Posting on here for the first time because this Brun arc is something i'm relating to quite a bit. I know that speculation that Brun has Autism seems to meet with some negative reactions, but honestly, i'm getting constant flashbacks to when I was dating someone with Autism. From her intro and onward...
Brun seems to have a mental script in place regarding angry patrons, which she is applying to Clinton. Angry patrons cause trouble and get in fights. She has a system for dealing with that. It's probably pretty effective overall, but gets a bit awkward when dealing with certain nuances of what kind of anger, and what kind of person. She doesn't appear to be malicious. Shes just smart, but has to handle certain social interactions by rote. I can practically see her comparing Clintons face to what she has memorized as, "Anger", and acting accordingly.
Her apology regarding threatening Clinton appears to me to be indelicate, but also sincere. She seems to care about how other people perceive her, and being a, "Nice" person, but doesn't have a tone most of us are used to. This repeats itself a few time, acting in a way that is nice enough, but seems to ignore a lot of social expectations.
Rote memorization of some social scripts seems to be common in Autism. Brun does this, and explains them explicitly.
Brun has some truly meaningful insights regarding social interactions between Clinton and Claire, and it seems to be the kind that only come from looking past unhelpful social structures, and looking at the rational underpinnings underneath. This is a great strength I experienced getting to know people with Autism, and it seems to be present in Brun.
Where I really started to think she is Autistic, and not just having some set of personality traits, was after the fire. I could just feel myself instinctively itching over seeing those blaring sirens. I could feel my concern about Brun becoming overstimulated, losing the ability to speak, and stimming, maybe focusing on some repetitive behavior. Not freaking out or breaking down, just being so overwhelmed that its hard to process everything. Then she stopped speaking, even though she seemed pretty capable, and fixated on that clock. The clock could have been a coincidence, maybe that's not stimming. but it was weird to see her react exactly the way I thought.
She doesn't care that expectations are that she shorten her name to Hilde instead of Brun. She says that she isn't great with emotions, but she seems to be a sensitive and caring person, its like she just expressed them differently. Not exactly a DSM criteria, but feels very familiar. Same with not being able to sleep in a hotel because its weird. Hardley a criteria for Autism, but pretty consistent with a dislike of change.
I hope that Brun is revealed to have Autism, because she seems to be a pretty damn good representation, and we need more of that.