting and belonging - it's hard for us to feel like we're part of a group/that we belong, so it's common for neurodivergent people to imagine ourselves in different scenarios being able to fully interact and integrate with our peers

> Later in the same scene when Amanda gets an attack, he immediately rushes over and is only stopped by Todd pushing him off from him and Amanda. His eyes go unfocused and they get red. - rejection sensitive dysphoria (although it's understandable why he was pushed off.

> Later, back at Todd's apartment, he goes on and on about past cases until Todd snaps, he has a hard time recognizing the social cues Todd is giving him. "A thing with Thor- he's not nearly as good looking as people say. Actually, it's kind of a funny story-", looks extremely pained when cut off too, it's hard to stop in our tracks when we start something.

> When the Rowdy 3 get into the apartment building he immediately tries to hide under a bed that is clearly far too small for him - lacks spatial awareness, having trouble with knowing wheter or not he fits somewhere before trying to do so

> "I'm a person or varied intuitions, I have a lot of feelings about a lot of things. They're rarely ever wrong, but rarely completely right" - he's highly sensitive. Of course this plays into the whole show's themes, this part specifically for him being holistic. In my view though, whether the writers and actor meant to or not, holisticness greatly mirrors/parallels neurodivergency, even Blackwing is shown to use similar "tactics" as ABA.

> Moving along, when the Rowdy 3 enter Todd's apartment, before they even actually use their powers on Dirk, the camera/sounds focuses greatly on how loud and chaotic everything is. Dirk immediately drops to the ground in a fetal position, trying to cover his eyes and ears, and shuts down due to the sensory overload.

> Later, Dorian enters the house pointing his gun at Dirk and and Todd, who questions him as to how they're gonna get out of this. "I'm very good at getting into situations, I have more trouble getting out of them" - I can't count how many times I got myself into a dangerous situation because I didn't notice the clues/atmosphere, or in relationships/social gatherings in general. It's hard parsing out what is and isn't safe, and even harder to get out of it when it finally clicks you're not safe.

> Later Todd and Dirk are having a discussion/fight after the police let's them go, and Todd questions him as to why he isn't more distraught due to what just happened. "I think it might bother me more later, when I'm less... Something" - everything is overwhelming, so it's common for autistic people to take much longer to fully process how we feel/how to react than neurotypicals. We mostly can only fully face/process stressfull situations when we're somewhere safe and quiet.

> Todd starts screaming about everything that is happening, and Dirk gets more overwhelmed by the second. He enters a brief ecolalia loop, going STOP, STOP, STOP, STOP!!

Second episode analysis

@clockworkcheetah @urlocallesbiab @amberangel @generalized-incompetence

[juniper-and-lamplight]

I know that this is pedantic and petty, and that canon/word of God doesn't actually matter, but...while it's still Farah's birthday, I want to publicly rant about how frustrating it is that Farah's wanted poster lists her birth year as 1995.

First of all, I think we can all agree that the idea of Farah being younger than Amanda is ridiculous. Secondly, there's the show bible, which needs to be taken with an ENORMOUS grain of salt, but which does place Farah at 30--a lot closer to plausibility, given her life experience. Finally, there's the fact that 1985, not 1995, is when Jade Eshete was born, and since both Todd's and Amanda's birth years on their posters correspond to the birth years of the actors who play them, it seems odd that the same thing wasn't done for Farah.

All of this leads me to believe that giving Farah a 1995 birthday was either an innocent mistake on the part of the people behind those wanted posters, OR that the powers that be--the same ones who created Farah in all her nuanced, fascinating, badass-mess-who-longs-for-validation glory--decided that a woman in her early 30s was too old to be interesting or valid. And THAT thought makes me want to, as Farah would say, "scream and never stop screaming."

So, this is me, on my tiny internet soapbox, declaring that as far as I'm concerned, Farah was born in 1985. She's 34 today. Her life is the weirdest and most fulfilling it's even been, and she's never felt better about who she is. 

Happy birthday, Farah.

[clockworkcheetah]

oooohh headcanons 👀 i don't know how to do the symbols so excuse me while i just type the words haha

angry - dirk

family - farah

cooking - todd?

☠ - angry/violent headcanon dirk has a lot of repressed anger- this isnt even a hc its just like… very clearly there especially in s2 particularly in blackwing. hes more chirpy side isnt a facade or anything- its totally genuine the guy is happy, but he hasnt exactly dealt his trauma surrounding blackwing and the built up resentment of his robbed youth. he has two main ways of expressing anger- the louder, aggressive rage that usually comes out, like in blackwing. its bitchy and defiant and what he usually falls into, cause its a result of fear/lashing out and also some self-hate/pity too. (and hes pretty mean but in a weird way hes kinda aiming to piss off the other person- like that was his intention with todd 2x07- to push him away) the other anger is just the total opposite- its this cold quiet seething rage. its almost pure hatred in nature and its eerie. isnt seen too much because it takes a lot for him to get that, either that or hes just so Over Everything and theres Nothing Left to feel anymore

♥ - family headcanon i know this was in the show bible and probably is no longer a thing in the shows canon anymore, but i do like the idea that farah comes from a decently large family and has several siblings- all brothers. her family isnt the most openly affectionate, just isnt their style and eddie is the sibling farah is closest too although the family dynamics have always been a bit strained, especially with farah feeling like she has too prove herself whilst feeling out of place with her family sometimes. its not awful by any means- but there were hairline cracks yknow her new found family with dirk and todd is a very different dynamic, cause theyre pretty openly affectionate people. its weird and kinda overwhelming at times and intense (but hey, she likes intense)

♒ - cooking/food headcanon todd can cook- hes no masterchef, but he can cook and hes easily the best cook of the agency trio. he rarely cooks for himself though- basically lives on takeout or minimal effort meals like cereal or sandwiches. he cooked very regularly for amanda, especially when she was sick (her comment in 1x01 about eating healthy makes me think he was making her meals) but even before that i think he was cooking for her in their childhood too, when their parents were working late but didnt want their kids ordering takeout all the time he also enjoys it because it keeps his hands busy (i hc he fidgets with his hands a lot) and cooking for others means hes needed and he likes knowing hes needed

thanks for the ask! 💖

headcanon asks

[clockworkcheetah]

☾ - Amanda Brotzman !!

⬜ - Dirk Gently !!

☾ - sleep headcanon precanon amanda (but after she got sick) sleeps terribly, and shes always fatigued no matter how often she tried resting and sometimes during the better days she couldnt sleep because shes just so bored restless- she cant go out, she felt she cant do any of the stuff she would do (extroverted partygirl and was definitely sleeping like a log afterwards- not a thing now) so either cant sleep cause attacks doing a lot on her or because shes got so much excessive energy with the rowdies- she doesnt have a sleep schedule, its anytime of day or night, whenever she decides she gotta peace out. she sleeps better though. the rowdies dont sleep as often as she needs to, so shes usually dozing in the van, or theyre all cuddled up together and its very nice and warm :')

■ - Bedroom/house/living quarters headcanon (im assuming you mean this theres no white square 😅) dirks never really settled anywhere so most of his temporary homes have been pretty barren- very little personality in star contrast to his colourful jackets and silly ties. i do hc he had a place in london, but even that wasnt really personalised- rarely left the place (agoraphobic!dirk is real in my heart). even post-canon, hes pretty paranoid he may lose his new home so it takes a while for him to just have things. he spends a lot of nights at the agency because hes more confident he wont lose that- plus todd and farah are there usually so hes a bit more at ease. honestly he usually just ends up staying over at todds to the point that todd keeps spare things for him and doesnt even question it.

thanks for the asks!!

headcanon asks

[summery-captain]

AuADHD Traits in Dirk Gently - S1E3 - Rogue Walls Enthusiasts

Hold on thight, this is a much longer one!

S1E1: Horizons

S1E2: Lost and Found

- Farah looks around the “room” she was stuck in previously and looks around intently, then says: “Take me to the house” in a very serious tone. Dirk then looks at Todd and does a thumbs up very enthusiastically while smiling really widely, meanwhile Todd and Farah look very defeated - he has a hard time “reading the room” and reacting “appropriately” due to the misread of tone/situations

 - “I spoke to the police!” (in a tone indicating enthusiasm and importance), “What did they say?”, “...go away.” - trouble with intonation/expressing himself in a way that implies something else.

- “I gave the bad guys my number” “You gave them your number?” “In self defense!” - same as before, his tone indicates purpose to Farah and Todd, and then he explains what he meant and they’re confused. In the same scene, Rimmer’s number is saved as “bad gun man”, which is both funny but also very relatable, because of the hard time we have remembering things, it’s very common for us to save numbers as name + where we know the person from to facilitate identification

*- Farah says in a very stressed out tone, “Everything I own is there [Spring’s mansion], my clothes, my gun-”, giving examples of why it’s important to her to go back there. Dirk immediately replies: “You look good” smiling and in a reassuring tone, misreading Farah’s concern to be about her appearance (more obvious) VS what she means subtextually (her life is in the mansion)

- When Todd freaks out unexpectedly, Dirk gets very startled and looks from Todd to the way Farah went back and forth about four times very quickly - unexpected changes can be very confusing / hard to process 

*-  Right after that, Dirk and Todd have the following dialogue: “Wait a moment!” / “What?” / “Are you… mad at me?” - it’s incredibly hard to read other’s emotions, especially when in relation to us. Dirk takes a moment to check in to clear things up because he isn’t sure where Todd stands about him.

 Then, when Todd answers “Yes– No– I don’t know. I don’t know what I am at you”, Dirk reacts very positively, saying “Good” and patting Todd’s shoulder, immediately running away to Farah after “resolving” the situation and taking Todd’s confusion to be best than a very certain “I’m mad at you” - It can be reassuring to be told someone isn’t angry at us when reading other’s tone and intentions/reactions is so hard, especially from someone who means a lot to us.

  Not a Dirk scene, but something I find important to mention. In between Dirk scenes, we get to see a conversation between Col. Riggins and Friedkin where Riggins says: “Blackwing had one mission: to seek out, codify and collect individuals with sensory perceptive abilities beyond the normal human range”. Meanwhile, Dirk repeatedly states throughout the show and especially to B.W. agents that “This isn’t how it works, this isn’t how I work!” and they never ever take him seriously, believing themselves to know better than the subjects do about themselves and their abilities.

 With that in mind, I draw an important parallel between how Black Wing works and how the ableist medical community works, specially in the timeframe where Dirk would have been in when he was in being held by them - With blackwing being created in 1988, the general belief that Dirk is in his 30s, and Dirk being one of the original subjects, that places his captivity in the 80s-00s, being there from about age 5 until 12 years old and getting out in 2000, because with the show happening in 2016, and when Riggins confronts him at the Ridgley Dirk says: It’s been 16 years, that’s a general timeline. 

 TRIGGER WARNING FOR FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH: ABLEISM, THERAPY TO “CURE” US

xxxxxx

 All of this to say that the way Black Wing is shown to operate both in S1 and S2, with tests, general subhuman conditions, “exposure” therapy, electric shocks, cruel testing and impossible standards, I see a very big connection with how some facilities and programs conduct behavioral “therapy” towards autistics, now too but even more so in the timeframe Dirk was a subject originally. The similarities, albeit in a very sci-fi esque aesthetic so to speak, are clear between black wing’s “program” and ABA “therapies”/Experiments/”Research”.

xxxxxx

Continuing on, Farah and Dirk going to the Spring mansion:

- Dirk doesn’t swing his arms when he’s walking, very common in autistic people and neurodivergent people in general because of our commonly comorbid lack of motor skills + different center of balance from neurotypicals which means we don’t usually need to move our arms when walking to “balance out” our leg movements because we also tend to walk differently.

*- “You’ve never met him” / “Yes, he seems like someone I’ve never met” - Very funny line but also very relatable when you realize Dirk constantly makes “small talk” by stating the obvious.

- “Isn’t that… Interesting”, Says Spring’s lawyer, to which Dirk promptly replies: “I get that a lot” - I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told the exact same thing or similar stuff, whether neurotypicals consciously realize this or not they seem to pick up very quickly we’re not like them on a very fundamental basis and WILL give backhanded compliments such as saying we’re interesting or quirky or anything like that. It took me a WHILE to realize this is what was happening and that they usually never mean it in a positive way.

*- When Spring’s lawyer gives Farah the letter saying that Spring instructed him to only give it to Farah when in the presence of someone named Dirk Gently, he says “Well it’s lucky I’m here then!” in a very chipper tone.

 Then, when Farah is having a breakdown and tell him she didn’t think he was still in the room, he says “Why would I leave the room? All of the good stuff is happening in here!”, and only THEN does he pay closer attention to how Farah is and asks “Were you and Patrick… close?” - He has a really hard time “reading the room” as I’ve said, and specially in relation to things that he considers more “obvious” like the case he’s working on. 

 AND THEN, when Farah says she is a bunch of negative things, Dirk goes, tentatively, “No, no, listen, you’re only SOME of those things” and she reacts by letting out a scream and sitting down forcefully, and he becomes even more unsure of how to act, starts trembling and pats Farah’s shoulder and then pokes it, gives up and sits down next to her. - It’s very hard to comfort people when you have a hard time reading other’s emotions, and I think that although Dirk didn’t do a very good job on comforting Farah he did try his best in a confusing situation to him, and ended up helping her nonetheless, taking us to:

*- “I don’t know anything, ever. It’s really quite relaxing. It’s how I work, I..follow fate around. It’s how I found you.” - there is a LOT of freedom in accepting you’ll most likely never have the in’s and out’s of reading others and that you can really only try your best in navigating life without having all the pieces other’s seem to have access to.

- When Farah opens the envelope Spring left her Dirk YOINKS it from her, then when he reads the “You” says “This doesn’t look like you, he’s got the hair all wrong!” - very funny moment and also shows two traits: impulsivity and literal thinking.

*- When they’re trying to follow the map, he nervously follows Farah around in the most autistic way of walking ever, it’s so relatable it’s comical honestly, the slight tip toeing, swinging side to side, just !!! he’s just like us fr

*- Farah starts analyzing the wall and he goes on a rant trying to figure out what she’s doing, interpreting the way she’s acting very literally, “It’s a wall.. Did he enjoy walls? Did ever mention a LOVE for walls-” and immediately SCREAMS and jumps backwards when Farah makes a loud noise by breaking the fake wall down with the iron, trembling the whole time - sound seems to be one of his most intense sensory triggers.

*- “How… did you do that?” / “With my hand!” - He’s SO literal I love him

*- “Dirk? I’m starting to think you’re actually a pretty good detective” - his face goes, rapidly: happy, proud, he shakes his head, aloof, uncaring.   Dirk frequently schools his expressions out, trying to make the “correct” face in regards to the situation at hand, which shows two different things: he has a hard time figuring out right away which one is the “correct” expression AND he has been conditioned to think his initial reactions are always wrong/unnaceptable.

*- When Todd reaches Amanda after running to her house, he says “Dirk doesn’t know anything. In fact, the amount of things he doesn’t know are stupefying” - slightly ableist although it makes sense within context where Dirk knows a lot of things about “random” or seemingly (to others) unimportant stuff but has a hard time with “simple” (to others) concepts/things

- Autistic funny AND sarcastisc moment when Dirk goes “Oh.. is that why you’re here?” when Todd states that this is MY apartment.

- Amanda says, “I don’t go out much”, and Dirk says: “Me neither!” - it’s common for us to not really go out that much because going out can be very overwhelming in many many ways

- When he and Todd have the discussion on the hallway, he’s very direct and vulnerable with Todd, even if he doesn’t know him THAT well, saying “I want your help”, for example, instead of just hinting at it or dancing around the subject just because it’s a hard one - we’re often direct with our intentions/feelings

- As he goes downstairs after convincing Todd to help him and to get the everbulb from his car, he does a little celebration by jumping a bit and pumping his fists, which isn’t NECESSARILY a stim but could be read as one! - stim: from “stimulation”, when we do repetitive things based on the major five senses to express happiness and also regulate our emotions, like jumping or singing for example.

- When confronted by Riggins and Friedkin he has a ‘slight’ meltdown and after getting tackled holds onto the stairwell’s bars, shaking. - I do know it’s a common reaction given the situation but also fits pretty well with mine and other autistic people’s experience in regards to what our specific reactions to overwhelming situations can look like.

As always thank you for reading and let me know if you want to be tagged in future posts/When I make the masterpost after finishing all of the episodes! I took a long time from E2 to this one because I changed jobs and had a really hard time adapting but am now more stable and have a bit more of free time!

 Tagging: @clockworkcheetah @urlocallesbiab @generalized-incompetence @amber-angel @silverhardt @weiwuxiankinnie