#Servant and Subject

[janecklyn]

Another work for Servant and Subject by Skak!

Summary: Nathaniel has dutifully served Mistress Tessa since she was seven. Always eager to be useful, eager to help. Even here, in the darkest pits of Jenson's corporate empire. Where he witnesses horrors beyond his imagining contained and experimented on. It frightened him to the core. But he can't shake the thought Subject 002's laughter almost sounds like sobbing.

[cielphantomhive321]

He’s So cute ☺️.

[basuralindo]

So I was asked to expand on the whole Jamil having a trauma response to Leona comment on my last post, aaand here's that.

(This pertains to chapter 6 btw, so spoiler warning)

(also it's very much sleep deprived rambling so sorry if it's, well, rambly)

First off, I'm operating under the assumption that he has cPTSD. Jamil has clearly been programmed since birth to always obey the Asims and act in their best interests, even at the expense of his own life. This is a boy who has been forced to eat poison to protect them and their assets, who's family was forced to let that happen, and who has been so desperate his entire life to escape that situation that he was willing to resort to murder and doom not just himself but his whole family which he is implied to care about. Which means if simply quitting was an option, he would have done so. So, you kinda have to infer that he and his family don't have a choice in this role, and there are severe enough consequences for disobedience that fucking up or refusing is a worse option than risking a slow painful death every time Kalim wants to eat something. And this is all stuff that's been depicted blatantly in canon, not even touching on the assumptions that could be made from there.

So that's the position Jamil is in. That is a traumatic situation. This is a guy who has been groomed for servitude and obedience since he was old enough to talk. These kinds of circumstances absolutely can lead someone to be triggered into subservience or other trained behaviors. That's just, a thing with trauma.

Now, with the Asims being one of if not THE most powerful merchant families in their country, one of the expectations of Jamil as their servant and especially as the attendant to their heir is to ensure good relationships with other rich and powerful families, especially royalty. This was shown in the fireworks event, where he states that as a prince, if Malleus came to any harm under his watch while a guest of the Asims, it could start an international conflict. These are incredibly high stakes, a misstep on Jamil's part could ruin the Asim family and potentially even endanger his country, and it's pretty strongly implied that he and his family would take the blame and suffer the consequences. Now, much like how wearing a company logo while at work makes your actions representative of your employer, Jamil serving the Asims 24/7 (and especially as the chaperone of their heir) means that he is representing their family At All Times. This is why he is forced to defer to Kalim in all aspects of life even outside of their country, part of his job is to make his employers look good, and there are consequences for not doing so. This means that anyone of high enough status to be significant to the Asims is someone who Jamil is required to be subordinate to.

Then, enter Leona. As a wealthy prince, he would be someone who Jamil is expected maintain good relations with at any cost to himself. With his position Leona could literally destroy Jamil's (and probably his family's) entire life with a single complaint to the Asims about his conduct. Like, he could do that with no actual cause just for fun, because the Asims are 100% going to take the side of a prince over an expendable servant. This means that one misstep or any backtalk from Jamil puts him at massive risk, it is entirely up to Leona whether or not he suffers for any of these actions, and while the audience knows Leona's personal morals would prevent him from actually doing that, Jamil does not.

THEREFORE (sorry this ended up so long), once Jamil was in a life threatening situation with Leona, it seems likely that all this programming and fear would manifest in desperately trying to protect him and follow orders the way he's always done for Kalim. To me, the way he snapped into bodyguard mode, and immediately complied with every one of Leona's bitchy commands (like giving him a hair ornament to throw away without question, and barely saying anything about it after), even while being humiliated and knowing he was less trained in magic, just comes off more like a trigger response than anything. Especially because I can't imagine that situation not being triggering, and I can't imagine him knowing any other way to respond.

[grassoftunnel]

Choice Theft in the second degree, with utter disrespect

“To take the choice of another … to forget their concrete reality, to abstract them, to forget that you are a node in a matrix, that actions have consequences. We must not take the choice of another being. ”

from Perdido Street Station by China Miéville

The way Genji, Kumasawa, and Nanjo constantly refer to the rape as being like…The One Sin that Kinzo ever did in regards to Beatrice 2. As though they weren’t there actively helping him to raise her in isolation, imprisonment, lying to her about the world, about herself. As if that’s not also a nightmarish abusive situation already, just on it’s own. We have so little of Beatrice 2, but it’s an undeniable fact that she was a human utterly devoid of agency in every single way.. They stole from her even the choice to be angry or upset or aware about what was happening to her, what had happened to her. Of the choice to be a human and not a witch. Of the choice to be a daughter and not a wife. Genji’s half-truth phrasings during the games too when dodging confirmation from the siblings about whether Kinzo had a child with his mistress are especially disgusting. Since he’s not just outright lying like Nanjo, but denying Beatrice 2’s personhood as an individual, and slyly using Kinzo’s grooming logic that she was not really herself, but someone else (her mother), even if he did genuinely feel bad for her. I’m sure Genji, Kumasawa, and Nanjo contented themselves by thinking that a bird in a cage doesn’t long for the outside. But that’s a theft in itself. And this choice theft is only continued with Sayo. Robbed of her own unsurgically-altered body. Robbed of the context of her life. Robbed of the ability to make choices based on those two things. And then in telling her, far too late, she is robbed of the mundane, uncomplicated love that had existed in her heart for Battler. Robbed of a lineage not tainted by the most horrific abuse. Robbed even of the ability to look at her own father, at the people who raised her, with respect. Like…HELL IS NOT HOT ENOUGH!!!!

[tnbc-thoughtsandheadcanons]

Something that has always bothered me about The nightmare before Christmas sequels and the fandom is how Sallys abuse is never talked about or swept under the rug or down played as not that bad. The movie does a great way how showing how abusers can deceive peoplelike every thing is fine but nothing really is. The Dr only hurts Sally when no one is looking or when they are alone and unfortunately when Jack is around he puts on a act like he’s a good guy that would never hurt anyone so Jack is not suspicious Sally is in Danger. I understand this is a difficult subject but I believe one that should be talked about. Sallys story is one of hope that things can and will get better ❤️‍🩹 and that you are not tethered to your abuser. 

I believe I've talked about it before, how Sally's situation with the Doctor can be looked at through the lens of abuse, much like Lock, Shock, and Barrel with Oogie Boogie. Dr. Finkelstein is well-liked among his fans, who have arguments against the whole 'abuse' thing, but I think it's an interesting discussion worth having from its complexities. It doesn't get much focus in many Nightmare adaptations at all.

The Doctor is overprotective and overbearing - as his expectations for Sally are not to join in on the Halloween celebrations (which is Halloween Town's most beloved time + purpose), and from that we can surmise that he doesn't allow her much freedom outside of the tower. His punishment to her is locking her in her room with a gigantic piece of wood over the door, for how long is undetermined, but it leads to Sally's escape being something drastic like jumping out of a window.

He treats Sally's restless behavior as a "phase that will pass", with enough "patience". But, really, what is Sally's 'restless behavior' beyond just wanting to go outside and join in on the fun? To meet people, to make friends? Dr. Finkelstein, whether intentionally or not, is trying to cage Sally and enforce that her 'acceptable' behavior is to be content living and serving him, and not seeking a life outside of him and the tower.

There is some emotional manipulation you can see in the movie between the Doctor and Sally, and it comes across a little more clearly in Caroline Thompson's Draft:

And abusers can be good or even well-liked people. The Doctor and Jack clearly have a friendship, or they at least get along well, as Jack comes to him for some lab equipment and seeks his help with the skeletal reindeer, and the Doctor is kind and welcoming to him in return. It's not really clear whether or not Jack *knows* how Sally is being treated at home, in both recent Nightmare books it's addressed and received badly by Jack (who wants to fix the situation), but it could be very easily guessed he may not notice anything if Sally doesn't talk about it and the Doctor presents nothing as wrong. (The Doctor does pull Sally away during Halloween, trying to be quiet about taking her back, so he may not want to make a scene with her and have others know their situation.)

Sally taking the initiative to escape on her own, to use her wits and learn special concoctions to poison Dr. Finkelstein with (a little morally-gray though), and re-sewing her dismembered limbs on is empowering and teaches us that you can overcome your obstacles. What she and the Doctor have is definitely far from a healthy relationship, and something some abused people can relate to - Finkelstein's emotional manipulations and caging Sally inside as a servant, and her poisoning and escaping him in response to these things.

I am glad Sally ends up freeing herself in the end, and that she finds a life away from Finkelstein. I like seeing Nightmare fan-material addressing what Sally has gone through and how she learns to heal + grow from her time with the Doctor, and I also like seeing the same for him in return, to treat his newer creation better and learn from his mistakes and become a better person through it. I don't think he's necessarily a 'villain' in any sense, but a person whose intentions and actions are abusive, as they cause much more harm than good.

[unnerving-presence]

it makes me so sad to read the file in lost in nightmares after getting the 3 passwords and seeing all the wesker children because they weren’t called that, they were just called test subjects :(

it’s honestly sad to think that all of them but albert and alex died a horrible death because of the prototype virus too. mutation isn’t exactly painless when you’re not compatible

even in wesker’s file in re5 it says:

“Some took the virus on the recommendation of a friend; others were given the virus as part of their medical treatment; still others had it forcibly administered to them

Albert Wesker was not different. His partner, William Birkin, gave him the experimental virus, and he administered it to himself.”

fuck spencer fuck spencer fuck spencer i can’t do this anymore

[milfmerlin]

do you think fate servants use “i’m trapped in a narrative” the same way we use “we live in a society”. anyway ive been thinking about mandricardo’s decline from gigachad to babygirl

[anonymocha]

Bro i cant stop looking at your wrestler kaalaa baunaa:;;’ im aroace but like shes got me kicking my feet and shit shes so pretty 😭😭😭😭😭

🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

THANK YOU…. I JUST THINK SHES NEAT

[hayateart]

With how many Moshang/SVSSS ideas I have, I could probably spend the rest of my days drawing Moshang comics. Cheers!

[meirimerens]

you know i must have been bone-tired when this part of the herb brides lore didn't come to my mind when i discussed how the Kin fundamentally differs from the cultures it is inspired by um There Is The Human Sacrifice part. like it's an important part of pathologic 2 that you are doing human, or anthropomorphic (if you want to see the Herb Brides as closer to spirits, which comes with its own set of problematics regarding how to approach their oppression) sacrifice. it's an important part of pathologic 2 that you kill a woman, as part of the journey and in direct resonance with you ritualistically killing cattle earlier, and she offers herself to you with cultural and religious significance.

human sacrifices have been done across the globe for millennia, but i cannot, for the life of me, find any source at all that mentions the Buryats (since that was the discussion point) partaking in human sacrifices by the turn of the 19th-early 20th century (or even anything past the 16th). every single source mentioning offerings and sacrifices i've read mentions animals, things such as milk and vodka, and often both at once. would love to read anything about these rituals if papers exist, but i'm personally drawing a blank.

the Kin has Obvious and very Visible influences but it also differs from specific (in this discussion's case, the Buryats) or wider (here, turkic/mongolic as a whole) cultures from the area by so many pieces, big and small, that i wouldn't have enough appendages on my whole body to count them all. and sister. i have plenty of appendages.

[artandthebible]

And the Prayer of Faith Shall Save the Sick

Artist: John Frederick Lewis  (English, 1805–1876)

Genre: Religious Art

Date: 1872

Medium: Oil on Panel

Collection: Yale Center for British Art

And the Prayer of Faith Shall Save the Sick from James 5:15

"And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven."

[tmarshconnors]

“I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them.”

John Stuart Mill was an English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism. (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873.)

Proponent of Utilitarianism: John Stuart Mill was a leading advocate of utilitarianism, a moral philosophy originally developed by Jeremy Bentham. Utilitarianism is the ethical theory that actions are right if they promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Mill expanded on Bentham's ideas, emphasizing qualitative differences in pleasures.

Author of "On Liberty": Mill's seminal work "On Liberty" (1859) is a cornerstone of liberal political philosophy. In it, he argues for the importance of individual freedom and autonomy, asserting that society should only restrict individual actions if they harm others, encapsulating this idea in what is known as the Harm Principle.

Advocate for Women's Rights: Mill was an early and passionate advocate for gender equality. In his book "The Subjection of Women" (1869), he argued for the legal and social equality of women, making a strong case against the oppression and disenfranchisement of women in Victorian society.

Influence on Political Economy: As a political economist, Mill made significant contributions to economic theory. His "Principles of Political Economy" (1848) was a comprehensive survey of economic thought and policy, covering topics such as supply and demand, labour, and the role of government in the economy. It was a standard textbook for decades.

Early Education and Intellectual Development: Mill had an extraordinary early education, rigorously guided by his father, James Mill. By the age of three, he was reading Greek, and by eight, he was proficient in Latin. His intensive and broad education laid the groundwork for his later intellectual achievements, making him one of the most learned individuals of his time.

[kyorru]

thinking about my good friend alois tracy on this day

[xx-hail2theking-xx]

...tell us your thoughts? she makes Abaddon her obvious target, and the king as well-

I've wondered, if Phenex might be her target. If not directly, then still one target. I don't think the... Authority, is...

...

who are you thinking, Duke Valefar?

The target of her machinations? I don't doubt King Paimak isn't at the very least tangently related, given all she's done.

I refer to the receiver in this hypothetical.

-Duke Valefar.

[jasper-and-the-forty-servants]

Self Reflection Through A Disliked Character | 5/15/2023

Original post for the spread.

The Seer | The Mother | The Carnal | The Librarian | The Lovers Raffine, Scheming Seer | Pia Nalaar | Anje, Maid of Dishonor | Ormos, Archive Keeper | Halana and Alena, Partners

The character in question and I are both plagued by others' influence. Our gut instincts are clouded by what other people want us to see or otherwise perceive. In this way, we're both in a questionable position in our lives and especially in our mental health.

I strongly believe in community and taking care of each other, focusing on protection. The character in question often does the opposite, first from the influence of others and then according to the warped beliefs he gained from that situation. He has no agency in his story and it often turns into a trail of destruction.

The character does what he wants in his moments of lucidity. He never second-guesses himself, other people's opinions be damned. I could grow to admire this trait.

I'm all about knowledge and theory, while this character is about action first and foremost. I struggle to understand that.

I can learn about deeper bonds from this character, whose magic is entirely based around building bonds with others (animals and monsters rather than people).

[jeanharlowseyebrows]

Just say yes, and everything will be okay. I will give you everything that you want.

Luke 1:48-53/Servant (Apple TV)