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Post by captianMaudlin on Aug 24, 2012 10:57:27 GMT -5
Our Heir of Space is a high-functioning autistic. No, he's not an "autistic savant", and he's not just slightly quirky either. I mean he has trouble TALKING without having a breakdown, much less entering combat. The Time player (the awesome one from the future) pretty much had to DRAG him to the first gate, on an improvised dolly cart because he flips the fuck out when you touch him.
He's pretty hard to Pesterchum with too, always communicating in giant WALLS of text with no punctuation. He's sort of a conspiracy theorist, going on about aliens and ghosts and other things that he was actually right about all along. Probably should have paid more attention to his "abduction dreams", or at least told him to stop punching the friendly Martians.
Oh, and it took the combined effort of all 7 other players to get him to NOT prototype his evil clown doll collection.
Space players are supposed to be IMPORTANT, right? Is there any way I can... uh, not FIX him. Just communicating with him would be enough. Kid's lived in that freaky tower that never showed up on Google Earth his whole life, I don't think he's ever even SEEN another human being before.
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Post by ExtropianDreamer on Aug 24, 2012 16:39:22 GMT -5
You're in luck, as I actually have some relevant expertise here. Though that doesn't sound particularly high-functioning to me.
Anyway, the conventional method for dealing with autism involves a whole lot of therapy and specialised teaching, preferably aided by support from the family and at as young an age as is possible. It works, but it's definitely a long term thing, and thus not practical for you right now.
There's no conventional quick-fix here. Just to get this out of the way, contrary to what popular culture might have you think in some cases, giving him a slap round the face and telling him to man up is just about the worst thing you could do. So don't ever do that.
There are a few Sburb methods of getting him functional fast, such as Heart abilities and certain psybuffs, but you should most definitely ask his permission first (don't, and I WILL figure out a way to deliver a bane-slap via the internet). Even then, I'd be wary of falling back on those quick-fix methods - as a Heir of Space, his quest likely involves learning to get his shit under control on his own so he can learn to live up to his responsibilities. It should be possible for him, and the best help you can give him is a whole lotta patience and support, combined with some friendly yet firm admonishment - make sure he knows you actually care, because that's gonna be his motive to try and improve.
If you can list what classes everyone has, I'll try and give you a rundown of which abilities would be helpful. Anything that decreases anxiety, fear or apprehension would be good to start with.
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Post by stanzicApparati on Aug 24, 2012 16:45:55 GMT -5
Okay, so you've got Space, Time and V id - what other Aspects do you have rolling around in there? There are some psy-buffs that would probably be pretty useful for helping him cope.
It's good to hear that he didn't prototype the clown dolls - and trust me, I can sympathize with "conspiracy theories".
Maturity quests might help, some. And the Space player's job can be done by someone else if it comes to it, but it's generally not recommended if the Space player's still around and able to do it themselves; they've got an instinctive knowledge of what needs doing, which none of the other players will have.
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Post by versatileVirtuoso on Aug 24, 2012 17:58:00 GMT -5
Tell us if you have a Might, Rage or Heart Player (Use Heart only as a last resort) in your session. If you do then your in luck, friend. Those guys have plenty of psi-buff abilities that would be perfect for dealing with your Space Player's autism and other mental issues.(Seriously, he's never seen another human before?) Might probably has the best psi-buffs in the game for any given mental distress, from Aggrievance to Clockwork Sorrow, and is most suited to getting this guy out of his shell, and doing his duties as the Heir of Space. Good Might Psi-buffs would be, [Waves of Confidence], [Listen To The Ocean] and of course [Broseidon, King of the Brocean]
Rage would be pretty effective as well, only down side being that a lot of its abilities require yelling and screaming, at least for First Session Rage Players just getting the hand of the Aspect. Be wary though,that whole drill sergeant routine could just push this guy over the edge, and really make him snap. Start out with, [Stand Up] or [Get Your Game Face On]. There pretty low level Psi-buff Rage abilities and if they all they do is make this guy cry and totally freak out then Rage isn't the way to go for your co-Player.
This is my personally belief, but I think Heart should only be used as a last resort when dealing with Players with mental issues. The reason why is because, Heart quite literally rips pieces out a person's soul. (I'm sorry, but "shiny" is such a stupid nickname) Doing such a thing even for seemingly positive ends just doesn't sit well with me, and I think Heart should only be used when someone's gone off the deep-end and started PK'ing. But hey it's your session and your decision, so use my advice as you will.
PS: I really think this guy just needs some regular in-person contact, get someone to visit him regularly on his Planet. A Knight would be best, their supposed to help and watch over the Space Player anyways.
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Post by ExtropianDreamer on Aug 24, 2012 18:38:55 GMT -5
Rage would be pretty effective as well, only down side being that a lot of its abilities require yelling and screaming, at least for First Session Rage Players just getting the hand of the Aspect. Be wary though,that whole drill sergeant routine could just push this guy over the edge, and really make him snap. Start out with, [Stand Up] or [Get Your Game Face On]. There pretty low level Psi-buff Rage abilities and if they all they do is make this guy cry and totally freak out then Rage isn't the way to go for your co-Player. |
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Post by darkChernozem on Aug 24, 2012 20:25:32 GMT -5
Can you get a Rain player to take a look at him? Autists are marching to their own drum at the best of times, and a little bit of the "wonderful madness" might grant him a look into the heads of the neurotypical.
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Post by ExtropianDreamer on Aug 24, 2012 20:56:57 GMT -5
Can you get a Rain player to take a look at him? Autists are marching to their own drum at the best of times, and a little bit of the "wonderful madness" might grant him a look into the heads of the neurotypical.
Autism makes sense, just a different kind of sense. Rain does not (unless it's your native). |
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Post by captianMaudlin on Aug 24, 2012 22:11:15 GMT -5
Okay, so you've got Space, Time and V id - what other Aspects do you have rolling around in there? There are some psy-buffs that would probably be pretty useful for helping him cope.
Blood is supposed to make "blood brothers", right? Maid's attached to him at the moment, but I think it's more about her fetish for hurt-comfort fanfiction than any GENUINE concern. Light might help too, though the Smith has his own problems.
ACTUALLY, I heard that his dreamself is more talkative. Too bad he's on Prospit, and I'm not. I've failed the fucking etiquette lesson three times now, I don't see this happening. |
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Post by stanzicApparati on Aug 24, 2012 23:50:20 GMT -5
The etiquette quests are worth doing. Being polite is never a bad idea and knowing some manners will help you out later on.
You need to do them for [Earning Your Wings] anyways, if you want to be able to get off of Derse.
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Post by ExtropianDreamer on Aug 25, 2012 6:48:10 GMT -5
The Maid and the Smith have the most helpful abilities here. Get them to toss some appropriate psybuffs on him and get one of them into an UU and he should start becoming functional. Keep the Page in reserve until it becomes absolutely necessary.
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Post by mislaidLullaby on Aug 25, 2012 6:59:49 GMT -5
I think we should clarify here: Heart does NOT just 'rip chunks out' of the shiny. That's really, really not what Heart is about.
However, it is true that you shouldn't be using it straight off the bat here. Get your Page to practice on rocks and imps and the like before you even consider letting 'em near your Space player. It'll give 'em a better understanding of how to manipulate things there to help him should you need to fall back to such a tactic.
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Post by genesisArtificer on Aug 26, 2012 6:49:58 GMT -5
I think we should clarify here: Heart does NOT just 'rip chunks out' of the shiny. That's really, really not what Heart is about.
However, it is true that you shouldn't be using it straight off the bat here. Get your Page to practice on rocks and imps and the like before you even consider letting 'em near your Space player. It'll give 'em a better understanding of how to manipulate things there to help him should you need to fall back to such a tactic.
Once you get there, note: autism is... a delicate matter for abilities to grasp. From what I have gathered, it simply doesn't register as "instability". You would need a real shiny screw to excise it, and this is not healthy. Try rather introducing some new things like "sociability" or "ok with the new situations", especially if his Dreamself possesses these qualities. It means he can have them, they need "unearthing" so to speak. |
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Post by captianMaudlin on Aug 27, 2012 1:16:58 GMT -5
I wouldn't worry about the Page, he's more likely to target HIMSELF with the sparkle-magic than anybody else. Etiquette-wise, I imagine he shouldn't fix the autistic guy by hacking his Heart for the same reason that I shouldn't use the Void to erase the Page's spare 20 pounds.
Blood girl is... clingy. She's got the Heir under a private "rest cure", with nobody else around but him and her. I tried to sneak in and the 4-and-a-half foot 99 pound girl HAMMER-TOSSED me. Pretty sure the Heir said something about the World, though. Said he "missed it's song", while rocking back and forth.
Stars girl thinks we should let this play itself out. SERIOUSLY, trust the one with the Bladekind to never use it when she should. What do you guys think?
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Post by incidentalCompeer on Aug 27, 2012 9:19:02 GMT -5
Native Heir here, and I'm worried because you mentioned she's not letting anyone near him and he doesn't seem to do anything.
"Heir's" whole deal is taking responsibility and doing things on the behalf of others. It's learning to get out there and do things that are asked of them, doubly so if they're also a "Space Player". The "Class" also has a high affinity for their "Aspect", including a fondness for "The Whisperings". As I recall "The Whisperings" of "Space" are called "The World". It seems your "Blood" player has somehow temporarily severed his connection to "The World". At least from my experience, "The Whisperings" can have a soothing affect on a troubled "Player", especially one with a high "Aspect" affinity.
Talk to her and get her to let him out of his bubble. If he flips out enough he will probably teleport to a place where there's a strong affinity for his "Aspect" on his "Land". Give him a chance to cool his jets regardless of whether he teleports away or not. Also talk to her about severing people from their "Whisperings" because to me that seems like a bit of a dick move, even unintentionally. Once he's calm again, gently start encouraging him to make progress outside. A psybuff here and there would probably help too, but if you start asking him to do things like "Lighting the Forge" and other game stuff then it should help push him on his way. Like I said "Heir" is about responsibility and action for others. Gently suggesting stuff now will help him in the long run.
I hope this helps.
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Post by captianMaudlin on Aug 27, 2012 14:30:13 GMT -5
It's taken care of, for now.
The Maid has some issues. She's still ALIVE, fortunately- if you ever play with an "elegantTaxidermist", keep an eye on her in-person if you can.
eT had prototyped a "Parapleusch" doll- they're these European plushies that are themed after mental disorders. This one was the Dissociative Identity Disorder one, a little sheep with a reversible pouch that turns it into a wolf. SBURB translated that into SHAPESHIFTING AMBUSH MONSTERS. I've been assaulted by out-of-place "consorts" a few times, and I'd even heard of a few false carapace people on the dream moons.
Did I mention the the Page REALLY loves his Captcha Cardmonsters?
With just a little prodding from me, we staged an abduction of Space boy's dreamself, a REAL abduction this time. The author of the Glitch FAQ would probably say that Space boy has that "Phantasmorgic Waltz" problem, too addicted to Prospit's shiny happy atmosphere. Here's to getting dragged away by a big scary Dragon-Wolf-Toad(notmyfault)-Tails Prower-Ogre!
When we got the Heir over to confront the Maid, he... you know that trick where you have both selves awake at the same time? Both of him hurled childish insults at her, teleported through the locked door and ran off to do GOD-knows-what. Seer can't find him anywhere, and won't apologize for the toad thing. I...THINK he's okay?
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