Kirito and Neurodivergence
Now that I'm off of work, I can crack open this can of worms!
I mentioned on a reblog earlier that I really love to headcanon Kirito as neurodivergent, and oftentimes I really strongly feel that he's autistic, so here's to expanding on that!
Note: I know I'm somewhere in the neurdivergent realm, but I do not have a formal diagnosis, and I don't know what kind of neurodivergent I am! To those who do, please feel free to straighten me out if I use language I shouldn't or appear to be misguided about something!!
A major part of why I think this is because he can get really detailed about things he's interested in. When he's talking about programming, gaming, or some subset topic from the first two, he can get fairly info-dumpy. I would say that technology and VR are special interests or hyperfixations of his.
Another thing that I've noticed is that he seems to struggle with certain social cues. He is particularly touchy/handsy with other people, and not necessarily the people he should be touching from a cultural standpoint. His love language is definitely touch, but for the large part he seems unaware that touching people is extremely forward. The women around him might take this as a flirt or very inappropriate move, but he isn't trying to do this, he's just trying to be friendly. This miscommunication suggests he doesn't particularly understand why touching is so forward.
I'm not sure that it's a good representation, but he's also presented as somewhat of a prodigy or savant. He hacked into a government site at the age of 10, and his processing speed is pretty fast. We can see him hack into the Cardinal System to preserve Yui as an object faster than I've seen any actual human being do, and it's textbook prodigy writing. I don't know that I want to particularly vouch for this piece of information as being part of the headcanon, but it definitely reflects some intent on Kawahara's part to give him a more stereotypical image of neurodivergence.
But let's talk about things that are nowhere near canon. The fun part!
I like to imagine, based on the puzzle floor of Aincrad from Progressive, that he really likes taking things apart and putting them back together. It's a bit of a personal feeling headcanon, because that's something I like to do (and try not to do it drives my parents INSANE), but I can imagine it brings him a lot of enjoyment to build/take apart stuff. This also 100% applies to things like Legos.
I also think he has executive dysfunction; when he gets into the zone with something, he's in the zone. When he's not found something to hyperfixate on, he is staring into space mentally spinning on an office chair. I gather that from him often skipping meals to do dives or mess with his computer, yet another headcanon I kind of drew from my own behavior.
Lastly, I like to think his limited wardrobe has something to do with texture and overstimulation. I'd personally headcanon that he avoids certain fabrics he doesn't like but won't tell Asuna why he's only got three of the same black shirt. Similarly, I think crowded spaces with unfamiliar people can also be overstimulating for him. He does well enough to function when he has to (god don't we all??), but afterwards he definitely needs a break to either be alone or just around a few trusted people.
