#slave away in the Greatest Country

[actual-corpse]

A sincere Fuck You and an Unmerry Christmas and Unhappy New Year fuckbag.

[girlactionfigure]

LEICA AND THE JEWS

The Leica is the pioneer 35mm camera. It is a German product - precise, minimalist, and utterly efficient.

Behind its worldwide acceptance as a creative tool was a family-owned, socially oriented firm that, during the Nazi era, acted with uncommon grace, generosity and modesty. E. Leitz Inc., designer and manufacturer of Germany's most famous photographic product, saved its Jews.

And Ernst Leitz II, the steely-eyed Protestant patriarch who headed the closely held firm as the Holocaust loomed across Europe , acted in such a way as to earn the title, "the photography industry's Schindler."

As soon as Adolf Hitler was named chancellor of Germany in 1933, Ernst Leitz II began receiving frantic calls from Jewish associates, asking for his help in getting them and their families out of the country. As Christians, Leitz and his family were immune to Nazi Germany's Nuremberg laws, which restricted the movement of Jews and limited their professional activities.

To help his Jewish workers and colleagues, Leitz quietly established what has become known among historians of the Holocaust as "the Leica Freedom Train," a covert means of allowing Jews to leave Germany in the guise of Leitz employees being assigned overseas.

Employees, retailers, family members, even friends of family members were "assigned" to Leitz sales offices in France, Britain, Hong Kong and the United States, Leitz's activities intensified after the Kristallnacht of November 1938, during which synagogues and Jewish shops were burned across Germany.

Before long, German "employees" were disembarking from the ocean liner Bremen at a New York pier and making their way to the Manhattan office of Leitz Inc., where executives quickly found them jobs in the photographic industry.

Each new arrival had around his or her neck the symbol of freedom - a new Leica camera.

The refugees were paid a stipend until they could find work. Out of this migration came designers, repair technicians, salespeople, marketers and writers for the photographic press.

Keeping the story quiet The "Leica Freedom Train" was at its height in 1938 and early 1939, delivering groups of refugees to New York every few weeks. Then, with the invasion of Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, Germany closed its borders.

By that time, hundreds of endangered Jews had escaped to America, thanks to the Leitzes' efforts. How did Ernst Leitz II and his staff get away with it?

Leitz, Inc. was an internationally recognized brand that reflected

credit on the newly resurgent Reich. The company produced cameras, range-finders and other optical systems for the German military. Also, the Nazi government desperately needed hard currency from abroad, and Leitz's single biggest market for optical goods was the United States.

Even so, members of the Leitz family and firm suffered for their good works. A top executive, Alfred Turk, was jailed for working to help Jews and freed only after the payment of a large bribe.

Leitz's daughter, Elsie Kuhn-Leitz, was imprisoned by the Gestapo after she was caught at the border, helping Jewish women cross into Switzerland . She eventually was freed but endured rough treatment in the course of questioning. She also fell under suspicion when she attempted to improve the living conditions of 700 to 800 Ukrainian slave laborers, all of them women, who had been assigned to work in the plant during the 1940s.

(After the war, Kuhn-Leitz received numerous honors for her humanitarian efforts, among them the Officier d'honneur des Palms Academic from France in 1965 and the Aristide Briand Medal from the European Academy in the 1970s.)

Why has no one told this story until now? According to the late Norman Lipton, a freelance writer and editor, the Leitz family wanted no publicity for its heroic efforts. Only after the last member of the Leitz family was dead did the "Leica Freedom Train" finally come to light.

It is now the subject of a book, "The Greatest Invention of the Leitz Family: The Leica Freedom Train," by Frank Dabba Smith, a California-born Rabbi currently living in England.

Thank you for reading the above, and if you feel inclined as I did to pass it along to others, please do so. It only takes a few minutes.

Memories of the righteous should live on.

Rabbi Yisroel Bernath

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

I found it. The worst Katara take.

https://www.tumblr.com/illycanary/748146862907867136/kataras-entire-arc-was-about-her-becoming-someone?source=share

Her entire arc was about becoming someone who could lead the Fire Nation!? The nation that GENOCIDED her people!?

Please… please I need to hear your take on this. It hurts my soul. Give me peace.

Zutarians: It's so disgusting how Kataang completely reduces Katara to just "The Avatar's girl."

Also zutarians: Katara's entire arc, trauma and struggles are not actually about herself, but about her Totally Real romance with Zuko and how she'll be great for his nation.

And she used to hate said nation because it was an elusive concept to project her insecurities onto. It was totally not because said nation had in place a socio-political AND military system that was hostile to her, her loved ones, and her culture by design.

It wasn't Zuko and the Fire Nation that had to understand that everyone else in the world was as human as they were, oh no. It was actually Katara and the rest of the world that had to understand that the Fire Nation ain't as bad as they thought - even though they WERE doing all the horrible things they thought they were doing, and ruining their lives by taking away everything and everyone they loved.

#UnhingedZutariansShutTheFuckUpChallenge

Also, can the fandom as a whole stop it with the bullshit "Characters like Jet and Hama existed to teach Katara and Sokka not to be racist against the Fire Nation"?

They were NEVER okay with killing, or even mistreating, someone just because they happened to be born in the Fire Nation or were under their control. Everyone they hated had done something to earn said hate: killed someone they loved, attacked their tribe, chased them around the world, held people prisoner and forced them into slave labor, etc.

You might think it was wrong of Katara and Sokka to do something like try to convince Aang to leave Zuko to die in the North Pole (and the show was very clearly saying that was the case) but you cannot act like that was based on some unearned hostility to anyone vaguely associated with a nation they "didn't understand" and not on, like Sokka said, not giving the guy that was trying to kill them a chance to try again and maybe succeed - hell, Katara gave Zuko a chance in Ba Sing Se, and look what fucking happened. Her best friend died right in front of her because Zuko jsut had to go help Azula take control of the city, and then he sent an assassin after them.

No one is fully good or evil - but people CHOOSE to do bad things, even if they have sympathetic reasons, and a political system CAN be inherently cruel, unfair and EVIL. And the Fire Nation under Sozin, Azulon and Ozai's rule very much was. And since Zuko went out of his way to keep that political system in place, he was doing something evil, and thus the people that were being victimized by him had every right to hate his guts for it.

Once again, let's hear it from Zuko himself:

"Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history. And somehow, the war was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was. The people of the world are terrified by the Fire Nation. They don't see our greatness. They hate us! And we deserve it! We've created an era of fear in the world. And if we don't want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness."

The Fire Nation screwed up. Zuko screwed up. They need to get their shit together (and Zuko did), and the responsibility to do so is on THEM, not on the people that are quite literally fighting for their lives because the Fire Nation gave them no choice.

It's not Katara's job to make Zuko, and an entire country, see reason. And her arc was about HER journey, HER struggles, HER accomplishments, HER life, HER culture, and HER loved ones - just because Zuko would eventually be part of the last category, that doesn't mean that it secretly all about him the whole time.

And Zuko knows all this. That's why his arc, and his friendship with Katara, works. The show already gave you the perfect scenario to turn that friendship into a romance in fanfics and headcanons, you don't need to pretend the Fire Nation wasn't the obvious bad guy in the war THEY chose to start.

You can respect the beautiful arcs both Katara and Zuko went through, or you can make excuses for the Fire Nation's choice to commit genocide by saying "Well, EVERYONE had something to learn from it." You cannot possibly do both, because their arcs are all about showing this "both sides" thing is NOT TRUE.

[weirdowithaquill]

Traintober 2023: Day 27 - Record-Breaker

Mallard Broke the World Speed Record; It Broke Her:

4468 Mallard broke the world steam speed record in 1938, changing her life forever…

1938:

The quiet, almost timid engine sat in the works, listening to the workers. “You hear? That engine there is fastest in the world!” one said, pointing to the famous engine. Mallard blinked, amazed. She’d never been told if she’d actually broken the record – but to hear that she had, and to hear that it was major news! It was incredible.

There was no one better than her in that moment – she was the greatest!

“Ah, the engine of the hour!” cheered a voice. Mallard gazed down, spotting Sir Nigel Gresley himself walking over. Mallard gasped in amazement. The Chief Mechanical Engineer almost never visited his engines. “I came to congratulate you again, Mallard. I am proud of you – you are truly a credit to this railway. The poster child for what every Northeaster engine should strive for. Well done, and keep up the good work, Mallard.”

Mallard beamed, thanking her designer. Then, she turned to the gossiping workers. “Well? You heard him – I need to be back in service now! Hurry it up!”

1963:

“So, which of us is to be preserved?” asked Silver Link, staring down apprehensively at the members of the British Railways board. The men had come to decide on a Gresley Pacific to save from the scrapper’s torch.

“Who do you think?” snorted one of the men in the bowler hats. “We must choose the locomotive that achieved the greatest feat of a steam locomotive – 60022 Mallard, you are to be restored to your LNER looks and sent to the Museum of British Transport Museum. The rest of you… hope someone purchases you.”

Silver Link just stared in shock as several diesels sniggered in the background. “But I… but… She didn’t even make it back to London! I am the first! I reached 114—” “Stop speaking 60014, there is no reason for you to complain. You are already withdrawn, and shall be sent away once we have the time.” “Mallard… are you going to allow this?” asked Silver Link, eyes wide in horror. “Well, elder sister, some of us are just… more important than others. I represent our class, and I am the best at such an honour.” Silver Link went red in the face, but Mallard was already steaming away, blowing smoke at her elder sister.

Behind Silver Link, Flying Scotsman and Silver King shared a nervous look.

1975:

Flying Scotsman sat on the points outside the brand new York National Railway Museum, Green Arrow on one side and Gordon on the other. It was the first time that the four had seen each other – the fourth being an indignant Mallard sat opposite them.

“What do you mean, he’s worthy of being the same level as me?” sniffed Mallard. “He’s a mixed traffic engine!” “Green Arrow is an LNER engine, same as us,” reminded Scott crossly, facing down his cousin. “And there are only nine LNER Pacifics left, so your levels are completely worthless! We need to end this… this… this…” “Elitist garbage!” Gordon snapped. “We are long past this, cousin. What’s stopping you from accepting Green Arrow?” “Green Arrow is a simple mixed traffic engine,” hissed Mallard. “I am the greatest steam engine to have ever been built! No one has ever, or will ever, beat my record. There’s a reason that I am in this museum, and you are out slaving away to keep in steam.”

“Slaving away?!” Gordon let off steam furiously. Scott just clenched his jaw. “There’s no point arguing with her,” he sighed. “We’re better off just getting the rest on side.” The three steamed away, leaving Mallard to be pushed gently back into the grand museum by a timid diesel shunter.

None of the other engines in the museum spoke to her as she was shunted into place. Not Evening Star, not Aerolite, not Coppernob. They all just shot her dark glances.

1988:

Mallard sped along the line, feeling the wind rush past her face. “I forgot what this was like,” she huffed, finally arriving back at Doncaster after crossing the country to reach Scarborough and back. Several relatives of her crew from back when she’d broken the world record sat in her coaches – but they were inconsequential. After all, any crew could have gotten her up to her record-breaking speed.

“So, how was the run?” asked Gordon politely, sitting in the next platform over. Mallard ignored him. Gordon rolled his eyes. Green Arrow and Spencer shared a look.

“I’m impressed,” hummed Spencer. “Though I’ve heard that the East Germans have built a steam locomotive that’s almost able to match Mallard’s speed.” Mallard’s eye twitched. “No they haven’t!” she suddenly snarled, spooking several of the passengers on the platform. “I am the fastest. That’s my role! Don’t talk such drivel around me.”

Spencer sighed. As the only one of Mallard’s siblings willing to speak to her, and one of only four engines that had spoken to Mallard (he’d checked with Duchess of Hamilton) in the last ten years, he was uniquely able to see just how much his younger sister had changed.

Where Mallard had once been a healthy pale, her pallor had grown almost dangerously blue – while her formerly vibrant eyes had gone dull, with just a hint of something… unsettling in them. And yet her paintwork was spotless, her brass polished until it glistened in the sun, even after a full run with passengers.

“Are you alright?” asked Spencer quietly. Gordon and Green Arrow pretended not to hear. “I beg your pardon?!” roared Mallard, spooking yet more passengers. “Are you insinuating something?! That such a simple run would tire me out? I am the fastest steam engine in the world – I am more than competent, thank you.” “I just wanted to ch—” “Well don’t!” sneered Mallard. “I am fine.”

Spencer’s tentative frown turned downwards into a scowl, and the great silver engine hissed steam as he started away. Gordon watched him go, knowing deep in the pit of his boiler that the silver engine wouldn’t be back.

Silver King had never truly forgiven his younger sister for the way she’d spoken to Silver Link, even if his name had changed, as had his owners and his lifestyle.

2013:

Spencer, Bittern, Dominion of Canada, Dwight D Eisenhower, Union of South Africa, and Sir Nigel Gresley all stood in awkward silence. Their sister – Mallard – was being wheeled out of the museum for a photoshoot. “So… did you hear her last night?” asked Dwight quietly. “She was screaming at the shunting diesels again.” “I can’t believe they made me agree to his,” hissed Spencer. “I promised myself after 1988 – never again. And yet here I am. At least Scott gets to hide in the workshops.” “It cannot be that bad?” tried Woodcock – only the humans called her Dominion of Canada, “I mean… she has to have made some friends in there, right?” “Unlikely,” snorted Osprey – the humans had given her that name in the 1980s, and she much preferred it to ‘Union of South Africa’, “she spends most of her days just glaring at everyone. Last I heard, it’s a real treat for them when she gets brought out here to be gawked at.”

“Shh! Shh! She’s coming,” warned Bittern. The six all went silent as Mallard was dragged off the turntable and over to the line of engines.

“Ah, good, you all made it,” Mallard said haughtily. “It’s what I deserve, getting the humans to bring you all here to celebrate our class’s greatest achievement.” “What you—” Osprey cut off, indignant. Beyond her, Dwight gawked in shock while Spencer just rolled his eyes. The shunter braked the famous engine to a stop, jolting slightly.

“Did you just jolt me?” hissed Mallard, voice deathly quiet. The shunter gulped. “Don’t you dare!” snapped Spencer, speaking to the world-record holder for the first time in nearly thirty years. “You cannot deride these hard-working engines, I refuse to allow it!” “Oh? As if you are any better, Mr Private Engine,” sneered Mallard. “Silver King, the weird runt of the class who galivants off to that backwards island where our Crewe-rebuilt cousin lives.” “Gordon still pulls his express!” roared Spencer, letting off steam furiously. “Gordon treats everyone with respect! He’s a far better representative of our railway than you are – he’s out there, pulling passengers and acting as the ambassador for Gresley’s work. He holds a record for the longest-serving express engine in the world!”

“He has Midland parts,” snarled Mallard. “He’s a mongrel of parts, and I can’t stand him! I can’t stand him and his righteousness! This is my celebration, my record, my museum! He can talk when he has a proper record of his own. Let’s see him try and beat me – oh wait, didn’t he lose his dome last time he attempted that?”

None of the other A4s spoke, and the moment the photoshoot was over, all four in steam left, taking Dwight and Woodcock with them, leaving Mallard alone.

2016:

Flying Scotsman sat outside the NRM, steam wafting from his funnel. He was the last one left. Spencer had permanently relocated to Sodor after 2013, the other A4s steered clear of York Museum, Gordon had his own work, and Green Arrow had moved to Shildon. So, it was only him left to talk to her.

“Oh, it’s the money pit.” “Mallard. I came to say goodbye.” “Goodbye? Where are you going, Gresley Disgrace?” “I’m going to run mainline excursions,” Flying Scotsman replied evenly. “I’m not going to have to listen to you anymore when you scream abuse at the others or rant about the new PRR engine.” “Rant? Abuse? 4472, you don’t understand! I am Gresley’s pride and joy! I am the greatest – he would roll over in his grave if he saw you now. It’s my destiny to be the greatest – and everyone needs to accept that!” “Sir Nigel Gresley loved us all equally,” snapped Flying Scotsman. “And don’t you forget, any one of your class—”

“I did it!” roared Mallard. “Me! Not any of you! I am the world record breaker – I am the greatest steam engine of all time! You’re nothing compared to me! I am Sir Nigel’s triumph! I am the legacy of the Northeasters! Me! How dare you speed to me like that?! Learn your place!”

Flying Scotsman stared evenly back at the shrieking engine. “I have,” he said simply. “And it’s not here. The other engines can survive listening to your abuse, but I don’t have to. You’re nothing, Mallard. Not anymore. You sit here, on this siding, in this shed, and you cling to the past because that’s all you’ll ever have.”

Flying Scotsman puffed out of the shed, the wrecked screams of his cousin following him through the sliding shed doors. They transformed from howls of rage into a hail of screeching tears, as Mallard’s entire self-worth crashed down on her. The former icon of steam and speed finally lost it, all the rage and anger and simmering hatred growing inside her frames boiling over as she cursed her cousin.

Flying Scotsman couldn’t help but feel sorry for the engine – but all the same, she had spent decades wrecking their designer’s good name with her attitude. Her stardom had placed her up on a pedestal – one where the loneliness of fame had engulfed her.

Back to Master Post

[gabessquishytum]

The year is 1889. Hob Gadling is a realtor in London who because of the death of his wife has drunk himself into a small amount of debt. One day a letter held closed by a wax seal picturing a raven in flight.

The letter explains that a Transylvanian Count named Dream is hoping to purchase Hobs most expensive estate for double the price. The only caveat is that Hob will have to make the journey to the Count’s castle to help him with the paperwork. While the Count gives many good reasons why he himself can’t come to London or simply have Hob mail the documents to him, Hobs gut reaction is to simply burn the parchment and carry on with his day. But the fare has already been paid for by his potential client and his coffers are nearly empty. So off he heads for the back country of Transylvania.

After a montage of travel shenanigans including: meeting an American cowboy named Ollie (who absolutely blows his back out), the inn keepers wife giving him a rosary, and a blond carriage driver with darkened glasses who seems quite comfortable with the pack of wolves that run along side the buggy, he finds himself stepping into the gloomy castle.

And on the steps of the grand staircase holding a tarnished candelabra stands a willowy figure, dressed in fine black clothing covering skin as white as a pearl, staring at him with eyes the same shade as the ruby jewel hanging around his neck.

The regal man speaks after a moment “I am Dream.”

“Oh” breathes Hob taking off his hat, his gazing transfixed on the ethereal creature before him “It- it’s really good to see you.”

“I bid you welcome.”

A sexually tense week later finds them sat in the parlor celebrating with cigars and wine for completing the paperwork, Hob begins to tell the Count his life’s story, why he became a realtor after being a soldier in the queens army, and how after the death of his entire family and then his wife his greatest wish was that he never had to die.

Suddenly Dream leans in close, lips mere inches away from Hobs own. “What if I told you I could grant you that wish?” Dreams nails begin to trace along the veins in Hobs neck “All ask is for you to stay by my side, fear me, love me, obey me, and I will be your slave.”

Enraptured by Dreams eyes Hob can do little else but nod. The next thing he knows Dream is biting into his neck, yet somehow with every mouthful of blood Dream takes from him he feels more and more pleasure consuming him. Just as he is about to die from blood loss Dream slices the palm of his hand and allows the black blood to trickle into Hobs mouth. That night, they consummate their unholy matrimony both covered in blood with Hob tied to the bedposts being made to come on Dreams cock over and over and over again.

Hob returns to London, having left a barely middle class man he now attends parties only available for the highest of society, dressed in full silk and satin white dress, arm and arm with a handsome gothic benefactor.

No one dares to question the litter of bite marks and scars that cover Hobs neck and shoulders after seeing how sharp the Counts teeth are. Anyone who tries shame or insult Hob about his choice in fashion are found dead in some dirty alleyway the next morning. And the one man who dared to try and flirt with Hob was found strung across London bridge with the words mine carved into his chest.

Dream couldn’t stop fucking Hob to reinstate his claim for a whole two nights after that incident, filling Hob with his seed and shoving a crystal plug in to make sure none of it could leak out during the opera they are to attend.

Hob is just happy to have found his calling as Dreams eternally devoted and throughly fucked spouse.

-☘️

I gotta say, I ADORE the way you've written this! Who doesn't love a Dracula AU! I love how you've stuck close to the book, it really does work!

I love the image of Hob is his beautiful white dress, enjoying the fanciest parties. Wearing long white gloves and glittering with diamonds. He never lets go of Dream’s arm for a minute, and Dream really does take care of him with the most devoted care.

At one of those parties, they happen to come across Ollie - no longer in his cowboy gear but dressed in his finest and making his way as a society artist. Although Dream usually hates it when any man pays Hob an ounce of attention, he seems quite taken with Ollie's southern charms. He even asks Ollie to paint him and Hob as a celebration of their anniversary.

It's the first time Dream allows anyone to get involved in the action of their bedchamber. Turns out, Ollie isn't quite as human as he might appear (if vampires exist, Hob realises, it only makes sense that there are other creatures of the night. I'm imagining Ollie as a werewolf, but he could be something else). He watches in rapture as Dream feeds Hob on blood and cum, fucking him so hard that Hob’s legs tremble when he tries to stand up afterwards. Ollie gets a chance to eat him out and lick the cool, delicious seed from inside Hob’s raw, sloppy hole.

But in the end, it's Dream who owns Hob’s newly immortal heart. They live in debauched luxury, feeding mainly from the criminals that lurk in the shadows of London. Hob likes to think that he's keeping the streets clean and doing the locals a favour. Dream frankly doesn't care - as long as Hob is his, nothing else matters.

[inlovewithalotoffandoms]

Quitting?

Scott McCall x Sister!Reader

Stiles Stilisnki x Fem!Reader

Summary: With the help of your brother Scott, Stiles finds out the true "identity" of your "manager", and you confront him.

"Why won't Billy let her go overseas?"

"Sacurity Stilinski, you know that."

"BS! Billy is killing his greatest asset without a reason. So what's the reason?"

"Loomis always has his reasons."

Stiles scoffed and walked out of the room. He then decided to go see Scott for help.

"Stiles, Y/N's not here."

"I was actually looking for Scott."

"Scott's not home either. He went with Y/N."

"Did they tell you where?"

"No. Sorry Stiles but i really have to go to work."

"I think I know where they could be. Thanks Mellisa."

He then went straight to the one place he knows where you are. He opened the door to see you, Scott and Billy talking. When you looked over your shoulder and saw him you ran and kissed him.

"Stiles, hey. Oh I missed you so much."

"Missed you more."

"Uhh, big brother and the manger still here."

Time Skip

"Y/N, hey babe, wait up!" Stiles called out as he ran to catch up to you in the school hallway.

"What is it, Stiles? I gotta go." You tell him.

"He lied," Stiles stated as he got straight to the point.

"Who?" You asked.

"Billy, he lied. There wasn't going to be an International tour because he can't leave the country. He's got no citizenship, no official identity. He's got no passport, no bank account. He doesn't freaking exist." The sarcastic boy ranted.

"Whatcha talkin' 'bout, Stiles?" You asked in an accent.

"He's saying that Billy has been lying to you this whole time." Scott jumped in as he rounded the corner.

Time Skip

"Oh, you blood-suckin' old vampire. You bled me dry, and you still want more?"

"I'm not an uncaring man, Ms McCall."

"Don't you 'Ms McCall' me, you toad!"

"If you are so determined to get out of our contract-"

"You're damn right I want out!"

"Well, I will personally loan you the money that you owe to Jamboree Attractions."

"You-You still have your claws on me! You still have me working here like a damn slave in a salt mine! You phoney, no good piece of trash! And I'll shoot you in your freaking face if I have to!"

After a moment of silence, you spoke up again, "Billy, who are you?"

"I am you, you are me."

"Cut the horse-shit! Everything I've ever known about you's been a lie!"

"Y/N/N, you all good?"

"My past is the least of your problems, my dear. Everyone else you associate with lives from you Y/N, even Scott..That's right even your own Brother has looked after himself before he's looked after you. Yes, I have lived from you too but the difference is you have also lived from me." He then continued, "We have supported each other because we share the dream. We are the same you and I."

"We are not the same! I was innocent before you cane along and screwed me up!"

"I'm out. I'm getting the money and you are gonna leave me, my brother and my mother alone. You got the Billy? If that even is your name."

The was another moment of silence before the older men spoke up again, "Maybe you should fly away, my dear. Away from all of this, but. If you do choose to leave, then I for one would be very lonely, so would your mother and brother. But I think you may be lonely too or you'll see, my girl the truth about the rock of eternity...It is forever, just beyond her reach."

"Hey, Billy!, f u!"

[wishful-thinking64]

HH Rewrite Related Post #04

The final results from the 2nd poll are in and the winner was... 🥁 🥁 🥁

Hell's number one porn star, Angel Dust! While he was my favorite character during the pilot days of Hazbin Hotel, I wouldn't say he is now as a lot of what made him a like-able asshole character in the pilot isn't there in the series. My grievances aside, let's get to Angel's character sheet! ________________ [CURRENT NAME] 🞂 ANGEL DUST BUT DOES OCCASIONALLY GO BY ANTHONY & ANTONIA. 🞂 Has basically been going by this ever since he arrived in Hell as he refused to continue to being a mobster, quickly taking to sex work to make quick cash and get to live a more “exhilarating” life.

[FORMER NAME] 🞂 ANTHONY TARANTELLA. 🞂 The name Anthony means Priceless One and Praiseworthy whereas his last name is Italian for Tarantula and, yes, Tarantella is an actual last name that Italians can have albeit an uncommon one.

[D.O.B + D.O.D] 🞂 BORN APRIL 1ST, 1913. 🞂 DIED DECEMBER 24TH, 1947.

[AGE]🞂 BIOLOGICALLY 34. 🞂 CHRONOLOGICALLY 111.

[GENDER & SEX]🞂 BORN MALE. 🞂 STARTED IDENTIFYING  AS GENDER FLUID BACK IN THE 90S. [SEXUALITY] 🞂 STILL GAY.

[ETHNICITY & NATIONALITY] 🞂 AN ITALIAN WHO WAS BORN AND RAISED AS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN. 🞂 I’ve written for his parents and older brother to be Italian immigrants who came to America looking for safety as tensions between Turkey and Italy during this time were high due to the war and there was a lot of social outrage within their own country during the early 1910s. I imagine that Angel never got to visit his home country which is something that deeply upsets him as he knows that he’ll never be able to see Italy’s beauty outside of photographs.

[SOCIAL STATUS] 🞂 CONTRACTED SINNER. 🞂 I feel like Sinner’s who have signed soul contracts would be below regular Sinners as they aren’t seen as someone else's property and still have control of their own life. Cause let’s be real, Sinners who’ve sold their souls away are often treated as slaves.

[CRIMES COMMITTED IN LIFE FROM LEAST TO MOST OFFENSIVE] 🞂 TAX FRAUD. 🞂 THEFT. 🞂 B&E (Breaking and Entering.) 🞂 SMUGGLING. 🞂 MONEY LAUNDERING. 🞂 SUBSTANCE ABUSE OF BOTH ALCOHOL & DRUGS. 🞂 EXTORTION (mainly opted to use threats but would easily resort to using violence if threats didn’t work.) 🞂 INFILTRATING LEGIT/GENUINE BUSINESSES. 🞂 FRAUD IN GENERAL (specifically counterfeiting, check fraud, mail fraud, securities fraud, and loan sharking.) 🞂 TRAFFICKING (typically involved in drug trafficking though he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t involved in any type of human trafficking at all.) 🞂 KIDNAPPING. 🞂 TORTURE. 🞂 MURDER.

[SINS COMMITTED IN LIFE FROM LEAST TO GREATEST] 🞂 LUST. 🞂 WRATH. 🞂 GREED. 🞂 GLUTTONY (I put Gluttony as the number one sin since I’m still having Angel still die from a drug overdose just not from PCP.)

[OWNER OF HIS SOUL]🞂 THE DEPRAVED OVERLORD OF LUST, VALENTINO. 🞂 I’m unsure of how the show is going to explain the reason behind Angel Dust signing his soul away to Valentino but I’m having it be because he was ultimately promised protection from other demons as anyone who decided to mess with him would have to deal with Val. Alas, that doesn’t mean Angel is safe from Valentino.

[PROFESSIONS] 🞂 MAIN JOB: PORN STAR. 🞂 SECONDARY JOB: MODEL. 🞂 He does mainly work for Valentino as the man owns his soul although he does work for Velvette once in a while and is even regarded as one of her top models.

[CORE PERSONALITY TRAITS] 🞂 ALLURING. 🞂 BOLD. 🞂 COCKY. 🞂 CRUDE. 🞂 DEFENSIVE. 🞂 FLEXIBLE. 🞂 LAID BACK. 🞂 OPEN-MINDED. 🞂 OPPORTUNISTIC. 🞂 PROMISCUOUS. 🞂 SNARKY. 🞂 TALKATIVE. 🞂 VAIN. 🞂 WITTY.

[RELATIONS TO THE VEES] 🞂 VARIES DEPENDING ON THE PERSON. 🞂 Angel’s relationship with the Vees truly is a mixed bag as he hates his boss but with Vox he’s on neutral ground. He likes Velvette as she acts as his (better) second boss and number one gossip buddy and the latest addition of the group, Vanitas, is the one he gets along with the most thanks to them being the most reasonable and level headed.

[REASON FOR CHECKING INTO THE HAZBIN HOTEL] 🞂 HIS LAST APARTMENT GOT DESTROYED IN THE MOST RECENT EXTERMINATION AND HE NEEDS THAT RENT FREE ROOM. 🞂 It totally isn't tied with him deeply missing his younger twin sister and secretly hoping that the hotel actually works so he can be reunited with her.

[THOUGHTS ON THE HAZBIN HOTEL & IT’S STAFF] 🞂 THINKS THE HOTEL’S PLAN WILL FAIL. 🞂 HAS VARYING THOUGHTS ON THE STAFF. 🞂 The staff member Angel Dust was the most positive/receptive towards upon his arrival at the hotel was Lavanya. It wasn’t because she was the Princess of Hell (though that certainly plays a factor into it) but because of her optimistic outlook for her people. She genuinely has hope that some of them can change their ways and ascend to the pearly gates. He thinks it's sweet despite it being foolish in nature. He’s pretty neutral on the rest of the staff minus Valoris. He does not like her and she does not like him one bit. _______________

That's the core information for Angel Dust and I used he/him pronouns for Angel throughout the character sheet because genderfluid people tend to use one set of pronouns at a time and not multiple pronouns at once like a lot of people seem to believe. Years before the pilot Angel Dust was going to be gender fluid until Vivziepop thought that information didn't fit anymore. Also the reason I said I wouldn't have Angel pass from PCP is because while PCP was discovered in the year 1926, it wasn't made aware of the public until the year 1956 under the name of Sernyl where it was marketed as a type of anesthetic. In short, there's no fucking way Angel died from a drug overdose on PCP. Another instance where Viv didn't do the bare minimum of research because that information about PCP took me all of two minutes to find and that was solely because I wanted the exact year from the 50s where it was introduced otherwise it was a twenty second Google search. In any case, next I'll do Valoris' character sheet since she got 2nd place in this poll. Thank you to everyone who participated in the poll and I hope you guys liked Angel's character sheet!

[slickchickchocolatier]

Mermaids Tale - Chapter 4

This was a fun chapter to revise, no smut, just pure details of Heeseung's ancestry. hehehehe. it's getting good.

So because tumblr is still being a pain, this isnt' really proof read. I couldn't copy and paste the chapter in, so i had just retype the whole thing while staring at the original draft to keep the flow of the storyline accurate, but there might be some grammar errors. I'll fix that whenever Tumblr stops being mean to me.

Pairings: Heeseung and you

Warnings: So while there is no smut, there is mentioning and implying of slave breeding, coerce sex, rape (not mentioned directly, just implied) being used for DNA, capture and imprisonment, and i think that's it. some of it is directly stated, while majority of it is heavily implied.

Begin read below line :)

8th Century BC

In the northern sphere of the southwestern district, an area where the Balkan Peninsula would eventually run through in the Mediterranean region, an ancient kingdom currently occupies a large part of the European continent, bearing as the most notorious empire in the world.

Named after its line of successors during the age of its victorious period, the kingdom had become the most significant empire during the Byzantine Dynasty. It’s last known ruler, history’s triumphant conqueror, Alexander III of Macedon, son of Philip II, became greatly known for his enhanced strategic command and leadership, and the greatest King during the Macedon Dynasty.

Today, he is commonly known as Alexander the Great. 

Following the events that took place within the Asia Minor, the great king feared of the dangers that lurked and threatened his line of succession. Establishing a hidden order and made up entirely of his secret sons to carry out his legacy, a clan, called the “Sons of Adam”, named after the First Man, was created. Carrying the bloodline of his ruling essence, through ages of descendants produced by his own offspring, Alexanders will, unaware by the myriad of enemies he made during his conquer, thrived through the proposed non-existence of his male heirs.

Knowing the dangers of corruption that remained prevalent in his kingdom, Alexander could not afford to put his bloodline at risk of elimination at the hands of his enemies, thus all records of his sons were destroyed, as they were removed from the kingdom and tucked away within the great monasteries of the continent.

By forming the clan, members, simply known as an “Adam”, were highly trained and skilled in the art of using sword and shield. They learned the battle techniques that were both domestic and foreign to them, developing advanced flexibility, stamina, and strength. Under secrecy, they were assigned to the temples that worshipped the ancient Gods of their time, serving as the guardians that protected the old religion, becoming just as forgettable as the priests and nuns who lived amongst, and cared for them.

When Alexanders untimely death came about, many throughout Persia and the Asia Minor displayed their corruptions as countless formations that the former king left behind, were eradicated. Many agreements became broken, all leading to the division of the Macedon Kingdom, ceasing its existence.

To avoid the risk of exposing their identities, the Sons of Adam were eventually migrated to Hellenistic Sicily, to further keep their lineage a secret as the last known warriors of Macedonia.

Through the natural and manmade disasters that occurred through every period of the world’s age, the sons of Alexander the Great had no choice but to spread, furthering the promotion of their procreation as the prestige lineage of a dying breed.

In the early 19th century, a young Merchant Marine by the name of Ethan Alexandros, travels and participates in the Russo-Japanese War during the Joseon Dynasty. In the aftermath, Ethan retires and remained in the conquered country of Korea, marrying a local woman, and carrying out his deed as a descendant of his great relative and wife, Alexander and Roxana, as well as carrying out the sworn duty as an Adam.

Much like his relatives, the fellow Adams immigrated throughout the world, spreading their legacy, and secretly merged with humanity. Through their great traits, some of which displayed longevity in their lifespan and youth, or inhuman strength, the Adams were careful to remain unidentified, Ethan was no different.

Continuing the bestowal of his ancestor’s birthright in the oriental region, Ethan and his wife produced three sons, all of which continued the lineage of male born offspring to continue. Just as his relatives had done to him, he blesses them with a surname that is not of his own, to carefully maintain the discretion of the clan’s formation. Allowing his children to inherit the name of their mother’s family, Ethan’s sons were all christened with the surname, Lee.

Today, a young man, unaware of his superior lineage, migrates through the city. With the intelligence equivalent to that of the most respected educators in the world, and the abnormally high aptitude of mastering abilities, both in combat and various skillsets, Lee Heeseung is bidding farewell to his peers and employment, as a member of the elite SWAT force of the Provisional Government in his division. Along with his elder brothers, the boys displayed impressive records of their abilities in their military background, earning them an expedited transfer into the force upon completing their time in service, as the eldest became the lead security chief of staff for the nation’s government, while the middle brother was contracted as a general for the nation’s largest military force. The youngest, with his high modest and humble value, opted for a contract to better serve the public, and signed with the police organization, accepting the role of supervising team leader and chief of his division.

For the youngest son, that was always the case, he differed greatly from his elder brothers. He was smarter, stronger, the highest skilled and talented among the three. It was widely known how abnormally attractive each brother was, however, Heeseung always won the majority of popular votes when it came to being the best looking out of the three. It wasn��t just limited to his appearance either, the man had a gift of song as he would often, while unintentionally, serenade every woman, or even men, whenever his team would let off some steam and partake in a night of drinking and karaoke. Bewildered by the trait of capturing the hearts of everyone around him, it was eerie for his friends and co-workers to note how the people around him, as he sung sweetly to the tunes of the song of choice, entranced all around him.

How was this possible?...

‘The ancestor Ethan was a descendant of Alexander and his youngest wife, Roxana, well after the order was established, many Adam’s caught the eye of kings and rulers during the period of when mortals were at war with the Sirens. Noting their enhanced combat abilities and vast knowledge in foreign weaponry and techniques, the Adam’s were all bid and hired by the kings of the land to aid in humanity’s conquest in defeating the Sirens.

Just as expected of them, the Adam’s were able to not only fend off the maidens of the sea, somehow, though still unexplainable, the Adam’s were immune to the whims of the oceanic goddesses as many of them were defeated and brutally killed off by the prowess of the clan, though, had they not been masked and blinded by the steel guard of their head pieces, inhibiting the clear view of the other worldly beauty of each maiden slaughtered, the clan would have committed to more humane death.

After realizing the beauty of these maidens, which appeared to be the only factor that had any effect on the clan, the eldest Adam, Philippe, commanded his brethren to capture and detain whatever maiden was left. Upon learning that the maidens had the ability to develop legs, the captured Sirens were imprisoned on land, within the grand estates of the clan, all awarded by the kings that hired the young men.

Unbeknownst to the royal family, the Adam’s brought back the remaining Sirens, trapped them within their mansions as they turned them into wives, and produced future sons with them. It was both out of endearment and love for their beauty and to enhance their bloodline as they discovered that offspring between an Adam and a Siren, contained the capabilities of both worlds. Their lifespan increased, immunities against disease and poison was enhanced, their strengths and ability in the water also evolved. Though it wasn’t apparent with every single offspring, some, the rare types, were born with all the above traits, along with the ability to hypnotize their opponents with their voice, a trait that solely came from the lineage of their maternal side.

An uncommon ability, yet widely desired amongst the descendants, the Adam’s strived to produce the strongest of heirs, as they kept the Siren’s to themselves, forcing them to live and adapt to live among mortals, something that Celine, the youngest siren, did out of her own accord.

Aware of what had happened with her captured sisters, Celine was careful to avoid crossing paths with the male descendants. However, the dying number of sirens that managed to avoid getting captured, were all forced to hide in the deep trenches of the ocean, remaining out of sight as they feared the clan. Realizing that she did not desire to lurk in darkness forever, Celine migrated to the land, where she portrayed herself as a mere mortal survivor from shipwreck, met and married a kind sailor who became enamored by her beauty and sweet voice.

Within due time, Celine learned to love and care for her husband, wanting nothing more than to be by his side forever. Even though her tolerance for mortals was more temperamental and gentler compared to the ruthless behavior of her sisters, Celine never thought it possible to love one. Yet, as fate would have it, her immortality inhibited her from continuing her happiness with him in the afterlife, thus was left with no choice but to disappear and go back to the sea once her husband aged but noticed that his wife’s appearance remained the same. It was heart breaking; however, she knew it had to be done for the safety of herself and her daughters. Making a pact and telling them of their bloodline, the daughters bid farewell to their mother, and continued their lives, promising that the story of their ancestry is passed down to each generation, and if the moment comes where a daughter falls in love and marries a mortal, she too, at some point in her life, will have to disappear and live her life roaming in the sea…’

Earlier in the year, the elders of the Lee family established an agreement for the three brothers to take over the major corporation as the President, CEO and Executive Director of the affluential company that monopolized the world, establishing an impressive family background and insurmountable wealth to their name. It was always the family’s wish, contracting an agreement with the boys since childhood that they were free to choose their path up until the time would come, where each one must set aside whatever career or background they marked on their own, and take in the responsibility of continuing the direction of the family’s economical creation, to maintain the superior status of the Lee family line. It was an act to keep the business strictly within the family, avoiding the risks of outsiders in corrupting and ruining what the Lee family had created and entitled in their name.

Each day, adorning dashing suits and expensive accessories, Heeseung slowly acclimates to a lifestyle that lacked the thrill and adventure he was accustomed to by joining the Navy Seals, transferring into the SWAT force, and overseeing the division of the districts most promising officers.

Soon after he inherited his new billet of becoming the executive director of his family’s company, under the mentorship of his grandfather, the feeling of complacency coated his mood as he found himself succumbing to boredom. Taking note of his lack of enthusiasm, the senior member of the company’s presidential board did his best to enthrall his grandson in a myriad of ways; hiring the prettiest applicants to fulfill the roles of his personal secretary or filling the entire upper floor of the headquarters building with the loveliest staff members to accompany his business trips at his choosing.

Appreciating his grandfather’s efforts, Heeseung put up a front, but never exposed that his grandfather’s method didn’t work. It only provided temporary aid in relieving the mental frustrations he developed from his administrative duties as he chose one lovely woman or another each week, bedding and spoiling them rotten until they too became dull and boorish to his desire.

Day by day, Heeseung managed to acclimate to his new duties by balancing his time in the prestige gym facility at the company’s headquarters building, or by frequenting the luxury spots in town with a different beautiful woman by his side. The thrill of seeking, tracking, and capturing criminals or terrorists was hard to replace, but he somehow was able to manage. Long before he knew it, the yearning sense of that active career didn’t bug him as much, largely thanks to the amount of martial art sessions he did throughout the day, at least his senior position at the company allotted him his own schedule to do nearly whatever he wanted. It was good to be king. Within due time, he mastered the arts of Karate, Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, hell, he ever learned to dance extravagant choreographies, hiring the best in the business as tutors.

Getting by, he grew more content, putting his elder family members at peace of mind as they were overly concerned the boy would stray from his diligent duties, due to the austerity of adapting to his new environment. It all became a lot easier once he was able to fill his days with the most challenging and physical demanding hobbies, and developing friends whose families became connected to his family through contracted partnerships, expanding influence and wealth, yet remained just as humble as he did. Friends such as Jake, and Jay.

Yes, all was seemingly going well and finally he was beginning to feel content…

Until he met you…

Not only did the urge and the thrill of ‘hunting’ came back to his senses, but it was also stronger. Much stronger than it ever had been. Unsure as to why, it was clear that you weren’t a criminal or posed as a threat to anyone, if anything, you were dignified and classy, it was remarkable. Yet your physical traits, whistling voice, and royal posture went unnoticed as he couldn’t help but watched you the entire event that night. His mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts, some sordid, while others were genuinely romantic. It was hard to make sense of the feeling, he’s never felt it before, something just stirred inside him, and it was so powerful that he swore he stopped breathing for a moment.

Aside from being trapped in a world of your wonderous beauty, there was another matter that was left unexplained. In the parameters of your presence, there was a feeling, a sensation that ripped through his body, it was neither painful nor pleasant. Almost as if something about you was calling to him, it was a phenomenon that only could be felt whenever you were nearby, yet the moment he noticed and watched you sneak out, under the pretense that you did so undetected, he allowed you to ‘escape’ as his theory turned into a fact when he watched you exit out of the ballroom, and along with you, that odd sensation disappeared.

However, even after you departed, it did nothing to inhibit the image of your face, the swaying of your body and feminine essence as you walk, and the flowing of your hair, it all permanently remained in his mind. When he took Kourtney to his bed that night, fucking her was hard to focus on, which wasn’t an issue with all of the women he’s had in the past. Fact is, the dashing playboy became desired not just for his handsome looks and soothing voice, the rumors that spiraled from one woman to the next built his reputation of how talented he was in bed. By morning, each woman lucky enough to be plunged by the Asian Casanova became a pool of a submitted mess as they became dazed and begging for more, in which he gladly obliged, all thanks to his high stamina, yet after weeks, perhaps even months, he left a trail of broken hearts as he expressed his lack of enthusiasm with whatever beauty he had been courting at the time.

Somehow, there was something inside that gave a sense, that when it comes to you, things would be different. Much different. Almost as if his gut was telling him that you both were meant to be, that you were his soulmate, it was crazy, yet it only made sense to him as the voice in his head beading his mind, repeatedly chanting…

‘Take her.’

Writer's note: Chapter 5 is going to be posted really soon ;)

[petervintonjr]

For only the second time since beginning this series in the summer of 2020, I have had to resort to drawing a much more abstract illustration --in this instance, the long-demolished President's House in Philadelphia-- as there appears to be no visual representation of the individual that I want to talk about (which in itself already speaks volumes).

Almost paralleling these last three years of this series, there has been an embarrassing (nay, alarming) uptick in the number of proposed so-called "divisive concepts" legislation brewing in various state legislatures. The (stated) intent behind such performatively-drafted law is to "protect" public school students from the "trauma" of studying American history in such a way that they won't be made to feel embarrassed or uncomfortable about the history of their own country; that the curriculum should instead focus primarily on instilling an all-pervasive sense of pride and patriotism. I think on this creeping propaganda (against which my own home state is sadly not immune), and immediately begin to reflect on the life trajectory of Oney Marie Judge (in some instances spelled Ona), whose greatest claim to fame (if one can call it that) is having been one of President George Washington's slaves. Oney Judge is assumed to have been born sometime in 1773 at Washington's Mount Vernon estate --the daughter of an enslaved mother, Betty; and a white English father who had been hired by the Washingtons as a tailor. As was so often the norm for the time, Oney's relatively light complexion promoted her to house status instead of field hand, and by the age of fifteen had become Martha Washington's personal maid. On paper, Oney and her mother Betty were considered to be the property of the Custis estate, and would pass back to the ownership of that family upon Martha's death --specifically to Martha's granddaughter Elizabeth ("Eliza") Custis.

After his popular election in 1787, Washington travelled first to New York, and then to Philadelphia, to serve as President of the new nation while a more permanent capital city was being constructed. Washington brought Judge and seven other slaves with him from Mount Vernon, taking up residence in what would become known as The President's House at the corner of 6th and Market Streets. Significantly, as befit her elevated status (such as it was), Judge was permitted to travel about the city unescorted and pay for such things as shows, dresses and other clothing, and even making social visits on Martha's behalf. Judge intermingled with Philadelphians and became VERY aware of the city's abolitionist sentiment and its markedly large population of free Black people. Philadelphia had passed an Emancipation law in 1780 (one of the very first such laws in the new nation), which included a Gradual Abolition Clause; a policy of automatic emancipation of any slaves who remained in the city limits beyond a six month time-frame. For obvious reasons George and Martha took particular care to strategically rotate out their slaves, each time sending them back to Mount Vernon "to visit family" just shy of this deadline.

On May 21, 1796, under the guise of appearing to pack for her next not-quite-sixth-month return to Virginia, Judge fled, and escaped aboard a ship called the Nancy bound for Portsmouth, New Hampshire. An advertisement went out on May 23rd asserting that the escaped slave had "no good reason for running away." By September of that year a family friend of the Washingtons recognized Judge in Portsmouth and sent word back to Philadelphia. Under the terms of the very Fugitive Slave Act that he himself had signed into law three years earlier, Washington could have forcibly kidnapped Judge back to Virginia, but undoubtedly mindful of the public optics, he opted not to take action. While he expressed undisguised annoyance at Judge's actions and wrote at length about "loyalty" and "unfaithfulness," privately his real resentment was that he would be expected to reimburse the Custis estate for lost property. After Washington's term in office ended, he made another attempt to retrieve Judge, this time asking the help of a nephew and several New Hampshire public officials to do so. Fortunately then-Senator John Langdon got wind of this attempt and warned Judge, who then fled to the town of Greenland where she eventually settled, learned to read and write, became a devout Christian, married, and had three children --even though she legally remained a Fugitive Slave to her dying day.

Judge's story would have faded into history as just another footnote to the life of George Washington, had it not been for a lengthy interview she gave many years later in an 1847 issue of William Lloyd Garrison's The Liberator. In the article she detailed the events of 1796 from her point of view, which had never before been known, though she never gave up the name of the Nancy's captain nor crew, nor the names of anyone else --including many free Black people in both Pennsylvania and in New Hampshire-- who had aided her. This very month (March 2023) a mural to Judge's bravery is underway in Portsmouth as part of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire: https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/local/2023/03/03/black-heritage-trail-nh-seeks-to-honor-ona-judge-staines-with-mural/69957500007/

Which brings me back to my earlier point about "divisive concepts" legislation and its stated intent --and the hard, un-ignorable truths that such laws intend to erase from the public discourse. Truths such as the fact that it is not possible to study, in any meaningful way, anything about the administration of our country's literal first President, nor his time in office, without eventually bumping up against the reality of Oney Judge and what she endured. The phrase "Black history is American history" is neither hyperbole nor a trendy slogan --it is an objective fact. And even as Women's History Month 2023 draws to a close, I can assure you that this art series will continue to throw light on that fact. For as long as it needs to.

[daimonclub]

100 super worthy quotes

100 super worthy quotes 100 super worthy quotes, another post full of great valuable quotes and aphorisms selected among the best authors ever by our chief editor Carl William Brown It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish. Aeschylus If there is meaning in life at all, then there must be meaning in suffering. Viktor Frankl I have never gotten over the trauma of coming into the world, I have never liked the stupidity of the universe, let alone if I will ever be able to accept my mother's death. Carl William Brown The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true. James Branch Cabell God is a comedian playing to an audience that is too afraid to laugh. Voltaire The man who speaks to you of sacrifice, speaks of slaves and masters. And intends to be the master. Ayn Rand There is nothing more awful, insulting, and depressing than banality. Anton Chekhov What people commonly call fate is mostly their own stupidity. Arthur Schopenhauer I feel completely detached from any country, any group. I am a metaphysically displaced person. Emil M. Cioran In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion. Albert Camus In such a stupid and cruel world, only imbeciles, selfish and devoid of any empathy, can find themselves at ease, also hoping to live a long time! Carl William Brown He lit a lamp in broad daylight and said, as he went about, "I am looking for a human. Diogenes of Sinope Meaningful silence is better than meaningless words. Pythagoras Man is quite insane. He wouldn't know how to create a maggot, and he creates Gods by the dozen. Michel de Montaigne

Happy people read quotes Women are the real architects of society. Harriet Beecher Stowe The closer to the truth, the better the lie, and the truth itself, when it can be used, is the best lie. Isaac Asimov Vulgus (Mundus o Populus) vult decipi, ergo decipiatur. (The world wants to be deceived, and so it is.) Latin Saying Without "ethical culture", there is no salvation for humanity. Albert Einstein You can't imagine how stupid the whole world has grown nowadays. Nikolai Gogol The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men. Plato One of the greatest problems of our time is that many. are schooled but few are educated. Thomas More Any idiot can face a crisis; it's this day-to-day living that wears you out. Anton Chekhov People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own soul. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. Carl Jung It is stupidity rather than courage to refuse to recognize danger when it is close upon you. Arthur Conan Doyle Never interrupt your enemy, when he is making a mistake. Napoleon Bonaparte The only real goal that can have a certain value for our stupid and insignificant existence is to lose it forever. Carl William Brown When people talk listen completely. Don’t be thinking what you’re going to say. Most people never listen. Nor do they observe. Ernest Hemingway The tragedy of life is that it gives us wisdom only when it has stolen youth Will Durant Force governs the world (unfortunately!) and not knowing: therefore whoever rules it can and usually is ignorant. Vittorio Alfieri

100 worthy aphorisms Competition is the law of the jungle, but cooperation is the law of civilization. Peter Kropotkin What if culture itself is nothing but a halt, a break, a respite, in the pursuit of barbarity? Slavoj Žižek The world is full of willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them. Robert Frost Doesn't surprise me that Christ our Lord preferred to live with prostitutes and sinners, seeing I go in for that myself. Johann Wolfgang Friedrich von Goethe Strong thoughts are iron nails driven in the mind, that nothing can draw out. Denis Diderot A man who does not dissent is a seed that will never grow. Bertrand Russell To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering. Friedrich Nietzsche Time and space are the stupidest, most tragic and atrocious things that can concern us. Carl William Brown Man is insatiable for power; he is infantile in his desires and, always discontented with what he has, loves only what he has not. People complain of the despotism of princes; they ought to complain of the despotism of man. Joseph de Maistre I myself must also say I believe it is true that in the end humanitarianism will triumph; only I fear that at the same time the world will be one big hospital and each person will be the other person's humane keeper. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. Joseph Brodsky The history of the world's great leaders is often the story of human folly. Voltaire The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke Be alone, that is the secret of invention: be alone, that is when ideas are born. Nikola Tesla Bad temper is its own safety valve. He who can bark does not bite. Agatha Christie The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts. Marcus Aurelius This place is a dream. Only a sleeper considers it real. Then death comes like dawn, and you wake up laughing at what you thought was your grief. Rumi Life not lived is a disease from which one can die. Carl Gustav Jung Some people have no idea what they're doing, and a lot of them are really good at it. George Carlin The poet sees, at the same time and from a single point, what is visible to two, in isolation. Boris Pasternak

Worthy and valuable quotes Life begins on the other side of despair. Jean-Paul Sartre Wealth is the slave of a wise man. The master of a fool. Seneca A man is the sum of his misfortunes. One day you'd think misfortune would get tired but then time is your misfortune. William Faulkner To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe. Anatole France I think the devil doesn't exist, but man has created him, he has created him in his own image and likeness. Fyodor Dostoevsky Death smiles at us all; all a man can do is smile back. Marcus Aurelius On the verge of death he remembered his mother who was waiting for him in the reality that does not exist and almost pleased he consoled himself. Carl William Brown Awareness of ignorance is the beginning of wisdom. Socrates Women are meant to be loved, not understood. Oscar Wilde Persons unmask their evilest qualities when they do quarrel. George Herbert A student of Buddhism tries to unlearn something daily. Alan Watts Everyone gets the experience. Some get the lesson. T. S. Eliot To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. Ralph Waldo Emerson We are all like the bright moon, we still have our darker side. Khalil Gibran We are all born originals and die copies. Carl Gustav Jung I have a theory that the moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself. Henry Miller The high-minded man must care more for the truth than for what people think. Aristotle Bees don’t waste their time explaining to flies that honey is better than shit! Anonymous I would rather excel in the knowledge of what is excellent, than in the extent my power and possessions. Plutarch In this super sea of shit, we are all in the same boat, but those who row are always the same. Carl William Brown

Quote against warfare Artificial intelligence will be Man's most important achievement. Too bad it could be the last. Stephen Hawking Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead. Benjamin Franklin If you don't have ideas, read. If you have ideas, but can't articulate them, write. If you have ideas, and have the clarity to execute, build. Dan Koe Knowledge is no guarantee of good behavior, but ignorance is a virtual guarantee of bad behavior. Martha C. Nussbaum. When reading, we don't fall in love with the characters' appearance. We fall in love with their words, their thoughts, and their hearts. We fall in love with their souls. Anonymous The best things can only be achieved with maximum effort. Goethe Nature is busy creating absolutely unique individuals, whereas culture has invented a single mold to which all must conform. It is grotesque. U. G. Krishnamurti The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.. John Milton It is dangerous to be right in matters where established men are wrong. Voltaire What is called a reason for living is also an excellent reason for dying. Albert Camus The bad thing of war is, that it makes more evil people than it can take away. Immanuel Kant Reason connot defeat emotion, an emotion can only be displaced or overcome by a stronger emotion. Baruch Spinoza Compassion for our parents is the true sign of maturity. Anais Nin You only know me as you see me, not as I actually am. Immanuel Kant The closer to the truth, the better the lie, and the truth itself, when it can be used, is the best lie. Isaac Asimov The tragedy of life is that it gives us wisdom only when it has stolen youth Will Durant The tragedy of life is that it gives us wisdom only when it has stolen youth Will Durant The enjoyment of power inevitably corrupts the judgment of reason, and perverts its liberty. Immanuel Kant Let us not burden our remembrances With a heaviness that's gone. William Shakespeare Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains. Rousseau

Read quotes and relax The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum. Noam Chomsky Those who are right do not argue. Those who argue are not right. Lao Tzu We live for books. A sweet mission in this world dominated by disorder and decay. Umberto Eco The stupidity of people comes from having an answer for everything. Milan Kundera When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people. Abraham Joshua Heschel The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. William James Comprehension, inventiveness, direction, and criticism: intelligence is contained in these four words. Alfred Binet Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow - that is patience. The two most powerful warriors are patience and time. Leo Tolstoy I am sure that if the mothers of various nations could meet, there would be no more wars. E. M. Forster Geniuses are like thunderstorms. They go against the wind, terrify people, cleanse the air. Soren Kierkegaard Books for general reading always smell badly; the odor of common people hangs about them. Friedrich Nietzsche Don’t miss these other similar posts: Wise quotes from the Ancients 100 golden quotes and aphorisms 100 wonderful quotes and aphorisms 100 admirable quotes and aphorisms 100 magnificent quotes and aphorisms 100 brilliant quotes and aphorisms 100 famous quotes and aphorisms 100 memorable quotes and aphorisms 100 excellent quotes and aphorisms 100 top great quotes and aphorisms 100 great quotes on love Great and famous philosophy quotes Quotes by authors Quotes by arguments Thoughts and reflections Essays with quotes Read the full article

[yr-obedt-cicero]

26. Who do you think is a forgotten hero we should know about and admire?

Thaddeus 👏 Kosciuszko 👏

Andrzej Tadeusz Bonaventura Kościuszko ( 1746-1817 ) - more commonly known as Thaddeus Kościuszko - was a Polish general, military engineer, abolitionist, and revolutionary. He fought in the American Revolutionary War, and also in an uprising in his home country. He was a great and tactical Brevet, who actually ended up saving the Americans twice from the British. And had a great love for coffee, apparently.

One of my favorite stories about him; is in the spring of 1777, Kosciuszko was attached to the Northern Army under Major General Horatio Gates. He reviewed the defences of what had been one of the most formidable fortresses in North America, his surveys prompted him to strongly recommend the construction of a battery on Sugar Loaf, which was a high point overlooking the fort. His recommendation, in which his fellow engineers agreed with, was turned down by the garrison commander, Brigadier General Arthur St. Clair. Which would later prove itself as a shitty mistake, because when the British army under General John Burgoyne arrived in July 1777, Burgoyne did exactly what Kosciuszko warned of, and had his engineers place artillery on the hill. Since the British were in complete control of the high ground, the Americans realized their situation was hopeless and abandoned the fortress with hardly a shot fired in the siege of Ticonderoga. The British advance force had assisted them in leaping up a few steps of the outnumbered and exhausted Continentals as they fled south. Major General Philip Schuyler was desperate to get his men further away from the British. He ordered Kosciuszko to delay the enemy, and Kosciuszko designed an the greatest solution; his men chopped down trees, dammed streams, and destroyed bridges. The British began to slow down, giving the Americans the time needed to safely escape across the Hudson River.

Additionally, he was a true abolitionist and believed wholly in equality. He was friends with some notable figures like; Thomas Jefferson and John Laurens. Who supposedly shared his ideals of human rights. But Kosciuszko was very close with Jefferson, so when Kosciuszko wrote a will in 1798, dedicating his USA assets to the education and freedom of the American slaves, he asked Jefferson to carry it out. But when Kosciuszko eventually returned to Europe and lived in Switzerland until his death in 1817, the execution of his testament later proved “difficult”, and Jefferson never used the funds for the purpose Kosciuszko wished for.

He's a great figure, and I definitely suggest reading up on him!

[thescarsilivewith-if]

(I apologize im advance for this since it's going to be long, I also hope you don't mind that I put it directly into your inbox!)

Presenting: Ashyereh the (almost) Mad Monarch

Technically don’t have that much on them yet but bear with me. I’ve decided to combine Ashyereh and the unnamed Monarch who was supposed to have skewed morals and looked to the ROs for moral guidance.

Undecided which RO route, possibly all poly route or Naja/Kaela.

Used to be called Yereh by their siblings

Their father would affectionately call them 'little ashtree' or 'sproutling', which they used to pout at

They used to be more expressive with their face giving most if not all of their emotions away, and had 0 control over it. After slavery, there is very little which shows on their face. Naja coming to save them? A nod of acknowledgement. Ordering Dehjyr’s public execution? Not even a twitch. Having Sahyra placed under house arrest and with guards stationed at the entrance, with their sibling under strict orders not to leave his designated rooms without Ashyereh’s explicit permission? Naja throwing Ashyereh worried glances as they raise the taxes? The servants and employees growing more and more fearful? Rumors about their cruelty? Actually making heartless decisions which will end up making people suffer? Nothing. They don’t even seem to have a conscience anymore, no warmth in their heart, no care. No emotions.

Which they would confirm, if asked, whatever they feel is barred behind a thick fog. Occasionally, some anger slips through or they experience a muted spark of satisfaction. But it’s always fleeting, always weak, it slips through their fingers like sand. 

Unless they are around the ROs. Then there is this weird… spark of elation. Of joy. It’s still muffled but it rings so clear, passes through the fog. And it is oh so addicting. So addicting, in fact, that Ashyereh wants to hide the ROs away. Wants to see them protected and only for the Monarch’s eyes. Whatever emotions the Monarch might have felt, they were snuffed out by what they experienced as a slave. (And they lived through some of humanity's worst depravities. And that’s what they took away from it all: The strong survive. Hurt others before they can hurt you and you control the game. Divest them of their dignity and you hold all the strings. Fear is your greatest ally. No one will ever hurt you again. You needn’t feel anything. Snuff it out.)

But being able to feel something, anything at all? It’s intoxicating. Exhilarating. They would do anything to keep this. 

For the ROs, they would bring other countries to their knees. To see them fed, Ashyereh would see others starve. To have them dressed in the finest clothes, to have them turn to Ashyereh and smile at them while they are handed whatever their hearts desire? Ashyereh would set the world on fire.

Morals are for philosophers. 

At which point, I assume, the ROs would stage the intervention. One last ditch effort to make Ashyereh see reason. To get to the root of it all, to try and see if there is a festering wound in need of care and attention. Or if all is lost.

It wouldn’t be. On the precipice of no return, yes. Impossible to piece back together, the way it was before? Yes.

But still salvageable. 

I kept Ashyereh in my inbox for a while because I love them. Thank you for sending their profile in, learning about your monarchs is one of my absolute favourite thing!

First of all, I applaud your ability to create a simp, sweet and gentle monarch and then a cold and ruthless monarch (also a simp).

Ashyereh is the definition of a possessive monarch, one who wants to keep their ROs out of strangers eyes and exclusively for themselves. They are also the perfect tyrant ruler, a sometimes heartless one, in general someone who was forged by the pain they endured and became... something else.

I love that there is still a small, flickering hope for them, and that the ROs will take it once the occasion arises. They don't want the version of them they were before. They just want the monarch to be at peace.

[reasoningdaily]

The portraits of Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Frederick Douglass hang on the walls of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture on September 24, 2016, in Washington, DC

In August 1619, the first ship with “20 and odd” enslaved Africans arrived on the shores of Virginia. Four hundred years later, we look back at this moment as the start of an enduring relationship between the founding of the United States and the unconscionable exploitation of the enslaved.

In a sweeping project published by the New York Times Magazine in August 2019 exploring the legacy of slavery, Nikole Hannah-Jones wrote, “[The enslaved] and their descendants transformed the lands to which they’d been brought into some of the most successful colonies in the British Empire. ... But it would be historically inaccurate to reduce the contributions of black people to the vast material wealth created by our bondage. Black Americans have also been, and continue to be, foundational to the idea of American freedom.”

Yet centuries later, the lasting impact of slavery continues to be minimized and myths continue to flourish. For instance, there’s the erasure of the many slave revolts and rebellions that happened throughout the nation, perpetuating the lie that the enslaved were docile or satisfied with their conditions. There’s also the persistent idea that black labor exploitation is over, when mass incarceration still keeps millions of black Americans behind bars and often working for “wages” that amount to less than $1 an hour. Then there’s the idea that our understanding of slavery is accurate based on what we learned in history textbooks, when in reality, misinformation continues to be taught in our public schools about slavery’s legacy.

To unpack what often gets mistold or misunderstood, we asked five historians to debunk the biggest myths about slavery. Here’s what they said, in their own words.

1) The myth that slaves never rebelled

Miseducation surrounding slavery in the US has led to an elaborate mythology of half truths and missing information. One key piece of missing history concerns slave revolts: Few history books or popular media portrayals of the trans-Atlantic slave trade discuss the many slave rebellions that occurred throughout America’s early history.

C.L.R. James’s A History of Pan African Revolt describes many small rebellions such as the Stono Plantation insurgence of September 1739 in the South Carolina colony, where a small group of enslaved Africans first killed two guards. Others joined them as they moved to nearby plantations, setting them afire and killing about two dozen enslavers, especially violent overseers. Nat Turner’s August 1831 uprising in Southampton, Virginia, where some 55 to 65 enslavers were killed and their plantations burned, serves as another example.

 A country road follows the trail of Nat Turner’s 1831 slave rebellion in rural southeastern Virginia, June 5, 2010. On either side, farms were burned and slavers murdered as Nat Turner and his followers marched toward the town of Jerusalem, now renamed Courtland. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images 

Enslaved Africans resisted and rebelled against individual slave holders and the system of slavery as a whole. Some slipped away secretly to learn to read. Many simply escaped. Others joined the abolitionist movements, wrote books, and gave lectures to the public about their experiences in captivity. And others led or participated in open combat against their captors.

Omitting or minimizing these stories of rebellion helps hide the violent and traumatic experiences enslaved Africans endured at the hands of enslavers, which prompted such revolts. If we are unaware of resistance, it is easier for us to believe the enslaved were happy, docile, or that their conditions were not inhumane. It then becomes easier to dismiss economic and epigenetic legacies of the transatlantic slave system.

Dale Allender is an associate professor at California State University, Sacramento.

2) The myth that house slaves had it better than field slaves

While physical labor in the fields was excruciating for the enslaved — clearing land, planting, and harvesting that often destroyed their bodies — that didn’t negate the physical and emotional violence enslaved women, and sometimes men and children, suffered at the hands of enslavers in their homes.

In fact, rape of black women by white enslavers was so prevalent that a 2016 study revealed 16.7 percent of African Americans’ ancestors can be traced back to Europe. One of the study’s authors concludes that the first African Americans to leave the South were those genetically related to the men who raped their mothers, grandmothers, and/or great-grandmothers. These were the enslaved African Americans within the closest proximity to and who spent the longest durations with white men: the ones who toiled in the houses of slave owners.

 An unidentified woman poses with a book in her hands, circa 1850. The original caption identifies her only as a “freed slave.” Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images 

A 2015 study determined that 50 percent of rape survivors develop PTSD. It is hard to imagine that enslaved and freedom-seeking African American survivors of rape — female, male, old, young, no matter their physical or mental abilities — did not experience further anxiety, fear, and shame associated with a condition they could not control in a situation out of control. Those African Americans with the most European ancestry, those tormented mentally, physically, emotionally, and genetically in the house, knew they had to get out. In fact, they fled the farthest — Southern whites are more closely related to blacks now living in the North than the South.

Jason Allen is a public historian and dialogue facilitator working at nonprofits, hospitals, and businesses in New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia.

3) The myth that abolition was the end of racism

A common myth about American slavery is that when it ended, white supremacy or racism in America also ended.

Recently, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell offered a familiar variant of this myth when he said he opposed reparations “for something that happened 150 years ago.” To the Kentucky Republican, a descendant of enslavers, slavery simply was, and then it just wasn’t, as though the battlefield had leveled the playing field when it came to race.

But the truth is that long after the Civil War, white Americans continue to carry the same set of white supremacist beliefs that governed their thoughts and actions during slavery and into the post-emancipation era.

In the South, especially, whites retained an enslaver’s mentality. They embraced sharecropping and convict leasing to control black labor in late 19th century, enacted Jim Crow laws to regulate black behavior in the early 20th century, and use racial terror to police the color line to this day.

 In this undated photo, two men use segregated drinking fountains in the American South. Getty Images 

In the North, whites also rejected racial equality. After emancipation, they refused to make abandoned and confiscated land available to freedmen because they believed that African Americans would not work without white supervision. And when African Americans began fleeing Dixie during the Great Migration, white Northerners instituted their own brand of Jim Crow, segregating neighborhoods and refusing to hire black workers on a nondiscriminatory basis.

Slavery’s legacy is white supremacy. The ideology, which rationalized bondage for 250 years, has justified the discriminatory treatment of African Americans for the 150 years since the war ended. The belief that black people are less than white people has made segregated schools acceptable, mass incarceration possible, and police violence permissible.

This makes the myth that slavery had no lasting impact extremely consequential — denying the persistence and existence of white supremacy obscures the root causes of the problems that continue to plague African Americans. As a result, policymakers fixate on fixing black people instead of trying to undo the discriminatory systems and structures that have resulted in separate and unequal education, voter suppression, health disparities, and a wealth gap.

Something did “happen” 150 years ago: Slavery ended. But the institution’s influence on American racism and its continued impact on African Americans is still felt today.

Hasan Kwame Jeffries is an associate professor at Ohio State University.

4) The myth that history class taught us everything we needed to know about slavery

Many of us first learned about slavery in our middle or high school history classes, but some of us learned much earlier — in elementary school, through children’s books, or even Black History Month curriculum and programs. Unfortunately, we don’t always learn the entire story.

Most of us only learned partial truths about slavery in the United States. After the Civil War and Reconstruction, many in the North and South wanted to put an end to continuing tensions. But this wasn’t done just through the Compromise of 1877, when the federal government pulled the last troops out of the South; it was also done by suppressing the rights of black Americans and elevating the so-called “Lost Cause” of the enslavers.

 The Tennessee-based group “New Confederate State of America” held a protest in support of retaining a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee located on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia, September 16, 2017. Win McNamee/Getty Images 

The Lost Cause is a distorted version of Civil War history. In the decades after the war, a number of Southern historians began to write that slaveholders were noble and had the right to secede from the Union when the North wished to interfere with their way of life. Due to efforts by a group of Southern socialites known as the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Lost Cause ideology influenced history textbooks as well as books for children and adults. The accomplishments of black Americans involved in the abolition movement, such as Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Maria W. Stewart, Henry Highland Garnet, and William Still, were downplayed. Union generals like Ulysses S. Grant were denigrated, as were anti-racist whites from John Brown to William Lloyd Garrison. Generations later, there are still many people around the country who believe the Civil War was about states’ rights and that slaves who had good masters were treated well.

Even an accurate historical curriculum emphasizes progress, triumph, and optimism for the country as a whole, without taking into account how slavery continues to affect black Americans and influence present-day domestic policy from urban planning to health care. It does not emphasize that 12 of the first 18 presidents were enslavers, that enslaved Africans from particular cultures were prized for their skills from rice cultivation to metallurgy, and that enslaved people used every tool at their disposal to resist bondage and seek freedom. From slavery to Jim Crow to civil rights to the first black president, the black American story is forced into the story of the unassailable American dream — even when the truth is more complicated.

Given what we learn about slavery, when we learn it, and how, it is clear that everyone still has much more to learn. Teaching Tolerance and Teaching for Change are two organizations that have been wrestling with how we introduce this topic to our young. And what they’re learning is that the way forward is to unlearn.

Ebony Elizabeth Thomas is an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

5) The myth that slavery doesn’t exist today

One of the greatest myths about slavery is that it ended. In fact, it evolved into its modern form: mass incarceration.

The United States has the highest prison population in the world. More than 2.2 million Americans are incarcerated; 4.5 million are on probation or parole. African Americans make up roughly 13 percent of the general population. But black men, women, and youth have outsize representation in the criminal justice system, where they make up 34 percent of the 6.8 million people who are under its control. Their labor is used to produce goods and services for businesses that profit from prison labor.

 Prisoners at the Ferguson Unit, a large prison along the Trinity River in Texas, actively work the farm the prison runs, which includes planting and harvesting an annual cotton crop, 1997. The prison is located on a former cotton slave plantation. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images 

For those of us who study the early history of mass incarceration in America, these statistics are not surprising. From the late 1860s through the 1920s, over 90 percent of the prison and jail populations of the South were black. Thousands of incarcerated men, women, and children were hired out by the state to private factories and farms for a fee. From sunup to sundown, they worked under the watchful eye of brutal “whipping bosses” who flogged, mauled, and murdered them. They earned nothing for their toil. Today, labor exploitation, the denial of human dignity and the right to citizenship, family separation, and violent punishment define our criminal justice system in ways that mirror slavery.

Hundreds of thousands of incarcerated people work. According to a 2017 report published by the Prison Policy Initiative, “the average of the minimum daily wages paid to incarcerated workers for non-industry prison jobs is now 86 cents.” Those assigned to work for state-owned businesses (correctional industries) earn between 33 cents and $1.41 per hour. In 2018, incarcerated Americans held a nationwide strike to end “prison slavery.” In a list of demands, striking individuals called for “all persons imprisoned in any place of detention under United States jurisdiction” to be “paid the prevailing wage in their state or territory for their labor.”

This is a year to remember slavery’s origins. It is also an opportunity to critique its legacies. Let’s not get so caught up in our efforts to commemorate slavery’s beginning that we fail to advocate for its end.

Talitha LeFlouria is the Lisa Smith Discovery Associate Professor at the University of Virginia.

Correction: An earlier version misstated the range of presidents who were enslavers. It was 12 of the first 18 presidents, not 12 of the first 16.

[siremasterlawrence]

Captivating, Corrupting and Controlling 1/2

The Entire Country is about to be rebooted in time for my coronation ceremony with our President Allen handing over all power to me even though the shadow figures remain in a hidden veil. The Police Departments all over this shit face country are so busy in random nonsensical bullshit.

The greatest feet I have ever made is fooling the public into a false sense of security the life they are living. Captain America is given an invite in Washington to speak at Inclusive Heroics Anonymous for veterans and those just starting.

Unfortunately, Steve Rogers will pay a very steep price for being so easily led to his own demise, and his downfall will erupt into total self destruction. The entirety of three large football fields worth of cops, military and such gather together for this event as evil spreads.

This also happening in every damn state in The United States the doors in sync lock all in place. Superman appears on the screen in all his glory but Steve notice something off about him. A wicked smile, glint in his eyes and most certainly the S symbol on his chest has been replaced with P.

“Hello, stop the cheers I am no hero no no no, I am something far words mwahahaha.You may call me Kryptonite Knightmare a super pussy if you will and I aim to please only one man. As you can see the county is in chaos and you can’t move a inch of else the bombs will activate. Kaboom good luck.”

Steve’s eyes widen in disbelief and rage is a all time high but he can’t move a single bit or it’s finished. “Watch the screen my lovely friends and consume yourself in the madly intoxicating feeling of hell on earth.” Clark continues his speech.

A gigantic spiral covers the canvas of the jumbo trim appearing on all screens words scrolling too fast to comprehend on a deep conscious level. The rooms of people pulling into it their minds washing away over and over again with very little effort from every one involved.

Steve is aware of the momentous occasion unfolding but he cannot move his body is stuck literally glued to the seat his fear is heightened by a thousand as his mind is foggy, bouncing endlessly a streaming void of blankness.

Hours pass as the screen shuts off freeing people to mindlessly get up from their seats and leave for the commencement of a new life and a country. “You foul minded fiend show yourself I command. Step into the light be a man, speak now.” Steve howls in a voice so demanding.

“I see you are still in rare condition Boy Scout. No matter Superman is my slave as it were and the world is at my feet.”

“Who are you? What is it that you think you will get from me?”

“My name is Blue Haven, I want you as my slave, and well I’ll prove my power.”

“Oh Clark….”

“Superman…ooooohhhh”

“Yes Blue Haven”

“Give our friend here a taste of freedom”

“As you wish my love”

“You instructed me to line all of my so called villainous roques gallery but they are all shitty bitches. Watch them burn.”

Steve shouts for Clark to stop but is left with an eerie sound of evil laughter reverberating through your the building sending chills down his spine. Clark floats off the ground to face Steve lifting him in to the sky they are alone.

The silence is deafening till Clark whispers in his ears then drops him as he free falls back go earth crash landing in the field to my surprise he rolls over all bloody and bruised.

Clark return with an earth shattering landing leaving the ground to split in two with rope he swiftly picks Steve up ties him down to a medical slab. Clark flew us back to my lab as plan for his ultimate sacrifice of submit or die.

Steve will be forced into a new life he has no idea what is coming for him, and I am all in glee pushing the slab forward under the red spotlight medical bay. My table of boxes on my left I grab a red marker tracing important points on his face.

I take a few electrical pads placing it on his forehead, sides of his face, both cheeks and under his chin. Following that up I pick up a sporty sleek pair VR shades placing them on his face the attachments slide on and we are settled.

Discombobulating in my own method lifting up my laboratory coat and slipping it onto me. The clip board in my hand, I click the top of the pen marking it off and filling out a few parts of the forms on my own as if it is for professional reasons.

“Let’s begin with our one and only therapy session to cure your sanity.” I whisper into his ears then kiss his cheek as he turns a bit and moves away from me or rather struggle to do it. I slap him hard across the face then let the calm wash over me.

Cupping a single vial holding it into the light letting the needle inject into it, I fill up the needle to the brim then splurge it, and I inject it into his skin once on his right arm, left arm and the back of my neck. His limbs then the rest of his body grow even stiffer.

I remove my cellphone pressing the my self made app open and I flip a few switches within it. The app blows on red flashing on and off then the pads blink red, pink as well as well rainbow stirring him I can see the pain in his eyes.

He closes and opens up constantly, his cock starts to rise and he is in bliss in frenzy of horniness.

“What’s the matter Captain? Your cock is stirring I can see it.”

“Are you enjoying this Captain?”

“Nnnnnnnnnoooooo…sssstttttoooooppppp”

“Why should I? Obviously you are deeply feeling this.”

“I hate this, you disgusting uhuhuhhhhhh”

“All of this massive muscle and you are so helpless.”

“FUCk YOU!”

“Language”

“Will you give into my whims Captain?”

“SWEET ASS”

“Leave me alone”

“Resistant little bitch”

“I will never fight for you, I will never give in”

“You wish my love”

“I will squeeze into that tight ass”

“Relinquish your hands”

“Well then, I will turn this shit up to the max”

The end

[rphelperblog]

And I Darken Book Quote Rp Meme

book one in a series by Kiersten White- feel free to edit quotes or change pronouns for rp purpose

“Her spine was steel. Her heart was armor. Her eyes were fire.”

“Some victories are merely defeat wearing the wrong clothing” 

“The price of living seems to always be death."

“You are the only real thing in my life.” 

"And that is why you become a dealer of death. You feed death as many people as you can to keep it full and content so its eye stays off you.” 

“The last time she was up here, she had been... staring up at the sky and dreaming of stars. Now, she looked down and plotted flames.

“So the question becomes, Daughter of the Dragon, what will you sacrifice? What will you let be taken away so that you, too, can have power?” 

“This was not a love he had heard of, this was not a love sung by poets, celebrated in stories.” 

“The sooner you stop fighting, the easier your life will be. That is what your purpose is."

“Belief is not weakness. Faith is the greatest strength we can have.” 

" I luxuriated in the blessed quiet that you left in your wake."

"You cried yourself to sleep every day."

"If you had had a knife, you would have killed me!"

"Yes, exactly. And then I could have gone back to sleep." "Nothing like cuddling a corpse to give you sweet dreams.” 

“Fire burned in her heart, and her wounded soul spread out, casting a shadow like wings across her country.” 

“..If anyone is going to kill you, it will be me. Understand?"

“Souls and thrones are irreconcilable.” 

"Your are so pretty. Like delicate butterfly beneath my boot."

“There are other ways to beat someone than with fists.” 

“They are less than the mud. You do not get angry at the mud for clinging to your shoe. You wipe it off and never look at it again.” 

“I cannot afford to lose you, too"

“You look ridiculous. Armor suits you far more than silk."

"Take me with you, and I will wear armor the whole time.” 

“If you are too weak to stand being hit and too stupid to avoid it, then you deserve more pain.” 

“A true conversion is always only between a man and God.” 

“It felt like fighting. It felt like falling. It felt like dying.” 

"You cannot lose something you do not own. Take me with you” 

“You love him like a flower loves the sun.” 

"Tell me everything. Including how that happened."

“I think of you like a sister, like a brilliant, violent, occasionally terrifying sister that I would follow to the ends of earth, in part because I respected her so much and in part because I feared what she would do to me of I refused. "

“Those same fists had always defied everything expected of her.”

“It was a lonely, cold thing to live without expectations.” 

“Nothing holds me here.” 

“I am no slave. This is my city! "

"You are so mad. Like a rabid hound that needs to be put down.”

“Fire burned in her heart, and her wounded soul spread out, casting a shadow like wings across her country.” 

“We cannot always have what we want, no matter how much we want it,” 

"I am the dragon.” 

“It was up to daughters to figure out survival by any means possible.” 

“Carve out a life for yourself however you can. No one will do it for you.”

ated the way roses smelled, their sweetness too fragile. She wanted a garden of evergreens. A garden of stones. A garden of swords.” 

I would do awful things.” 

“Women who go into the harem do not come out. It is a permanent position." [...]

"I am not going in as a woman. I am going in as an assassin. So we have nothing to fear.” 

“But you always have a choice. You can choose to find comfort and solace in God. You can choose to be brave and compassionate. And you can choose to find beauty and happiness wherever they present themselves.” 

“Religion was a means to an end. She had seen it wielded as a weapon. If she needed to use it, she would, but she would never allow herself to be used by it.” 

“You once told me some lives are worth more than others. How many deaths before the scales tip out of our favor?”

"I will burn your city to the ground."

“You would not let anyone else kill me."

"That honor is mine, and mine alone.” 

“In the spirit of friendship, I must tell you that I am bitterly jealous of the time you spend in the Janissaries' company. I want you to stop training with them."

“You can choose to find comfort and solace in God. You can choose to be brave and compassionate. And you can choose to find beauty and happiness wherever they present themselves.” 

"I will never marry.” 

“Do not thank me. All I did was teach them to fear me. How does that help you? Next time you hit first, you hit harder, you make certain that your name means fear and pain. I will not be here to save you again.” 

“People respond to kindness. They trust a smile more than a promise that you will leave them choking on their own blood.” 

"And in the spirit of friendship, I must tell you that I do not care in the slightest about your petty jealousies. I am late for my training.” 

“Because I am in love with you. Because I cannot be around you for fear you will finally see what is written across my heart. Because the pain of you is one I cannot bear” 

“Perhaps you could offer yourself as whore instead.” 

[vividescapist]

Second Monarch

I have no self control so I present to you: Ashyereh the (almost) Mad Monarch

Below the cut, you’ll find some general information about their personality and tidbits. Their story comes with a trigger warning (rape, loss of bodily autonomy, forced prostitution, threats/discussion of forced impregnation) which I will warn for again before we get to that part. The information above that will be free of the previously mentioned triggering content. In general though, keep in mind that Ashyereh is not a kind and sweet Monarch. They are heavily traumatized by what happened and their behavior reflects that.

The discussions of these topics is also why I will not be tagging the blog directly but if you do not know the premise and are curious to learn more, the blog for this Interactive Fiction is @/thescarsilivewith-if, just remove the /.

- AFAB Nonbinary, they/them pronouns. Had top surgery.

- Undecided between full poly or Naja/Kaela route.

- Used to be called Yereh by the siblings closer to them in age and Yeye by the younger ones.

- Their Father used to affectinately call them ‘little ashtree’ or ‘sapling’. This used to make Ashyereh pout but they secretly loved it.

- An avid reader.

- Married Naja out of a sense of obligation and was too busy to spend much time with them early on. A few weeks into their marriage, Ashyereh began to seek Naja out in an attempt to build a foundation of mutual trust and respect. There may have been the first flutterings of feelings when the coup to overthrow Ashyereh began and things went to hell.

- They used to be more expressive with their face giving most of not all of their emotions away, and had 0 control over it, especially with their family. To their siblings and the consort Ashyereh was an open book. Out in public, they learned to restrain themself and they were often praised for their poise and grace as well as their serenity.

- Post-slavery, there is very little which shows on their face. Naja coming to save them? Only a nod of acknowledgement. Ordering Dehjyr’s public execution? Not even a twitch. Having Sahyra placed under house arrest after having to watch his father’s execution? Naja throwing Ashyereh worried glances? Valaahr growing more and more cautious? The servants and employees growing fearful? Rumors about their cruelty? Actually making heartless decisions which will end up making people suffer? Nothing. They don’t even seem to have a conscience anymore, no warmth in their heart, no care. No emotions.

- Which they would confirm, whatever they feel is hidden behind a thick fog. Occasionally, some anger slips through or they experience a muted spark of satisfaction. But it’s always fleeting, always weak, it slips through their fingers like sand. 

- Unless they are around the ROs. Then there is this weird… spark of elation. Of joy. It’s still muffled but it rings so clear, passes through the fog. And it is oh so addicting. So addicting, in fact, that Ashyereh wants to hide the ROs away. Wants to see them protected and only for the Monarch’s eyes. Whatever emotions Ashyereh might have felt, they were snuffed out by what they experienced as a slave. (And they lived through some of humanity's worst depravities. And that’s what they took away from it all: The strong survive. Hurt others before they can hurt you and you control the game. Divest them of their dignity and you hold all the strings. Fear is your greatest ally. No one will ever hurt you again. You needn’t feel anything.)

But being able to feel something, anything at all? It’s intoxicating. Exhilarating. They would do anything to keep this. 

For the ROs, they would bring other countries to their knees. To see them fed, Ashyereh would see others starve. To have them dressed in the finest clothes, to have them turn to Ashyereh and smile at them? They would set the world on fire. Morals are for philosophers. 

- At which point, I assume, the ROs would stage the intervention. One last ditch effort to make Ashyereh see reason. To get to the root of it all, to try and see if there is a festering wound in need of care and attention. Or if all is lost.

It wouldn’t be. On the precipice of no return, yes. Impossible to piece back together the way it was before? Yes.

But still salvageable.

This is where the potentially triggering content begins. Please be mindful of this.

- Sold as pleasure slave and was regularly beaten and raped by their owner until they stopped resisting. Sometimes, the owner would rent Ashyereh out to business partners if it meant securing contracts or deals. And if the business partners wanted to drug Ashyereh or try some not so safe sex practises on top of that? As long as Ashyereh was returned in one piece and without permanent marks, it was fine. The owner didn’t particularly care about keeping things confined to the bedroom so Ashyereh was expected to serve anywhere and anytime. It really was not uncommon for servants and other slaves to stumble upon the owner raping Ashyereh in a hallway.

- Their owner strictly controlled their appearance, especially their weight. This meant both starvation and overfeeding to make Ashyereh’s body adjust to whatever their owner preferred at the moment. As a result, their body weight fluctuated by the month and Ashyereh’s current relationship with food is strained. Rather than overindulging, they prefer to eat less but also get highly aggressive when someone tries to take their plate from them.

-  The stress and the fluctuating weight prevented Ashyereh’s period, which was both a blessing and a curse as their owner started renting them out to whoever was willing to pay the most, offering to have Ashyereh potentially bear them a child with magical powers (and the mark of the heir) aka grant them the opportunity to gain much influence over a kingdom. When, eventually, Ashyereh’s period kicked in again, the owner stopped renting them out and tried to impregnate Ashyereh themself but it never took and about two months after the period began again, Naja arrives with the rescue team.