#gina su

[haveyouseenthisseries-poll]

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Biden wants to ban ripoff “financial advisors”

I'll be at the Studio City branch of the LA Public Library on Monday, November 13 at 1830hPT to launch my new novel, The Lost Cause. There'll be a reading, a talk, a surprise guest (!!) and a signing, with books on sale. Tell your friends! Come on down!

Once, American workers had "defined benefits pensions," where their employers promised to pay them a certain amount every year from their retirement to their death. Jimmy Carter swapped that out for 401(k)s, "market" pensions where you have to guess which stocks will be valuable or starve in your old age:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/25/derechos-humanos/#are-there-no-poorhouses

The initial 401(k) rollout had all kinds of pot-sweeteners that made them seem like a good deal, like heavy employer matching that doubled or even tripled the value of every dollar you put into the market for your retirement. But over the years, as Reaganomics took hold and workers' power ebbed away, all these goodies were clawed back. In the end, the market-based pension makes you the sucker at the poker table, flushing your savings into a rigged casino that is firmly tilted in favor of finance barons and other eminently guillotineable plutocrats.

Neoliberalism is many things, but most of all it is a cult of individualism. The fact that three generations of workers are nows facing down retirement without pensions that will provide them with secure housing and food – let alone money to see the odd movie, buy birthday gifts for their grandkids, or enjoy a meal out now and then – is framed as millions of individual failures, not a systemic one.

In other words, if you are facing food insecurity and homelessness after a lifetime of hard work, it's because you saved wrong. Perhaps you didn't save enough (through a 40-year run of wage stagnation and skyrocketing housing, health and education costs). Or perhaps you saved wrong, making the wrong bets on the stock market. If you can't afford to run your air conditioner during a heat dome, that's on you: you should have been better at stocks.

Apologists for this system will say that you don't have to be good at stocks – you just have to pay an Independent Financial Advisor to pick the stocks for you and you'll be fine. But IFAs don't work for free! What if you can't afford one?

Enter "predatory inclusion" – the practice of offering scammy, overpriced and substandard products to poor people and declaring it to be a good deed, because otherwise, those poor people would have to do without. The crypto bubble relied heavily on this: think of Spike Lee and others shilling for pump-and-dump scams as a way of "building Black wealth":

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/07/business/media/cryptocurrency-seeks-the-spotlight-with-spike-lees-help.html

More recently, Intuit and other scammy tax-prep services have argued against the IRS's plan to offer free tax preparation as bad for Black and brown people, because it will deny them the chance to be deceived and ripped off with TurboTax:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/27/predatory-inclusion/#equal-opportunity-scammers

Back in 2018, Trump won the predatory inclusion Olympics, when his Department of Labor let the Fifth Circuit abolish the "Fiduciary Rule" for Independent Financial Advisors:

https://www.investopedia.com/updates/dol-fiduciary-rule/

What was the Fiduciary Rule? It said that your IFN had to put your interests ahead of their own. Like, if there were two different funds you could bet on, and one would pay your IFN a big commission, while the other would be a better bet for you, the IFN couldn't put your retirement savings into the fund that offered them a bribe.

When Trump killed the Fiduciary Rule, he proclaimed it a victory for poor people, especially Black and brown people. After all, if IFNs weren't allowed to accept bribes for giving you bad financial advice, then they would have to make up the difference by charging you for good advice. If you couldn't afford that advice, well, you'd have to make bad retirement investments on your own, without the benefit of their sleazy self-dealing.

The Biden Administration wants to change that. Biden's Acting Labor Secretary is Julie Su, and she's very good at her job. Last spring, she forced west coast dockworkers' bosses to cough up the contract they'd stalled on for a year, with 8-10% raises for every worker, owed retroactively:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/16/that-boy-aint-right/#dinos-rinos-and-dunnos

Su has proposed a way to reinstate the Fiduciary Rule, as part of the Biden Administration's war on junk fees, estimating that this will increase retirees' net savings by 20%:

https://prospect.org/labor/2023-11-07-julie-su-labor-retirement-savers/

The new rule will force advisors who cheat their clients to pay restitution, and will require them to deliver all their advice in writing so that this cheating can be detected and punished.

The industry is furious, of course. They claim that "The Market (TM)" will solve this: if you get bad retirement savings advice and end up homeless and starving, then you will choose a different advisor in your next life, after you are reincarnated (I guess?).

And of course, they're also claiming that forcing IFNs to stop cheating their clients will deny poor people access to expert (bad) advice. As the Financial Services Institute's Dale Brown says, this will have a "negative impact on Main Street Americans’ access to financial advice":

https://www.fa-mag.com/news/legal-challenge-predicted-for-new-dol-fiduciary-proposal-75257.html

Here's that rule – read it for yourself, then submit a comment expressing your views on it. The government wants to hear from you, and administrative law requires them to act on the comments they receive:

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/11/03/2023-23782/proposed-amendment-to-prohibited-transaction-exemptions-75-1-77-4-80-83-83-1-and-86-128

Su is part of a wave of progressive, technically skilled regulators in the Biden administration that resulted from a horse-trading exercise called the Unity Task Force, which divvied up access to top appointments among the progressive wing and the finance wing of the Democratic Party. The progressive appointments are nothing short of incredible – the most competent and principled agency leaders America has seen in half a century:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/23/getting-stuff-done/#praxis

But then there's the finance wing's appointments, like Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, who ruled against Lina Khan's attempt to block the rotten Microsoft/Activision merger (don't worry, Khan's appealing):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/14/making-good-trouble/#the-peoples-champion

Perhaps the worst, though, is Biden's Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, a private equity ghoul who did a stint for the notorious wreckers Bain Capital before founding her own firm. Raimondo has stuffed her department full of Goldman Sachs alums, and has sidelined labor and civil society groups as she sets out to administer everything from the CHIPS Act to regulating ChatGPT.

As Henry Burke writes for the Revolving Door Project and The American Prospect, Raimondo's history as a corporate raider, her deference to the finance sector, and she and her husband's conflicts of interest from their massive stakes in companies she's regulating all serve to undermine Biden's agenda:

https://prospect.org/economy/2023-11-08-commerce-secretary-gina-raimondo-undercutting-bidenomics/

When the administration inevitably complains that its popular economic programs aren’t breaking through the media coverage, they’ll have no one to blame but themselves.

The Unity Task Force gave us generationally important policymakers, but ultimately, it's a classic "pizzaburger." If half your family wants pizza, and the other half wants burgers, and you serve them something halfway in between that makes none of them happy, you haven't made a wise compromise – you've just made an inedible mess:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/17/pizzaburgers/

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/2023/11/08/fiduciaries/#but-muh-freedumbs

[ryutarotakedown]

Haori was tall, was the first thing Gina noted — maybe even taller than Naruhodou — and she was dressed in a pale yellow kimono. Her angles were soft and yet there was something distinctly angular to her, and her hands looked uncalloused, like she’d never worked a day in her life, and she was smiling at Susato like a sunflower turning to face the sky. Gina promptly decided to hate her.

Or: Gina Lestrade meets someone new.

Written for Gina Weekend (@ginalestradezine) and Femslash February 2024, day three: cake

[pbaintthetb]

I love Gina Lestrade and she breaks my heart and if I could drag McGilded back from hell to burn him again myself I would

but also she’s not just tragic, and I really love that too

[miraculous-prompts]

Re-write Miraculous with Monkey!Gina and Rooster!Su Han as the titular superheroes

[secretceremonials]

if I have to read another miller case I’m going to have a break down

[icedsodapop]

if i were a mediocre actor with a history of having reddit-brained hot takes and i quit the netflix show i was using to revitalize my lukewarm career in order to return to the dcu role i was previously doing only to be a cameo in an under-performing dwayne the rock johnson movie and then told i wouldn't be returning by the guy who was fired by disney, hired by warner bros, and then hired by disney again, i would simply be too embarrassed to speak

[whorekneecentral]

Merry Ruff-Mas

Mick Schumacher x Fem!Reader

Warnings: angie loves trouble, angie also runs away from home, panicked mick, queen corinna cameo, snow storms, kind strangers but also stranger danger cause wtf lmao, mentions of death, finger sucking, rushed sex, dom!mick for a second there, praise kink, choking, creampie, penetrative sex (p in v), gina's a bit sus of mick at the end.

Word Count: 2,257

Author's Note: it's not a mick fic without miss angie so of course this one had to be based around her.

merry smutmas series

--

Angie goes missing the day before Christmas and Mick finds her at the neighbouring ranch, wrapped up with ribbon and bows. 

Mick had headed to the stables and Angie followed close behind him as he double checked to make sure that everything was in place for the night.

Angie follows Mick make foot to foot, she was his little furry shadow.

So when he didn't hear her little pants and her paws patting on the concrete, he just assumed she ran back to the house. He locks the doors to the stable and finds his way back to the house, do you know who sat on the couch watching TV when Mick came in.

"Where's Angie?" He asks, about to take off his boots. Gina glances over her shoulder at her brother. "What do you mean where's Angie? Didn't she go to the stables with you?"

"Yeah," Mick says, looking around. "I thought she ran back here."

"No," Gina shakes her head, "she's not in here. It's just me, unless she ran up to mom and dad's room."

Mick goes running down the hallway to his parents' room. "Is Angie in here?" He sticks his head in and his mother looks up from her book.

"No sweetheart, she's not."

It finally hit him that she's outside somewhere, in the freezing cold. Before Gina could ask him where he's going, he goes running out the house. He shouts her name, tumbling through the snow. There's a giant flashlight in hand as he makes his way around the property, following a trail left behind by her bouncing in the snow.

Mick finds himself at the edge of the Schumacher ranch, squeezing through the hole in the fence and onto the neighbouring property.

A few more feet and he sees a light in the not so far distance; a house with the lights on.

The least he can do is ask, right? There was no harm in that.

A knock on the door, Mick brushes the snow off his coat as he waits, hands shoved in his pocket. A young woman opens the door, smiling at him. "Hi." She says, a warm smile on her face, a thick blanket tossed wrapped around her shoulders.

"Hi," Mick can't help the smile on his face, momentarily forgetting why he was at her door. "I uh.. I was looking for my dog, Angie. She ran off."

"Oh," you say, "you're in luck, I found a sweet puppy on my porch not too long ago." You pat your leg a few times, the puppy running from around the corner.

The man at your door dropped down onto his knees, raw dog jumping on the man; clearly they knew each other.

"I take it this is Angie?" you asked, the man nods, smiling at you as Angie runs back into the house.

"C'mere Angie!" He calls after her but she ignores him, returning to the spot she had previously occupied.

You laughed, looking out into the snow to see your car in the driveway and nothing else. "Did you.. walk here?"

"Yeah."

"I can give you a ride back if you'd like?"

"Oh you don't need to do that," the man smiles, and you shrug. "It's the least I can do, plus Angie seems to have made herself comfortable." She had curled up by the fireplace and fallen asleep.

You stepped to the side, a gust of cold breeze hitting you. "Why don't you come in for some tea or something? I'll give you two a ride home when the wind dies down."

"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude."

"Oh please, I'm inviting you in." You nod towards the hallway and who was Mick to deny such a pretty lady ?

He steps in, leaving his wet boots and coat by the front door before following you to the kitchen. Mick looks around as he trailed behind you, the house decorated like something out of a movie; big tree by the fireplace, garland and lights wrapped in every spot it could be, even the throw pillows on the couch were Christmas themed.

"Tea or coffee?" You asked, breaking his thought. "Oh uh.. tea please." He leans on the counter, watching as you move around the kitchen.

"Thank you for taking her in, I know she's a bit troublesome. I hope she didn't disrupt your evening too much."

You wave him off, flipping the switch to set the kettle on boil. "It's no problem at all, she's an angel. She was on her best behaviour." You took a mug out of the cupboard and dropped a tea bag in it. "I heard the noise outside and I figured I should check what it was. Angie's little coat was stuck in the fence and she was tugging to get loose by the time I got to her. It did rip, unfortunately."

Mick shrugs, "that's fine, really." You hum, reaching for the sugar from the cabinet in front of you. "Are you here alone?" He asks, realizing that he's yet to see anyone else.

You'd be lying if you said your danger radar didn't go off at that moment but it was a harmless question, wasn't it? Not like you had some stranger in your house with his dog.

"Uh yeah," you turned to face him, taking in his features; blonde hair tucked under his hat, bright blue eyes, his cheeks were chubby but not overly chunky, proof that he was healthy but ate well you suppose, not to mention the award winning smile he had.

There was something about him that was so charming and so familiar about him but you couldn't place it. Then again, he was a stranger in your home, all alone, in the middle of the night.

"My siblings are in the city with their partners and our parents passed away so it's just me."

"Oh," Mick trails off for a moment, "I'm sorry to hear that."

You shrug him off, "it's okay. That's life, what can you do?"

The silence fills the room, the kettle whistles and you turn it off, filling the mug with the teabag in it. You leave it steep, turning your attention back to the man in your kitchen.

"I think I have a blanket that you can wrap Angie in."

"It's no big deal, I promise. That's not the first coat she's ripped," he chuckles, making you smile. "Come with me," you nodded, walking towards the steps and up you went.

Mick's footsteps are quiet, following a foot behind when you open the guest bedroom, leaning down to haul a box out of the closet.

He sat on the floor with you as you went through the stack of blankets that you've pulled out of the box. "Take whichever you want," you tell him, flipping through the stack yourself. He hums, watching as you flip through them and picks out a pink one with little butterflies on it.

You smiled, giggling. "That's uh.. that's my baby blanket."

Mick opens his mouth, "oh! Sorry!" He says, about to put it back into the stack but you stop him.

"It's fine, I haven't used it in years."

He shakes his head, reaching around you to wrap the blanket over your shoulders, "it's still yours," he whispers, leaned into you.

Your faces were all but an inch apart, Mick's lips ghosting over yours. It was you that closed the gap between the two of you and it was like a switch flipped.

A fight for dominance, the two of you on the floor all over each other.

"I don't usually do this," you mumbled, your lips on his as you felt Mick's hands slip under your top.

He hums, "me either." His eyes fixed on the red lace that covers your tits. Mick leans forward, kissing along your collarbones and down to your tits, you were so distracted by the feeling that you missed him pulling your pants down, leaving you in just your panties.

He smiles, standing up. You shift, now on your knees in front of him, hands resting on your thighs as you look up at him. He leans down and kisses you, his knuckles brushing the underside of your chin when he looks at you, kissing you once more. 

Mick grabs your chin, tilting your head back as you look up at him. 

His index fingers taps your cheek lightly and you open your mouth, “hm such a good girl.” He squeezes your face slightly before he slips his thumb into your mouth. 

He crouches down in front of you, eyes fixed on you and watching your every move; the way your own eyes study him or perhaps the way your lips wrap around his thumb, the feeling of your tongue on his finger. 

“Bet you wish that was my cock, hm? Bet you'd look pretty with it in your mouth.” 

He smiles at the way your eyes widen at his filthy words.

It was a few moments later that he pulled his finger away, kissing you once more; sloppy and messy before he pushed you to lay down for a moment.

He sits on the floor, his back against the bed frame when he pulls you down onto his lap. He kisses you, tapping your hip softly so you’d lift off him a bit before he lines himself up with you and you sink down onto him. The two of you let out a sigh at the same time; Mick feeling you clench around him and you feeling him stretch you out. 

"Relax,” he tells you, a hand rubbing along your thigh. “Take it so well, angel.” He mumbles against your lips before his hand wraps around your neck, fingers squeezing against the soft flesh causing a little whimper to slip past your lips. 

His ocean eyes fixed on you; chest heaving, the thin layer of sweat across your soft skin made it glisten under the white light of the living room, your hand wrapped around his wrist.

His hand finally moving from your neck, letting you take a deep breath; the air burning your lungs. 

A hand wanders down your chest, fingers brushing over your nipples before moving down your torso to your clit. He presses down, rubbing slow circles.

You fall flat against him, your arms wrap over his shoulders, his hand resting on your lower back as he bounced you up and down on his lap. 

His hand slips between the two of you once again, rubbing slow circles on your clit until he feels you clench around him again. 

“Oh- fuck,” you breathe, your hand gripping his arm as he leans into you. 

“I know, I know - I'm right here.” He whispers to you, his hand moving in time with his hips. 

Between the two, he pushes you over the edge. The knot in your stomach comes loose and he watches as you cum. The wetness wrapping around his cock, and with a few sloppy thrusts, Mick follows behind you. 

It takes you two a moment to register all of it, you're still leaning on him when you speak. "I meant it," you say.

"What?" He leans back, looking at you.

"I don't usually do this."

Mick laughs, "I believe you, me either."

The barking from downstairs gets your attention, it seems Angie had woken up and seen everyone had disappeared. The two of you manage to get separated and dressed, heading back down to the puppy waiting on you.

Mick had picked up a green blanket from the stack in the room. "Shall I drive you two home now?" You asked and Mick nodded, "if it's not too much trouble."

You smiled, the three of you piling into your car, Angie in the back seat with her head sticking between the two of you while you drove with Mick's directions. You knew the place, the Schumacher Ranch - that's why his face seemed familiar.

The car came to a stop in front of the house. "If you ever want some company over the holidays, call me. I’ll come by or you can come over." Mick says and you smile, nodding.

"You know, I didn't even catch your name. I don't even think I asked." you giggled and Mick smiled, realizing that he didn't know yours either.

"I'm Mick," he extends his hand out to you. As one does, you take his hand, shaking it. "Nice to meet you, Mick. I'm y/n."

He pulls you by the hand, kissing you once more for the night. Angie pokes herself between the two of you, you laugh and reach over to rub her side. "No more running off hm?"

Mick gets out of the car, helping Angie out before leaning into the car from the opened window. "Thank you again.. for everything. I'll see you around, y/n."

"I'll see you around, Mick." You smiled, waving to him and Angie as they went up the steps to the door.

Gina was sitting on the couch next to the window when they came in. "Gosh, I thought you died out there. I was about to send out the search party." She tells her little brother, rubbing Angie's side as the dog jumps onto the couch with her.

Mick laughs, rolling his eyes.

"Was that y/n I saw outside? From next door? I didn't know you knew her." Gina raises an eyebrow.

Mick waves off his sister, "she found Angie and invited me in for a cup of tea." He tells her, smiling to himself when he remembers the cup of tea left on the counter - what had happened was way better than tea.

---

taglist:  @nosugarallspice @evieepepi08 @mimithepooh @koufaxx @dannyramirezwife-simpaccount @topguncultleader @molliemoo3 @aisharmi @mamako23 @ac3may @lewislcver @miahgonzalez16 @books-and-netflix-pls @wibi96 @bwddermilch @pedrisgatorade @clarasenchant @sainzluvrr // @forza55 @norrisleclercf1 @allalngthewtchtower @therealcap @burningcupcakefire @stargirl36 @brettlorenzi3 @guiseppetsunoda @magnummagnussen @flippingmyshit @savrose129 @lovelytsunoda @irda12-blog @dhhdhsiavdhaj @slytheringirlthatkillpeople @f1lovers22 @toomuchdelusion @eviethetheatrefreak @faye2029 @lillians-world-is-f1 @chalando1604 @lenaxwbr @im-obsessed @potashiuhm @lcxlerc16 @enjoythebutterflies3 @lillyfootballsworld @micksmidnights @mashtonbunny @chrlsleclerc @logischeroktopus

[indiaalphawhiskey]

I see you and Gina have been flooded with annoying antis who think they can convince us that they aren't together anymore, but honey! I do not care! First there are real world problems going on so trying to find out if they're still together has been on the back burner for me. But also, I've been a larrie for so long that I've reached the plane of existence where antis can't reach me. I truly believe they're still together. So what if I'm wrong? I'm going to get sued? Who cares! And if I'm not wrong, then I hope Harry's getting pregnant again soon <3 I just have no energy to convince other people what I believe in. I just surround myself with other like minded larries and mind my business. And that's unfathomable for antis who can't believe their faves are gay.

Honestly, I know antis love to convince themselves that if definitive proof ever came out that Larry wasn’t real, that all Larries would go into an existential life crisis and forget how to function until all that was left of us was a twitching puddle of tears on the floor.

But in all seriousness, if Larry ever turns out not be real, here are the very real things I’d have gained from this fandom anyway:

Two of my very best, very real, and life long friends (amongst all the others, of course)

The knowledge that I want to be a writer

12 complete literary works that prove I can be a writer + the kudos, hits, and comments to prove my work means something to at least one other person

Approximately 223577895 iterations of my favorite people as semi-fictional characters that fall in love over and over again

The knowledge that there are people, however “delusional”, who will not ask you to water down your passions to a palatable level

The knowledge that there are people, however “resistant to ‘the facts’” that will support and have the back of closeted queer artists for most of, if not their entire, career, however heartbreaking and painful the journey, when they truly have nothing to gain from it

The persistent belief that true love is real and unshakable, however taxing

The knowledge that frivolous interests keep you alive and healthy (yes, even after 30! Shocker!)

And, my personal favorite:

Fucking JOY.

[cosyvelvetorchid]

I got a Saltommy/Salommy prompt for you!

The one that got away; Sal realised that if he hadn't buried his feelings, he could have had Tommy all along. But he meets Buck and sees how happy they are, and he mourns what could have been.

Thanks for the prompt!

And oh man this was a sad one to write 😭

As always you can send any bucktommy or saltommy prompts to my ask and I'll write a little something. 🩶

********

Things were going well for Sal. Professionaly speaking that is. He'd finally made Captain at the 122 and had a great team of people under his helm. It had been a rocky start when Captian Nash had transferred him out. It took him months of acting out and a whole bucket of denial before he finally admitted to himself that he was the one the blame. That he had wanted to be Captain of the 118 and his behaviour toward Nash had come from resentment and jealousy.

Six months after leaving he found out Gina was getting remarried and thinking about moving to the other side of the country, taking the twins with her. And then he found himself being given an ultimatum by his Captain after a turning up to work with alcohol on his breath: go to therapy or go home. Permanently. He'd chosen the former, and 5 years down the line it could happily admit that it was the best decision he'd ever made.

His co-parenting relationship with Gina, who chose to stay, was better than it ever was when they were married. He even attended her wedding!

There was, however, one thing from his past that still haunted him.

Tommy.

There had always been something there between them. Something that they both thought was just friendship. That all changed one night after a particularly tough shift when Tommy had invited him over to his place for some beers. Gina was thinking about moving closer to her parents and Sal was devastated at the thought.

"It's just.. my girls are my world. If Gina takes them away I don't know what I'll do." He placed his head in his hands and tried to sniff away the emotion. Tommy slid closer to him on the sofa and placed a comforting hand between Sal's shoulder blades and rubbed gently.

"It'll be okay. Gina knows how much you love those kids." He said. Sal sniffed again.

"I don't know, Tommy."

"Look at me." He told Sal. Sal sniffed again and lifting his head to meet Tommys gaze. "You might be a crappy husband but you're an amazing dad."

"You really think that?" He asked; his eyes wet and pleading.

"Yes." He answered. Tommy's eyes were soft and his reassuring smile was easy. Sals heart was hurting and he was terrified of losing his girls. He knew he could rely on Tommy to give him some comfort but he needed more. He needed security. He needed a promise that it would all be okay. He needed something to be wrapped around his insides, to really feel it would all be okay. As he thought about it all, he found himself looking at Tommys lips. He hadn't done it consciously but he was doing it. Without warning an idea popped into his head that shot fire into his organs. But without the level headed-ness of sobriety, he acted before he could analyse the thought.

He leaned forward and kissed Tommy. Tommy kissed back without hesitation. The kiss was big and wet. Drunken. Sal pushed his body forward, tipping Tommy back onto the couch with him on top. It was a big mistake. The quick movment sent a massive wave of nausea through Sal and he grabbed at his mouth.

"Woah!" Tommy called out pushing Sal back up and reaching out for the empty popcorn bowl on the table, shoving into Sals lap just in time to catch the repeat of Sals dinner and beer. Tommy got up to use the bathroom and get Sal a glass of water and by the time he came back into the living room Sal was already passed out on the couch.

The next morning, in the vice grip of a hangover, Sal had said he didn't remember anything from the previous night and Tommy didnt remind him. But the truth was he remembered it all. He remembered the feel of his lips on Tommy's, the electricity that surged in his stomach at the touch, the way his heart felt like it was going to explode in his chest. All of it. But he was too confused, embarrassed and terrified to address it.

Until a week later when he'd gone to Tommy's to watch a pay per view fight, and when Tommy had laughed at something Sal had said - something that he couldn't remember anymore - and his face had crinkled with that big smile, he'd kissed him again. Only this time he was sober. Tommy once again had reciprocated. This kiss however was different from the last. It wasn't drunken and all over the place. It was slow and gentle. Tentative. It happened a few more times that night and everytime Sal felt like he was floating.

They began seeing eachother in secret. Over the next year things got deeper between them. Within a month they'd agreed to not see other people and 6 months in Sal had been the first to say "I love you." Tommy had beamed and said it back.

Every so often Tommy would approach the subject of going public. But Sal always shut it down.

"I get this is new for you, and not for me. And I don't want you to feel pressured. But, I love you and I want us to be in a normal relationship. One where I get to take you out and show you off." Tommy had said one night, as they lay in his bed in a post coital haze.

"I know, and I love you too, Tommy. But I'm just.. I'm not ready. I'm from a big, traditional Catholic family, you know that. It's gonna cause a lot of shit. Shit that I'm not ready to deal with." He'd argued.

Tommy knew it wouldn't be easy for him and he'd probably lose family over it. And he knew how much that would hurt Sal and so he backed off. But the longer their relationship went on, the harder it got for Tommy. He was feeling like a dirty secret. He began resent Sal for it.

And then the fight happened. The fight that changed everything.

They'd gone to a bar after shift with a few other members of the 118. Tommy tried to sit next to Sal at the table and Sal had responded by scooting around to the other side. Tommy tried to ignore the shitty feeling it gave him. Until Hen had pointed out a gorgeous woman standing at the bar.

"I'd sell my own mother get a piece of that." Sal told her with a laugh. Tommy's stomach sank at the comment. His heart broke. In that moment he realised that Sal would probably never be ready to be with him. Not entirely. Not like Tommy needed. Sal knew his comment probably hurt Tommy and for the next moments avoided his eyes. Tommy, however, stood up.

"Im actually really tired, so I'm going to head home. I'll see you guys tomorrow." He told them and left the bar, not giving Sal or anybody a chance to respond.

Two hours later Sal showed up at Tommy's.

"I really can't talk to you right now, Sal. Please, just go home." He tried to close the door but Sal, though 2 inches shorter than Tommy, was actually a little stronger and pushed past him at the door and walked into the kitchen.

"Sal, I'm serious." He told him, firmly.

"I know why you're mad, Tommy and I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Tommy asked.

"For making those comments in the bar. I shouldn't have said that in front of you." Sal said. Tommy scoffed.

"Sal, you shouldn't have been saying them at all! And you wouldn't have if Hen, or anybody else, knew about us."

"You know why I can't! And we can't keep having this same fight." Sal argued back.

"I do know why, Sal. And I get it. You know I do. I've been there. But I can't.. I can't live like this. I can't spend another day feeling like your dirty little secret. It's breaking my heart."

Sal ran a hand though his hair. He knew how he was making Tommy feel and he hated it. It broke his own heart to know he was doing that to Tommy. But he was terrified of losing everything if people found out. His parents, the girls.. he couldn't lose them. But he didn't want to lose Tommy either. He loved him.

"I just.. I want to be.. I want to tell people, Tommy. I want to be the man that makes you feel good and not the man that makes you feel bad. But-"

"You're not ready." Tommy finished. His tone full of realisation. Sal was never going to be ready. He could stay with him and hope that one day, someday, Sal would feel he was ready. But there was no guarantee that that day would ever come. And Tommy couldn't hold out hope any longer.

"Im not ready." Sal repeated looking down.

"I can't be someone's secret, Sal. Even if I do love them. I'm sorry." Sal looked up to see a tear rolling down Tommy's cheek.

"Wait, are you.. are you breaking up with me?!" Sal said incredulously.

"Im sorry, Sal. I can't do this anymore. And I'm not going to force you to come out, because that would be a really shitty thing to do. But that means my only option is to walk away. I've worked so hard over the last few years to become someone I'm proud of and I can't go back to hiding in the closet. I'm sorry. I just can't."

"Tommy, please, " Sal pleaded. He stepped closer to Tommy "I promise i-"

Tommy stepped back.

"No, Sal." His voice was low and shaky. He was using everything within him to hold back more tears that were desperate to fall. Sal held his gaze for a moment, hoping it would change. Eventually Tommy's eyes moved away. Sals heart broke. He wanted to say something. Anything. A thousand things to beg Tommy to not do this. But he couldn't. That fear of coming out was far too deep rooted. He simply turned and walked out of Tommy's house.

The next week at work was excruciating. Seeing Tommy everyday and not being able to talk to him or touch him was almost physically painful. Tommy had tried to speak to him, to make sure he was okay but he couldn't handle that. He snapped at him, sniped at him and was generally being a bastard. They'd had another new captain, Nash, and Sal was not making a good impression on him by behaving the way that he was. It all came to a head after a shift when Nash had reprimanded him for putting them in danger on a scene. Nash had fired him. He'd changed his mind the next day and instead chose to transfer him to the 122, but for a while Sal thought he whole world was falling apart.

5 years later, and his life was entirely different. His work and home life were exactly what he'd wanted them to be. With one exception. He was alone. He'd dated here or there over the years. Including men once he'd accepted that he did in fact like men, too. But it never worked out. They weren't Tommy. Losing him was the biggest regret of his life.

He and his team had gone out for drinks one evening at a random badge and ladders bar. He'd left the group the get another drink and stood at the bar. Movement in his peripheral vision made him look to the right and his heart almost stopped at the sight of the man standing at the bar.

"Tommy?"

"Sal." Tommy's faced crinkled with that big smile he always loved. He moved closer and immediately hugged him, slapping his back with a large hand. He still smelled the same, Sal thought. "It's good to see you."

"Yeah, you too."

"So how's things?" Tommy asked.

"Uh, good. I made Captain at the 122"

"Thats great. Congratulations!"

"Thanks. What about you? You still at the 118?"

"No, I transferred out. I'm at Harbour." He told him.

"You flying again? I know you always wanted to do that again since you left the army." Sal remembered the night they were lying in bed and Tommy had told him how much he had missed being in the air.

"Yeah. I definitely missed it."

"Well I'm glad you're happy there." Sal smiled.

"Hey, Howie and Hen are back there, why don't you come and say Hi." Tommy suggested. Sal contemplated it for a moment.

"That's alright, I'll leave you guys to it."

"No way. I know they'd love to see you. C'mon." He held Sals arm and pulled him through the crowd. The feel of Tommy's hand on his bare forearm felt exactly had it did 5 years before. He wanted that feeling tattooed permanently on his skin.

"Guys look who I found!" He called out as they approached the table.

"Deluca?" Hen questioned with a smile. "It's been a while." She stood to hug him.

"Yeah. How are you? How's Karen?" He asked.

"Good. We're both good."

"How's things at the 122?" Chim asked. Tommy grabbed Sals shoulder.

"Sal, here made Captain." Sal noticed an element of pride in Tommy's voice. He was still proud of him all these years later? A warmth filled his heart. He'd convinced himself that Tommy still hated him.

"Hey thats awesome, congrats." Chim exclaimed.

"Sorry about that." Buck walked up to them. "That was Maddie on the phone. She wants us to babysit Jee-yun on Saturday."

"Let me guess.. our neice wants us to take her to the zoo?" Tommy asked with a fond smile.

Our neice?

"Are you surpised?" Buck asked. "You can't say no to her. She's got her uncle Tommy wrapped around her little finger. She knows you'll give her anything she wants." He laughed.

"And I wouldn't have it any other way." He said. Buck smiled at him fondly and pressed a chaste kiss on Tommy's lips.

Sals heart broke all over again. He knew logically that Tommy had more than likely moved on. It had been 5 years. But there was a part of Sal that still held on to hope. That hope was now blown to smithereens in a painful blast to his heart.

"Oh, this is Sal. Old 118. Sal this is my boyfriend Evan." Buck reached out his hand to shake Sal's.

"Buck. Everyone calls me Buck."

"It's, uh.. Good to meet you." He scanned the man in front of him. He was taller than himself, and leaner though still muscular like him. He had dirty blonde hair also like him. Tommy definitely had a type.

"Im starving. We should order food." Buck told Tommy.

They sat back at the table as to scan the bar menu. Tommy arm was across Bucks shoulder as they pointed to things and discussed what they were going to order. There was a domesticity to their body language. An easy closeness. One that Sal had Tommy once had a long time ago. Tommy was happy. Anybody with eyes could see that.

The last little piece of hope hidden deep inside Sal's heart floated away.

[sirfrogsworth]

Today in, "Conservatives keep making me side with Disney"...

So, Gina Carano is suing Disney. And Elon Musk is paying for her lawyers. And they released the complaint document.

It's... a doozy.

I can't decide if her lawyers are not taking this seriously at all or if they are taking it super duper extra seriously.

Like, that's a real thing that a lawyer wrote.

As you know, judges are famous for enjoying levity in official court documents. I think in law school you are encouraged to add comedy bits. True facts.

Gina wants money for emotional damages. But she also wants to be rehired, which sounds like another funny comedy bit. They scrapped an entire show because of her nonsense.

Most are saying this will get thrown out with haste due to the fact that Gina wasn't actually fired. She had already done her contracted work. Disney decided not to hire her for any *new* work. So I guess she wants them to honor an imaginary contract that was in her head.

The entire document is just as ridiculous as the opening crawl. It starts out by listing Gina's show biz bona fides. Her myriad accomplishments in Hollywood were listed one by one in a section titled...

Well, I'm intrigued.

Let's take a look at this illustrious career, according to this document.

"Carano is the first-ever female star in mixed martial arts cage fighting to successfully transition to a career in movies, breaking down substantial barriers for women in the sport."

Off to an interesting start.

All the cage fighting gals can act in movies now and they all have Gina to thank for barrier busting.

"Carano received roles in Hollywood and independent film productions such as Haywire, Fast & Furious 6, Heist, Deadpool, Almost Human, Extraction, Daughter of the Wolf, and Madness in the Method."

I've heard of several of those things! And I think I almost remember her in Deadpool! Very impressive.

Oh wait, they're not done...

"On May 13, 2008, “Gina Carano” was the fastest rising search on Google and third most searched person on Yahoo! while being ranked no. 5 on Yahoo!’s “Top Ten Influential Women of 2008” list."

In 2008 she was popular on Yahoo for a bit. Got it.

Has she won any awards?

"In 2012, Carano was the first recipient of the ActionFest Film Festival’s Chuck Norris Award for Best Female Action Star.

In 2017, Carano received the Artemis Action Warrior Award.

In 2019, Carano received The Rising Star award at Ischia Film Festival."

Very prestigious. I'm sure Chuck Norris has a lovely basement where that ceremony was almost certainly held.

You know what, why don't we just skip to The Mandalorian?

"Although her character instantly became one of the most recognized and popular characters in the series..."

Gina, no... that was the little green puppet.

You were the one who couldn't act very well but you made up for it by punching things good.

"Carano was again instrumental in the success of Season 2 of The Mandalorian."

Nope, still the puppet.

End of "accomplishments."

The next section is titled

For some reason they left out "bigoted" before speech. Weird.

In most of it, it legit sounds like they are making a case *against* her. They show that everyone at Disney and Lucasfilm tried very hard to give her chance after chance. They did everything but point blank tell her, "Either learn and relieve yourself of this ignorance or stop posting shit online."

She totally had the option to keep her shitty views to herself and shut the heck up for the duration and enjoy the money and success a Star Wars show can bring. It's like swatting away a lottery ticket.

I'm all for free speech. And if the government tried to arrest her for saying dumb shit, I'd be against that. But that freedom to speak does not mean there are never consequences. People are also free to not like what you have to say.

The entire last section of the document is just tweets that Gina screencapped. Like, her lawyers didn't even redo them so they had consistent formatting or pixel dimensions. They were literally just off Gina's phone.

She thought she was collecting receipts but it was mostly just her co-stars standing up for marginalized groups.

Based Pedro Pascal posted this...

And the document commented...

"Pascal was not disciplined, required to review documentaries on any of these topics or speak to individuals with contrary points of view, or pressured to apologize for any of his posts. His employment was not terminated, and Defendants made no public statements about his social media posts, much less refer to them as “abhorrent.”"

Yes, why wasn't Pedro forced to listen to MAGA dipshits tell him why they hate his sister? Why wasn't he told to watch a Dinesh D'Souza documentary? Why wasn't he told to apologize for posting cool ass muppet memes?

The most telling part of the document for me... the part that really showed her ignorance... was when she compared one of her tweets to one of Carl Weathers'.

First, her infamous tweet comparing the holocaust to conservatives being moderated on social media for spreading misinformation...

And then Carl posted this in response to conservatives banning books...

And the document says...

"Even Carano’s male co-star, the late Carl Weathers posted the exact same message, but no action was taken against him. Nor was Weathers accused by Defendants of denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identity."

THE EXACT SAME MESSAGE

THE. EXACT. SAME. MESSAGE.

[respectthepetty]

For a show that is so simple as Live in Love, I sure do have a lot of wild ass theories about these color-coded folks (in love?) after only two episodes.

First Theory: Boss Likes Kla

Kla, the main character, is a Blue Boy.

And last week, the series showed that Kla seemed to have had a crush on his friend Boss in high school, so when they met in the present, it was awkward, but Boss is now dating the female friend he liked from before, so . . . why does Boss have blue over his heart when he meets Kla again, ALONE, and offers him a job?

Sus, Boss!

Second Theory: GL Sides

Cake, the main love interest, is a Pink Person.

He has a lovely family comprised of a color-coded brother, an adorable mom, and the dad from the Thai Addicted Heroin.

Kla likes this Pink Person.

He likes him so much that he wasn't even terrified of Cake showing up to the live looking like this.

And he gets jealous when Cake goes out with his friends since he knows Cake is so adorable and will catch all the attention.

Because Kla wants to eat Cake.

Which is why Khing tries to be like Cake.

She wears pink.

And she makes treats for Kla.

But because I want a GL side couple, I think Khing doesn't go well with Kla since she isn't really a Pink Person.

Because, often, she seems to actually balance out Gina!

So . . . they're already in bed together. How much effort would it be to kiss?

Third Theory: Tim & Amp

Cake's little brother, Tim, is a Green Guy.

And he has been shown to be kinda . . . rude. Even when Gam was having a crisis in his house about his feelings for Pon, Tim basically told him to get over it and (appropriately) believed eating would be the remedy.

So although he should be a chill guy, he has shown he has some aggression in him, which could be why the red appears with the green on him.

Like even his sweater with "Pancakes" written on it in green has red text underneath it.

But maybe the red isn't just for him, but for the Red Rascal who he is supposed to berate for hassling his brother then eventually fall in love with!

Tim already bumped into Amp at orientation when Tim made Amp apologize to him, so give me this couple where the smaller one is the mean one and the taller one is the gentle one RIGHT NOW!

Not a Theory: I hate the live streams!

I like Gam and Pon, and I like that they showed up together in Kla's dream.

So when Pon showed up in real life with Dol, I was kinda pissed!

Because even if Yellow Yal Dol is there, Orange Oddity Pon must always have Cyan Cutie Gam (thanks @twig-tea) by his side like the fairy godparents they are.

And Pon finds all these small ways to constantly touch Gam and be near him.

So I thought it was hilarious that Kla consistently called out his friend for being oblivious.

And both Cake and Kla talked smack about Pon being ridiculous (because couples who gossip together, stay together).

So I was thrilled when Pon started getting jealous that Gam's entire existence doesn't revolve around him.

And I was even more excited that Pon lost his color while Gam lost his temper!

But I hated that Pon decided to start his confession ON A LIVE STREAM!

I know the name of this show, so I know I'll continue to get live streams, but if Cake and Kla's first encounter IRL is magically live streamed next week, I'm gonna riot!

Put the phones and musical instruments down!

[lizardsfromspace]

Gina Carano suing for her job back is silly enough (she had to suffer an extremely hostile workplace entirely due to her own actions, and she wants more, please!) but she works in the one job where you can be terminated for plot reasons. Is she going to make the courts force the writers to keep her character alive. They could have Cara Dune spontaneously explode in her first scene back & there's nothing she could do about it. The courts don't have authority over if you're doomed by the narrative

[beardedmrbean]

Disney has been delivered a crushing blow in its lawsuit battle with former The Mandalorian star Gina Carano.

The actor, 41, is suing the studio, alongside Lucasfilm, for discrimination and wrongful termination after the former MMA fighter was dropped from the Star Wars spin-off in February 2021 for sharing a social media post in which she appeared to compare the Republican experience in the US to that of Jewish people during the Holocaust.

Carano filed a complaint in California federal court, with help from X/Twitter owner Elon Musk, accusing the entertainment companies of damaging her reputation and discriminating her based on her gender. As part of the lawsuit, Carano questioned why the studios did not give similar treatment to her former co-star Pedro Pascal over posts he shared on topical subjects.

While Disney attempted to have the lawsuit thrown out, stating that Carano’s decision “to publicly trivialise the Holocaust by comparing criticism of political conservatives to the annihilation of millions of Jewish people was the final straw”, a judge has denied the studio’s appeal, and the trial will move ahead in September 2025.

US District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett said:“Having considered the parties’ submissions, the relevant law, and the record in this case, the Court DENIES the Motion.”

Carano said in response to the decision: “I am obviously very pleased with the opportunity to keep moving forward with the judicial process and into discovery. While I wish this was not necessary as it is not my desire to be in this battle in court, I will not shrink away from it because it is hard or uncomfortable.”

The Independent has contacted Disney for additional comment.

In a section of the lawsuit titled “Social Media Posts from Carano’s Co-Stars”, Carano questioned Disney and Lucasfilm’s lack of response to posts shared on X/Twitter by her former co-star Pascal, with whom she previously claimed to reach an agreement with over their opposing beliefs.

The lawsuit reads: “Carano respects the rights of her co-stars to express their views on social media, even if they differ from her own, and she remains personally fond of each of them. However, Defendants’ treatment of Carano stands in stark contrast to Defendants’ embrace of her male co- stars and other male employees, so the following examples are provided to demonstrate the discriminatory treatment Carano endured at the hands of Defendants.”

Carano’s lawyers then cited posts in which Pascal supported Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ rights, stating: “On June 27, 2020, Pascal posted two Disney-owned Muppet characters, Bert and Ernie, as activists waving a transgender and LGBTQ+ pride flag and promoting ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘Defund the Police’.”

Another post shared in the lawsuit shows Pascal comparing Donald Trump to Hitler.

It reads: “Upon information and belief, Pascal was not disciplined, required to review documentaries on any of these topics or speak to individuals with contrary points of view, or pressured to apologise for any of his posts. His employment was not terminated, and Defendants made no public statements about his social media posts, much less refer to them as ‘abhorrent’.”

Carano is seeking a court order that would force Lucasfilm to recast her and at least $75,000 (£57,500), plus punitive damages.

The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking news brand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently-minded. We have grown a huge, global readership of independently minded individuals, who value our trusted voice and commitment to positive change. Our mission, making change happen, has never been as important as it is today.

[jugodecalabazaa]

porfavor alguien escriba un crossover de mentes criminales x brooklyn 99 pq me encantan ambos.

solo imagina al BAU siendo llamados por algún caso. solo imagina la presentación de los equipos, puedo ver a Hotcher y Holt saludandose inexpresivamente y todos serian como :0 son iguales.

el lector todo timido y nervioso (y riendo de todos sus chistes) con Jake pq tiene un crush en él y spencer un poco celoso (pq amo a los dos). (también puedo ver la cara inexpresiva de hotch cada que Jake esta siendo Jake).

Emily teniendo un lesbian panic cuando ve a Rosa en el campo.

Pen y Terry viendo videos de perritos y gatitos.

Gina babeando ante cualquier insinuación de Derek. (no se me ocurre nada para Amy, Boyle y Rossi jaksja).

y todos juntos en el bar al terminar el caso:)

[phoenixx-news]

Australia's Major Supermarket Chains Accused of Misleading Discount Claims

Australia's two largest supermarket chains, Coles and Woolworths, are being sued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for allegedly deceiving consumers with false price reduction claims. The ACCC asserts that both companies violated consumer law by temporarily increasing prices before dropping them to levels that were often equal to or even higher than the original price, while claiming the discounts were permanent.

Coles has vowed to defend itself in court, while Woolworths is reviewing the allegations. Combined, the two chains control roughly two-thirds of the Australian grocery market. Over the past year, both retailers have faced heightened scrutiny amid accusations of price gouging and anti-competitive behavior.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese weighed in on the matter, calling the alleged actions "completely unacceptable" if proven true. He emphasized that such behavior undermines trust and is not in line with Australian values. "Customers deserve to be treated fairly, not as fools," Albanese said at a press conference where he also introduced draft legislation for a supermarket "code of conduct."

ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb explained that Coles and Woolworths have long used marketing campaigns like 'Prices Dropped' and 'Down Down' to suggest permanent reductions in prices. However, the watchdog's investigation revealed that many of these discounts were misleading, affecting hundreds of products over a span of several months. Woolworths allegedly misled customers about 266 products over 20 months, while Coles did so for 245 products over 15 months.

The products involved in the allegations span a wide range, including pet food, Band-Aid bandages, mouthwash, and iconic Australian favorites like Arnott's Tim Tam biscuits, Bega Cheese, and Kellogg's cereal. According to the ACCC, the two supermarkets sold millions of these items, generating substantial revenue through the deceptive pricing practices.

Ms. Cass-Gottlieb emphasized the importance of accurate pricing during times of economic pressure, noting that many Australians depend on discounts to manage their grocery bills. "It’s vital that consumers can trust that discounts are real, especially with the rising cost of living," she said.

The ACCC is asking the Federal Court of Australia to impose substantial fines on Coles and Woolworths, as well as an order that they expand their charitable meal delivery programs.

In a statement, Coles acknowledged that rising costs have impacted product prices, but stressed that the company aims to balance those increases with providing value to customers. Coles also underscored its commitment to consumer law and building trust with all stakeholders. Woolworths echoed similar sentiments, stating that it is willing to engage with the ACCC and that it remains focused on delivering meaningful value to shoppers.

In response to the growing concerns, the Australian government has launched a review of the country's Food and Grocery Code of Conduct. The review recommended strengthening the code and giving the ACCC greater powers to enforce compliance. The proposed new code aims to protect suppliers and consumers alike, with harsh penalties for companies that breach its standards.

As the legal battle unfolds, the case highlights the increasing pressure on Australia’s supermarket sector to operate transparently and fairly in an era of rising living costs.