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| - The Benevolent Boss can't come into work today; perhaps s/he's sick, or attending a conference, or has to undertake some quest that will take her / him away from their regular job for a few days. But the place still needs running, someone still needs to be in charge, and everyone agrees there's only one real candidate to be promoted to the post. They're competent, they're well-liked and sweet-natured, everyone agrees they'll do a good job, they've been waiting for long time to show the boss what they're made of, and besides - it's only for a few days. It's not like anything bad could happen, right?
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| abstract
| - The Benevolent Boss can't come into work today; perhaps s/he's sick, or attending a conference, or has to undertake some quest that will take her / him away from their regular job for a few days. But the place still needs running, someone still needs to be in charge, and everyone agrees there's only one real candidate to be promoted to the post. They're competent, they're well-liked and sweet-natured, everyone agrees they'll do a good job, they've been waiting for long time to show the boss what they're made of, and besides - it's only for a few days. It's not like anything bad could happen, right? Wrong. Doing this is exactly the best way to kick off a Tyrant Takes the Helm story arc. Power corrupts, and it seems like it corrupts the meek and good-natured quicker than everyone, given half a chance. Before too long, that nice person with a cheerful greeting and understanding ear for all will turn into a Stalinist dictator, their ego completely out of control as a result of their new responsibilities and being given their chance to make a mark and implement all their good ideas. In the name of 'efficiency', they'll create countless petty and pedantic rules for all to follow -- all of which will be staggeringly inefficient, considering the place ran smoothly before without them and that their implementation only slows things down. And don't even think of trying to circumvent them -- the new boss have developed a sadistic streak which will lead them into enthusiastically punishing even the slightest infraction of those rules in a fashion that is completely out of proportion to the offense. Some sort of ranking or points allocation system which is just designed to irritate their co-workers and stimulate inferiority complexes will probably be implemented. They'll also plunge deep into full-blown paranoia, convinced that everyone is plotting against them. Even the character's fashion sense will most likely be altered to emphasize their new workplace-fascist mindset. Everyone will be shocked by the drastic change in their friend, but any attempts to talk them down will be rebuked, and the person who tried to talk them down will usually be summarily fired. They've become Drunk with Power. It's a Face Heel Turn, but usually a very minor and temporary one; usually, the newly promoted tyrant's conduct will result in either everyone being fired for breathing or quitting en masse in protest, just in time for a fresh crisis that plunges the tyrant completely out of their depth, resulting in much humiliation as they either have to go crawling back to everyone they've just been bullying to meekly ask them to come back and help them fix things before the boss arrives, or for the boss to actually arrive (often unexpectedly early) only to see exactly what chaos has resulted in their absence. Usually, after such a humbling and humiliating breakdown and the resulting reality check, the tyrant will be utterly appalled by and ashamed of their own conduct ("I don't know what came over me!" being a frequent lament), but will soon be forgiven by all and will return to their usual good-natured selves, if a little bit humbler and wiser. If the promotion wasn't temporary, they may even voluntarily relinquish it, having decided that they were becoming someone they didn't like. Often found in the Work Com. With Great Power Comes Great Insanity is this to the extreme. See Drunk on the Dark Side for the superpower equivalent. When it occurs due to elevated expectations and wedding-related stress, see Bridezilla. Compare Acquired Situational Narcissism. Examples of Drunk with Power include:
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