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smndragon · 3 years

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GODS AND HOW THEY AFFECT PEOPLE PT 2

PLEASE REBLOG IF YOU ENJOYED IM SO TIRED

Okay, so we established this is a possibility that they associate and gift their talents and eyes to people living. If you haven't seen that post it's on my master list/pinned post.

Gotta thank @i-would-marry-thunderhead though they didn't try they helped me find a missing piece on what I was looking for.

More thanks to @medusa12346 and @tulatodivine for helping me find the click to read more thing, I'm new so😶

It's not random. As planets rule zodiacs, it's know some gods rule them, and it's not just planets as not all mythology and religion is based on planetary stuff. For example, if Ares rules mars and Mars rules Aries. People with Aries in their chart are gifted some of the small things Ares has.

So here are the planets and what they rule along with some things the gods may gift you Greek and Roman style. If you would like other gods please ask I'm not well versed in many others it's been a while since I've researched.

Links (minor searching sorry it's late I also may have to finish readings tommorow though I do have to go somewhere so sorry): Wikipedia gods and planets ruling with this link there is also more religions and gods with planets so if you're interested look into it.

More on the planets and gods in longer versions

What zodiacs the planets rule

Let me clarify Wikipedia is not always trustworthy but my research will be short tonight.

Preferably they will be within the big 3 but there are also minor things to look into I can't remember all of a sudden I REMEMBER

Basically depending on if it's the sun, moon, or ascendant. These emotions could come out at certain times or moments

SUN:

Apollo seems to be talked about with the sun but it also looked like Helios was the main with Apollo helping out at times or more often so they'll both be here ig: like said they rule the sun and the sun rules Leo (guessed it lol ily guys) some gist given to you Leo charted people you may be gifted with the ability to partially know if something is a 'yes or no' you may get deja Vu at times as signs from Apollo. You are also of course gifted with the ability to look good in gold. Other things could be his beauty, tanned skin, gut senses, nice legs, running and etc I can't remember

From Helios you may be gifted with good sight and vision, strong feet I feel idk?, And so far strong connection to growing things (will maybe add more if found)

OKAY this is gonna be a while.

MOON:

Artemis and Selene (of course her) rule over the moon which rules over Cancer. Possible talents and gifts are animal connections, animal eyes watching over you as companions, medical knowledge, natural medicines also, Excellence in athletics Kirk archery and stuff to do with jumping.

Selene gifts you oohhh it's possible you could slide some Helios gifts here to because they're siblings apparently. I see youth, strong arms, strength (not overboard remember), elegant style in clothing, and the moons watch during the night.

To clarify, there also things to think of like planet aspects and fuck the numbers the tilt or some shit uhyy yeah that will tell how strong these abilities may be.

MERCURY: all this got deleted guys ughhh

Hermes rules mercury which is both surprising and not. Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo (who is also associated with Chiron). Possible gifts include running, determination, medium abilities (determined by what I stayed above also on strength), probably funny ass jokes. Fly, you're just gonna be fly af. Hermes was a very important god to me, he also signifies glory, domination, and success full filled to me so yeah. The ability to soother the people around you with either your voice or your touch, clear or nice voice.

VENUS: WHY ARE THERE 3 HERE?!!??!? I wanted to include the goddess Venus but we'll see😭

Aphrodite rules Venus understandably, Venus rules Taurus and Libra I believe. Possible talents and gifts are of course beauty, loved eyes, this so kind weird but musical talent, telepathy (little), birds as helpers (as in messengers to the clouds or many realms), possible skill for design.

I saw a name called cypris but I'm not sure that's true I looked into it just a bit and found someone named Cypress I don't know if they're related but I believe it's possible? Other names are Cyparissus or Kyparissos. They were liked or loved by Apollo. It's not big but what I read was interesting.

There was also a Cytherea, this was probably an alias or second name given or that of Aphrodite, knowing this there was also a place called Cyprus which leads me to believe Cypris was another alias or typo.

MARS:

As talked about before. Most of us know they rules over Mars, mars rules over Aries. Possible gifts could include determination (he may have been a little cowardly which makes sense as an Aries sun with my shyness), strength, talent in art or drawing idk why I just feel that, piano (also applies to Sagittarius ppl honestly), understanding languages also possibly? Crafty with tools and objects, tactic smart in small ways.

JUPITER:

I saw the name Dias which I wasn't sure on, Dias I believe is another alias and modern name for Zeus. Zeus rules Jupiter and Jupiter rules Sagittarius so thats also no surprise. Gifts and talents may be swimming, science, young literature and old, an eye for good things, blessings through touch (more on a topic I'll bring up later not strong here), dancing, hunting, generosity, a promise of children. I feel many people with Zeus or Ares in their chart may have been accused as witches in those centuries. (Random) that'd all I get right now

FOUR MORE

SATURN:

It said Cronus, I knew him as chronos (hit chronological order) which may have been wrong. He can go by that cronos, or kronos. He rules Saturn and Saturn rules Capricorn which also is understandable with relations between them. Talents and gifts may include: I feel like y'all may have thought you were telekinetic when you were younger💀, I see ginger hair here also, sticky fingers (stealth), time control (as in good with keeping time on track), perception of lies (the man was fooled right? True but I feel it's still smth small), faithfulness (also crazy uh), a gift of great smell, good taste in food choices, I feel like he raised a bunch of hand holders 💕💕 idk why I just do. That's all here

URANUS:

It says Ouranos which makes me think of Ouran highschool host club for some reason, I really would like a season 2. But it's funny cause I didn't know him and he seems pretty interesting though it seems like a minor role if he's the heavens personified that's some big stuff. He rules Uranus which rules Aquarius, possible talents and gifts could be (BLINDING LIGHTS IS PLAYING THIS IS GOOD UGHH I LOVE THIS SONG) alright back to it. Talents like, singing, clairaudience, intuitiveness, a love for curiosity and knowledge, liked skin and proportions, natural attraction, believable, natural leader when younger though maybe not as grown idk.

NEPTUNE:

Of course ruled by Poseidon. Idk why I still add the planets it's the thing above🤦🏽‍♀️ I just make this harder on myself. Neptune rules Pisces. Gifts and talents could be creativity, building, imagination, pull towards earth, swimming, attraction to people also (in a way that your looks capture people as Pisces is beautifully soft), strong senses of the eyes and ears, technology, either quiet or loud voice.

PLUTO:

The official one for Greeks is Hades, there was a name before called Plouton or Ploútōn another name for Hades. Pluto rules Scorpio, also guessed. Gifts and talents may be excelling in curricular concepts like philosophy, leadership (you guys can lead double lives but you're good rulers ngl kinda manipulative at them tho), you guys could probably background check me through connections with ppl lol, people confide in you often this is good cause I feel you feel loved by this, risk takers (Hades is kinda 'out of the circle' which leads to thoughts that Scorpios like to explore and be chaotic because of this at times they're finally free on earth), down to earth or way up high one way or another no in-between, natural ideas that people can't help but fall for, the ability to be unnoticed when wanted, stealthy, quick under pressure. you guys make this world more enjoyable over all there's not much ik you guys are just amazing to me for some reason.

END

that's all there but more to add on are things like blood line theory, if you are a natural descendant of a god (not by literal blood just chosen exactly by them) then there's a chance your abilities will be stronger and you will make a more greater imprint on the world. Not all of these were used for good. They cna be used to any advantage.

I believe asteroids also have something to do with the gods so if you would like to hear something on that please ask!

All in all this post took about 2 hours and 30 mins or close which isn't bad. Sorry if anything was missed and please share your ideas on this I love hearing them!

Coming back to say I'm surprised Hera wasn't here I was looking forward to her

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void-selfships-archive · 3 years

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Dirk! Kara! Totty! Answer us 1, 2, 13, 14, and 15! for the romantic takeover asks! - omen <3

@gentle-horrors

🐴: Oh, I'm being included- well alright.

****

1. What sorts of things do you associate with your s/o?

💙: Hmhm, the passion of an artist. That look they get when they're deep in a piece-

💗: Please stop.

And Ash always reminded me of a kitten. Like those really excitable ones? But the ones that bite you sometimes, just because. Little gremlins- (short bastard)

💙: Todomatsu!

💗: I say that with love!

🐴: ...Dark Academia and Minecraft.

***

2. What is your love language? What is your s/os?

💙: The passion of words! The beauty in a compliment! The expression of oneself-

💗: It's Words of Affirmation- just say Words of Affirmation!

I'm more of a Recieving Gifts person. He always knows what to buy...

🐴: I'm fine with just Quality Time, Ashton is a very 'Words of Affirmation' kinda guy.

***

13. What’s a typical conversation like between you and your s/o? Do you both joke around with each other and have inside jokes? Do you swap memes at ungodly hours of the night? Do you get philosophical with each other? Or are you both more likely to quietly communicate with each other, such as with looks and touches?

🐴: Wow that's a long one, ok.

Jesus we do half of the things mentioned here. A lot of our conversations can go from some oddball question to talking about our personal feelings or philosophy- though I think that's usually my fault. Sometimes we just bask in each others presence though, he likes watching me work.

💙: Usually he'll let me talk! About anything really, my day, my interests. It's nice! He doesn't talk about himself much unless we're deep in a conversation- actually half the time when that happens we're suddenly talking about our deepest fears and insecurities....I love to enjoy his company, conversation or not.

💗: Ususally he's the one sending ME memes at ungodly times of the night- I know he can't sleep sometimes but the shit he sends worries me. I'd say we have a few inside jokes...yeah...I can also say that we do get into deep meaningful conversations about ourselves- but that's ususally when we're hanging out with eachother late at night.

💙: How does he do that?

🐴: He does that with everyone. It's a skill.

***

14. What is the most creative date you both have ever been on? If you haven’t had the chance to go on any dates yet, what’s the most creative idea you can think of?

🐴: We usually just stay inside and watch movies or play videogames. Neither of us are really "leave the house" people unless someone's throwing a party. I can't remember the last time we did that though. I think...for a creative date, we could remake the Minotaur's Labyrinth-

💗: And I've determined you're very, very weird! Who'd wanna remake a labyrinth? What kind of date is that?

🐴: A creative one-

💗: I've taken him to the nicest spots in Japan! It was a whole trip actually, we went out for a week or two- at least until we couldn't afford anything anymore. It was fun! I've never been on a one on one road trip! We should do it again sometime.

💙: Heh- creative? Practically my middle name. We've been on a few of my Karamatsu-Approved Dates.

💗: What does that even mean.

💙: Nature walks, ice-skating, karaoke! And of course! Whatever my darling flower wants to do.

💗: So basic dating ideas, moving on.

***

15. Have any of your habits rubbed off on your s/o? For example, have they adopted some of your speech patterns into their daily conversations, or perhaps you have a habit of moving your hands a certain way that they unknowingly have started to mimic? Anything like that. Have they influenced you in a similar fashion?

🐴: I talk a lot around him. So he's...picked up the long-winded metaphors. I'm willing to admit I'm at fault for that, but it's cute. I've started to be more animated when I- talk about things that I'm into. At least, that's what he said.

💗: Not that I know of- but I do know I've picked up things from him. The third person talking, saying what I'm doing out loud- ugh, adding "cutely" at the end of what I say sometimes.

💙: I'd like to say he's picked up on my mannerisms, it's adorable! I find it endearing. I can also say that yes....I have picked up on certain things he does to-

💗: You got mad yesterday and told Osomatsu-niisan that you were gonna bite him-! [He wheezes]

💙: Yeah....I know.

🐴: Y'all don't already say that on a daily basis because of him?

💗: You do????

#💗: How can you say that without getting embarrassed???#🐴: You mean unironically.#💗: What????#🐴: Don't....don't worry about it.#♡takeover hours♡#☆neet hours☆#☆strider hours☆#🐴: wait one more-#◇horrifying friend content◇#🐴: Shit. Might have to tag the other posts too. Oh well.

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saintlexii · 5 years

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A/N: More Saints Row 1 NPC quotes for y'all because I got board. (Quotes come from my 3 different saved games at 8%, 49%, and 77% completion)

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7

- Watch your back, man, I hear Hughes is taking names.

- Maybe my girl would respect me more if I hung out with you.

- I'm buyin' a bunch of purple clothes today, isn't that cool?

- If I don't kill someone soon I'm gonna forget how.

- If my man is asleep when I come home I'm throwing his ass out.

- They don't teach you how to change clothes in the Row?

- Who sold out your boss?

- I didn't wanna be in that stupid sorority anyway.

- Third Street's outta the ghetto now.

- You got us to the top, I hope you keep us there.

- I give the best damn blowjob in Stilwater.

- Remember where you came up from, man.

- There's no way I coulda done what you did.

- Maybe now there'll be some order.

- The Lopez family's gone? I don't believe it.

- So, how does it feel to be the voice of Julius?

- With you callin' the shots, no one can touch us.

- There ain't a man working the docks that hasn't heard of you.

- This whole town's afraid of us.

- The way I hear it, you're lookin' to take the whole damn city.

- You make sure Julius finishes what he started.

- Is Julius gonna stick around this time?

- If you ever wanna start some shit, let me know.

- I think my philosophy professor was hitting on me.

- Don't tell anyone, but I think you might be harder than Johnny.

- Julius better watch himself, King ain't gonna play nice this time.

- Do you like older women?

- I should hookup with a gang, that'll get me some chicks.

- Julius ever mention me?

- Looks like the Saints weren't pussies like everyone said.

- How's Lin doin'? I ain't seen her in a while.

- I wouldn't wanna be in your way.

- The Saints have earned some respect, but that don't mean people are gonna roll over.

- My son was talking about you last night.

- I don't care what people say, you gangsters have pizazz.

- Shit, man, they owe you money or somethin'?

- I don't know of it's just me, but Troy's been acting nervous.

- How come you always doing everything around here?

- All you do is ruin people's lives.

- Laura sure is making a lot of friends at the PTA, I wonder what her secret is.

- I oughta invest in a bigger flask.

- I wonder where I can meet some Asian chicks.

- If I see that ho come by my place one more time I'm gonna slap the black off of her.

- Fuck no, I ain't shaving my shit, that's just nasty.

- How am I supposed to take care of my kids when the government keeps fucking with me?

- It's not cheating if you call me your wife's name.

- I wish Friendly Fire took food stamps.

- What's Tanya got that I don't?

- If I suck one more dick tonight I'll make the rent.

- Next time she asks, I'm gonna say "yes, you do look fat in that dress".

- Shit, you must've killed half the people in this city.

- Wanna catch dinner and a drug deal?

- Damn you look fine.

- Goddamn, I want some cookies.

- I haven't seen Johnny in a while, I hope he's okay.

- Minimum wage my ass, I can't even afford a lighter.

- I'm getting sick of Troy acting like he's better than everyone.

- I gotta stop getting high and talking to myself on the street.

- Hey, you're the guy that finally put down Victor.

- Don't worry, they say jail isnt too bad here.

- Why's Troy always gotta stick his nose in my business?

- I don't give a fuck what she days, he's my man.

- I'd be all over that ass if she put a bag over her head.

- I've gotta see a doctor, Mister Whiskers just smells awful lately.

- I can't believe my dad gave me shit for dating a black guy.

- Be careful, I used to be important, look at me now.

- How did you kill Victor?

- I was there when they found Lin's body.

- I may be poor, but I ain't ever whoring myself out.

- If it ain't the big man himself.

- You're gonna be running this gang pretty soon.

- How come I never see you hitting the bars?

- Next time you roll over on some motherfuckers take me along.

- Make sure Julius knows what's up over here.

- Ah man, I'm from the suburbs, I don't know how to deal with gangs.

- What's this bullshit about Dex being a lieutenant?

- When I finally move outta here I ain't ever looking back.

- You been telling Julius about all the good shit I do, right?

- Vote Winslow, Hughes kicks puppies!

- Is it true you cut some guys dick off for lookin' at your girl?

- We ain't a bunch of bursters no more thanks to you.

- Aisha's just using Johnny.

- So, are you one of those street racers?

- From all the stories I heard I thought you'd be taller.

- You single?

- Unless you wanna end up in jail you better slow down.

- I'm meeting some friends downtown tonight, wanna come?

- I hear you're a good guy to know.

- You better be careful, Stilwater can be a nasty place.

- If I max out another card I'll never hear the end of it.

- You've become quite the local figure.

- You belong in jail!

- I can't wait to cheat on my online girlfriend, that girl has it coming.

- Julius ain't nothing but a washed up banger past his prime.

- You're as hard as Julius said you were.

- I hope the next dead body I see on the street is you!

- Between Gat and that mute motherfucker, we got nothing to worry about.

- I'm gonna kill my parents for naming me River.

- I wonder if the secretary is wearing tose panties I like.

- I heard Julius talking about promoting you.

#saints row #saints boss #saints row 2 #johnny gat #quotes #dexter jackston #julius little #the saints #troy bradshaw #npc quotes #i spent so much time on this #100 quotes

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imtrynnawriteshit · 5 years

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Kassandra x reader x Alkibiades

I have nothing to say for myself

@ the anon who requested this: you're now allowed (and in some countries even legally obligated) to punch me!!!

Also you're v good friends with Aspasia in this bc the beginning had been stuck in my head for ages lmao

Thank c:

Words: I edited this on Tumblr mobile and now I'm too lazy to check (I'll do it later though. Maybe)

Warnings: Two swear words, I think. And the usual: suggestive themes, terrible writing, too many commas, me projecting my thirst onto y'all (I'm sorry, pals :/)

Characters: Kassandra, Alkibiades, Reader, a whole lotta name throwing, Herodotos makes a friendly appearance :)

Relationships: Kassandra x reader, Alkibiades x reader, Kassandra x reader x Alkibiades

Request: Your Kassandra/Reader gave me an idea for a request so sorry if its dumb haha. Basically I was super happy you included Alkibiades because hes my FAV and I'd die for him. ANYWAY. Could you write one where the reader is at Perikles symposium, and has always had a thing for Alkibiades but was too shy to take him up on his offers, and always regretted it. But then she meets Kassandra and WHAM INSTANT CRUSH so she basically convinces the reader to... eh. Join in the fun? Heh.

Damn Aspasia and her need to arrive fashionably late. She’d promised she wouldn’t be too long this time, but you should’ve known better. And here you thought you'd done a good job convincing her.

You’d been standing around for ages, casually mingling with the guests and steering very, very clear of Sokrates, no matter how many times he tried to catch your eye. You’d have to drain the city of it's wine before you could even consider the thought of engaging him in conversation. At a party, no less. You were here to enjoy yourself, and that did not include a conversation about philosophy going nowhere.

You’d just left Euripedes and Aristophanes to tease Sophokles when you ran into an already extremely tipsy Alkibiades, who seemed thoroughly pleased to see you.

His hands immediately landed on your waist to steady himself, yours going to his shoulders to aid him. You held on to him softly (after all, he might end up stumbling again, and you were a good friend who looked out for others; or at least, that's what you told yourself), and you almost had to physically restrain yourself from running your hands through his hair. Your stomach fluttering, you prayed to every deity that you didn't end up making an absolute fool of yourself.

“I hoped I'd run into you tonight," he paused, leaning in closer, taking in your form hungrily. "And don't you look absolutely delicious."

By the gods. You tensed slightly, your hands beginning to tremble a little. Thankfully, he didn't notice, although his hands did drop to your hips.

"Join me, wouldn’t you? The night is still young, and there’s so much more we can do to make it more…interesting.”

At Aspasia's request, you'd worn the robes she'd gifted you a while back. They were flattering, very much so, and Alkibiades’ attention proved it.

Then again, he didn’t really need an excuse to proposition you.

“I-It’s nice to see you too, Alkibiades, but-“

“But you can’t, yes, so I’ve heard. Many times. Trust me (Y/N), one of these days, I’m going to see if you’re just as magnificent behind closed doors.”

You just shook your head, smiling bashfully as he turned to walk away, stumbling into a pillar. Heaving a sigh, you decided to at least try and have a proper conversation with him tonight, one that didn't involve you stumbling over your words. Baby steps, right?

You were in the middle of hyping yourself up when you noticed Herodotos standing alone by the entryway, watching the festivities. You were approaching him when he was suddenly joined by a woman, someone you didn’t know.

But by the gods did you want to.

Herodotos smiled and shook your hand when you were closer to the pair, accidentally interrupting their conversation.

“(Y/N)! It’s good to see you again."

“You too, Herodotos. I didn't mean to interrupt, I'm sorry."

He smiled, shaking his head. "You always were too polite for your own good. It's no problem at all."

Even as you addressed him, you glanced at the woman by his side. "It’s been a while. I haven’t seen you in Athens, lately.”

“I’ve taken to travelling the Greek world. This is Kassandra of Sparta”, noticing your gaze, he gestured to the woman beside him, who was watching you with an expression you couldn’t quite place, “a misthios, and the commander of the ship I'm sailing on. Kassandra, this is (Y/N) of, well, Athens."

"A pleasure to meet you, Kassandra."

"Believe me, (Y/N), the pleasure is all mine."

You could've melted right there. The sound of your name rolling off her tongue was now possibly one of your favourites. Your face must've given you away, because you swore you could see the beginnings of a smirk on her lips. That you now couldn't stop staring at. You were quickly snapped out of your daze by Herodotos excusing himself to find the host.

Kassandra was quick to continue the conversation.

"How do you know Perikles?"

Thankfully, you'd become accustomed enough to this question that you weren't too flustered, and your response was almost automatic.

"Oh, my brother is one of the proedroi, and doesn't usually attend parties, so I'm forced to come instead. Not that I'm complaining, of course, it’s how I’ve managed to become well acquainted with Perikles and Aspasia." You smiled softly at her, trying not to let your eyes drop below her face.

It didn’t work, but you also didn't regret it too much. Those arms were sinful, and you could only imagine what they could do-

You shook your head slightly, mortified at how you'd been so caught up in your daydream you'd taken to ogling her, and thought you caught a glimpse of amusement in her eyes.

Why, oh why did this only ever happen to you?

You needed to leave before you embarrassed yourself any further, but at the same time, you were reluctant to deprive yourself of her company. Which was ridiculous, considering you barely knew her.

As if you weren’t bad enough when it came to Alkibiades.

At the same time, the fact that she was from Sparta intrigued you. And you were nothing if not curious. Clearing your throat, you continued, "but I must say, I'm surprised to see a Spartan here. What brings you to Athens?”

At this, she seemed to consider you for a moment. Her gaze had become calculating, and you almost felt uncomfortable under her scrutiny. But you must've looked trustworthy to her.

Or just harmless enough to deal with in case she was wrong.

(You hoped it was the former.)

“I’m searching for a Spartan woman. My mother. Herodotos thought I might have been able to find some information here."

You frowned in thought. You weren't sure of how much information she'd find, but the least you could do was point her in the right direction. “Unfortunately, I won’t be of much help to you-"

"Now, that is unfortunate. I would have loved to repay you in any way I could." Was it just you, or were her eyes lidded?

You had a hard time trying to finish what you were saying when your treacherous mind was instead focused on the suggestive tone her voice had taken, but you managed.

"but, I think, um, Alkibiades might know something. Aspasia too, but she - she isn’t here yet.”

She let out a little chuckle. "So you were of help anyway. Thank you, (Y/N)."

She smiled then, and gently squeezed your shoulder. Your skin burned under her touch, and almost as if she knew that, she let her hand trail down your arm before pulling away to talk to the others, throwing you another inexplicable look over her shoulder.

You definitely needed more to drink.

You were stunned, to say the least, when she found you again in the kitchens. The pitcher of wine in your hands, a source of comfort only a moment ago, now felt heavy with...shame, was it? You couldn't tell. The rush in which you set it on the table behind you only made you it worse.

Kassandra, however, didn’t notice. Or maybe just didn’t care. She stepped closer to you, glancing around the tiny room as you involuntarily took a step back.

Your nerves must have made themselves known, because she only closed the distance between the two of you, her amusement plain on her features now.

“I don’t bite, you know.”

What on earth were you supposed to say to that?

“I-I didn’t-“

“Unless”, she continued, ignoring your, frankly, pathetic attempt at redeeming yourself, “you’d like me to.”

Fuck.

You let out a shaky laugh, hyper aware of everything around you: the table digging into your back, Kassandra only inches away from you, the tension in the air.

Gulping audibly, you cleared your throat.

“Are you - is there something I can help you with?”

“You know, I believe there is. Alkibiades asked me to find some oil for him. You seem to be well acquainted with the kitchen", her voice had a teasing lilt to it as she shot the pitcher a pointed look. You wished the gods would take pity on you and strike you where you stood. They didn't. "So I hoped you'd know.”

You did, and with a stuttered "of course", you turned to grab it. Handing it to her proved to be a little difficult, though, when she pulled you even closer (if that was possible), her hands on your waist. You were fairly certain your heart had stopped beating.

“You’re looking a little tense.”

“Oh, uh, I hadn’t noticed. I think it might be the wine-”

“Wine relaxes you, (Y/N), but it looks like it hasn’t worked at all. Here, come with me.”

And before you could protest, you were led away, one of her hands now on the small of your back. In the blink of an eye, you found yourself in front of a door, which opened to reveal Alkibiades.

A very naked Alkibiades.

You immediately averted your eyes, questioning every decision that led you to this point. Kassandra, on the other hand, seemed unaffected.

"Your oil."

Oh, you were still holding it. Still looking anywhere but at the two of them, you held it out for Alkibiades to take. And for the second time, you were left holding it as he reached for you instead.

Kassandra grinned. "You're a shy one, aren't you?

"I just...didn't expect -"

"There's a lot you wouldn't expect from me, but I always satisfy." Alkibiades' grip tightened around you. "What say we put this oil to good use and I prove it?"

You hesitated, but you knew that you wanted to. Especially with the way those two were looking at you.

"I certainly wouldn't be opposed to it." Kassandra said, wearing a salacious smile that was mirrored on Alkibiades and almost made your knees buckle.

"After all, what's a party without a little fun?"

Oh, what the hell.

"You're right." The gleeful surprise on their faces filled you with a sense of confidence. "A little fun never hurt anyone."

"Although, my fun is hardly little", Alkibiades said as they led you in. Only one coherent thought ran through your mind as the door closed behind you:

Fuck baby steps.

#kassandra x reader #alkibiades x reader #kassandra x reader x alkibiades #assassin's creed odyssey #assassin's creed #mine

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alex-baebae · 5 years

Text

Immaculate

Chapter 8

Pairing: TOP X READER

"She tied up my hands to the bed...And she... She punched my belly" he paused for a while "I didn't know what had happened, I wa-wasn't able to breathe... I was so s-scared because I never felt that before, a-and I cannot remember what happened after... Only that she... She didn't let me... Cu-cum and my... My... Really hurt" his face was soaked by tears, he avoided eye contact while talking. I guessed that the word he didn't wanted to say was 'my penis hurt' probably he felt ashamed "my body was quivering, and I couldn't think well... S-she told me 'moan louder, slutty boy' I haven't, haven't noticed I was crying... She, she hit my belly again and bite my, my... Right tight... My leg was so bloody" he hugged me harder "I could do nothing" he paused "my legs were spread and I couldn't... I couldn't do anything" he looked at me "I swear I couldn't do anything, I didn't want to do it" I kissed his forehead "sweetie, I know, it wasn't your fault. You didn't want" I kissed all over his face "b-but they said" that word again 'they' who the hell were those people? "it doesn't matter what have they told you, that's not true" I kissed again his cheeks "s-so, I'm not... Dirty?" That word... He said it in a lower volume "No, you are not. You are pure my sweet angel" I kissed again his face "you are not dirty".

There was the sunrise... TOP was calmed down after many hours, we both were awake, we didn't talked again in the whole night... all the time I had been caressing his back.

I didn't want to force him to talk, if he wanted to tell me... He would do it. "_____" he said "I'm tired" he pointed out "let's sleep then, my angel" we were asleep in the same position until late. I can't remember how much time passed, I only remember the hour we woke up '4pm'. TOP and I had our 'breakfast' it was from clinic's kitchen again "is it nice?" He nodded with his mouth full of some vegetables, he seemed to be better after telling me about 'she' he was like relaxed before that talk he was kind of tense, he looked to be okay, however most of the times that tension was there.

"Hey guys, good morning" my aunt walked into the room "morning, aunt" I said looking at her face "g-ood morning" TOP said. "It's time for your check-up, TOP" my aunt started to do her job, we discovered that TOP went to the toilet when we were talking last afternoon, my aunt told her that it was nice he was independent nevertheless he was convalescent, so he hadn't have to be overexerted "I didn't woke up guys because you were tired, but please try to sleep to a certain hour that's good for health" she said smiling "sure, we will try" I said.

...

Many days passed, my aunt and I decided that the prescription must had my name so, there will be no problem with the register and with my teachers. Yeah as you can see I hadn't gone to school in a week, I had texted my teachers so, I was able to do homework, readings, reports, essays, etcetera. Do you remember professor Alison? Well, he notified me everything I should do, also he gave a special date to do my exam, after all he is a good person and teacher.

I tried to be by TOP's side everytime, but sometimes I went to my house for my stuff as books, notebooks, my laptop and pencils also I took things for TOP, (for me too) as clothes, soap, shoes, and so on. Although my aunt told me that we can use everything the clinic provides for the 'fancy' patients I didn't want her to spend so much money on us.

Whenever I arrived to the clinic I also tried to talk with TOP, to do activities together, to play some games... However I also needed to do my best at the school so at some points of our stay there I had to do my own business, then TOP just watched the TV.

One day he was interested in what I was reading, I told him that was a text about politics, I asked him if he wanted me to read for him, he immediately say yes. However TOP didn't understood well the text, it's normal I guess it had lots of technical terms.

I noticed he liked that activity, that's why the second time I went to my house I looked for some books I used to read when I was a child.

I chose titles which you may know as Cinderella, Rapunzel, and others princesses' stories. I also chose some books about stories for children from many cultures of the world.

We started to read the princesses' stories because TOP got intrigued by the covers. The last days we stayed at the clinic, I encouraged TOP to read by himself, it was nice because at the start he cannot read with fluidity "Ci-cinde-re-lla, ¡Cinderella!" He read the first time, I guess someone had taught him to read but due to he wasn't able to practice a lot, he found it quite difficult.

In no time TOP was reading for me, he liked that, he always seemed happy when he took a book and started to read.

"_____" he called me "yes, sweetie?" We were packing our stuff and the medicines my aunt gave us "why don't you use the car for going to the university?" He asked while packing, now, his books "oh, because it is for emergencies and for going to the country side" I answered "I see" he said.

We went to our house, it sounded strange 'our'... I have never imagined live with someone else before graduate from University. But actually I liked that word because that meant 'with TOP'.

Yeah as you probably are thinking... I failed for TOP, I had had two boyfriends before, nevertheless those relationships didn't went totally well. It's not like I was scared about someone breaking my heart again... as one of our professor states "ofFall in love with someone and your heart will be broken, then fall in love again with someone else and it will be the same. But keep falling in love until your heart won't be broken again. Don't be worried about being heartbroken nor to fall in love again."*

However I didn't want TOP to be uncomfortable while I was around him, so as you can see... I tried my best to hide my feelings for him.

TOP deserved to fell protected and live in peace... telling him my feelings would only disturb him. And when you love someone those bad feelings are the less you would hope for your beloved one.

Hey there I'm Alex, thank you for reading my job, hope you like this chapter. I'll do my best to keep updating.

*This actually was something my professor of Political Philosophy told us, I guess it was a good idea sharing it with you.

So keep falling in love guys, until you find that special someone who never will broke your heart.

Don't be worried about being heartbroken nor to fall in love again. Love y'all, ❤️

Alex

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toast-bc · 6 years

Text

HEY BUBS I GOT TAGGED IN SOME SHIDDO

Tagged by @maintain-mountain-witches , @spirit-absent (h-holy shit people wanna learn abt me.........ty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Rules: Tag 10 followers you want to get to know better.

Star sign: Virgo

Gender: GHULEH

Height: 5'2 (157?cm)

Sexuality: Bisexual, baybeEEEE

What image do you have as a wallpaper?: papa 2's naked butt

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?: you know? i been tryin this whole "stay positive" shit so I hope in 10 years I managed to get into law school, graduate, and get a job. but more than anything i hope I just have steady income, a place to live in, and that i didnt give up on my art, my friends, or myself. also a dog would be nice.

If you could be anywhere else right now, where?: sephora, spending money lol. or maybe wherever cardinal copia is.

What was your coolest Halloween costume?: i had this horrible handmade frodo costume my senior year of high school??? and although i'd rather eat my toes off than let y'all see me in such a state---i'm actually still proud of it, lowkey.

What’s your favorite 90s show?: hey arnold for sure, bubs.

Last kiss: hey now

Have you ever been stood up?: n0t in a romantic sense??? but i guess yea some peeps have done that to me :c (f-fuk u, study group from gen ed philosophy)

Have you ever been to Vegas?: only on layover, en route to california.

Favorite pair of shoes: i got these doc marten mary janes that everyone calls my old lady shoes, but i'll fight you because i love them to death.

Favorite fruit: GRAPEFRUITS

Stupidest thing you’ve ever done: last night i almost choked to death trying to feed myself grapes like caesar.

Favorite book: honestly??? It's a three-way tie between The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, or Timeline by Michael Crichton. Creepin' up close is House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski, if any of y'all be lovin' horror.

Favorite GIF: i’v literally been laughing about this for days

ANYWAYS I’MMA TAG: 1.) @blondbrainiac

2.) @gracieghuleh

3.) @butchghoulette

4.) @twinkghuleh

5.) @funeralfairies

6.) @glorfindels-muse (ur name immediately stuck out to me ngl)

7.) @bitch-image

8.) @pierlerett

9.) @cravencorbs

10.) @lanottedellastrega 11.) BREAKIN THE RULES BUT WHATEVER: @x-grungebitch-x

12.) BREAKIN THE RULES PT.2 BUT I JUST RLY WANNA: @goodboysatan

P.S. IF U WANT ME TO UNTAG U OR IF U ALREADY DID THIS FEEL FREE TO HIT ME UP IM SORRY I ANSWERED SO LATE.

#tagged in some shit #Y'ALL GONNA BE SO DISAPPOINTED CUS IM BORING AS FUK #BUT THIS MADE ME HAPPY THANK U FOR CARING

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urfavebisharpshooter · 6 years

Text

SENPAI NOTICED ME

Tag Game: 15 Questions, 15 Mutuals

Tagged by @areyouhappynowjerkbastard ♥♥

1. Are you named after anyone

Nope

2. When was the last time you cried?

2 nights ago reading Banana Fish lmao

3. Do you have kids?

Uh no especially not in college thanks but I'll pass

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Sometimes? Not my trademark interaction tho

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

I'm not super observant so kinda the vibe they give? Idk if that makes sense

6. What’s your eye color?

Blue

7. Scary movie or happy ending?

I love horror but not feeling it lately so happy ending cause I'm a sap

8. Any special talents?

Playing cello

9. Where were you born?

Spain (that's all u get *shrugs*)

10. What are your hobbies?

Reading, cartoons and videogames✨

11. Do you have any pets?

I wish :(

12. What sports do you play/have you played?

Swimming and formerly basketball

13. How tall are you?

Hard pass on this one, nothing personal.

14. Favorite subject in school?

Philosophy and physics

15. Dream job?

I'd love to work on sth related to sound engineering and nerd shit like that.

Aaand I'm tagging (if any of y'all feel like it): @chrysonoe, @theonemaye, @dat-curly-one, @redwall-antagonist, @so-meet-me-in-the-dark, @xenavitani, @kuroo-is-my-weakness, @psychoticbonesuniverse, @whyarewehereman, @winter-and-little-brunettes, @brokengem, @spaceboykenny.

I got lazy so tag yourselves if you want :)

#mine #tag game #text post

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inspirationallyinsane · 6 years

Text

March 15 2018

Hello Tumblr. I am tired. I don't really know how I feel right now. Melancholic, I think. Sad would be too strong of a word, I am not necessarily sad. I just have this empty feeling all of the time. The feeling that I lowkey want to die but like, not all the way. Days go by and I don't even notice them. I want them to go away I want the days to be over. I'm not sure what to call that feeling. I have been waking up crying every morning. I don't cry during the day, nor do I feel the urge to, but I every morning I wake up in tears. I dream of him. Every night. It is restless. He isn't even awful in all of my dreams, in a lot of them we are happy. In a lot of them we are just being us, nothing unusual or particularly dreamlike in its plot. He's just there. I can see his face and his laugh and his smile and his red jacket and I am at peace. And I wake up crying because I think even in my subconscious I know. I know it isn't real and dream me wants it to be real so badly, she wants him more than anything and she knows. She knows he isn't really there. So. I'm trying really hard not to feel that way when I'm awake. I tell myself how awful he was to me and how he broke us without any care and how awful that is. When I am awake I am resentful and so I do not feel sad, only melancholic. But in my heart I can not resent him and so when I am not awake it is hard. In moments of honesty it is hard. I am fully aware that I am living every day inside of a huge lie to myself. I know that I would break if that lie were to go away and so for now I am not living genuinely. Which I don't love. I don't want to live inside a false reality that I have created just so I can be ok. I think Monday was the worst. On Monday I had not yet created my lie and so on Monday I woke up and cried until 8:30. I had to be at work at 8:45 and I really didn't want to be so weak as to call out sick for this shit and so I made the lie. I convinced myself of it and I was not late for work. I did not cry at work and I did not break. I was, by all appearances, my normal self. It actually wasn't until today that I even got around to telling Ben, who I share everything with, that my relationship was over. So. No one knew. No one really knows. And then there are the people that do know and they have been wonderful. The people who care about me. I had a lot of old friends (and new friends) reach out to me and offer me help/condolences/sympathy. It makes me kinda want to cry thinking about it. Happy tears, of course. It is astounding to me the variation of people in the world. How some people can be so awful all of the time for no reason, people who you have given everything to. They can treat you like shit on their shoe. And then there are the people who you have given nothing to, who you have done nothing for, and yet they still extend kindness. They extend kindness without an expectation of anything in return. I am amazed by these people. I would like to think that I am like these people. I deeply admire them. I appreciate everyone who reached out to me and helped me pull my feet from the ground. I am very lucky. I am not alone. I have a date on Saturday. I don't really want to do it but I will because if I do not then my lie will have an inconsistency and it will shatter. So. I'd like to think that I have grown since high school but here we are doing the same shit. I remember replacing Austin with AG and I knew, I knew that I would never feel the same way about AG but I did it anyway and it was awful. To him and to me. And here I am jumping into another relationship when I know I will be in love with someone else for the entirety of it. And y'all might say "it's just a date it doesn't have to turn into anything" but for the most part I am the one controlling that and I know myself well enough to know that if I do this I will be dating this dude within a few weeks. I've known him for almost a whole ass year I know exactly what I'm doing. We vibe well and I could totally have another AG-esque relationship. We literally haven't even started chilling yet and we're already talking for hours on discord playing league together until midnight. Unreal honestly. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what I am supposed to do. I really want to wait for him. I really want to talk to him. I want to go to Target and talk to him. Just like I did when he pulled this shit the first time. But I think at some point I have to look at myself in the mirror and come to understand that I am worth more than this. I should not need to go to Target and confront him about things just to get him to talk to me. I am worth more than that. Am I worth more than that? I don't know how to place a value on people or actions. We have been studying morality and ethics in my philosophy class. There is a philosopher who stated that a person could decide whether an action was moral based on numerical values placed on its effects. So we can take Vince's actions and place values on them. Maybe this made him feel unbelievably happy. That gives 100 positive points to it, and it made me unbelievably sad, that gives 100 negative points to it. Since Vince's actions do not extend beyond the two of us, that is all the points to give to it (basically). Therefore, the points equally cancel each other out and his action was neither moral nor immoral. But from where I am standing, his action was clearly immoral or unethical. It was wrong and it was shitty. And then you can go assign numbers to an action I might do; go to Target. Let's say that plays out positively and I fix things. Vince would be happier (that is my genuine belief based on experience) and I would be happier. That's two hundo positive points and zero negatives. However, it clearly isn't the right thing for me to do as it would be a negative representation of my self worth. So? Who tf knows. Other philosophers say to do things that make you happy, as long as you don't act in an extreme. Seeing him again would make me happy. I do not believe asking him to talk would be an extreme. Stalking him would be and I am certainly not going to do that. So. Would going to ask him to talk be the wrong action? Some philosophers say that you need to do what's best for the most amount of people. I am not really sure what that would be in my situation. I'm not sure if you can apply utilitarianism to this. I can say though that I think my family would probably be happier to see me out of this situation, maybe Vince would be happier, and definitely this guy who wants to date me would be happier, so in that case waiting around for Vince would be immoral. I like philosophy a lot and I like the idea of living a reasonable life. Making every decision intellectually and thoughtfully. But I can not come to believe that every decision can be a rational one. There is no rationale to this. On his side or on mine. This is purely emotional. I also think that a lot of philosophers would argue that since it is purely emotional it is nothing more than a distraction from rational thought and it is worthless. Maybe that is how Vince sees it, as worthless. But I do not. I put so much value in our relationship. In him, in us. I valued it more than anything. I valued my love for him. I valued him as a person. I irrationally valued it with everything that I am. I still do. And I think that is another reason I feel it is important to talk to him. I respect my relationship too much to just leave it broken on the ground like this. I have never done that in any of my relationships and I don't want to start now. That is some shit. I built something beautiful with someone and to have it smashed down and trampled and not even give it the respect it deserves? That's awful. And another thing for me is that I reallyyyyy don't do short relationships. I fucking left a dude I was fully intending on marrying for Vince. Now, granted, that was certainly not a bad decision, I should have gotten out of that relationship anyway, but, the intention was that I would have a long and happy relationship with Vince. We loved each other. I love him. I don't understand. He told me that he loved me and he said that meant forever. Unless I did something shitty like cheat on him or change entirely as a human being. I have not done either of those things. I have not changed a bit since the first day we met and he is a smart little shit so he knew me from the first day we met. It is almost embarrassing for me. I posted a picture on insta and tagged it "unconditional" that was one month ago. How tf you going to go from loving someone unconditionally to being broken up in under a month. Shit's whack. Realistically, I still love him unconditionally. I did not lie when I said that. I will love him for the rest of my life. But like, I can't. Not publically or even on here. I have another few years, tops, before I have to stop. Before I have to start living again, out of pure necessity. That fucking sucks, I think. Four months. Unreal. I love him. Four months. It's stupid. We were so serious. Talking about shit like moving in together and marriage and children. Ridiculous. It is so outside of the realm of reality. It's shit. If we were just fucking around, if he just wanted to fuck around with me that's fine but you can't go and say all that in that case. You can't go and say that you are in love with someone and then two days after decide you're never going to talk to them again. People don't behave that way. That's borderline sociopathic. Maybe he never loved me. Maybe it was all a big lie. I'm not sure what he gained from it since we never fucked or anything which is usually why a guy would lie to you about that so. I don't really understand the logic behind the idea that it was all a lie either. And if he wanted like, stuff from me, like material items, he chose a really shit time to pull this. Y'all should've seen his birthday gift like god damn that boy would've loved it. I mean it wouldn't make sense for that to be the case either. Lord. I don't even know. I'm going to start spiraling if I keep writing and keep tryna figure this out. Work has been really good. I officially got my raise and I worked 35 hours last week so my paycheck is going to be looking hella nice next Friday. I'm going to be making over 800 dollars a paycheck on my regular hours. This paycheck should be around 850-900. It's going to be so nice. Making 1600 dollars a month. I feel good about life. Lowkey though our UB quit and I wanted to take her job but they're switching it all around to where taking that job literally would have been a demotion and less pay. Lmao our universal banker makes less than the drive through teller. Wtf. So I'm not really sure how to get promoted to a 40 hour a week position but I'm sure I'll get there eventually. Also! I'm super sad because they are switching Ben to only work Mondays and Fridays so the bank is going to be super boring Tues-Thurs. What am I going to do without my work pal :( but who knows, maybe the new prime time teller will be chill af as well :) Yaaa. So. I guess that's about all. I wrote a whole lot more than I originally intended to but that's how it be sometimes I guess. Goodnight, Tumblr~

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secndlife · 7 years

Text

got7 as fratboys: jaebum

a/n: ok so here’s the first one!!!!! it turned out waaaaay bigger than I expected but I hope y'all cope with me and read it all bc I think it’s worth it. as I said it, there’s a nsfw part at the end so skip it if you’re not comfortable with that. and please, hit me up with feedback!!!!!!!! those are very important so yeah

playlist

⇒ im jaebum: president

major: linguistics

minor: philosophy

ok so starting off with mr president himself: im jaebum!!!

ofc he was gonna be the president pls

so he majors in linguistics bc he wanted to do something different??? and like wanted to know the origins of words and its impacts etc etc LIKE DEEP STUFF

and he minors in philosophy bc well DEEP and he actually likes it a lot and he’s really good at it

you might think the guys don’t really respect him as a president but BITCH when jaebum is being serious they respect the hell out of him

he is the only one besides jinyoung that can actually put the place in order

a really good president???? like the university claims he’s an example even tho GOT had some complains in the past bc of it’s wild parties

he has this mysterious bad boy vibe all around him

but deep down he’s actually a softie

loves LOVES lOvEs his cat - her name is nora and she is the most precious thing to him

he wants to get more cats but he’s scared the guys will accidentally hurt them???? but getting more cats is totally on his plans

everyone on campus knows him - not just bc of GOT but well bc he’s that type of person that you just know who he is

he’s a MAJOR photography enthusiast

as you can see his instagram is totally aesthetic and with nice pictures

looks fucking good with a camera on his hands

actually looks fucking good doing anything

he’s also very passionate about music

like I told you he’s into deep stuff and he finds music quite deep

he’s actually a really good singer - youngjae said so himself

he also helps youngjae with his songs sometimes

they’re actually planning on recording jaebum a mixtape bc SURPRISE he’s really good at writing songs

has his earphones with him the whole time and don’t you dare touch them unless he offers to show you what he’s listening

yugyeom touched it without invitation once and well… it didn’t have a happy ending

his ipod is filled with pop punk songs and also rnb

reads a lot but not in public - no one actually knows why

maybe it has something to do with him wanting to keep this bad boy image around campus

has good grades bc he’s one of those people who are naturally smart and intelligent

he skips classes quite often

and when the guys wanna do it??? NO NO YOU BETTER GET YOUR ASS TO CLASS

bambam tried to argue once that “why can you skip classes and I can’t????”

jaebum dead ass played the president card and bambam just lowered his head and went to class

he usually skips it when he’s way too hangover or he didn’t get a good night of sleep

has some trouble sleeping at night sometimes so you’ll often find him taking short naps at his classes

when he’s at parties he’s very lowkey unless he’s REALLY drunk

then he turns into the most extra person on the planet?????

he once went down the stairs with nothing but wipped cream on his Parts™ bc he lost a bet he made when he was drunk

no need to say the girls went NUTS

talking about girls…. they all want him

they all wanna know what’s his deal like is he really intimidating is he a bad boy etc etc

he didn’t use to hook up a lot

actually he kinda fell in love with this one person but it didn’t end well

he got hurt and since then he only has sporadic one night stands and they are with girls from other universities so he won’t have to see them often

no one talks about this girl episode tho

actually he doesn’t actually talk about his problems openly at all

when he’s too bothered he goes to jinyoung bc they go way back and are truly best friends

jinyoung just gets him and isn’t scared to tell him when he’s wrong

BUT he has everything written down on his notebook: his lyrics, his feelings and everything that goes on his mind

it is black and it says “people I want to punch in the face” in the cover

he thought about putting a picture of nora but decided against it bc it was “too soft”

he carries this notebook with him at ALL TIMES like truly 24/07

and he doesn’t like anyone touching it in fact it is his most private thing and no one can read it

jinyoung almost read it once and jaebum caught him

jaebum didn’t speak to him for a few weeks and shit got serious but they got over it after jinyoung begged for his forgiveness for like 15 days straight

he goes to the same cafe every morning ever since his first year

everyone there knows him and his order

he usually stays there for quite a while just scribbling things on his notebook and drinking coffee

he likes his coffee dark and bitter and he says it’s just like his soul

no one buys this analogy tho

you must be wondering where do you fit in this

well you’re quite of a coffee enthusiast yourself and you love to go around on campus and discover new cafes etc

one day after your children’s psychology class you were wondering around campus near the philosophy building and there was this small cafe with a cat by the window and you thought oh cute

so you decided to come in and order your traditional caramel macchiato

from that day on you started going there almost every day

a few weeks later you noticed this handsome mysterious guy writing down on his notebook and you couldn’t stop looking???? and then you realized he was there everyday too

you sort of wanted to talk to him but he’s too intimidating

one day one of your friends went there with you and he told you about im jaebum and how everyone knows him and how intimidating he must be

so then you kinda dropped the idea of talking to him until

well one day he left the cafe in a huge rush babbling something about forgetting a test and he ended up leaving his notebook on his table

you decided to pick it up and save for him so you could give it back the next day

and so on the next day you’re drinking your coffee and he arrives and as soon as he sits you go there with the notebook in hands but things don’t go that well

“hm hey so you forgot this here yesterday and I-” “oh my god what are you doing with my notebook” “calm down greg I just picked it up for you bc you forgot it on the table” “DID YOU READ IT?” “no???” “tell me the truth did you read it” “I said I didn’t” “just give me my fucking notebook I’m leaving”

you stood there with this confused look but then you got mad???

“well here’s your fucking notebook. I didn’t read it. I wouldn’t invade your privacy like that. I just kept it bc I also come here everyday and I thought well I’ll be nice and save it so I can give him back tomorrow. I would’ve left it on the table if I knew you were gonna be this rude. here it is. have a nice day”

and you left bc you were angry????? who does he think he is????

so from that day on you kinda changed the time you used to go to the cafe bc you didn’t wanna see him

fast forward a few days and a friend from your children’s psychology class - choi youngjae himself - invites you to a party his frat is organizing and you decide to go like why not

then you remember im jaebum is the president of the frat

but then you think OH SCREW IT I’m going and I’m gonna have a good time

so you’re there and a few drinks have settled in already. you’re not drunk you’re just a bit tipsy and joyful

you finally see youngjae so you go there to say hi and you two start talking

then you notice that jaebum is coming your way and you can’t not roll your eyes

“you know her youngjae?” “yeah jae. she’s in one of my classes. wait you two know each other?” “unfortunately. jaebum was an asshole to me a few days ago so excuse me I have to go”

and youngjae is giving jaebum this look that says wtf did you do dude go apologize

jaebum rolls his eyes but he goes after you and he calls you “cafe girl”

you turn and you’re not in the mood so

“what do you want jaebum?” “I wanna know your name so I can apologize properly”

you debate on just leaving but you tell him your name and he just stares at you

“are you actually saying something or can I just leave?” “hm no! don’t leave.. I just.. I’m sorry. I was an asshole. I shouldn’t have acted like that, you know, like a stupid rude asshole.” “yup you shouldn’t” “so I’m really sorry. and grateful that you kept my notebook. it’s really important to me and very personal so that’s why I acted like that.” “ok noted” “can I get you a drink to earn your apology and then we can talk like two normal people?”

you thought about saying no. you did. but he had the prettiest and most genuine smile across his face and you couldn’t deny

and then you two talk all night long and you find out he’s actually a really nice and cool guy with a great talk

so it’s late and you have to go home and he offers to walk you to your dorm and you tell him there’s no need but he insists and you let him

you two keep on talking and walking and he grabs your hand and when you look at him he has the cutest smile and that makes you wanna kiss his face but you don’t

you get to your dorm and you two exchange numbers and as soon as your inside your room you get a text

[01:35] jaebum: I really wanted to kiss you tonight. but I’ll take you on a proper date before that. are you free tomorrow?

so from that day on you two start hanging out and getting to know each other and going on dates and cute cafes and holding hands across campus and kissing under trees like this huge walking cliche

at first girls kept staring at you like they were surprised that THE im jaebum has a girl

and it was funny bc he walked with his arm around you like you were the most precious thing on the campus and the girls also looked kinda jealous

he allowed you to read something on his notebook once: it was a bunch of scribbled notes about you and it was so sweet and loving and then he asked you to be his girlfriend so BOOM you two were official

the guys start teasing the hell out of him because WOW you’ve turned jaebum into this huge ball of fluff

he’s really this soft dork whenever your around and that’s really cute

you two have this ritual of going to That cafe every morning and when one of you can’t make it the other one picks up coffee for the go

you had to be approved by nora in order for this relationship to work and sometimes he regrets it bc he swears you and nora like each other more than you two like him

it took him a while to open up to you but he did eventually

he makes you cds in a very old fashion way every month with songs he wants to show you or that make him think of you

and you give him this list with book recommendations so you can discuss later

you spend a lot of time at the frat helping him out with his president duties

he walks you to his classes

loves LOVES seeing you in his jackets or with the frat’s shirt

takes a lot of pictures of you - really, a lot. you’re having dinner? his camera is up. you’re putting make up? his camera is up. you’re sitting on the couch? his camera is up. like literally he has a ton of pics of you in his camera roll

you can keep him in check when he’s too nervous or too stressed and that’s great

he’s a bit jealous sometimes but he’s getting better

sex is a very important thing for him bc he belives that sex is a way to express love

like honestly he is very very sexy and he basically exhales sex so

usually he’s a dom and into rough sex

but there are some days when he just wants to appreciate you so he goes in deep for passionate sex and those days are amazing

sex is always very intense and intimate

not much into trying new things but will do it for you

never steps over your boundaries when it comes to sex (actually over anything but especially in bed) and you trust him a lot so

has a huge oral kink and also likes hair pulling

doesn’t care about doing it when the guys are around the dorm

overall he’s not the typical frat boy and a very soft person and you two became the bossy royalty couple and everyone loves you two

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adriannamateo · 4 years

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A critically acclaimed solo violinist/singer called me Rock Star yesterday. A new friend (...yeah, whateverrr) texted me late last night, calling me Superhero. And lately I've been named Princess, Queen and *gulp* Wife Material. Y'ALL! 🛑🙆🏻‍♀️ It's a daily question if I have enough clean underwear for the week. DAILY - QUESTION - !! The math on that obv doesn't make sense BUT if you put enough blinding highlighter on... You suddenly have a life philosophy?? 😂 #morehighlighter #moreglitter #morevibrato #shineonmothafckas 👼🏻��🎄 https://www.instagram.com/p/B5sebdMgeqr/?igshid=1m00jyde8ei7h

#morehighlighter #moreglitter #morevibrato #shineonmothafckas

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encephalonfatigue · 5 years

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to turn the mills day & night? art thou not newton's pantocrator?

i actually wrote this as a goodreads review of Friedrich Engels’ “The Conditions of the Working Class in England”. i use that website more as a place to post reflections on books i read, and being as self-indulgent as i am, i wrote too much and it can’t fit within the allotted space goodreads provides, so i’m just posting the thing here. a lot of half-baked thoughts in here, but it is a further elaboration on mills, which i have been thinking a lot about for the past couple years.

At it again with those mills. I'm really into the history of mills. Sorry, but mills are a thing for me. I want to do an STS dissertation on mills so if any of y'all know professors who want grad students to write stuff on mills -- I'm right here, hmu. Ok, Engels (of Communist Manifesto fame, but he didn't really write any of it): he's from a rich and austere Calvinist family, in Germany. They owned a bunch of mills -- one in Manchester. Engels was a naughty boy with radical ideas, so his father sends him out to Manchester to straighten him out. Get him to smarten up about those silly ideas of his. He sees the workers of Manchester living in total squalor. He falls in love with one of them, an Irish working class woman, Mary Burns, who he remains with for the rest of her life. He sees how the industrial mills of Manchester have laid waste to the rivers, the air, and the people.

An Engels mill in Germany is still around and is part of an industrial museum now. By the time Engels was 17, his father had secured water rights along the Agger River to power a water mill for the production of cotton yarn. He was able to do so from capital he had accumulated from his Manchester operations. When Engels was 22, he was sent by his father to their Manchester mill on the River Irwell. It was here that Engels collected his materials that would become this book. Engels writes about these rivers framing the areas of Manchester he explored while there:

“Manchester proper lies on the left bank of the Irwell, between that stream and the two smaller ones, the Irk and the Medlock, which here empty into the Irwell. On the right bank of the Irwell, bounded by a sharp curve of the river, lies Salford, and farther westward Pendleton; northward from the Irwell lie Upper and Lower Broughton; northward of the Irk, Cheetham Hill; south of the Medlock lies Hulme; farther east Chorlton on Medlock”

Early on in this book Engels starts spewing out numbers galore. It’s breathtaking to see the magnitude of these 19th-century statistics, and the horsepower figures are really interesting too:

“In 1834 England exported 556,000,000 yards of woven cotton goods, 76,500,000 pounds of cotton yarn, and cotton hosiery of the value of £1,200,000. In the same year over 8,000,000 mule spindles were at work, 110,000 power and 250,000 hand-looms, throstle spindles not included, in the service of the cotton industry; and, according to MacCulloch’s reckoning, nearly a million and a half human beings were supported by this branch, of whom but 220,000 worked in the mills; the power used in these mills was steam, equivalent to 33,000 horse-power, and water, equivalent to 11,000 horse-power. At present these figures are far from adequate, and it may be safely assumed that, in the year 1845, the power and number of the machines and the number of the workers is greater by one-half than it was in 1834.”

With these large numbers in mind, I think it’s worth noting that when Engels was writing this book, the American Civil War was still two decades off. By 1860, two-thirds of the global cotton supply was from the US, much of it cultivated by slaves. Sven Beckert, Harvard history professor known for his book “Empire of Cotton”, writes in The Atlantic:

“On the eve of the Civil War, raw cotton constituted 61 percent of the value of all U.S. products shipped abroad… Now, in 1861, the flagship of global capitalism, Great Britain, found itself dangerously dependent on the white gold shipped out of New York, New Orleans, Charleston, and other American ports. By the late 1850s, cotton grown in the United States accounted for 77 percent of the 800 million pounds of cotton consumed in Britain. It also accounted for 90 percent of the 192 million pounds used in France, 60 percent of the 115 million pounds spun in the Zollverein, and 92 percent of the 102 million pounds manufactured in Russia.”

Though cotton production was fairly small in Canada at the time, the proportion sourced from the U.S. was of course much higher, due to the obvious reason of proximity. M.N.A. Hinton and T. Barbiero (2012) in a paper write that:

“Canadian cotton mills, of course, were totally dependent on foreign sources of supply to obtain raw cotton. Before Confederation 95 percent of it was imported from the U.S. South; after Confederation 99 percent was imported from the South.”

Marx in “The Poverty of Philosophy” (his denunciation of Proudhon) wrote:

“Without slavery you have no cotton; without cotton you have no modern industry. It is slavery that has given the colonies their value; it is the colonies that have created world trade, and it is world trade that is the pre-condition of large-scale industry. Thus slavery is an economic category of the greatest importance.”

In no small measure because of his acquaintance with Engels, Marx actually mentions cotton right through his first volume of Capital, which was published shortly after the close of the American Civil War. I first realized that Marx and Lincoln were alive at the same time when I read this in Marilynne Robinson’s “Death of Adam”:

“Americans are astonished to realize that Karl Marx and Abraham Lincoln were contemporaries, let alone that Lincoln and much of literate America would have read Marx, who published articles on European affairs for years in Horace Greeley's New-York Daily Tribune, and that Marx wrote about Lincoln. They are amazed that Marx also wrote a contemporary account of the Civil War, passionately taking the side of the North. This is only one illustration of the great fact that we have little sense of American history in the context of world history.”

About 600 articles written by Marx were published in the New York Daily Tribune according to Robin Blackburn. While the description of Blackburn’s book “The Unfinished Revolution” inflates the issue somewhat, saying: “Karl Marx and Abraham Lincoln exchanged letters at the end of the Civil War,” Marx did write to Lincoln a number of times and Lincoln (or more specifically his ambassador) responded to an address of the International Workingmen’s Association, drafted and signed by Marx, with a brief acknowledgement. What undoubtedly was the case was that the American Civil War was deeply influential in Marx’s writings. This was at a time where a radical wing existed within the Republican Party. Horace Greeley who edited the paper Marx wrote for was one of the founders of the Republican Party and was himself a Fourier socialist — among a number of other Republican Party founders.

Anyways, Engels quotes a number of reports of the environmental conditions and health hazards faced by workers daily in these mill towns. In one of these long excerpts, Engels interrupts to say:

“...it must be added, like all other rivers in the service of manufacture, flows into the city at one end clear and transparent, and flows out at the other end thick, black, and foul, smelling of all possible refuse”

This is not unlike what you find in Toronto later in the century. Based on an interview with Jennifer Bonnell who wrote “Reclaiming the Don” (published by University of Toronto Press), Katie Daubs in a Toronto Star article writes:

“By 1860, there were more than 50 mills in the watershed, supplying paper, flour, wool and wood, and pollution… By the 1880s, the price of Toronto’s growth was told in the river. Industrial runoff, deforestation and sewage had turned the meandering lower Don into a festering flow of pollution.”

Photo: The Wonscotonach flowing under Highway 401 in 2019.

The Wonscotonach took on the name Don River because the imperialist Simcoe thought it reminded him of the River Don in Yorkshire, another industrial hub mentioned a number of times in this book by Engels.

Photos: Evergreen Brick Works (Don Valley Brick Works)

Close by what is now Don Valley Brick Works Park is Todmorden Mills, now a museum and art centre. It was once a paper mill that supplied paper for William Lyon Mackenzie’s sheet “The Colonial Advocate”. Mackenzie was actually integral to the genesis of this mill. He was worried about the cost of paper for the Colonial Advocate and lobbied the government to award anyone who would establish the first paper mill in Upper Canada. A gristmill known as Don Mills was converted into Todmorden Mills, and Mackenzie had a new supply of affordable paper.

Mackenzie came to Canada in the same boat as James Lesslie — a book publisher and Owenite socialist. They would open and run a bookstore for a number of years together across the road from St. James’ Church (now a beautiful cathedral) around the St. Lawrence Market area.

He and Mackenzie were responsible for union organizing and the setting up of Mechanics Institutes — something Engels talks glowingly about in this book, saying:

“Here the children receive a purely proletarian education, free from all the influences of the bourgeoisie; and, in the reading-rooms, proletarian journals and books alone, or almost alone, are to be found. These arrangements are very dangerous for the bourgeoisie, which has succeeded in withdrawing several such institutes,”Mechanics’ Institutes,” from proletarian influences, and making them organs for the dissemination of the sciences useful to the bourgeoisie. Here the natural sciences are now taught, which may draw the working-men away from the opposition to the bourgeoisie, and perhaps place in their hands the means of making inventions which bring in money for the bourgeoisie; while for the working-man the acquaintance with the natural sciences is utterly useless now when it too often happens that he never gets the slightest glimpse of Nature in his large town with his long working-hours.”

A lot of socialists, communists, and Marxists admire William Lyon Mackenzie. Some examples include — an excerpt from a Young Socialist League leaflet

“For we are required, nothing more nor less, than to carry forward the revolutionary struggle that William Lyon Mackenzie and Louis-Joseph Papineau launched in 1837. That revolution exhausted itself so that as Mackenzie, commenting on its fate in the U.S., saw: ‘the power of the community pass from democracy of numbers into the hands of an aristocracy — not of noble ancestry and ancient lineage, but of monied monopolists and jobbers and heartless politicians.’”

The Communist Party of Canada website states:

“We honour those who led many of these struggles — Louis-Joseph Papineau in Quebec, William Lyon MacKenzie in Ontario, Louis Riel on the Prairies, and Amor de Cosmos in British Columbia.”

And in a rather long article by Julien Arseneau, , William Lyon Mackenzie’s importance to Canadian history is exposited on a Marxist website.

Photos: Silverthorn Mill ruins at Meadowvale Village, operated by Gooderham & Worts for a period of time. Sketched by the likes of A.J. Casson.

My interest in the mills of the Greater Toronto Area originates in Meadowvale Village, and there is a William Lyon Mackenzie connection here also. This is the area from which my neighbourhood of Meadowvale got its name. ‘Vale’ is the type of word for valley you might find in the romanticist verse of Shelley, a poet both Karl and Eleanor Marx were very fond of. So there was a certain poetic cachet that developers could draw on by co-opting the name ‘Meadowvale’ for their subdivisions father out west in the 1960s.

Anyways, back in Mackenzie’s time, the area I now live around was known as Switzer’s Corners, named after the Switzer family — Irish settlers who had garnered somewhat of a reputation as being seditious agitators and friends of Mackenzie. They would host him at their home when he was campaigning in the area, and one of the sons of the family, Martin Switzer, once rounded up a bunch of peace-loving Quakers (around Elgin, south of London) to go join the armed insurrection that had been launched from Montgomery’s Tavern. Charles Switzer (related to Martin Switzer) eventually ran what became known as the Gooderham store for some time, and was a fixture within the Meadowvale Village community.

Photo: The Gooderham store no longer exists, but the Gooderham mansion still stands. Now a private school. How fitting.

At the mouth of the Wonscotonach (Don River), as it empties into Lake Ontario, was the main industrial operation of Gooderham & Worts. This site is now a tourist destination known as the Distillery District, and the name Gooderham & Worts is still plastered throughout the Victorian industrial buildings there.

This company owned a number of other mill sites around the area, including a couple along the Credit River. One was a textile mill, although it was spinning flax (linen) and not slave-grown cotton. Gooderham & Worts, however, owned another major mill site in Meadowvale Village, and owned a department store there comparable with the T. Eaton’s store in Toronto (the one Charles Switzer ran for a period), with lavish and fashionable offerings for the wealthier folks of the area.

As with the ecological destruction of the Wonscotonach (Don River), similar results were manifesting in Mississauga’s Missinihe (Credit River). Donald Smith in his book “Mississauga Portraits” writes what Chief Peter Jones would have seen before and after the mills:

“The great trees stood so closely together that they formed a canopy shutting out the sunshine and most of the daylight leaving the ground free of undergrowth. He remembered the salmon-rich streams and rivers that flowed from the forested interior down to the harbour. Now the area was extensively deforested. The building of dams for gristmills and sawmills now prevented Ontario salmon reaching their upper spawning grounds. Released sawdust blanketed the bottoms of streams and rivers. By the mid-1850s, the salmon runs had declined to the point of extinction.”

The Anishinaabe ethnobotanist and Dalhousie professor Jonathan Ferrier referred to the clearcutting of forests around Lake Ontario as a “genocide by sawmills”.

I’ve mentioned in a previous review the child labour Mother Jones experienced in American textile mills. I wasn’t able to find evidence of similar stuff in Toronto at the time of writing that interview, but I have found some stuff since then. Firstly, Jean Barman in the Canadian Encyclopedia writes:

“The first wave of provincial legislation regulating child labour in factories and mines began to pass in the 1870s and 1880s. But the prohibition of child labour did not come until the 20th century.”

Secondly I found in a republished version of Royal Commission on the Relations of Labor and Capital, 1889 where James Brown a Toronto factory inspector is being interviewed about, among other things, child labour:

“Q. Did you notice […] any large percentage of children?

A. Yes; in some of them — in the cotton mills and some woolen mills, in cigar factories and knitting works, and some others.

Q. Were there many of those children below the age designated by the Act?

A. Well, I found about 40 girls under 14. Girls are not allowed under 14 nor boys under 12. I found six boys altogether nine years of age, and some ten or eleven.”

Mother Jones was from a working-class Irish family, and Engels spends quite a long time discussing how the Irish were an underclass in the industrial towns throughout England, and suffered extreme exploitation at the bottom of the industrial hierarchy.

I think it’s important to see a lot of the things happening in this century (the dispossession of land from and genocide of indigenous peoples, the global trade and Naval Operations those colonially sourced commodities went into, and the cotton plantations powered by American slavery) as deeply connected to the horrors of environmental destruction, child labour, and the extremely filthy and diseased living and working conditions of the English proletariat — as all connected together in the matrices of the capitalist economy. Capitalism cannot be blamed for all the ills in the world, but it certainly sustains and shelters many of them for the benefit of a small elite class of people.

It is hilarious that billionaires like Nick Hanauer are growing extremely anxious, feeling as if a revolution is going to break out any day. Rich people are not oblivious to the incomprehensibly enormous inequality that persists in the world. Hanauer has tried to gather other really rich people like him to lobby the government to implement some sort of ‘wealth tax’, which does not exist now. They can only extract wealth from the rich by way of income taxes right now. You might have heard this covered in a recent episode on NPR Planet Money. Starbucks piece of shit Howard Shultz is absolutely disdainful of this proposal put forward by the likes of Elizabeth Warren. It’s hilarious to see some rich people talk about their generosity in a self-congratulatory way when what they are really worried about is that thing Rousseau warned about: "When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich". This is at the core of Hanauer’s ‘Pitchfork Economics’. He outright said, at the end of the NPR Planet Money Episode that he’s fine with a wealth tax that ‘slows’ the growth of his wealth, which is the moderate proposal made by people like Elizabeth Warren. This is already rare among the extremely rich. Hanauer mentioned that he can’t be on board as soon as this wealth tax ‘stops’ the growth of his wealth or even farther, reduces it. Laughable really. Engels had something to say about people like this:

“The English bourgeoisie is charitable out of self-interest; it gives nothing outright, but regards its gifts as a business matter, makes a bargain with the poor, saying: “If I spend this much upon benevolent institutions, I thereby purchase the right not to be troubled any further, and you are bound thereby to stay in your dusky holes and not to irritate my tender nerves by exposing your misery. You shall despair as before, but you shall despair unseen, this I require, this I purchase with my subscription of twenty pounds for the infirmary!” It is infamous, this charity of a Christian bourgeois!

…What? The wealthy English fail to remember the poor? They who have founded philanthropic institutions, such as no other country can boast of! Philanthropic institutions forsooth! As though you rendered the proletarians a service in first sucking out their very life-blood and then practising your self-complacent, Pharisaic philanthropy upon them, placing yourselves before the world as mighty benefactors of humanity when you give back to the plundered victims the hundredth part of what belongs to them! Charity which degrades him who gives more than him who takes; charity which treads the downtrodden still deeper in the dust, which demands that the degraded, the pariah cast out by society, shall first surrender the last that remains to him, his very claim to manhood, shall first beg for mercy before your mercy deigns to press, in the shape of an alms, the brand of degradation upon his brow.”

Nick Hanauer is worried about some pending insurrection of violence on the horizon. What many people do not realize is that this is precisely the concern Engels had, except he obviously didn’t believe a ‘heterodox’ reformation of capitalism was the answer. Often times ‘communism’ has taken on a reputation of encouraging brutal and violent revolution, but Engels saw communism in a very different way — a way to prevent the cruel striking out of the poor in a unproductive way that accomplished little except the carrying out of individual revenge (think Atwood’s “Alias Grace”). Engels writes:

“Besides, it does not occur to any Communist to wish to revenge himself upon individuals, or to believe that, in general, the single bourgeois can act otherwise, under existing circumstances, than he does act. English Socialism, i.e., Communism, rests directly upon the irresponsibility of the individual. Thus the more the English workers absorb communistic ideas, the more superfluous becomes their present bitterness, which, should it continue so violent as at present, could accomplish nothing; and the more their action against the bourgeoisie will lose its savage cruelty. If, indeed, it were possible to make the whole proletariat communistic before the war breaks out, the end would be very peaceful; but that is no longer possible, the time has gone by. Meanwhile, I think that before the outbreak of open, declared war of the poor against the rich, there will be enough intelligent comprehension of the social question among the proletariat, to enable the communistic party, with the help of events, to conquer the brutal element of the revolution and prevent a “Ninth Thermidor”.”

Engels however is not rejecting the ‘ressentiment’ and its related ‘slave morality’ that people like Nietzsche were so disdainful of (a narrative that people like Jordan Peterson have leveraged for very particular ends). Anyways, Engels writes:

“English Socialism arose with Owen, a manufacturer, and proceeds therefore with great consideration toward the bourgeoisie and great injustice toward the proletariat in its methods, although it culminates in demanding the abolition of the class antagonism between bourgeoisie and proletariat… They understand, it is true, why the working-man is resentful against the bourgeois, but regard as unfruitful this class hatred, which is, after all, the only moral incentive by which the worker can be brought nearer the goal. They preach instead, a philanthropy and universal love far more unfruitful for the present state of England.”

Ayn Rand once called Christianity the best kindergarten of communism possible, and verses like Mark 3:27 always remind me of this ‘slave morality’ that Nietzsche talked about. In the verse Jesus says:

“But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.”

This verse is also mentioned in one form or another in the other two synoptic gospels. Craig Keener supposes it is an allusion to Isaiah 49:24-26 (the context being oppression under Babylonian imperialism), which I think is a good point of resonance:

“Can plunder be taken from warriors, or captives be rescued from the fierce?

But this is what the Lord says:

“Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save.

I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine.”

Second Isaiah maybe one-upped the revolutionary Rousseau here. That’s some pretty gruesome stuff. This sort of radical rhetoric within faith communities was not unknown in Upper Canada’s more revolutionary moments. In the neighbourhood where I live there was a Methodist church on Switzer’s Corners known as Switzer’s Church. It eventually became known as Eden Methodist Church, and today is Eden United Church (where I visit not infrequently — though it’s no longer a hotbed of revolutionary fervour). It is fascinating to learn how Methodism was caught up with Owenite socialism in Upper Canada at the time. More broadly both Owenite socialism and Chartism were spread under the umbrella of the Reform Movement in Upper Canada. Engels speaks of both Robert Owen and his brand of socialism (critically) and Chartism (more approvingly) in his book on the working class in England. He also quotes a radical Methodist preacher named Rayner Stephens. Engels writes:

“The people were called upon to arm themselves, were frequently urged to revolt; pikes were got ready, as in the French Revolution, and in 1838, one Stephens, a Methodist parson, said to the assembled working- people of Manchester:

‘You have no need to fear the power of Government, the soldiers, bayonets, and cannon that are at the disposal of your oppressors; you have a weapon that is far mightier than all these, a weapon against which bayonets and cannon are powerless, and a child of ten years can wield it. You have only to take a couple of matches and a bundle of straw dipped in pitch, and I will see what the Government and its hundreds of thousands of soldiers will do against this one weapon if it is used boldly.’”

Haha, wow, this is like an episode of Damnation. Mackenzie himself is probably best known as a failed revolutionary, who led the feeble 1837 insurrection from Montgomery’s Tavern that was easily thwarted by Jarvis. (Peter Matthews, one of the two men hanged as a result of this insurrection, was encouraged to join the uprising by a Baptist preacher from Markham Township called George Barclay.) Mackenzie would go on to occupy Navy Island, just upstream from Niagara Falls and declare it to be the Republic of Canada, before eventually escaping to the U.S. — later returning to Canada in 1849 to take back a place in the legislature. The 1837 uprising was also an important theme in Margaret Atwood’s book Alias Grace (my favourite Atwood novel I’ve read so far), and the role of certain sorts of Methodists and Quakers is thematic in the novel as well.

For all the fear-mongering over atheism that Christians have expressed against Marx and Engels, I think Engels was very well-read in religion. And he knew the working classes generally weren’t, though he didn’t necessarily see that as a problem. Engels inserts a very large and humorous excerpt from the “Children’s Employment Commission’s Report” of working class children being asked about their faith:

“One child had ‘attended a Sunday school regularly for five years; does not know who Jesus Christ was, but has heard the name. Never heard of the twelve apostles. Never heard of Samson, nor of Moses, nor Aaron, etc.’ Another ‘attended a Sunday school regularly six years. Knows who Jesus Christ was, he died on the cross to shed his blood, to save our Saviour.’”

Engels however felt that education was focused on very unproductive sectarian theology and no proper moral teaching:

“The consequence is that religion, and precisely the most unprofitable side of religion, polemical discussion, is made the principal subject of instruction, and the memory of the children overburdened with incomprehensible dogmas and theological distinctions; that sectarian hatred and bigotry are awakened as early as possible, and all rational mental and moral training shamefully neglected.”

Engels goes onto elaborate the general indifference to religion felt by much of the working classes as a result of this pedagogical failure:

“All the writers of the bourgeoisie are unanimous on this point, that the workers are not religious, and do not attend church… among the masses there prevails almost universally a total indifference to religion, or at the utmost, some trace of Deism too undeveloped to amount to more than mere words, or a vague dread of the words infidel, atheist, etc. The clergy of all sects is in very bad odour with the working-men…”

Engels likely thought this outcome to have a fairly bright side, considering the theological convictions of the bourgeoisie which he described in this way:

“It is all very pretty and very agreeable to the ear of the bourgeois to hear the “sacredness of property” asserted; but for him who has none, the sacredness of property dies out of itself. Money is the God of this world; the bourgeois takes the proletarian’s money from him and so makes a practical atheist of him. No wonder, then, if the proletarian retains his atheism and no longer respects the sacredness and power of the earthly God…

…The English bourgeoisie is violently scandalised at the extravagant living of the workers when wages are high; yet it is not only very natural but very sensible of them to enjoy life when they can, instead of laying up treasures which are of no lasting use to them, and which in the end moth and rust (i.e., the bourgeoisie) get possession of.

…the humanity of the workers is constantly manifesting itself pleasantly. They have experienced hard times themselves, and can therefore feel for those in trouble, whence they are more approachable, friendlier, and less greedy for money, though they need it far more than the property-holding class. For them money is worth only what it will buy, whereas for the bourgeois it has an especial inherent value, the value of a god, and makes the bourgeois the mean, low money-grubber that he is.

…It is utterly indifferent to the English bourgeois whether his working-men starve or not, if only he makes money. All the conditions of life are measured by money, and what brings no money is nonsense, unpractical, idealistic bosh.

During my residence in England, at least twenty or thirty persons have died of simple starvation under the most revolting circumstances, and a jury has rarely been found possessed of the courage to speak the plain truth in the matter. …many have died of starvation, where long-continued want of proper nourishment has called forth fatal illness, when it has produced such debility that causes which might otherwise have remained inoperative brought on severe illness and death. The English working-men call this “social murder”, and accuse our whole society of perpetrating this crime perpetually. Are they wrong?”

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