Grrl Power #750 – ARC-Shrink
Happy 4th to everyone who celebrates it!
This is the 750th page of Grrl Power! Arbitrary round numbers FTW! Thank you guys so much for all your support over the years. It’s so awesome to be able to share these stories and characters with everyone. The 57 foot commute to work doesn’t suck either. :D Here’s to another 250 pages, and then a thousand more after that!
Disclaimer: I’m not a psychologist. I’m sure many of you are stunned by this, but don’t expect a super deep dive here. It would be fun to actually analyze Sydney a bit, but anyone remotely acquainted with the profession would probably hurt themselves rolling their eyes if I tried to write some serious diagnosis.
Dr. Frost comes to us courtesy of Beryllium Mask of Patreon. If you didn’t know, there’s a tier over there that allows people to have a cameo of a character of their own or even themselves. (It can take a while, but I’ll work them in eventually.) Dr. Frost is sort of a hybrid. I didn’t have a picture to work from, but Beryllium Mask’s description of herself was just “Betazed dark eyes” and dark brown hair that’s sometimes dyed red. So I split the difference there. I guess the doc is letting it grow out. She’s probably been busy ever since they started putting the team together. That or she’s just giving her follicles a break before re-dying it. Like Doc Chevvy, she doesn’t work exclusively with the team, given their small size, but as Sydney asks about here, she has the clearance and is used to working with military personnel as well as supers and some of the unique challenges they face.
I’ve finally updated the vote incentive. I’m sorry for letting the other one languish for so long. This piece isn’t finished yet, but I finally got a chance to do a little work on it. It was sitting on my drive for a while because I didn’t like her face, so I redid it and it’s turning out pretty good so far. Jabberwokky is supposed to have that “you should see the other guy” look on her face, so that may need a little work still. I’m not sure, but I kind of think I like the teal pencils. We’ll see how it turns out as I keep noodling on it.
Double res version will be posted over at Patreon. Feel free to contribute as much as you like!
SuperheroThey're super, thanks for asking!
Meatspace ComicSeriously these are awesome. Check 'em out!
Not UpdatingNo longer updating or only updates sporadically, but definitely worth reading.
SeriouslySeriously you guys. If you like Grrl Power the check these out.
"Mature"Mature subject matter and occasionally something explicit but usually safe. Can't guarantee the ads are safe though.
Dongs Ahoy!Full frontal and backal. Lots of skin, sex on some or all pages, explicit or otherwise.
DaveB really should register that Cupps® logo with the Patents and Trademarks Office. That’s a proper bit of marketing genius. That’s a coffee shop I’d certainly want to check out. And you just have to love the barista uniforms.
I could just imagine the stupid lawsuits now, lol.
Eh, it’s not that much different than Twin Peaks, Hooters, and that nude coffee shop I had on my instagram feed but can’t find right now.
The main problem is, while you do not need a business in order to register a trademark, you must start USING the trademark after filing the application, since non-use of a trademark can be a ground for cancellation of a registered trademark. That being said, its use in this comic could be considered a defense against non-use of the trademark. But there’s still a chance that someone could dispute it if they want to make a real coffee shop with that name/idea. Might have a harder time actually ripping off the actual logo though.
Justification for my statements? I’m an attorney that engages in a lot of intellectual property law. Especially copyrights and trademarks.
I’d still like the Luftwaffels first.
You vill be PATIENT! Unt vait your TURN!!
Ve haf vays uf making you enchoy your breakfast!
I’d prefer to go there for lunch, for a Hogan’s Hero Sandwich.
With a side order of Icy Nothing soda :D
Oh god. Okay Guesticus, I have to now bow before you for that one.
You win the internet today. I Colonel Clink my glass to you in a toast of your excellence.
Once you have seen one nearly naked barista you have seen them all. We have Bikini Barista’s here in Washington state in my travels outside the state they don’t appear to have spread to the rest of the country yet. If they have you get bad coffee and a show, or okay coffee and a show. Okay sometimes you get good coffee and a show but mostly I’ve found it tends to be middling coffee. Don’t believe me about the bikini’s just search for it you will get an eye full.
I live in washington state and can verify the existance of the bakini baristas. Only drove through one once though. But ya, see them all over the place.
My city used to have a Topless restaurant. only age requirement was 18. So 18 year old seniors in high school would go. One friend went with his 18 year old girlfriend who told him “I’m hungry. they have good burgers.” He married her years later.
I live in western WA, too, and yeeeup, bikini barista kiosks do exist. I feel really sorry for the staff in winter, because they’re constantly having to open the window, getting exposed to icy winds, nearly-freezing-cold rain, occasional snow, and a higher percentage of jerks who just want to objectify them than most other barista jobs. (Though at least they pay!)
Once you’ve seen one naked barista, you pretty much want to see all the naked baristas.
Since he has already used it, it is already copyrighted, however doing it officially, means you have legal right to use it exclusively.
We’re ALL security risks around her!
Also, doesn’t the whole world know about the alien spaceship and such?
They know about the one in Africa. As of last night’s news, at least the locals know about Cora’s ship, but not necessarily where it is from.
Also imagine news about giant eldrich space abominations that can casually armageddon a planet getting out…
Imagine the insult to injury if it turned out that wasn’t a retaliation for anything the Alari did; but just because those were a builder class high end civilization who wanted a nice big parking lot for a space station bar they are building nearby.
The Alari homeworld was in the way of the newest hyperspace bypass route!
HHG(ttG) reference for the ^WIN^!!
Or the fact that a single government agent killed them
That necklace is important.
Does something or means something
Suspect Dr. Frost may have a connection with the Twilight Council. Maybe the necklace holds the glamour that allows her to pass for human.
What with the problems <a href="https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-455-pre-position/"The Veil has had lately such items may be necessary now days.
What with the problems The Veil has had lately such items may be necessary now days.
Stupid malformed HTML.
Honestly I was wondering if it helps compartmentalize information, if I was in a world with magic I could see psychologists who deal with classified information looking at ways to only know the information when they need to.
Honestly if a. I ever got far enough to be a psychologist is how would program, base AI would know all the psych knowledge they need, nothing personal. Work related Memories of specific people only unlocked when they are with that person in a work related manner. I wonder if there is a magical version of that
I’m guessing with eyes and face shape maybe Seelie or something from the Egyptian end of the spectrum given the neckless
Eyes and face shape mean nothing, look at Sydney
Looking at Sydney also means nothing.
Point is: how many hyu-mons do you know of that have eyes that big?
Ohhh, eyeliner can do alot in that direction. Apparently. So I heard. There’s probably a webcomic about it. I’m sure I could find it if demand comes up.
Oh yes, can totally see it: panel six is totally eye-liner, completely normal hyu-mon eyes
I’m guessing that’s what eyes look like after someone betazes them?
I have no idea how that’s done, but the first thing I thought when I read “betazed eyes” involved tazers, and I sure hope that’s not it.
Betazed was the planet that Counselor Deanna Troi was from in Star Trek: The Next Generation. She’s half Betazoid, her mother (played by Majel Barrett Roddenberry) was full Betazoid.
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Betazed
Think Counselor Troi from TNG, she was half Betazed, and the real life actress is also a racially mixed person.
Amanda Seyfried :)
… Who? o_O
Amanda Seyfried is an actress known for her unusually LARGE eyes (also sometimes known for how far apart her eyes are, but most of the jokes are about how big her eyes are). She was in A Million Ways to Die in the West and a bunch of other movies.
I bring up ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’ because one of the jokes in the movie was directed at her – “How can you have eyes that big and still be so blind?”
Oh, you mean Marty Feldman’s daughter?
No :) But he did have huge freaky eyes as well :)
I’m thinking she’s a super: Either a superhuman or a supernatural. My best guess, for now, is that she’s a Fey of some kind… Or maybe a vampire.
She’s probably not a super, anyone with a superhero sounding name is unpowered in this comic so far.
From her necklace, I’m guessing vampire.
That necklace looks magical…
Looks like cheap tourist crap
Bah! You’d say that about the Hope Diamond.
To be fair it does too. Sure it’s big and rare but that doesn’t make it automatically good looking, just expensive.
The perfect camouflage for a magical talisman is for it to look like cheap tourist crap :)
Unfortunately, even “cheap tourist crap” can look like somthing a thief might want to steal.
:-þ
I love her hair. It is magnificent.
Wasn’t there a vampire earlier that had similar?
Went back. Her hair was red and blonde.
But aside from her dye choice, she does look a lot like Scarlett
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-463-the-crux/
I’m calling it now that therapist is not 100% human
Or is and has a psychic ability like Empathy.
Or is just human and REALLY good at her job ;)
Thirs option, she is human, has a high security clearance, and has already been briefed on Halo’s situation so she knows what she is dealing with.
Her last name IS Frost.
Also, just to note: The in-house physician is a Super, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility for the in-house therapist to have empathic or telepathic abilities.
Vampire probably. Maybe something more niche but not a super or an alien is my guess.
The hair seems like a clue. Not only is the color change in a strange place, but the locks are looking mighty snakey. Like a medusa.
You can get that effect by just dyeing your hair and letting it grow out for a few months, man.
Absolute truth; my hair has looked like that on occasion, over the years.
Well there’s the caffeine infusion. And Scoville there’s no one when your company that is not a security risk
That coffee shop’s name is very punny. I looove it.
You should check out the uniform :)
Yeah.. well i guess Sydney is especially excused from being dumb right now.
Since as such she herself is likely the biggest security risk Archon have.
Apperati?
Apparatti?
Nope, ‘apparatuses’ is correct
Merriam Webster:
plural apparatuses or apparatus
Apparatus is a weird word because the plural for apparatus can be either apparatuses or…. apparatus. It’s considered a ‘semi uncountable noun’ in the base latin. Both apparatus and apparatuses are plural of appartus, but apparati is completely wrong.
Octopus is even more odd. The plural of octopus is octopuses, octopus, OR octopi :) (that really annoys me for some reason).
Octopods.
I…. I don’t even know what to say in response to that.
Invotive: which arse-pounder hurt Jabs, and which hospital do we send the flowers to while they recover?
No, the flowers go to the funeral home instead. I think she is missing a few tattoos.
Dang it, I was going to say something similar, I mean if all she walked away with was a black eye and bloodied lip. I feel sorry for whomever she got into a row (ow sound not oh sound) with.
Jabberwocky smokes Tareytons.
I guess super metabolism is immune to carcinogens.
Art isn’t done yet.
You implying she’s going to end up looking worse? o_O
Was going to say that, butt figured Jabs would be generous and let them live (in pain) rather than merciful
Eyes look like brown eyes, not betazoid all-black… but quibble is as quibble does
Anyone else bothered that she seems to have zero facial expressions?
Not really. She is doing the calm even, ‘you can tell me’ demeanor. I have seen professionals do that and it can work well. Especially for someone like Sydney who is having issues focusing right now.
In fact, that is my normal facial expression.
Not really. Note the eyebrows? Not much (and I agree with Nealithi about that it’s purposeful) but not zero either.
To me it looks like she is a visitor from the ‘Thunderbirds’ universe.
https://gunaxin.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Thunderbirds-characters.jpg
Oh no she’s hot
Just be a super of some kind.
* Must
As far as I am aware, coffee does not actually give people with ADHD any sort of energy boost, its more likely to just make her even more tired, the usual meds are a super stimulant, so it would be weird if coffee actually helps here. But then again, its such a weak stimulant, that she might get better purely by thinking it gives her energy via placebo effect, so oh well.
It depends on the style of ADHD. In my case, coffee keeps me awake (not necessarily alert) when I am feeling sleep deprived. A medium McDonald’s coffee in the evening and I am not falling asleep until 4 AM.
Is it just me or is Sydney doing a “Dark Knight” (comic, not film) hunch over and scowl impression in panel 8?
I take it you have never seen someone in deep sleep deprivation, like Bruce Wayne must have given his nocturnal alter ego and his hands-on at Waynecorp, not to mention his legendary social life. So yeah, that’s what sleep deprivation looks like.
Caffeine helps quell my anxiety a little bit, which in turn reduces how scattered my brain feels. The caramel is in there for the sugar rush needed to overcome the exhaustion Sydney feels.
Don’t know many psychologists but this looks noticeable better than the session I had when I was in school. AFAIR, it’s long ago. Just saying. It was probably not typical but AFAIR I know something worse than this.
*grabs yellow orb and sees adorable red snek twizzlers trying to be harbingers of diabetes*
*flips “The List” upside down*
Syd: You seem to be okay.
Heh, you noticed her ‘hair’ as well? :D
Licorice on top, cherry on the bottom.
“And how does this make you feel?”
Aw, man, I thought Dr. Frost was a reference to Emma Frost… to be fair, she still could be.
Nah, David Frost
I very much doubt her first name is David. Davida maybe, but that might be stretching it.
How about Nick?
Reference to, not first name of
That is Nanases hairstyle from EGS.
Okay, Nanase wears it shorter, but still.
Well, once Nanase has super fast growing hair, due to magic, so than it is was longer.
I think the doc will find that Sydney’s issues come from the fact that Sciona got access to “classified” informations, and that is the source of everything so far.
I love Dr.Frost’s hair…!
I hope she doesn’t label Sydney as either a “lost cause” or “hopeless case” otherwise she’d be getting a n earful from Maxima!
So uh, is dr. Frost accepting new patients? Asking for scie- I mean, for a friend
1) Impossibly good looks.
2) Impossibly perfect figure.
3) Wavy red hair.
4) Arcane gold and jewel necklace.
I have a theory who her mother is.
https://www.ap2hyc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Inhumans2.jpg
she is def not human. the way she talks is so subtly weird
No, that’s pretty typical of the profession.
I would assume that any psychiatrist commissioned by Archon would have the necessary security clearance in order.
At least know the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist. A psychiatrist is a doctor. A psychologist is not. So presumably Sydney is right to call *Dr.* Frost a psychiatrist, as is the who’s who. Only the commentary below where you say “psychologist” instead seems wrong.
Anyway, happy 750! Will any of those pages ever see print?
It’s definitely a good idea to get security clearance for military therapists. They’ve had problems with soldiers who can’t discuss their missions with their therapists not actually getting any better because of it.
Kind of pedantic but a psychiatrist is a physician and a psychologist is not. PhD psychologists get all kinds of butthurt if you lump them in with the “not a doctor” crowd. Then there are those double degreed folks who are both.
Yes, Mgnostic is correct. A psychologist can have a doctoral degree and be rightfully called a doctor. They can diagnose mental health issues and make suggestions on how their patients can handle those issues. They cannot, however, prescribe actual medication, nor are they qualified to perform surgery.
A psychiatrist is a medical doctor specializing in mental health, capable of prescribing medication & possibly performing surgery…though they’d have to specialize in brain surgery, too.
A general practitioner doctor is not necessarily a specialist in mental health, but some are capable of making diagnoses based on symptoms & can prescribe medication. Usually this is done in conjunction with a counselor of some degree to help monitor the patient’s progress.
My father sees a psychiatrist for managing his bipolar disorder. I see a GP and a counselor for managing my ADHD, etc.
There’s no specific reason for it, but I don’t trust her necklace.
I heard that it’s considered normal for a patient to fall in love with his/her therapist at some point, and the therapy is considered over when said patient goes back to the friend zone…
but are you progressing if you fall in love with someone else therapist? :))
pun aside, she’s gorgeous; I vote she’s a Super with powers on Empathy, Voice, or even Pheromons control. That will help her with violent behaviour, but could have a negative impact on long term results, so fine tunig is necessary
*tuning
Uh. normal for whom? I’ve had several therapists, and haven’t “fallen in love” with any of them. And most of them were attractive women with whom I’ve discussed my sex life.
i’m too whatevere’d to search it out but its a trope. a false trope as it will cost the therapist their job if not career. not supposed to fish in the patient pool! i don’t care how long it will wait!
I would think it’s a problem if the therapist actually has romantic or sexual interactions with a patient. Is it really a problem if a patient falls for a therapist?
Yes it is, because fixating on someone who professionally cannot return any affection is frustrating, and can lead those who are unbalanced and fixating into desperate attempts to secure affection. Good therapists will assign their patient to another counselor if that happens.
Working in a large state psychiatric hospital system for a couple of decades I’ve seen it happen several times on levels from the mental health workers out on the floor all the way up to psychiatrists. Luckily it isn’t very common. At least in the organization where I worked this was addressed during orientation and annual refresher training with everyone and in my university degree program it started with the “Ethics” class and was addressed in every therapy related class along the way. When it does happen, it is usually messy, both personally and professionally. I’m sure someone can find an exception that proofs the rule but I’ve never seen a happy outcome.
Messy is a very apt description. Prime example is Dr. Harleen Quinzel and The Joker, except in that case it was the shrink falling for the patient.
Yep, I hadn’t thought about Dr Quinzel and The Joker but that is a well known example in fiction. In real life it is mostly just sordid. Hannibal Lecter level psychopaths are one of a kind if they exist at all but observing ha high functioning psychopath in action will curl your toes.
Huh.
That is a really nice character design for Doctor Psychiatrist. But, eh, I’ve always been a sucker for the two-toned hair look for going ‘Oh, Neat!’ when it comes to character design.
Some variation on super was my first thought as well although the supernatural argument hold water.
The fall in love with your therapist is primarily a Freudian/Psychoanalytic thing. Other schools of thought have analogous processes though. This usually refers to long term therapy wherein a relationship is established, then the client is reliant on therapist for help in resolving problems/conflicts and learning coping skills and then resolution of the therapeutic relationship where the client moves to independent and hopefully improved function. This isn’t what Sydney and Dr. Frost are doing. IRL this would be “I need a few sessions to process this and make sure my head is on straight”.
You don’t have to be a psychologist to go fairly in depth on a character’s psychology or what they’re struggling with.
Just do enough research to make sure things don’t get too garbled or amateur looking.
Huh, Emma went with new hair…I like it!
Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I just have to share this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAGgfNeGROY
There are always going to be some people that are going to have higher security clearance than you’d otherwise think.
The Psychiatrist is one of those.
The Language Translator is another.
Speaking of language translators, I sure hope Sydney got one of those when she was doing her shopping offworld.
Really like the character design for Dr. Frost, DaveB. Then again I’ve always had a weakness for atypical hair and heart-shaped faces and cheekbones you can cut sushi with…
Welcome addition to the cast.
Of course she has sky-high security clearance. She wouldn’t be much use to Archon if her patients had to keep worrying about how much they can actually say about what’s on their minds.
Also, I imagine Dr. Frost is a psychiatrist, not a psychologist. People might get insulted if you confuse the two.
Oh come on, Syd. Look at her! Doesn’t she make you feel fat and skinny at the same time? Obviously a super.
THANK you for giving her such gorgeous dark brown eyes! So many people assume that everyone wants to see blue or green or hazel or grey eyes all the time (the whole fallacy of “the most beautiful person being blond/blue-eyed” which is total bs & I’m sick of it–when I was a kid I WAS blond & blue eyed (now brown & gray eyed)), or in the case of atypical types like supers (she’s way too gorgeous not to be one, lol), gold or pink or purple…
Brown eyes can be incredibly beautiful, including dark brown, and it’s great to see them drawn so magnificently. Representation really matters, even in little details like this. Also, while we’re on that note, yay for counselors who dye their hair! I know they’re probably taught in their training courses to “present a professional demeanor”…but again, seeing someone who does something or has something similar to you yourself is a great thing, something to bond over, and that’s important in a counselor/patient situation.
John Fogerty song about a brown-eyed handsome lad…
Is she related to, “genius psychologist, Dr. Frost”? It’s a South Korean tv drama series and manhwa by Lee Jong-bum. I find it a good read. Here’s a link :
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Frost