#i feel like tagging this discourse is elevating it above what it is. this is straight up fanwank and I'm well aware of that

[utilitycaster]

Threatened this once as a throwaway tag, so: let's talk about why "Justice for Adeen Tasithar" as an attempted criticism of Essek is absolutely wild as a choice.

Disclaimer: there are many deeply annoying fans of Essek who do not seem to understand that the narrative and the cast (and by extension, merch/official art/comics) will treat him differently for being an NPC, even if he is a very important NPC and a member of the Mighty Nein, and you are justified in being annoyed. There are also a number of equally annoying Essek haters, most of whom are bitter shippers who have (correctly) realized it's slightly more palatable to others in the fandom to openly hate on Essek than on a PC; or else they are the miserable souls who think that every minute spent on a character other than their personal favorite stolen and wasted time. I am a firm believer in this post; everyone is annoying and complaining on your own blog about it is your absolute right. Also, both in regards to the fans mentioned above and the characters mentioned below, it is possible for people on two opposite sides of a position to both suck.

The first issue is the phrase itself; it co-opts a statement usually used for victims of hate crimes or political prisoners in the real world, and makes it unironically about a pretend guy who had precisely one scene, which is certainly a choice. I'm not actually opposed to using "Justice for" jokingly in fandom, but it is weird to use it relatively seriously in fandom.

The second is that Adeen Tasithar is a member of one of the Dens of the Kryn Dynasty, and is a Taskhand, a term reserved for people with high-level military responsibilities, and is a member of the Bright Queen's Court. During wartime. Coupled with the fact that Essek, who, as described below, is never portrayed as particularly cruel nor petty despite his many flaws, thinks Adeen genuinely does suck, this means that at best, Adeen Tasithar is heavily involved in military operations at a very high level and is in some way personally unpleasant. At, frankly, not even worst, we're talking D&D Donald Rumsfeld. Now, we can debate whether Essek is a war criminal or merely traitorous (not on this post though, because I don't care and it's not relevant), but, while we know very little about Adeen Tasithar, it's not an overreach to say that this man has a pretty strong chance of being guilty of his own war crimes. In general, calling for justice is something I'd hesitate to use in an "the enemy of my enemy" manner, especially if it's well within reason to consider that you're talking about Ludinus Da'leth's Kryn counterpart.

The third is that while you're under no obligation to like Essek, he really is, in general, portrayed as a decent judge of character and a terrible judge of whether selfishly following his own ambition was appropriate and what the consequences might be. He detests the members of the Cerberus Assembly with whom he works; he likes the Mighty Nein despite them ultimately being his potential undoing. He has a few friends in the Dynasty and cares about his (unambiguously good) brother, and feels remorse about his father. Essek has done terrible things in the service of his goals; but directly throwing an innocent under the bus (vs. setting into motion things that will, as a side effect, lead to innocent collateral damage, which he obviously will do) isn't his style. Again, at the very least, Adeen Tasithar is someone whom Essek genuinely believes is a bad person (note that Essek, by this time, also considers himself to be a bad person, and Trent Ikithon to be a "fuck hole", which might help your understanding of scale here). This doesn't mean Tasithar deserves what he got, but frankly, in a campaign about people who got a lot of things they didn't deserve, it's a pretty blatant straw-grasp onto a side character with the briefest of appearances to decide he's your poster boy victim just so that you can go full spiked bat on a character you dislike.

The fourth is that there's never any connection to how Essek not being friends with the Mighty Nein (or entering a relationship with Caleb) would provide justice for Adeen Tasithar, who is in an Empire prison by the end following the exchange during peace talks. It's actually entirely possible that the Empire eventually figures things out re: Adeen, notably because memory modification as a criminal act is going to be really fresh in their minds following the Ikithon trial (and if they interrogate Trent, it's also possible the Empire finds out about Essek). Essek is already a fugitive from the Dynasty and cannot move freely through the Empire as a drow whom assembly members would recognize. The guy didn't get off scot free anyway, so really, he is going to suffer to some extent; you just want him to experience abject and total misery, rather than constant fear tempered with a small degree of happiness, like some kind of sicko, or megachurch member.

The final one is that "justice for Yeza Brenatto" or "I don't like that Essek worked with the Assembly even if he wasn't happy about it" would actually be far more reasonable statements to make. Yeza was, in fact, a simple alchemist who was forced to become a pawn in the game being played by, among other people, Essek, and suffered immensely for it. The Assembly does in fact suck. And yet, rather than admit Caleb also considered working with the Assembly for selfish reasons, or that Veth, you know, exists people jump to woobify some random NPC about whom we know basically nothing other than "Military guy, well-connected politically."

So anyway: feel however you want about Essek; but if you're on Adeen Tasithar's bandwagon, I don't think you actually are terribly bothered by hypothetical fictional war crimes. I think you just are too spineless and online to say "I dislike Essek" and needed to construct an elaborate poor reason why.

[thecleverdame]

Control and Release

TEDTalk!Sam x Reader

Series Masterlist

Summary: With the rest of the staff caught in a snowstorm, you find yourself acting as a personal assistant to the notorious Sam Winchester. 

Warnings: Humiliation, embarrassment, sexual objectification, dub-con.

Words: 1800+

Beta: @ilikaicalie  

-

“No way!” You close your eyes. This has to be a nightmare.

“You’re the only person who made it to the hotel. We’re all snowed in until morning, no one can get a flight out. You’re going to have to staff him until I get there. His schedule is pretty light compared to what it usually looks like. Half his meetings were canceled because of the storm.” Pepper rattles into the phone. She’s only a year or two older than you but she’s your boss’s boss. She’s Sam’s executive assistant, in charge of the entire assistant staff and she’s had it out for you since you started four months ago.

“I don’t think I can do this.” You gulp, shrugging your jacket off. You deliver mail and push the coffee cart around the building, the lowest rung on the corporate ladder.

“You don’t have a choice.” She snips. “You think this is what I want? I’m going to end up paying for this, even though it’s not even remotely my fault. I can’t control the weather...look I’m going to send you his schedule.  Just make sure he’s on time. He’ll let you know if you’re doing something wrong, believe me. Just keep your mouth shut and do what he tells you to do. Whatever you do, don’t cry. He hates it when people cry.”

“Why would I cry?” You regret answering the phone and you already know the answer to your question.

Sam Winchester is a real son-of-a-bitch and everyone knows it.

To say his reputation proceeds him would be a gross understatement. He’s smart, successful, ruthless and above all, focused. You’ve worked for Winchester and Singer for six months and have yet to encounter him.

You’ve never even directly spoken to him, never seen him in person other than the monthly reviews he conducts with the entire company in attendance. Even then he’s just a man on a stage.

“I’m emailing you right now. Keep a copy of the schedule on you at all times.” She pauses to take a breath. “Are you listening to me?”

“Yeah, I’m listening. Have the schedule on hand, keep my mouth shut, and try not to burst into tears.”

“Just don’t fuck this up.” Pepper is as over-worked as everyone on the executive level. You can’t really blame her. This job is her life. “You need to check in with him tonight. Just knock on his door and ask if he needs anything. He’ll send you away, but he expects a check in just to be sure.”

“Okay.” You nod to yourself in a windowless hotel room. “I can do this.”

-

The elevator rises slowly to the penthouse floor of the Ambassador Hotel. It’s nearly midnight and his flight arrived only an hour ago. He was in Tokyo last week and was rerouted during the storms in Boston.

You knock twice on his door, waiting with bated breath and hoping he won’t answer. You’re about to leave when the deadbolt turns and the door opens to reveal Sam Winchester with a cell phone up to his ear. He pauses for a moment, looking you over head to toe before opening the door the rest of the way and walking away chattering to whoever is on the other line.

You stand in the hallway, unsure if the open door is an invitation. On cue he turns around, eyes narrowing as his nods his head.

Already off to a rough start.

Shutting the door behind you, you follow him into the living room, standing awkwardly, waiting for his call to end. When he finally hangs up, he presses his phone against his chest, staring at you like a zoo animal. “Pepper said you’re the only employee here?”

“Y-yes.” You choke out. “I was visiting family in New Mexico, so I flew in from-”

“We’ll have to make due I guess.” He cuts you off. “You have tomorrow’s schedule?”

“Ahuh.” You hold up your phone, forcing a smile.

“Ahuh?” He tilts his head. “I prefer actual words. Yes or no.”

Your cheeks flush hot, embarrassment settling in.

“Yes, Mr. Winchester.” You correct. “I have your schedule. Pepper asked me to check in and see if you need anything tonight.”

“No. I don’t need anything.” His stare is unrelenting. “Do you have something more appropriate to wear tomorrow?”

His question takes you off guard as you look down at the sweatshirt and jeans you’re currently wearing. “I, um, yes sir.”

There’s a nauseating combination of shame and anger settling into your gut. He really does live up to his reputation.

“Good. You better go. We have an early start tomorrow. I won’t need you until after the gym. I’ll be done by 6:15 and I expect you to be here.”

“Yes, sir.” You nod, looking at anything but his face. You’re an ant under a microscope, already feeling the heat.

“Good. You can go now.” He pulls out his phone, hits a number and begins speaking to someone in Japanese as you high tail it out of the room.

You don’t cry until you’re in the elevator. The doors shut as you fight back the urge to turn into a sobbing mess, instead of wiping away a few tears and composing yourself.

Three hours of sleep is all you manage. Between your nerves and being afraid you’ll sleep through the alarm, you’re up and showered at four and dressed by five.

Clutching a portfolio in your arms you step off the elevator. There’s a full-length mirror at the end of the hallway and you stop to make sure you’re presentable. You thought you’d be manning a promotional table during the conference, planned on wearing khakis and a pullover. You brought exactly one business professional outfit that you haven’t tried on in a year or two. It’s a plum-colored sleeveless sheath dress that’s tighter than you would prefer. It looks good but perhaps a little much for this trial by fire.

“This is as good as it gets.” You whisper, giving yourself a final look before finding Sam’s room.

You knock and he answers immediately, holding his glasses in hand.

“You’re late.” He quips, turning around to gather his suit jacket and briefcase.

“I,” You stop, checking your phone. “It’s 6:15.”

“In my world on time is late and early is expected.”

“I’m sorry.” You’re horrified. “I didn’t - I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want an apology. I want you to do better next time.” He eyes settle on your bare shoulders, then tick down to rest of your body. It’s a quick glance but you catch him. “I have files in the living room. Please make sure everything is in order and ready to go. Pack it all up, we don’t want to leave anything to chance.”

You wordlessly scamper around the room, carefully collecting half used notepads and countless pages of legal discourse that you couldn’t understand if your life depended on it. When you turn back around, clutching his files in your arms, he’s leaning against the doorframe between the entryway way and the living area, watching you intently.

Your cheeks burn hot. Sam is handsome, there’s no arguing that fact, but he’s also notoriously difficult to work for. You’ve never once heard even a whisper that he mixes business with pleasure. If anything he’s known for being controlled. Everyone’s heard of his type, high-level business execs that are uptight beyond belief.

But the way he’s looking at you...no. It’s in your head.

“I’ve got everything.” You nod, shoving the files into your leather bag.

“Good, I want to get down there early.” He checks his watch and strides out of the room without another word and you’re left scrambling after him. Instead of heading to the public elevator you took earlier, he turns in the opposite direction to head toward the private lift his penthouse room offers as a perk. You stand beside him as the doors close and he pushes the button for the ground level.

He turns toward you, looking concerned. “I asked you to wear something business professional.”

“I-” The humiliation continues. “I am. This is all I brought with me.”

“I see.” His eyes narrow.

“Would you like me to go grab a sweater to wear over it?” You ask softly.

“No.” He purses his lips, head tilting ever so slightly. “I wouldn’t be able to tell how tight your dress is if I couldn't see your panty line.”

You nearly choke on your own spit. Letting out a nervous cough as your breath speeds up. You force yourself to look at him, trying your damnedest to determine what this is. Is he coming on to you? Just a perfectionist who’s so caught up in the details that the outline of your lace underwear crosses some sort of invisible line?

“I didn’t realize you could see. I’m sorry.” You stare at the floor, praying to God this day ends quickly.

“Don’t be sorry.” He commands tone calm and even. “Take them off.”

The world stops. All the oxygen evaporates out of the room.

Your eyes go wide, shooting up to meet him and his expression is unreadable. In a split second, your body reacts against your will, heat blooming between your legs, shame tightening in your chest.

You wonder if he’s like a predator able to smell fear. Does he somehow know what kind of effect this will have on you? Is it the way you called him sir, or how quickly you responded to his commands?

“You want me to…” You can’t finish the sentence but he doesn’t need you to.

“Take them off.” He repeats.

“Right now...here?” You whisper.

“Yes.” He confirms, reaching out to take the bag from you.

You hesitate, but only for a second before reaching under your dress and hooking both hands in your panties. The elevator is nearly at the first floor, and sweat breaks out over your entire body at the idea of being caught.

Stepping out of your panties you hold them up, looking at him like a deer in the headlights. There’s nowhere to put them, you didn’t bring a purse, the conference is in the hotel so you left it the room. But Sam casually plucks them from your hand and stuffs them into the pocket of his suit pants as the elevator reaches the lobby and the doors slide open with a ding.

“Try to keep up.” He hands you back his briefcase, your messenger bag of files, and steps out into the general population as you follow.

-

Tags:  @smallgirlbigpersonality @mereka18 @gryffindorable713 @trainlikeawinchester @winchesterprincessbride @bamby0304 

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[snowdropsandtigers]

Going back to that “which female characters are hated“ thing I left in the tags of that Jyn Erso meta, I feel like it’s partly to do with the sense that female characters should be put in their place, undermined. Which is one of the reasons it’s hard to find female power fantasy heroes for me*, whereas they abound in terms of male characters. I think the most common and potent female power fantasies in the media are about the character being able to influence men as a romance/sex object. (And in fandom, many of the fics in the het villain/heroine ships I’ve followed are about the male villain seeing the heroine’s true worth in her power and talents, ostensibly, but it happens via them making her sexually and romantically desirable. Hell, much of the discourse about strong female characters I see outside of fic is praise for male characters who are (allegedly) pleased and aroused by their Strong Female Love Interest.) Validation through elevation by male interest. Though even that has its perils, since female characters will be torn down for not being believably worthy of the male interest they receive.  

This expectation leads to an unconscious expectation that female protagonists, more so than male ones, should degrade themselves and/or be degraded by other characters and the narrative. That female heroes are uppity. (I mean there are other reasons for this, like many heroines being white bread middle class Americans--and it’s not as if there aren’t designated good men who get hate--but it’s more widespread with the female characters I think.) And there’s also some awareness of how secondary female characters have been treated in narratives with regard to idealized heroines. So people go in walls up for the heroine and ready to find sympathy, if they must find sympathy for any female characters, by looking at secondary female characters. It’s an attitude generalized enough that they don’t even have to be secondary anymore; secondary-coded is enough. It’s ok to feel for those characters (and basically assign them all the qualities of the protagonists they hate, along with all the boyfriends, friends, and family) because of the attitude that they are the outcasts, the unfairly maligned and decentered. Regardless of in-universe or out-of-universe reality. (The belief that R3gina, above all others, has been and is still being victimized and treated unfairly by the characters and the show in general is key to how her fans perceive and love her.)

I feel like I’ve said this before, but I’m not sure when, or if it was on this blog. Or with the bit about power fantasies.

*There’s basically just Xena? Buffy sometimes too, but that show was very dedicated to hitting a certain tone with the ‘just a girl‘ theme. I mean she was just a girl, in that she was just a human. But I feel like it wanted to hit the ‘girl‘ part as much as if not more than the ‘human‘ part, to really make us feel her vulnerability and patheticness. Which is fine, from a ‘Buffy is a human‘ perspective, but I feel it was pretty gendered too. I don’t know how to explain this. Korra got to be weak a lot too, though I feel that was less gendered. This is part of the reason Mad Mad: Fury Road was such a fist-pumping, adrenaline-racing revelation for me. There’s also Ahsoka, though that’s more complicated. I would have to rewatch the series to really talk about it, but I feel like she did get to be increasingly badass and cool and that this has a lot to do with her not being viewed through the lens of romance. What a romantic heroine needs, what a romantic heroine should be to a male character. The little bit she did get was negligible, with the creator himself (who also just didn’t much romance in the series, period) saying he didn’t want it to distract from her story. That she could be a female character who didn’t have romance as a central feature of her story. A lot what I have seen him say about her is that he wanted to do more with her, give her more story (with full arcs planned out and storyboarded for the final season they never got to finish) and that he and the writers had to keep themselves from adding their ideas of her awesome into Rebels because she wasn’t a lead in that one. And she is widely-loved, despite being a lead. (Although she is validated my male interest. It just isn’t romantic. And she has ties to female characters, which the fandom values. And I’m not entirely sure how many people see her as a lead vs. a plucky sidekick in the Clone Wars, despite her being one. I think they do recognize it.) 

[ulrichfoester]

A Closer Look at Narcissism

Richard Nicastro, PhD, digs deeper into narcissism; the differences between a label and actual diagnosis and the pain of loving a narcissist.  

Narcissism has been getting a lot of attention lately from professionals and the general public. The term is now commonly used in everyday discourse to describe those we see as self-absorbed and uncaring. This has been called the age of narcissism; research suggests that narcissism is on the rise.

We often slap the label of narcissism onto those who have hurt or infuriated us in some way. In these instances, we might be experiencing the other as self-centered, arrogant, uncaring or inconsiderate. Narcissism has almost become synonymous with “entitled” or “arrogant” or “selfish.” But is that an accurate label in those cases? 

Why are you calling someone a narcissist?

In my therapy practice it’s become increasingly common for clients to describe someone, often a spouse/partner, and then ask me if I think this person is a “narcissist” — or the client may already be convinced that the person they are talking about is a narcissist.

There is an increasing awareness that there are painful ramifications of being in a relationship with someone who is narcissistic. And because of this, deciding whether our spouse/partner (or potential spouse/partner) is a narcissist becomes a top priority.

When we talk about someone being narcissistic, we are usually referring to certain behaviors that are enduring — a red flag is raised (or should be raised) if the person repeatedly exhibits narcissistic traits that occur in different contexts. 

Like any label, however, there is a danger that the word narcissism is being overused; when this occurs, it loses its meaning. It turns into name-calling, an expression of anger that does little to invite meaningful dialogue or greater understanding.   

Here are a few misuses of the word that I’ve recently observed:

A person who got ahead of someone in line at a supermarket was called a narcissist;

After a conflict where both spouses reverted to name calling and were obviously defensive, a husband diagnosed his wife as suffering from “a severe form of a narcissistic personality disorder”; 

Someone called a friend a “closeted narcissist” after the friend tried to establish better (and more self-protective) boundaries between them.

Without knowledge of another’s life circumstances and personal struggles, tagging them with a label of narcissism is a judgement rather than an attempt at understanding who they are and why the act the way they do.

Note: Someone with a few narcissist characteristics or who is periodically self-absorbed and seeks admiration doesn’t automatically meet the criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). NPD is a serious psychiatric disorder that can be difficult to assess, even by professionals who work with personality disordered patients.

The narcissistic fallout: The pain of loving a narcissist

Narcissism (and NPD) can manifest differently and with varying degrees of severity across individuals. Not all narcissists are the same. High functioning narcissists can be very successful in their careers and leaders in the community.

They can quickly impress others and make someone feel important (especially if they see that person as a gateway to getting something they want). People in relationships with high functioning narcissists describe the different realities that exist with the narcissist: The reality shown to the world (where the person is charming, playful, the life of the party, etc.), and the one behind closed doors that only the spouse/partner and children see (moodiness, angry outbursts, unmovable self-centeredness, etc.).

Unsurprisingly, not many people with narcissistic traits or NPD come to see me for therapy.  One of the features of narcissism described by DSM-5 (the manual used by psychologists to make psychiatric diagnoses) is that the individual has a grandiose — unrealistic and inflated — sense of self-importance. It takes humility to seek help from a therapist or anyone for that matter. People with inflated self-esteem who elevate themselves above what they see as the inferior “masses” do not typically believe they need help. They pin the problems of life on others, not themselves.

Usually, it is the spouses/partners and adult children of narcissists who end up in counseling. They are in pain. They may feel used, manipulated. They’ve struggled to form a deep and meaningful connection to their narcissistic loved one, only to be on the receiving end of superficial overtures or the anger that results when admiration isn’t bestowed on the narcissistic partner.

Arming ourselves with knowledge

It’s easy to feel sympathetic to those who struggle with mental health issues. We can readily sympathize with their pain and see how their suffering prevents them from living a more fulfilling, peaceful life. This isn’t usually the case with NPD. Their sense of entitlement and callous use of others to achieve their own end stir our ire and motivate us to find the narcissist amongst us so that we can protect ourselves. 

Over-the-top self-importance (as compared to healthy self-esteem), believing that your specialness/uniqueness makes you inherently better than others, the ongoing need for excessive admiration, expecting (demanding) favorable treatment, being exploitive, and feeling envious and needing to devalue others are some of the main symptoms used to diagnose NPD.

Inherent to each symptom is how the narcissistic individual sees him/herself in relation to others. The disorder of narcissism directly involves how the narcissist treats others in his/her life. The more damaging forms and severity of narcissism often lead to others being victimized.

Narcissism is an interpersonal disorder in that the true narcissist needs others: s/he needs others to bestow adoration upon him/her, and also needs to see others as inferior with the payoff of swelling the narcissist’s own self-worth. The result is that those in the life of a narcissist are frequently belittled, taken advantage of, railed against and used as a proxy to accomplish a self-centered end.

Narcissism can be subtle

Some narcissistic traits are overt and easy to identify (and run from); but there are quieter, more subtle forms of narcissism. In these instances, you may have initially been wowed by the person’s confidence, reeled in by his/her stories of triumph in the face of adversity, only to someday find yourself trapped in a web of manipulation that was gradually woven. When the latter is the case, it can feel like you are going crazy without a clear sense of what is wrong. That is the power of covert exploitation — the exploited one often doesn’t realize it is happening, even when they start to feel the effects of it.

Increasingly, people are reading more about narcissism in order to arm themselves, to identify those in their life (or those they might meet in the future) who are narcissistically toxic. To identify someone with NPD or pronounced narcissistic traits early on is to save oneself from major relationship headaches down the road.

One potential problem occurs when that information causes us to see narcissism everywhere and in everyone. If we’re honest, we are all selfish from time-to-time. And when we’re stressed and running on emotional empty, we can probably seem pretty self-absorbed too.

So rather than quickly labeling someone as a narcissist, focus on the specific traits and behaviors that are of concern to you. And ask yourself:

Are these traits/behaviors fleeting and possibly the result of circumstance?

Is there a good explanation for what you are observing, other than the explanation of narcissism?

How do others see this person?

What are the potentially damaging effects of these behaviors on you and what is the best way to protect yourself?

Original source: https://ift.tt/2PeMuJP

A Closer Look at Narcissism published first on https://familycookwareshop.tumblr.com/