#Wally is autistic

[trash-rat-art]

Welcome Home

Listen I don't like Wally Darling cause he's cute, I like him cause he is relatable and canonically autistic we are not the same 👀✨

[ask-my-wally-darling-au]

Hey Wally! Did you hear a new neighbours comin’ round town? Apparently his name is Milo! (Milo is one of my oc’s)

Yay new friends!

[basic-addition]

'you are autism?'

[barrygeuse]

"wally is up to something" "wally is stunned by the vast knowledge that he is part of a staged universe" wally is autistic

[hyperrealisticblood]

big fan of how the two biggest theories about wally right now are "wally is some kind of evil manipulative mastermind cognitohazard" and "wally isnt evil hes just autistic. hes just like that"

[krasytoonz]

Happy (late) Autistic Pride Day!

[eddies-spaghetti]

cute lil welcome home headcanon post bc everything is totally fine in the world of welcome home and eddie is fine :))

frank : gay (canon), arospec, nonbinary (canon), and autigender.. fibro, eds, autism, chronic fatigue.

barnaby: oriented aroace, gay, and adhd.

eddie: gay (canon), aroacespec, trans.. dyspraxia, fibro, autism, fnd, and dyslexia.

wally: aroace and pangender.. autism (canon), npd, adhd, narcolepsy.

poppy: lesbian (canon) and trans (canon).. autistic, adhd, and dyspraxia.

howdy: aro and bi.. adhd.

julie: bi (canon), aceflux, genderfluid (clown).. stpd, autism, adhd, dyspraxia, selective mutism.

sally: bi, ace, trans fem, nonbinary.. autism, adhd, npd, hpd, pots, chronic migraines, eds, mcas, and arthritis.

[ID: pictures of the welcome home characters with the flags described above off to the sides of the images. the picture in the middle is the welcome home logo. All pictures have been edited with a pink hue and given a vintage look. End ID]

[pajarraco-is-silly]

Peak comedy

Also WHAT HAPPENED TO THE QUALITY

[cartooncreature]

If I start saying “that’s the most” or just calling things “the most” because of Wally Darling I will combust.

[dearybuneary]

ೀ Autistic Age Regressor Wally Darling icons (please reblog if you save)! ೀ

(Art Credit)

[punkeropercyjackson]

"So you think no Batfam fan should EVER reblog posts that say they're about all the Robins or all the Batkids but don't have Duke and both him and Cass if they don't want to be racist?"Well,yes lol!Reblogging posts isn't free speech or a human right😭I think they'll live if they don't support creators who are intentionally exclusive of a biracial girl who debuted five years before a biracial boy who's origin story hinges on racialized misogyny towards his mom and a black boy that has a small amount of content compared to his siblings so he's the easiest one to get into-especially because they have no problem including non-Batman characters for ship reasons and the ships in question are always the ones that actually aren't canon unlike them being a 6 sibling unit.'Fanon is better than canon' in the context of DC is a dogwhistle at this point

[gatorbites-imagines]

Could you do a 'Wally West x Male Autistic reader?'

Like the reader, tends to not speak much, but loves to listen to Wally talking about his day.

The reader has a couple of habits, such has scratching at their forearm when anxious, has a couple of vocal stims too.

Wally West x autistic male reader

Headcanons

I am very much putting my own habits on the reader in this.

Wally himself isn’t autistic but being connected to the speedforce always makes the speedsters seem antsy or twitchy, since everything moves so much faster than them at all times, so he could understand a couple of the things you go through.

He can end up speaking so fast that you can’t keep up at all, especially if you struggle with auditory processing, but listening to Wally talk extremely fast works pretty well as some kind of white noise. And since its him talking it always help you calm down.

He wouldn’t mind that you don’t speak a lot, since that’s just who you are, and he gets good at reading you, your vibe and your body language, if you struggle with facial expressions.

Wally keeps stimming toys on him at all times, both for himself and for you, since they’re good for when he himself cant sit still during the day.

I could also imagine him always having headphones on his person, the noise cancelling ones since he likes listening to his music and being in the zone, but they’re also very useful if you are feeling overstimulated.

When you start scratching your arms when you’re anxious, Wally does his best to help get you out of the situation that made you uncomfortable in the first place. Or he will hold your hand so you can’t scratch but since its him holding your hand, you won’t feel trapped.

Lets you mess with his hands, his hair, his shirt sleeves, anything really, if you need it to ground yourself or just need to do something with your hands.

He gets you some of those lava rocks with the latex you can pick out of if it’s the picking part that brings you comfort, or gets you other stimming toys or items to help you find other outlets than scratching yourself.

In the beginning Wally might feel embarrassed about talking so much since he’s scared, he’s talking over you, but when you express that you just like listening to him talk it helps him feel less ashamed or flustered about it.

It ends up becoming a habit, that when you are feeling very overstimulated and just need something to ground you, he sits beside you, holding your hand, and talking using the speedforce. It’s so fast you can’t understand a single word, but its good to block out other noise and giving you something to hold onto.

Wally quite likes your vocal stims since its something so you, since they’re probably something special to you like something from a show or game you like, or animal noises, or something else along those lines.

He might end up picking up the habit of repeating the same stims as you even though he isn’t autistic, it just becomes something he does from spending so much time around you.

Wally never minds your different stimming, even if it is making loud sudden noises or mumbling a lot, he’s used too it and just likes that you are comfortable around him enough that you don’t feel the need to mask.

I could imagine you somehow picking up a verbal stim that’s copying the zipping sound he makes running around, since it’s a comforting noise knowing its Wally, but also since it’s a pleasing noise to hear and make.

Wally is a great partner to have for any person, since he wont judge you for who you are and help you get out of your shell. If you masked a lot before getting together, expect to feel a lot less ashamed or wary after being with Wally for a while since he’s so accepting and helpful.

[sleepingdeath-light]

neighbour in need ; wally darling

requested by ; an ao3 user

word count ; 1074

content ; sensory overload, casual comfort, echolalia/vocal stims

fandom ; welcome home

pairing ; wally darling x gender neutral autistic reader

note ; struggled a lot with writing this one, particularly with portraying the issues with sensory overload as, whilst i do experience overstimulation myself, it’s not something i’ve ever written for until now. so that aspect might be a tad shaky — apologies if that’s the case.

warning(s) ; brief (italicised and crossed out) references to the horror-based origins of the canon — watching/being watched at all times and having an audience the characters can’t see

read also on ; ao3

You shouldn't have come here, you should have listened to your gut and stayed home where it was quiet and calm and safe. Where you didn't have to be subjected to music so loud it drowned out your thoughts and food so crackly and obscene that it made your hair stand on end as it was eaten by the other guests. Where the chairs were just soft enough and not scratchy to the point that you felt like tearing your skin off and where you could easily flee and hide in the comfort of your own room without the fear of judgement. Where you could control what was going on rather than just being a bystander.

Of course you weren't upset at Julie for including you, she was a dear friend after all and it was hardly her fault that things got a bit out of hand, but you wished that for once the neighbourhood gatherings could be held in a quieter manner. One without raucous laughter and booming records and squeaky recliners and conversations that had to turn into shouting matches in order for anybody to be heard over all of the other noise. It was a cacophony: painful, overwhelming, overstimulating and out of tune. Even the music on the vinyl kept skipping and scratching for all of the damage the track had sustained over the many years of use.

It was all just... too much.

Before long it had overwhelmed you so deeply that you couldn't even will yourself to move — you could barely think, even. Mind fogged and staticky and filled with noise, noise, noise so loud that your thoughts morphed from words to whispers to nothing in your own head. Too blank to think of any proper solution as you defaulted to curling in on yourself: clamping your hands over your ears so tightly that your wrists were starting to tremble, ducking your head between your knees and almost melting into Julie's hot pink loveseat — the other guests far too caught up in their games and conversations and arguments to even realise what was happening.

All except one.

————

Wally Darling had been keeping an eye on you since you stepped through Julie’s front door — meaning to compliment you on your funky new outfit before Barnaby dragged him into a discussion about apples and oranges that he just had to participate in. So the moment you started curling up like a disco-themed pillbug, he began to politely excuse himself from the argument with the excuse of needing to get some air.

Now, of course, that was a bit of a white lie (one which he didn’t feel good about using), but he let himself off about it as he made quick work of sneaking through the crowd and approaching your little corner of the party.

‘Hey neighbour, is everything okay?’ He asked, squatting down slightly so that he could get a look at your face through the small gap between your legs. When he didn’t get a response after just shy of a minute, Wally continued. ‘I was just about to go on a short walk outside where it’s nice and cold and quiet, do you want to join me?’

And then you gave him a nod — small and brief and barely noticeable, but that was all the encouragement he needed to gently grasp your hand and lead you outside. Well, lead you outside after giving you a couple of moments to get out of your awkward sitting position.

But a success is a success no matter how much time it takes to get there, Wally reasoned to himself, so he didn’t much mind the extra wait (and, by a wonderful happenstance, it took you to the end of his favourite ABBA song which he was quite appreciative of).

————

Every step you took away from Julie's home lessened the tension in your body more and more — muscles relaxing and breathing getting easier as you traversed the winding gravel pathway into the centre of your neighbourhood. Static flowed out of your mind like syrup from a tap (gradually but without issue) at the same time that that ungodly ringing left your aching ears. It was relieving, freeing even, and you could feel yourself starting to feel present and grounded again for the first time in hours.

It was just so peaceful, so far removed from where you were before, that you couldn't help but relax. Hell, between the rustling of leaves and the chirping of local birds you were able to find your voice again — repeating the calls of loons and sandpipers beneath your breath and humming in the back of your throat as you half-listened to what your short neighbour was saying (you thought you heard him talking about apples or something like that but you couldn't really be certain).

Though, thankfully, Wally seemed to understand that you weren't in much of a mood for talking — he always seemed to know these things somehow — and continued to just absentmindedly fill you in on his day whilst he walked with you, hand-in-hand, back to your home.

'... and then, neighbour, you won't believe what he said. He said that apples don't even taste that good — can you believe it?' you hummed and he nodded in an almost solemn way, blue hair bouncing dramatically up and down in the corner of your eye as he moved, before he continued. 'I couldn't either. Honestly I was at a loss for words, I guess that some people just can't appreciate good food...'

And he trailed off once again, going on a tangent about Barnaby and Howdy and the various food related shenanigans he'd involved himself in earlier that week which was, naturally, equal parts ridiculous and amusing as he recalled each incident to you. Some particularly vivid images even coaxing some brief bouts of laughter from you as you stumbled and skipped and walked further down that winding path home — one image of note including an upside down Wally, two armfuls' worth of apples, and a very unhappy Howdy who had caught him in the middle of this particular act of theft.

So you laughed and he chuckled (and you could have sworn you heard raucous, child-like shrieks of joy emanating from beyond the forest line) and you walked all the way back home — thankful, as always, that your dear neighbour was (always watching) always there to lend a hand.

He really was the absolute most!

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

excuse me i need to Muse on something for a moment

so in Wally's secret 'vinyl' audios, specifically the last few (if we're listening to em in chronological order), obviously he starts to sound more strained/distressed. his breathing is more labored, like it's taking all of his energy to make contact.

but the audio that really caught my attention was the "But i still can't see" one. cause he just said he has more eyes than he did before. he knows We draw them a lot, and it's thanks to that that he can see. but he still can't see?

so my question is: where is Wally physically? cause although he can (assumedly) see the WHRP goings on, he can see through the eyes We draw, that could all be on a, uh... more Intangible level of sight. like the spiral pit is forming an eye, and then there's the eye on the ceiling in the secret Staff Only section - could Wally be in the pit, that space between his reality and Ours, "watching" through the eyes? but unable to actually see with due to the pit being pitch black nothingness? is he somewhere else? is he stuck? he can see, but he can't... see.

(or is he trying to explain an abstract concept - he's not actually viewing anything, but he can sense it. like how he knows We're there, even if he can't see or hear Us. but he just doesn't have the words to describe it other than using physical senses - see, hear, look.)

and him saying "...that I can see. But it is still... I can't..." but it's still what, Wally? dark? something else that he doesn't have the words to describe, so he just says that he can't see?

i know that in the Livestream Trivia Document (compiled by @/the neighborhoodwatch) there was something said about Wally being in a box. my first thought reading that was "oh, so he's in storage? the physical puppet, i mean?" which would make sense - show's over, there's no more use for him. pack 'em up and put him away. but that paired with the "can't see" audio makes both seem a lil... connected.

Wally can't see > he's likely somewhere dark > the inside of closed boxes are dark > Wally's in a box. (or maybe the Neighborhood is the box? it's a stretch, i know, but the map is a box. television sets are often set up in "boxes". maybe it's less of a physical storage box and more of a 'boxed in' sort of thing...)

one question i've had since the Start of my interest in this incredible project is: how is Wally communicating? how has he connected to the site? how does he connect to our reality? the pit almost definitely has something to do with it - most likely acting as a bridge, or the deteriorating of the barrier between our two 'worlds' - but if Wally is in a box and Not the pit or even just in the puppet's reality... how is he reaching us beyond just seeing through the eyes he's given?

or is he in their reality, and he can contact through the pit or something, but he can't actually see the other side? Our side? he knows it's there - that We're there - but none of it is visible to him. maybe his apparent disassociation in the 14 bug audios is a demonstration of him contacting Us. we can see through him, but it's a one way street.

and speaking of the pit - i just had a thought. his whole thing with Us letting him in, opening... the pit on the neighborhood map is getting bigger and clearer. but the presumed Other Side, the one on the Staff Only ceiling, is small. it's the size of a ceiling panel. it seems to me that Wally is chipping away at his side of the pit or 'portal', trying to reach Our reality, but he needs Us to do the same thing on the other side. the QA can hear him calling, but there's no phone on their (Our) side of the pit. how do We call back???

there's a fundamental barrier & lack of understanding between Wally and the QA/Us. he's trying. he wants to be let in, but what does that mean, really? let him in where? open what? he's desperate. he wants us to understand. he's trying so so hard Without the right tools to clearly communicate what he wants. he can't see Us, We can see him, both know the other is there, but there's no way to connect. and the attempts are hurting all parties involved, however unintentionally

[autistic-zukoao3]

Wally: I got an A on my test.

Barnaby: Good job, little guy!

Wally proudly holds up a paper, reading "AUTISM TEST: Wally tests very high on The Test. He is without a doubt autistic."

Barnaby: You got an A for Autism, huh?

Wally: Yes. Ha. Ha. Ha.

[hyperrealisticblood]

i love that wally darling is an autistic character written by an autistic person. he starts turning into an eldritch creature whenever hes about to have a meltdown. not many neurotypical people know about that