Lucy (Li)'s Links
By the time I came along, Hannah and Helga were already established, and they were slow to warm up to me. I think it was Hannah's desire to uncover the secrets of the Elementals combined with Helga's friendly nature that led to my eventual acceptance. We aren't as close now that there's more than three of us, and I'm not as passionate about astronomy as she is, yet we still find time to spend together. (I'll admit, I am not a fan of the erratic schedule of our stargazing sessions, but Hannah cannot control the weather any more than I can.)
I appreciate the little things Lucy does to help out, and I admire her leadership skills. She may be only the *checks list* forty-fourth in command, but she has three times the skill of half of those ahead of her. And I'm fine if stargazing doesn't always work. I know she's super busy and likes to stick to her plans. We make the most of the time we do have together.
Oh, and Lucy, I do have more control over the weather than you because I can control water, but you're right, I'm not refined in my weather powers.
I'm grateful that Cecilia helps me out at the battery club. She searches for new and innovative ways to help the world, and green energy is one of her passions. She's interesting and enlightening to talk to. But, Cecilia, stop blaming yourself for climate change. Humans make use of what is available around them, and you did not choose to place fossil fuels inside the Earth. It's not your fault.
Lucy's battery club provides an outlet for my ideas, and a wonderful way to help fix the mess I made. I wish I had never gotten humans hooked on fossil fuels to begin with, and I wish it didn't take wrecking the climate to realize there was a problem. But I cannot change the past.
Nettie has been a close friend for a while, and though I sometimes give her therapy, I see her as a friend before a patient. She opens up to me like she does to few people outside the life essentials. I help her work on social skills and executive functioning, while recognizing her strengths.
And Nettie, to answer your question, there are two components to empathy: cognitive and affective. People with autism often struggle with cognitive empathy–recognizing emotions in others–but often excel in affective empathy–feeling though emotions. Your affective empathy is one of your greatest strengths, Nettie.
Lucy's supportive and helps me see my flaws, while also reminding me that I am not defined by my struggles. She is comforting to talk to. I don't like her insistence on person-first language even though I have repeatedly told her that I prefer identity-first language. I don't understand how not respecting someone's wishes is putting the person first. But I won't hold that against her.
I don't understand why Lucy thinks I am empathetic. I thought I was incapable of empathy?
Though she is not a formal member of the battery club, I appreciate her skills whenever she is willing to share them.
Wow, what a convoluted way of saying "I have a massive crush on her but I don't say anything because I know she'll reject me."
I am glad that she seeks my advice on how to manage her reactivity-induced emotional outbursts, which thankfully are becoming more mild. But when I'm not helping her she seems to push me away and act like we don't know each other.
She won't admit it, but she's jealous of my powers because she thinks controlling thoughts would be more useful than controlling emotions. And I do not shut her out like that, she just keeps invading my privacy. But Lily, I still like you.
When she's calm, she's a friendly, social, likable person with great compassion and empathy. Really, it's that fiery temper that needs work. That's not to say I only engage with her for therapy. I just like talking to her sometimes. She's a pleasure to be around.
Weird how she never commented on my temper before I accidentally broke her laptop... But she's a great friend. Great listener too–our conversations go so well that they're almost boring.