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Tweak says, "Do anything, be anything."

Derek Morgan (bloodcakedarmor) wrote in marinanova,
@ 2013-02-19 08:51:00

Current mood:	busy
Entry tags:	:class, buffy summers, dawn summers, derek morgan, enma kozato, kitty pryde (aoa), peter parker (tas), piter de vries, sam winchester, yuuki kuran

207 ✝ Criminology Class ✝ Open to All
[It’s Criminology Class time! And standing at the front of the class is not Doctor Spencer Reid. Nope. It’s Derek Morgan. He’s even sort of dressed up for the occasion in what he’d usually wear to the office back home, nice dress pants and a dress shirt. He looks completely confident up there, used to speaking in front of groups of people even if he usually has the support of other members of the BAU with him. This time he’s alone. And he’s okay with that. Reid asked him to do this next class and Derek was happy to oblige.]

Alright, let’s get this thing going. [It’s said loud enough to be heard among the chatter of the attendees. Once it’s quiet, he offers up one of his most charming smiles at the room.] As you can probably tell, I’m not Doctor Reid. But for those of you who don’t know, he and I work together back home where I’m Supervisory Special Agent Morgan. Here in the prison I’m just Derek Morgan. You can call me Derek or Morgan. Just none of that Mister stuff or you’ll make me feel old. Here in the prison I run the Investigative Team on the Defense Force and patrol Sector One. Anyway, Reid’s asked me to teach this class on one of my areas of special interest, obsessions… or more accurately, crimes of obsession. So let’s get started.

SPECIALIZED CRIME LECTURE – Obsession

The definition of obsession in regards to psychology: the inability of a person to stop thinking about a particular topic or feeling a certain emotion without a high amount of anxiety.

Now usually obsession can be harmless. We’ve all been there at some point, obsessed with a particular television show, or a musician we love, obsessed with a project at work or a really good book series. We can be obsessed with any number of things. These obsessions can even motivate and inspire us to do amazing things. Much of the world’s greatest artwork or literature was sparked by an obsession. Some the greatest inventions ever created have come from an obsession. Think of Michelangelo and most of his life’s work or the Wright Brothers and their obsession with flight as examples. Good things can come from obsession.

Bad things can come from obsession too. There is no real definitive line that if crossed makes a harmless obsession become a dangerous one. You can’t convict somebody for thinking about something too much. You can profile someone and make all the predictions in the world, but you still can’t put somebody behind bars for a crime they might eventually commit. Everyone’s different. Each case is different. Some people snap. Some people don’t. The only certainty of obsession going bad is sadly when an actual crime is committed… after the fact.

But what changed? What makes someone take a fixation on something and turn it into an enactment of something illegal? In profiling we call this a stressor, something that tipped the scales from the logical to the illogical, from harmless to harmful, from reality to a fantasy world where that one thing that was holding that anxiety in check has become warped and damaged in a way that that person in turn becomes a danger to the people around them and society in general. This stressor could be any number of things from a change in the unsub’s personal life to a change in the object of their obsession.

At their core, beneath all the details specific to a certain case, obsessive crimes are about a loss of control over something that was previously thought to be under complete control. Even if that control was an illusion to the person who committed the crime, it was still control from their perspective. And to them, their response to that loss of control is completely legitimate, completely rational. To them, everyone else is the ones who don’t see reason. It’s everyone else who’s being irrational.

One person’s reality is another person’s craziness… and vice versa… [He seems to drift off in thought for a moment, not accustomed to teaching classes by himself. Normally another of his team would pick up where he’d become lost in a thought. But here and now, there’s nothing… just a few seconds of silence before he takes a deep breath and is back in the moment.]

In fact, most crimes of obsession end with a high fatality count, including that of the unsub. And those few cases where we might have the opportunity to talk the unsub down, the best tactical solution is to talk to them as if their perception is the right perception. You’ve gotta get them to believe that you believe them, that they’re right, that you’re on their side. You have to enter their warped world to get them to take that first step back into reality.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION – Open Discussion

Alright. [Derek claps his hands and rubs them together, looking around the class.] Doctor Reid usually does a practical application here at the end of the lecture. So for this class, I think you should just talk among yourselves about what your obsessions are or maybe some of the obsessions you’ve seen other people have. Use your imagination. Profile the obsession. Could it ever be warped in a way that would make you or someone else do things that you wouldn’t normally do? How obsessed are you? What could push you over the edge? And what would happen in the aftermath? How would you stop someone who’s reached that breaking point?

Good class. Thanks for coming.

Q&A

[ A Q&A thread can be found here for all your question-based needs! There is also a suggestions box available — just note that your character is dropping a note in the box in the subject header and it will be brought up during the next class! ]

ooc: The Criminology Class is held in an open lecture format, meaning that there's no ic signup process involved! Feel free to mingle at your leisure — email notifs are off but Derek has a thread HERE if you wish to hit him up. For more information about the setup and purpose of the class, go HERE.

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blue_eyed
2013-02-22 09:54 pm UTC (link)

[ well, this lecture hit home. in fact, morgan hit the ball straight out of the park— but piter refuses to acknowledge that he could wind up one of the unlucky unsubs, captured or dead, or even that he is truly "obsessed." obsession is a deadly, delicate thing indeed, but he thinks that he is, for the most part, free of its ties. he is wrong, of course. ironically enough, marina saved him from the death his obsession would have brought about.

he is a quiet and unobtrusive student, given how he generally refuses to partake of any of the practical application activities, instead favoring observation and silent contemplation, and he lingers after class. he always lingers, waiting for an opportunity— he really doesn't do the "raising hands" thing. absently, he wonders if morgan knows of him, for it wouldn't be a surprise if reid were to tell his team about the killers he's aware of. piter is certain that they know of tyki, but he isn't quite sure if he himself has warranted inclusion yet. there's only one way to find out. he approaches, amicably enough. ]

I never fail to find the irony of your unit's incarceration amusing. [ he smirks slightly before raising his shoulders in a slight shrug. ] But I digress. You referred to this as "one of" your areas of special interest. What are the others?

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bloodcakedarmor
2013-02-24 04:42 pm UTC (link)

I also work with explosives, profiling them, disarming them, disposing of them. [Derek’s never met this guy before and no one’s warned him about anything (bad Reid) so he’s starting with a clean slate as far as Derek is concerned. He noticed the man while he’d been giving the lecture and through the few questions that had been asked. He seems okay enough as he approaches and Derek sees no reason not to talk to him.

He smirks and nods.] Yeah, ironic that any law enforcement gets pulled in here. Not that there aren’t those crooked cops out there but it’s still odd. But I guess it’s o more off than kids bein’ convicted and imprisoned too. Who of my unit have you met?

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	blue_eyed 2013-02-26 12:02 am UTC (link)
	[ he nods along as morgan talks about explosives, filing away that bit of information for further scrutiny if necessary, before clasping his hands casually behind his back. piter is simply the precise picture of a polite listener. ] I am acquainted with Spencer Reid, Penelope Garcia, and Aaron Hotchner. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bloodcakedarmor 2013-02-27 07:33 pm UTC (link)
	All good people. [He briefly wonders if this guy is with law enforcement back home and if that's the reason he knows Reid, Garcia and Hotch. But he pushes that question aside for now to leave way for something more obvious with this their first meeting.] If you were taking notes, you probably know my name. How about you share yours? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

blue_eyed
2013-03-08 09:44 pm UTC (link)

[ good people, yes. that's what makes them all rather irritating and boring. people that have the whole atreides-esque loyalty and morality thing going on are so lame.

not sharing his name would be suspicious— and as it is, his name is easily uncovered if one runs in the right circles. there's little reason to refuse. ] Piter de Vries. [ he touches a fingertip to his temple, smiling faintly. ] The entirety of the lesson is well-absorbed, I assure you.

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bloodcakedarmor
2013-03-11 11:43 pm UTC (link)

Should I go with Piter or Mr. de Vries? [Piter will find that Derek is probably the most laid back one of the group unless he's pissed off. He does have a temper that he has to keep in check a lot of the time.]

It's an interesting topic, yeah... in lots of ways. But I think the most interesting aspect is the stressor that tips a person over the edge from your everyday obsession to somethin' that turns violent. It's different for everyone. Unpredictable.

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blue_eyed
2013-03-23 07:52 pm UTC (link)

“de Vries” will do. [ he is used to being called “piter,” but a sense of distance, however subtle, is preferable here. ]

And I am inclined to agree. "The edge" is a delicate thing, a crumbling cliff. Nearly anything can push a man over, if he is in the right state. [ he's seen guards and servants knocked off that edge by too much semuta— and his knife was what they met when they hit the bottom. ] We humans are very delicate. Some more than others, of course, but the fragility of the mind and body mustn't be overlooked.

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