At It Again 2016-08-12

[AnotherFairportfan]

Connie has a really appealing shark grin.

Well, from the other side of the fourth wall.

[GlytchMeister]

[AnotherFairportfan]

I thought i already posted this, but i guess not (unless i accidentally did it in the wrong thread):

I wonder if Shelly could pop her wings before she hit the ground?

[GlytchMeister]

I thought i already posted this, but i guess not (unless i accidentally did it in the wrong thread):

I wonder if Shelly could pop her wings before she hit the ground?

You probably thought about posting it, and then you had a crossed wire that put that thought into memory. Happens to me sometimes. The real problem is when I have a super boring dream and I remember it like real life. I have referenced conversations with people that took place in dreams, and I get... Odd looks.

I call those "Bleeding Effect Dreams" after a concept encountered in Assassin's Creed

...

Anyway, back on topic: I'd imagine she probably could. Atsali could. Hell, Atsali could do that and catch a falling human at the same time.

[Atomic]

It's all fun and games until somebody hits the concrete -- or gets sent to the looney bin... or....

No, it's all fun and games!

[Thor]

Has Monica graduated from sociopath to psychopath now? Was she taking classes at the community college?

Monica really needs to stop self-diagnosing, but given her history with the whole psychiatric profession, the chances of someone with a degree working up an accurate psychological profile of her is slim to none.

Maybe someone can gift her a book, or at least point her to a reputable website...

[FirehawkShadowchild]

I wonder if Shelly could pop her wings before she hit the ground?

Probably depends on the height of the building.

On the other hand: Would she need to? There are always a few MIB lackeys available to repair the pavement, aren't there?

[Dave]

Maybe someone can gift her a book, or at least point her to a reputable website...

I'm not sure there are any books, or websites, which can provide psychological guidance that would be terribly helpful to a sociopathic and/or psychopathic demigod. If there were, we might have an entirely different slate of candidates for office this year.

I am a bit concerned about Shelly. Since when does a "guardian" deliberately bait people, for selfish reasons, the way she says she's done? and apparently enjoys the thought of having done so?

Maybe it's inevitable? History/mythology seems to record that the Greek and Roman gods... and a lot of those from a lot of other cultures... were right bastards a great deal of the time. Petty, selfish, vengeful, prone to commit what humans would call atrocities.

Monica and Shelly both have that sort of power now. Monica said she was choosing to cultivate her sociopathic nature when she took out Georgette's Tar, and Shelly was told by Bia that her time in the Forest rid her of much of her humanity and made her more of a Titan.

[AnotherFairportfan]

Maybe someone can gift her a book, or at least point her to a reputable website...

I'm not sure there are any books, or websites, which can provide psychological guidance that would be terribly helpful to a sociopathic and/or psychopathic demigod. If there were, we might have an entirely different slate of candidates for office this year.

"I finally came to the conclusion that the one thing I had NOT got was Housemaid's Elbow..."

[Opus the Poet]

Maybe someone can gift her a book, or at least point her to a reputable website...

I'm not sure there are any books, or websites, which can provide psychological guidance that would be terribly helpful to a sociopathic and/or psychopathic demigod. If there were, we might have an entirely different slate of candidates for office this year.

I am a bit concerned about Shelly. Since when does a "guardian" deliberately bait people, for selfish reasons, the way she says she's done? and apparently enjoys the thought of having done so?

Maybe it's inevitable? History/mythology seems to record that the Greek and Roman gods... and a lot of those from a lot of other cultures... were right bastards a great deal of the time. Petty, selfish, vengeful, prone to commit what humans would call atrocities.

Monica and Shelly both have that sort of power now. Monica said she was choosing to cultivate her sociopathic nature when she took out Georgette's Tar, and Shelly was told by Bia that her time in the Forest rid her of much of her humanity and made her more of a Titan.

You've never met any of the trickster gods I take it? Loki, Coyote, Hermes, Lucifer, Prometheus? Lucifer is actually quite benign if you ignore the Christian retcon. We met Prometheus' brother in-comic, he's Shelly's BF.

[Gyrrakavian]

I thought i already posted this, but i guess not (unless i accidentally did it in the wrong thread):

I wonder if Shelly could pop her wings before she hit the ground?

You probably thought about posting it, and then you had a crossed wire that put that thought into memory. Happens to me sometimes. The real problem is when I have a super boring dream and I remember it like real life. I have referenced conversations with people that took place in dreams, and I get... Odd looks.

I call those "Bleeding Effect Dreams" after a concept encountered in Assassin's Creed

...

Anyway, back on topic: I'd imagine she probably could. Atsali could. Hell, Atsali could do that and catch a falling human at the same time.

I hate it when those dreams happen. It's good to have a term for them.I don't suppose you have a term for those dreams of super boring/mundane stuff that you find yourself doing a year or 6 later?
Considering how boring a dream about washing dishes at an industrial sink and having a conversation with a coworker 3 years into a job I wouldn't take for another 2 years, precognition seems a bit wasted.

[oldmanmickey]

Actually if she could see that smile just once even if she didnt go mad she might slow down enough to catch her about the Canadian border.

[Drakkenmensch]

I wonder if Shelly could pop her wings before she hit the ground?

Probably depends on the height of the building.

On the other hand: Would she need to? There are always a few MIB lackeys available to repair the pavement, aren't there?

Would you even NEED to?

If your goal is simply to drive your neighbour insane by pretending to jump to your death, the fact that you left an imprint on the sidewalk will only HELP your goal.

"I'm telling you officer, she JUMPED TO HER DEATH and walked away! She even left a body mark on the sidewalk where I saw her hit the ground!!!"
"Jumped to her death, did she? Then why is she waving at me clearly still alive?"
"She jumped and landed RIGHT HERE and walked away intact because she's a MONSTER! She can't be killed even if she falls down several dozen feet!!!"
"Well, I see what I need to do here, OFF TO THE LOONEY BIN WITH YOU!"

[Grantcmccormick]

I wonder...

It's almost exactly three years to the day since Phix called Monica and Shelly onto the carpet for their actions during the race to Stella's Fish Café.

I expect intervention.

[AnotherFairportfan]

I wonder...

It's almost exactly three years to the day since Phix called Monica and Shelly onto the carpet for their actions during the race to Stella's Fish Café.

I expect intervention.

In our world.

Rather longer in the Wapsiverse.

[starkruzr]

Can somebody explain this "Monica is a sociopath/psychopath" thing?

[Dave]

Can somebody explain this "Monica is a sociopath/psychopath" thing?

Here are the best references, I think. The concept was introduced when Monica got angry with Nudge (who was baiting her) and poited Nudge right into an active volcano. Later, during Monica's dreamwalk into Georgette's psyche, Monica deliberately destroyed the Tar entity (whatever it was) in the most awful and painful way the Tar could imagine.

In both cases, Monica decided afterwards that she must be fundamentally sociopathic... because she struck out to hurt another being, motivated by her own rage, without any empathy for the pain she was about to cause... in fact, enjoying the fact that she was forcing someone to experience their worst fear. (It was only later, in each case, that she felt remorse or doubt).

http://wapsisquare.com/comic/this-problem/

http://wapsisquare.com/comic/fresher-already/

She's also judged herself harshly over her relationship with Kevin. She agreed with Georgette's accusations... that she never really loved Kevin, didn't trust him enough to tell him her secrets until her hand was forced, and had just kept him around as a "sexual chew toy".

She's analyzed herself as being fundamentally amoral: thus selfish and dangerous. She seems to think that she's emotionally so wounded and damaged that she should stay away (or be kept away) from most people, for their own good.

http://wapsisquare.com/comic/such-a-screw-up/

And, she seems to have concluded that maybe she is supposed to be... that an amoral, sociopathic "I have power, sure I'm going to use it" attitude is what's required to be a big player in the para world... that a sub-Titan demigod Jaguar Girl has to be a sociopath in order to be effective.

We've seen that the Sphinx culture is big on rules, and on raw power (as in, the one who has the power gets to make the rules). Sphinxes "save the village by destroying it", killing humans to get at the demons inside them. Phix moved up in the dominance hierarchy by ripping off Medeia's head, and then eating her corpse. Shelly established her position as a Guardian by killing the Sphinx who protested, and then eating her corpse. Neither apparently felt any remorse... this is normal for them.

And, from what Shelly is now saying, it sounds as if Monica has chosen to follow that path... cultivating her ability to Not Give A Fuck About Others. Power comparable to a Sphinx (perhaps more), no more remorse than a Sphinx for using it... and, maybe, without the Sphinx society's rules or structure.

If so... then the paras who considered Monica to be extremely dangerous were probably right.

[Sgt. Howard]

Has Monica graduated from sociopath to psychopath now? Was she taking classes at the community college?

Monica really needs to stop self-diagnosing, but given her history with the whole psychiatric profession, the chances of someone with a degree working up an accurate psychological profile of her is slim to none.

Maybe someone can gift her a book, or at least point her to a reputable website...

Clinically speaking, a 'Sociopath' and a 'Psychopath' are the same thing- the former being the more 'politically correct' term for the latter. Psychiatry seldom makes anything that is truly an advance, so they change the vocabulary to suit their needs... sort of like politicians...

[Dave]

Clinically speaking, a 'Sociopath' and a 'Psychopath' are the same thing- the former being the more 'politically correct' term for the latter. Psychiatry seldom makes anything that is truly an advance, so they change the vocabulary to suit their needs... sort of like politicians...

As I understand it, the clinical term is "antisocial personality disorder", with "sociopath" and "psychopath" being popular terms for different subclasses of APD. The two share some characteristics and differ in others.

They seems to be believed to have different causes... psychopathy being inborn (an inherent inability to empathize with the feelings of others) and sociopathy being the result of childhood trauma and abuse.

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2 ... sociopath/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wi ... psychopath

From what we've seen of Monica (history and behavior) I don't see her as psychopathic. She clearly can empathize with others... can and does. Her interactions with Cricket, Jet, Kevin, and Atsali show that.

I don't think a psychopath could have expressed this sort of empathy and compassion.

Sociopathic? Maybe. She's certainly suffered the sort of trauma and abuse that makes it hard for sociopaths to trust, and form really strong attachments. She's "walking wounded". And, as Thor points out, it'd be very hard for her to find a professional psychologist who could deal with the truth of her situation. The same is true for Georgette.

[Thor]

And, as Thor points out, it'd be very hard for her to find a professional psychologist who could deal with the truth of her situation.

Actually, I meant it the other way around. I'm sure there are paras that are certified mental health specialists that Monica could go to. That's not the problem. However, since Monica's encounters with the mental health profession have been very unfavorable and traumatic (remember what happened to her after she was committed to the looney bin), I think it would be nearly impossible for Monica to trust someone in that field enough for them to diagnose her properly.