#neurodivergent dean winchester

[ricky-tiki-tah]

Anyone else notice that especially in the earlier seasons(1-3 specifically for this post), Sam is usually the one talking to the witnesses/authority figures. Doesn’t matter if Dean started the conversation/interrogation, Sam near always finishes them.

Not only that, but officers and others tend to direct their questions more to Sam than Dean. The question is why? In the early seasons like 1-3, Dean may be shorter, but Sam is still noticeably younger than his brother. Is there something about Sam that people trust him to be more mature or what?

On the opposite note, you will rarely see Sam talking to any kid, his area lying more with the teens and young adults. Dean is always talking to the kids, he values their opinions and wants them to feel safe no matter what. This is probably from raising Sam, but it’s also very him. (One example is Lucas in 1x03 Dead in the Water, another is Michael in 1x18 Something Wicked, and again with Ben in 3x02 The Kids Are All Right)

Now, I’m very much onboard with the “both Winchester brothers are autistic” and “ADHDean”, but my question is still, why would the authorities and older suspects talk to Sam instead of Dean? Is it because Sam is so good at masking? Is it because Dean is starting to let his childish side out more now that John isn’t there? Maybe it’s because due to Dean having been selectively mute, Sam had to speak for the both of them growing up and the habit stuck? Could it be because even though both boys are good looking, Sam is more traditionally handsome while Dean is a pretty face? Is there really an answer?

[is-your-blorbo-neurodivergent]

is he autistic?

submit your own characters here to be featured!

reason: Firstly, he only eats like, two foods (burgers and pie and *occasionally* things adjacent to those) for the entire show, which is to say, he only eats like two foods for fifteen years straight. The fact that he's repulsed by certain foods (mostly vegetables) is something that is brought up multiple times, and while it's usually played off as a joke that he's picky or "childish" about his food, it's still canon.

Secondly, he is canonically very intense about his interests, to the point where they seem like special interests. Actual quote from season 14 episode 20, said by Sam: "You're always calling me a geek, but you know every word to every Led Zeppelin song backwards and forwards. You can discuss in detail every major rock drummer between '67 and '84."

Thirdly, he has very strange speech patterns, most notably his tendency to, in almost every conversation he has, make a reference to something pop-culture related, a movie he likes, pretty much anything he can make a reference to. Most people around him do not understand these references and/or find them annoying, but for whatever reason (autism), they are a consistent part of his lexicon.

I need you to know that this was originally over 400 words long. I had to omit some details to make it a reasonable length. That's how autistic this guy is.

submitted by @kubb-is-a-swedish-lawn-game

[temporaerthaervaerk]

I just realised that all the media I adore has some level of autistic/neurodivergent coding and it's been that way since I was a child.

And like, oftentimes their different way of perceiving and being in the world is the driving force of the story/and or a crucial element in it.

There’s the canon example of the entire Camp Halfblood (ADHD), where the ADHD is literally what keeps the characters alive.

There's Dean Winchester (ADHD) whose hyperfixations are typically masculine (as well as geeky) and who never sits still, with the added bonus of Castiel (Autism), who Dean just... accepts, in a way I rarely see.

Then there’s the infamous Will Graham (Autism) whose hyperempathy is litterally the focal point of the entire narrative.

We have Haru from Free! (Autism), whose special interest (swimming) is the motivating factor for several other characters.

Reki and Langa from Sk8 the infinity (Autism), who share a special interest and grow a special bond because of it.

There's Sai from Hikaru No Go (Autism), who trancedented time and space to play Go (special interest) and whose special interest sets the story into motion.

We have any version of Sherlock Holmes (AuDHD), who's brilliance I attribute to a mixture of hyperfixations and special interest in crime solving. His conflicts with society and disregard of social norms are a central theme as well.

There's Anne with an E (Autism), who loves words and stories and speaks before she thinks (where all major problems arise due to her lack of understanding for social norms)

We have Pat and Pran from Bad Buddy (ADHD + Autism), like I dunno, I just really felt that vibe.

There's Beth Harmon from Queen's Gambit (Autism) with her special interest in Chess.

And like, the list goes on: Daryl Dixon, Jon Snow, Kotaro from Kotaro Lives Alone, Will Treaty from the Ranger's apprentice, Hal from the same author, Katniss Everdeen, Si-eun from Weak Hero Class 1, etc.

Don't get me wrong I've consumed plenty of stories without characters coded this way, but all the stories that truly resonated with me? Neurodivergent, all of them.

It's probably because the focus on social norms/hierarchy always seemed foreign to me. Eg. I like Skam but it's like a view into a completely foreign world where people function differently.

[sleeplessv0id]

me when someone asks me something about the fandoms I've been heavily involved in for years.

[captainchilly]

"Boarded, burned, and buried at sea. My nest, that's how we fed." ↳ 8.05 - BLOOD BROTHER

[quietwingsinthesky]

thinking about how dean’s character gets simplified in fandom, or more specifically, the very black and white lens that gets applied to him. because integral to dean, from my point of view, is that he is both a victim of abuse and a perpetrator of it. that these two things do not cancel each other out or outweigh each other to the point that only one matters. he’s both, you cannot separate him from the fact that he’s both.

but very often, people do. dean is either a victim. or he’s an abuser. it’s like it’s hard for people to hold both those facts in their heads at once. dean went through incredible amount of trauma as a child and an adult, is routinely faced with violence, has resorted to alcohol abuse to cope with it. he’s also a violent person, someone who retreats into tactics of emotional abuse and control when he feels threatened, who hurts the people around him constantly and the people who are closest to him (ie Sam, Cas, later Jack) get the brunt of that abuse. these are just facts. they’re things that happened on the screen and cannot be denied.

and it’s. idk it’s weird to me (not unexpected, because he’s hardly the only character to ever get this treatment) that dean of all people is the one portrayed in such an either/or way when one of the defining moments of the show for him is that during his stint in Hell, he was tortured and then became a torturer to escape that, to feel like he had some control again, and he relished in it. it’s baked into who he is.

[justanangryduck]

Stimming stimming stimming

Dean is loud

Playing with his jewellery, listening to loud music, vocal stimms (humming, clicking his tounge, whistling etc), tapping his hands and his fingers and his knuckles on stuff all the time, rocking on his chair

Sam

Probably plays with his hair a lot, not consciously just tucking it behind his ears and ruffling it all the time and stuff like that. Definitely was one of those kids who would spin around and around in one spot for ages and make themselves dizzy to feel the inertia. PACING PACING PACING. Biting his lip and tounge and the inside of his cheek, rubbing his hands up and down his forearms or over his thighs to feel the fabric there.

Let those old men stim

[flowersintheimpala69]

Sometimes to get through life I have to connect it to spn characters.

Like to get into my school I have to show my id and whenever I hold it up I’m like “this is so Sam and Dean showing fake fbi cards”

I had to go into a bank today and I was like freaking out cuz. Anxiety. But then I was like “this is so season 2 ep 12 ‘nightshifter’ coded” and it made me feel better

I legit sometimes am sad or worried then I’m like “what would Sam and Dean do” and it helps

Was in a psych ward (hope that’s not tmi this was years ago I’m fine lol) and was like “this is SO Sam coded”

And that’s like. Weird and not normal I know. And it’s not just spn I see life and cope with it’s also through other tv shows and media I like. And it’s cringe but. It helps. So! Be cringe and enjoy life !!

[flannelfaeries]

*does the stanky leg* congrats! autism!

[chronic-lee-lizard]

Castiel is me I love him I love him I love his misunderstanding of social cues I love his autistic traits I feel seen

(I want to change my name to Castiel because his name is so cool)

[is-your-blorbo-neurodivergent]

does he have adhd?

submit your own characters here to be featured!

[akhillasmyth]

Rewatching supernatural is all fun and dandy until you watch season 2 episode 20

[cowboy-deamons-bf]

Neurodivergency

They’re all autistic you’re honour 🫡

Dean and Jack are Audhd

[electromignion]

A Day In A Retired Throuple’s Life (AO3 - Drowstiel OS)

Link to the fic

(Fanart made by the lovely @sleepy-deans for the fic!! Thank you once again, lots of love and check her work!! It’s all amazing 🫶)

Fandom: Supernatural

Pairing: Dean Winchester/Crowley/Castiel

Characters: Dean Winchester, Crowley, Castiel

Rating: General Audience

Words: 5,242

Synopsis: Dean, Castiel and Crowley enjoy an idyllic life as they are retired from the hunting world. As they own a brewery together, how is a normal day going on in their lives?

Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Everybody Lives, Retired Hunter Dean Winchester, Retired Castiel (Supernatural), Retired Crowley (Supernatural), Drowstiel, fix it fic kind of, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Love, Throuple, Mentioned a lot of Supernatural characters, Saileen Mentioned, references, Neurodivergent Castiel (Supernatural), Trans Male Dean Winchester, Trans Male Character, Dean Winchester has a thing for cowboys, Hugs, Kisses, Slice of Life, Mention of alcohol, Destiel, Drowley, crowstiel, They have supportive families, No Smut, Mild Language, Comfort, Established Relationship

[shallowseeker]

Less and more? Another way Sam and Jack are fundamentally different re: their emotional interiority

I'm not able to put this into perfect words tonight, and this runs the risk of oversimplifying Sam, but here goes...

I feel like Sam, for a great portion of his story, longs to Be More, or at least, to give the appearance of Being More.

Sam tells people he's working on his Ph.D. Sam got into Harvard. Sam tells people he was in law school when he was simply "pre-law." Sam wanted to Be Normal, not for simplicity's sake, but perhaps for the holy grail of Making It. (Whatever Making It means in America.)

Intellectualism is important to Sam. Sam's fantasies take place in libraries. Sam likes being a legacy. Sam is smart, and he wants you to see him as smart. (Dean and Cas are craftier; they're more okay with being underestimated because it allows them to cunningly get the upper hand. Crucially, they recognize this about each other's intelligence, too.)

At his core, Sam isn't a "boy-king," not really. He was styled as boy-king in order to be served up on a platter to the True King (Lucifer) to use to win a war. It was a class gambit--a fancy title to get Sam to submit his body for the profit of the war machine.

///

Jack, on the other hand, is the real deal. Jack is a "young prince." He's the "Bambi" to Cas's stern "Great Prince of the Forest."

Jack isn't borrowing powers or accidentally siphoning them off from a yellow-eyed demon. His powers are his own. Even when he uses powers "beyond himself," they derive from his own soul. This fundamental difference in his nature makes Jack something of an off-key parallel to Sam. (He, of course, does parallel Sam when he's eating angel hearts, just as he parallels Cas’s Godstiel appetite re:Purgatory souls.)

But on the whole, Jack wants to be Less. He longs for simplicity in the same way that Dean does. In the same way that Mary does. Sure, Jack wants to Be Good and Do Good, same as Sam does (they are both Doomed Children, after all). But he also wants powers and strength in the same way that Cas and Dean do; that is, primarily to protect everyone.

Jack doesn't appear to have the same status drive that Sam did as a young man.

And for that matter, neither does Mary. Like Sam, she wants a normal life in order to feel safe and secure, but she lacks the drive to impress others by Being a Success.

[ricky-tiki-tah]

These bad boys can fit so much neurodivergence in them (affectionate)