animalia

Something I’d like to add to the post, it’s quite possible that Jasnah, like Renarin, is on the autistic spectrum. I am going to go ahead and copy and paste a Tumblr post on the subject and see if it affects anyone’s opinion on the subject speaking of I will also lead with a link to the TVTropes page on Asperger’s (Now gruoped into the Autism spectrum) for a reference that might be helpful ESPECIALLY as it clarifies the difference BETWEEN Lacking cognative empathy, the ability to instinctively UNDERSTAND what emotion another person is feeling which is common to autistics, and lacking apathive empathy, the ability to CARE about what other people think or feel which is more along the line of sociopaths. The irony is that the former is often mistaken for the latter. This is DESPITE the fact that while they may not OFTEN notice when a person is in pain, when they DO NOTICE, someone on the autistic spectrum tends to be MORE EMPATHIC AND CARING then a regular person. I hope the link will explain things better, it’s just if the speculation is right Brandon has set us up for one hell of a twist. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/AspergerSyndrome EDIT: I am not saying that Jasnah is neesecarily on the same spot as Asperger’s. But as someone diagnosed (by a doctor) I can vouch for the accuracy of said page. And there’s enough potential crossover to make it useful. Autistic!Jasnah: Masterpost Okaaay, so, as you might have guessed from the title, this post is a long list of reasons Jasnah Kholin is autistic af. The short version: Jasnah is autistic because I, a Known Autism, say so. Have a nice day. The long version (format): A long series of chronological quotes that all follow this pattern: Quote. *Insert ramble about why this is an Autistic Thing* *Possible and probable further ramble about why I’m emotional about that. That’s literally it, people. Buckle up, I’ve picked through all three books (yes all three) to compose this post for y’all. It’s not going to be short. To business: The Way of Kings: Introducing Jasnah ‘I don’t have time for social niceties I’m busy’ Kholin. From the first interaction she’s…Bad at interacting. Iconic. Jasnah is both blunt, direct, and honest in her speech as she is in her expectations from others. She doesn’t have the energy to deal with manipulation/lying/tarting up the truth to make it more socially acceptable bc she is a busy autistic lady with rust to do. (really, though, what she’s literally demanding here is the first rule of the autistic’s guide to easy conversation. Clear. Simple. To the point. To frills, no fuss.) People do what people want to do and Jasnah doesn’t waste any time pretending she cares/that it matters to her for the sake of appearances. Again, this woman has a vendetta against typical social niceties and I love it. Do I need to point out the lack of social niceties again or are y’all sensing a pattern at this point? *King lovingly embraces his darling granddaughter that Jasnah just saved and orders a feast prepared in her honour* Jasnah: ‘Thanks but no I’m too busy to socialise.’ Jasnah feelings>>>>>>logic. This is a fairly common theme, of Jasnah being ruled less by emotions/sentiment/societal pressures/expectations and much more by logic/her own reasoning. She has her own way of looking at the world, her own rules for how it works, and she won’t be swayed by anyone else’s opinions on how she should feel/behave. Jasnah not being very self-aware in how people actually perceive her is also an autistic thing. Shallan notes several times that Jasnah is actually nowhere near as harsh/stern as she’s reputed to me, and, more importantly, she’s nowhere near as harsh/stern as she perceives herself to be. She also fails to note that Shallan actually enjoys the work/the challenge. This also implies that she takes what people say about her at face value and doesn’t have the necessary social skills to refute them. Again, this is a fairly common autistic trait. We struggle to read other people’s body language, but they often struggle to read ours as well. A part of this is probably Jasnah deliberately cultivating this kind of persona, but even so, she’s too unsure of how she comes across to have completely mastered this. Oh look, it’s one of the world’s biggest Autism Stereotypes (which I’m totally guilty of too): lining all the things up neatly, and making them Orderly. Jasnah of the straightforward, blunt honesty and ‘what you see is what you get’ strikes again. And here we see the Autistic Jasnah in her natural habitat: hyperfixating on her special interest. The rest is under the cut for length! Jasnah not doing anything unless it’s done Properly and Right according to her? Also Jasnah being indifferent towards things she hasn’t put any time into perfecting (such as drawing). Again, Jasnah encouraging/reacting positively to genuine/honest emotions because she doesn’t Understand the whole guile/lying/not being honest thing because honestly what is the point? Honestly, just, this whole thing. For a start it’s a massive transgression of the Vorin social norms/expectations, especially for Jasnah as a prominent public figure as the sister to the king. For another it’s that internal rules thing again. Jasnah’s world operates according to Jasnah’s principles and Jasnah’s understanding of it, no-one else’s. *Jasnah ignores social expectations so hard she literally forgets other people exist in the world* Also, again, the hyperfixation on special interest. Jasnah has a habit of doing this, this very cold, calculated, logical and pragmatic way of seeing the world as well as morality. Shallan considers the lives taken, the emotional aspect of the moral dilemma, the horror of murder. Jasnah just sees it almost as statistics, as four lives taken to save many more. Shallan also focuses on the cold hard facts of ‘I know how many people you just killed’ while Jasnah is engaged in weighing up the probability of how many she just saved. (In theory, the thugs might never have attacked anyone again, so Jasnah might not have saved anyone by her actions, which I think is what Shallan is getting at here. But that’s just…A moot point as far as Jasnah is concerned) This is also an example of her black and white thinking. There’s more net good in what she did than there is net bad. That’s where her questioning/reasoning stops because it makes sense to her. Shallan exists in the grey area, but I don’t think Jasnah even sees it in cases like this. This is an interesting one, and something I’ll talk about more a bit later, probably, but the way Jasnah comes across vs how she actually is. I totally get why Shallan views what she did as cold and callous, and in a way I suppose it was. It was fully planned and fully intentional. But I think for her it’s this kind of…separation between logic and sentiment. I think Jasnah feels very strongly and very deeply, but she doesn’t often display that to other people, and I also think she believes there’s a time and a place for that. Also, black and white thinking again. It comes off as cold to Shallan, but for Jasnah I think it feels more like common sense. Again, black and white thinking. (I’m also surprised this moment doesn’t generate more Discourse…Or maybe it does, I’ve just avoided it, either way) This is both a case for Jasnah not being able to predict people’s responses/behaviours, and also black and white thinking/internal rules at play. As far as she’s concerned those men are criminals. She has no assurances that they won’t hurt anyone else again. They’re already criminals, and there’s no chance for redemption or leeway, here. She’s made up her mind. They’re all criminals. They’re all dangerous. They all die. A)- routines the ‘tonight’ and the familiarity of this implies it’s something that happens every night. And the ‘fifty strokes’ is either another routine related thing, or an internal rule thing. Either way. Also this is probably a stim thing, since she’s using it to relax/de-stress. Stimming. Definitely, definitely, definitely an autistic thing. Issues with people entering Your Spaces or touching Your Things is a big autistic thing. (especially because the assurances about thieving don’t change her mind) Also the emphasis on notas in ‘this is a thing one absolutely does not do unless one wishes to die’. Again, Jasnah taking what people say of her/how they say they perceive her at face value, and also lack of self-awareness in how people actuallyrespond to her. Two things here: one, I’m like, 99% certain that Jasnah, who has been camped out at the hospital all this time waiting for Shallan to wake up is feeling anything but ‘impassive’ at this moment, in which case this is an example of her body language/facial expressions not matching up properly to her actual internal feelings, which is fairly common. And two: Jasnah’s apology being taken for a rebuttal and her obvious displeasure at it coming across that way when she literally intended the opposite (been there). Also her general air of uncertainty/discomfort in this setting, which is one that’s obviously social/emotional. Also the fact that she pins her poor apology on lack of practice/familiarity with these kinds of interactions when, in theory, these kinds of things should come naturally to people. So like, lil bit of hinting/implication of scripting social things her, which I think her initial words reek of as well, as she’s said similar things before. Again, a few things here, firstly that Jasnah is othered in a way by Shallan (and this isn’t the only time this happens, either) because of her lack of emotional response/social stuff. Secondly the fact that she’s clearly uncomfortable/struggles with this kind of conversation – the hesitation, the lack of responses are very much at odds with her usual composure and the way she has an answer for literally everything. Words of Radiance: Prologue and we’ve already got Jasnah experiencing sensory issues in a crowded room with lots of perfume. What a way to kick things off. A)- Jasnah obviously not enjoying social events/parties (she literally spends all of this one…contemplating the assassination she’s plotting. Like. Mood.) B)- Gavilar’s comment is…Strangely sad, I think?? And perhaps a bit too on point. (This is very much just my reading of things but)…I don’t know. I see Jasnah trying to make a little quip/a joke here and it being misinterpreted because of her tone. And then, again, there’s that idea of othering that came up at the end of TWOK. But I think the ‘is it lonely to be so singular in your brilliance?’ I think that….A huge part of that ‘brilliance’ comes from a mixture of Jasnah’s autistic traits: her special interest/her focus in them/her dedication to pursuing them…but also that sense of being other. Of not fitting in. The rest of “us” she doesn’t belong, she doesn’t fit. And I think this idea of their ‘simple thoughts’ as opposed to Jasnah’s brilliant ones is a little like what we see with Renarin in Oathbringer, where Adolin explains that he isn’t trying to be lofty and brilliant, people sometimes just have difficulty following him. And I think this is what’s happening with Jasnah here (and in other places, she frequently talks about the difficulty she has in teaching, and how her methods are too intense and involved) And also I think that….The saddest bit about this is that I think she was….Trying to joke here? Trying to fit in with those ordinary people, ‘the rest of us’, and just making a sarcastic joke on the back of her father’s comment about most people enjoying parties and she just sort of ‘well, most people are idiots aren’t they?’ And that’s what prompts this little moment here. So even when she’s trying to fit, and trying to belong, she’s still cast as the outcast, and misunderstood, and othered and it Hurts Me. She literally topples into another world, effectively, and is just like ‘hm, I should make some notes on this and analyse them’. And. Yep. This is how she processes the world. By making sense of it, by treating everything according to Jasnah’s rules: it gets written down. It gets analysed. It gets understood. Bam. Jasnah ‘I don’t have time for social expectations’ Kholin strikes again. Jasnah also just doesn’t care how anyone perceives her, social norms and expectations can go storm themselves . Again, the othering idea, as well as visible emotion being startling, as she’s typically so withdrawn/closed off/difficult to read. Yes friend, u guessed it, this is Peak Autism. Also the specific word in it being ‘relatable’ again marks that difference between Jasnah and…Everyone else. Again she’s different, again she doesn’t quite fit. Again, Jasnah misreading things/not being able to anticipate how people are going to react to different things. Also her view of marriage as ‘restricting’ says a lot about how she sees it/probably relationships in general. This right here is Jasnah explaining passing, without ever using the word ‘passing’. This is how Jasnah sees social interactions. They’re all illusions, they’re all, effectively, lies. They aren’t real to her. How people perceive others isn’t something that she can fit into her box of neat facts and logic. It’s this ever changing, insubstantial thing, ‘mere vapours’. And though she’s talking here about power and authority, the basic principle applies to literally every single social interaction ever. Aka: the secret behind how Jasnah Kholin (somehow) managed to convince ppl she’s allistic. This is one of my favourite Underrated Jasnah Moments tbh because it says so much about her with such a simple gesture. We’ve established from the past book and a half that Jasnah is pretty bad when it comes to social interactions, and she’s even worse when it comes to displaying her emotions. But she’s not emotionless. She, personally, doesn’t see the value in visual arts, and hasn’t dedicated any time to it herself. Yet she keeps the gift that Shallan gives her. She understands how important this is to Shallan, and she quite literally treasures the art that Shallan gives her, and keeps it with her precious research/notes (and, like, Symbolism with her keeping her sentimental gifts and logic fuelled research in the same place/with the same level of importance/value, except one is hidden, and one is displayed) And, like, Shall literally assumes Jasnah had just thrown away the picture?? And instead she’s got it kept safe with her most treasured possessions? Like??? The TL;DR version of this point is that Jasnah is horrendous at displaying her emotions/showing people how she feels about them/what they mean to her, but she feels things, goddammit. And now so am I. Right. Now. Correct my autistic chull if I’m wrong, here, but I’m like 89% certain that ‘taking notes on the basic personalities/literally studying the people around you and making notes on the way they behave so you can actually understand them’ is not a typical allistic thing to do. Jasnah can literally predict the oncoming apocalypse by the power of research, can she pin down some basic Facts about the people she’s observing around her? Nope. I wonder why. Two things: one, this is probably (agonisingly) relating to whatever trauma Jasnah experienced as a child and I’ve got Painful Emotions about it. Secondly, Jasnah being very mature for her age/shucking Navani’s influence because it wasn’t what she thought she needed/wanted is, like, not exactly the most tactful/self-aware/socially conscious thing in the entire universe. Oh look, it’s canon low!empathy Jasnah: from the words of her own mother no less. (Also, small note here, as a low!empathy autistic myself: I really love the way Jasnah is written because it complements my own understanding of empathy which is…Fairly complicated. Jasnah isn’t just like none and done here. It’s not that she just doesn’t feel empathy so she doesn’t care? She isn’t characterised as this brutal, unfeeling, robotic ice queen. There are a lot of nuances and complexities here as to how she relates to those around her and I love it. She obviously loves her family very deeply, and is driven to protect and help them (in a very practical, logical way I might add. Which is typically how I relate to care/love as well. You want a shoulder to cry on? I’m going to sit there awkwardly, pat you on the head, and hope you stop soon. There’s a practical solution to your current problem? Heaven and earth will be moved to achieve it.) She keeps Shallan’s drawing, even treasures it. And I think that she obviously….Feels her lack of feeling (if that makes sense) See: the hospital scene with Shallan where she attempts to apologise. She’s…Uncomfortable with the emotional aspect of things, and she’s completely wrong about Shallan’s intentions, and actually her actions as well. There’s a block there with the empathy…But that’s obviously something that doesn’t exactly…Sit right with her? She’s quite self-depreciating in that scene, actually, and it’s clear (to me, anyway) that there’s the sense of her being aware that there’s something…Missing. Something that…Doesn’t quite line up. Something that makes her different and stops her relating to people perhaps in the way that she wants to. Anyway: don’t equate lack of empathy with lack of love: a novel by Brandon Sanderson. God bless. Intentional or not, this is one of the most relatable low!empathy characters I’ve ever read and I’m here for it. Again, a few things here: this concept of autistic children being far more mature/behaving like ‘little adults’ is actually pretty common. Also the puzzle-solving thing is just. Relatable. Oathbringer Jasnah is believed dead for months on end, reunites with Shallan after who knows how long: immediately starts infodumping to her. Shallan:…….’Figured.’ Jasnah back at it with the only bothering with emotions when they’re genuine. (Also Dalinar getting all indignant about people not understanding Jasnah/mischaracterising her is my favourite) Obviously she’s talking about her heresy here, but with a tiny smidge of tweaking it works well for her being autistic, too. She will always be a little bit different, always not fit, always be defined by being an outsider. Again on the feelings tempered by logic, thing. (Also Kaladin/Jasnah is interesting because they’re basically….polar opposites, and I enjoy the dynamic. But that’s for another day.) Jasnah: approves of frank, honest comments. Even if they’re mildly insulting. As long as they’re genuine. Jasnah just not caring about social/cultural gender norms. Jasnah does what Jasnah wants. But also, gender roles, and tbh the entire concept of gender, is a social construct, it’s something a lot of autistic folks struggle with. (Also non-binary/agender!Jasnah just, as a fun little aside) A)- Jasnah probably didn’t notice and B)- low!empathy Jasnah again. ‘I have scientific evidence of the fact I’m not good at mentoring/teaching/with people in general’ actual quote from Jasnah herself. Also, just, the language here? The mentoring/taking of wards is an intimate social relationship in Vorin culture, but the way Jasnah speaks of it she uses words like ‘scientific evidence’ and ‘experiment’ which says a lot about how she views relationships in general tbh. Also, I think her self-consciousness is something that’s interesting to note. This isn’t the first time she questions her teaching abilities/methods, in fact it’s one of her biggest and most obvious insecurities, it’s something that she’s very aware of. She knows she’s bad at this, and it bothers her. And again with Jasnah being factual-based when it comes to her decisions ,and emotions based when it comes to her motivations. Jasnah Kholin feels things so deeply I will physically fight you over this matter. Also, given what we’ve seen, it definitely seems as though Ivory/Inkspren/Jasnah’s ideals are concerned with logic/reason/rightness, and that being a defining aspect of her/her order is interesting in the context of her being autistic. Since, as far as we know, Jasnah isn’t deaf/hoh, the lip reading is something she acquired for other purposes. Probably as part of her paranoia/wish to protect her family, but it’d also probably help with auditory processing disorder. Which is basically where your ears hear words fine, but your brain scrambles them up and fails to make sense of them. Also a lot of autistic folks (self included) tend to watch people’s mouths instead of their eyes (bc eye contact Sucks) and I’m not saying I can lip-read, but if I could it’d definitely make life easier. Jasnah being completely and utterly oblivious to the hidden agenda/undercurrent to Navani’s thoughts which is ‘Renarin is comfortable with the men/is enjoying himself with them, maybe we should encourage that?’ and just responds to her mother’s words and nothing else. The boulder analogy makes me laugh (but also recalls what Ivory said about her being ‘stone’ which is, again, a kind of othering, a setting apart of the ‘normal’ humans, based on how she emotes/deals with things/processes fact. A lot of autistic folk find it difficult to teach people, largely because, if they explain something in a certain way, away in which they understand, they have trouble rephrasing it/altering it to make other people understand it as well. Can definitely, definitely see Jasnah struggling with this. This shocks me to my very core so it does. Oh look, it’s touch!averse Jasnah. (she’s really not very touchy feely at all) Also Jasnah not knowing how to deal with her emotions/grief and withdrawing from people around her. Also I’m calling the arms wrapped around herself as a pressure stim. Fight me. Jasnah having anxious!stims (that she probably forced herself to unlearn) Jasnah ‘storm your social niceties, I have a war to win’ Kholin. Mm, who else was ‘solemn’ as a child? Maybe ‘correcting logical fallacies at age six’ ‘no longer needed a mother when she reached adolescence’ Jasnah. And, like, ‘people mock Renarin for his autistic traits…Jasnah is also mocked for having these exact same traits.’ It’s basically canon, people. Also, the fact that Renarin instinctively went to Jasnah for comfort, not Navani, who eagerly mothers literally everyone around her, or anyone else, he went to Jasnah ‘empathy of a corpse, made of literal stone’ Kholin for comfort and support tells me something. It tells me that these two had an understanding. That Jasnah understood Renarin, and that Renarin understood Jasnah, and that there perhaps a reason for that that has to do with their shared brain weirdness. This is also the first time, as I recall, that Jasnah responds with physical affection. (And this doesn’t undermine what I said about her being touch!averse, she is, but a)- she initiates this contact and b)- it’s with someone she’s clearly comfortable with this level of contact) I have said it before and I will say it again, Jasnah infodumping to an exhausted Shallan in the middle of a storming battlefield is the most autistic thing I have ever witnessed in my entire life. And, to summarise it all neatly, Jasnah Kholin, empathy of a corpse, heart of a boulder, whose love in the end never failed her. *wipes tear* my beautiful autistic queen is good and full of love and feeling but just being really bad at showing it to people. We do not deserve her. TL;DR: Jasnah is autistic af. It’s basically canon. Fight me.

Makes me wonder if we will see anyone else capable of bonding multiple spren in Stormlight Archive.

Fair point. I am currently doing a Stormlight Reread focused on (by which I mean I am paying close attention when they appear, I don’t skip things) Jasnah and Renarin. As I am looking for stuff I missed with them before, or had forgotten. Speaking of, the bit where Wit teased Renarin in Chapter 12 for SOMEHOW getting the attention of two sisters strikes me as odd. I have speculation about that, but to be fair a lot of said speculation is fueled by my bias for said character. So if you want to hear it take it with a grain of salt.

But Dalinar wasn't really around him much, would he even notice a change?

I was thinking that the one thing that gets a reaction out of Moash where he is now is when he sees parshendi acting like human. That whole “you have to be better thing” If he were to find out that Rayse didn’t try to better them it MIGHT encourage him to direct his hatred at him. And before you say that Moash becoming Odium would be worse let’s take a look at some of the reasons that make Rayse such a dangerous wielder of said shard. As Brandon said he is good at “lying” to himself about what the shard really is. Moash for what’s it worth would not lie to himself about it’s nature. As we can see for his many faults he NEVER lies to himself about how twisted he is. There’s also the way that as previously mentioned he uses his hatred to drive others, if not nessecarily himself at this point, to improve. Unlike Odium, who uses hatred to bring out the worst in people, Moash seems to ALMOST turn hatred into a force that makes us look at the less savory sides of ourselves that we don’t like, and through hatred of them try and do better, our hatred of the parts of society that our corrupt and acknowledge them and try to change them. That’s not an approach that can work for everyone, or is even necessarily healthy, but in SMALL CONTROLED DOSES it can be useful. He isn’t in a good place now, where he can see everything clearly. He hasn’t reached his Scar from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood watershed moment. But I COULD see him getting there eventually. In the short term it could even make things theoretically worse for the protagonists, as his ability to be more reasonable to the Parshendi might make him tougher to fight against than Rayse, but it in the long run I think it will do a lot of good, as the’ve all got growing to do. And this might be the way for them to do it. Moash inculded of course.

Or you take the Jasnah approach. As someone with Autism (I was diagnosed with Asperger’s before that was was removed from the DSM) I can say that while it has it’s pluses it has it’s own cons as well.

True but, and I could be wrong about this, I believe Brain Cells are different. They have pretty long lives compared to other cells

Part of me wonders if Renarin used to be more talkative? Maybe the reason he doesn't say much, and is so careful with his words is because when he spoke what he thought of as the truth people didn't like it much? I admit I am speculating from not very much (and from remembering even less so my memory could be shoddy) But lines like ""Renarin be rational!" He was always rational", and Jasnah saying that they said a lot of the same stuff about Renarin as they did about her behind her back make me wonder if was initially more spoken like Jasnah before becoming the withdrawn person we see today. That's part of it of course, but there also how the TruthWATCHers were said to have a level of TACT, as in they keep a lot of the truth they see to them selves. Maybe that's why Glys Corrupted though he may be, was still drawn to him. They don't just look for people who speak the truth but either sometimes hold it back, or have been hurt by speaking the truth. That being said this is just speculation.

Question regarding this. What makes it so certain that The Emperor’s Soul doesn’t take place in the gap between Elantris and it’s sequels?

What about the part of Surges being joined?

Something that may or may not be important. 10 + 9 - 3 = 16 Make of that what you will

Part of me wonders if Nohadon was the rare individual able to bond multiple spren. Maybe one of the reasons he understood all the orders so well is that before he became a bondsmith he worked with spren from the other orders?

: D That’s pretty funny. But, speaking of relationships, it also helps to establish how observant Renarin is when it comes to his brother.

Ah. Still good foreshadowing though.

Was that ever confirmed?

Here is the quote for those who want it. It’s a line by Renarin, spoken to his brother Adolin. “I don’t like you get when you are around Sadeas.” So yeah, I just started a reread, and I thought that line was worth noting. Brandon FORESHADOWED the conflict All the way in chapter 12 the FIRST TIME WE MEET THESE CHARACTERS. And I don’t know if it’s relavent or not but given how we later learn about Renarin Voidbinding visions of the future, is it possible he’s been seeing them since before we met him? And ONE of the reasons he’s worried is because of a vision? I don’t know but in any case this little bit here gained SO much new relavance. That I had to share it.

I wonder if the Aimians the ones made up of Cremlimgs, ALSO apply to the paradox?

ouchie

Any plans to update this?

Thank you for this info. I thought if might fun if ambitious to try a reread of the whole Cosmere. That being said, before I bit off more then i could chew I thought it might be best to see if anyone had done more limited rereads before so I can get a general idea of things go.

I know about the tor rereads. I even participate in them. I just thought there might be other places that do them and a fansite like this seemed like a good candidate.

You ask 100 people what freedom is, you will get 100 different definitions. For example in America we are united in the Ideal of Freedom, but divided on how best to achieve it. I am not going to derail this by getting to much into politics but there is a reason we have a representatives thorough a republic instead of a direct democracy like in Athens. When you have DIRECT democracy you have 1000 different voices all pulling 1000 different ways at once, (remind you of anything) and you can often have what is called the "tyranny of the majority" where well to quote Benjamin Franklin. "Democracy is two wolves and a sheep arguing over what's for dinner, liberty is a well armed lamb" I am not sure if I articulated it well, but the balancing the will of the public, as well as the not overriding the liberties and freedoms of minoritiy voices (as well as DEFINING said voices) are HARD to balance as history has shown. If you want my best take on Autonomy, that's what it is.

Does the forum do book/series rereads? Speaking of (and assuming they do) if I wanted to a reread of the whole Cosmere, as to just a single book or a trilogy/series which would be the forum to host it in?

I bolded that word because the idea of being resigned to being alone in a romantic sense, even though I very much don’t want to, is something I can very much identify with. First off I find the idea of dating, someone who wasn’t already a friend, creepy. “Hi, I don’t know anything about you other than the fact that I think you think you look attractive. Let’s hang out sometime.” So yeah the idea of starting a romantic relationship with someone who wasn’t a friend to begin with seems weird. Second I don’t make friends easily. I can get passionate and really open to someone when we have a common interest, but I am slow to feel we become friends. Or at least I feel like I feel that way compared to most people. Finally, I am on the Autism Spectrum (specifically where Asperger’s Syndrome was before it was removed from the DSM). I am bad at reading social ques, it often takes me multiple tries to get it right. Navigation of social rules and boundaries that comes easily to most people, is difficult to me. This is in part because said social boundaries seem so arbitrary to me, and it’s not helped by the fact that each person has their own boundaries that break their rules. My default response is to try and treat people how I want to be treated, and while that makes for a good default it still casues huge problems, as not everyone wants to be treated the same way I want to be treated. In fact many of the things that I have no problems with would not nessecarily be considered appropriate to all social situations. What this boils down to is that all relationships with people I am in involve a lot of give of and take, as well as asking questions about what EXACTLY they are ok with and what they aren’t, as I try to figure out where everyone’s individual boundaries are. This works IN PART because they understand my issues, AND because I make it clear that if I cross a line with my questions all they need to do is tell me and I will stop. I try to stick to this hard because I don’t like hurting people’s feelings or causeing them pain. But I am so bad at understanding these things that often the only way for me to figure it out is to stumble through, figure out what mistakes I made so I won’t repeat them. If it isn’t clear why all this has made me resigned to giving up on a romantic relationship I will try to make it clear. Say I have a friend of the opposite and after a while I fall in love. I confess my feelings, ask them out. They turn me down, because they either don’t feel the same way, or they don’t want to risk the friendship at this point, regardless. What do I do in this situation? My ONLY option is to tell them that if they change their mind to let me know. That may sound silly to you. But there’s a reason for why that is. Social rules today, as I understand them are to not ask the other person again until a significant time has passed so that you don’t make a nuisance of yourself or ignore their feelings. I can respect the logic behind that and I would NOT want to hurt them by ignoring their feelings. The problem is that a “significant amount of time” is a vague and arbitrary term and is most likely going to very from person to person. With most questions my solution would be to take my best guess on when it’s ok to try again. And if it’s not ok, I just leave again. But on something like this it’s obviously not going to fly. If I mess up and ask again to soon, (assuming I am still in love obviously) I risk making things worse, not to mention propogating every (well NOT EVERY) negative stereotype about men (Note I am not a COMPLETE idiot, I know this isn’t something you ask the next day or even in a week or two. But beyond that I have no idea) If I was “normal” I could probably read signs, or navigate the social boundaries effectivly to know if it was ok to ask again. But that’s not something that I see beeing in the cards for me. Which brings me back to why my only option would be to telling them that if they change their minds they can let me know. That has it’s own set of problems as it requires them to remember something I said ONCE. I often have conversations where I can swear I explain something early in the conversation only to have to explain it again because it never comes up. So yeah all this put to together and you can see why I can identify with both wanting a romantic relationship, and resigned to being without. Oh and if this isn’t enough some people have speculated, not just me, that Jasnah herself maybe on the spectrum. A Tumblr user has compiled a post of anecdotal evidence to support this and I can copy and paste the thing here if you want me to. But in case I have been meaning to reply to your post for awhile. I only just got around to it. Sorry I took so long.

That's a fair point. But given that Autism has a genetic component and can run in families, BUT manifest in DIFFERENT ways, this Is a reason why I hope she does have it.