Why I like my little Cetnik

There are quite a few things I like about Z -- her good brain and good looks and her good cuddle-power, for instance. But I liked her right from the time of our first meeting. There has always been a something in her that I like that goes beyond the obvious. And I have always struggled to pinpoint it. What makes me feel so affectionate towards her?. It is something in her personality but what exactly?

I think I am finally getting close to it. It is her insouciance. But that is a literary word so I think I need to put it into simpler terms. It is her cheerfulness and good nature combined with a defiant independence. We are both high functioning autistics so tend to be either unaware or disrespectful of social norms and customs. And she is especially so. She is the ultimate contrarian. If something is conventionally believed, she disbelieves it. She says frankly what she thinks but does it cheerfully.

And in talking to me she makes gaffe after gaffe but seems blissfully unaware of it. She expects what she says to be accepted. But she does so innocently and pleasantly so that instead of being offended I feel protective of her. Her innocent irreverence makes her vulnerable and I feel protective of her over that

The Cetniks were a feature of the terrible wars in the Balkans of the 1930s and 1940s. They were primarily Serbian nationalists and also monarchists. They no longer exist in any formal sense but old loyalties don't fade quickly

Update: My little Cetnik has pointed out to me that Cetniks in fact go back a long way -- to the 19th century