Arm scratching for me is something I do when my anxiety gets reallllllly bad – not that it rules out that Sulla or Al are autistic! Just can be a sign of anxiety as well.

That’s just my interpretation of it. Could also be, as said below in other comments, just a very extreme nervous reacion or tic. Heck, I pick at ans chew my fingernails with a similar almost destructive intensity sometimes too.
I just think it’s also evocative of dysphoric feelings, in a loose subconcious way.

I agree. And it’s not only the times, Al had a shitty family while Sulla has a really supportive one. I think that makes a big difference

Of course autism isn’t offensive, but projecting an entire condition (or label) onto a person or character, because they share a couple traits with that condition is uncool. I have seen a number of people doing this with Sulla when it comes to autism. As a person who grew up with severe trauma and had conditions (like autism) falsely/inaccurately projected upon me (often by my abusers) I find it offensive, but it is also inaccurate and potentially a harmful thing to do.

@SI: Sorry, honest question: has it been confirmed (either in the comic or through Word of God) that Al is trans, or is it still speculation at this point? It’s been a while since I’ve read through the earlier chapters of this comic, but I seem to remember him vehemently rejecting Brendan’s insinuation that Sulla being trans was because of him. I know that he denied that he was gay, too, but he didn’t really deny it with the same strength? I might have mis-scanned that scene, though. Might be time for an archive binge again, heh.

Is _that_ what it means? Is that what would have caused Al’s scars?

Ya, I definitely got a faint vibe of trans-ish-ness from Al in some parts of the early chapters. It’s honestly a little surprising to me that some other readers didn’t catch that when we met Sulla (I kinda always assumed they were both trans and just different people w/ the same basic personality). Not that I think anyone is dumb or not paying attention, it just seemed so obvious to me by this point.

It does, however, make sense that Brendan didn’t notice that. He didn’t have our advantage of getting to peak in on Al’s dreams and thoughts, also he probably just wasn’t aware of/looking for it.