#stop cash ban

[rom5]

CITIZENS REPORT 3/4/2025 - Stop the duopoly's election charade / Syria g...

[xerorao]

Keep your fangs sharp, and your cash hidden 🐺🪙

[bibleofficial]

america is learning of the dangers of car centric urban planning. will there be car control before gun control ? more likely than u think !

[lexalovesbooks]

Wait something weird appears to be happening in tags hang on. Testing.

[ms-demeanor]

Were you helping refugees at the border last week by donating to mutual aid groups or doing translation and outreach?

Were you calling for ceasefire and doing what you could to aid Palestinians last week? (Esims for gaza here)

Were you talking to your unhoused neighbors with respect and advocating for them and protesting encampment clearances last week? (There's no link just treat people like people and share cash if you can)

Last week were you participating in community meal shares and free stores?

Were you supporting bail funds and protesting the carceral state and trying to stop executions and humanizing incarcerated people last week? (How to write a letter to an incarcerated person)

Were you working to increase access to abortion medications and birth control and abortions in general last week?

Did you share information about DIY HRT and spend time paying attention to the books your school board was banning and make your lgbtqia friends welcome and included last week?

Were you aware of the groundwork being laid for a 2028 general strike and the ways that you could support one (contributing to strike funds, joining and supporting unions, attempting to unionize your workplace) last week?

Were you helping the people around you, were you caring for your friends, were you making information free, were you picking up trash, were you sharing a meal, were you tracking fascists, were you challenging the wrongs done by your government in the ways available to you last week?

Good. Keep doing that.

A better world is possible. Keep working toward it.

[a-soft-fluffy-girl]

TL;DR: Steam just made library sharing so much fucking easier and so much fucking better. Instead of login-trading, it's just a simple goddamn invite.

Read this. Really. It's a good read. Because it shows that, full-stop, Valve isn't just doubling down on their stance to make sure that people can and should be able to share their copies of digital goods as easily as they can physical ones, but they're making it better and easier than ever.

But you know how Steam allowed you to, with either friends or family, link accounts with another person to be able to establish an ability to share game libraries with one another? The general gist of Steam Family Sharing was that, with a limit of five people plus you (six in total) on a limit of ten computers total could share account access to willingly mix your libraries. You could play theirs. They could play yours.

This was a huge boon. It was meant to emulate sharing a physical copy of a game. A way to allow children to play games their parents or siblings had bought without having to fork over double the cash to buy it a second game. But it had some major limitations and drawbacks, and was archaic to use.

If a person did not share the same computer, you had to manually log into that computer to give it and the accounts on it access. This wouldn't be a problem if both accounts were used on the same computer, but many households (and astronomically more family and friend groups) had multiple computers, all used by different people.

If that computer, at any point, was hard reset to any point before the sharing occurred, you lost access. And had to do the whole process again. This was also an issue with computer transfers. The whole kit and kaboodle needed to be redone on upgrades. On top of that, the old computer is now just dead weight that you may not realize you have to manually revoke access to.

Putting your account information on another person's computer opens up security issues. They could, intentionally or accidentally, land themselves on your account if the login information was stored. Which could easily lead to purchases or bans you did not want to happen.

If anyone was, at any point, playing any game on their own library, you had no access to their games. Even if it was a totally different game, you had to wait your turn as if waiting for their computer to be freed up to sit at. (Admittedly this is kind of like the "mom said it's my turn on the xbox" meme, but hey, kinda archaic.)

You could not choose whose library you accessed a game from. Not at all. It always prioritized the first library it gained access from, DLC access and multiplayer be damned. If another friend you were accepting games from had more DLC? Too bad.

And yet here we are. Steam Families Beta fixes EVERYTHING about the above issues. By just going through Settings > Interface > client Beta Participation and clicking onto Steam Families Beta? You get:

No more login sharing. No more computer links. You can now choose which person's library you borrowed from. And you can play any other game from someone's library, even while they're in-game. It just needs to be a different game than what they're playing.

Pick five people. Invite them to your family. And now everyone has access to everyone's library. My goddamn library went from 150-ish to almost a goddamn thousand in ten minutes of setup.

Account sharing and password sharing are dirty words that "lose" billions of dollars. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Max. They aren't game storefronts, but they still allow you to access massive libraries and scream like you murdered their firstborns for daring to share your password with your mother after you moved out.

Microsoft tried pushing to demonize and undercut used games sales and borrowed copies of physical games. Remember the first attempt to reveal the Xbox One? People forget, but these vultures tried to make an always online console that checked to see if you were the account that owned the game, even if you had a physical disc, and prevent access to the disc's contents if you weren't the original downloader.

Valve walked the fuck up. Valve tapped the mic. And Valve dropped the fucking thing right onto the ground with one feature's revamp.

About the only issues I can see with this are twofold:

If someone sharing your library gets banned from a game's servers... so do you. No one else in the family does, but the both of you do. This is... rather unpleasant, because banhammers can be dropped quite frequently by mistake. I'd urge Valve to rethink this one, but I see the logic: don't cheat and effectively bite the hand feeding you. Still making me side-eye that, though.

If you leave a family you've joined? You have to wait a YEAR to join a new one. It's to prevent people form jumping ship to another group and screwing over who's in the former one in the process, but a YEAR? OUCH.

Problems aside, though... it's probably the biggest fucking power move I have ever seen a media distributor make in the current economic climate. It's the kind of thing that would let so many new games be available in a way that's easier than ever. Just a few clicks to send or accept an invite, and bam. Permanent access to dozens or even hundreds of new games with so much more freedom than earlier drafts of the system.

It's the kind of thing that slaps you in the face with positivity after so many Ls from the games and media industries. And I'm all the fuck for a W like this.

[deadsetobsessions]

Sea Cryptic! Danny AU- Pt.3

[Pt.1] [Pt.2] [Pt.4] [Pt.5] [Pt.6] [Pt.7] [Pt.8] [Pt.9] [Pt.10]

“Aquaman.” Batman swept into the room, beelining straight for the suddenly apprehensive Atlantean king.

“Batman. What can I do for you?”

“Phantom. Does he pay taxes?”

“Pardon?”

Batman makes a low noise that had Aquaman’s danger senses buzzing.

“Does Phantom have to pay taxes. Towards Atlantis.”

“No…? Why?”

“He wanted money, in exchange for… information, of a delicate sort,” Batman said, diplomatically avoiding the topic of Phantom bargaining for the identities of corpses in exchange for a measly $100 dollars per identity. Like a flea market dealer, that one was.

“You encountered Phantom again?” Aquaman perked up.

“Yes. Gotham’s bay is… polluted.” Batman paused. “With victims. Of murder.”

The entire area quieted as heads turned towards the Dark Knight.

“Yes, I am… distantly aware of Gotham’s waters.” By that, Aquaman gets green around the gills whenever he turns his awareness in that direction. There’s a reason he doesn’t enter Gotham, and the Dark Knight’s ban is only half of that reason. “Ah, but you’re correct. For what purpose would Phantom need mortal currency?”

“Hn.”

“Maybe he needs some stuff?” Flash zipped to a stop next to Batman, feet tapping as he dug into the pile of snacks cradled in his arms. “Us mortals are always coming up with new things, maybe he wants to try some games or something?”

Batman tilted his head down, seriously considering Flash’s suggestion. “It’s plausible.”

“Barry, Barry, Barry. He’s old as hell, right? He probably wants to try the new booze!”

“Hal, my man!” Flash fist bumped Green Lantern, who came up. “You’re back! What happened to John?”

“Dunno. He got called somewhere that way,” Green Lantern waved a vague hand towards the left. “Had to deal with a politician or something from that area.” He shrugged, swinging an arm over Barry’s shoulders to put him in a headlock and stealing a chip.

“Huh. Anyways, would our mortal alcohol even work on a demi-god or something?”

“We should ask!” Hal turned towards Batman. “You should ask if he wants to go for a drink, spooky!”

“He’s a child.”

“He’s been around for more than a millennia, Bats.”

“Informational gathering, right, Hal?” Flashgot out of the headlock, quickly munching on his snacks to stop Green Lantern from stealing them.

“Totally. Yup.”

“…Fine.”

“Wait, are we just gonna ignore that Gotham’s waters are full of bodies?”

“Yes.”

——

“What?” Danny asked, mind half on the bags he’s dragging out of the water and the other half on the essay he has to submit in about four hours.

“Green Lantern wanted to invite you out for a drink.”

Danny turned to the stoic Gotham knight, who had his wrist computer out to log the bodies’ info the moment Danny gave him the information. Some of them even told Danny who murdered them, so Batman could start building cases with solid leads.

Danny’s only twenty. He’s not legal yet but he doesn’t want to give any clues to who he is. How is he supposed to…

Ah!

“Can’t.” Danny shrugged. “I’m not legal. I died when I was fourteen so…” Danny trailed off, speechless at the drowned puppy face Batman was giving him. What the fuck.

“Anyways, fork over my payment.”

Batman wordlessly hands him a wad of hundreds.

“What do you need cash for?” Batman suddenly asked.

“Huh? Isn’t it obvious?” Danny tucked it in. “Material things, obviously. I need a blanket,” because holy shit, Gotham is damn cold this time of year. “Anyways, see you same time next week, litterer.”

“I don’t litter.”

“Tell that to the batarangs I found under the water,” Danny grumbled. “But I’ll stop calling you that if you get a signature from Poison Ivy. I have a friend who loves her.”

“An alive friend?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, weatherboy?”

Danny snickered and disappeared. He’s gotta cram that essay.

——

“There’s a possibility Phantom might be homeless.”

“Batman, I mean this in the nicest way, but for the love of Atlantis, please stop giving me headaches. It’s time like these I wish I stayed a lighthouse keeper.”

[robertreich]

How Wall Street Priced You Out of a Home

Rent is skyrocketing and home buying is out of reach for millions. One big reason why? Wall Street.

Hedge funds and private equity firms have been buying up hundreds of thousands of homes that would otherwise be purchased by people. Wall Street’s appetite for housing ramped up after the 2008 financial crisis. As you’ll recall, the Street’s excessive greed created a housing bubble that burst. Millions of people lost their homes to foreclosure.

Did the Street learn a lesson? Of course not. It got bailed out. Then it began picking off the scraps of the housing market it had just destroyed, gobbling up foreclosed homes at fire-sale prices — which it then sold or rented for big profits.

Investor purchases hit their peak in 2022, accounting for around 28% of all home sales in America.

Home buyers frequently reported being outbid by cash offers made by investors. So called “iBuyers” used algorithms to instantly buy homes before offers could even be made by actual humans.

If the present trend continues, by 2030, Wall Street investors may control 40% of U.S. single-family rental homes.

Partly as a result, homeownership — a cornerstone of generational wealth and a big part of the American dream — is increasingly out of reach for a large number of Americans, especially young people.

Now, Wall Street’s feasting has slowed recently due to rising home prices — even the wolves of Wall Street are falling victim to sticker shock. But that hasn’t stopped them from specifically targeting more modestly priced homes — buying up a record share of the country’s most affordable homes at the end of 2023.

They’ve also been most active in bigger cities, particularly in the Sun Belt, which has become an increasingly expensive place to live. And they’re pointedly going after neighborhoods that are home to communities of color.

For example, in one diverse neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, Wall Street-backed investors bought half of the homes that sold in 2021 and 2022. On a single block, investors bought every house but one, and turned them into rentals.

Folks, it’s a vicious cycle: First you’re outbid by investors, then you may be stuck renting from them at excessive prices that leave you with even less money to put up for a new home. Rinse. Repeat.

Now I want to be clear: This is just one part of the problem with housing in America. The lack of supply is considered the biggest reason why home prices and rents have soared — and are outpacing recent wage gains. But Wall Street sinking its teeth into whatever is left on the market is making the supply problem even worse.

So what can we do about this? Start by getting Wall Street out of our homes.

Democrats have introduced a bill in both houses of Congress to ban hedge funds and private equity firms from buying or owning single-family homes.

If signed into law, this could increase the supply of homes available to individual buyers — thereby making housing more affordable.

President Biden has also made it a priority to tackle the housing crisis, proposing billions in funding to increase the supply of homes and tax credits to help actual people buy them.

Now I have no delusions that any of this will be easy to get done. But these plans provide a roadmap of where the country could head — under the right leadership.

So many Americans I meet these days are cynical about the country. I understand their cynicism. But cynicism can be a self-fulfilling prophecy if it means giving up the fight.

The captains of American industry and Wall Street would like nothing better than for the rest of us to give up that fight, so they can take it all.

I say we keep fighting.

[tinfoil-jones]

Question:why is Jerk Ford like this? From what I understand nobody seemed to have bullied him at all so did he just come out of the womb and thought "I'm gonna be a menace to everyone and everything"? That would be so funny-

There's a lot of reasons why the other Fords hate Jerk Ford.

Like, a lot of reasons. You don't get called "Jerk Ford" for no reason.

But one of those reasons is that any given version Stanford Pines is going to be defined by his scientific curiosity, and interest in finding the answers to mysteries.

The frustrating thing about Jerk Ford? They cannot, for the life of them, figure out why he's such a jerk. There's no real answer and they hate that.

Nothing particularly bad ever happened to him compared to other versions of himself. Bill didn't traumatize him, he got over any feelings of betrayal from his brother, he was mean to people before they could try to bully him as a kid, and Fiddleford never started a cult.

He's not even evil. He doesn't want to kill people, take over the world, or even be renowned in the scientific community. He just wants to be a petty b***h to everyone.

And he doesn't lack empathy. No, he has empathy, but what makes him a jerk is that he chooses not to use it.

Guilt, doubt, shame, and fear are just words to him.

Canon Ford? Canon Ford hears about him for the first time and asks himself "Surely he can't be that bad? He's just another me at the end of the day." And then it turned out, he really was that bad. So I don't think they would have interacted much. I do imagine this exchange happened, however:

Canon Ford: Why are you SUCH A JERK? Jerk Ford: This can't be the first time you've looked into a mirror.

A physical fight is possible; the MAB-3L dimension from Lost Legends showed several alternate versions of Mabel interact without destroying the dimension, so we're gonna act like 'you'll collapse the entire dimension if you interact with an alternate you' isn't a thing. However, Jerk Ford is a hater, not a fighter. His mouth is always writing checks the rest of him can't cash. Canon Ford could absolutely beat his a** if he wasn't so good at getting under your skin and escaping when you're too upset to pin him down.

And Jerk Ford has always been like this. He was like this growing up. He was like this straight out of the womb. Even as a baby he was a jerk, he'd be that baby who would cry on an airplane flight just to stop as soon as the flight ended.

Stan has never known his twin brother to be any different, he knows he's a jerk to everyone except him, so he tries to minimize the damage. He insists that even though Jerk Ford is an a**hole, he does care he just struggles to show it. But no one so far has believed him, not even their family.

Hell, the reason Filbrick didn't kick Stanley out this time around is because Jerk Ford told him "You know, without Stanley around, I don't have any reason to hold back."

"Hold back? You're the biggest menace in all of Glass Shard Beach, and you expect me to believe you've been holding back?"

"Are you going to take that risk, Pa?"

(He didn't take the risk, they'd been banned from so many places already because of Jerk Ford)

[gremlinmodetweeker]

König of the Icks (cont.)

I'm going to a buffet with friends today, so I have come to a horrifying realization. König had to go out into public spaces. Oh no.

Art from This Post

König is an absolute menace in public spaces. Namely restaurants. It's so humiliating going to a restaurant with him

He eats so much that it becomes a public spectacle, which is awful because if you didn’t have social anxiety before, now you and König are now in the same boat

He really does feel bad, but he gets so hungry! You have to understand that he needs three meals and an appetizer. He does! Stop looking at him like that!

He gets to the point where he starts to try and hide his food from other customers because it makes him feel bad. Kids have commented on it while walking by. He feels absolutely humiliated by it. If he can, he’ll find a seat anywhere out of sight just to get some peace of mind.

The thing is he isn’t fat, so people are just amazed by him. He’s really not fat, I mean sure yeah he’s got some fat reserves but he’s not fat by any means. He’s just big. He’s so big and tall and he just has so much muscle, and then he works out so much? He really just eats a fuck ton. This is a man who regularly packs away 3000 calories.

You better be glad that he’s in a PMC because that’s the only way you guys can afford eating out. He’s a nightmare. This is a man to run up $100 at a McDonalds. He’s their favourite customer, and he knows and he hates it so much.

He gets a lot of coupons and he hates it. He racks up points so quickly that frankly it’s horrifying. You go out one night, cash out your points, and the next time you go out there’s more points to be cashed. You’re not saving money, he’s just hungry

So, the thing about König being a big eater is that he’s banned from so many buffets. The only ones he isn’t banned from are the ones that he has purposefully made friends with the owners to ensure a safe seat. He will battle his social anxiety for the sole purpose of making sure you don’t face the humiliation of being kicked out because your husband eats too much.

He’ll do it for you.

When König has to deal with other public spaces, he’s still a nightmare. He gets so awkward and anxious, but because he has an image to keep up he won’t tell you that anything’s wrong. He’s the type of guy who can have a panic attack in public and nobody will notice. It’s impressive, but it’s not healthy

You have to learn how to talk for him and make requests on his behalf. If he needs to find shoes from the back in his size, you’re asking for them. If he needs to use the washroom, you’re asking where it is. He won’t give you any support in this. He’ll watch you flail and won’t do a damned thing. Sorry, but he’s too anxious to help

He’s a strange creature in public. He’s so anxious that he just exudes an aura of intimidation and rage. Something about how he walks quickly sets people on edge. The way he stares without blinking frightens people. He’s almost always wearing a sort of face mask, so that doesn’t help either.

Before you, he was going out in public with the full mask every single time. Every. Single. Time.

Speaking of the mask, that thing is nasty

You have to pry it off of him to be able to throw it into the wash. He hasn’t washed it in ages because he only has one mask and the way to the laundry on base was through a public hallway so he never felt like he could make the trip back without the mask.

His mask has an actual smell to it. It reeks of sweat and grease. It’s absolutely disgusting. If you look close, the black cloth is covered in stains. Some of them have some horrible origins. They’re just vile.

Trying to get König to clean the mask is an uphill battle every single time. He gets worried that when it’s in the wash or dryer, he’ll have to make an impromptu trip out into public. You tell him to get a second mask, but he’s strangely attached to his current one. It’s almost like Linus from Peanuts and his blanket. You just can’t separate them.

He gets so fussy about face masks. When you finally convince him to start using some different masks, he gets quite attached to those as well. Unfortunately, this also means he doesn’t like the backup masks being thrown in the wash, and don’t you dare tell him to use disposable because he’ll throw a fit about it.

König is a bit of an ecowarrior in all the weirdest ways. He won’t be explicit about it, but you’ll notice some traits here and there and you’ll pretty quickly put the picture together.

He was a nature kid, as mentioned in this post, so yeah he’s totally into nature stuff. This also means he became much more protective of the environment than most

This means he carries a litter bag and some plastic gloves at all times, and yes he’ll pick up the most disgusting vile things off the ground without a second thought

Sometimes he’ll tease you with it, which is absolutely disgusting

He takes timed showers, and this includes when he showers with you. No sexy showers unless you ask for them.

He is conscious of always trying to use biodegradable products if he can, or sustainably produced

This also means he complains about the cost all the time even though there’s cheaper solutions right there

The one time König will forget his social anxiety is when he sees somebody litter. God help both the litterer and you when he spots it happening.

He will walk up (and remember he walks uncomfortably fast so he looks far more aggressive than he is) and grab the litter before shoving it back into the poor idiot's hands. He’ll then go on a rant about keeping spaces clean and how they’re the reason that public spaces look ugly

He doesn’t realize that he’s probably terrifying the poor person as he goes off, so there’s no way they’re gonna get anything out of this. They’re not going to learn, König is literally just wasting his breath

He will go off until you call him back as subtly as you can. This will usually take a couple of attempts

Some people try to get up in his face, but that doesn’t usually last long. Unfortunately, it does cause a massive scene that König won’t notice until afterwards and then he’ll feel terrible

This means you have to cheer him up after. Good luck.

[huntingingoodwill]

honey, honey (s.h.）

masterlist

pairing: family video! steve harrington x f! music store! reader

desc: after eddie drags steve into the music store across from family video, steve finds himself with a huge crush on the girl who works there, a crush that turns him into a mumbling, blushing mess. they bond over steve's love for abba (well, he doesn't love abba. but for her, he might!) ( also reader calls steve steven it's all very that 70s show jackie and hyde <3 )

“Stevie has a crush!” Eddie sang, voice doused in a sickly sweet lilt. The declaration rang through Family Video, announcing Steve’s infatuation to the dwindling midday crowd. 

“I do not.” Steve hissed, the burn that began to blossom in his cheeks contradicting his words. 

“You totally do.” Robin called out, her voice flat and matter-of-fact in between the clacking of tapes as she restocked the shelves.

Eddie arched his dark brows in a smug look, boots knocking against the counter as he sat atop it, swinging his legs. Steve frowned, drumming his fingers against the cash register. 

Steve’s eyes, the brown hues of his irises honeyed in the sunlight, wandered toward the window. He looked toward the music store adjacent to Family Video, eyes cruising past the crush of band posters plastered against the glass to search for you. 

You seemed to glow, and he envied the sunlight that touched your skin. He watched you tinker with a cassette tape behind the counter, winding the unspooled mass of tape with a pencil. He felt the dip of longing in his stomach. 

Suddenly, you turned toward his direction, and it took everything within him not to duck behind the counter and hide. 

Instead, he turned back toward the store in an attempt to act like he wasn’t looking, only to be met with the unamused countenance of a customer who had been trying and failing to catch his attention. 

“Cup or cone?” Steve blurted, eyes widening as he realised his mistake. “Sorry,” he mumbled, taking the tape from the disgruntled customer’s hand, “Force of habit.” he explained. 

Eddie and Robin dissolved into laughter as soon as the door closed behind the customer. 

“Admit it! You’re, like, totally obsessed.” Robin snorted. 

He was a little obsessed. 

He hadn’t even taken notice of you before Eddie had dragged him into the record store the week before. Now, you were all that was on his mind. 

He was reluctant to give up his lunch break to help Eddie scour the store for a record he didn’t even care about. But as soon as he saw you, it all changed. His brash protests against Eddie dragging him into the store diminished, and he became completely quiet, lingering behind Eddie as a debilitating shyness seemed to rip the ability of speech from his voice, reducing him into a blushing mess. 

“Hurry, Munson,” you had tapped your finger against the corkboard that was tacked up against the wall. A polaroid of Eddie, his tongue sticking out in defiance, was posted beneath a crudely scribbled “BANNED 4 LIFE” sign. “My boss will kill me if he finds out I let you in here again.” 

“I got caught using the five finger discount a few too many times.” Eddie paired his explanation to Steve with a completely unapologetic grin. “This is Steve, by the way. Works over at Family Video.” Eddie jutted his chin toward Steve. “And Steve, this is… well, you can read.” 

Steve hadn’t stopped thinking of your name since, the fading, scratched letters that were etched onto your employee badge now engrained onto his mind. He hadn’t stopped thinking of the way you smiled at him, even when he couldn’t find the courage to say a proper hello. He hadn’t stopped thinking of the way you laughed, even as you chased Eddie out from behind the counter when he tried to switch out the record you were playing for one of his own favourites. 

“You’re going over there.” Now, Eddie leapt off the counter, snapping Steve out of the memory he was indulging in, boots thudding against linoleum as his ring-clad hands grasped onto Steve’s shoulders, dragging him toward the door. 

“What? Wait, no, Rob? Rob?!” Steve’s sneakers squeaked in protest as he attempted to dig them into the floor, Eddie mustering a surprising strength as he shoved him out the door. 

“Good luck, Harrington.” Robin’s indifferent voice was punctuated by the ring of the bell hanging over the door as it swung shut.

“Eddie, lay off! I’m not going in there.” Steve exclaimed, shrugging Eddie off of him just as the latter was about to shove him through the door to the music store. The low hum of the music playing within the store buzzed in Steve’s ears, the song pounding to the rhythm of his anxious heartbeat. 

Eddie’s flat, open palm met Steve’s cheek, the cold sting of his rings biting the side of Steve’s jaw. 

“Snap out of it!” Eddie exclaimed, hands latching onto the broad expanse of Steve’s shoulders as he shook him. 

“Dude.” Steve said, kneading the freckled skin of his cheek, the dull buzz of the slap already subsiding. 

“Okay. Sorry. Too much.” Eddie conceded, giving Steve a light tap on the cheek. “But come on. You’re Steve Harrington. Certified loverboy-” 

“Don’t call me that.” 

“Certified.” Eddie emphasised, jabbing a thick finger into the hardness of Steve’s sternum. “Turn on the charm. You like her? Get in there and talk to her! You can do this!” Eddie grit his teeth, a veil of determination falling over his expression. 

“I… can do this.” Steve said, voice faltering with uncertainty. 

“Let me hear you say it. You can do this!” 

“I can do this!” Steve exclaimed, the blaze of determination flaring in his chest. He turned to open the door, pausing for a moment before turning back to Eddie. “How do I look? My hair okay?” 

“Beautiful.” Eddie grinned. “Go get her, champ!” He called out, flinging the door open and shoving him into the store before he could change his mind. 

Steve stumbled through the door, the resolve he had just moments ago draining out of his body as soon as he saw you. 

He summoned all the strength in his body to will himself to approach the first shelf he saw, immediately flicking through the records in order to appear occupied. Like he knew what he was doing, and that his heart was not going to leap out of his throat at any moment. 

Having rushed toward the closest possible shelf, he was in the “A” section, hands roving over ABBA records over and over again for an unreasonably long time as he stole the occasional glance at you. His eyes tilted upward once more, trying to catch another look at you, but he realised you weren’t in his line of sight anymore. 

“Can I help you with anything?” Your voice, a lilting, lovely thing, made him nearly jump out of his skin. You were standing beside him, the proximity making him heady. 

“Um, I was just checking you out- I mean, I want you to check me out, I mean-” He tried to steady his breath, hoping it’d control his faltering tongue. “Can you please help me check this out?” His fingers plucked at whatever record was closest to him, handing it to you. 

“ABBA!” You amiled, gazing upon the glossy cover. “You like ‘em?” 

“Love ‘em.” A nervous laugh bubbled from his lips. “Who doesn’t?” 

He knew nothing about ABBA. Now he’d have to actually listen to them. 

“You’re Steven, right? Eddie’s friend.” The buttons of the register clicked as your fingers tapped against them, ringing him up. 

You remembered his name. He didn’t even bother to correct you, to tell you that his parents were the only people who ever called him Steven, and that was only when they were pissed at him. None of that mattered. You remembered his name.

“Yeah.” He mumbled, hardly able to form the syllable through the aching smile that began to grow on his face. 

“I should head over to Family Video sometime. Maybe you could give me a recommendation.” You smiled, handing the record over to him. “See you ‘round, Steven.” 

He practically floated out of the store. 

“Thanks, come again.” Steve muttered to the customer, sliding her receipt over the counter. 

His eyes wandered toward the window again, something he found himself doing more often than ever, hoping to get a glimpse of you. It was embarrassing, how often he did that, how he practically almost died when you caught his eye and waved at him. 

His fingers skimmed the countertop absent-mindedly as he gazed out the window, the kick of his heartbeat quickening in pace as he saw you walk out onto the sidewalk, arms crossed as your eyes followed the delivery van that cruised up to your storefront. The deliveryman placed two weighty new crates of records onto the concrete with a dull thud as you signed the clipboard he handed you. 

Your shoulders heaved as you sighed, bending down and attempting to lug the heavy crates into the store. 

Ever the gentleman, Steve was out of Family Video in a flash, ditching all responsibility to head out and help you.

“You need help?” He called out, not even waiting for a response before striding up to the crates, the muscles of his tan arms taut as he lifted them for you. 

“Thank you so much. The other guy on shift was supposed to help, but he just had to have a smoke break.” You said, rolling your eyes. 

You held the door open for him, and he placed the crates on the countertop with a thump. 

“Thanks, Steven.” You smiled, and it was enough to root him into place. He was lost in a daze, dizzy with the idea that that smile of yours was for him. He felt gooey inside, like he was due to melt right there, reduced to a puddle on the floor of the music store. 

You glanced toward Family Video, and he missed your smile as soon as the edges of your lips downturned. 

“I think you have to get back there.” You said. 

He followed your gaze, watching as a line of confused customers line up at Family Video, waiting for assistance.

“Shit.” He gathered his composure, rushing toward the door. 

“Oh! Wait!” You reached into your pocket, producing a cassette tape, the shrinkwrap taut around its shiny exterior. 

“I kept this for you. You like ABBA, right? It’s new. Latest cassette shipment.” You grinned, handing him the tape. 

He ran his thumb over it, heart pounding in his chest. He was lost for words, the ability to speak having completely left him as his cheeks tinged pink, heat burning in his collar. 

“It’s on the house. Just don’t tell my boss, alright?” You smiled. 

He was in so much trouble.

If he wasn’t in love with you before, he was now.

[misfitwashere]

ROBERT REICH

FEB 7

Friends,

I wanted to make sure you saw this piece by Lina Khan, who until a few days ago was chair of the Federal Trade Commission. IMHO — as someone who was once an official of the FTC — Khan was one of the wisest and most courageous of its leaders. She wrote the following in the February 4 edition of The New York Times.

Stop Worshiping the American Tech Giants

By Lina M. Khan

When Chinese artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek shocked Silicon Valley and Wall Street with its powerful new A.I. model, Marc Andreessen, the Silicon Valley investor, went so far as to describe it as “A.I.’s Sputnik moment.” Presumably, Mr. Andreessen wasn’t calling on the federal government to start a massive new program like NASA, which was our response to the Soviet Union’s Sputnik satellite launch; he wants the U.S. government to flood private industry with capital, to ensure that America remains technologically and economically dominant.

As an antitrust enforcer, I see a different metaphor. DeepSeek is the canary in the coal mine. It’s warning us that when there isn’t enough competition, our tech industry grows vulnerable to its Chinese rivals, threatening U.S. geopolitical power in the 21st century.

Although it’s unclear precisely how much more efficient DeepSeek’s models are than, say, ChatGPT, its innovations are real and undermine a core argument that America’s dominant technology firms have been pushing — namely, that they are developing the best artificial intelligence technology the world has to offer, and that technological advances can be achieved only with enormous investment — in computing power, energy generation and cutting-edge chips. For years now, these companies have been arguing that the government must protect them from competition to ensure that America stays ahead.

But let’s not forget that America’s tech giants are awash in cash, computing power and data capacity. They are headquartered in the world’s strongest economy and enjoy the advantages conferred by the rule of law and a free enterprise system. And yet, despite all those advantages — as well as a U.S. government ban on the sales of cutting-edge chips and chip-making equipment to Chinese firms — America’s tech giants have seemingly been challenged on the cheap.

It should be no surprise that our big tech firms are at risk of being surpassed in A.I. innovation by foreign competitors. After companies like Google, Apple and Amazon helped transform the American economy in the 2000s, they maintained their dominance primarily through buying out rivals and building anticompetitive moats around their businesses.

Over the last decade, big tech chief executives have seemed more adept at reinventing themselves to suit the politics of the moment — resistance sympathizers, social justice warriors, MAGA enthusiasts — than on pioneering new pathbreaking innovations and breakthrough technologies.

There have been times when Washington has embraced the argument that certain businesses deserve to be treated as national champions and, as such, to become monopolies with the expectation that they will represent America’s national interests. Those times serve as a cautionary tale.

Boeing was one such star — the aircraft manufacturer’s reputation was so sterling that a former White House adviser during the Clinton administration referred to it as a “de facto national champion,” so important that “you can be an out-and-out advocate for it” in government. This superstar status was such that it likely helped Boeing gain the regulatory green light to absorb its remaining U.S. rival McDonnell Douglas. That 1997 merger played a significant role in damaging Boeing’s culture, leaving it plagued with a host of problems, including safety concerns.

On the other hand, the government’s decision to enforce antitrust laws against what is now AT&T Inc., IBM and Microsoft in the 1970s through the 1990s helped create the market conditions that gave rise to Silicon Valley’s dynamism and America’s subsequent technological lead. America’s bipartisan commitment to maintaining open and competitive markets from the 1930s to the 1980s — a commitment that many European countries and Japan did not share — was critical for generating the broad-based economic growth and technological edge that catapulted the United States to the top of the world order.

While monopolies may offer periodic advances, breakthrough innovations have historically come from disruptive outsiders, in part because huge behemoths rarely want to advance technologies that could displace or cannibalize their own businesses. Mired in red tape and bureaucratic inertia, those companies usually aren’t set up to deliver the seismic efficiencies that hungry start-ups can generate.

The recent history of artificial intelligence demonstrates this pattern. Google developed the groundbreaking Transformer architecture that underlies today’s A.I. revolution in 2017, but the technology was largely underutilized until researchers left to join or to found new companies. It took these independent firms, not the tech giant, to realize the technology’s transformative potential.

At the Federal Trade Commission, I argued that in the arena of artificial intelligence, developers should release enough information about their models to allow smaller players and upstarts to bring their ideas to market without being beholden to dominant firms’ pricing or access restrictions. Competition and openness, not centralization, drive innovation.

In the coming weeks and months, U.S. tech giants may renew their calls for the government to grant them special protections that close off markets and lock in their dominance. Indeed, top executives from these firms appear eager to curry favor and cut deals, which could include asking the federal government to pare back sensible efforts to require adequate testing of models before they are released to the public, or to look the other way when a dominant firm seeks to acquire an upstart competitor.

Enforcers and policymakers should be wary. During the first Trump and then the Biden administrations, antitrust enforcers brought major monopolization lawsuits against those same companies — making the case that by unlawfully buying up or excluding their rivals, these companies had undermined innovation and deprived America of the benefits that free and fair competition delivers. Reversing course would be a mistake. The best way for the United States to stay ahead globally is by promoting competition at home.

[hotchnerwrites]

Live & Unfiltered

Pairing: Toji Fushiguro x streamer!reader

Word Count: 2.4k

Warnings: NSFW, smut (18+ only), reader is a streamer with a bedroom setup, fingering, oral sex, doggy, size k1nk if you squint, afab reader, no use of (y/n), swear words, a little bit of v0yeurism, a bit of soft dom toji omg

Request: Hiii!!! I was wondering if you could do Popular live streamer x Toji? Where reader forgets to turn her live off and Toji and reader do some "things". After that she gets banned for a month??? ⚠️ don't write this is you don't feel comfortable ⚠️

A/N: Thank you so much for your request @okgrdgy !! I'm sorry it took me a while, kind of went ham on it. I hope it's what you envisioned. I loved this idea so much. Included a streamer chat too. TBH i don't watch streams, so I took some creative liberties here and there ahahaha we pretend we do not see the inaccuracies. I hope you like it!!! Enjoy reading <3333

My requests are open! Send me stuff through my asks :)

The stopwatch has been ticking for almost 3 hours now. You’re getting tired now and plan on ending the live stream soon. It was getting late in the evening. According to the streaming stats on your secondary monitor, viewers were tabbing out too, which made this decision all too easy. You had dedicated four years of your life to streaming as a career. Your mom had questioned your sanity initially, but after you bought her the house in cash, she shut up about it. Clearly, you had done something right to be averaging 3 million viewers per live. The money was excellent too. You imagined having a great pair of tits had something to do with it too. Lord knows some of those incels viewing your content asked you to strip enough times. 

“Alright, chat, what do you say we wrap this up soon? I’m getting real tired and I wanna grab dinner soon!” You chirp into the mic. “I’ll make you a deal, yeah? I’ll play one more lobby and if I win, we all call it a night.”

mandown13: Deal!!! Get ‘em girl. Just donated a rose for good luck. 🌹 mattymp4: Donated 12 subs, I’m expecting a shoutout soon. marc_johnson_25: Dinner? Yeah right. More like making a sandwich for your boyfriend vibecheck_77: Let's gooo!! Can’t wait for the next level 💪🎮 justanotherfan69: you gonna bounce in your seat again? I know you wore that cropped shirt just for us today 😏 pufferfishxoxo: the new overlay fucks, i love it chillguy_42: You gonna do a fan lobby again? shadow_ninja51: Still waiting on the RE8 stream… I donated roses for it :/ dont_killmyvibe: What’s plans for the next stream?  sarah_gamer_13: Sad to see you going offline early today.

As you read through the comments, the door behind you creaks open. You glance over your shoulder, pushing one side of your headset off. You see Toji, fresh out of the shower, dressed in his old sweats. He’s towelling his hair as he looks at you. He cracks a smile before speaking up. 

“How much longer, doll? I’m starving.”

“One more game, honey, then I’m done, I promise. I won’t be long.”

“You’d be on there all night if you could,” he grumbles, “Don’t take too long, okay? Yell when you’re done.” With that, Toji turns and leaves the room, his footsteps padding down the hallway.

shadowhunter23: You should do a stream with your mans. That’d be lit. justanotherfan69: @/shadowhunter23 Yeah right. He’s gonna cook her. Bet she won’t so she doesn’t lose on stream. sarah_gamer_13: Yeah right, idiots. vibecheck_77: Keep an eye on your left when you go in. It’s your blind spot.

“Okay, chat, here we go. And no, I’m not gonna stream with Toji. He doesn’t really like being on camera, and we respect that here,” you say. You turn back to your primary monitor, double-check that the screen is visible, and return your focus to the lobby.

mandown13: Yessss! You did it! Let’s gooooo! 🙌 pufferfishxoxo: Cooked LOL toxicwaste42: Lmao, didn’t expect that. Guess I was wrong. 🙄 justanotherfan69: Toji sure is one lucky bastard gamerbro_999: Bruh, stop pretending you know how to play. Just look at your reactions. Fake ass bitch. n00bmaster76: Maybe if you showed your tits less and played more, your stats wouldn’t be in the shit. sarah_gamer_13: Good job, girlie. Take rest, you did good today. shadow_ninja51: She’s good, but the fact that people donate just because you’re hot is so wild. 😂

You lean back and stretch your arms as you wrap up the stream. “Alright, chat, that’s it for now. As promised, one last one and we’re done. Thanks for sticking around! I love you all, and I’ll see you next week as usual. Night!” 

You click the end stream button, and the chat blows up with excited comments. You’re grateful to be off now. The ends of your streams were the part you hated the most, not just because you hated leaving your fans but also because the end was when the incels came out in full force. It was such a headache to deal with them. But you’re glad today’s over and you’re looking forward to spending time with your boyfriend.

“Tojiiiiiii,” you call. You’ve missed him. “I’m done. Come backkkkkk!” You know you sound needy but that’s because you are.

Toji strolls back into your room, broad shoulders filling the doorway. He flashes you that crooked grin you love, the scar stretching across his teeth. His hair still hasn’t dried fully, sticking up in the front. 

“You miss me, doll?” He teases, sauntering over to your bed where you’re sprawled out. His voice is raspy and his smile is teasing, like he’s trying to get under your skin. You can’t help but wonder how he pulls it off so effortlessly. 

You part your legs, and he stands between them, staring down at you. His arms are crossed across his broad chest. From this height, he looks like a giant. 

“Long stream?” He asks. His tone is soft, as if genuinely curious, but you know better. The way his lips curl into a flirty smirk tells you he couldn’t care less about the stream. He’s more interested in you. 

“Yeah. You still hungry?”

“Sure,” he shrugs noncommittally. He doesn’t follow that up with anything, but you didn’t dare interrupt. You could tell something was on his mind. After a beat, he flops down next to you. You shift over a bit, making room for him. Toji throws a large arm across your body and pulls you closer. His hand lands on your waist with a firm, possessive grip. His warmth surrounds you, and the scent of his cologne washes over you. You inhale deeply, enjoying the quiet moment.

“You don’t seem hungry, Toji,” you whisper. 

Toji chuckles, “I am. I swear.” He leans in closer, his breath tickling your face. He slowly presses his lips to the side of yours. His hand sneaks up your waist, making feather-light touches as it approaches your breast. His fingers slide against the fabric of your shirt. The warmth from his body sends a shiver down your spine. 

“Oh!” Were you short-circuiting?

“Yeah. Oh.” Toji chuckles, low and playful. He’s enjoying this. 

He leans in again and presses his mouth against yours. Your eyes flutter shut as you lose yourself in the sensation. His tongue swipes against your lips, asking for permission that you don’t think twice about granting. Long, languid strokes are Toji’s style. His tongue dances against yours, and you can’t help the moan that escapes your lips. A warm buzz spreads through your body, which you never want to end. As you both break away to catch your breath, Toji moves down and presses warm, wet kisses against your neck.

“Toji,” you whimper his name, “Please, baby, I need more.”

He pulls away to look into your eyes. Toji tilts your chin up gently with his fingers and says. “Relax, honey, let me take care of it. Just let me help you with that.”

Before you can react, Toji returns to mouthing that spot on your neck. All this while, he had been taking his time, but something had changed now. His hand trails down your waist, sending electricity dancing down your skin. He hooks his fingers under your shirt and yanks it clean off.

“God, you’re so beautiful, doll,” Toji murmurs as he moves down your body. Your body feels like it’s on fire, and you emit a sound between a moan and a whimper. Your need is increasing by the second, and you’re not sure how much longer you can be patient. “Toji,” you mumble out.

“Quiet, baby. Be patient. I’ve got you,” Toji replies from between your legs. With that, he slides your sweats off and gets to work. It seemed like a fire had been lit within him, he wasn’t wasting any time now. He hooks a finger in your panties and pulls it to the side. He presses a thumb to your clit, giving it an experimental swipe. When you gasp and arch against his touch, he takes the liberty of adding a long swipe against your wet cunt with his tongue. 

Your eyes roll back in your head as he continues his ministrations against you. You’re getting impossibly wetter, and the feeling of his tongue against you is overwhelming. Toji groans against you, flicking your clit with his tongue before he slides a finger into your wet hole. You gasp against the sudden intrusion and buck against him. You can't help the moans spilling out of you as Toji’s fingers work in and out of you, his tongue against your swollen bud. 

“Look at me, baby,” Toji orders, his tone warming your core. You hum as Toji’s fingers hit your sweet spot, over and over again. 

“I’m close, Toji, please,” you beg. He doesn’t respond, but his fingers scissor inside you, making you grind your hips against his face. A sudden bolt of lightning arcs up your spine, and your release hits you like a train. 

“Fuck!” You spit out, pleasure radiating from your core in waves. Toji hauls himself above you, biceps bulging. His mouth is glistening in your juices, and he’s grinning from ear to ear. You grab him by the front of his shirt and pull him in for a sloppy kiss. You can taste yourself in his mouth, and it’s driving you crazy. 

Without a warning, Toji suddenly flips you over onto your hands and knees. “Be a good girl for me, now, okay?” He whispers into your ear as he leans over you. You don’t respond. Instead, you push your ass back against his crotch, right onto his erection. As you grind against him, Toji emits a deep rumble from his chest. He presses a large palm against the small of your back and pushes you down. 

“Misbehave and I’ll stop, doll,” Toji states. His tone brooks no argument, and you stop your movements. Toji moves behind you, and you hear the soft rustle of fabric— he strips quickly and rolls on a condom. He’s so fast that you barely register his actions. Before you get a chance you say anything, Toji taps his cock against your entrance a few times and slides in. 

A high-pitched gasp escapes you as you stretch to accommodate to girth. You had slept with Toji so many times, but it always felt like the first time with him. Nothing got you used to his cock bullying its way past your walls. 

“Fuck, Toji, you’re too big,” you can barely get the words out. The tip of his cock is kissing your spongy walls and you’re already seeing stars as he drags it in and out. His eyes don’t move from where your bodies connect. 

“I wanna hear you, sweetheart,” Toji says as he sets a rough pace.

 You don’t even deign him with an answer; you’re too far gone at this point to string words together. His cock hits all the spots you need it too. Your cries bounce off the walls, and the room smells like sweat and sex. A ring of cream has formed around the base of Toji’s cock. Your walls are fluttering against his cock as he speeds up. Pleasure radiates from your pussy to your head and you swear you could hear bells. 

“Harder, Toji, please, I wanna cum so bad,” you cry out. 

Toji pushes you down and holds you down with one arm. He’s going in deeper at this angle, and his dick repeatedly hits your G-spot. You’re basically screaming from pleasure now, and you can hear Toji grunting above you. You squeeze around him as he slides you up and down his cock at a rapid pace. His grip on your waist tightens, and Toji groans as he cums suddenly. He thrusts shallowly a few more times, enough for you to chase your high, and you cum for a second time. This time, your pleasure slides through you slowly, a warm feeling slowly spreading through your body.

Toji slides off you and lays down next to you. “God, doll, you’re so perfect,” he murmurs as he presses a kiss to your forehead. You push yourself up on your arms and crawl onto his chest. His arm wraps around you and his fingers draw abstract designs on your back. 

“You were hungry,” you say. Toji looks down at you, a small smirk tugging against the edge of his mouth. 

“Yeah. Just not the kind you thought,” he chuckles. 

You descend into a fit of giggles. As you both come down your highs, you hear the bells again. 

“Toji, did you hear that?” You ask. He looks at you, a confused look in his eyes.

“What are you talking about?”

“The bells, can you hear them?”

“What be— Oh. Oh.” Toji looks distracted suddenly, glancing over your shoulder.

“What’s wrong? What is it?” You turn your head, following his gaze.

There, in the distance, next to your setup, you can see a faint red dot.

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck fuck. No fucking way.

You leap up, grab your shirt off the floor and toss it on as you run over to your desktop. The bells… The stupid bells were notification sounds. From your livestream. From earlier.

That you had apparently forgotten to turn all the way off. 

justanotherfan69: No. Fucking. Way. n00bmaster76: I knew she’d do it. None of these female streamers don’t do it for the game, they just sell themselves online for money. Why would she be any different? L. toxicwaste42: YOOOOOOO

You quickly hit the end stream button properly this time. The light blinks off this time. Just to be sure, you pull the plug from the outlet as well. 

“Baby, what is it?” Toji asks from behind you.

“So, uh… remember that livestream earlier?” You say sheepishly.

“Yeah. What about it?”

“I….. kind of….. maybe… forgot to turn it off……”

-------------------------------

Bonus The next day, you stare at your emails in pure dismay.

Your account has been temporarily suspended for violating the T&C associated with streaming through our client. Our company aims to be family-friendly, and your actions, upon review, do not align with our ideals. As a result, we have banned you from streaming for the next one (1) month. If you wish to appeal this decision, please respond to this email. Regards

Toji sneaks a look at your screen over your shoulder. He laughs at your plight.

"Oh, shut up, Toji," you snark, his mirth doing nothing for your foul mood, "You're the reason behind this."

"Worth it. Toooootally worth it," he draws out the syllables.

You swat his chest as you begin typing up your appeal.

Thank you for reading. Likes, reblogs, comments and follows are appreciated! Constructive criticism is welcome :) Do not plagiarise my content and/or post it anywhere without crediting me.

[covid-safer-hotties]

For anyone who’s confused: an example of Societal Eugenics is people going “I’m going to judge & harass you in public for wearing a mask” & when you complain to your more-abled ‘friends’ about it, they say “I just don’t want to mask anymore, it’s uncomfortable & it makes people judge me in public, & you telling me that attitude puts you in danger is Harming Me,” which makes them avoid or exclude you. And then they discount our experiences entirely to “return to normal.” This makes it hard for US to, say, go grocery shopping or get desperately-needed medical care. Or, to the original point, be in public at all for either necessity or leisure, *For 5 Or More Years,* bc this attitude was prevalent before the covid pandemic. It’s people legislating public mask bans for “public safety” despite the fact that it would kill & totally isolate disabled people. It’s a form of Ugly Laws, which a lot of people would *love* to bring back.

Simply put: societal eugenics is broader society deciding that it is better for disabled (or “invaluable”) people to die or become completely isolated than for abled people (and their business! their cash flow!) to be inconvenienced. Our existence is inconvenient for y’all, so you take actions to ensure that we all end up dead, either from disease or—wow, imagine this!—because we kill ourselves from isolation and/or because we understand the above, & there’s no evidence that it will ever get better *for the rest of our lives.*

Every vulnerable person—which here includes addicts, people with severe mental illness or neurological disabilities, prisoners, homeless people, elderly people, Black & native people IN PARTICULAR, & children, people you *rarely think about*—has found their lives worsen in the EXACT WAYS WE PREDICTED WITHIN WEEKS OF LOCKDOWNS STARTING. We already KNEW it wasn’t going to be “a few weeks” bc society doesn’t see these people AS people, but possessions at best & animals to be put down at worst. The average person rarely considers it hateful to just “live their lives” when that lifestyle hurts people.

(And this is something that people get mad about, bc surely no! I don’t hurt or kill anyone! But all you gotta do is look at how chocolate suppliers have legally justified child slavery, then consider how freely available it is, & whether you’d give it up. Could you stop buying chocolate or eating chocolate & advocate for everyone else to stop too, even if it meant your friends started hating you for it? This pattern repeats itself over & over again in most aspects of your life. This is Also a form of societal eugenics.)

Your friends killed themselves because they lost their social supports during the initial lockdown. Thank you for advocating for them. We know the feeling bc we’re still there. We wish you’d get angry for every vulnerable person who’s in their same position But Worse. Returning To Normal would not have saved them—a concentrated public effort to mask in public & at work & at events so that they, & more of us, could participate in society WOULD HAVE. Making ALL spaces safer for vulnerable people to participate might have saved them. We want more people to LIVE. By only centering your “abled” friends who died during the initial lockdown, by trying to justify why you refuse to mask or clean the air or advocate for us BECAUSE people isolate you when you do so, your actions & advocacy run contrary to that goal.

People too busy derailing those whose lives have been destroyed by consumerism to have a thought about their role in ableism (which is just eugenics in action).

[definitelycommittingcrimes]

I seem to get this vague impression that maybe y'all want to see the bad boys? Could just be me though.

Without further ado, may I present:

The Bad Boys Bakery

Allegedly run by an FBI task force as a crime-watching front, the Bad Boys Bakery is known for the wide variety of breads and pastries it offers. They have a longstanding, mostly one-sided rivalry with the Clock Cafe because their cakes are stealing the bakery’s customer base from under their noses.

Grian [Last name redacted]: The extremely stressed head of the operation to track down and neutralise the main mafia family in the area, the Clockers. He’s also the official owner of the bakery. He vehemently denies the existence of any romantic and/or sexual tension between him and the charismatic owner of their rival cafe, insisting that the only intentions he has with Scar Goodtimes are homicidal. (Grian’s right to declare murderous urges is protected under the First Amendment.) He is banned from the kitchen due to his pathological obsession with buttons. Joel [Last name redacted]: Head baker and Grian’s right-hand man, Joel has tasked himself with baking a pie so good it draws his wife out of hiding. Some wonder if he has perhaps gotten a bit too into character with the whole bread thing, seeing as he’s supposed to be part of the FBI’s most elite covert ops team. It’s fine. Why do you care so much if Joel’s a secret agent from the American government? What, are you obsessed with him or something? Jimmy [Last name redacted]: Jimmy handles the storefront and greets every prospective customer with the same grin and, if accused of being a toy cowboy (long story), the same indignation. He is fine with being the mascot for their bakery, though. When not trying to fight crime or run a bakery, Jimmy enjoys bubble baths, plotting with his cat Norman, and convincing his friends to play board games with him. Also, for some reason, every time someone pays in cash they give him nickels?

With all the bread you could ever want and then some, why not stop by the Bad Boys Bakery today? Any information on your local money launderers is also much appreciated.

poll results under the cut

What are the odds the people want to see team ties

[brothermouse-skeleton]

Thinking about an alternate Animorphs universe where everyone survives and gets therapy and who of the kids would grow up to get banned from the zoo.

Ax: BANNED! It was a food court incident. He was not in control of himself. He accepted his punishment with dignity.

Jake: BANNED! He tried to hop in a tiger enclosure. When asked why he just says that the other tiger started it and refuses to elaborate.

Cassie: WELCOME! She gives educational presentations. Brings her own animals. Big hit with the kids.

Rachel and Tobias: BANNED! Tobias keeps breaking into the enclosures so Rachel can do a "stay strong, baby, I'll get you out of there someday" <You don't understand babe, prison changes a man. I don't think I can make it on the outside anymore>. It was cute at first but zoo staff got sick of it real quick.

Marco: BANNED! For orchestrating multiple "escapes" where it was soon discovered that the escaped animal was also happily in their enclosure. To be fair, zoo staff should have realized what was happening much sooner when that "escaped" otter showed off it's juggling skills.

The Alternamorphs (everyone survived): BANNED! It's not very effective. They keep rolling up to zoos, libraries, office building, etc and, whenever they find something that's not wheelchair accessible, they morph something big and unwealdly (like a walrus) and just...exist as a nuisance for an hour and forty five minutes. Many have tried to stop them. None have succeeded.

David (everyone survived): DOUBLE BANNED! Once for being a disease carrying rodent, again for trying to steal from the cash register.