As an autistic person I was honestly taken aback when I finished The Quarry and went online for my Rylan content and saw people saying that Rylan isn't mutual??? That Ryan isn't interested in Dylan?
Ryan reads to me as autistic 10000%. Everything from the flat affect, to the lack of change in facial expressions, staying away from the large gathering things to be alone and listen to his podcasts, not understanding social norms, his specific interest... I could go on. This man is autistic (to me at least).
So when I was playing The Quarry I felt myself represented in the way that Ryan responded to the flirting. He seemed extremely interested in Dylan; he smiles in every scene they have together, he responds to Dylan in an interested way, once they get closer he asks Dylan more and more questions about himself and gets to know the real him.
And Dylan responds to all of this, he meets Ryan where he's at, takes an interest in his interests, and doesn't push Ryan to do things he's not comfortable with. They have a lovely energy that's filled with patience, kindness, and understanding.
All this to say: Rylan is not one-sided. Ryan is just autistic and people are mislabelling parts of who he is for disinterest.
