>>And he is certainly socially awkward and lacking significantly in awareness of the people around him and their emotions.<<
Well, yeah. Sam didn't get a lot of social interaction, and what he did get was somewhat blunted by parental expectations. I doubt he's had much if any genuine intimacy thus far. Without that, it's hard to develop social graces or awareness.
>> This poem is written from his POV, and what he doesn't notice about the big hullabaloo happening around him makes me pretty sure he was never neurotypical, even before the potion caused or triggered his superpowers.<<
I hadn't really considered that as a possible explanation. I think he's an introvert and a nerd. He's certainly a survivor of emotional and psychological mistreatment, if not outright abuse, from his parents manipulating him. He's very withdrawn due to being forced into both a fraternity and a major that are completely wrong for him. He seems to deal with that by focusing on schoolwork, especially the parts that conflict less with his personality. So the hullabaloo is just ... more of the stuff he's been trying to ignore.
>> I wholeheartedly support prompts to hear more about Sam and about other people affected by this incident. <<
Cool.
>> I enjoyed watching his poor clueless self start to grow up and get some clues.<<
Sam really needs a lot more help with that. Right now, he's miserable because what he's learning makes him less and less able to keep glossing over his differences -- he doesn't fit with his family anymore, and that sucks. And nobody's given him any other strong connections or basis of support, so the poor kid is just flailing.
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dancing_serpent
Thoughts
Date: 2022-01-15 05:45 am (UTC)Well, yeah. Sam didn't get a lot of social interaction, and what he did get was somewhat blunted by parental expectations. I doubt he's had much if any genuine intimacy thus far. Without that, it's hard to develop social graces or awareness.
>> This poem is written from his POV, and what he doesn't notice about the big hullabaloo happening around him makes me pretty sure he was never neurotypical, even before the potion caused or triggered his superpowers.<<
I hadn't really considered that as a possible explanation. I think he's an introvert and a nerd. He's certainly a survivor of emotional and psychological mistreatment, if not outright abuse, from his parents manipulating him. He's very withdrawn due to being forced into both a fraternity and a major that are completely wrong for him. He seems to deal with that by focusing on schoolwork, especially the parts that conflict less with his personality. So the hullabaloo is just ... more of the stuff he's been trying to ignore.
>> I wholeheartedly support prompts to hear more about Sam and about other people affected by this incident. <<
Cool.
>> I enjoyed watching his poor clueless self start to grow up and get some clues.<<
Sam really needs a lot more help with that. Right now, he's miserable because what he's learning makes him less and less able to keep glossing over his differences -- he doesn't fit with his family anymore, and that sucks. And nobody's given him any other strong connections or basis of support, so the poor kid is just flailing.