neurodivergent-tech-week

[neurodivergent-tech-week]

Hey thanks for hosting the event this week! I’ve never participated in an event like this before so it was really cool to have a part in it ☺️✨

I’m so glad that you’ve enjoyed this event! That’s what it’s here for. :)

[neurodivergent-tech-week]

Yes, Late Submissions are Allowed!

If you didn’t finish your prompt fills, fear not! You can still post your work to the tag #ndtech2025 and I will reblog it.

[neurodivergent-tech-week]

NDTechWeek2025

Prompt:

Hyperverbal/Non-Verbal

[neurodivergent-tech-week]

ND-Tech week day:6 prompt:social battery drain. Short and sweet. I had a medical thing today and only had enough time for this. Please enjoy! :)

Once back from yet another mission -one that involved talking with people pretty much nonstop- Cid decided that now would be the perfect time to show off her errand boys to potential clients.

The noises of the parlor faded into the background as Tech watched the bubbles of his drink rise and burst with an almost inaudible pop. “Goggles! Goggles, are you listening?” Cid was snapping her fingers in his face.

His gaze was blank as he set the drink aside and walked off.

“What’s his deal?” Cid scoffs. Hunter glares at her. “It’s been a long week. We’re all tired.” He replies, leaving to follow his brother.

Tech lay face down, his goggles on their hook above his bed and his ear buds in playing soft music.

“I’m alright, Hunter.” He states upon hearing Hunter’s heavy boots on the floor. “There are simply too many people for my liking right now. Please send Cid my apologies.”

Hunter nods in understanding and turns to leave, leaving Tech to recharge his social battery.

[neurodivergent-tech-week]

Final day of ND-Tech week! Day:7 prompt: self-destructive meltdown. My apologies that this one might be a bit lacking. Based off of my own experiences, this one was a bit difficult for me to write.

This one will require tags: meltdown, dermotillomania, small amounts of blood, unintentional SH

Tech started off fine. He felt fine. At least that’s what he told himself. It was fine that Wrecker messed up his tool organization system again. It was fine that Crosshair and Hunter were in another screaming match. It was fine that Echo cut him off mid sentence. It was fine. He was fine.

Except he wasn’t.

He picked at the skin around his nails while his head swam. He wished it didn’t bother him so much. His fingers started to bleed the more he picked. His legs bounced uncontrollably the more he sat with his thoughts. Why did it bother him so much when he knew it shouldn’t? Why couldn’t he just be normal.

That word. Normal. It was like something flipped in his mind. All those times that the regs had called him a freak. Every time they did something to purposefully set him off.

All his life people called him “unique” but that was just code for weird. He felt like a failed personality experiment. And in his mind, he was.

As his thoughts spiraled, so did his picking. Only now it wasn’t picking, now his nails dug into his arms hard, nearly breaking the skin. And oh force did it hurt. Not his nails in his skin, but the weight on him. The weight that this was who he was. That he will never be normal.

He was angry. Angry that he could never look people in the eyes, angry that he was ‘too direct’, angry that no matter what he did, he couldn’t seem to fit in. Tech wanted to break something. To scream. To release all that pent up frustration. Tech didn’t even notice he was crying, or that he suddenly couldn’t breathe anymore.

Tech’s chest felt tight, as if someone was squeezing his lungs. He released his iron grip on his arms, his thumbs rubbing over the red crescents left there before moving to pull at his hair. “It’s okay.” He repeated in a futile attempt to slow his breathing and calm down.

The thoughts were loud and overwhelming, the sobs worsted to the point of exhaustion. He shook violently as his cries wracked his body. After several minutes of this, the tears finally subsided. Tech’s exhaustion got the better of him, the intensity of it all knocking him out for the night.

[neurodivergent-tech-week]

Day 6: Hyper-verbal/Non-Verbal

‘Do you need to talk?’

Tech shook his head, pulling out his own pad.

‘I need the opposite. I have never needed the opposite more.’

[neurodivergent-tech-week]

Day 7: Self-Destructive Meltdown

He couldn't let their sister see him like this.

He tried to collect his thoughts, before turning to the wall of the cockpit and hitting it as hard as he could, feeling just a slight moment of relief under the pain.

It hurt like hell.

He did it again and again and again.

[neurodivergent-tech-week]

NDTechWeek2025

Prompts:

Lost in his own head/thoughts

“You’re better than you think you are”

[neurodivergent-tech-week]

Day 4: Poor Interospection

“Your body knows it’s hurting.” She gently tapped his shoulders, “Even when you don’t.”

Tech didn’t look overly surprised by these words, looking away and shrugging. “I…struggle with interoception.” He stated, Phee taking the seat next to him, “It is like there is a disconnect between my brain and my body, and I am not always aware of what I’m feeling. Such as hunger or tiredness…or pain fom holding myself in a certain position for too long.”

[neurodivergent-tech-week]

I didn’t have any energy to draw today, so I wrote a short story instead!

ND-Tech week day:5 Prompt: Hyper-verbal/special interest ramble

After nearly two months of back to back grueling missions and errands, the bad batch were finally able to catch a break. Granted it was only a few days on some outer rim planet, but a break was a break regardless.

Tech sat in the co-pilot seat messing around on his data pad- tinkering with it so it would have a stronger signal.

The sound of Hunter’s voice broke his concentration. “Hey Tech!” Tech reluctantly tears his eyes away from his datapad. “We’re heading to town, wanna join?” Hunter offers, gesturing to the rest of the brothers.

Tech turns back to his project, waving his brothers off dismissively. “No.” He replies in his usual deadpan tone.

Wrecker groans loudly. “Oh come on Tech! You never wanna go with us!” Tech’s brows furrow at Wrecker’s comment, his gaze still fixed on the open panel of wires on front of him.

“We found a parts shop that you might like.” Echo chimes in. Tech pauses his movements, seemingly considering their offer. After a moment, he sets down his tools, neatly arranging them where they belong and turns to join them. “Fine. I will accompany you.” He relents. “I suppose a brief excursion could be beneficial for morale.” The rest of the brothers exchange looks, a silent celebration that they managed to get Tech out.

As they walk through the bustling streets, Tech’s gaze is fixed on the ground as subconsciously toys with the snap on one of his thigh bags, the clicking sensation helping to ground him through the overstimulation of the market. Crosshair- used to how his brother works- taps him on the shoulder, a silent indication that they’ve arrived.

Tech looks up, following his brothers into the shop. Wrecker looks around, completely lost. To him, everything looks like junk, but to Tech? Pure heaven.

His eyes instantly light up, rushing over to a shelf. His eyes roam over the parts, analyzing everything. He feels Hunter’s hand on his shoulder. "Ah, Hunter. Yes, l've discovered several items of considerable interest," he reports, gesturing to the assortment of components spread out before him on a workbench.

"These microchips appear to be at least two generations ahead of what we currently use. And these servos..." He picks up a mat silver component, turning it over in his hands admiringly. "...the precision engineering is exquisite! They could significantly enhance the quality of our gear." Tech's eyes shine with barely contained excitement as he continues, with renewed focus, he begins pointing out various items and explaining their potential applications in meticulous detail.

"Now, these high-density power cells here could potentially double the effective battery life of our weapons and shield systems," he explains, holding up a shiny silver box. "And if we could integrate them with a more efficient heat sink configuration, we might even see improved performance under heavy fire..."

As he launches into an in-depth analysis of energy transfer rates and thermal management strategies, completely lost in the excitement of it all.

Tech continues to enthusiastically analyze the technical merits of various components, seemingly oblivious to the fact that his monologue has devolved into near-nonsense to those around him.

His words tumble out in a rapid-fire stream, punctuated by enthusiastic gestures and the occasional excited mutter.

“...and if we were to implement a dynamic resonance compensation matrix, we could potentially achieve a 37% increase in overall system stability! Not to mention the added benefit of—"

Suddenly, Tech's train of thought derails as he notices Hunter and Echo’s broad, amused grins. His brow furrows in confusion, realizing he's been speaking in circles for several minutes. He trails off, blinking slowly as he processes the scene before him.

"Uh... sorry about that," he mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Guess I got a bit carried away.” He uttered under his breath.

Wrecker’s large hand claps him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry *Vod! It’s one of the things we love about ya!” He reassured him. Tech blushes, adjusting his goggles awkwardly. “Thanks,” he murmurs, smiling slightly.

Even Crosshair is amused by Tech’s rambles. “Glad we dragged you along?”

Tech nods, a wave of genuine happiness and comfort washing over him.

*Vod- Brother/sibling

[neurodivergent-tech-week]

Neurodivergent Tech Week Prompts: 6 in 1!

Tech nodded, and took another drink, as did Naomi. 

“It is normal and fine, and perfectly expected, to make mistakes, Teki.”

“For others, perhaps,” said Tech, looking at his drink, “I do not make mistakes–how can anyone trust me if I keep making them? Besides, when I do things wrong, I hurt people, especially those I care about.”

“In what way, are people hurt by your decisions?” asked Naomi kindly. Tech sighed, not meeting the commanding officer’s eyes. 

Duty, Honor, Family - Part 5, Far Past the Ring

------------------------------

In one chapter here, we got Tech and:

Self-destructive meltdown? Check

Lost inside his own head/ thoughts? Check

Tinkering/mechanics/building? Check

Out of armor? Check

“You're better than you think you are.”? Check

Anxiety/panic attacks and coping methods ? Check

Frigging loved writing this. Gonna redraw it soon.

Tech from The Bad Batch and Naomia Nagata from The Expanse in my crossover longfic.

They're my beef bulgogi and tortillas, my curry and wurst, my Sabaton and Baby Metal. From two completely different places, but they're beautiful when they're together.

Shipped? Nope. But as guides and protectors of each other? Absolutely.

Naomi's been the guiding light for other folks who have communication and social issues (cough cough Amos), and Tech is the one person who can keep up with her intellectually.

@neurodivergent-tech-week

[neurodivergent-tech-week]

So I'm cheating slightly for ND Tech Week, lacking a lot of time to do much, but these worked well for the Out of Armor prompt, I thought.

Left is a fully custom torso, right is a Lego torso I added some decals to (hence the awkward text placement). Yes, the Aurebesh reads 'AUTISM'. \o/

[neurodivergent-tech-week]

Day 5: Panic Attacks

“You need to breathe properly Tech.” He tried to keep his voice low, knowing that his usual volume wouldn’t help, “Do you want to follow my breathing?” He took several exaggerated breaths, waiting for Tech to follow along.

He could see that there were some tears breaking free from Tech’s goggle now, prompting him to try and wipe them away. When Tech flinched, breathing picking up again, he tried rubbing at Tech’s knuckles.

[neurodivergent-tech-week]

NDTechWeek2025

Prompt:

Hyperverbal/Non-Verbal

[neurodivergent-tech-week]

ND-Tech week day:6 prompt:social battery drain. Short and sweet. I had a medical thing today and only had enough time for this. Please enjoy! :)

Once back from yet another mission -one that involved talking with people pretty much nonstop- Cid decided that now would be the perfect time to show off her errand boys to potential clients.

The noises of the parlor faded into the background as Tech watched the bubbles of his drink rise and burst with an almost inaudible pop. “Goggles! Goggles, are you listening?” Cid was snapping her fingers in his face.

His gaze was blank as he set the drink aside and walked off.

“What’s his deal?” Cid scoffs. Hunter glares at her. “It’s been a long week. We’re all tired.” He replies, leaving to follow his brother.

Tech lay face down, his goggles on their hook above his bed and his ear buds in playing soft music.

“I’m alright, Hunter.” He states upon hearing Hunter’s heavy boots on the floor. “There are simply too many people for my liking right now. Please send Cid my apologies.”

Hunter nods in understanding and turns to leave, leaving Tech to recharge his social battery.

[neurodivergent-tech-week]

NDTechWeek2025

Prompt:

Stimming With a Friend

Who would I be if I didn’t draw something for this week.

I saw somewhere about Tech listening to his animal recordings as an auditory stim and thought, Omega would absolutely join in.

Maybe I’m projecting but I think he would enjoy stims like swaying or rocking. But also clicky stims. Like, every time he uses or even passes a ratchet he’d turn it to listen to the clicking. I know I do, it gives me the warm and fuzzies.

I also brush my knuckles back and forth across each other which is a nice clicky sensation. Highly recommend.

What stims do you enjoy?

[neurodivergent-tech-week]

ND-Tech Week Day:4! Prompt: Anxiety/panic attacks and coping methods! I HC that when he’s having an attack, he takes off his goggles (so they don’t fog up) and uses grounding touch to help calm himself down. (So far, I’ve based all of these prompts off of myself and how I handle these situations as someone who is ND)