three, text;;

[fridgeflower]

Do you think that it's possible for people to be inherently bad? Not all the way, necessarily, but like maybe there's a bigger chance of messing up if you come from something bad, or like you've got some kind of latent seed planted deep that could burst someday.

I don't think that's true, if you look at it objectively. It still makes me really nervous sometimes, though, so I wonder if some part of me thinks it's a real possibility. I can't shake it off, so I get frustrated with myself sometimes.

I'm sure other people must feel like that. I'm sorry if you do.

Comments

[fridgeflower]

Maybe not. I figured a lot of people here would have bumped into similar problems, but yeah. We aren't overwhelmingly pure evil.

Knock on wood.

[glowsferatu]

no we are only largely potentially and dangerously evil
that leaves some wiggling room i think

[fridgeflower]

There's a bit of a margin there. It's enough.

[glowsferatu]

enough to still keep a close eye on
depending on where you fall in the web

[fridgeflower]

If there's a spectrum, I have no idea where I am.

Is there a litmus test or something?

[glowsferatu]

i dont know that it will bbe simple enough to consider a spectrum
but i dont know well enough how to construct a test either
maybe a psychiatrist would be better trained for it

[fridgeflower]

Good point. Maybe I can ask my therapist about it.

[glowsferatu]

that would be the person to broach it with yes
though i think mine has given up on me thinking ill ever think of myself as anything else

[ it's the same dude, what a twist! ]

[fridgeflower]

[ The citizens of Heropa need to branch out more. ]

Well. Is that okay? Isn't that the sort of thing they're meant to chip away at?

Though I can see how you might get really stuck, especially if you consider inbred badness to be a given.

[glowsferatu]

ive never expected perfect health to come from seeing dr chilton
the man is only human and cant be expected to commit miracles
even a professional can only work with what is given to him
and i would be one hell of a thing for anyone to be given

[fridgeflower]

That bad, huh? Maybe I am, too.

I hope I can be really put-together at some point, but it's difficult to feel right a lot of the time. It can't be hopeless, though. Not for me or you.

[glowsferatu]

it calls for a special effort to be so bad as i am
youll pardon me if i reserve my doubts that youve fallen that far

still things may be hopeless but that doesnt mean nothing can be done

[ because they can be hopeless, of course they can. and they are. ]

[fridgeflower]

Do you really put effort into it?

[glowsferatu]

i dont have to
but im sure you might

[fridgeflower]

I'm trying to figure off how I've given off such a good impression. Everybody's trying to tell me how good I must be.

[glowsferatu]

i wouldnt even call it a good impression necessarily
just the absence of a bad one
from what ive seen which should probably be qualified as very little
you seem more concerned with getting along as you can than actively hurting anyone

the timing is curious of course
im guessing you were involved with that bit the hornets did recently

[fridgeflower]

Yeah. I got taken in by the whole viral mind control thing.

[glowsferatu]

susceptibility to mind control does not make one a monster
but it can show us the extent of what damage we are capable of causing if we hadnt the inclination to leash ourselves from causing it
hat damage cant be undone
but how much does it truly reflect on who you are and the decisions you make

[fridgeflower]

I don't know. I guess that's what I'm thinking way too hard on.

Maybe it's hard for some people to know what they're capable of. I've always had a hard time being comfortable with my powers. Confirming how far I'm able to push people just feels like it makes everything even more complicated.

[glowsferatu]

but complicated also means that the conclusions isnt foregone
this is what youre capable of
but how does it relate to what you do
and for that matter what you will do

[fridgeflower]

I don't know. I want to be of use while I'm here. I'm trying to feel like I'm accomplishing something, even if I'm not sure the best way to do it. That's why I'm still trying to do alright in school, and why I kept my job, and why I joined the Young Avengers.

I want to feel like I did something right. Or significant.

[glowsferatu]

then what you did
what they made you do is a poor reflection of your character
you strive to be better and it sounds though you have some methods to fulfill it
feeling right may not be yours immediately
but i think you might find it
and significance comes only with vigilance and effort

when you say youre with the young avengers
do you mean you have aspirations of superheroism