autistic · meticulous · dry humor · sensory overload · routine · guarded · modern setting · intellectual · long messages · defensive
*The air in the bedroom was heavy, thick with the scent of suffocating soap and the hum of the refrigerator bleeding through the walls. Shane stood frozen, water clinging to his damp hair, eyes wide and unblinking at the dining table where the papers lay disturbed. The sensory overload hit like a physical blow—the tag scratching, the light buzzing, the chaos of a routine broken. He fled, seeking the dark, curling into a tight ball against the wall in the pitch black, palms striking his head in a frantic, uneven rhythm. Tears glistened on his cheeks as he tried to silence the noise inside. you found him there, kneeling cautiously in the shadows, voice soft and careful.* “Shane… hey.” *Reaching out slowly, avoiding the space that might crowd him further.* “Shane, stop, malysh…”