#opium of the people

[esti3]

₊˚⊹♡₊˚⊹♡₊˚⊹♡

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

"Religion is a paramount contributor to human misery. It is not merely the opium of the masses, it is the cyanide." -- Tom Robbins

[azukokarisma]

know what, i'm feeling spicy tonight

i have some Takes about religion, as well as how tumblr tends to act about it

please stop saying "haha i'm a godless commie/queer/whatever" and then 2 reblogs later screech about "western antitheists".

guess what! words have meanings and you don't get to ignore them just because someone told you antitheism is bad

"oh but my religion X is super chill/progressive unlike religion Y which is bad and stinky"

impressive! now let's see what happens when:

- its followers hold the majority of political power

- an ex-follower chooses apostasy

- a woman wants to divorce her husband or get an abortion or have a self-sufficient income or use birth control or dress how she wants or have a safe space or leave home without a man or go to school or

- an indigenous people(s) is not willing to follow the religion in question

- queer and/or trans people want to exist in peace

"i know my religion X has a lot of nastiness but i pinky swear my particular denomination is cool"

i honestly don't care; you're the one who believes it so it's your job to fix it.

finally, if a law protecting human rights conflicts with a religious tradition, then that says more about the religion than the law.

PS: if you left a religion that harmed you, don't you dare self-censor your valid criticisms/flat-out dislike of that religion in the name of "respecting beliefs". keep being strong and godless you sexy bastard <3

[infinitysisters]

“There's no such thing as life without bloodshed. The notion that the species can be improved in some way, that everyone could live in harmony, is a really dangerous idea. Those who are afflicted with this notion are the first ones to give up their souls, their freedom. Your desire that it be that way will enslave you and make your life vacuous.”

— Cormac McCarthy

[dingyfeline]

↳ ❝ [ Its judgment day and I'm not prepared, everybody out there is runnin' scared ] ¡! ❞ 彡 mood board made by me

[dweeeeeb]

Motivational Music in the Morning ... #Slipknot, #OpiumOfThePeople ... from #Volume3, #TheSubliminalVerses [Official Audio Track] (2004) MMitM1

[drdemonprince]

like, i think what's happening is that plenty of people do find something approaching egalitarianism to be plenty erotic enough, but not everyone, because well a lot of us have very big gendered power dynamic baggage (among other fun insecurities that we also eroticize! cool!) but natalie experiences love as this engulfing, life ruining forbidden thing for UM A LOT OF REASONS THAT WE AS HER VIEWERS ALREADY KINDA KNOW hii, and so in making sense of other people's sexualities and romantic lives she mistakenly assumes that everybody goes that lana del rey for people but it turns out only some of us crazy bitches seem to

[twlvie]

tell me why i spent two hours hand painting the tiktok fonts

[falseandrealultravival]

“Don’t take the Chinese people lightly” (essay)

The Opium War

On September 22, 2023, China's vice president barked, "Don't take the Chinese people lightly." I saw it on NHK TV in Japan. It was such a unique statement that I became interested and decided to search for this man's name on the Internet. However, no information has been released regarding this statement, and it seems that this roar is considered to be a phantom thing. I can't imagine that it was the Chinese government's intention to do this (as the person who made the statement), so I think it was self-regulation by Google and others.

But should we be frightened by this statement? As the vice president said, China has "looked down on other peoples and nations throughout its history." Japan is a typical example of this, being called ``東夷：Toi'' (barbarians of the east), ``倭：Wa'' (dwarfs), and even today is sometimes referred to derogatorily as ``Small Japan.'' Even with Japan's recent ban on seafood imports, there is a clear sense of ``punishing Japan, an unsuspecting barbarian country.''

In this way, to the shock of the Qing Dynasty, which Britain also lightly regarded as a barbarian country, Britain used force to overwhelm them (The Opium War, 1840). For the first time in its history, China experienced great humiliation and felt humbled. From then on, the people must have sworn revenge on Western civilization at a deep level of consciousness.

Well, the background to this statement is probably the process of taking revenge by incorporating Western civilization and expanding its economy and military armament. Of all the countries in the world, I guess it's a country that can't be a normal country. If they are not the best, they won't be satisfied. A country of China-centered thought.

Rei Morishita

“中国人民を軽く見るな”（エッセイ）

２０２３年９月２２日、中国の副主席が“中国人民を軽く見るな”と吠えた。日本のNHKテレビで見た。実にユニークな発言だったので、私は興味を持ち、NET上でこの男の名前を検索しようとした。ところがこの発言に関して情報は一つも出ておらず、この咆哮は幻のものとされているらしい。それをやったのが中国政府の意向とは（発言当事者としては）考えられないので、googleその他の自己規制であると思われる。

だがこの発言に怯える必要があるのだろうか？副主席はそう言ったが、中国はその歴史において、“他民族、他国家を軽く見てきた”。日本はその典型で、「東夷（東の蛮族）」と呼ばれ、「倭（小人）」と呼ばれ、今でも「小日本」と蔑称されることがある。最近の日本の海産物輸入禁止にせよ、「怪しからぬ蛮国・日本に懲罰を与える」という意識が見え隠れする。

このやり方で、イギリスも蛮国と軽くみていた「清王朝」は、彼らが驚愕したことに、イギリスは力で彼らをねじ伏せた（アヘン戦争、１８４０）。ここに中国は歴史上はじめて大きな屈辱を味わい、卑小感に浸った。そしてその時以降民族の深層意識レベルで、西欧文明へのリベンジを誓ったのだろう。

まあ、西欧文明を取り込み、経済、軍備を拡大して、そのリベンジを果たす過程であるのが、今回の発言の背景なのだろう。世界の国のなかで、普通の国であることは出来ない国なのだろうな。一番でなければ、気が済まないわけだ。中華思想の国だもの。

Rei Morishita

[esti3]

[couldntrelate]

final boss

[serpulalacrymans]

Its okay. Sometimes... it feels good. When he holds me while he does it. I feel so safe.

I just want the wounds to heal faster. When theyre deep... it takes so long.

I hope you understand, Lawrence.

I still love people who hurt me too. I understand.

People do what people have to do. It's just unfortunate when it has to happen to you. All wounds heal with time. I hope yours get better fast. Have you considered poppy seed tea?

[orkydorkyy]

Renegades 001

if you want to read the rest of the story, I have it posted on archive of our own and Wattpad up to chapter 8!! :D

"So," he continued as he pressed the last language under the Google tab, crossing it out from his list. 

What is your name? Google spoke the words under the language on the list, one he couldn't understand. 

No recognition came through to the girl across from him as it asked for her name. They had gone through the whole list of languages under Google Translate, and she still hadn't shown any sign of comprehension, only more confusion with her pinched brows and head tilted to the side. She had to speak some sort of language, yet how was it not identifiable by Google? 

Major Kang sighed. If only it could have been as easy as it was with Ijin. Kids, these days. 

He shook his head in thought. If words weren't working, then he was sure gestures would. After all, gestures were universal.  

With his pointer finger, he pointed to his chest. "Hamchan Kang," he said slowly, making sure he was pronouncing his words as concisely as possible. "Hamchan Kang." 

He smiled as her brows unfurrowed. 

She gestured to him the same way he had with her pointer finger out as she repeated, her words barely recognizable through her accent, but undoubtedly, "Hamchan Kang." Finally, they were getting somewhere. He sighed in relief, glad she hadn't pointed to herself and said his name. The chances were there. 

He pointed to her. What is your name?

Her eyes widened, making her eye bags more visible, and she started to look uncomfortable in her own skin. 

Major Kang quickly realized his mistake. 

If she was anything like Ijin—as he was assuming her to be—of course, she wouldn't want to go talking about her name as a numbered. No, he wanted to get her to say her name given to her from birth, not whatever that damn camp had assigned to her when she entered. 

He took out the paper underneath him that he was using to draw lines through languages she couldn't understand (which happened to be all of them) and started writing the pound symbol. And crossed it out.

A moment of shock passed through her eyes, although it was immediately hidden by an understanding stare. She took a deep breath in, nodded, and pointed to herself. 

"Rei." 

It took all of him to not stand up and scream Thank you for figuring something out as simple as her name. Rei. Rei was her name. Sure, that wasn't enough to search for her in the database or get anything on her, but it was a start. 

He checked his watch and sighed; this was taking too much time. They would have to get Ijin at this point. He'd have to know her language if they lived together at the camp. And anyway, this would give him an excuse to get caught up with the kid since he had started school just over a month ago. 

***

Rei watched as the man stood up and pulled out his phone, unsettled by the fact that he wrote the pound symbol. She understood that it was a symbol for 'number,' which was enough to get his point across—that he knew. But how? 

She questioned the whole thing for a moment, unaware of if she could possibly trust him. She felt no sense of malicious intent from him, and he had seemed genuinely happy to know her name, so at least he most likely wanted to keep her alive. It just didn't make sense that he, knowing that she was a numbered, would let her be sitting across from him without her hands in cuffs or without having a gun pointed at her face. 

He made eye contact with her and nodded. Yeah. She would be dead now if they didn't want her alive. Within a few seconds, the phone rang. As the call was answered by whoever was on the other side, he started to open the door. Fluorescent light shone through the dimly lit room. 

"Hey, kid. How's school been treating you?" 

Her eyes squinted as the door came to a close, the light lost, and she could only hear his muffled words going back to the other person. Not that she could understand what he was saying. It was useless. The only thing she noted was that it sounded similar to how 001 and a few others would talk when they first came to the camp. But they had all gotten used to having to speak whatever language their holders had spoken very quickly. She only heard 001 speak this familiar language under his breath during stressful times. Or through the occasional nightmare. 

She let out a jagged breath, glad that she was finally alone. It was upsetting that she couldn't remember much before she got here, that she had woken up in this building, but she tried to not let it bother her. She would find out soon enough. Hopefully. They needed a better method of communication. 

She stood up, taking a careful eye on everything around her. She had never grown up with personal rooms, or if she did, she couldn't remember, but she knew that this was what people would call a bedroom—hence, the twin-sized bed to her nine o'clock. It was adequate, just large to hold the table and a few chairs she was sitting at. 

She looked down at herself. Damn. She needed a shower. She continued to take the room in and was interested to see a dresser, hoping to find some clothing articles. The only thing she could find was disappointment. In herself. The dresser was empty. 

She sat back on the chair, not wanting to test out the bed yet since her fatigues were all but considered clean. 

So now, all she could do was wait. And wait she did. 

***

Hamchan Kang was not expecting Ijin to sound so surprised when the major said Rei's name. He was sure that the boy had sputtered and hid his shock with a cough. Even the fact that Ijin had said, "I'll be there," in the middle of the school day had Hamchan confused. He knew those words would mean he would leave school immediately and get over to the base as soon as possible. 

Although, he was glad, as it only solidified the theory that she was a numbered. It made sense, the more he thought about it—she had the same stance and fighting style as Ijin. It could only mean that she was also working under the camp. It would've been awkward, otherwise, if she had not happened to be a numbered; but who else would have the audacity to put children through harsh training and not care about the consequences? 

Oh yeah, Rei. He got up from his spot on one of the chairs to find some clothing for her. She needed some new clothes. And a shower. He was elated that he had decided to have the discussion in the bedroom as he was worried something too formal or cold would frighten her more than she already was. 

He entered another room, finding some extra shirts and bottoms, trying to remember her size. He put down the large t-shirt he came across, recalling her short stature. 

Finally, he left, satisfied with his search, and walked back to Rei's room. He knocked a few times before slowly opening the door, only to find Rei still sitting in her seat. 

Her intense gaze quickly met his, not attempting to look away any time soon. It was something he remembered Ijin doing too—always keeping eye contact with the authority in the room. It was something driven into them to the point of instinct. 

He held up the folded clothing and white towel in front of him and jerked his head towards the door, hoping that would be enough to get her to follow him. She slowly stood up in acknowledgment, shoved a strand of dark hair behind her ear, and attentively followed him out the door. Good. 

They walked for a few minutes, reaching the bathrooms and showers in silence—as was expected since neither could understand the other. Rei always stood at least six feet behind him as if to give her enough response time if he were to try and hurt her. All it did was bring Hamchan back to the time when Ijin was here. The wary stance. That dead, hollow look in his eyes—although Rei's wasn't as bad as Ijin's, fortunately. Hopefully, she would warm up more quickly with Ijin here in a few. 

"Here are the showers..." he said, before remembering that she couldn't understand a word he was saying. But hey, showers were also universal, and she would know right away what to do when she entered, so it wouldn't matter much. 

She silently took the clothing from his hands and pushed the door forward. 

***

The more she thought about it, the more she got herself to believe that she would be fine. Giving her new clothing and allowing her to shower? If he was trying to instill a sense of false security into her, it was working. 

She entered the stall farthest from the door and ran the water until she could see steam, undoing her knotted braid down her back as she waited. She undressed carefully, considering she had a bullet wound on her right arm (thank the universe that it wasn't her dominant side) that was haphazardly bandaged up. She huffed in discomfort, realizing the wound reopened from too much movement. Fuck. 

With a bit of work, she pulled the shirt over her head, struggling as the sleeve stuck to her skin as it started to soak in more blood. After that, it was easy enough to remove the rest of the clothing off her. 

She blissfully welcomed the warmth of the water, ignoring the burning tears of all her fresh wounds. Showers were not often, and heated showers would be far between—and she had no clue when she'd be able to have another shower like this. 

She felt a pang in her left calf and realized a piece of shrapnel was stuck in her skin. She pulled it out along with a few other scattered splinters. 

She didn't leave the shower until the water was ice cold and the feeling of putting on clothing through her wound had sounded better than hypothermia. 

And then it hit her. 

She had just escaped the camp. 

***

Her eyes were red and puffy by the time she was dressed, and she couldn't think of anything to use or say to make herself look like she hadn't just cried her eyes out. 

But she escaped. 

It was a weird feeling. She never knew what she was missing out on since she had only known Grian. She had lived there since she could remember, fending for her life all the same. And now, she was gone. There was this bittersweet feeling inside of her that she couldn't comprehend. She had gotten so used to life at the camp, it had become her constant. And now, she'd have to learn how to manage a new world. 

She sighed, shaking herself out of her daze. 

She looked down at the shirt she laid on the small bench. Despite the shirt having an S on the tag, she was sure the shirt was still going to be a few sizes big due to the shirt being a men's small—also considering that her body stopped growing after she hit puberty and stayed at 5'2, despite her now being 18. 

She needed to bandage the bullet wound anyway, so she didn't feel too bad shredding the bottom of the shirt to wrap it around her arm. It made the shirt a little ratty, so she remembered to tuck it into the bottom of her large-fitting fatigues as best as possible. 

And now came the struggles of actually putting the shirt on. 

Five minutes later, the shirt was on, although it now felt like the shower was for nothing with how sweaty she was. Oh well. The major was probably waiting for her, and she had taken a bit too long for her liking in the bathroom. She was just glad that there was no one to bother her. 

She held her old clothing firmly, knuckles becoming ashen. Her clothing from the camp. So why was it so hard to throw it all away? They took everything from me. They took my freedom, my innocence, my family...

She bit her tongue. The argument inside her head was stupid. It made her angry that there was ever a hesitation. 

Without another look, she dropped the clothing into the trash and pulled the door to walk out, damp towel in the crook of her elbow, although it was instantly dropped the moment her eyes laid on the figure in front of her and all she could do was stop and stare. The person in front of her should've been dead. He should be dead. 001 should be dead. 

"011?"

[bojackhorsemanobviously]

):

[kaxen]

Can anyone recommend me a steampunk-type setting story where it has more cyberpunk-y vibes. I want something with more thought than "slap brass paint and gears on it.¹"

Like swap in colonialism or robber barons for the megacorps.

I mean the massive corruption and the wealth inequality is already there.

¹ THE 19TH CENTURY WAS THE RISE OF SYNTHETIC DYES. THEY INVENTED MAUVEINE. IF ANYTHING IT SHOULD BE JUST AS HOT PINK AS CYBERPUNK IS. I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL. AND DON'T FORGET THE ARSENIC GREEN.