Ive supported this since booster’s introduction. Between the inability to “read the room”, fixation on psychology and using said fixation to (try to) compensate for social differences I big relate to them.
I also went into psychology to try to understand people. And I also wound up being less personable as a result.
Since the creator of this strip is likely autistic, and people tend to write what they know and base their characters on aspects of themselves, it doesn’t surprise me that several characters have autistic traits.
It occurs to me that since each character tends to have a consistent color palette in their wardrobe choices, and Booster’s leans heavily into lighter colors and pastels, do you think they deliberately put on a dark coat to better relate to / blend in with Ethan?
Speaking as a colorful dresser myself, outerwear is tricky, because it needs to go with *everything*, and I might end up with a more neutral color than I’d otherwise wear.
“–This means handing things over to our Tame Young Churchlady.
“Some Say that she has a space reserved on her dormatory wall for the taxidermed head of a lust wolf. And that she spent all week, looking for lubricants in the laundry aisles of various grocers. All we know is she’s called ‘THE STIM’.”
Ah, I see Booster got their idea to become a psychologist the same place my cousin did: by watching Frasier growing up.
Unfortunately, she says there’s more to it than being a wise-ass. Also, you need to do nine seasons as a supporting character before you get your own show (she’s on six, I think?).
What show is your cousin a supporting character on?
Also have you ever seen that youtube video – “Niles and Frasier become demon lords”. It is strangely accurate to the formula if not content of the show.
Y’know unrelated but I always thought The Animaniacs had a Cartoon Therapist character which I think is a really fun idea. But Scratchansniff is a pretty shoddy therapist. Like the idea of a therapist helping WB characters with their issues is prime comedy potential, It’s weird that they don’t use it more! And they got rid of him for the roboot so now we’ll never get silly cartoon therapy shenanigans.
True but it feels less like “he’s comedically bad at being a therapist” and more “the show runners didn’t really know how to write a decent therapist. He’s REALLY short with them, which isn’t just bad for a therapist but like…REALLY bad if you’re a therapist for cartoons. You’d think he’d be used to weirdos and wackos and Dots.
The recently finished webcomic “Skin Horse” had Tip, the psychologist on a team of black ops social workers. He is eccentric and utterly self-obsessed, but when the chips are down he’s also dedicated, professional and very effective.
I mean…Booster is going to school to be a psychologist. It makes sense they’re trash at it cause they haven’t finished learning. I don’t even know what year they are. They could be a freshman. Why so defensive on this Booster? This is why you’re here.
Well just because they’re learning doesn’t mean their pride isn’t mixed up in it. I never had an art class prior to going to art school but teenage me would be hurt if you said “you’re bad at art.”
Yeah but did you go around sharing your art unsolicited like you were a pro? Maybe not the best comparison, but people criticize Booster because they rather poorly psychoanalyze everyone they meet for fun. Like that first day when they attended Ruth’s RA meeting.
Booster is good at breaking people down not so much at building them back up yet, probably why they are pursuing a friendship with Ethan, if you can’t make meaningful connections you’re probably on the wrong carrer path.
as long as they don’t recommend ‘alcohol as self medication/therapy’, hopefully they can just still chill together. at the very least they prolly need some hot tea/cocoa if they’re going to be loitering around outside lol
Booster seems to very much believe they’re very good at psychology, based on them psycho-analyzing everyone in the room during the dorm meeting and then going ‘man if everyone wrote smut I’d have the world figured out in an hour’.
It could be like a Roz or Carla thing where ‘I’m so good at this already, I’m acing it’.
Having been a psych major, Booster definitely fits the stereotypes about us, and I admit the stereotype is not unearned. I don’t think I went around psychoanalyzing everyone and pissing them off, but I definitely had classmates who did. Booster needs to find someone sufficiently complex or having a sufficiently off-day so as to completely throw them off, in my experience that is often the first step to fixing this problem, getting a read that’s just so far off base that it’s embarrassing when someone counters everything they say about them.
Personally I pulled it off a couple times by being almost completely unfettered by society’s bullshit, since that can throw up a lot of false flags to people who haven’t encountered that before, and it isn’t particularly common so a lot of people haven’t encountered it. Sadly in this cast Carla’s probably the closest, but I think she believes her own hype enough that she has a dash of genuine narcissism/arrogance and not just the incredible confidence that comes knowing precisely who you are, flaws and all.
Dina might be able to pull it off, but for slightly different reasons. Have Booster and Dina directly interacted yet?
I’ll endorse this, too. I was a neuroscience major so I took a lot of psych classes. The psych majors who wanted to go the counseling route, especially in the early years, often exhibited a lot of confidence. I’d add that, for a lot of people, their confidence comes from a sense of pride in “being a good listener” and “understanding people.” However, the people who end up being good counselors are the ones who realize that it’s not about acting like you have it all figured out and the best counselors are the ones who realize that psychology (as a field) is flawed and that supporting people requires more than what you can learn in a textbook
I’m absolutely willing to admit I’m a shitty friend but if someone called me a shitty artist I might cry.
When I was a kid I was at a protest and an old man saw me drawing and asked me to draw him. When I finished drawing him he said “That looks nothing like me”. That was over a decade ago. I still constantly think about that guy, even though I’m sure he’s never thought about me once.
Sometimes it helps me to remember, in situations like these, that if I stop thinking about it, literally no one in the world will be thinking about it. No one will care. That can be kind of freeing, especially since I tend to beat myself up for really small things that other people probably barely register.
Something that you worked hard at, got trained in, and put the hours of work into matters more than something is considered more everyday. Most people don’t train or put work into learning how to be a good friend (the ones that do might find it hits harder). On a side note, I would always be more proud of art that I put work into, and more sensitive to critique, than any papers or tests that I did. I think that is due to finding the tests and papers easy, while the art was harder and required a lot more work and effort. Always got bummed when friends would only point out all that was wrong with it without saying anything good about it. Just a reminder that recognition of effort matters.
Yeah, this is something that I’ve been trying to train myself to do, acknowledge the stuff I like about things. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking only the areas that could use improvement bear mentioning, since if I like it then it’s obviously good, whereas if something was bad and they still included it they might not have noticed so it’s worth pointing out so it can be improved upon.
Constructive criticism is great because it can help people grow, but feedback that is ONLY criticism isn’t especially constructive, even when given kindly with helpful suggestions. Without also pointing out what was done well you can undermine their confidence and make them less receptive to the criticism, potentially even causing them to change the things that were good because they only heard bad things in feedback, causing them to think it was all bad.
People talk about complement sandwiches, where you lead with a complement to set a positive tone for the feedback and end with a complement so they leave on a positive note, and ideally interspersing as many complements as critiques throughout if you have a lot of feedback. I’m not sure if it’s necessary to have a particular structure when providing feedback, but it’s still a good idea to keep in mind, the issue is having enough complements, since people tend to focus more on things they dislike than things they like overall.
It also makes sense if you strongly identify yourself with the thing they’re insulting. Since you don’t strongly identify as a Friend, saying you’re a bad friend feels like they’re insulting your skills at friendship — which, hey, everyone could improve upon. But being an artist is part of your identity. Your art feels like a piece of yourself, and insulting your artistry can feel like an attack on that truest self. That’s way more cutting.
Booster identifies as a psych person a lot more than they identify as a friend. That’s interesting knowledge about them.
“That looks nothing like me. I’m three-dimensional and have a healthier skin tone. And what are those lines around the edges of everything? What would those even be made out of?”
“All I know is that YOU are not an illusion. Understand? This world around you, the people you meet—they’re a little thin, right? Cardboard and drywall. Cheap theater. Come on, try it out! Say: “I am more real than this.” Feels good, doesn’t it? “I am the only real person here.” Isn’t it like their insults and their bullets just went a little… soft?”
What kind of asshole goes up to a kid, demands they draw him, and then complains that the art doesn’t look like them? Accurately rendering a real person in a sketch is HARD, and a kid isn’t likely to have had the training/practice to have developed that skill very well. Beyond that, like, just because you draw doesn’t mean random strangers get to just make demands like that, especially if they are just going to be ungrateful for the results. Not cool.
You’d have to be a real social inept, crazy weirdo to think putting these two together was a good idea. I mean how could anyone possibly believe … oh yeah, Amber.
(I’m joking, I really like Amber. She’s a neat character)
I mean, Amber herself has tried to bring Ethan out of his funk, failed, and Booster is her exact opposite in terms of temperament, so they’re worth a try.
And in fairness, at least Ethan’s talking about stuff.
Ah, sweet drama, how I shall miss thee!
(Fortunately I know it won’t be long until the return of that oft-tasted nectar to our newly-desolate comments section, this being this particular webcomic…)
I was really hoping it would be fun to get into what the heck is going on with Booster to make them just as screwed up as all these other folks. I’m happy to report: Yes. Yes it is.
well, taking psych classes to ‘understand’ ppl bettter is one way to get some life skills, as long as you arent armchair diagnosing or trying to manipulate someone, but as long as ppl aren’t like “oh i’m taking psych classes because i’m super into ~serial killers~” i’d hope most would have the best of intentions lol
Booster can’t be a bad pyscologist beacuse they aren’t one yet. Though Booster may good at breaking people down to find out what’s wrong the mark of a good psychologist is if they can actually heal them. You can say friendships are the same way…or not honestly I prefer my friends to be supportive when I am sad rather then try to figure out what’s wrong with me, that’s why I goto a pyscologist.
yeah, and therapy is usually (hopefully?) done willingly/sought out. In this situation i’d just be like “wanna go to the gas station/convenience store for a quick pizza” or “let’s at least get a warm coffee/cocoa so we don’t get too cold hanging out in a lot” and just listening/lending an ear without necessarily prying about mike in particular
My thoughts are that while Booster is not a therapist yet (and is in fact a long way off from becoming one), it’s something they’ve put more effort toward than they have toward being Ethan’s friend. They literally just started interacting with Ethan today.
Also, it does seem like Ethan is aiming to be mean, and his first jab didn’t land, so he tried again.
Given what amber told booster about ethan and mike, other than something coming up for them personally or a class, I’d think that they’d probably not want to let ethan wander alone outside even if he’s not going too far off campus (at least both have on jackets)
This seems like an odd comment in general, but especially as a reply to my comment. I assume it’s just missed placed, but maybe there’s something I’m missing?
Ethan’s also being honest when he said that Booster was kinda being a crappy friend. Booster was asking probing questions, so Ethan turned it back on them.
See, if someone called me bad at my chosen profession, I’d absolutely feel hurt but I’d also feel validated with regard to my own lack of self-esteem. I wonder if the same applies to Booster, on some level.
Post-Timeskip Ethan’s snark is kind of reminding me of very-early-Shortpacked! Ethan and I’m honestly kinda loving it.
I mean this is a little different though cause Booster isn’t a psychologist yet. I wouldn’t feel that bad if someone told me I was a bad doctor if I had just started medical school. I hope Booster knows the difference.
tho ‘deflect with jokes’ not sure if walky would be any better. tho wonder if booster’s helped him anymore being the replacement roommate or if walky just ignores every attempt at serious convos lol
Being a friend to Ethan is something they have just started to attempt at someone else’s request. Being a psychologist is their own choice, possibly birthed in the pains of high school, an essential part of their very identity. How does Ethan *not* understand it?
Ah, it may be because the core of his identity so far (other than Transformers) has been… being a friend? I mean, weird, but okay.
Friends aren’t psychologists, neither are partners. Psychology is based around a specific skill set related to creating therapeutic relationships and using evidence based practice to implement structured therapy. You can’t do that if you have a personal relationship with someone.
wonder if it’d be hard not to havea parasocial relationship with a therapist.
i can imagine beng on friendly terms, and maybe even inviting to like a work party, unless that crosses a boundary but at the very least this isn’t the type of story where booster will go full Hannibal or so lol
It’s fine (and very common) to have strong feelings towards your therapist. That’s called transfer (or is it transference in english?) and can be an integral part of the therapy. It’s up to the therapist to be responsible and keep you safe though.
For instance a therapist should absolutely turn down your invitation to a work party lol. The relationship you have with them starts and ends at the door of their practice
i’m sure thre are friends that have acted as such/listen to you but not everyone’s equipped to handle traumadumping, i wonder how many therapists have their own therapists to discuss cases, privacy aside and just not saying names
Friends aren’t a replacement for therapy, but therapists aren’t a replacement for friends. If you trauma dump or self isolate a lot, getting a therapist might be a good idea? It depends on the therapist, though, I would say? Some therapists kinda suck, some therapists criminally suck (literally), others might just be incompatible. But good therapists are out there.
Booster, shut up. you’re not a psychologist, you’re an 18-year-old with aspirations. kids who want to go to med school don’t call themselves doctors, even if they find medical science fascinating in their first year
like sorry if it’s dismissive, but I refuse to call a first year university student by the title they want to earn, simply because (based on personal experience) more than half will not be graduating with the career path they initially thought. it’s wonderful that booster has such a defined career goal and all, but they’re not a psychologist
I’ve never much liked Booster. I had kind of assumed that they were a one-off joke character. They came in after the skip to reintroduce the main cast and to use their psych major to give a one or two line rundown of what everybody’s “problem” is. That why I assumed they were called Booster, they were there to bring new readers… up to speed (I’ll see myself out).
But I’m glad to see Willis taking the time to flesh out their character. I’m looking forward to an opportunity to get to live them. As a character, at least. So far I can’t really see myself ever wanting to be their friend. But I do think they’ve got a lot of potential to be an interesting character.
Gonna go against the grain a bit and say the psych majors I met in college were generally chill, personable, and good/enjoyable people. Of course, my sample is affected by the manner I met most of them in– while I had a psychiatry minor, those were most large lecture hall classes were I didn’t really have to interact much with classmates. I also spent significant time volunteering at a crisis line, though, which was a popular volunteering opportunity for psych and social work majors.
yeah, i find that dismissive vibe about psych majors a bit weird but i haven’t hung out with many psychology students in my day, so idk.
i will say i have heard it said that many people go into psychology because of their own, or a friend or relative’s history with mental heath. So it’s like, maybe be careful with that brush you’re painting all “psych majors” with…??? idk??
I’ve also met people who were really invasive about trying to study people to the point where they sexually fetishized mental illness and it’s like… Please don’t get offended if people talk about their experiences? 🥺 i actually I agree with you but I wanted to add that point. 🙂
oh i’m absolutely not offended about people drawing parallels between the story and actual experiences they’ve had. (that would be so gross of me) but maybe you’re right that some of the more generalized or less specific comments about “psych majors” being harmful and.or annoying, that kind of strike that weird chord in me of, “are y’all not being a bit unfair now???” may be reflections of bad experiences people have had that they don’t necessarily wish to disclose.
anyway, as i’ve said i don’t feel qualified to comment either way. so… i should probably just stop commenting about this :shame-monkey-emoji:
I… dunno, I’m not super charitable about people who are family or close friends of people with mental illness who decide this is a significant part of their life either. There’s really just a lot to be said about the dynamics of studying people very different from you for a living and, in this society, putting yourself into a position of authority over them in the process.
Though, in actuality, these people are barely adults and I’m way, WAY more worried about the ones who make it all the way into the field without having grown out of it. Those people can be dangerous. Booster might even be one of the people who goes into this to figure themselves out, and that would make me want to hug them because that would remind me of myself a lot more than (some of) my abusers.
I guess for me, that would depend on their relationship with the person. For example, a child who grew up living with a parent with severe/untreated/under-treated mental illness? That definitely is a major part of their life (especially if they’re just entering college).
There are definitely people who go into psychology for off-putting reasons, and people who make it all the way through to be off-putting psychologists. I do think that’s true of many fields, especially those that can put one in a position of power over others (doctors and educators, for example). It’s just going to vary from experience which ones you see.
(I went through an education program where most of my classmates were cool people who I was pleased with the idea of them being in classroom. There was one, though, who I flat ot told that she shouldn’t be a teacher.) (She became a teacher.)
When my sister started studying psychology I remember meeting her a few times with her classmates. It was awful, they started chatting with you about common things, then you ended up having to answer questions more and more personal that sent you into a crisis, my sister did the same at that time. After years of study they changed, but at first they were like vampires trying to suck information about you and your life.
Yeah, I also noticed the bit where he calls out Booster for deflecting just a scant four panels after his own deflection. It made me wonder whether letting him get away with his own deflection was part of why he thought Booster’s a bad shrink. A kind of “jeez, you didn’t catch that?” vibe. But I may be reading into it.
Ethan is right. Booster says things too directly and ends up irritating the others, they lacks diplomacy. But this is a common problem for any first-year psychology student. Surely Booster’s way of speaking will be completely different after five years of study, if they manages to resist and study without giving up as many do. Nice to see Ethan able to talk with someone, even if seems wanting to irritate they.
Just a note, when you use the singular “they,” you conjugate the same way you normally would when using “they.” For example, “they lack” and “they manage” instead of “they lacks” and “they manages.” Also, the last word in your post should be “them,” though that could just be a typo.
Okay, now seeing another comment of yours, I’m guessing the “they” at the end wasn’t a typo but perhaps not being sure how to use they/them pronouns.
The pronoun set they/them/theirs is equivalent to the sets he/him/his and she/her/hers. “We asked her if she wanted to come to our house or have us go to hers.” Referring to someone who used they/them/theirs, this would be, “We asked them if they wanted to come to our house or have us go to theirs.”
If you have any questions about using they/them pronouns, I’m willing to try to answer.
Thank you. I think to understand what my mistake is. I will not repeat it, maybe. I’ve studied English starting when I was 6 and still I’m so confused about everything.
Loading ...
stark contrast from the prior strips in every respect
Rabbi Siegal: Why do you understand it that friends are therapists who deflect with jokes?
RabbiSanchez: Why are you answering my question with a question?Man, how weird would it be if the characters involved swapped storylines?
Really weird, mostly because I can’t buy that either Ethan or Booster has never masturbated.
Mike would approve.
Particularly if the awkwardness increases.
Now kith!
I particularly appreciate the visual difference here RE: the color palette, just felt really satisfying as a transition between the narratives.
Just gonna say it right now, Booster is totally autistic. 😛
Also, Damn You Willis!!!!
Ive supported this since booster’s introduction. Between the inability to “read the room”, fixation on psychology and using said fixation to (try to) compensate for social differences I big relate to them.
I also went into psychology to try to understand people. And I also wound up being less personable as a result.
There are few people in the strip who aren’t.
Since the creator of this strip is likely autistic, and people tend to write what they know and base their characters on aspects of themselves, it doesn’t surprise me that several characters have autistic traits.
Oh 1000% percent, this has BEEN my theory
oh damn we went full pink and flowers to goth city over here
It occurs to me that since each character tends to have a consistent color palette in their wardrobe choices, and Booster’s leans heavily into lighter colors and pastels, do you think they deliberately put on a dark coat to better relate to / blend in with Ethan?
It does seem like they’re matching on purpose, but that exact jacket has appeared in the only other storyline showing Booster outside, so I think that’s just their regular outerwear.
Speaking as a colorful dresser myself, outerwear is tricky, because it needs to go with *everything*, and I might end up with a more neutral color than I’d otherwise wear.
It’s also just hard to find good colorful outerwear in “men’s” sizes.
Joyce expelled us from room, too. Did you see Dorothy looking to us in last panel, laughing?
That made me irrationally angry for some reason.
Laughter? 🤨
Like I said, “irrational.”
I was ready for more Joyce getting a little weird and a little wild. This is something of a gear crash.
The narrative shifted without a clutch.
I used to watch a lot of Top Gear, so your post made me think of that older host guy saying (about Joyce) “They call her The Stim”.
“–This means handing things over to our Tame Young Churchlady.
“Some Say that she has a space reserved on her dormatory wall for the taxidermed head of a lust wolf. And that she spent all week, looking for lubricants in the laundry aisles of various grocers. All we know is she’s called ‘THE STIM’.”
I know just the guy you’re talking about Clarkson I think his name is. Not May, and not the short guy.
I mean, he ain’t wrong.
DOA 13: Friends are Therapists Who Deflect with Jokes
*They
Goddamn it.
Ethan, I mean, before I get jumped in a dark alley.
Much better to get jumped in a brightly lit alley. Less chance of a mistaken identity that way.
Never thought I’d be happy to see Ethan but here we are
Ah, I see Booster got their idea to become a psychologist the same place my cousin did: by watching Frasier growing up.
Unfortunately, she says there’s more to it than being a wise-ass. Also, you need to do nine seasons as a supporting character before you get your own show (she’s on six, I think?).
And even after all that you still don’t know what to do with a tossed salad and scrambled eggs!
**singing** “Scrambled eggs and scrambled eggs! Sca-ramble those eggs!”
😋 They your favorite way to have eggs?
Eggs give me severe stomach ouch, but I’ll still shovel a 4-egg omelet with onions and bell peppers down my fat fuckin’ gullet
Closing theme to the TV show “Frasier”
‘Alas, alack, alay,’ I say, as I watch this pop culture reference flying past me!
Maybe they seem a bit confused. Yeah, maybe, but I’ve got you pegged.
before hanging out in the trans reddits, my read of that quote was quite different than it is now.
Soy egg best egg
What show is your cousin a supporting character on?
Also have you ever seen that youtube video – “Niles and Frasier become demon lords”. It is strangely accurate to the formula if not content of the show.
She’s got kids, so I’m guessing theirs.
Come to think of it, nine years is definitely not going to cut it. Eighteen at least.
The best Frasier fanfiction is this Columbo crossover:
https://twitter.com/joechoui/status/1582419562242273290?lang=en
Y’know unrelated but I always thought The Animaniacs had a Cartoon Therapist character which I think is a really fun idea. But Scratchansniff is a pretty shoddy therapist. Like the idea of a therapist helping WB characters with their issues is prime comedy potential, It’s weird that they don’t use it more! And they got rid of him for the roboot so now we’ll never get silly cartoon therapy shenanigans.
Eh, incompetence can be funny
True but it feels less like “he’s comedically bad at being a therapist” and more “the show runners didn’t really know how to write a decent therapist. He’s REALLY short with them, which isn’t just bad for a therapist but like…REALLY bad if you’re a therapist for cartoons. You’d think he’d be used to weirdos and wackos and Dots.
What about Yakos?
The recently finished webcomic “Skin Horse” had Tip, the psychologist on a team of black ops social workers. He is eccentric and utterly self-obsessed, but when the chips are down he’s also dedicated, professional and very effective.
Also the years of invisible alcoholism.
I mean…Booster is going to school to be a psychologist. It makes sense they’re trash at it cause they haven’t finished learning. I don’t even know what year they are. They could be a freshman. Why so defensive on this Booster? This is why you’re here.
Well just because they’re learning doesn’t mean their pride isn’t mixed up in it. I never had an art class prior to going to art school but teenage me would be hurt if you said “you’re bad at art.”
Yeah but did you go around sharing your art unsolicited like you were a pro? Maybe not the best comparison, but people criticize Booster because they rather poorly psychoanalyze everyone they meet for fun. Like that first day when they attended Ruth’s RA meeting.
I mean I was a teenager who drew so I probably shared my art with anyone who’d give me the time of day. But I get your point.
Booster is good at breaking people down not so much at building them back up yet, probably why they are pursuing a friendship with Ethan, if you can’t make meaningful connections you’re probably on the wrong carrer path.
as long as they don’t recommend ‘alcohol as self medication/therapy’, hopefully they can just still chill together. at the very least they prolly need some hot tea/cocoa if they’re going to be loitering around outside lol
Booster seems to very much believe they’re very good at psychology, based on them psycho-analyzing everyone in the room during the dorm meeting and then going ‘man if everyone wrote smut I’d have the world figured out in an hour’.
It could be like a Roz or Carla thing where ‘I’m so good at this already, I’m acing it’.
Having been a psych major, Booster definitely fits the stereotypes about us, and I admit the stereotype is not unearned. I don’t think I went around psychoanalyzing everyone and pissing them off, but I definitely had classmates who did. Booster needs to find someone sufficiently complex or having a sufficiently off-day so as to completely throw them off, in my experience that is often the first step to fixing this problem, getting a read that’s just so far off base that it’s embarrassing when someone counters everything they say about them.
Personally I pulled it off a couple times by being almost completely unfettered by society’s bullshit, since that can throw up a lot of false flags to people who haven’t encountered that before, and it isn’t particularly common so a lot of people haven’t encountered it. Sadly in this cast Carla’s probably the closest, but I think she believes her own hype enough that she has a dash of genuine narcissism/arrogance and not just the incredible confidence that comes knowing precisely who you are, flaws and all.
Dina might be able to pull it off, but for slightly different reasons. Have Booster and Dina directly interacted yet?
I’ll endorse this, too. I was a neuroscience major so I took a lot of psych classes. The psych majors who wanted to go the counseling route, especially in the early years, often exhibited a lot of confidence. I’d add that, for a lot of people, their confidence comes from a sense of pride in “being a good listener” and “understanding people.” However, the people who end up being good counselors are the ones who realize that it’s not about acting like you have it all figured out and the best counselors are the ones who realize that psychology (as a field) is flawed and that supporting people requires more than what you can learn in a textbook
I’m absolutely willing to admit I’m a shitty friend but if someone called me a shitty artist I might cry.
When I was a kid I was at a protest and an old man saw me drawing and asked me to draw him. When I finished drawing him he said “That looks nothing like me”. That was over a decade ago. I still constantly think about that guy, even though I’m sure he’s never thought about me once.
Wow, I am really sorry. That’s awful.
To be fair It didn’t’ really look like him. He was being honest. He probably didn’t really think it’d hurt my feelings so much.
Sometimes it helps me to remember, in situations like these, that if I stop thinking about it, literally no one in the world will be thinking about it. No one will care. That can be kind of freeing, especially since I tend to beat myself up for really small things that other people probably barely register.
Ya know what, that’s a really neat idea. Erase the entire thought from existence.
I concore. Sage advice, Yumi!
🥺
Something that you worked hard at, got trained in, and put the hours of work into matters more than something is considered more everyday. Most people don’t train or put work into learning how to be a good friend (the ones that do might find it hits harder). On a side note, I would always be more proud of art that I put work into, and more sensitive to critique, than any papers or tests that I did. I think that is due to finding the tests and papers easy, while the art was harder and required a lot more work and effort. Always got bummed when friends would only point out all that was wrong with it without saying anything good about it. Just a reminder that recognition of effort matters.
Yeah, this is something that I’ve been trying to train myself to do, acknowledge the stuff I like about things. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking only the areas that could use improvement bear mentioning, since if I like it then it’s obviously good, whereas if something was bad and they still included it they might not have noticed so it’s worth pointing out so it can be improved upon.
Constructive criticism is great because it can help people grow, but feedback that is ONLY criticism isn’t especially constructive, even when given kindly with helpful suggestions. Without also pointing out what was done well you can undermine their confidence and make them less receptive to the criticism, potentially even causing them to change the things that were good because they only heard bad things in feedback, causing them to think it was all bad.
People talk about complement sandwiches, where you lead with a complement to set a positive tone for the feedback and end with a complement so they leave on a positive note, and ideally interspersing as many complements as critiques throughout if you have a lot of feedback. I’m not sure if it’s necessary to have a particular structure when providing feedback, but it’s still a good idea to keep in mind, the issue is having enough complements, since people tend to focus more on things they dislike than things they like overall.
It also makes sense if you strongly identify yourself with the thing they’re insulting. Since you don’t strongly identify as a Friend, saying you’re a bad friend feels like they’re insulting your skills at friendship — which, hey, everyone could improve upon. But being an artist is part of your identity. Your art feels like a piece of yourself, and insulting your artistry can feel like an attack on that truest self. That’s way more cutting.
Booster identifies as a psych person a lot more than they identify as a friend. That’s interesting knowledge about them.
Ouch that’s rough. I’ve actually never had much pride in my artwork to feel like this. I kind of envy it even if that can make you more defensive.
“That looks nothing like me. I’m three-dimensional and have a healthier skin tone. And what are those lines around the edges of everything? What would those even be made out of?”
“All I know is that YOU are not an illusion. Understand? This world around you, the people you meet—they’re a little thin, right? Cardboard and drywall. Cheap theater. Come on, try it out! Say: “I am more real than this.” Feels good, doesn’t it? “I am the only real person here.” Isn’t it like their insults and their bullets just went a little… soft?”
What kind of asshole goes up to a kid, demands they draw him, and then complains that the art doesn’t look like them? Accurately rendering a real person in a sketch is HARD, and a kid isn’t likely to have had the training/practice to have developed that skill very well. Beyond that, like, just because you draw doesn’t mean random strangers get to just make demands like that, especially if they are just going to be ungrateful for the results. Not cool.
The years have changed that for sure! What I’ve seen of your art is amazing
You’d have to be a real social inept, crazy weirdo to think putting these two together was a good idea. I mean how could anyone possibly believe … oh yeah, Amber.
(I’m joking, I really like Amber. She’s a neat character)
I mean, Amber herself has tried to bring Ethan out of his funk, failed, and Booster is her exact opposite in terms of temperament, so they’re worth a try.
And in fairness, at least Ethan’s talking about stuff.
To be fair I like Amber because she’s a socially inept crazy weirdo.
I honestly think putting these two together was a GREAT idea!
Booster has enough Mike energy for Ethan to eventually be down for it.
Ooh, I like the color palette. Blue is such a good nighttime color.
Ah, sweet drama, how I shall miss thee!
(Fortunately I know it won’t be long until the return of that oft-tasted nectar to our newly-desolate comments section, this being this particular webcomic…)
Well I didn’t see this coming.
Also I didn’t expect the switch to Booster and Ethan (very refreshing though)
I was really hoping it would be fun to get into what the heck is going on with Booster to make them just as screwed up as all these other folks. I’m happy to report: Yes. Yes it is.
well, taking psych classes to ‘understand’ ppl bettter is one way to get some life skills, as long as you arent armchair diagnosing or trying to manipulate someone, but as long as ppl aren’t like “oh i’m taking psych classes because i’m super into ~serial killers~” i’d hope most would have the best of intentions lol
Booster can’t be a bad pyscologist beacuse they aren’t one yet. Though Booster may good at breaking people down to find out what’s wrong the mark of a good psychologist is if they can actually heal them. You can say friendships are the same way…or not honestly I prefer my friends to be supportive when I am sad rather then try to figure out what’s wrong with me, that’s why I goto a pyscologist.
yeah, and therapy is usually (hopefully?) done willingly/sought out. In this situation i’d just be like “wanna go to the gas station/convenience store for a quick pizza” or “let’s at least get a warm coffee/cocoa so we don’t get too cold hanging out in a lot” and just listening/lending an ear without necessarily prying about mike in particular
From one tragedy to another, brilliant! Like digging yourself into a hole that you shouldn’t have been in!!
Now I need to spout inside jokes with my homies again, berb
I guess being an ass is one way to try to hide your insecurities.
Why mess with a successful formula?
It’s like the oldest coping mechanism known to humanity. Don’t fuck with the classics.
I really like this icon that you’ve always had.
Not to change the subject or anything.
I drew it in like a minute and liked the eyes a lot so I kept it
He learned it from Mike, who was really uh, adept, at it.
this is kind of a relief
That’s what Joyce said.
that’s what I’m escaping
My thoughts are that while Booster is not a therapist yet (and is in fact a long way off from becoming one), it’s something they’ve put more effort toward than they have toward being Ethan’s friend. They literally just started interacting with Ethan today.
Also, it does seem like Ethan is aiming to be mean, and his first jab didn’t land, so he tried again.
Given what amber told booster about ethan and mike, other than something coming up for them personally or a class, I’d think that they’d probably not want to let ethan wander alone outside even if he’s not going too far off campus (at least both have on jackets)
This seems like an odd comment in general, but especially as a reply to my comment. I assume it’s just missed placed, but maybe there’s something I’m missing?
Ethan’s also being honest when he said that Booster was kinda being a crappy friend. Booster was asking probing questions, so Ethan turned it back on them.
See, if someone called me bad at my chosen profession, I’d absolutely feel hurt but I’d also feel validated with regard to my own lack of self-esteem. I wonder if the same applies to Booster, on some level.
Post-Timeskip Ethan’s snark is kind of reminding me of very-early-Shortpacked! Ethan and I’m honestly kinda loving it.
i mean, i’d hope a psych student would be slightly humbled before finishing their thesis/credits/graduation, it might be helpful in the long run
I mean this is a little different though cause Booster isn’t a psychologist yet. I wouldn’t feel that bad if someone told me I was a bad doctor if I had just started medical school. I hope Booster knows the difference.
I do like these two’s dynamic so far.
Ahhhh the beginnings of friendship!
little of column a and b
tho ‘deflect with jokes’ not sure if walky would be any better. tho wonder if booster’s helped him anymore being the replacement roommate or if walky just ignores every attempt at serious convos lol
…I don’t dislike their dynamic
it’s harder to be a good psych when you don’t have the buy-in of ‘I am paying to be here rn’.
Being a friend to Ethan is something they have just started to attempt at someone else’s request. Being a psychologist is their own choice, possibly birthed in the pains of high school, an essential part of their very identity. How does Ethan *not* understand it?
Ah, it may be because the core of his identity so far (other than Transformers) has been… being a friend? I mean, weird, but okay.
Maybe he doesn’t understand because they just met each other today..?
They’ve been roommates for like two years.
Ethan and Booster???
That’s in-story, by the way, not talking about IRL.
ohhh this is cute
Love the accuracy of the undergrad psych major.
Friends aren’t psychologists, neither are partners. Psychology is based around a specific skill set related to creating therapeutic relationships and using evidence based practice to implement structured therapy. You can’t do that if you have a personal relationship with someone.
wonder if it’d be hard not to havea parasocial relationship with a therapist.
i can imagine beng on friendly terms, and maybe even inviting to like a work party, unless that crosses a boundary but at the very least this isn’t the type of story where booster will go full Hannibal or so lol
60% Hannibal at most.
It’s fine (and very common) to have strong feelings towards your therapist. That’s called transfer (or is it transference in english?) and can be an integral part of the therapy. It’s up to the therapist to be responsible and keep you safe though.
For instance a therapist should absolutely turn down your invitation to a work party lol. The relationship you have with them starts and ends at the door of their practice
I dunno, I can see Booster eating at least parts of Ethan.
I used to believe that therapist are people that your pay to be your friends.
Nice explanation.
i’m sure thre are friends that have acted as such/listen to you but not everyone’s equipped to handle traumadumping, i wonder how many therapists have their own therapists to discuss cases, privacy aside and just not saying names
Yeah it’s very common, even compulsory in some therapeutic models, for therapists to also go to therapy.
Friends aren’t a replacement for therapy, but therapists aren’t a replacement for friends. If you trauma dump or self isolate a lot, getting a therapist might be a good idea? It depends on the therapist, though, I would say? Some therapists kinda suck, some therapists criminally suck (literally), others might just be incompatible. But good therapists are out there.
I feel like these two can verbally joust and needle each other at the same level, it’s nice, it’s fun.
Hahaha oh thank fucking god, they have self-awareness. My appreciation of Booster just raised vastly.
Therapists are people that deflect friendship with bills.
Mmmm no, it doesn’t sound entirely right.
No, no, I think you might be on to something!
Yeah I’m totally sending that strip to all my close friends
I wonder what Booster’s voice is like. I haven’t pinned one down for them in my head yet.
Booster, shut up. you’re not a psychologist, you’re an 18-year-old with aspirations. kids who want to go to med school don’t call themselves doctors, even if they find medical science fascinating in their first year
Some totally do, which is super-useful, because then you know who you should stay the hell away from.
The one calling Booster a Psychologist was Ethan, then Booster just responded to him using the same tone for being ironic. Cut they some slack.
like sorry if it’s dismissive, but I refuse to call a first year university student by the title they want to earn, simply because (based on personal experience) more than half will not be graduating with the career path they initially thought. it’s wonderful that booster has such a defined career goal and all, but they’re not a psychologist
I think Booster was being facetious, but I agree with you. :3
Booster is trying.
Booster is very trying.
Going to attempt sympathy for Booster for a moment and say, if that’s their perception of what a friend is, I feel bad for them
I’ve never much liked Booster. I had kind of assumed that they were a one-off joke character. They came in after the skip to reintroduce the main cast and to use their psych major to give a one or two line rundown of what everybody’s “problem” is. That why I assumed they were called Booster, they were there to bring new readers… up to speed (I’ll see myself out).
But I’m glad to see Willis taking the time to flesh out their character. I’m looking forward to an opportunity to get to live them. As a character, at least. So far I can’t really see myself ever wanting to be their friend. But I do think they’ve got a lot of potential to be an interesting character.
Gonna go against the grain a bit and say the psych majors I met in college were generally chill, personable, and good/enjoyable people. Of course, my sample is affected by the manner I met most of them in– while I had a psychiatry minor, those were most large lecture hall classes were I didn’t really have to interact much with classmates. I also spent significant time volunteering at a crisis line, though, which was a popular volunteering opportunity for psych and social work majors.
*psychology minor, apparently I’ve just been typing about psychiatry way more recently
yeah, i find that dismissive vibe about psych majors a bit weird but i haven’t hung out with many psychology students in my day, so idk.
i will say i have heard it said that many people go into psychology because of their own, or a friend or relative’s history with mental heath. So it’s like, maybe be careful with that brush you’re painting all “psych majors” with…??? idk??
I’ve also met people who were really invasive about trying to study people to the point where they sexually fetishized mental illness and it’s like… Please don’t get offended if people talk about their experiences? 🥺 i actually I agree with you but I wanted to add that point. 🙂
oh i’m absolutely not offended about people drawing parallels between the story and actual experiences they’ve had. (that would be so gross of me) but maybe you’re right that some of the more generalized or less specific comments about “psych majors” being harmful and.or annoying, that kind of strike that weird chord in me of, “are y’all not being a bit unfair now???” may be reflections of bad experiences people have had that they don’t necessarily wish to disclose.
anyway, as i’ve said i don’t feel qualified to comment either way. so… i should probably just stop commenting about this :shame-monkey-emoji:
I… dunno, I’m not super charitable about people who are family or close friends of people with mental illness who decide this is a significant part of their life either. There’s really just a lot to be said about the dynamics of studying people very different from you for a living and, in this society, putting yourself into a position of authority over them in the process.
Though, in actuality, these people are barely adults and I’m way, WAY more worried about the ones who make it all the way into the field without having grown out of it. Those people can be dangerous. Booster might even be one of the people who goes into this to figure themselves out, and that would make me want to hug them because that would remind me of myself a lot more than (some of) my abusers.
I guess for me, that would depend on their relationship with the person. For example, a child who grew up living with a parent with severe/untreated/under-treated mental illness? That definitely is a major part of their life (especially if they’re just entering college).
There are definitely people who go into psychology for off-putting reasons, and people who make it all the way through to be off-putting psychologists. I do think that’s true of many fields, especially those that can put one in a position of power over others (doctors and educators, for example). It’s just going to vary from experience which ones you see.
(I went through an education program where most of my classmates were cool people who I was pleased with the idea of them being in classroom. There was one, though, who I flat ot told that she shouldn’t be a teacher.) (She became a teacher.)
When my sister started studying psychology I remember meeting her a few times with her classmates. It was awful, they started chatting with you about common things, then you ended up having to answer questions more and more personal that sent you into a crisis, my sister did the same at that time. After years of study they changed, but at first they were like vampires trying to suck information about you and your life.
I’ve had to see a professional because of this type of person in order to deal with the trauma. :))))))
Ethan: Deflects, deflects, deflects by insulting Booster (albeit with cause and a soupcon of uncomfortable truth.)
Also Ethan: Accuses Booster of deflecting when Booster responds to said insults.
Hypocrite much?
Yeah, I also noticed the bit where he calls out Booster for deflecting just a scant four panels after his own deflection. It made me wonder whether letting him get away with his own deflection was part of why he thought Booster’s a bad shrink. A kind of “jeez, you didn’t catch that?” vibe. But I may be reading into it.
That’s a cute Booster face in the last panel.
Say what you will about Booster, they really know how to use those lips for maximum effect.
*Hands you the prophesy dodgeball* When this ends with them banging in the woods, I want you to remember this comment.
Ethan is right. Booster says things too directly and ends up irritating the others, they lacks diplomacy. But this is a common problem for any first-year psychology student. Surely Booster’s way of speaking will be completely different after five years of study, if they manages to resist and study without giving up as many do. Nice to see Ethan able to talk with someone, even if seems wanting to irritate they.
Just a note, when you use the singular “they,” you conjugate the same way you normally would when using “they.” For example, “they lack” and “they manage” instead of “they lacks” and “they manages.” Also, the last word in your post should be “them,” though that could just be a typo.
Okay, now seeing another comment of yours, I’m guessing the “they” at the end wasn’t a typo but perhaps not being sure how to use they/them pronouns.
The pronoun set they/them/theirs is equivalent to the sets he/him/his and she/her/hers. “We asked her if she wanted to come to our house or have us go to hers.” Referring to someone who used they/them/theirs, this would be, “We asked them if they wanted to come to our house or have us go to theirs.”
If you have any questions about using they/them pronouns, I’m willing to try to answer.
Thank you. I think to understand what my mistake is. I will not repeat it, maybe. I’ve studied English starting when I was 6 and still I’m so confused about everything.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. English sucks. Those of us born into speaking it still suck at it too a lot of the time.
I muchly talk goodly and never suckish.
god booster is such a prick