#it def has distorted ass visuals

[andthelightswavegoodbye]

Rei Kiriyama headcanon- he is autistic/autistic coded

I mean- cmon how is he NOT???

Has shogi as a special interest! He was SO excited when hinata asked to play with him. I think a lot of people get mixed up abt him liking shogi or not. I think he truly does like the game, however the trauma from his stepdad and step siblings, as well as the stress of shogi as a profession and the pleasing others with his shogi skills has caused his likeness to it to become distorted.

Quite awkward when it comes to social interaction, and can get really anxious around people he's not comfy with, or when there are lots of people. Also has trouble acting in a neurotypically acceptable way (for instance being very blunt).

Prefers to be alone much of the time

Remember that time when he was helping peel those chestnuts and Akari commented on how good he was at it, and he proceeded to reply with "I like doing repetitive tasks like this" (me too bestie)

Has a relatively blank facial expression except on rare occasions (flashback to all those shitty ass kids calling him robot)

Alexithymia moments happen quite often (has trouble understanding, expressing, and identifying ones own or others feelings). When teaching Hinata, he didn't realize how overwhelmed and confused she was until nikaidou pointed it out. He also has trouble figuring out why he felt/feels the way he does until its at an extremely strong state.

He didnt make a lot of eye contact as a kid, hell I feel like he still doesn't sgjfsgkfj

Doesn't deal well with changes in routine (lmao remember whenever nikaidou tried to unexpectedly spend the night, and Rei got pissed?).

Hypersensitive to certain things! Like he gets very overwhelmed with loud noises (science club def had sum of those moments, as well as nikkaido sometimes being too loud), physical contact makes him tense up a lot, and occasionally lights make him flinch (however that last one may just be shaft makin things aesthetic with his bedroom curtains).

Visually stims-he loves to look at water (shown when he mentions the nearby river a lot (he literally partially chose his apartment for that very reason), or when he was just chillin by the lake when he saw Souya that one time).

Experiences depression and anxiety (common in people with autism)

Now obviously some of these traits can be pointed at just being introverted, or trauma responses as well. We also don't see him ever physically stim (although we do know his biological father rocked back and forth, and I feel like they wouldn't mention that for funsies. Like it's gotta come back right?), but I think theres enough evidence out there that shows he isn't exactly neurotypical.

Anyways I'd love to hear ya'lls thoughts!!