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. Ā
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 Iām emotional about that.
Thatās literally it, people. Buckle up, Iāve picked through all three books (yes all three) to compose this post for yāall. Itās not going to be short.
Ā Jasnah glanced at Shallan, noting her, then returned to her conversation.
Introducing Jasnah āI donāt have time for social niceties Iām busyā Kholin. From the first interaction sheāsā¦Bad at interacting. Iconic.
āThen we shall do an evaluation. Answer truthfully and do not exaggerate, as I will soon discover your lies. Feign no false modesty, either. I havenāt the patience for a simperer.ā
Jasnah is both blunt, direct, and honest in her speech as she is in her expectations from others. She doesnāt 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 shit to do. (really, though, what sheās literally demanding here is the first rule of the autisticās guide to easy conversation. Clear. Simple. To the point. To frills, no fuss.)
Ā Jasnah didnāt argue further, and Shallan could see from her eyes that it was of no consequence to her if the king risked his life. The same apparently went for Shallan, for Jasnah didnāt order her away.
People do what people want to do and Jasnah doesnāt 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.
āNow?ā the king said, cradling his granddaughter. āBut we are going to have a feastāā
āI appreciate the offer,ā Jasnah said, ābut I find myself with an abundance of everythingĀ but time.ā
Do I need to point out the lack of social niceties again or are yāall 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: āThanks but no Iām too busy to socialise.ā
Jasnah was also a rationalist, a woman with the audacity to deny the existence of the Almighty himself based on her own reasoning. Jasnah would appreciate strength, but only if it was shaped by logic.
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 wonāt be swayed by anyone elseās opinions on how she should feel/behave.
Jasnah turned to look out of the balcony into the dark space of the Veil. āI know what people say of me. I should hope that I am not as harsh as some say, though a woman could have far worse than a reputation for sternness. It can serve one well.ā
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 sheās reputed to me, and, more importantly, sheās 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 doesnāt have the necessary social skills to refute them.
Shallan tried to judge Jasnahās mood, but the older womanās emotions were impossible to read.Ā
Again, this is a fairly common autistic trait. We struggle to read other peopleās 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, sheās too unsure of how she comes across to have completely mastered this.
Jasnah carefully removed its contents, neatly lining up the brushes, pencils, pens, jar of lacquer, ink, and solvent. She placed the stacks of paper, the notebooks, and the finished pictures in a line.
Oh look, itās one of the worldās biggest Autism Stereotypes (which Iām totally guilty of too): lining all the things up neatly, and making them Orderly.
At least with Jasnah one knew where one stood.
Jasnah of the straightforward, blunt honesty and āwhat you see is what you getā strikes again.
When Jasnah was deeply immersed in one of her projects, she often ignored all else.
And here we see the Autistic Jasnah in her natural habitat: hyperfixating on her special interest.
The rest is under the cut for length!Ā