Question Hey Kristin, thanks

You actually mentioned a character idea I have in one comment you made, though you dismissed the idea as being unworkable.

keeping silent about the specifics, but Challenge Accepted.


edit to add:

you have mail

Some of the severe GSD cases should be less human than they are, considering that viewpoint.

But yeah, the greater the difference in perception, the less anyone will identify with the character. The reverse also being true.

A character with a severe perception difference even before manifesting would not likely be one that would consider humans as much import.

Actually, the Whateley environment might help to keep the humanity of the GSD cases. Take Froggy, or Feral, or even Razorback -- they at points got isolated from mainstream humanity and were becoming animalistic in nature, but after being brought to Whateley, where there are lots of people in similar situations, their conditions improved.

Sir Lee wrote: Actually, the Whateley environment might help to keep the humanity of the GSD cases. Take Froggy, or Feral, or even Razorback -- they at points got isolated from mainstream humanity and were becoming animalistic in nature, but after being brought to Whateley, where there are lots of people in similar situations, their conditions improved.

Wouldn't that follow under the idea that "If you're treated like and animal you become one."?

We base our ideas on the perception of what we see before questioning the reasons why?

socialization is a very large part of humanities nature, a lack of it by isolation would cause most to become savage, others to become depressed to the point of suicide.

And it's not just that as the magnitude of the powers increases, so too does the likelihood of divergence from mainstream humanity, at least in terms of actions and/or thought processes. There are some pretty "standard" shifts in mentality, such as bricks taking riskier and more aggressive actions, confident of their ability to shrug off violence, but it doesn't end there. Because of it such a being could, if not mindful of themselves and others, directly or indirectly cause inadvertent harm to those not as durable.

There is also, of course, the ethical use of magic and psychic abilities, to stress the fact that these powers should not be used so casually, for fear of not just the immediate and direct effects of their use, but to maintain commonality with the "norms" - staving off megalomaniacal (or similar) tendencies.

Personally one of the implications I'm most interested in is that of extended age. If one lives an extra "lifetime", or even longer, how would that affect their perspective - especially if they realise it well before it's confirmed by time? Do they fear the inevitable loss of outliving loved ones to the point that they cut themselves off? Do they take steps towards doing something on a grand scale with their longevity? While it's all but impossible to explore any single character's full extended lifetime in this setting for practical reasons, there are a number of useful characters to look at, notably the likes of Elizabeth Carson herself, and the more recent Ribbon.

Implications of powers and individual reaction and/or development relating to such is a concept I very much like exploring.

Given how Mrs. Carson does have a long time period for her, except for Feys, Cody's and Kayda's spirits (would they count as long lived?) as being longer lived. No documents that I have found (tons of reading and remembering) where another human has lived.

Mrs. Carson for all intents is the longest living one of Whateley in that she has the experience whereas Ribbon is just starting out even if she had changed in her 50's. Not discounting it, just saying that Ribbon has not gone through the process that Mrs. Carson has.

None have written about that morality that someone would experience or feel. What do some say? ' I wish I could live forever,' but when given that option how does it really feel. What do you do after the first century, or more so a millennium? Oh movies have guessed, but none really know, its all speculation.

I'm sure Mrs. Carson has had her heartache of loosing a husband as she watched him grow old while she retained her youth? Did it happen somewhere that others began to no longer view them as a couple but one of a father daughter? What was her thinking when she told others they were married only to hear them reply that the it was viewed as creepy or as a scam for his money.

Whats ribbon going to think as when she graduates school only to hear she's to young even with her MID stating otherwise. Or that people will perceive her as nothing more than a child until the time she's viewed as being old enough.

Is there even a record for the longest Exemplars death?

Ib12us wrote: Given how Mrs. Carson does have a long time period for her, except for Feys, Cody's and Kayda's spirits (would they count as long lived?) as being longer lived. No documents that I have found (tons of reading and remembering) where another human has lived.

Mrs. Carson for all intents is the longest living one of Whateley in that she has the experience whereas Ribbon is just starting out even if she had changed in her 50's. Not discounting it, just saying that Ribbon has not gone through the process that Mrs. Carson has.

None have written about that morality that someone would experience or feel. What do some say? ' I wish I could live forever,' but when given that option how does it really feel. What do you do after the first century, or more so a millennium? Oh movies have guessed, but none really know, its all speculation.

I'm sure Mrs. Carson has had her heartache of loosing a husband as she watched him grow old while she retained her youth? Did it happen somewhere that others began to no longer view them as a couple but one of a father daughter? What was her thinking when she told others they were married only to hear them reply that the it was viewed as creepy or as a scam for his money.

Whats ribbon going to think as when she graduates school only to hear she's to young even with her MID stating otherwise. Or that people will perceive her as nothing more than a child until the time she's viewed as being old enough.

Is there even a record for the longest Exemplars death?

Well, if I remember right, Carson's ~70, and her husbands keep dying via supervillains, so she's never had one die of old age... And Mutants seem to be an occurrence that less than a century old...

Well, Circe has Carson beat by a significant measure in the age department. Not an exemplar, but still...

There are other examples of long-lived characters, such as the Mystic Six and Mephisto, not to mention magic practitioners such as The Necromancer and most likely at least a few others. Bearing in mind that spirits aren't entirely relevant as they are thoroughly non-human, and the current discourse is specifically regarding how a human perspective can/does shift with the inclusion of super-human ability. Spirits can certainly influence their host through power, presence, knowledge and mentoring, though.

...Should we perhaps shift this talk to a new thread specifically for the topic? xD

no problem using this thread to discuss how powers change the person's outlook. and high level regen = slowed aging so it is a power affecting outlook. Which is kind of the topic for this thread anyway. ( how differences in perspective changes how a person interacts with / views baseline humans. )

Ametros wrote: Do they fear the inevitable loss of outliving loved ones to the point that they cut themselves off?

I've always thought that was a dumb trope. So far my family has gone through six dogs and at least three cats, and we've never said, "Let's not get another pet, because it will just die eventually and make us sad." And my grandma has outlived two husbands. I doubt she would prefer to have died with the first one and missed out on the second, or to have been a hermit and missed them both.

Yeah, the long-lived have to deal with a lot more death than mortals, but they also get to deal with so much more life.

Mrs. Carson, as one of the oldest known mutants, several husbands, numerous children all passed on, usually not from age.
She hasn't become isolated from humanity because of it, but has become more focused on protecting children.

An empath who creates strong emotional ties with those he cares about, human or pet, would prove the trope real or at least limit their connections to those with long lives as well. Because imagine the pain of loss, but magnified by an empathic connection through receptive empathy.

Skipping all the non-humans lets remember one fact and that is each reacts to a given situation in their own way. Not all individuals will follow a given scenario. Just because Mrs. Carson has endured her long life does not mean that Mr. Whoever will respond in the same manner. Its how we define that individual that makes then unique.

Nor am I implying how 'real' humans will react to a given situation. Many people don't fly due to fear or how they perceive flying. Crashes an such and statistics doesn't in most cases sway that belief.

I'm just saying that given the long timetable of those that age slowly will have an different effect on each. As time goes on, those that age differently than the norm may move away later in life due to memories, surroundings and such.

I've known many people that have sold their homes when a loved one died due to the memories that it invoked. Now I think of how those that live long are not viewed the same.

Ex. Think of Mrs. Carson going back to where she once lived. The area's changed for her, but not by much. She remembers the area as not so developed. She grew up there during the depression. She comes across a few childhood friends who she grew up with and are now their in the 80's - 90's. They don't fully recognize her as they think shes a grand-daughter or great-granddaughter. The older ones tell of knowing her and she see's how the world has changed so much.

She won't view time as they view it for she is now living life's passage then a normal human would so it sets her apart. She can no longer relate to them as they have grown older while she looks young. So she lies about who she is knowing that if she was to stay in one place others would see the oddity in how she ages. So she wouldn't go back until perhaps those who knew her were gone or the memories of the place has changed so much that the area would be considered new to her.

But how would an individual feel or act if they did live for decades longer. I'm sure they will cope in their own manner. Push aside older memories as she makes newer ones. But what of the act of those that she how rarely changes.

I cannot speculate how 'Aliens' would view time the way we do, but we guess or just ignore it in most cases. Maybe the gods of lore played complex games on those around them to break the boredom or monotony for living longer lives. But how will the human react to such longevity? Perhaps go mad after a bit? Become self-delusional? Or to break the so called day to day doldrums decide to become a villain to just 'experience' it. To go on the wild side.

I admit, bringing up the effect of relationships was rather tropey, so here's something perhaps more pervasive - culture change. I imagine that those who can adapt to change more easily and/or are just a little less attached than most would fare better, as even in a regular lifespan the world can shift drastically, this we know. Now, imagine if one could live for hundreds of years, thousands, even? It would be all too easy for one to become stuck in past thinking and not keep up with how things progress.

I guess one of the attractive parts of superpowers and associated baggage is that not everybody could deal with them. Each type would take a certain kind of strength and/or character to deal with, and through this the theme then becomes a reflection of humanity and individuality.

Name me something that is 'not' so trope? Its all about the delivery, its just lazy writers (movie or other wise) that kill it to death.

Ever watch Highlander? Was interesting up until they introduced them as being Aliens, thus killing it. TV show wasn't bad for the time.

Well, Highlander is a prime example of what a long life can do to some. The need to keep it secret, the fact you might have some very old ideas about things and not adapt with changing times, etc. Just look at how all the different immortals deal with it, including the unfortunate one who died the 1st time at 12 and is stuck that way.

Ib12us wrote: Ex. Think of Mrs. Carson going back to where she once lived. The area's changed for her, but not by much. She remembers the area as not so developed. She grew up there during the depression. She comes across a few childhood friends who she grew up with and are now their in the 80's - 90's. They don't fully recognize her as they think shes a grand-daughter or great-granddaughter. The older ones tell of knowing her and she see's how the world has changed so much.

I've actually had an experience something like that. One of my early jobs was on the same block I now live on.

In the ~25 years since I'd worked there, they'd torn down the building I worked at, torn down and rebuilt the grocery store that occupied the other half of that end of the block (it now occupies the space the old store did, plus the space the business I worked at had).

The burger place a lot of us went to lunch at was gone. The hobby store I used to buy RPGs at was a laundromat.

It took me most of a year after I moved into this apartment to realize that this was the same place!

Then there's experience of meeting people you haven't seen in a long time.

Right after I lost that job, I was working as "nanny" for a housemate's kid while she attended nursing school. I started before he could crawl. Last I'd seen of him he was 3 or 4.

Then one day at an SCA event, I hear his rather unique name called. And someone introduces me to this young man (18-20).

You feel *really* old when the rugrat you used to take care of is now old enoufgh to drink (or nearly so).

Multiply that by a lot for the older Whateley characters.