Success on all fronts, I am pleased to announce. Apparently I was just too "intoxicating," "charming," or "enchanting" to resist. Or in all fairness, maybe I am the one being seduced, who knows. I am also pleased to say that the post-seduction bliss is just that, although it has been making me think about something I read once, that sociopath targeting consists of three phases: (1) the assessment phase, (2) the manipulation phase and (3) the abandonment phase. Where is the enjoy the fruits of your labor phase? Why bother planting a seed of seduction, nurturing it over the period of several months (or even years), and then abandoning it immediately? Why would anybody think that is accurate? Maybe there are sociopaths out there who do that, but I have never understood the point. When I build/grow something, it is meant to last.
I actually encourage bonding from my targets once they are hooked. In the initial stages part of the fun of seduction for both sides is the uncertainty -- the excitement of not knowing what will happen next. Once someone is hopelessly smitten, however, instilling a sense of unease in your target will only create emotional outbursts and other anxiety-related bad behavior. I do not get pleasure from seeing people cry, so this type of result does not appeal to me at all. To avoid this (and as a happy successful seduction gift to them), I always root out their biggest insecurity with regards to the relationship and alleviate it. It helps them to settle in, like changing out of cocktail attire and into sleepwear. I feel that it encourages the nesting instinct in the target. Interestingly, as they feel more secure in the relationship, my power over them increases. I have always thought that was a slightly perverse result, one on which sloppier seducers might never completely exploit. But I guess that is always the trade off from allowing yourself to be tamed by another human -- it's great to get steady meals and shelter, but you also come to depend on your master.
I actually encourage bonding from my targets once they are hooked. In the initial stages part of the fun of seduction for both sides is the uncertainty -- the excitement of not knowing what will happen next. Once someone is hopelessly smitten, however, instilling a sense of unease in your target will only create emotional outbursts and other anxiety-related bad behavior. I do not get pleasure from seeing people cry, so this type of result does not appeal to me at all. To avoid this (and as a happy successful seduction gift to them), I always root out their biggest insecurity with regards to the relationship and alleviate it. It helps them to settle in, like changing out of cocktail attire and into sleepwear. I feel that it encourages the nesting instinct in the target. Interestingly, as they feel more secure in the relationship, my power over them increases. I have always thought that was a slightly perverse result, one on which sloppier seducers might never completely exploit. But I guess that is always the trade off from allowing yourself to be tamed by another human -- it's great to get steady meals and shelter, but you also come to depend on your master.
You seem like a very kind sociopath, your prey are quite lucky to know you. If only there were more people like you.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, congrats on the success M.E. Secondly, I understand what you mean about the uselessness of the supposed abandonment phase. I say it’s useless when you are literally not moving on or have to deal with the people you no longer have a use for day in and day out, like in a work or family environment. Maybe I shouldn’t say useless. More like potentially problematic depending on the situation and the person. The closest I have come to that in recent months was back at my old job when I befriended someone, kept them around for a while, pretended to be able to stomach his noxious presence at lunch week after week, only to realize that I had no use for him after all. I told him it was over. I assume he beat himself up over it then moved on. I saw him in the hallways after that but he never gave me any trouble and it was a relief not having to deal with him anymore. Plus I hadn’t poured that much effort into him. He was one of those desperate to be liked/self hating types. But back then I also had a coterie of other people I called friends. They were my armor in a sense. They were my insulation. If anything went too wrong, even management, idiots though they were, knew they’d have a bit of an uprising if they ever dared go after me. Those people I kept cultivating, even when they were nerve wracking.
ReplyDelete"pretended to be able to stomach his noxious presence"
ReplyDeletean interesting group of words
That's one of the main ways I keep my job, Daniel. I use a little talent, and a lot of strategic relationships. Make the right people feel good about themselves, and make them believe that you're critical to their success, and you have an almost golden pass.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be able to hold a job any other way. I don't have the necessary patience or capacity for obedience. My contributions take the form of short bursts of brilliance to solve immediate problems facing people on my personal A list.
I let them take the credit, so they look and feel great. They feel powerful, and I usually go unnoticed, so nobody else expects anything from me. Many people don't even know what I do here, but nobody will get rid of me.
Jokes and a jovial attitude do the rest, but I barely acknowledge anyone who isn't useful to me. I might give them a smile and a quick wave if they speak to me, but I just keep on walking.
Despite my best efforts to go unnoticed, I have developed a reputation for being good at what I do. Allied divisions have heard of me and like me, while hostile divisions have heard of me and completely hate me. This was something I was hoping to avoid.
Do you have any suggestions, Daniel? I'm not a fan of the spotlight, and I won't survive here for more than another year if it stays on me. I don't mind occasionally saving their asses or making them look brilliant, but I signed up for a full time paycheck, not full time work.
What's the average amount of time it takes your victims to figure out what's going on before they dump you? I was romantically involved with a sociopath for several months before I realized his behavior was off and asked him not to contact me anymore. Now I catch him driving by my house craning his neck trying to see me. I could gloat, yet I find him almost pitiable. It must be lonely not being able to have a real relationship, much like I felt lonely when I ended my relationship with him to protect myself. Do most people catch on quickly, or no?
ReplyDeleteI signed up for a full time paycheck, not full time work.
ReplyDeleteLOL! That is an excellent quote.
Anyway, to your question, it all depends on what you want, as always. The ends not only justify but often dictate, the means. If you want to keep your job I’d say disappoint the right people. Not horribly, not enough to lose your job. Just enough to make them think they have overestimated your abilities. I’m assuming your strategic relationships will keep you safe and soften any potential fallout. And depending on the situation, it’ll give your non-fan club something to crow about for a minute. Since you are not trying to get ahead, looking bad for a short spell shouldn’t be a problem. Can you afford to disappoint anyone on your "A-list"?
I'll take that into consideration, Daniel. I'm not sure who I could disappoint without jeopardizing my job. I'll have to think about it. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAnon, they generally don't. I don't bleed people to the bone. Take a little from many sources, and you amass a wealth for yourself without ever exhausting your supply. It's very rare that I'll bring someone into a situation so undesirable that they're compelled to look past their preconceptions.
When I do need to, it's usually a strategic strike to destroy someone's confidence or others' confidence in them. I can usually hide my involvement or make them think it's their fault. They don't catch on because I'm very judicious about it, and I won't strike until a realistic opportunity presents itself. Worst case scenario, they think I'm a jerk or that I overreacted for emotional reasons. In the best situations, they think they have bad luck, that others are jerks, or that they screwed up and ruined things for themselves.
It is a little lonely, but that doesn't really bother me. If I really want company, I'll underpay an acquaintance to do some work for me. It works out well on all fronts. I even come across as thoughtful.
Best yet is paying an ex $3 per hour to cook and clean for me, laundry and all. I find I can get most of the perks without any of the drama. Great deal, and having her as a servant feels great.
It has a bonus of destroying her boyfriend's confidence, who I'm planning on pressing into service to work on some independent projects with (for) me, but that's a different scheme entirely.
I should clarify. The people who I can disappoint have local power, while the people who are starting to take notice are corporate execs and their lackies at other divisions. I don't know them well enough to know who and how much I can disappoint, and they can be quite ruthless. I also can't establish a repartee with them to pull the proverbial wool over their eyes without putting in more effort than I care to. I'm not even sure if I could fool them. Couple that with a new local GM with a constant eye on the bottom line, who's a few orders of magnitude more intelligent than the other local execs, and I'm sure you can see why I'm a little worried.
ReplyDeleteBilly, I would think that your better plan of action would be to feign a contagious and debilitating illness that you can't quite get over. If you can, choose an illness for which antidiscrimination laws prevent your employer from firing you, e.g. cancer. If you don't want to absolutely make something up, then try to contract something contagious like the H1N1 virus, which could legitimately put you out for a couple of months if there were complications (and make sure that there are complications). They can't really blame you for being sick, but they will stop thinking of you as an up and coming junior exec and think of you instead as that poor sick fuck that keeps trying to show up to the office even though he is obviously still sick and probably still contagious.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you think, Anon.
ReplyDeleteContracting H1N1 as an option is a bit on the overkill side, but meh, to each his own.
ReplyDeleteThompson, Birdick, prove you have super sociopathic powers by making a lot of money and being successful. And not being the couple of low ranking corporate grunts that you so obviously are.
ReplyDeleteM.E. that almost sounds tempting. For you guys out there who see the logic in this take note, "steady meals and shelter" is a euphemism for "credit card, car and health club". It's important that we look nice for our masters. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know, Zoe, the credit card, car and health club are usually supplied by the empath. I really don't think M.E. was implying that empaths are sociopaths' masters. That would almost certainly violate at least one rule of the supreme sociopath superpower club.
ReplyDeleteBitch.
so the master doesn't supply credit card, car or health club? what do the empaths get then? i mean other than a stingy master.
ReplyDelete(if i was a bitch i would have added expensive jewelry and a man servant)
M.E. does write rather well.
ReplyDeleteI would assume they get just enough of whatever they need to feel secure, but not enough to help when they really need it.
ReplyDeleteLet them borrow or have small money on key occasions, to ingratiate them, and make them feel safe. If they ever need large amounts of money to survive, ditch them. Shit like that, but not confined just to money. Emotional support, whatever. Make them feel safe and secure. Give them an illusion. If it ever proves to be too much trouble, find a reason to leave them high and dry.
False security, nothing special.
That's what I read out of it, anyway.
it already sounds like too much trouble. or maybe it's love? maybe M.E. has found the one. :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting, it was confusing to me reading that socio's abandon their 'victims' but why abandon them when they're supplying support monetarily and otherwise? I met a person who was the ex of a very close friend. They've not been romantically involved for many years but she keeps him on a string by obvious manipulation and exploits him by playing the perpetual damsel in distress. In attempting to point this out I was accused of not being empathetic. How can this be so obvious to me and others and not to him?
ReplyDelete