The Monster in the Mirror

Thinking about personality tests and quizzes and monsters and wondering if the type of monsters that resonate with a person reveal some piece of their core identity, like a shaman’s totems. Only these would be shadow totems, emblems and enablers of our dark side.

Yeah, yeah, we all know about the Goths and Vampire–pardon me–Vampyre Chic. And really, what more could you ask from your late teens/early twenties life? Sleep all day, play all night, gorgeous threads and never having to pay your way? Parasites in predator’s clothing, totally dependant upon the blood supply even as they eschew the boring little limited humans. Sound like juvenile disdain for the parents who provide food, shelter, clothing, tuition?? “I’m never going to be like them! Never going to let myself be tied down to a limiting little box for money . . . oh yeah, I need to write home and ask for some cash."

Nameless, my dear pal who reads this blog (and now I am so gonna get a thousand calls asking “Am I Nameless???") is all about communication, and ghost stories. And what is a ghost, except someone who desperately has something to say–but can’t get it across? Ghosts moan and rattle, appearing and vanishing around a fixed point, and the only way to get rid of them is to figure out what the problem is and FIX IT.

Lumpkin is into zombies. When I think of zombies, the first thing that comes to mind is drive. Zombies are the ultimate in drive. Their whole focus is getting from point A (hunger) to point B (satiety–usually on living flesh). That’s it. No quandries about what should be done, no distractions about what could be done right now (“While I’m devouring Bush, I might as well eat Souter, Cheney’s already one of us. Oooohhh–Ginsberg’s looking toothsome!”) Nope. Point A to point B in as few shambling steps as possible. Water, fire, walls--not a problem. Just stuff to pass through.

Me? I'm into devils and demons. Take what you want, do as you please, and pay for it. Ultimately powerful beings that are bound by rules of their own devising. The ultimate in OCD monsters, always checking the details, details, details. Why do you think I post once a week??? It's in the rules, just like the pentagram on the office floor that keeps me here at my desk.

And don't get me started on the angel-lovers out there. We're talking manifestations of the Divine Will. Notice that when God needs a heavy, S/He sends out an angel? The angel with the flaming sword guarding the Tree of Knowledge, the angel driving Adam and Eve out of the garden, the angel of death visiting the firstborn of Egypt? See a pattern here? Devils can be tricked; there's a whole genre of deal with the devil stories where the summoner wiggles out of the contract and avoids damnation. How many "Deal With an Angel" stories have you seen, where someone summons an angel, makes a deal, and then avoids the consequences? The negative consequences, of course--the ones where the protagonist gets gobsmacked for hijacking a henchman of the divine.

And no, I haven't touched shapeshifters--the werebeasts, the changelings. No one so far has admitted their love for the id buried within. (I can relate, I have a psyche like an M & M. Big chocolaty id, covered with a crunchy ego shell and sprayed with a glossy bright superego. Probably where I get the obsession tihe rules and such--the superego is very very thin, and washes away easily. If it gets scratched, that's it--here comes the chocolate.)

Next time, pictures. Promise. No more psychology for a while, it's too hot outside.