How To Be Friends

I am autistic and find Brun SO RELATABLE. THANK YOU

I don't consider myself on the spectrum but I have to confess that I have these sorts of checklists in my head of how to be social with people you've just met, and watch for clues (eyes glazing over). I'm fine with folks I've know for some time (usually).

Yes. Pet the dogs. It is MANDATORY.

This is now a date.

Brun is better at remembering these things than I am.

I fear that our new robot friend may be disappointed if she interprets Brun's friendship overtures as romantic, but I could be wrong.

please be gay please be gay please be gay please be gay please be gay please be gay

Oof I need a Renee in my head telling me how to people!

Rene gives good advice

Comic caption: my life's mood.

We need a little Renee figure standing on Brun's shoulder giving her this advice.

I have so much trouble with how to friend. Partly because I’m really good when I’m with people, so I don’t think most realize that me leaving my house or sending a text or email or making any sort of plan is a really big deal and takes a lot of energy and build up for me. And then I don’t know if I am a friend, or are we just people who are familiar with each other, happen to be in the same place, and converse, like with my coworkers. (And are any of them friends and I just don’t know it?). The one I am sure of is my best friend, who used to come over and take me out of my home to do social things on the regular when we lived in the same area, and with whom I stay in regular frequent communication and exchange multiple times of year visits when that is possible. I know there are several more people with whom I would like to have near that level of closeness (I know or have met in the past many whom I have thought: I want to know you more, and hang out and converse and do things. I am not good at the outreach I think must be needed to build to that. A few times I have tried (admittedly not in the last decade), it has been misinterpreted as dating, I think, based on the kissing attempts. At least these days there is the word asexual (I was so happy when I learned that word existed!! Aromantic was like discovering cake iced in marzipan (I love marzipan)! Not abnormal hormone levels like my mom kept pestering me about) so perhaps I could try again.

Petting dogs is a universal law.

Imaginary Brain Renee > Imaginary Brain Mike in day to day social situations. In an emergency, reverse order.

How did I not figure out that that was Renée? 🤦‍♂️

By the way, Patreon is still having glitches. The email that I was supposed to get wasn't sent. I live in dread of opening my email program some day and finding 973,259,315 and 32/47ths emails from Patreon.

If there are dogs, YES, they must be petted. Rules are rules.

"Watch out for skinks"? Watch out for emus!

Interesting that Clinton and Elliot didn't get these internal monologues.

Petting doggos is the rules.

Oh gosh, I need a little inner Renee to help me with this stuff! I have no idea how to friend

Millie and Brun on a learning excursion together. Brun becoming more comfortable with socializing with acquaintances, and Millie entering a wider social circle.

... is Brun basically "what would Renee say"-ing her way into an accidental date??

I can't help but assume these conversations with Brun involve an awkward 5-second pause every time she has to listen to her inner Renee give her life advice. Just like conversations with me, except I don't have an inner Renee so I usually don't find my way out of the awkward pause!

truth

I agree w/ Brun's rule. All dogs must be petted.

My shipping senses are tingling. Or is that the poison ivy I fell in the other day?

Wow, Renee must have done a great job teaching Brun how to socialize if she's thinking of all of this stuff without her there.

The only real reason I can resist petting the doggos I see when I'm at work is cuz I'm usually doing several other things at nearly the same time I'm seeing the doggo :( (I work a drive thru usually)

WWRS I need a pin like that to keep me sociable

is there any chance i could get renee to be my life coach

Illegally cute. Jail.