#adhd genesis rhapsodus

[strayheartless]

Now that it’s been pointed out to me that Genesis is ADHD when I previously read him as autistic, I now have a list of AuDHD sensory issues swirling around my head that I think he has.

So, in no particular order:

Butter. Genesis is staunchly against butter. It is evil and the minute it he hits his tongue he gags. He also doesn’t like touching it.

Air on any skin but his face. Most people believe Genesis wears the coat glove combo because he wants to emulate Sephiroth. The actual reason is he can’t bare to have his skin exposed to the elements. You’ll never catch him dead without something covering his arms, not even in the summer. The gloves depend on the day.

Corduroy. It’s a crime against fashion anyway but the feel of it on his skin makes it crawl.

Cotton wool. You just have to say the word cotton wool to Genesis and he looses his composure. Zack takes great pleasure in pulling it apart just to watch Genesis squirm. Mostly because Genesis makes fun of his sensory issues

Full fat milk. This is something Genesis didn’t know about until he met Cloud. His mother had always had fully skimmed milk in the fridge because she was obsessed with diet fads so he’d never had it. He knew he didn’t like creamy things, but he once drank a cup of coffee that Cloud made him that had full fat milk in it and couldn’t swallow it.

Pears. They are grainy and not like apples. He hates them.

Bananas. They make his teeth itch.

Tags, sequins, itchy wool etc. anything that is itchy is hell

Hats and Earmuffs. Angeal is the one who discovered this. He once placed his own hat on Gens head and then watched Genesis get fustrated and upset for twenty minutes because he didn’t like it touching his ears.

Blocked noses. The biggest reason Genesis hates being sick is because he can’t cope with his nose being blocked or stuffy. He genuinely forgets how to breath through his mouth sometimes.

Cold hands. If Genesis’s hands get cold he may as well be dead, it would be preferable to this hell.

White noise emitters. Because quite frankly fuck them.

Marching bands. The drum beats mess with his heart rate. He doesn’t like it. The made parade duty very difficult.

Genesis can deal with pain, what he can’t deal with is how itchy wounds get while they heal. It would be funny if it didn’t wind him up so much he cries in frustration.

Cold sink water, especially if it’s had something greasy in it.

Avocado. Angeal made him Avocado on toast one morning for breakfast and Gen put it in his mouth, looked panicked and Angeal said “do you need to spit it out?” And that was how Angeal struck Avocado off of all future meal plans.

Genesis will 100% tell people he doesn’t have sensory issues. He’s one of those “nobody would ever guess I’m Autistic” people and then you’d put a fear food in front of him and he’d panic and not be able to swallow it.

He’s also the kind of person who will poke fun at Zack and Sephiroth for having extreme sensory issues but then gets rudely reminded that the only reason he seems to not have them is because he avoids everything he hates like the plague and has some truly elaborate work arounds to avoid them.

[strayheartless]

GENESIS HAS ADHD TOO

You know what anon? you could be right on that one.

I usually read Genesis as autistic honestly, mostly because of his special interest in LOVELESS. Sometimes I think the reason Sephiroth and Genesis clash so badly is because their on vastly different sides of the spectrum but I could absolutely see Genesis as having AuDHD for sure!

I think the reason we read only Zack as ADHD is because he’s most classically the stereotype. But I’m kind of scrolling through Gens list of traits in my head and I’m like, “oh boy,”

Impulsive✅

Excessive talking/rambling✅

Emotional dysregulation ✅

Extreme impatience ✅

Tendency to take risks ✅

Restlessness✅

Yeah okay. Gens got ADHD…

I will say though, I’m terms of in canon I think a lot of it’s masked. Zack shows the disorganised/ inattentive side more than Genesis and while you could argue that there is very little organisation to his desertion, I think Genesis is passingly on a slightly different level to Zack.

Fanon Genesis has definitely been given the AuDHD stamp of approval however. Boys got all the hallmarks

[strayheartless]

ADHD GENS HCS PLSS

Hmmmmm

Leg bouncing. So much leg bouncing. To the point where he rattles the table. Angeal has grabbed his knee many times to make him stop.

Extreme task avoidance. Like it’s ridiculous. He would dearly love to be on time with his reports, alas he will do anything but while berating himself the entire time.

He’s messy. GODDESS is he messy. And what’s worse is that he can’t concentrate in the mess. He’s in a perpetual cycle of not being able to function, which leads to irritation, which leads to lashing out, which leads to overwhelm. Eventually Genesis will simple haul up in bed and cry because everything’s stressing him out.

Genesis fiddles with his earring like it’s a stim toy. He also taps the spine of his copy of LOVELESS against his leg subconsciously.

Makes popping sounds with his lips when he’s thinking.

The ADHD rage is strong in this one. Zack slurps? “Can you NOT?!” Angeal interrupts him mid moogle deep dive? “Get the FUCK away from me before I incinerate you!” Sephiroth turns on the overhead light? He’s THIS close to decking the demon of Wuti.

Frequently forgets to call Angeal while on mission. He’ll be told “let me know when you arrive so i know your okay.” And then won’t. The amount of times Gen has gotten home only to get lectured at that Angeal thought he was dead, and clearly he was too arrogant -and pigheaded to consider his friends.

Speaking of which. Rejection sensitivity. This presents itself in two main ways. One: Gen can’t take criticism he didn’t ask for. If someone (like Sephiroth or Angeal for instance) points out a flaw in his technique or his plan, or sends him back a report with corrections after proof reading he immediately shuts down and won’t listen. It’s like someone’s stuffed his frontal lobe with cotton. Two: if you yell at him he goes quiet and will think about it for days. He obsesses over small perceived rejections a lot.

If he likes you he won’t shut up. Be honoured he doesn’t like a lot of people.

If the vibes are off for Gen then they’re not doing it. Angeal and Sephiroth have learned not to question it. It’s saved their skin far more than they care to admit.

Needs validation a lot.

Midnight cleaning is unfortunately the only time he gets things done.

Manic episodes where he can’t sit still and ends up crashing randomly.

Not as sensitive to sound as Zack is but certain things like white noise emitters and certain genres of music make him want to tear his ears off.

No temperature regulation. He’s either too hot or too cold, both in excess never a happy medium.

His parents used to call him Lazy all the time because he had the potential of a child prodigy. After inventing pasteurisation/ apple juice Genesis struggled to focus on anything until he hyper fixated on becoming a SOLDIER, and then on LOVELESS. He got all the way to finishing his Masters in Classic literature and then didn’t continue to his PHD because he lost the dopamine. His longest running dopamine spike has been Sephiroth… and we all know how that ended.

Let me know if you want something g more specific ❤️❤️❤️