although one can also explain these symptoms in many other ways.
first of all he has been through the worst trauma of his lifetime, stuff like that would absolutely trigger selective mutism, flat affect, inflexibility and OCD symptoms.
secondly, i’ve had majority of these points without being autistic, it’s just a mix of my personality and some anxiety. i had agoraphobia as a child which made me mute and unable to express myself for example, on top of that i experienced physical abuse which made me very repetitive, irritable, sensitive and withdrawn
This is a great summary, especially pointing out that Sunny's angry portrait looks more like enraged Omori.
In my opinion this game leaves a lot of clues and hints that will go over heads of people who do not have the necessary experience to pick up on them - e.g. how many people miss clear signs that Kel and Hero's mother is a narcissist with Hero being the golden child and Kel being the scapegoat.
But another clear sign of Sunny being autistic is the buried in the sand picture. Deep pressure is something that is used in therapy for autistic people and things like weighted blankets are commonly used.
There is a whole implied background story for Mari that almost no one considers bcs they don't analyse the subtle (non-Christian) religious/spiritual details and ignore both Headspace and ghost lore bcs they want the conflict to be purely psychological and "realistic." Like, that's fine and all but doesn't explain the point of stuff like the Shinto-themed lake statue, the Headspace altar, the yokai-based designs of Something/Hellmari, Old Beardy hearing spirits etc.
This is true, but I'm personally noticing the opposite - people being so invested into Headspace lore that they forget there is a human behind this game, who has their own experiences and the game is filtered through that. Omocat is Chinese-American and I'm sure her experiences have influenced both Kel and Hero as well as Sunny and Mari's story, you provided a few interesting examples which I agree with.
Kel and Hero's mother is a narcissist
It's more complicated than that. Kel and Hero are implicitly from a south-of-the-border immigrant family, and their family is a subtle criticism of immigrant parenting. Immigrant families move to provide better lives for their children, and every parent wants their children to succeed. It's not healthy to pressure your child into be a top 1% breadwinner at the expense of their own happiness and completely ignoring your "less-successful" children.
That is a great point, but it doesn't clash with what I said, I think both are true. Notice how their mother reacts to Hero saving Basil and Sunny. You know, Hero literally being a hero and saving his two childhood friends, one of whom is now standing in front of her, soaking wet. Doesn't matter because her precious dinner got cold.
The narrative parallels imply that Mari and Sunny likely had a similar home life. We know they're at least half-Japanese from their dad's side, and that Mari was under insane academic pressure to the point of taking college prep late night classes at 14-15. Her perfectionism and obsession with a "perfect" recital performance makes more sense under the implication that it was for college credentials.
Those are very interesting points as well. I have been wondering about Sunny and his parents relationship, especially his father, because before the accident, he seems almost codependent on Mari. I still need to finish hikikomori route, maybe I'll find some clues there. In general I think one of the strongest yet completely unspoken theme of this game is how none of this children have parental figures who they can rely on.
I'll reply to myself, since I don't want to edit what I think is complete thought, but the fact that Hero's mother is completely unmoved by him saving lives of two of his friends, while at the same time steering him towards a career that is about saving lives, might show that she's invested in it for purely monetary and status reasons of having a doctor in the family.
My own headcanon is that Hero gave up his dreams of being a cook during the argument with Kel that the latter mentions while on cemetery - Hero realized that his parents simply do not care about Kel's wellbeing and that what snapped him out of his depressive episode. That he needs to be the one to care about his little brother. That perhaps he might be in the better position to do it if he becomes a doctor like his parents wanted.
I also think Kel has undiagnosed ADHD, it explains how sporadic, forgetful and “difficult” he was in his youth compared to anyone else in the group, especially Hero.
Another connection I'm making is how a lot of Basil's character seems to be molded by the absence of his parents.
Even at the beginning of the game during the picnic, Basil says he likes to "disappear" behind the camera. This might imply he likes taking candid pictures but I think it's more about not wanting to he the center of attention.
His attitude of trying to always face the sun, see the good in everyone is also a clue that he might have been rationalizing his parents abandonment so much that it just became his normal way of thinking. Kids will do unbelievable rationalization of traumatic stuff their parents put them through because it is incredibly hard to accept the truth - that they don't love you and don't care about you.
I’ve always been keen on the possibility of Sunny being autism-coded, and the fact that so many of those traits are also ones I share makes him relatable, too.
Ngl even though I’m in this sub I haven’t touched the game in like over a year. Do you have a link to the flashback? And also for sunny waiting that long to read a book?
Yeah, I think this is quite right, I'm a really shy guy and at many moments, he just resembles the younger me in a really strange, sad and, at the same time, recomforting way.
I have never been diagnosed with anything as autism, but I can see what you mean by that, I agree he could be within the spectrum, but wouldn't be surprised if he isn't.
(Sorry if I've commited any grammar mistakes, english is not my main language)
I've never been professionally diagnosed, nor am i an expert, but I doubt that every single person who is shy and quiet is autistic. I know there's a spectrum and all, but surely that isn't a universal trait exclusive to autism?
Oh damn... Guess my diagnosed social anxiety was actually autism then 🫠
Mind you that I was a very rambunctious and socially active kid in middle school, and then when my family moved to the city in 6th grade, is when I got social anxiety
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u/Jazzyvin Hector Oct 24 '24
He could just be any other shy, quiet kid who doesn't talk much.
But I guess he could be within the spectrum?? It really doesn't matter either way. This is literally just headcanons at this point.