Clueless Enough 2015-06-22

[shadowinthelight]

http://wapsisquare.com/comic/clueless-enough/

Maybe Atsali understands better than she thinks?

[oldmanmickey]

she may not read emotions but her other senses are just fine.

[jwhouk]

Dangit, now I'm gonna have to go edit the Relationship Chart again.

(grabs colored string and a few more thumbtacks)

Oh, and am I the only one who heard a "MER-ROWWW!" after Atsali's remark?

[Pardona]

Along the lines of surprising someone you speak their language that they think they can talk in behind your back.

[Dave]

Poor kid... she knows she needs to find someone who truly cares for her, and isn't just being swayed by her Siren's power... and yet she doesn't really believe that such a person exists, and she's missing one of the great tools which could help her find out for sure.

Good ears, though!

I wonder how long ago Jessie made that comment that Atsali overheard? Jessie's words here sound as if they're coming from a genuine concern... she's showing some real maturity.

[shadowinthelight]

Along the lines of surprising someone you speak their language that they think they can talk in behind your back.

Yo hago eso todo el tiempo.

[AnotherFairportfan]

I will point out that, if Atsali is going to be a best-selling YA author, she'd better learn about emotions.

[Thor]

Jesus, Atsali. That was an identification of future problems, not of a selling point!

This forum needs a facepalm smiley.

[shadowinthelight]

This forum needs a facepalm smiley.

Phix has you covered.

[Opus the Poet]

Yep, nothing wrong with her hearing.

[Akamar]

Ugh, Atsali? Is that really how you see the world? So, the answer to her question is "yes"? Sad...

[Atomic]

So there's the dilemma -- she went to being thrown away in an orphanage to being surrounded by awe-inducing relations. She's traded one set of defensive reactions for another, compounding her problems of dealing with people outsider her family circle.

Can she make the leap that Mon likes Kath and Kath likes her, that Mon actually likes her, too? Step by step...

[Thor]

Yep, nothing wrong with her hearing.

Considering that this references something that did not happen in any previous strip, we don't know that. Context is king, and as usual, we will not get the context for several more strips.

And besides, even if we take what Atsali is quoting at face value, it's not wrong. Atsali has a large clue deficit because she can't read all those facial expressions. Of course, she's got issues that will "help" defend her against getting used--much in the same way that a flamethrower helps you guard against tick bites.

I've said it before: This girl is overcompensating and needs some heavy-duty therapy.

[Stigmartyr762]

And what about Nadette?

She practically handed her heart to you and you had a &%#ing hissy fit accusing her of trying to use you even though the two of you earlier had put the final nail in the coffin of dead race that didn't know when to quit.

......here I am typing this like I'm writing to an actual person. I need sleep.

[kingklash]

Atsali shows the potential to be a real Queen "B" here.

Honestly though, this is the first time we've seen someone outside the family just flat out talk with her.
How much has Atsali heard going on around her all this time?

[Brasten]

Okay, Jin isn't quite the right mentor here me thinks. She doesn't need a master manipulator. Atsali really needs the perspective of Tina. Someone how reads emotions so clearly she can make drinks specific to their needs. And just take Atsali people watching every so often. That way she can get someone(s) whispering in her ear very detailed explanations of the emotions of the people around them. Which would also get Tina to practice matching up auras with body langue as Bud suggested flippantly many strips ago.

[Jay-Em]

Indeed, as Brasten stated. Atsali is gonna need some sérious help. So much bitterness towards other people, even without actually knówing how those other people actually think about you, is aching to Borderline, or something. She sounds like my ex, who was álso convinced people only used her, and nothing could convince her of the opposite. (And she was later diagnosed with severe borderline with narcissistic tendencies.. Bad. News. I shóuld have known..But, to parafrase a Dutch proverb: "When Love is in the Man, His mind is in the can." )

[BlackFulcrum]

Tho I'm still unwilling to say it for 100% (mostly because this a comic and Atsali is a mythical being), but the whole inability to empathize with others is an other indicator somewhat pointing towards a form of Autism.
I myself have this, unless I've been trough the same thing, I can not empathize with you, at all.
I remember from my early high school days, a class mate breaking out in tears because his pet had died, and I just leaned away from him, cause I didn't understand what he was going trough and it was weird to me, so no comforting words from me telling him it will be okay or some such (this was way before my diagnosis), fast forward till I'm 28 and my own dog dies, now I'm really sad, and crying my eyes out, and even then it took to my Asperger diagnosis at age 31 and therapy that I put 2 and 2 together.

This is why people with autism often seem somewhat callous when something really bad happens in the world and it's shown on the news, where other people can imagine being in place of victims, the best you might get out of someone with Autism might be a very neutral "Oh that looks bad" or "Oh that's horrible", but it lacks the emotions to go with it, it's an automated response, because everyone else says how bad and horrible such events are, they must be, right? So you say what is expected, but actually feel emotions with it? Nope.

Also the last panel is a bit of an indicator, people with Autism can only decipher the emotions of those they have been near for a very long time, for everyone else it's just guesswork with clear facial expressions, it's near impossible for me to decipher if a person is actually smiling, faking a smile, or forcing a smile, or when a person is lying, or saying something in a sarcastic or joking manner, unless you have a giant huge grin on your face or giggling uncontrollably I won't know you're joking even if everyone else does, because of subtle facial expressions and body language, I will just assume what you say is serious and respond as such.
I can't remember how often that made me fall for a joke, even poor ones, just because I didn't pick up on the subtle clues.

Because of the odd responses people with autism give, because of the trouble with "reading" other people, people with Autism have few to no friends, as gaining, building, and maintaining any form of relationship, be it just friendship or romantic is hard, very hard, on both sides, because person with Autism will not react like a person without, which is what is usually expected.
Because you can't read strangers, you tend to avoid them if possible, and because you know people lie to get something, you tend to mistrust.
Losing touch with an acquaintance , co-worker, classmate, etc, on the other hand is very easy, if the reason you interact with those people on a regular basis disappears, don't expect much effort from the person with Autism to maintain that relationship.
Just like Atsali here, for me there's my parents, my brother, and my grandmother who are really close and important to me, then a few steps behind that my aunts, uncles, and cousins, and I would say behind that a few vague acquaintances but I haven't spoken to them in years, I don't have a group of friends, and never really had a "best friend".

Oh and if it is Autism, you can't fix it, you can't teach someone with Autism to read facial expression and body language, they just can't, that part of the brain either doesn't work, or doesn't work well.
Maybe they can fix it in the Wapsi world with all it's magic, but in our world, nope.

[lake_wrangler]

It's nice to see Jessie showing genuine concern over Atsali, in spite of her past feelings about her.

On the other hand, it is slightly disappointing (but somewhat understandable), that Atsali should be so cynical about her situation. I hope she doesn't stay in that mode too long. Overhearing stuff like what Jessie said to Krystle would certainly not help.

[Nitpick]
FIrst panel, first speech bubble: "You've must've" should be "You must've"
(One does not say "You have must have", but simply "You must have"...)
[/Nitpick]

[scantrontb]

Indeed, as Brasten stated. Atsali is gonna need some sérious help. So much bitterness towards other people, even without actually knówing how those other people actually think about you, is aching to Borderline, or something. She sounds like my ex, who was álso convinced people only used her, and nothing could convince her of the opposite. (And she was later diagnosed with severe borderline with narcissistic tendencies.. Bad. News. I shóuld have known..But, to parafrase a Dutch proverb: "When Love is in the Man, His mind is in the can." )

um... what is "Borderline"? it sounds like you are forgetting a word in the sentences? ie diagnosed with severe borderline "what"? and if it is SEVERE then how can it be on the border, implying that it is NOT severe but JUST a little bit of whatever "it" is?