#PE funding

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Private equity ghouls have a new way to steal from their investors

Private equity is quite a racket. PE managers pile up other peoples’ money — pension funds, plutes, other pools of money — and then “invest” it (buying businesses, loading them with debt, cutting wages, lowering quality and setting traps for customers). For this, they get an annual fee — 2% — of the money they manage, and a bonus for any profits they make.

On top of this, private equity bosses get to use the carried interest tax loophole, a scam that lets them treat this ordinary income as a capital gain, so they can pay half the taxes that a working stiff would pay on a regular salary. If you don’t know much about carried interest, you might think it has to do with “interest” on a loan or a deposit, but it’s way weirder. “Carried interest” is a tax regime designed for 16th century sea captains and their “interest” in the cargo they “carried”:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/29/writers-must-be-paid/#carried-interest

Private equity is a cancer. Its profits come from buying productive firms, loading them with debt, abusing their suppliers, workers and customers, and driving them into ground, stiffing all of them — and the company’s creditors. The mafia have a name for this. They call it a “bust out”:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/02/plunderers/#farben

Private equity destroyed Toys R Us, Sears, Bed, Bath and Beyond, and many more companies beloved of Main Street, bled dry for Wall Street:

https://prospect.org/culture/books/2023-06-02-days-of-plunder-morgenson-rosner-ballou-review/

And they’re coming for more. PE funds are “rolling up” thousands of Boomer-owned business as their owners retire. There’s a good chance that every funeral home, pet groomer and urgent care clinic within an hour’s drive of you is owned by a single PE firm. There’s 2.9m more Boomer-owned businesses going up for sale in the coming years, with 32m employees, and PE is set to buy ’em all:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/16/schumpeterian-terrorism/#deliberately-broken

PE funds get their money from “institutional investors.” It shouldn’t surprise you to learn they treat their investors no better than their creditors, nor the customers, employees or suppliers of the businesses they buy.

Pension funds, in particular, are the perennial suckers at the poker table. My parent’s pension fund, the Ontario Teachers’ Fund, are every grifter’s favorite patsy, losing $90m to Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency scam:

https://www.otpp.com/en-ca/about-us/news-and-insights/2022/ontario-teachers--statement-on-ftx/

Pension funds are neck-deep in private equity, paying steep fees for shitty returns. Imagine knowing that the reason you can’t afford your apartment anymore is your pension fund gambled with the private equity firm that bought your building and jacked up the rent — and still lost money:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/02/25/pluralistic-your-daily-link-dose-25-feb-2020/

But there’s no depth too low for PE looters to sink to. They’ve found an exciting new way to steal from their investors, a scam called a “continuation fund.” Writing in his latest newsletter, the great Matt Levine breaks it down:

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/mergers-and-acquisitions/matt-levines-money-stuff-buyout-funds-buy-from-themselves

Here’s the deal: say you’re a PE guy who’s raised a $1b fund. That entitles you to a 2% annual “carry” on the fund: $20,000,000/year. But you’ve managed to buy and asset strip so many productive businesses that it’s now worth $5b. Your carry doesn’t go up fivefold. You could sell the company and collect your 20% commission — $800m — but you stop collecting that annual carry.

But what if you do both? Here’s how: you create a “continuation fund” — a fund that buys your old fund’s portfolio. Now you’ve got $5b under management and your carry quintuples, to $100m/year. Levine dryly notes that the FT calls this “a controversial type of transaction”:

https://www.ft.com/content/11549c33-b97d-468b-8990-e6fd64294f85

These deals “look like a pyramid scheme” — one fund flips its assets to another fund, with the same manager running both funds. It’s a way to make the pie bigger, but to decrease the share (in both real and proportional terms) going to the pension funds and other institutional investors who backed the fund.

A PE boss is supposed to be a fiduciary, with a legal requirement to do what’s best for their investors. But when the same PE manager is the buyer and the seller, and when the sale takes place without inviting any outside bidders, how can they possibly resolve their conflict of interest?

They can’t: 42% of continuation fund deals involve a sale at a value lower than the one that the PE fund told their investors the assets were worth. Now, this may sound weird — if a PE boss wants to set a high initial value for their fund in order to maximize their carry, why would they sell its assets to the new fund at a discount?

Here’s Levine’s theory: if you’re a PE guy going back to your investors for money to put in a new fund, you’re more likely to succeed if you can show that their getting a bargain. So you raise $1b, build it up to $5b, and then tell your investors they can buy the new fund for only $3b. Sure, they can get out — and lose big. Or they can take the deal, get the new fund at a 40% discount — and the PE boss gets $60m/year for the next ten years, instead of the $20m they were getting before the continuation fund deal.

PE is devouring the productive economy and making the world’s richest people even richer. The one bright light? The FTC and DoJ Antitrust Division just published new merger guidelines that would make the PE acquire/debt-load/asset-strip model illegal:

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/07/ftc-doj-seek-comment-draft-merger-guidelines

The bad news is that some sneaky fuck just slipped a 20% FTC budget cut — $50m/year — into the new appropriations bill:

https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1681830706488438785

They’re scared, and they’re fighting dirty.

I’m at San Diego Comic-Con!

Today (Jul 20) 16h: Signing, Tor Books booth #2802 (free advance copies of The Lost Cause — Nov 2023 — to the first 50 people!)

Tomorrow (Jul 21):

1030h: Wish They All Could be CA MCs, room 24ABC (panel)

12h: Signing, AA09

Sat, Jul 22 15h: The Worlds We Return To, room 23ABC (panel)

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/20/continuation-fraud/#buyout-groups

[Image ID: An old Punch editorial cartoon depicting a bank-robber sticking up a group of businesspeople and workers. He wears a bandanna emblazoned with dollar-signs and a top-hat.]

[asleepmottley]

"Ash , this is elder abuse."

[steelycunt]

send me your address so i can post my annotated penguin copy of macbeth to you asap (this is my proposing)

omg....yes a thousand times yes anon i will marry you in a heartbeat xx

[waterparksdrama]

hopefully this "second side to the story" has the texas acoustic dates that they forgot to add for IP (I am still kind of bitter about that)

i’m surprised they didn’t do that either tbh - iz

[ennovance]

Silicon Valley startups …. Plunging valuations, delayed IPOs

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/05/silicon-valley-return-on-trump-bet-plunging-valuations-delayed-ipos.html #startup #venturecapital #vc #ipo #exit #valuation #lp #fund #investor

https://x.com/mohossain/status/1814154040684450119?s=46

[truedatafinancialpvtltd]

PE Ratio in Mutual Funds

The PE Ratio (Price-to-Earnings Ratio) is a financial metric that shows how much investors are willing to pay for each rupee of a company’s earnings. It is calculated by dividing the current market price of a company’s share by its Earnings Per Share (EPS).

Read Full Blog Post: PE Ratio in Mutual Funds

[vander-12]

What is venture capital and how does it work?

By Kelly Knickerbocker Whether you’re booking accommodations through VRBO, grilling up a plant-based burger from Impossible Foods or purchasing groceries through Instacart, you use services and products from venture capital-backed companies every day. Yet people not working in the industry are unlikely to know much about this dynamic, active and evolving world. Even though the global capital…

[cryptoadznft]

NASDAQ with the hot fresh !vibe on after hours trading via Tyler Culbertson

[thealtoduck]

BRAT - You and Tim Drake HATE eachother… but there’s a spark…

Tim Drake x Male Reader

Warnings: Insults, references to violence, Reader’s ex is a spider-mutant, making out…

Summary: Reader is the alternate universe version of Kitten (from Teen Titans) who is male and goes to school with Tim Drake and the two don’t get along at all but there’s something between them…

——

• Most people would expect being raised by a supervilliain to be a traumatic experience and it probably was for most people… but not for you.

• Maybe it was because that your father Drury Walker aka ”Killer Moth” wasn’t known to be a very scary or imposing man. In fact to you he’d always tried his best to be decent dad, and was maybe even a bit to doting at times. Buying (or stealing) basically anything you could ever wish for.

• Some would probably even say they find you more evil than your father. All the babying, gifts, lack of non-criminal parental figures had turned you a bit spoiled… some might even say a BRAT…

• One of those people was your classmate, Timothy Drake, the two of you had never gotten along since the day you first met. Always arguing about the smallest things.

• He thought you were a spoiled little daddy’s boy, who might be able to give satan a run for his money.

• Meanwhile you thought he was a stuck up asshole, who should mind his business and couldn’t talk about being spoiled since his trust fund alone could probably fill a whole bank.

• The two of you bumped heads every time you interacted with each other. One time during PE, you were both selected as team captains during dodgeball and the gym became a warzone. Even when class was over the two of you were still trying to peg each other in the face with a ball.

• At one point you got into a physical fights in the hallway and your dads had to be called in. (Which was very awkward for Bruce to have to talk to Killer Moth of all people on how to deal with their sons feud).

• And you weren’t just a menace to Tim but to those around you as well as you got in to arguments pretty often (tho in your defense you didn’t start them, you just finished them).

• But at least you could hate each other at a distance at school, there was nothing forcing you to be in each other vicinty. That was until one of your teachers paired you both up for a group assigntment.

• You both basically begged your teacher to switch partners but she had made up her mind saying that it’d be good for you both to learn to put aside differences.

• As you left the classroom in a huff, Tim ran up behind you and said ”So, what are we gonna do?”. Just the tone of his voice annoyed you.

• ”WE are not gonna do anything, you’ll do your part of the project, I’ll do mine, seperately” you told him. Tim didn’t argue with that. And you both went home to do your parts.

• As you got home you went to your cutely decorated bedroom, that also happened to have a poster of Batman’s sidekick Robin (specifically the 3rd one, who you sorta had a crush on). You layed down on you bed and started doing your part of the project.

• A couple of days later as your project was getting closer to completion, you’d have to review it together to make sure it was cohesive. You were NOT about to let him inside your house. So he folded and said you could complete the project at his place the next day.

• You were picked up by Tim’s butler who then drove you back to Tim’s dad’s mansion. Tim reluctantly showed you inside. ”Come on, let’s just get this over with” Tim said and started leading you towards the stairs.

• But someone spoke up. ”Hey Tim, how was school?” you both turned to see an older guy walking towards you probably somewhere in his twenties. Was this Tim’s older brother, he was so hot, you thought panicking inwards, and started straightening your shirt.

• ”It was fine, nothing special” Tim answered as his brother then looked to you and said politely ”And who is this?”. ”Dick, this is Y/n Walker, Y/n, this is my brother, Richard Grayson” Tim answered swiftly wanting to finish your project as soon as possible.

• ”You’re Y/n Walker?” Tim’s brother questioned studying the pink shirt you were wearing and the general sweet aesthetic you had about you. You were the guy who had once beat up a football player for talking shit about you? ”The one and only” you said with a cocky smile.

• Tim then took you up to his room, it was big, really big. You sat together at his desk and you both brought out what you had worked on so far and discussed some things to tweak and started finishing up the assigntment.

• As you started getting close to finishing the project Tim swirled in his chair, accidentally knocking over your backpack making several of your belongings fall out. You let out an a annoyee ”Ugh” and got down on your knees to pick up your stuff. Tim also got down to help you pick up your stuff.

• It was mixed assortment of objects, school stuff, headphones, a packet of gummy bears and… a switchblade? Tim picked it up and asked…

• ”Why do you have a switchblade?”

• You swiped it out of his hand and said…

• ”Not that it’s any of your business but not everyone lives in a gated mansion, asshole”

• You shoved the switchblade back in your bag and sat back on the chair arms crossed glancing out the manor window but unless Tim was mistaken you looked a bit embarrased, as if Tim’s knowledge of your private life mattered.

• Tim then asked ”Where’d you get it?…”. ”My dad” you answered simply. And Tim thought it was best to not ask you anything else about it.

• Alfred then came up to Tim’s room with some refreshments for the two of you, interrupting the awkward silence.

• As you both sat and ate silently you brought out your phone, one of those modern flip-phones, you checked a text someone sent you and let out another annoyed ”Ugh”. Tim got the feeling he was meant to ask you about it and said ”What?”.

• As you typed you said ”One of my friends saw that my boyfrie-… ex-boyfriend is apparently on a date”. Tim was suprised and found himself asking ”You have a boyfriend?”, not that he was suprised you weren’t straight, more so the idea that anyone could tolerate your company long enough to date you.

• ”I said EX, his name is Fang, he’s a spider-mutant” you explained simply. ”He’s such a piece of shit… I need to find a way to make him jealous” you and Tim both glanced at each other having the exact same idea and then both shuddered in disgust.

• You both the looked offended. ”You’re not the one who should be disgusted at the thought of kissing me, I should be at the thought of kissing you” Tim said accusingly. You glared at him and said ”Oh! You wish you could have chance to kiss me, so I could show you how it’s meant to be done”.

• You glared at each other as another arguement was about to begin…

• But someway… somehow, you had ended up on Tim’s bed casually making out, pressing your lips against each other. Tim was a suprinsingly good kisser and the embrace you had each other in was pretty comfortable (not that you’d ever tell him that).

• Soon both your hands started exploring the other’s body, Tim lifting the leg of your shorts stroking his hand on your thigh. Meanwhile your hand found it’s way under his t-shirt feeling his suprisingly toned body under it.

• Before things went any further your phone chimed making you snap back to reality. ”My dad is here to pick me up” you said letting go off Tim and getting off his bed to get your backpack and leave.

• ”You’re a terrible kisser” Tim said teasingly leaning back against his headboard.

• ”And you need a breath mint” you told him, leaving him without as much as a goodbye.

• As you exited Wayne Manor your dad’s shabby car waiting outside, looking almost comically out of place. As you got in your dad asked you the simple ”How’s your day been?” questions. Until he finally asked ”So, how well do you think it’d go for me to rob that Wayne’s house, eh?”.

• ”You should check yourself in to arkham for even asking” you stated.

• During the car ride home you were deep in thought, why had you made out with Tim Drake out of all people? And more importantly why had you kinda liked it?…

• …EW

[robin-evry]

I have no idea if this has already been done(I assume not since I was scrolling through your posts) but what about a Topaz or Jade!Yuu? Either one is fine!

So if usually when I have to choose between two characters, I usually just do both but if one of the characters has already been requested with someone I'll do the other since there's no one request jade and topaz I'll do both

𝐓𝐖𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐀𝐙!𝐘𝐔𝐔 🐖🪙

Topaz is the Leader of the Special Debts Picket Team and high-level manager of the Strategic Investment Department under the Interastral Peace Corporation. A member of the "Ten Stonehearts" at a young age, Topaz's foundational expertise is "debt retrieval." Her partner, the Warp Trotter "Numby," is also capable of keenly perceiving where "riches" are located, ensuring that jobs based in security, debt collection, and actuarial varieties are of no great challenge. At presently they are traveling the cosmos together, seeking all manner of liability disputes that might be affecting the stable progression of the IPC's businesses.

Manages the finance of nrc, always could be seen with a note pad or a clip board calculating the finance of the school for Crowley not to mention help him calculate the school taxes because he's unable to do basic math.

Approaches everything in nrc like a business venture. Whether it's securing better living conditions at ramshackle or negotiating with vargas to lower PE requirements, they always have a strategy.

Constantly takes notes on people, labeling them by "risk level," "investment potential," and "market value" (to their frustration). Not to mention they would occasionally go around the School and calculate the market value of stuff, they are wondering why Crowley keeps some useless artifacts when he could auction it to get more funds for school.

When interacting with other students, topaz!yuu mentally calculates their “value.” “How useful would they be in a future deal?”, topaz!yuu assessment of their friends can be surprisingly accurate like how Riddle is a “great brand ambassador” or how Cater has “untapped influencer potential.”

Sam and Azul would seek their assistants as long topaz!yuu got a cut of the price, not to mention topaz!yuu would buy the most randomized things in Sam shop and resell it online with a higher price for their own personal money and it actually works

At school first opinion of numby was "What the hell is that" which hurt his feelings. Numby could always be seen with topaz!yuu following them around, assisting them with work or school or just for emotional support.

Sometimes when numby disappear and they would bring back treasure for topaz!yuu, this managed to catch the attention of ruggie and he would start to follow the warp trotter to get some treasure for himself.

Topaz!yuu excels at math people would already consider them to be a human calculator and manage to count complex equations within a second. Sometimes when the lessons become boring topaz!yuu would do some brain exercise counting stuff in their head.

Although topaz!yuu appears all business on the outside, deep down, they make investments based on loyalty and emotional connection. They’ll always back up their friends or team members, offering free magical items or advice without asking for anything in return—though they’d never admit it.

Topaz!yuu is like those types of kid who use their resources to trade stuff from other students, like a bag of oreos can be worth a pudding cup and an apple juice type of kid, they could be found trading some of their lunch for better so they don't have to spend extra for lunch.

𝐓𝐖𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐀 𝐉𝐀𝐃𝐄!𝐘𝐔𝐔 🐍📜

A senior manager in the IPC Strategic Investment Department and one of the Ten Stonehearts, known for her cornerstone "Jade of Credit." A cold and elegant moneylender, she is skilled at understanding the human heart, with a personal hobby called "Bonajade Exchange." She's willing to wait patiently for high-value acquisitions and adept at extracting value from seemingly destitute clients.

A puppeteer, jade!yuu is working as a manager for Crowley, leading them to have an upper hand over him so they could manipulate the school towards their own whim.

Do you guys know that one episode of nanno that she rent a room from the school and grants wishes for students no matter how big it is, that's jade!yuu basically but they will always seek for something as equal to value as the wish. They excel at understanding the desires and weaknesses of others, always seeking an opportunity to trade, negotiate, or use information to their advantage.

Jade!Yuu always have a larger plan in mind, both in terms of their academic endeavors and social interactions. They would often see the potential outcomes of situations before anyone else, and their subtle guidance could influence the choices of those around them. Whether it’s orchestrating complex schemes or navigating complicated friendships, Jade!Yuu knows how to play the long game.

They would have a particular interest in setting up profitable ventures, whether it's managing the finances of Ramshackle Dorm, organizing events, or offering magical services that people can’t resist. Their financial knowledge and ability to bargain would make them a formidable opponent in anything involving resources or trade. But In return they always seek as an equal value towards the wish.

Unlike Azul whose wish making could only reach the school grounds, jade!yuu ability to grant wish is much bigger you want your family name to be bigger and sign a deal with jade!yuu and the wish will be granted their ability is on a larger scale. They would act as a manager or consultant for other students, offering tips on everything from enhancing personal style to perfecting their magical abilities. Their network would be impressive, though they keep their cards close to the chest, rarely showing their true intentions.

They could easily be a behind-the-scenes orchestrator, pulling the strings to help others, but always with the intention of gaining something in return, whether it’s a favor, knowledge, or leverage.

Azul would try to crack them but impossible, jade!yuu seems to be able to predict his moves without issues. And when a group of rally students are unsatisfied with the outcome of the deal is trying to beat up them, jade!yuu would summon their pet snake to deal with them. Many rumors say that jade!yuu snake is also an exchange they got.

Just to be warned there will always be a price, jade!yuu would want something that is equal price as the wish you ask for them so when you fall, you will fall hard. A student wishes to be great at everything soon loses dies everything and is forced out of nrc, this is the consequence of their deal.

[switchkitty143]

WHEN. WILL. I. LEARN. MY. LESSON!!!!! I'm really trying to bust these guys....BUT THEY END UP BUSTING ME OPEN 😭 😏

Third and final(?) Installment to the Most Wanted Fanfic Series. Commissioned by the most super amazing @jazzthatonewriterchick she matches my freak and this is amazing.

⚠️ THIS IS AN INTENSE FANFIC. PLEASE BE MINDFUL OF THE TAGS AND OTHER WARNINGS IF AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IS NOT YOUR CUP OF TEA⚠️

Shoutout to another amazing content creator @almaadst for the fanfic visual. They pay attention to detail. I go to them cause I honestly don't need to tell them much except for poses and if I needed anything extra. They know what I look like and implement that likeness in their art.

🌸YOU BOTH DESERVE YOUR FLOWERS🌸

Thank you for making my insatiable appetite satisfied 😌

To help fund more amazing fanfics,visuals and scripts from me, please consider becoming a Patron. Every bit helps. It goes to amazing people to help bring you exclusive content from yours truly.

💋TWO SONGS REMIND ME OF THEM AND THIS ROLLERCOASTER OF A SERIES💋

ENJOY 💋

[mostlysignssomeportents]

When private equity destroys your hospital

I'm on tour with my new novel The Bezzle! Catch me TOMORROW in PHOENIX (Changing Hands, Feb 29) then Tucson (Mar 9-10), San Francisco (Mar 13), and more!

As someone who writes a lot of fiction about corporate crime, I naturally end up spending a lot of time being angry about corporate crime. It's pretty goddamned enraging. But the fiction writer in me is especially upset at how cartoonishly evil the perps are – routinely doing things that I couldn't ever get away with putting in a novel.

Beyond a doubt, the most cartoonishly evil characters are the private equity looters. And the most cartoonishly evil private equity looters are the ones who get involved in health care.

(Buckle up.)

Writing for The American Prospect, Maureen Tcacik details a national scandal: the collapse of PE-backed hospital chain Steward Health, a company that bought and looted hospitals up and down the country, starving them of everything from heart valves to prescription paper, ripping off suppliers, doctors and nurses, and callously exposing patients to deadly risk:

https://prospect.org/health/2024-02-27-scenes-from-bat-cave-steward-health-florida/

Steward occupies a very special place in the private equity looting cycle. Private equity companies arrange themselves on a continuum of indiscriminate depravity. At the start of the continuum are PE funds that buy productive and useful firms (everything from hospitals to car-washes) using "leveraged buyouts." That means that they borrow money to buy the company and use the company itself as collateral: it's like you getting a bank-loan to buy your neighbor's mortgage out from under them, and using your neighbor's house as collateral for that loan.

Once the buyout is done, the PE fund pays itself a "special dividend" (stealing money the business needs to survive) and then starts charging the business a "management fee" for the PE fund's expertise. To pay for all this, the PE bosses start to hack away at the company. Quality declines. So do wages. Prices go up. The company changes suppliers, opting for cheaper alternatives, often stiffing the old company. There are mass layoffs. The remaining employees end up doing three peoples' jobs, for lower wages, with fewer materials of lower quality.

Eventually, that top-feeding PE company finds a more desperate, more ham-fisted PE company to unload the business onto. That middle-feeding company also does a leveraged buyout, pays itself another special dividend, cuts wages, staffing and quality even further. They switch to even worse suppliers and stiff the last batch. Prices go up even higher.

Then – you guessed it – the middle-feeding PE company finds an even more awful PE bottom-feeder to unload the company onto. That bottom feeder does it all again, without even pretending to leave the business in condition to do its job. The company is a shambling zombie at this point, often producing literal garbage in place of the products that made its reputation. Employees' paychecks bounce, or don't show up at all. The company stops bothering to pay the lawyers that have been fending off its creditors. Those lawyers sue the company, too.

That's the kind of PE company Steward Health was, and, as the name suggests, Steward Health is in the business of stripping away the very last residue of value from community hospitals. As you might imagine, this gets pretty fucking ugly.

Steward owns 32 hospitals up and down the country, though its holdings are dwindling as the company walks away from its debt-burdened holdings, after years of neglect that have rendered them unfit for use as health facilities – or for any other purpose. Tcacik's piece offers a snapshot of one such hospital: Florida's Rockledge Regional Medical Center, just eight miles from Cape Canaveral.

Rockledge is a disaster. The fifth floor was, at one point, home to 5,000 bats.

Five.

Thousand.

Bats.

(Rockledge stiffed the exterminators.)

The bats were just the beginning. One of the internal sewage pipes ruptured. Whole sections of the hospital were literally full of shit, oozing out of the walls and ceiling, slopping over medical equipment.

That's an urgent situation for any hospital, but for Rockledge, it's catastrophic, because Rockledge is a hospital without any hospital supplies. Steward has stiffed the companies that supply "heart valves, urology lasers, Impella catheters, cardiac catheterization balloons, slings for lifting heavier patients, blood and urine test reagents, and most recently, prescription paper." Key medical equipment has been repossessed. So have the Pepsi machines. The hospital cafeteria had its supply of cold cuts repossessed:

https://www.reddit.com/r/massachusetts/comments/1agc1j4/comment/kolicqo/

It's not just Steward's nonpayments that reek of impending doom. Its payments also bear the hallmarks of a scam artist on the brink of blowing off the con. The company recently paid off a vendor with five separate checks for $1m, each drawn on "a random hospital in Utah" (Steward recently walked away from its Utah hospitals; its partners there are suing it for stealing $18m on their way out the door).

This company – which owns 32 hospitals! – has resorted to gambits like sending photos of fake checks to doctors it hasn't paid in months as "proof" that the money was coming (the checks arrived 22 days later).

Steward owes so much money to its employees – $1.66m to just one doctors' group. But the medical staff keep doing their jobs, and are reluctant to speak on the record, thanks to Steward's reputation for vicious retaliation. Those health workers keep showing up to take care of patients, even as the hospital crumbles around them. One clinician told Tcacik: "I watched a bed collapse underneath a [patient] who had just undergone hip surgery."

Rockledge has nine elevators, but only five of them work – the other four have been broken for a year. The hospital's fourth floor has been converted to "a graveyard of broken beds." The sinks are clogged, or filled with foul gunk. There's black mold. Nurses have noted on the maintenance tags that the repair service refuses to attend the hospital until their overdue bills are paid. The fifteen-person on-site maintenance team was cut to just two workers.

Steward is just the latest looting owner of Rockledge. After the Great Financial Crisis, private equity consultants helped sell it to Health Management Associates. The hospital's CEO took home a $10m bonus for that sale and exited; Health Management Associates then quickly became embroiled in a Medicare fraud and kickback scandal. Soon after, Rockledge was passed on to Community Health Systems, who then sold it on to Rockledge.

Steward, meanwhile, was at that time owned by an even bigger private equity giant, Cerberus, which then sold Steward off. That deal was performatively complex and hid all kinds of mischief. Prior to Cerberus's sell-off of Steward, they sold off Steward's real-estate. The buyer was Medical Properties Trust, who gave Cerberus $1.25b for the real-estate: three hospitals in Florida and three more in Ohio. Steward then contracted to operate these hospitals on MPT's behalf, and pay MPT rent for the real-estate.

This complex arrangement was key to siphoning value out of the hospital and to keeping angry creditors at bay – if you can't figure out who owes you money, it's a lot harder to collect on the debt. The scheme was masterminded by Steward founder/CEO Ralph de la Torre. De la Torre is notorious for taking a massive dividend out of the company while it owed $1.4b to its creditors. He bought a $40m yacht with the money.

De la Torre was once feted as a business genius who would "disrupt" healthcare. But as Steward's private jet hops around "Corfu, Santorini, St. Maarten and Antigua" as its hospitals literally crumble, he's becoming less popular. In Massachusetts, politicians have railed against Steward and de la Torre (Governor Healey wants the company to leave the state "as soon as possible").

Florida, by contrast, is much more friendly to Steward. The state Health and Human Services Committee chair Randy Fine is an ardent admirer of hospital privatization and is currently campaigning to sell off the last community hospital in Brevard County. The state inspectors are likewise remarkably tolerant of Steward's little peccadillos. The quasi-governmental agency that inspects hospitals has awarded this shit-and-bat-filled, elevator-free, understaffed rotting hulk "A" grades for quality.

These inspectors jointly represent a mismatched assortment of private and public agencies, dominated by a nonprofit called Leapfrog, the brainchild of Harvard public-health prof Lucian Leape, who founded it in 2000. Leapfrog likes to tout its "transparent" assessment criteria, and Steward are experts at hitting those criteria, spending the exact minimum to tick every box that Leapfrog inspectors use as proxies for overall quality and safety.

This is a pretty great example of Goodhart's Law: "every measurement eventually becomes a target, whereupon it ceases to be a good measurement":

https://xkcd.com/2899/

But despite Steward's increasingly furious creditors and its decaying facilities, the company remains bullish on its ability to continue operations. Medical Properties Trust – the real estate investment trust that is nominally a separate company from Steward – recently hosted a conference call to reassure Wall Street investors that it would be a going concern. When a Bank of America analyst asked MPT's CFO how this could possibly be, given the facility's dire condition and Steward's degraded state, the CFO blithely assured him that the company would get bailouts: "We own hospitals no one wants to see closed."

That's the thing about PE and health-care. The looters who buy out every health-care facility in a region understand that this makes them too big to fail: no matter how dangerous the companies they drain become, local governments will continue to prop them up. Look at dialysis, a market that's been cornered by private equity rollups. Today, if you need this lifesaving therapy, there's a good chance that every accessible facility is owned by a private equity fund that has fired all its qualified staff and ceased sterilizing its needles. Otherwise healthy people who visit these clinics sometimes die due to operator error. But they chug along, because no dialysis clinics is worse that "dialysis clinics where unqualified sadists sometimes kill you with dirty needles":

https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/the-dirty-business-of-clean-blood

The bad news is that private equity has thoroughly colonized the entire medical system. They took hospitals, fired the doctors, then took over the doctors' groups that provided outsource staff to the hospital:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/04/a-mind-forever-voyaging/#prop-bets

It's illegal for private equity companies to own doctors' practices (doctors have to own these), but they obfuscated the crime with a paper-thin pretext that they got away with despite its obvious bullshittery:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/05/21/profitable-butchers/#looted

The financier who decides whether you live or die depends on an algorithm that literally sets a tolerable level of preventable deaths for the patients trapped in the practice:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/05/any-metric-becomes-a-target/#hca

Private equity also took over emergency rooms and boobytrapped them with "surprise billing" – junk fees that ran to thousands of dollars that you had to pay even if the hospital was in network with your insurer. They made billions from this, and spent a many millions from that booty keeping the scam alive with scare ads:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/21/all-in-it-together/#doctor-patient-unity

The whole health stack is colonized by private equity-backed monopolies. Even your hospital bed!

https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/05/hillrom/#baxter-international

Then there's residential care. Private equity cornered many regional markets on nursing homes and turned them into slaughterhouses, places where you go to die, not live:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/23/acceptable-losses/#disposable-olds

The palliative care sector is also captured by private equity. PE bosses hire vast teams of fast-talking salespeople who con vulnerable older people into entering an end-of-life system before they are ready to die. Thanks to loose regulation, the nation is filled with fake hospices that can rake in millions from Medicare while denying all care to their patients (hospice patients don't get life-extending medication or procedures, by definition):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/26/death-panels/#what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-CMS

If you survive this long enough, Medicare eventually tells the hospice that you're clearly not dying and you get kicked off their rolls. Now you have to go through the lengthy bureaucratic nightmare of convincing the system – which was previously informed that you were at death's door – that you are actually viable and need to start getting care again (good luck with that).

If that kills you, guess what? Private equity has rolled up funeral homes up and down the country, and they will scam your survivors just as hard as the medical system that killed you did:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/09/09/high-cost-of-dying/#memento-mori

The PE sector spent more than a trillion dollars over the past decade buying up healthcare companies, and it has trillions more in "dry powder" allocated for further medical acquisitions. Why not? As the CFO of Medical Properties Trust told that Bank of America analyst last week, when you "own hospitals no one wants to see closed." you literally can't fail, no matter how many people you murder.

The PE sector is a reminder that the crimes people commit for money far outstrip the crimes they commit for ideology. Even the most ideological killers are horrified by the murders their profit-motivated colleagues commit.

Last year, Tkacic wrote about the history of IG Farben, the German company that built Monowitz, a private slave-labor camp up the road from Auschwitz to make the materiel it was gouging Hitler's Wehrmacht on:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/02/plunderers/#farben

Farben bought the cheapest possible slaves from Auschwitz, preferentially sourcing women and children. These slaves were worked to death at a rate that put Auschwitz's wholesale murder in the shade. Farben's slaves died an average of just three months after starting work at Monowitz. The situation was so abominable, so unconscionable, that the SS officers who provided outsource guard-labor to Monowitz actually wrote to Berlin to complain about the cruelty.

The Nuremberg trials are famous for the Nazi officers who insisted that they were "just following order" but were nonetheless executed for their crimes. 24 Farben executives were also tried at Nuremberg, where they offered a very different defense: "We had a fiduciary duty to our shareholders to maximize our profits." 19 of the 24 were acquitted on that basis.

PE is committed to an ideology that is far worse than any form of racial animus or other bias. As a sector, it is committed to profit above all other values. As a result, its brutality knows no bounds, no decency, no compassion. Even the worst crimes we commit for hate are nothing compared to the crimes we commit for greed.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/28/5000-bats/retaliation#charnel-house

[l3irdl3rain]

Come on, we all know you've gotten attached to The Flat One. I feel trying to argue against her eventual adoption is just gonna make it feel more silly when she does join the fray.

since you all think you're so funny (lighthearted) i suppose i should explain the situation. TLDR: I am planning on keeping The Flat One. It will be a few weeks before she is ready to be separated from her mother so I'm going to foster them all at my house for the time being. In the week we've had her she's continued to put on weight and she feels like maybe her chest is already starting to round out a little.

I'm going to talk more about her medical issues under the cut. I shared an article about FCKS and other thoracic deformities. If you're interested in that here's a link. Please remember I am not a veterinarian so my own explanation may get things wrong.

We did take some radiographs and it definitely appears to just be flat chested kitten syndrome (FCKS) and not pectus excavatum (PE). This sounds like it's the better case scenario, as PE often requires a surgical fix. FCKS on the other hand often resolves itself (if it doesn't end up being fatal). She does have a spinal deformity that is common in kittens with FCKS.

The Flat One is about 5 weeks old, generally if a kitten with FCKS can make it past the 3 week mark that means it will be okay. She's also survived without any veterinary intervention or any specialized care from her previous owner.

That doesn't mean there isn't still risk of something going wrong. Because her chest is so flat it can cause respiratory problems. When she plays hard with her siblings her respiration rate is much higher than that of a normal kitten's. If it gets bad at times she may need medications.

With some time her chest should naturally start to round out on its own. Recovery can take a long time, but usually by the time they're 4-6 months their chest has rounded out to almost normal. On the other hand, her spinal deformity is there to stay.

Even with how attached I've let myself get I probably could have let her go once she was old enough to be away from her mom. However, it's unlikely she'll be "normal" when her siblings are ready to go. We could potentially try to adopt her out anyways and just explain her issues to people. Or we could continue to hang on to her until she is more normal at the 4-6 month mark. I might not be too attached yet, but I definitely would be at that point.

Also, I have the benefit of having so many people who have been so generous in helping myself and my cats. And if this comes down to needing a surgical fix I've already got the funds from Persephone's gofundme.

[jazzthatonewriterchick]

To Be A Good Slut Girl (Sukuna, Choso & Itadori x Black!F!Reader 18+ One Shot)

Pairing: Ryomen Sukuna x Choso x Itadori Yuji x Black!Fem!Reader

Synopsis: In which your boyfriend’s older brothers decide that they don’t like how you’re treating their kid brother (who is too oblivious and in love to realize that you’re using him for his money and his d*ck) and decide to teach you some lessons.

Warnings: Smutty Smut; 18+ (MINORS GTFO); R*pe; Noncon; Bitchy!Reader; Black-Coded!Reader; Mean!MDoms Sukuna & Choso; msub!Itadori; fsub!Reader; Implied Incest (The brothers don't have sex with each other! Only with the reader!); Foursome; Physical Assault; Spit Play; Daddy Kink; Boot Grinding; Collaring; Pet Play; BDSM; Handcuffs; Panty Gag; Choking; Hair-Pulling; Forced Deepthroat; Forced Orgasms; Voyeurism; Orgasm Denial; Sex Toys; Mating Press; Doggystyle; Cum Play; Facial; Some Aftercare

***IMPORTANT: This work contains depicted acts of r*pe and noncon. PLEASE beware and tread lightly while reading. I personally do not condone any of the acts written in this one shot. It is ONLY a fantasy.

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters mentioned in this fic. However, as this is my writing, I do not give permission for my work to be reposted on any other sites that are not from my own accounts. Thank you!

Writer’s Note: Enjoy & go touch some fucking grass! Luv y’all! -Jazz 💋💋💋

**********

“Yuji, baby, can I borrow $50 to get my nails done, pleeeease?” you mock-sweetly plea.

“Oh, God, kill me,” Sukuna groans. Choso smirks at the stove, stirring a big pot of ramen broth.

“Sure thing, sweetheart!” Yuji, their sweet, gullible, "golden retriever" ass little brother chirps from the living room. “Anything for my pretty, pretty princess!”

“Please, Choso, just fuckin’ do it,” Sukuna begs, pointing a butter knife to his thick, veiny neck.

“Shut the fuck up, man,” Choso chuckles, taking the knife out of his brother's hand. “That’s his girl. He can do what he wants.” From the living room, he can hear you kissing Yuji down, your lip gloss wetly smacking.

“Yeah, but why do it in our faces?" Sukuna huffs, leaning against the counter with his tatted arms crossed. "Every time they talk, it’s about him buying her this and taking her there!” He huffs, rolling his crimson eyes. “It’s like he’s a fuckin’ bank and personal dildo to her.”

“Don't let your twin hear you talkin' 'bout her like that, Choso chastizes him, wagging a wooden spoon in his face. "This is the first real girlfriend he's ever had. Not everyone can hit it and quit it like you."

Sukuna sniffs indifferently at Choso, yanking on one of his black, spiked ponytails. Choso is the oldest of the sibling trio, acting as the dad of the two pink-haired twins. Sukuna is older than Yuji by ten minutes and is different than his little bro in every possible way: he's grumpy, sarcastic, unsociable, and goes through girls like a smoker would a pack of cigs.

Yuji, on the other hand, is sweet and liked by everyone he meets with his fluffy, pink hair, energetic personality, and dumb antics that they're damn near adorable. He trusts everybody...which includes you: his bitchy, manipulative, gold-digging girlfriend.

"Believe me, I don’t like it either," Choso tells a sulking Sukuna, "but we can’t just tell him to stop dating her. Yuji is down bad for this girl.”

Sukuna tsks, looking into the living room at you sitting on Yuji's lap in your tight little top and short, plaid school skirt where he can just see a sliver of thigh. "Unfortunately," he sighs.

It's no secret (except to Yuji) that Choso and Sukuna don't like you. They know what you're up to and they don't like it. You use their brother up until there is nothing left. Anytime you call, it's always to ask Yuji to take you to a new nightclub or buy you a new Fendi bag.

Yuji has a good job, but he's also in college. He doesn't have the funds to keep funding your mani-pedis and get you some new shoes. Not enough to keep running to the bank or the mall. But Yuji does it because he's insane over you. Five months after dating, the man is head over heels, carrying your bags behind you during shopping sprees and practically kissing your feet.

And you don't do a thing. Choso and Sukuna have yet to see you show their brother genuine love and affection. You only kiss him up and coo sweet nothings to him when he says yes to buying you something or giving you money. It boils their blood, but there isn't much they can do if Yuji likes you so damn much.

“Hey, guys!” Yuji says, suddenly skipping into the kitchen. “You guys mind keeping Y/N company? I’m gonna head out and get her some lemon pepper wings.” He gives his older brothers a gigawatt grin despite their confused scowls.

“But I’m fixin’ us ramen,” Choso states, confused. “Why are you pickin' her up food if I’m cooking for her?” He swears he doesn't mean to mention you so harshly, but he can't help it.

“Oh, she doesn’t eat Japanese food,” Yuji laughs. “And it’s no big deal! I bought stuff for me too, so I’ll just pick it up when I get her meal." He gives them a wink before heading out of the kitchen, his car keys in his pocket.

“Hold up, Yuji,” Choso says, turning to face his brother. Yuji turns around, curious and naive. Choso and Sukuna share a look, both knowing that they can't stay silent about this anymore. “So," Choso starts, clearing his throat, "you’ve been with Y/N for a long time, right?”

Yuji practically gets heart eyes at the mention of you. “Yeah,” he dreamily sighs. “Five months of bliss. She’s the best and the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen!"

Choso inhales deeply, mentally preparing to crush his brother's heart. “Listen, don’t take this the wrong way, but….Sukuna and I have noticed some weird things about her.” Yuji blankly blinks at him, confused. “Like what?”

“Like how she’s a gold-digging, fake ass bitch,” Sukuna snaps. Choso harshly nudges him in the side. “What?! I’m just being real!”

Yuji's eyes narrow at his brothers, alarmed at such words being hurled at his pretty, pretty princess. “What do you mean?” he scoffs. “Y/N isn’t at all like that! Sure, she asks me to buy her things and CashApp her money for shoes and makes me hold my orgasms, but that’s all part of being a good boyfriend and—“

“Wait, you said she does what?” Choso asks, gobsmacked.

“Has me buy her shoes?" Yuji questions, blinking cluelessly at them.

“No, no, the last part," Sukuna replies, just as alarmed. "She makes you hold your cum? Like….as a kink thing?” Yuji's cheeks grow pink and he sheepishly rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah, I mean...everyone has their thing, I guess. She likes seeing me squirm, she says. Says I look cute when I’m desperate.”

Choso and Sukuna once again share a look that Yuji doesn't pay attention to. “But then she makes you cum afterward, right?” Choso pushes. Yuji suddenly grows shy, his face going beat red. “Uh…”

Sukuna rolls his crimson eyes. “C’mon, Yuji, we’re your brothers. We found your fleshlight in the dryer before, remember? You've caught us havin' sex plenty of times!”

Though still nervous, Yuji knows his brother is right and decides to be honest. “Most of the time, no. She’s usually the one that cums when we have sex.” He must realize how this sounds because he quickly tries to sugarcoat it. “B-But I don’t mind! I love pleasing my princess. She deserves everything.”

He pulls a dreamy, pussy-whipped face that has his brothers worrying even more. Just how bad do you have this boy in your hands?

“Yuji!" you call, strutting into the kitchen with your fresh bundles and Jimmy Choo sandals. Your smile fades when you see Choso and Sukuna looking pissed. “Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting?”

Yuji whirls around, looking like a happy dog wagging its tail. “No, my love! What do you need?”

You wave your phone at him. “I got a notification saying that the food is ready. When you get back, can you stop and pick me up some of that strawberry cheesecake carriages for my E-pen?” You snuggle up to him, pressing your tits against his arm.

“Sure, baby girl!" he eagerly replies. "Anything you want!” You happily squeal, pecking him on the lips. “Thank you, baby,” you coo. Your phone dings then, signaling a call. “Oh, that’s my friend! I’ve gotta take this.”

You stroke Yuji's cheek for a brief moment before strutting off, your ass bouncing and swaying enticingly so in your skirt. “Isn’t she so hot?” Yuji sighs to his bros. The two don't answer, instead waving him out the door and telling him they'll save him a bowl.

Once he's out the door, Choso puts the broth on simmer and looks at an equally simmering Sukuna. "Corner the bitch?" he asks.

"Fuck yes," Choso growls. "Hurry, before Yuji gets home." But as they creep upstairs to confront you about how shitty of a girlfriend you are, Choso hears your laughs coming from Yuji's cracked bedroom and coaxes Sukuna to stay quiet as they peek into the room.

You face away from them, twirling your locks around your long nails and chatting away on the phone, unaware that you're being watched.

"Yuji's fine," you say indifferently. "He went to get me some wings. He's such a munch, girl, I swear!" You giggle at the insult to give Yuji and then scoff at whatever your friend says. "Well, yeeeah, technically, we're dating, but I'm not with him for the romance. I'm with him because he gets me whatever I want."

Choso and Sukuna give each other a wide-eyed look. This bitch!

"I'm serious!" you say to your friend. "This boy is so sprung from me and my pussy that he doesn't even care that I'm using him. He's bought me a pink Switch, paid for my makeup and nails, and gives me money for rent all because I ask him...and 'cause I give him such good head."

You giggle again, cocky. "And not only does he do that," you boast. "He's got a mouth and a dick on him! He will eat me out for days and let me ride him till I cum...and I haven't made him cum once." You toss your head back and laugh, the sound irritating Yuji's bros.

"He's my personal black card and dildo!" you laugh. "Such a dumb boy, but so, so cute!"

Choso and Sukuna can't hear anymore so they slink away from the door and back downstairs. "That bitch!" Sukuna growls, seething. "Who the fuck she think she is? I'm goin' back up there to–"

"Wait!" Choso whispers, putting a hand on his bro's chest to stop him. "I have a better idea of how to handle this." Sukuna narrows his red eyes at him. "Instead of puttin' this slut out on the street where she belongs?" he scoffs.

"You know that Yuji will never forgive us if we do that," Choso reasons. "So I have another way on how we can confront her." Sukuna blinks at him, confused yet intrigued.

"We wait till Yuji comes home and then we give her some lessons on how to be a good girlfriend for our brother." A malevolent smirk grows on Choso's lips. "We'll make it so she'll regret ever using him."

Like a lightbulb flickering on, Sukuna catches Choso's drift and returns his evil smirk. "If this idea is what I think it is, I love it already," he cackles. "That bitch won't know what hit her."

And you don't. It all happens so fast: Yuji comes home with the food and your E-pen cartridges; you take him into his bedroom to "reward"; you're on your knees with his pants down when Choso and Sukuna suddenly walk in.

You gasp and jump behind Yuji's bed. "What the fuck?!" you shriek. "Do y'all know how to knock?!" Choso smirks while Sukuna gives you a glare that could kill millions. "Oh, we do," he replies. "But sluts don't deserve privacy. 'Specially gold-digging ones like you."

You glare at Yuji's twin, angered. "Excuse me?" you hiss. "Who the fuck are you?"

"Yuji's very angry twin," Sukuna growls. "And the younger brother to our even angrier older bro." He nods at Choso who shuts the door behind him before crossing his tatted arms over his buff chest. "Yuji!" you snap, yanking at your boy toy's pant leg. "Don't let them talk to me like that!"

But Yuji just stands there, unmoving and silent. "Yuji!" you hiss, yanking on him again. "What's wrong with you?! What are you, a pussy?"

You gasp when Sukuna suddenly grabs a lockful of your hair, wrenching your head back. You didn't even notice him walking up to you from the door. "Hey, now," he tsks, "that ain't no way to talk to our kid brother. You should apologize to him."

"Yuji, go sit over there," Choso demands, nodding at the chair across the room. Yuji does so, leaving you with his two older brothers who have begun to corner you. You shake and shiver under Sukuna's fist still curled in your hair, begging Yuji for help.

"Aw, look, Choso!" Sukuna cackles. "She's scared! She should be. Fuckin' little slut." Just for fun, he yanks your hair back, emitting a pained gasp from you.

Choso kneels down in front of you, his aura intimidating and his eyes firm. "You wanna know why you're here?" he asks and you nod, tears prickling your eyes. "We overheard your little convo with your bestie, talkin' 'bout how our brother is nothin' but a personal dildo for you. How you're only usin' him for his money and his dick."

Your eyes tick to Yuji who sits sulkingly in front of the door, looking like a kicked puppy. You are then roughly snatched back by Choso, his hand gripping your chin. "Don't you fuckin' look away from me," he demands. "And don't lie either. We heard everything you said and we told Yuji too."

"And all this time he was thinkin' about how he can be a better boyfriend to your triflin' ass," Sukuna sighs. "Tragic. He should've dumped your slutty ass months ago, but nooo, he was so concerned that his pretty princess get those shoes or bag she so desperately wanted."

"That kind of behavior don't fly with us, baby," Choso adds. "So we're gonna give you some lessons on how to be a good girl for our little bro. When you walk outta here tonight, all you're gonna be thinkin' about is how you can be a good girlfriend."

"And how much we ruined you," Sukuna laughs. "And Yuji's gonna watch! After all, he needs to be taught how to put you in your place."

He wrenches your hair back hard, making your scalp sting, and bends down so he's an inch away from your face. "And if you even think about tryna escape, you won't like what happens next," he growls.

"You're gonna do everything we say if you wanna leave here tonight," Choso demands. "Do you understand?" You nod despite Sukuna's hold on your hair, but a slap to the face makes you realize your mistake. "Words," Choso growls. "Gimme words, brat."

"Y-Yes!" you whimper.

"Yes, who?" Choso prompts, still in your grill. Swallowing harshly, your brain scrambles for an answer. "Yes...Daddies," you answer, your voice wavering with fear. That must be the golden answer because Sukuna and Choso finally release you, but they still tower over you while Yuji blocks the door.

You've never been so scared in your life than now, stuck in this room and forced to face the consequences of your actions. You don’t know what they’ll do to you if you refuse. 

So when Sukuna demands that you take off your top and bra, you do. The skirt and heels stay on. 

When Choso orders you to put your hands behind your back, you do it. 

You begin to sob when he clips on some handcuffs and Sukuna snaps a collar with a leash around your neck. You feel so much like a pet. A tool to be used. 

Tears stain your pretty face and ruin your makeup, much to the brothers’ liking. “Stop fuckin’ cryin’,” Choso cooly says, his voice like ice. “You did this to yourself. You’ve got nobody to blame but you.” 

Sukuna laughs, wrapping his fist around the leather strap connected to your collar. “She’s cryin’?” he cackles. “Damn, it only took this to make you break, huh, slut? Mmm, you look so cute with ruined makeup, y’know. Can’t wait to see my cum on this mug.” 

He forces your chin up, getting a good look at your wet face. “Now let’s get you stretched out,” he chuckles. Your glassy eyes widen in fear. What does he mean by that? You get your answer when Choso presents you with a bottle of strawberry-flavored lube and a butt plug: small, silver, and shaped like a bedazzled heart. 

The two smirk down at you, unfeeling and menacing. It’s enough to make you pee yourself. You don’t fight them when they force you onto your knees, your wrists cuffed behind your back. You bend over in your little skirt, presenting your ass to the brother trio, your thong stuck between your asscheeks. 

“Look at this,” Choso sharply exhales, giving your ass a harsh smack. The sound ricochets against the walls, making Yuji squirm in his seat.

“Oh, a thong, huh?” Sukuna tsks. “Such a fuckin’ whore. Prancin’ around in public like this on my kid brother’s arm? I bet you were hopin’ for someone like us to bend you over and ruin you.” He then yanks down your panties and rips them off of your legs, the sound of fabric ripping making you flinch. “You won’t be needin’ that shit no more,” he chuckles. 

Your body trembles and shakes like a leaf in autumn when Choso squirts some lube on his fingers and begins tracing your asshole, gently probing the little hole. At the same time, Sukuna spits on his fingers and plays with your pussy. “This is as gentle as I’m gonna be with you, so enjoy it, slut,” he whispers in your ear. 

You moan and whimper like a pathetic little whore against Sukuna’s skillful, black-painted fingers, little electric shocks of pleasure coursing through you. It causes your pussy to drip and your asshole to eventually stretch around Choso’s finger. “Damn, you’re tight here,” he hisses. “I bet that cunt is even tighter.” 

“Oh, it is,” Sukuna comments, his middle finger sinking into your pussy. “Little bitch is just so hungry to be fucked by anything at this point.” While he continues to finger you and nudge your clit, Choso then pushes the butt plug into your asshole, making your jaw go slack and a whine escape your lips. You can feel it stretching you out, making your toes curl and muscles tense. 

“Relax, mama,” Choso whispers. “Just relax.” You manage to do so, inhaling and exhaling until your body unclenches and the plug sinks all the way home inside. “Show your boyfriend that little hole, pet,” Sukuna demands, smacking your ass. “Ain’t she look cute, Yuji? Like a proper slut.” 

Yuji has now unzipped his pants and has his hard dick in his hands, stroking away at the sight of you. To you see you look so slutty and submissive on your knees with your handcuffed and the bedazzled heart nestled snuggly between your soft, jiggly asscheeks under your skirt is enough to make him bust. 

You hear his soft moans and look back at your boyfriend to see him jerking off at the sight of you, a blush as pink as his hair on his cheeks and his hand gripping his long, fat cock. You’re horrified. How is he getting off to this?! 

“How’s that feel, baby?” Choso asks. “You feelin’ full?” You nod, feeling like you’re stuffed to the brim. 

“You ain’t felt nothin’ yet,” he chuckles. “But first thing’s first…” Choso tugs on your leash, forcing you to sit up on your knees. Looking down at you like you’re nothing more than a bug, he nods down at his shoe. “You wanna use somethin’ to get yourself off, use this,” he says. “C’mon, show your boo how good of a bitch you can be for his brothers.” 

You stare down at his shoe, confused. You then feel a sharp pain in your scalp as Sukuna yanks your hair back, nearly taking a track out. “What, you deaf?” he growls. “Did you fuckin’ hear what my brother said?” His hand comes down onto your ass hard, leaving a horrible sting in its wake. “Ow!” you whine. “P-Please stop!” 

“Then get that pussy on Choso’s boot or the next one is markin’ up that pretty face of yours.” You do as they both say, shimmying yourself onto the toe of Choso’s shoe. You begin to roll your hips as you grind your pussy down onto the solid surface of his shoe, feeling humiliated yet blinded by the pleasure. 

“Watch her, Yuji,” Sukuna sniggers. “Watch your bitch get off like the slut she is. This is how she should be treated for runnin’ through your pockets, don’t you agree?” 

Yuji doesn’t deny or admit to it, but he doesn’t have to. He continues to pump at his thick, leaking cock, his hand a blur as he strokes it fast. “Fuck,” he whispers. He can’t believe you–a woman who has treated him as a servant for so many months–is on her knees getting treated as a toy. And it’s so, so hot to see! 

“Ain’t that right, baby doll?” Sukuna asks you. “Shouldn’t you be treated like this for bein’ such a money-hungry slut?” You know better than to say no. “Y-Yes, Daddy,” you whimper. “I’m sorry.” 

Zzzzip. Sukuna and Choso’s zippers come down and suddenly, you’re looking at two big, thick cocks that hang in your face. Sukuna’s is much girthier and has an angry, red tip while Choso’s has a hook in it and a silver stud jutting out of his dickhead. 

“Oh, you will be soon,” Sukuna says, smirking down at you. “Now open that mouth up, bitch.” You obediently do so, leading Choso and Sukuna to spit in your mouth. The sight of it makes Yuji groan. 

“You wanna use that mouth so much then you can use it somewhere else,” his twin spits. He takes a handful of his cock, stroking it while Choso makes his bob hypnotizingly, smirking at the look on your face. “Spit that shit back on our cocks, baby doll,” he orders you. 

“You don’t get a choice in this either,” Sukuna grunts. “You’re gonna take this shit and like it.” You obediently spit their saliva back onto their cocks, a string of spit connected from Choso’s dick to your bottom lip. So he goes first. They both fuck your mouth at the same fast, rough, merciless tempo, but they are still vastly different in the way they do it. 

As the first one to have your throat all to himself, Choso uses your mouth as his own personal fuck toy, yes, but he keeps a light hand on your leash and sweet talks you, showering you with praise AND degradation as he watches you forcefully swallow his dick while Sukuna fucks your hand. “Such a big girl, takin’ two big dicks at the same time, baby,” Choso coos. “I bet you like it like this, hm? Bet you love gettin’ that slutty throat used up like it should be.” 

He pulls away somewhat to slide his dick out of your mouth, giving you a chance to breathe and lick on the tip where his piercing is. The sounds of moans and filthy words fill the air, making you grind down on Choso and Sukuna’s shoes to relieve the throb of your cunt. 

Meanwhile, Sukuna is rough. Hard. Brutal. He puts your ass through the wringer with the way he grips your leash and fucks your throat, filling it up at a breakneck pace. The copious amounts of saliva that drip from your mouth and chin only make your mouth sloppier and easier to fuck. The pink-haired twin grunts and groans as he pumps in and out of your throat, using you, breaking you. 

“Look at your bitch, Yuji,” he cackles through his moans. “Look at all of that spit while she takes my cock. Does she do it like this for you?” He smacks your cheek, giving it a short sting as he fills your mouth to the brim with his cock. “You got the nerve to not make my brother cum?” he growls. “We’ll see how you like it. Keep grindin’ on my boot, but don’t you dare cum.” You do so, whimpering at the ache of your jaw and the tingling of your clit. 

Choso is loving the view as he fucks your hand, endeared by the way your nails look wrapped around his thick cock. “C’mon, baby girl, show me those eyes,” he coos. You do so though all you see is a blurry version of his face because your eyes have begun tearing up. At some point, Sukuna goes too deep and you begin to gag around his cock. 

With a groan, he releases you, allowing you to swallow down some air. “Please!” you gasp. “I can’t breathe!” Sukuna barely acknowledges this and plunges himself back into your sobbing, wet mouth. “Shut yo’ ass up,” he snarls. “Breathing is only for good girls. You ain’t earn that yet, slut. Now shut that mouth and keep suckin’ these dicks.” 

And you do. You don’t have a choice. The brothers keep switching turns, each one using your mouth up until spit is dripping down your naked chest and your mind is going blank. Yujii is about at his limit. He lets out the sluttiest moans as he jerks his dick to the sight of his brothers ruining you, his release quickly peaking. “S-Shit,” he whines. “Guys, I-I’m close!” 

“Ah-ah, little bro,” Sukuna laughs. “Nooot yeeet. We haven’t even gotten to the best part yet.” He pulls his dick out of your mouth with a moan and roughly yanks on your leash. “On your back, bitch. Legs spread.” 

Though your makeup is fucked, your jaw is burning, and you haven’t cum yet, they don’t care. They only care about one thing. So you get on your back and spread your legs wide, exposing your dripping, wet pussy to Yuji. He groans almost in anguish at the sight of your glistening, brown lips and throbbing clit. 

“Look at how wet she is!” Sukuna guffaws. “Dumb, horny little bitch can’t help herself! Why don’t you give her what she wants, bro?” He smirks at Choso who is looking at you like you’re a platter he wants to devour for himself. 

“Watch closely, Yuji,” he says, looking back at Yuji with a smirk. “This is how you fuck a slut.” He pulls his pants down farther and takes off his top to reveal his toned body, pierced nipples, and tatted skin. Then he’s mounting you and tossing your legs over his shoulders. 

“W-Wait!” you protest, but he is already sliding himself home inside of your tight, wet, gushing pussy. Him pushing himself inside of you somehow makes your asshole clench around the butt plug still nestled between your cheeks. A loud moan escapes your quivering lips as your eyes roll back. 

Choso pistons inside of you immediately, slamming his cock inside of your gushing cunt. “Nice, hard, and deep,” he gasps, each word punctuated by a thrust. “Hold her down. Make her take it.” He instructs this by holding you down by your throat as he fucks you into the floor, causing lewd, sloshing sounds of his cock repeatedly plunging into your sloppy cunt over and over and over again. 

Yuji watches his older brother spread you out and fuck you silly, his hand moving rapidly against his hard dick. “Oh, God,” he moans. “She looks so fuckin’ good.” His cock throbs and strains to feel one your holes squeezing around him and stroking him dry. 

Sukuna looks back at him, standing over you as he watches Choso fuck you. “Yeah?” he laughs. “You’ll get her soon, little bro. We’re just makin’ sure you know the basics.” He suddenly taps Choso’s shoulder and with a resistant groan, the oldest brother slides out of you despite your pussy clamping down to stop him.

“Lemme get her this time,” Sukuna growls. Like a basketball player who has been sitting on the sidelines for too long, he gets and turns the game out…the “game” being your pussy. He settles between your legs and tosses one over his shoulder before shoving his cock inside of you and fucking you silly. His hips slap against yours, the sound mingling with your breathless moans and his guttural grunts of pleasure. 

You’ve never been fucked like this before: so hard; so rough; so animalistic. His fingers dig into the meaty flesh of your ass and thighs, using them as leverage to fuck himself even deeper inside of you. Your pussy flutters like a butterfly’s wings around his dick, ready to burst…but then he stops. 

And then it’s Choso’s turn again. He scoops you up and places you into his lap with him underneath you. With his thighs spread, his cock bobs impatiently beneath you which he slides you onto like you’re no more than a sex doll. Your mouth goes slack as he stretches you out even more in this position. 

“C’mon, Choso,” Sukuna urges, pumping his cock in your face. “I wanna see that bitch bounce. Fuck her up.” 

And so Choso does. He grabs your hips with an iron grip and proceeds to fuck up into you as fast as a jackhammer, his balls slapping against your clit. “F-Fuck!” you scream. “T-Too much! Please, please slow down!” 

Sukuna rolls his crimson eyes at your constant, annoying screeching. “You talk way too much,” he sighs. “Guess it can’t be helped for a bratty bitch like you.” Next thing you know, his cock is in your mouth while Choso greedily fucks your pussy off of its hinges. 

“How’s this, hm?” Sukuna laughs. “You like gettin’ both these slutty holes fucked? I bet you ain’t never had it like this.” And you haven’t. You’ve never been so filled like this before! It’s so overwhelming. So humiliating. So degrading. 

And yet so good. 

“Take it, mama,” Choso huffs into your ear, slamming himself up into you again and again. “You can’t run from this shit, so you’d better take all of me.” Like you have a choice! You’re forced to take his cock that you can feel throbbing and swelling inside of you, beating up your pussy to the point where you can feel your end coming…or cumming. 

Sukuna’s cock slips out of your mouth, allowing you to breathe and warn Choso of your peak. “Gonna cum!” you whine, near tears. “I’m close!” Sukuna sighs, looking disappointed. “You’re still talking?” he grumbles. 

But Choso is enjoying it, red in the face and quickly losing composure. “I-I thinks she’s close, Sukuna,” he grunts. “God, she’s squeezin’ that pussy around me so tight!” 

Sukuna squeezes your cheeks together, mushing your lips in the shape of a fish’s. He gets close to you, stopping an inch away from your nose. “Don’t you fuckin’ dare cum,” he demands. “You don’t have permission yet. You better hold that shit if you know what’s good for you.” 

You whine in protest, tears dripping down your face coated in ruined makeup. Luckily, you don’t have to wait for too long because Choso is about ready to bust, loud, slutty moans leaving his lips. “I’m gonna cum!” he warns. “Gonna fill you up! Take my cum, baby girl!” And with one groan in your ear, his warm cum shoots inside of you, triggering your own orgasm. 

He holds you down as you both cum together, your sounds of release mingling into one as he fills you up with him. You feel warm and wet, much of his nut dripping down your thighs. You squeeze your eyes shut at the sight of the twins watching you. “Wow,” Yui gasps, in awe. “There’s so much leaking out of her!” 

“And there’s gonna be more in a minute,” Sukuna huffs. Choso pulls his softened dick out of you while Sukuna grips you up by your hair. With a squeal of pain, you’re tossed to the ground onto your knees and he points at Choso’s cum-covered cock. “Clean his cock up, you messy slut. You don’t get to get away with makin’ a mess like that.” 

Weakly, you do so, licking and lapping up Choso’s nut mixed with your cum. You lick from his balls to his shaft to the tip, earning soft moans and headstrokes in return. Finally, you finish, the taste of him heavy on your tongue. “Nicely done,” he sighs, giving you a tired smile. “But you’ve still got another dick to take.” 

And unlike Choso, Sukuna doesn’t give you any sort of tenderness. He takes what he wants and doesn’t let you off without getting it. 

He puts you on your knees–face down, ass up–and rails you into the floor. You feel his cock pump in and out of you, never once pausing or breaking that fast pace that makes you feel space behind your eyelids. 

“Yeah, bitch? Ya like that?” he asks, his words breathless and punctuated by grunts. You can’t even speak, your mouth filled with cotton 

Someone is wailing and it takes you a moment after brief deliriousness to realize that it’s you. “Damn, you can’t be quiet, can you?” he huffs. “Choso, shut this slut up so she doesn’t bust my eardrums before I can bust my nut.” 

Choso kneels before you, your panties dangling from his hand. He smirks at your horrified reaction. “Open up, mama,” he says and pushes your thong into your mouth. Sukuna groans as he drills your shit harder, turned on by the panty gag. “God, that shit is so fuckin’ hot,” he growls. “Makes me wanna fill this tight little pussy up.” 

“M-Me too,” Yuji whines from his spot in the corner. “I can’t hold back anymore, guys! I need to cum soon!” His entire body twitches and his back arches as he fucks his fist faster, wishing it was you. 

“Yeah, little Yuji?” Sukuna teasingly asks. “You wanna cum all over this whore, dontcha?” His twin eagerly nods, still pumping away at his cock dribbling in precum. With a groan, Sukuna pulls his thick cock out of you, slapping you on the ass with it. “I’ve got the perfect idea then on how we can really make our time with this cumslut count.” 

He and Choso coax Yuji over closer to you. He does so, bringing his chair and his aching cock with him. Sukuna then forces you higher up into your knees so your head is in Yuji’s lap. 

Choso kneels at your side, stroking your hair away from your mouth of ruined lipgloss, spit, and cum. “Now you wanna be a good girl for our Yuji, right, baby girl?” he asks. “You wanna show that you’re so sorry for the way you treated him?” 

You stare up at Yuji and into his desperate eyes, suddenly flooded with guilt for your previous behavior towards him before all of this. “Y-Yes, Daddy,” you weakly answer his oldest brother. Choso then takes a fistful of your hair and shives your mouth down into his kid brother’s cock. “Then open that throat and suck on his cock ‘cause we’re gonna fuckin’ cover you.” 

As soon as your hot, wet mouth wraps around Yuji’s cock, he begins fucking it, grabbing your face to use it as a cock sleeve. Sukuna slides inside of you and resumes fucking you, nudging you closer to Yuji which causes him to sink deeper down your throat. “C’mon, Yuji, fuck her up,” he encouragingly grunts as he fucks you from behind. “Make her sorry that she ever treated you so bad.” 

And Yuji does. Letting out the sluttiest moans you’ve ever heard out of him, he fucks your throat until you’re gagging and slobbering all over his dick, all of your senses filled with him. “God, you’re such a good little slut!” he moans. “Gonna make me cum so hard!” 

Choso moans in agreement from beside you, his cock just inches away from your cheek as he fucks his fist at the sight of you. “Mmm, me too,” he sighs. “Just watchin’ her holes get fucked like that is doin’ all kinds of shit to me.” 

You can feel yourself about to burst too. As your pussy squeezes around Sukuna’s cock, your body aches, your knees and wrists burn, and your jaw feels as if it’s about to fall off. “Oooh, someone’s tightenin’ up,” he chuckles. He yanks on your leash, restricting your breath for a moment. “You wanna cum too, sweetness? Does that poor pussy wanna cream around this cock, hm?” 

“Mmm-hmm!” you pathetically whine around Yuji’s dick. Sukuna nods, pleased with this eager response. “Then I think you’ve got somethin’ you need to tell our brother here. And you’d better mean it if you wanna cum.” He and Choso nod at Yuji and the youngest brother lets his cock slip out of your mouth. 

You use every ounce of your breath to babble apologies as Sukuna nails your shit harder and harder: “Sorry!” you gasp. “I-I’m so, so sorry, Yuji! I’m such a bad girlfriend! I was such a bitch and I’m sorry!” 

A twinkle appears in Yuji’s widening eyes, his cheeks flushed pink. “Ya mean it?” he asks. “You’re never gonna ask me for shit again? Or ask me to send you money? Or fuck me and not make me cum?” 

“No!” you practically scream. “No, I’ll never do that to you again, Yuji, I promise!” 

The sibling trio smiles at each other. They finally broke you. “Good girl,” all three siblings say in unison. 

“Now take all of this cum,” Choso demands. “You deserve this. This is what you get.” 

In a snap, Yuji sinks his cock back into your mouth and with a whine of your name, cums deep down your throat. Choso explodes all over your tits while Sukuna cums deep inside of you, sinking his nails into your asscheeks as he fills you up. The sound of their moans of release triggers your own orgasm. With a wordless moan that turns into a broken scream, you clench your pussy around Sukuna and cum your brains out, your orgasm nearly knocking you unconscious with its strength. 

“That’s it, slutty girl,” Sukuna laughs, tugging on your leash. “Cum for us. Cum all over that dick.” You keep cumming until your body twitches and bucks as the aftershocks hit you. But as soon as they come, they fade, and the siblings commence to freeing you. 

Sukuna slowly pulls out of you and takes off your collar while Choso unlocks your handcuffs. Yuji holds you up before you fall, placing your head in his lap. You are completely covered from head to toe in cum: on your ass and titties; on your pussy where Sukuna’s drips out of you and down your thighs; on your face where your tears have ruined your makeup. 

“Now that’s a pretty ass sight,” Sukuna breathlessly laughs. “Now, you gonna be a good girl for our little brother now?” Weakly, you look up at the two older siblings and nod. But they make a disapproving face 

“Don’t tell us,” Choso orders. “Tell him.” 

Yuji looks down at you, fixing your ruined hair for you. “You gonna be my good girl from now on, princess?” he asks, using his thumb to caress your bottom lip. Swallowing harshly, you slowly nod. “Yes, Daddy,” you croak. “I promise.” 

Sukuna and Choso smile proudly at their work, happy to see your change. “Our work here is done then,” Choso sighs with satisfaction. “Now let’s eat.” 

THE END.

[ennovance]

Big investors look to sell out of private equity after market rout

#Pensions and #endowments seek exit from battered portfolios in blow to buyout industry

https://www.ft.com/content/b7c5aea6-c429-4917-bf35-a4f1b3159f85 #pe #vc #buyout #lbo #deals #fund #investor

[proshippers-against-censorship]

This is a genuine question from someone who’s too tired and done to actually care about any shipping drama unless it directly harms me: Why do so few incest/r#pe (censored for my comfort)/etc fics/fanarts have something that says “I don’t support these actions IRL, don’t copy these actions IRL, etc etc etc etc”?

I don’t really believe in thought crimes, and I don’t think engaging in or creating content about, say, incest makes you someone who’s fucking their little sister on the side or some shit, or someone who would ever even think about genuinely laying their hand on a child in any way that isn’t SFW.

But let’s say someone, especially a minor, interacts with content like that. Now let’s say that person imitates those actions. Even if there is a 99.9% chance that reading someone’s fic had 0 bearing on them committing those actions, if that person is rich/influential enough, or has parents who are rich/influential enough, isn’t there a huge risk of that person or their parents (if their a minor) twisting the story to be that the creator “groomed them”?

Courts today are not really set up for the internet, that’s no surprise. Try reporting a case of a minor getting genuinely groomed by an adult online and it’ll go fucking nowhere. But if that person has the tools and the funds, they will absolutely try to do something with that. Maybe I’m just not used to courts, but wouldn’t it be way easier to just write “I don’t approve of this IRL” then risk genuine legal issues?

Because face it.

The court isn't on your side either way.