Yes.
...oh right, topic discussion.

Do you guys think Adagio is a sociopath?

Personally...yeah. Adagio's demeanour makes me think that she doesn't seem to register other people around her as actual people. I actually think she's probably the most evil character in the series.

(For the record, she's also my favourite Dazzling, so...)

Anyone else get that vibe from her?

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Maybe because when she and her sisters were first banished her, she gradually considered the humans to be inferior. Problem is, she would have no choice having to walk among them.

Canonically, the Dazzlings as a whole are pretty evil, which was probably intentional. Not one of them have any redeeming characteristics in the movie, no touching asides or moments that suggest they might have an ounce of good in them, so we probably weren't supposed to sympathize with them for even a second. Trouble is, the disposable villain approach doesn't really work on the better part of this fandom, which, given Luna's treatment in the pilot, may at least want to know if said villains are okay, no matter how heinous they were.

So, that in mind, making no assumptions and taking what we see ("It doesn't matter who you hurt...") completely at face value? Yes, I'd say Adagio is a sociopath, as are Aria and Sonata for following her and playing along with her routine just as much. Same as Discord, Chrysalis, Tirek (I think he counts with the pretend-friend act), Sunset Shimmer up until the end, Lightning Dust, and possibly Starlight Glimmer (I'm still not sure if she really cared about those she was 'helping,' or if it was all twisted, mental gymnastics for her own sake) in all of their first appearances.

It's almost as if not caring about other people directly runs counter to the message of the show, huh?

Of course, if my guess about attempting to make completely unsympathetic bad guys is on the mark, that would be a bit hypocritical for us to go along with, wouldn't it?

I get that vibe, yes

No she isn't, she just has a lot of built in anger and hatred for ponies and humans, I bet deep down inside shes just scared and feels alone.

5289434 no. She just really really hates humans and ponies.

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She's been biologically/magically inclined to treat humans as a food source. I'm pretty sure based on that ALL the Dazzlings are sociopaths. It's unclear for exactly how long this has gone on, so I wouldn't say it would be impossible for any or all three of the girls to break from that view, but it could be quite the uphill battle.

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Well, depending on one's headcanon, Adagio is pretty damn old... people always turn into sociopaths as they get older; just look at Florida (RIMSHOT~!)

If we're talking in terms of pure canon then 5289491 has it covered; there's nothing in Rainbow Rocks to suggest the three of them give a rat's pajamas about anyone or anything but themselves.

When it comes to fanfiction, that's up to how you want to portray Adagio. The Dazzlings can--and already have been--written by various authors in roles stretching from 'pure dagnasty evil' to 'I used to wonder what friendship could be', and all can be made believable thanks to the drastic lack of actual information we were given about them and a little characterization elbow grease.

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Google defines sociopath as:

noun
a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience.

We, as humans, tend to think of only other humans as "persons." Sirens are not humans. They're not ponies. All three of those are "people." So does an "exteme antisocial attitude and behavior" of a member of a species against a member of a different species count?

If a lion eats a human, that lion is not a sociopath. It is a predator, eating prey. If a human eats another human...

In a setting where multiple species are "people" you could blur the species distinction some. However, sirens are depicted as a predator species. They're no more sociopaths than windigos. The mythological sirens the Dazzlings are based on were known to lure sailors to their deaths.

I would say no, Adagio is not a sociopath. You could write her as one if you humanize the sirens more than canon has though.

My immediate, knee-jerk reaction to reading the title of the forum is "Well, duh!" But then, you begin to think about it a little more.
(As an aside, I'm about to use only movie-canon stuff, nothing from comics or books or whatever.)
(Also, I'm using my own interpretation of the characters as I saw them, it's difficult to find hardcore facts for this, so a lot of it is assumption and introspection.)

So, Adagio is a Siren, which is never fully explained in the movie, whatsoever. We just get that these half-horse, half fish, hippocampus-looking things are able to sing, mind control other species, and feed on negative energy. Coupled with Aria's comment in the very beginning (congrats to the only unnamed main character for having the first line in the movie) about wanting 'a meal' instead of 'fast food', the audience is led to assume that the Sirens genuinely use the negative energy for sustenance and nourishment, i.e., a food source.

If we take that into account, then it becomes a little more distorted. The Sirens use humans as a food source, but due to the wacky dynamics of sending someone to an alternate universe, they have also technically become that which they feed from. However, they are still, in mindset (and apparently some part biochemistry), Sirens. They do not consider themselves human because they weren't originally human, therefore, they consider themselves outside of being human.

Adagio, just like any other person, treats her food source with no remorse. It is something she needs in order to survive. Farmers don't name the animals they're raising for slaughter for the same reason you're not going to name your mashed potatoes "Jerry". Humans are a means of nourishment, sustenance and nothing more. Most likely, she doesn't even consider them on the same intelligence level because a common human concept is that we don't eat animals that are considered intelligent beings (the first example that pops to mind being dolphins). In order for her to feed on them, she must look down on them, consider them lesser and not interact with them on a level considered equal to herself because, to Adagio, they're not equal, they're food.

Tying this into her singing mannerisms, Adagio expresses the sentiment that hurting others is fine and looking out for yourself is perfectly okay. But notice that she only sings this to humans. Any time a line comes up in the movie version of the song in which she's harmonizing lyrics with Aria and Sonata, she's doing it with them, not to them. Because they are her compatriots, her species, they are not food.

If we think about it in that respect, then no she's not a sociopath. Now, we're going to flip the coin.

Aria and Sonata are Sirens, same as Adagio. They feed the same way she does and have come from the same place as her, they are the same species and the three of them have been together for an indeterminate amount of time (long enough that they're willing to stay together in a strange new world). While neither Aria nor Sonata expresses quite as much the level of indifference Adagio holds for humans, it's clear, from Aria, at least, that they don't consider humans equal either.

However, Adagio has a manner of speaking to the pair that indicates how little she thinks of them as well. While she does not consider them food, she regards them more in the manner of pets than equals. The way she has to slow herself in order to explain things to Sonata, as if Sonata is a puppy still going through training. Or how she responds to Aria's sass with her own, like Aria's a snarky cat (which, honestly, she really could be...). Adagio seems to regard them more as companions to keep around so she isn't lonely and also feels needed. However, if the pet is being bad, like Aria attempting to undermine her authority, it's best to remind the pet who is in charge by spraying it with a water bottle or, in this case, grabbing it by the lapels of its vest and glaring death into its eyes until it looks ready to wet itself.

By that respect, with her inability to see those of her own species as being on her level, then, yes, Adagio would be considered a sociopath. She has little perceived regard for the desires of those that follow her and expects them to follow her without question. Not only that, but she is easily a master at manipulating others and (to a slightly lesser extent) faking emotions, which are two traits commonly found in sociopaths. She outright laughs at Twilight being driven to tears over Flash's treatment of her (though, to be fair, so do Sonata and Aria) and she has no problem with taunting Sunset Shimmer over something that clearly haunts the poor girl (again, to be fair, so do Aria and Sonata).

But that's the problem with these kinds of villains. The Dazzlings weren't really given much depth as characters. They were, by all intents and purposes, there to further along Sunset Shimmer's character development more than anything else. They needed to be evil and do bad things, so they did and not much else was expanded beyond that.

(lol, I think I just wrote my senior thesis on why a fictional character may or may not be a sociopath)

5929654 Aria as a snarky cat (in the second chapter)

Here, too, or maybe in one of its sequels.

5929682 Don't know if I've told you this yet, but you're a freaking godsend. I was on the fence about reading Adogeio, but I hadn't even seen the birthday song one and now it's one of my favorite things ever. I'm writing this way late because I... whoo! I couldn't breathe. Goddess, that's absolutely perfect. Thank you for that. I definitely needed it.

5929716 I'd definitely say Adogeio is an acquired taste, but I quite enjoyed Adagio speaking in memes. The Birthday Song is quite something, isn't it?

My pleasure, glad I could help The site's great for searching by character and genre, and the green/red bar gives you a general indication of how well a story was received, but... You kind of notice after a while that there are completely different audiences out there, even for the same characters. These three stories, for example, are all (broadly-speaking) lighthearted stories about the sirens, and they all have hugely positive like/dislike ratios. But if you look through the comments, there's barely a name in common between the three of them.

So I find that a recommendation from someone who likes similar things to you can be far more valuable than just whatever stories are added to the character groups or pop up in the new stories column. Of those three linked, incidentally, I would highly, highly, highly recommend I Can Smile (I'd say it's the definitive 'how to' on writing Sonata), and Mommydagio has quite a few funny bits.

5929749 It took me, what, a week after I started reading fanfiction on here (so about two days after I made my profile) to realize what the heck the bar meant. I moused over it by accident and just tested it out.

Yeah, different audiences like different things, but can still be drawn to similarities in the literature. It's probably why I've got such a wide reading array, because there's just so much to consume and most of it falls within my boundaries. Though, you're very correct in saying that recs from those who share the taste is usually best. It allows for more understanding of the reading instead of diving headfirst into something that could be potentially stomach-turning.

And thank you for more of the recommendations. I can't read them just yet, but they're opened in new tabs for when I'm not multitasking. Mommydagio is one I've been meaning to read, actually, but I'll check out the other two as well.

Personally, yes, I have diagnosed her using in-depth research (aka a quick google search), and Adagio has most of the symptoms, she's manipulative, she's a control freak, she fails to learn from past mistakes (Aria's line: "so we're just gonna do what we always do...some plan Adagio" followed by her line: "This won't be the same as the times before", implying she doesn't learn from past mistakes), she has a superficial charm, she clearly has no empathy, and she clearly doesn't care to follow rules. Also, I don't feel like Aria or Sonata are sociopaths, but rather just go along with what she says to avoid her wrath. All of this is used in a fanfic I am writing.