The tradesman, then, should be an industrious, conscientious worker who lets nothing come between him and his business. We have seen how business as a creative, competitive vocation tends naturally to induce the business man not only to accept these doctrines but also to demonstrate their utility. Attempts to address the hard-work-and-thrift precepts to the masses, however, fell on stony ground. Even businessmen realized that 'no man can get rich on a salary,' let alone wages; hence the motivation that helped shape the bourgeois personality was lacking among the workers. Indeed, opposite influences came into play: the harder the laborer exerted himself, the less work there seemed to be for him; the more work he accomplished in a given time, the greater the tendency of the employer to assign larger tasks at the old rate of pay; and, worst of all, the early capitalist discovered that the best inducement to the laborer's industriousness was not to hold out to him the prospect of wealth, but to keep him in a constant state of need.
ok i’m about to go to sleep but i’m feeling vaguely disgruntled so i am going to share some cute shit <3 so here’s a little excerpt from that thing i mentioned writing with roach and oliver, i.e. a cute moment with oliver pining <3
(not sure if the romance cw tag is 100% needed here because it’s not explicitly romantic, but i figured better safe than sorry!)
also i’m too sleeby right now to remember any taglists, i apologize </3 if i remember, maybe i’ll rb this later to tag folks.
For the past hour, Roach had been playfully arguing with Yara about something technical that Oliver didn’t quite understand, something specific relating to the editing software they’d started using recently. Syd chimed in now and then, but for the most part, they stayed out of it, occasionally sharing bemused glances with Oliver.
He smiled back at them each time, but he couldn’t keep his eyes off Roach for long. Even with his lack of understanding of the subject matter, something about Roach when they were this passionate was captivating. Their grin was wide, and they gestured with their long-fingered hands as if to emphasize each loud, delighted word.
Oliver was happy just to watch them, if he being was honest. They were a whirlwind of energy, and he loved seeing them in their element like this.
Roach was always beautiful to him no matter what they wore, but tonight they’d decided to dress differently than usual. Their usual graphic tee was gone, replaced with a low-cut black top that left their shoulders and collarbones exposed to the open air. Beneath the table, their crossed legs were clad in black jeans and knee-high, heeled boots. They’d even applied some makeup, sharp wings of black eyeliner and purple eyeshadow decorating their lids.
The differences were startling but not exactly unwelcome, and Oliver did his best to commit every part of Roach’s appearance tonight to memory. Every time he saw their wide, genuine smile was a gift he wanted to hold tightly to his chest for the rest of his life.
The world if Oliver was strong enough to carry Roach around: [utopia]
[Image Description: A colored sketch of two people, one carrying the other who has their hand extended in a wave to the viewer. The one on the left is a man with dark skin and locs in a ponytail, wearing a yellow sweater, khakis, and black sneakers. He has glasses and a fond smile on his face as he looks at the person he is carrying, who has pale skin, short blond hair, and blue eyes. The person being carried is wearing a black crop top with fishnets underneath, blue shorts, and thigh-high fishnet stockings with black slippers and fingerless gloves. They also have hearing aids partly hidden under their hair. The dark-skinned man is labeled Oliver Cox, and the light-skinned person is labeled Roach. There is a heart next to Oliver.]
I just like messing around with this incorrect quotes generator,
So anyway here’s a bunch with the Roach polycule (Roach, Vincent, and Oliver!) Not all of these will be shippy, but a good chunk of them will be, so tread lightly if you’re not up for that!
Gonna put these under the cut b/c I like these so much that this is probably gonna get long,
--
Oliver: I’m this close to falling in love with Roach.
Vincent: Your fingertips are touching.
Oliver: Exactly.
--
Vincent: Hey, Oliver? Can I get some dating advice?
Oliver: Just because I'm with Roach doesn't mean I know how I did it.
--
Vincent: Hello all, it is I, your favorite person.
Oliver: Actually, Roach is my favorite.
Vincent: Okay then, it is I, that bitch.
--
Vincent: *speaking Spanish*
Roach: I know, I know.
Oliver: You speak Spanish?
Roach: No. I just know the phrase, 'this is all your fault' in every language Vincent speaks.
--
Vincent: I lost Roach.
Oliver: How did you LOSE Roach?!
Vincent: To be fair, they are very small.
--
Vincent, smugly, after security arrives to escort Roach and Oliver out: So, do you wanna walk out of here or do you wanna be carried out?
Roach, in defeat: Let’s go.
Oliver: Wait.
Roach: What?
Oliver: I’d kinda like to be carried out...
--
Oliver: This totally sucks, man.
Vincent: This is horrible.
Oliver: Yeah, I know, I mean look at today’s news.
Vincent: No, it’s not that, it’s Roach.
Vincent: It’s just like, I can’t get them out of my head and every time I look at them I have these pains in my chest, and I just know it’s their fault, that bitch!
--
Oliver, holding a rock: Roach just gave this to me and said "I feel like you deserve the moon but all I can give you is a rock.”
Vincent: If you don't marry them, I will.
--
Vincent: Roach and I were crossing the street, and this man drove by and honked at us.
Oliver: What did you do?
Vincent: They chased him to the next red light, and reached into his window, and-
Roach: *walking in* Who wants a steering wheel?
--
Oliver: Roach won’t come out of their room!
Vincent: Just tell them I said something.
Oliver: Like what?
Vincent: Anything factually incorrect.
Oliver, shrugging: If you say so.
Roach, arriving moments later: Did you just say the sun is a PLANET?
--
Vincent: I dropped Roach.
Oliver: Vincent, what the fuck.
--
And, finally:
Vincent: Ooh, somebody has a crush
Oliver: Pfft, I don’t have a crush on Roach I just think they’re cool, it’s not like I stay up at night thinking about them.
*Later that night*
Oliver, very much awake: Uh oh.