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piratefishmama · 9 months

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Finders Givers | Prompted by @aellafreya

Curiosity.

Some may call it a dangerous thing. Some may argue for its ability to lead you to the truth of things. Some may claim it leads you to temptation, to regret, to suffering.

Steve Harrington, was curious.

He’d found the source of his curiosity while visiting a bar he’d planned on purchasing. It wasn’t a huge establishment. Or a well known one. Not exactly big bucks in the making but it was sat in a prime location atop a cellar that led to miles of underground tunnels which frankly.

He wanted.

He wanted them and not for legal reasons either. The tunnels weren’t on any official city map, predating them, Robin and Nancy, his right hand, and his researcher, found them by pure chance while on a fun little jaunt through the local libraries.

Fun being a stretch for Robin, but she needed to hang out with another woman her own age. And so did Nancy.

But he wanted those tunnels, they stretched all over the damn city, with just a little bit of work they could pop up anywhere, perfect for many a less than legal activity.

So many by-chance happenings had led him to that ratty little bi-fold leather wallet. Wasn’t even quality leather either. It looked old too, black with an embossed devil head pattern that probably came from some truck stop somewhere.

He could have just handed it in to the owner he was trying to buy out, could have even thrown it away, but curiosity was a devil sometimes. So there he was, sat down at one of the many tables in that little bar while one of his people did the majority of his work for him (honestly what’s the point of having people if they cant do your work for you?) perusing the contents and feeling more and more depressed by the second.

First, there was a wad of coupons and a single quarter in there instead of bills, which was never a good sign.

Second, a single, solitary, sad, badly rolled little joint.

Third. A single bank card with Mr E J Munson on it. Not even a credit card, just. A debit. Which statistically didn’t mean great things about this person’s credit score. Could just mean the owner was trying to avoid debt, but… doubtful.

Fourth, a stick of gum.

Fifth, a guitar pick.

Sixth, a library card, oof couldn’t even afford to buy the books.

An expired driver’s license desperately in need of renewal registered to Edward Joseph Munson, the photo made him look like he’d just gotten out of jail or some shit, his hair a terrible buzzcut and eyes too big, too dark, and too haunted to be anything else, but then that was just sometimes how those photos turned out. He could have been a totally innocent man!

It had his address on it, a few descriptors, height half an inch shorter than Steve himself, brown hair, brown eyes, male, 140lbs at point of issue (he’d been seventeen), date of issue, issuing State, along with a date of birth, clocking him at a year older than Steve, twenty nine, and… that he was apparently a donor.

And finally, a month old pay stub from a local fast food joint. So minimum wage worker at best.

It was… kind of sad really. Steve actually looked up the address on his phone, just for curiosities sake, because he was already in deep enough to look through a guy’s wallet, might as well google the poor saps address, just in case he felt charitable enough to drop it off on the way back to the high rise.

Oh there was that deep sadness some people might yell ‘I told you so’ about.

It wasn’t bad. But it sure as shit wasn’t good either. Steve knew of at least six bottom dweller drug dealers that operated out of that block, which explained the joint.

And also made him sadder about the joint, the weed probably wasn’t even all that good.

“Hey Robbie?” His long time friend and platonic soulmate turned her bored gaze over to him, she’d been playing angry birds on her phone, he could hear the war cries of those birds every time she launched one. “We done any charity this quarter?”

“Mmmmmnmnnnnoooooo?” It always looked good to the public for a rich guy like him to do charity work. Wouldn’t look too deeply into him if he was seen publicly doing good. “Unless you count telling Dustin to go wild in that nerd shop last week as ‘charity’, your child nearly emptied the damn shop.”

“Nah that was his birthday present, can’t call that charity.” He wasn’t going to reiterate that Dustin wasn’t his child. He was basically mom at that point.

“Alright, so what’re you thinking?” She sat up, turning to face him properly, putting her phone screen down on the table “Sponsoring something? A drive? There’s this cute little animal shelter in Japan called HEART I read about last month, ran by just a woman and her husband working with volunteers, could be a good thing to donate to? Helping animals is always good for PR.”

“…Those sound way better than what I was thinking, this guy’s wallet is bumming me out.” The expression on her face could have probably put grumpy cat to shame. “Pick one of your choices and do something with it, whichever you want. Imma do something about this wallet.” It didn’t have to be a big PR stunt, the fact that he was doing it on the DL as well? It always came back around all sunshine and roses because people believed it was totally selfless.

Didn’t do it for PR, couldn’t be doing it for PR, he hadn’t announced it.

It was always for PR. Always. The reaction just took a little longer to circulate and people were suckers.

“Just give it back to him? That should be charity enough. It’s like nine bucks to replace a driver’s license, you’re saving him nine bucks. Charity.”

“For someone who started out poor, you’re awful, Robin Buckley. Deal with this bar thing for me would you? I’m going to go on an adventure.” Curiosity was a powerful thing!

“Alright but if you come home with another stray I’m suing!”

“That was—”

“Seven times Steve! Seven!!” It wasn’t his fault that he struggled to see teenagers down on their luck. And four of them were two sets of siblings so it technically counted as one time per set, and one came with Nancy so—!

“Fine!” –So, he wouldn’t argue.

Empires weren’t built with throw away people who held no loyalty to you although he did have many of those on staff. Empires like his were built on the foundation of family, and while the one he’d grown up with was a little bit lacklustre, the one he’d built was perfect.

So he wouldn’t argue, he knew she loved them just as much as he did, in her own way, and that any additions would be welcomed with open arms.

—

Steve didn’t take the car. Although he probably should have, he knew at least three of his people would be following him, keeping an eye on him for safety reasons. At a distance of course but they’d be tailing him for the sake of safety.

That neighbourhood wasn’t safe. No matter if he had a weapon on him or not, it wasn’t safe for people like him.

People with visible wealth.

The watch on his wrist alone was probably worth more than some of the buildings in that neighbourhood, and it wasn’t exactly early in the day either. The sun setting made for an excellent ‘rich person in the wrong goddamn neighbourhood’ future police report.

But he made it to his destination unscathed.

The fast food joint from that pay stub. He even double checked the address on it. The chances of this Edward Munson being there were low, but that was fine, he just wanted to check it out. The atmosphere in there, the management styles, he’d hang out in the corner, get a cheap coffee and people watch for a while. See how fun Edward's work life was so he could add it to his decision making tree.

Curiosity really was one depressing little bitch baby.

The manager on staff was loud. Rude. Sexist. And he was pretty sure he’d made one of the staff cry because she’d hurried out very quickly rubbing at her face and sniffling. The temptation to put out a hit on him? High. But no, that was a lot for one asshole… maybe he’d just send Jane out, let the kid take his knees out.

She deserved a little bastard ba—

Someone beat him to it. A commotion later started by someone with a lot of hair, hair that’d been put up in a net and half hidden beneath the uniform’s god awful mustard yellow cap. It’d been two hits, the guy hitting him, and the manager hitting the floor, blood pouring from a very broken nose, spectacular.

The rest of the staff looked on in wide eyed horror, one yelping “Eddie, holy shit!” as the man pulled his cap off to reveal all that hair. “You’re so fired!”

“Didn’t need this shit show anyway! Chris an I quit, peace out assholes!!” Eddie. Eddie. Steve rose to his feet. Godawful coffee forgotten in the face of the mystery Edward, who caught his eye once before continuing on his way, all big brown frankly beautiful Bambi eyes, less haunted but still so big, full, kissable lips, and god, so much hair, going in the same direction as the blonde who’d disappeared to probably go and cry.

Eddie did need that job. He really needed that job. Steve had seen the state of his wallet. He needed that job, or at least he needed the paycheque that came from that job. Couldn’t even afford to buy his own books! He rented them, he rented books.

Jesus.

God, Robin was gonna judge him so bad for the person he was about to become.

Part 2

#PirateWrites #FindersGiversFiclet #Steddie #Mob Boss Steve Harrington #No Upside Down AU #Shady!Steve #CW: Stalker Vibes #nothing nefarious it's all lighthearted non-threatening stuff #Sugar Baby Eddie who never agreed to be a sugar baby but isn’t complaining.

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seat-safety-switch · 1 year

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Recently, my local grocery store bought a robot to keep the shoplifters at bay. Now, it doesn’t do the full Robocop routine: this thing is shaped like an enormous buttplug on wheels and doesn’t even have any onboard weapons. What it does do is get in the way of my cart, often when I’m setting up multiple-element produce-aisle drifts, and then take half an hour to do a million-point turn to get out of my way. I don’t have this kind of time, especially when the carton of ice cream I pocketed is melting in my coat.

So, the obvious answer: break into the thing, pull all of its parts out, put them in the bottom of my cart and then drive them through the self-checkout, which likely hates its new coworker and will be happy to see its guts scattered across the dirt floor of some creep’s suburban garage. The robot makers, however, saw me coming. They put my worst enemy on the job: security fasteners. Special, proprietary screw heads, of a type which I did not carry on my person at all times.

We had a problem, then, the two of us. I would need more time to complete my action, so I stuck a can of artichoke hearts under the robot’s wheels, causing it to lose traction. In response, it beeped furiously for help that would never come, from the same minimum-wage workers it was meant to replace. Taking the initiative, I used my shopping cart to wedge its gleaming white plastic body up against the bottom of the soup shelf, where it writhed in agony, its optics and radar futilely searching for an opportunity to escape. Then I walked over to the hardware aisle, which – although surprisingly generous for a grocery store, the reason why I “patronize” it – did not contain any security screwdriver bits, or even a plasma torch. I opted, then, for a flathead screwdriver and a hammer, and returned to the robot.

I’ll never know what it saw in its last moments of life as a complete object, but it was probably me lifting the hammer aloft as I drove the last of the mangled security screws loose from the cage holding its thought matrix. After I removed it from the sea of shattered plastic and wiring and looked up what it goes for on eBay, I realized that it would probably just have been cheaper to let it follow me out into the parking lot and hit it with my car. At least then, the guy who handles my insurance calls would have to hire a new employee to handle robot-on-car claims.

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punkitt-is-here · 8 months

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about that stupid anon, I want to add that in Florida, a deeply gerrymandered state, we voted in 2020 on a ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage, part of the Constitution. By 2026, we will have 15 dollars minimum wage and it will be adjusted annually for inflation. Is it enough? no, the cost of living crisis hits hard here. But this is IN Florida, again state redder than the devil's menstruation.

It goes to show how progressive our population is, and how much we can achieve when were not actively disenfranchised.

So anon, shut up, voting does change things. I think we need both voting and direct action but goddammit, they're not mutually exclusive. Lmao. Disney workers literally won higher wages through their bargaining, separate from the minimum wage laws. Both can exist.

yeah thats my thing like. obviously voting doesn't fix everything. duh. of course not. direct action is always important and needed and its how things are accomplished. but acting like voting is somehow some nerd shit and that believing it can help the populace in some way is bad??? huhgjfhgjf????? like if i have the option to do some part to make the world i live in better at the cost of. checking a box on a piece of paper along with all the other shit i do....well i don't see why i shouldnt yknow

#lab-labrava #my posts #asks

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primroseparker · 2 years

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Hi there! I've had this idea stuck in my head for a while and I'd rather read it than write it lol -though I might write something myself eventually-

Reader strongly disliking physical touch from everyone but Steve, and him being completely oblivious to it. The rest of the friend group pointing it out and him refusing to believe them, so the whole lot decide to prove him wrong with some sort of masterplan. (Idiots in love am I right)

What do you think? Hope you have a great day xxx

The Only Exception || Steve Harrington x female!reader

Summary: Physical touch was something you despised, but as always, Steve’s touch was the only exception. When he refuses to believe that you actually hate the whole concept of it, the kids come up with a plan to prove him wrong.

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: fluff, a tiny bit of angst, reader dislikes physical touch

A/N: I’m sorry it took so long for me to write it. It was difficult because I’m the complete opposite (big fan of physical touch), but I tried my best to implement it in the story. I hope you like it! Also, this is not based on the Paramore song “The Only Exception”, I just thought that the title would fit this story lmao

The warm and bright rays of sunshine slip through the curtains, shining directly on your face and awakening you from your unconscious state. You squeeze your eyes shut and turn to face the other side. A hand comes up to your face, its thumb caressing your cheek slowly. You open your eyes and are met with Steve’s sleepy gaze.

“Hey,” he whispers as he gives you a small smile.

“G’morning,” you murmur as you put your arms around his waist and hug him close. “How long have you been up for?”

“Not long, I was just waiting for you to wake up,” he says nuzzling against your neck. He leaves a trail of soft kisses all the way from your jaw to your collarbone.

“I missed you last night,” he continues.

“I’m sorry, I had to stay later than planned because this customer would just not shut up,” you groan as you remember the encounter. He pulls back to meet his gaze with yours.

“I mean, he just kept going on and on about how his son was going off the rails with this so-called ‘satanic’ D&D game, saying that he was worried he would turn out to be a cult member,” rubbing the sleep from your eyes and then raising your arms above your head to stretch.

“All I did was ask how he was doing, which is obviously a question that is asked clearly out of courtesy. I’m just a retail worker working minimum wage, not a therapist,” you scoff and roll your eyes in frustration.

He looks at you with an amused expression. He loved that you felt comfortable enough to rant about your feelings, knowing full well that you had trouble doing so with most people. But he also found it entertaining because of the way you told your stories.

“Don’t worry about it, dove. I’m just glad to wake up next to you,” he says, voice still raspy from sleep. He pulls you back into a hug and you close your eyes, letting the warmth from his touch embrace you like the world’s most comfortable blanket.

In the two months you and Steve had been dating, neither of you had discussed your love languages. He assumed yours was physical touch since you always welcomed his touch eagerly. Because of this, he never had a reason to think otherwise. But in reality, you were never one to favor physical closeness. Your childhood lacked the expression of love through touch because your parents were never affectionate with you, or with each other for that matter.

Before Steve, any kind of physical closeness would make you uncomfortable. However, having him that close would not only make you happy but calm. His hugs and kisses were like a breath of fresh air. It was something new and exciting, yet calming when you were stressed or low-spirited. Despite loving having him that close, his touch was the only one you tolerated. You, of course, were certain that his love language was physical touch; it was as clear as day and everyone knew it.

“Come on, let’s go get some breakfast so we can help set up for Dustin’s birthday party,” you say as you let go of Steve and sit up into a cross-legged position. He throws his arm over his face and sighs.

“Alright, just give me five more minutes of sleep and then I’ll get up to shower,” he mumbles into his arm.

“Five minutes will turn into ten, ten will turn into twenty, and next thing you know we’ll be an hour late, Steve”

“Fine,” he groans, “I’m getting up now.”

Your mouth quirks up at the corners with contentment. You love living with Steve. Moments of simple domestic bliss are your favorite, especially ones like these. Mornings with him are so soft. It is when you would let your guard down, allowing yourself to be who you really are, and it’s the same way for him. Uncrossing your legs, you give him a kiss on the forehead and get up from the bed. The two of you need to be at the Wheeler’s place soon to set up for the party, and if there’s one thing you dislike more than anything is being late.

“Stevie, you better be in the shower by the time I come back!” you shout as you head to the kitchen to make breakfast for the two of you. As much as you love Steve, mornings, when you had somewhere else to be, were not easy.

—

“Happy birthday, Henderson,” Steve smiles as he embraces Dustin in a tight hug. The setup for the party had been pretty easy. All of the kids had offered to help make their friend’s birthday a special one, especially after everything that happened with the Upside Down.

“Thanks, man,” Dustin responds.

“You know, it would’ve been a hell of a lot easier if you had told us what you wanted as a present instead of having us guess,” Steve says while rolling his eyes.

Although he loved the kid, he hated trying to find a present that would be perfect to Dustin’s liking. It was incredibly stressful to him because he wanted it to be perfect. He wanted him to have a present that he would actually enjoy, something that Steve hadn’t experienced in his childhood as a result of his parent’s emotional negligence. Sure, they always provided him with anything he needed, but they never bothered to give him the attention and affection all childrens need. Every year, his parents would always give him money to buy whatever he wanted, even as a child. The thought that goes into buying a loved one something they want is much better than an envelope with a hundred bucks and a half-hearted congratulations.

“I’m sure I’ll love whatever you got me. Plus, where’s the fun in just telling you?”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever, dude. It better be something you like, otherwise I’m making you bike to return it for something you actually like. I’m not wasting gas on that,” he grumbles. You give him a knowing smile, after all, you know him well enough to know that he was all bark and no bite. At least not when it came to the people he loved. It seemed like Dustin knew it too because he just chuckles at his remark.

“Happy birthday, Dustin,” you smile as you hand the young teen a blue envelope that contains a birthday card.

“Thanks, y/n!” he says much more enthusiastically. Suddenly, he wraps his arms around you, with your own pinned against your side. You become still as a statue, not knowing how to respond to his touch. Not wanting to hurt his feelings, you bring your right hand up to his back and give him a quick pat. He seems to get the hint because he drops his arms and gives you a slight smile.

“Steve, could you help me carry one of my new inventions? It’s in the garage and it’s just too heavy for me to carry it,” Dustin says.

“Sure, sure,” Steve responds. “Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own?” he says as he turns to you.

“I’m sure. I’ll go ask Mrs. Henderson if she needs help with anything,” you smile reassuringly.

“Alright,” he says, giving you a small peck on the cheek before turning on his heel to follow Dustin.

Dustin opens the door to the garage, finding the rest of his friends sitting on the floor playing a boardgame.

“What are you guys doing here?” Steve questions.

“Dustin’s mom got mad at us for yelling while playing the game. She told us to either tone it down or come to the garage. So, we decided to come here instead,” Lucas shrugs. “What are you doing here? I thought you would be hanging out with the others,” he adds. Steve assumes that by the others he means Robin, Jonathan, Nancy, and you.

“I was, but Henderson over here wanted me to help him carry something that was apparently too heavy for him. Which is bullshit because I know for a fact he would rather struggle to carry something than ask for my help.”

With that, he turns to look at Dustin. “So what’s going on, dude?” he questions, brow arched in suspicion.

“When were you going to tell me that y/n hates hugs?” Dustin asks.

“What are you talking about? She loves hugs,” he says, surprise crossing his face.

“You know damn well what I’m talking about. It sure would’ve been better if you had told me before I hugged her today.”

Steve shoots him a quizzical look and asks, “I seriously have no clue what you’re talking about.”

“Everytime we hug her she either awkwardly stands very still with her arms pinned to her sides or just dodges the gesture altogether,” Max joins in, “I thought you knew that already.”

“You guys have no idea what you’re talking about,” Steve says.

“It’s true, last week when she helped me with my History homework, I tried to give her a hug but she just stook out her hand for a handshake instead,” Will reveals.

“And a few minutes ago she just stood very still and gave me a pat on the back while I gave her a hug,” Dustin adds.

“I think I would know if my girlfriend disliked physical touch,” Steve insists.

“You think we’re making it up? Fine, we’ll prove you wrong, Dingus,” Dustin fires back. He goes up to Mike and whispers something in his ear. Mike nods and turns to whisper the same thing in El’s ear.

“Let’s go,” Dustin says. The rest of the kids follow him, Steve trailing right behind them. They head to the living room, where you’re sitting on the couch reading your book.

“Hey, y/n,” Dustin greets you. You look from your novel, and smile at the kids.

“Hey,” you answer back.

“We just wanted to thank you for everything you have done for us. I mean, from helping us out with our English and History homework, to giving us rides to the arcade and helping decorate for my birthday party,” he continues.

“Yeah, and thanks for the relationship advice you gave us earlier this week,” Mike comments as he glances at El.

“There’s no need to thank me, I’m happy to help out however I can,” giving them a gentle smile.

“Can I give you a hug?” El asks shyly.

“Oh, uh, sure,” you mutter. You step forward in her direction and wrap your left arm around her shoulders for a brief second. When you step back, you give her a tight smile and put your hands in the pockets of your jacket.

“Are you okay, y/n?” Lucas asks.

“Of course,” you reply.

“Did I do something wrong? Was my hug that bad?” El asks you, a frown forming on her face.

“What? No, not at all. You’re a great hugger El” you quickly say.

“Or do you just don’t like us? Is that why you hate our hugs?” Dustin inquires, brows furrowed in worry.

“It’s not you guys, I promise. I’m just not that fond of physical touch,” you admit, an apologetic look on your face.

“What? All this time you’ve hated it and you couldn’t even tell me?” Steve asks, a hurtful look crossing his face.

“We’ll leave you two to talk,” Dustin says quietly. They all glance at each other in confusion, but Dustin nods towards the hallway that leads back to the garage. They exit the room, leaving the two of you in awkward silence.

“Does that mean that you’ve hated all of the kisses and hugs I’ve been giving you this entire time?” Steve asks, eyebrows lowered and pulled together.

You close the space that separates the two of you and bring your hands up to his face to softly cup his cheek.

“Baby, I’ve loved every single kiss and hug you have given me so far. Look, I know we’ve never discussed this, but physical touch doesn’t come easy to me. I mean, the kids just proved it,” you laugh humorlessly.

“My parents were never affectionate with me, so anything that involves touching other people makes me uncomfortable. I never thought that it would change, but then you came along and became my only exception,” you continue, “Trust me when I say that nothing makes me happier than feeling you close to me.”

“But why didn’t you say anything, dove?” he asks softly, tilting up your chin and cupping both of your cheeks. You take your hands off his face and hold his wrists instead, as if to keep his hands in place.

“It never came up. Plus, I didn’t want you to think that I hated your touch,” you answer in the same tone.

“I’m sorry for not saying anything,” you add.

“And I’m sorry for not noticing it sooner,” he responds.

“I guess we’re just two idiots in love, huh? Too blinded to see the obvious,” he chuckles.

“I guess we are,” you chuckle as well, standing on your toes to meet your lips with his.

—

Taglist: @shyawayfromme @untitledarea

For some reason I couldn’t tag most of the people that answered my google form taglist, just these two. Not sure why it’s happening but sorry!

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #steve harrington x you #steve harrington fluff #stranger things fanfiction #fanfic #eddie munson x reader #steve harrington angst #steve harrington x female reader #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x reader fluff #steve harrington blurb #steve harrington one shot #steve harrington x reader fanfic #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington fanfic

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t34-mt · 1 year

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minimum wage worker in sat'thuckthuck

I don't think I could find an in-world name i can write down since they use chirping and various sounds and their crest to communicate. So ill call them pilots, referring to how they can pilot diesel mechas and other machines.

I think of sat'thuckthuck being stupidly industrialized, with a dieselpunk feel. the surface of the moon is harshly cold for most of the year so pilots have underground shelters. Unfortunately, people with no family, that have a shit job or other circumstances might stay on the surface inside of a mecha for the entire winter. Living inside a mecha is not luxurious, there isn't much place and that space they have might vary on the mecha model.

So this moon is in high contrast with altuyur's non-industrial world, without borders or really any money system that has a prehistory/middle age (north Africa) feel to it. It is quite silly that quadrupedal 8-limbed space corgis have more advanced technology and stuff that looks like what we humans have than the more humanoid bird/dinosaur thing that kyhuines and maanuls are. But I like it that's what i want

about the drawing, id imagine this worker operating something close to a crane or just anything harvesting minerals since i also imagine the place they're in to be a mine. They're wearing gas masks on the face because their workplace isn't filtered correctly, and the mineral harvesting outside can release toxic gas.

each line in the red area are like nostrils, they inhale from there and exhale from that stomach nostril. Animals of altuyur have single pair of nostrils which is usually on their chest, while animals of sat'thuckthuck have head nostrils to get the air in and stomach one to get it out.

also if the hand is different from last pilot drawing its cause I'm still figuring out which type of hand ill like better and i think i like the one from previous drawing move honestly.

#pilot #sat'tchuckthuck #speculative zoology #xenobiology #xenofiction #2023 #my art #ms paint #partly #then i went to kitra #then back to paint lol #digital art #artist on tumblr #txt

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iww-gnv · 3 months

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For years, Cristian Céspedes worked as a foreman for a construction contractor, Unforgettable Coatings, in Las Vegas, where he and his co-workers often worked over 60 hours a week without overtime pay. He recalls having to tell workers who were injured on the job that they had to deal with the injury and pay for medical care themselves. He knew the treatment and conditions imposed on himself and his co-workers were wrong, but he didn’t know he could do anything about it. “I always knew stuff was wrong. I just didn’t know where to go to seek help,” said Céspedes, who recently became a union organizer and said a wage theft investigation was kicked off after workers started meeting with local union organizers and learning about their rights. Wage theft is a pervasive problem facing workers throughout the US. According to a 2014 report by the Economic Policy Institute, workers lose over $50bn a year to wage theft from employers. Wage theft includes tactics from stiffing workers on pay, failing to properly pay workers for overtime, minimum wage violations, misclassification of employees as independent contractors, and not providing workers with mandated break times. “We didn’t know our rights or anything like that. We were working over 60 hours a week and not getting paid overtime, and here in Nevada over 40 hours is overtime, so we would work 60 to 80 hours a week and sometimes we had to work for free on Sundays just to finish up a project,” said Céspedes. US regulators are cracking down on wage theft. A 2013 investigation by the Department of Labor recovered $47,393 in unpaid overtime wages to 21 workers in Utah. Last year, the department ordered Unforgettable Coatings and its owner Cory Summerhays to pay 593 workers over $3.6m in stolen wages, damages, interest and penalties.

#news #labor news #construction #construction workers #construction industry #us news #uspol #us pol #wage theft #us dept of labor #us department of labor

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reasonsforhope · 10 months

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Across New York City, delivery drivers are a ubiquitous sight: congregating outside big restaurant chains waiting to collect orders, zooming through the city streets with orders in tow. “The most chaotic time for deliveries is easily during lunch time,” says Elijah Williams, who delivers food for both Uber and DoorDash. “I’ve had up to four orders at one time.”

Mayor Eric Adams recently announced a major change that will deeply impact busy workers like Williams: app-based delivery workers will be paid $17.96 an hour starting July 12th — and nearly $20 an hour by 2025 — marking the nation’s first minimum pay for such workers.

“Our delivery workers have consistently delivered for us — now, we are delivering for them,” he said. “They should not be delivering food to your household, if they can’t put food on the plate in their household.”

The Background

Mayor Adams made the announcement at City Hall, surrounded by delivery workers as well as members of the nonprofit organizations, Workers Justice Project (WJP) and Los Deliveristas Unidos.

Ligia Guallpa, executive director of WJP, expressed her excitement and gratitude.

“This first of its kind minimum pay rate will uplift working and immigrant families,” said [Ligia Guallpa of Workers Justice Project (WJP)] alongside Gustavo Ajche of Los Deliveristas Unidos. “[It will] ensure that workers who keep New Yorkers fed, are able to keep also their families fed too.”

WJP was founded in 2010, and coordinates numerous worker-led programs, including Los Deliveristas Unidos, that aim to improve conditions for low-wage immigrant workers across the five boroughs.

The Details

The current minimum wage in New York is $15 an hour. On average, service workers are paid $7.09 an hour, excluding tips. The new wage is in keeping with a law passed by the City Council in 2021, which requires the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to set a standard minimum rate for delivery workers.

App-based delivery workers are classified as “independent contractors,” which means they’re not entitled to the standard minimum wage that applies to salaried employees’ pay. Instead, delivery workers who work for the big food delivery services, like Uber Eats and Relay, are entitled to just $2.13 an hour before tips — a so-called “tipped sub-minimum wage.”

Research has shown that getting rid of tipped sub-minimum wages benefits not just the workers getting the raise, but the economy as a whole. A 2021 analysis found that states without a tipped sub-minimum wage saw 29 percent growth in their leisure and hospitality sectors, compared to just six percent in states that used the federal tipped sub-minimum wage of $2.13.

...For many of the workers who face hostile roads and unpredictable weather conditions to get New Yorkers their ordered goods, this is a life-changing development.

“This is my full-time job. I get up every day and do this,” says delivery driver Justin Martinez outside the Chick-Fil-A in Washington Heights.

Martinez, 30, is originally from the Dominican Republic. His commitment to completing deliveries, he explains, is fueled by his love for his family.

“This is my way to contribute. I go out, 9, 10 hours a day, do deliveries, and then I can come home,” he says. Martinez first started driving for Uber in 2019 before transitioning to delivering food for Uber Eats and other apps in 2021. He’s excited for the pay wage increase: “Maybe now, I only [have to] go out for 6 hours.”

-via Reasons to Be Cheerful, June 30, 2023

#new york #new york city #nyc #uber #ubereats #delivery app #delivery driver #restaurants #minimum wage #labor #labor rights #united states #eric adams #gig workers #gig economy #income inequality #good news #hope

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wastelesscrafts · 2 years

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Fast fashion and crochet

While we're on the topic of crochet:

Please know that, unlike knitting, crochet cannot be manufactured by machines. This has a few consequences.

Labour exploitation:

Labour exploitation is rampant in the fast fashion industry: without it, the industry simply would not exist.

This means that if you see a genuine crocheted piece in a fast fashion shop, it was made by hand by someone who was paid peanuts for their labour, if paid at all.

Fibre crafts are very labour-intensive. This is why crocheted/hand-knitted items by indie designers are priced the way they are: you're not just paying for the materials. You're also paying for the hours that were needed to design and make the item. Even if the designer were to price those hours at minimum wage, they still add up.

Fast fashion strives to manufacture items as cheaply as possible. A lot of different things make up the final price you pay at a shop, such as design, materials, shipping, packaging, marketing,... Labour is only a fraction of that price, and garment workers rarely get paid a living wage as to keep the prices down.

Take this seven part TikTok breakdown of a crocheted Target bikini top by Drea's Hook, for example. After replicating part of the top, she estimates it would take about 3 hours to crochet the full item by hand (and it was crocheted by hand). That doesn't even account for the materials, the labour needed to sew the lining and the tag, the design, shipping, stock photos,... Yet it only costs $22. If the person who crocheted the top was paid at all, it can hardly have been more than a few cents.

Stolen designs:

On top of labour exploitation, there's been multiple scandals regarding fast fashion brands stealing designs by independent crochet artists such as Knots & Vibes or Loupystudio, among others.

Design theft not only profits off the work done by the original designer without any form of compensation in return, it also devalues the work needed to make an item.

The average person doesn't know how much work goes into making clothes. When fast fashion brands knock off original designs and sell them for a fraction of the price, it propagates the idea that the original item was priced unfairly. After all, why would someone charge €250 for a sweater when you can buy a similar one for €15 at H&M? This way, the industry keeps getting away with exploiting its workers while indie designers struggle to get by.

Can everyone afford to pay that €250? No, of course not. Even that €15 sweater can be a big financial hit if you're on a budget, and we all need clothes to keep us warm in winter. But practical issues aside, I think we can all agree that everyone deserves fair compensation for their work.

Conclusion:

People often assume their clothes have been made by machines. This is a logical assumption given the average fast fashion price tag, but unfortunately it's a wrong one.

Sure, we've got sewing and knitting machines and all other kinds of mechanical helps, but someone still has to work those machines. When an item has to be made by hand, like crochet, it will take longer. If the price tag doesn't reflect this extra labour, then neither will the worker's wage.

This blog will never shame anyone for buying fast fashion. Even if you're aware of the problems within the industry, there's plenty of valid reasons why quitting just isn't an option for most of us. We're stuck in a broken system that we cannot change overnight, and not everyone has access to alternatives.

That doesn't mean we can't chip away at it. Educating yourself about these issues is a big first step. It makes us more conscious about the clothes we wear and the labour and resources that went into making them, which in turn motivates us to take action. If more people were aware of these problems, the industry would be much less likely to get away with them.

#wasteless crafts #essay #random #community #fast fashion #slow fashion #sustainable fashion #sustainability #economy #capitalism #crochet #knitting #fibre crafts #fibre arts #consumption #labour #labour exploitation #design theft #labour rights

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mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year

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Rent control works

This Saturday (May 20), I’ll be at the GAITHERSBURG Book Festival with my novel Red Team Blues; then on May 22, I’m keynoting Public Knowledge’s Emerging Tech conference in DC.

On May 23, I’ll be in TORONTO for a book launch that’s part of WEPFest, a benefit for the West End Phoenix, onstage with Dave Bidini (The Rheostatics), Ron Diebert (Citizen Lab) and the whistleblower Dr Nancy Olivieri.

David Roth memorably described the job of neoliberal economists as finding “new ways to say ‘actually, your boss is right.’” Not just your boss: for decades, economists have formed a bulwark against seemingly obvious responses to the most painful parts of our daily lives, from wages to education to health to shelter:

https://popula.com/2023/04/30/yakkin-about-chatgpt-with-david-roth/

How can we solve the student debt crisis? Well, we could cancel student debt and regulate the price of education, either directly or through free state college.

How can we solve America’s heath-debt crisis? We could cancel health debt and create Medicare For All.

How can we solve America’s homelessness crisis? We could build houses and let homeless people live in them.

How can we solve America’s wage-stagnation crisis? We could raise the minimum wage and/or create a federal jobs guarantee.

How can we solve America’s workplace abuse crisis? We could allow workers to unionize.

How can we solve America’s price-gouging greedflation crisis? With price controls and/or windfall taxes.

How can we solve America’s inequality crisis? We could tax billionaires.

How can we solve America’s monopoly crisis? We could break up monopolies.

How can we solve America’s traffic crisis? We could build public transit.

How can we solve America’s carbon crisis? We can regulate carbon emissions.

These answers make sense to everyone except neoliberal economists and people in their thrall. Rather than doing the thing we want, neoliberal economists insist we must unleash “markets” to solve the problems, by “creating incentives.” That may sound like a recipe for a small state, but in practice, “creating incentives” often involves building huge bureaucracies to “keep the incentives aligned” (that is, to prevent private firms from ripping off public agencies).

This is how we get “solutions” that fail catastrophically, like:

Public Service Loan Forgiveness instead of debt cancellation and free college:

https://studentloansherpa.com/likely-ineligible/

The gig economy instead of unions and minimum wages:

https://www.newswise.com/articles/research-reveals-majority-of-gig-economy-workers-are-earning-below-minimum-wage

Interest rate hikes instead of price caps and windfall taxes:

https://www.npr.org/2023/05/03/1173371788/the-fed-raises-interest-rates-again-in-what-could-be-its-final-attack-on-inflati

Tax breaks for billionaire philanthropists instead of taxing billionaires:

https://memex.craphound.com/2018/11/10/winners-take-all-modern-philanthropy-means-that-giving-some-away-is-more-important-than-how-you-got-it/

Subsidizing Uber instead of building mass transit:

https://prospect.org/infrastructure/cities-turn-uber-instead-buses-trains/

Fraud-riddled carbon trading instead of emissions limits:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/27/voluntary-carbon-market/#trust-me

As infuriating as all of this “actually, your boss is right” nonsense is, the most immediate and continuously frustrating aspect of it is the housing crisis, which has engulfed cities all over the world, to the detriment of nearly everyone.

America led the way on screwing up housing. There were two major New Deal/post-war policies that created broad (but imperfect and racially biased) prosperity in America: housing subsidies and labor unions. Of the two, labor unions were the most broadly inclusive, most available across racial and gender lines, and most engaged with civil rights struggles and other progressive causes.

So America declared war on labor unions and told working people that their only path to intergenerational wealth was to buy a home, wait for it to “appreciate,” and sell it on for a profit. This is a disaster. Without unions to provide countervailing force, every part of American life has worsened, with stagnating wages lagging behind skyrocketing expenses for education, health, retirement, and long-term care. For nearly every homeowner, this means that their “most valuable asset” — the roof over their head — must be liquidated to cover debts. Meanwhile, their kids, burdened with six-figure student debt — will have little or nothing left from the sale of the family home with which to cover a downpayment in a hyperinflated market:

https://gen.medium.com/the-rents-too-damned-high-520f958d5ec5

Meanwhile, rent inflation is screaming ahead of other forms of inflation, burdening working people beyond any ability to pay. Giant Wall Street firms have bought up huge swathes of the country’s housing stock, transforming it into overpriced, undermaintained slums that you can be evicted from at the drop of a hat:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/08/wall-street-landlords/#the-new-slumlords

Transforming housing from a human right to an “asset” was always going to end in a failure to build new housing stock and regulate the rental market. It’s reaching a breaking point. “Superstar cities” like New York and San Francisco have long been priced out of the reach of working people, but now they’re becoming unattainable for double-income, childless, college-educated adults in their prime working years:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/05/15/upshot/migrations-college-super-cities.html

A city that you can’t live in is a failure. A system that can’t provide decent housing is a failure. The “your boss is right, actually” crowd won: we don’t build public housing, we don’t regulate rents, and it suuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks.

Maybe we could try doing things instead of “aligning incentives?”

Like, how about rent control.

God, you can already hear them squealing! “Price controls artificially distort well-functioning markets, resulting in a mismatch between supply and demand and the creation of the dreaded deadweight loss triangle!”

Rent control “causes widespread shortages, leaving would-be renters high and dry while screwing landlords (the road to hell, so says the orthodox economist, is paved with good intentions).”

That’s been the received wisdom for decades, fed to us by Chicago School economists who are so besotted with their own mathematical models that any mismatch between the models’ predictions and the real world is chalked up to errors in the real world, not the models. It’s pure economism: “If economists wished to study the horse, they wouldn’t go and look at horses. They’d sit in their studies and say to themselves, ‘What would I do if I were a horse?’”

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/27/economism/#what-would-i-do-if-i-were-a-horse

But, as Mark Paul writes for The American Prospect, rent control works:

https://prospect.org/infrastructure/housing/2023-05-16-economists-hate-rent-control/

Rent control doesn’t constrain housing supply:

https://dornsife.usc.edu/pere/rent-matters

At least some of the time, rent control expands housing supply:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-9906.2007.00334.x

The real risk of rent control is landlords exploiting badly written laws to kick out tenants and convert their units to condos — that’s not a problem with rent control, it’s a problem with eviction law:

https://web.stanford.edu/~diamondr/DMQ.pdf

Meanwhile, removing rent control doesn’t trigger the predicted increases in housing supply:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094119006000635

Rent control might create winners (tenants) and losers (landlords), but it certainly doesn’t make everyone worse off — as the neoliberal doctrine insists it must. Instead, tenants who benefit from rent control have extra money in their pockets to spend on groceries, debt service, vacations, and child-care.

Those happier, more prosperous people, in turn, increase the value of their landlords’ properties, by creating happy, prosperous neighborhoods. Rent control means that when people in a neighborhood increase its value, their landlords can’t kick them out and rent to richer people, capturing all the value the old tenants created.

What is life like under rent control? It’s great. You and your family get to stay put until you’re ready to move on, as do your neighbors. Your kids don’t have to change schools and find new friends. Old people aren’t torn away from communities who care for them:

https://ideas.repec.org/a/uwp/landec/v58y1982i1p109-117.html

In Massachusetts, tenants with rent control pay half the rent that their non-rent-controlled neighbors pay:

https://economics.mit.edu/sites/default/files/publications/housing%20market%202014.pdf

Rent control doesn’t just make tenants better off, it makes society better off. Rather than money flowing from a neighborhood to landlords, rent control allows the people in a community to invest it there: opening and patronizing businesses.

Anything that can’t go on forever will eventually stop. As the housing crisis worsens, states are finally bringing back rent control. New York has strengthened rent control for the first time in 40 years:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/12/nyregion/rent-regulation-laws-new-york.html

California has a new statewide rent control law:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/11/business/economy/california-rent-control.html

They’re battling against anti-rent-control state laws pushed by ALEC, the right-wing architects of model legislation banning action on climate change, broadband access, and abortion:

https://www.nmhc.org/research-insight/analysis-and-guidance/rent-control-laws-by-state/

But rent control has broad, democratic support. Strong majorities of likely voters support rent control:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/03/07/metro/new-statewide-poll-shows-strong-support-rent-control/

And there’s a kind of rent control that has near unanimous support: the 30-year fixed mortgage. For the 67% of Americans who live in owner-occupied homes, the existence of the federally-backed (and thus federally subsidized) fixed mortgage means that your monthly shelter costs are fixed for life. What’s more, these costs go down the longer you pay them, as mortgage borrowers refinance when interest rates dip.

We have a two-tier system: if you own a home, then the longer you stay put, the cheaper your “rent” gets. If you rent a home, the longer you stay put, the more expensive your home gets over time.

America needs a shit-ton more housing — regular housing for working people. Mr Market doesn’t want to build it, no matter how many “incentives” we dangle. Maybe it’s time we just did stuff instead of building elaborate Rube Goldberg machines in the hopes of luring the market’s animal sentiments into doing it for us.

Catch me on tour with Red Team Blues in Toronto, DC, Gaithersburg, Oxford, Hay, Manchester, Nottingham, London, and Berlin!

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/2023/05/16/mortgages-are-rent-control/#housing-is-a-human-right-not-an-asset

[Image ID: A beautifully laid dining room table in a luxury flat. Outside of the windows looms a rotting shanty town with storm-clouds overhead.]

Image: ozz13x (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shanty_Town_Hong_Kong_China_March_2013.jpg

Matt Brown (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dining_room_in_Centre_Point_penthouse.jpg

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

#pluralistic #urbanism #weaponized shelter #housing #the rent's too damned high #rent control #economism #neoliberalism #monetarism #mr market #landlord brain #speculation

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engineersamuel · 4 months

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WORKAHOLICS IN SPACE, CHAPTER ZERO, THE COURTROOM.

Judge Klint sighed as he rubbed his forehead, feeling the soft ridges of his membrane. “Of all the things to happen, Just when I’m A cycle away from retirement.” Klint stood up, leaning onto Two Of his four legs. “Time for the last case of the day. Please, by my brood mother, let this be simple.” Klint walked out of the room he was in and passed by a window that showed the vast dark reaches of space, hundreds of distant stars dotting the endless darkness of the void. Klint shivered as he walked past; he always hated looking at space. Klint took a deep breath and walked into the courtroom, the sounds of several species arguing and debating quickly hushing as the imposing figure of the judge was now standing at the entrance. Klint silently walked to his podium and sat down. “This court is brought together for the case of,” He paused as he read the screen on his podium, “Adam Johnson attacking and maiming his employer Zlek Marlio.” “Please have Adam shown in,” Klint asked as he waved with his three-fingered hand. The courtroom looked at the second door into the room with batted breath. The door opened with soft whirring. heavy Dense footfalls on metal as the Short Figure stepped in. Adam looked around, the large dark bags under his eyes showed more than The several scars over his body. Soft murmuring around the room was silenced as Klint said, “All right, Adam, please sit in that chair right there.” He pointed to a metal chair in the middle of the room.

Adam slowly waddled over, the large metal chains on his ankles hampering his movement. He sat with a heavy metal thud and a controlled sigh. “Adam, you have been brought before the galactic federation court for maiming your Fellow galactic inhabitant, Zlek. Do you have any questions?” Adam hung his head low, whether from fear, pain, or something else. “No sir,” Adam spoke, his voice tired and empty, Yet calm. Klint was not surprised; most people in the galactic court tended to show shame or arrogance towards their crimes. This was different. “So, you are not denying that you maimed Zlek?” Klint asked. Adam nodded and spoke, “Yes, sir.” Klint sighed. What was up with this human? From what he heard, this was a letdown. Was this not one of the fabled ‘anger monkeys?’ he had heard so much about? Adam leaned into the metal chair as I groaned under his weight, “Sir, may I say something?” he asked as the chair started to bend back under his weight. Klint nodded, “Yes, you may.” Adam Stood up, allowing the courtroom to see how the metal chair he sat in was now bent backward like it was reclined. “How much do you or anyone of this court know about humans?” Klint paused. This was not unexpected; yes, humans were new to the galaxy at large, but something felt different. His tone was different, like an Icey Fire ignited in his Eyes.

“Adam, how does this pertain to the topic at hand?” Klint asked as He stared down at the human. “Please answer the question, honorable Judge.” Adam said, A slight hint of something else tipped Klint off to a different feeling in his voice. “To answer your question, Adam, we do not know much about humans other than that they are deathworlders.

“Do you have access to any human data? About our cultures and laws?” Adam asked as He looked at Klint. “No, please explain why That is important to this?” Adam sighed Then smiled. “Interesting; please read our Labor laws to everyone here if you can.” Klint, interested in what this human meant, typed into the Screen on his podium as shown on a large screen above the judge.

Klint then showed a human document on the screen. [Fair Labor Standards Act of 2009] “This law states that on earth minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and employment standards in all sectors of private federal and state workplaces including nonexempt workers, now it's aged and changed from the thousand years since its implementation but what it means is essential to this conversation.” Adam smiled, then sat down and leaned into the chair, bending it further. Klint smiled. He always enjoyed seeing other species' laws, and this one was well written, aged, yes, but still well made. “Can you explain why you had me bring this document to our attention?” Klint asked as He smiled. “Humans defined laws to keep themselves from being overworked; simply put, we did not want large corporations working us to the bone as happened in 2555. Tricare abused the law and tried to remove this very law to continue its overworking of its employees.” Adam took a deep breath and continued, “Without this law, most humans would be overworked. I hope all here can understand what I am trying to say. I am not trying to avoid the due punishment for harming Zlek. All I want is for this law to be in your minds so that you know the sheer issue of overworking in any workplace, especially deathworlders.” Adam continued, “Zlek was overworking and abusing Me and several others in his workplace. Now, no laws currently exist for such an issue due to the nature of it. All I ask is that this court. Reads the labor laws humans currently have, to Help combat this issue.” Klint smiled, this case was not as dull as he thought. “I understand the issue of overworking and abusing employees has been known to the galaxy for a long time, but this case is on you harming Zlek, Adam.” Klint said. Adam nodded and sharply inhaled, “I understand, sir; I am ready for any punishment you serve on me, sir.” Klint leaned back; what a case for his last cycle. “Thank you, Adam, for such an interesting last case. I will call you back after deciding your punishment and what will happen going forward.”

The courtroom burst into murmuring and hushed voices as they read the document on the screen above the judge as Adam waddled out of the room. Klint smiled; it had been a while since he had any real impact in the galaxy; maybe a ‘parting gift’ was in order.

#writing #original story #workaholics In space #humans are space orcs #space #aliens #scfi

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valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn · 5 months

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I have watched Loki's second season, and I have so many feelings... I apologize for the rant ahead!!

This season feels like the writers listened to fan's critics. But somehow, they managed to get it wrong anyway... Take Loki's role: he is, without a doubt, the lead character this time. They even have him speak about his past (another big complaint about the first season) and they have him literally say what his motivations are (he doesn't want to be alone, he is searching for a place to belong), but it feels so damn wrong! Yes, it's true, belonging is a crucial point for Loki, and I would have been very happy to see him finally finding a place to call home, but.... the TVA 2.0?! Seriously?! And it's all so rushed. Almost overnight, the TVA becomes now a good thing, its new purpose is to protect all timelines and prevent Kang's variants to start another war - yes, there is a small group of people who still believe in pruning the other timelines, but the problem is easily and quickly contained and forgotten. I really have to believe that such a big and complex organization, with countless brainwhased "workers" and soldiers, just because Mobius (an obscure analyst), Loki (who for everyone is still a dangerous variant) and B15 (a rogue hunter, previously detained) say so, suddenly becomes the new Amnesty International. I mean. It could have been a great story of change and renewal, if only they would have taken the time to actually tell it...

Sylvie deserves a moment all for herself. I don't like her, and I didn't like her romance with Loki, but the writers put her in this show, they created big expectations on her role, and in this second season they just... forget about her, without a reason. They even have erased the romance between her and Loki, and again, I didn't like it, but if you want to erase a romance, then do it properly! Instead, it feels like it never happened. Loki was very clearly attached to her in the previous season - he wanted her to be okay, he even asked her to figure out their lives together, after everything, and sure, they had a big fight in the last episode, but... again, it's like it never happened. Now Loki doesn't particularly care about Sylvie (yes, she is in his group of "friends", but nothing more), he just feels somehow inexplicably guilty when she is around, and Sylvie seems like she has troubles remembering who he is... Not to mention her choices after she kills He Who Remains. Again, I really have to believe that after all her trauma and tragedy, after all the travels around worlds and apocalypses, apparently all a norse goddess might want is a job at a MacDonald. What a terrible lack of imagination... And I get the "I want to live a humble, simple life, to enjoy little pleasures", it's a beautiful concept, really, but I'm not exactly sure that working in a fast food chain is such a heavenly and simple life - ask real workers how beautiful and full of little pleasures that life really is. But no, here it is the new american dream. To sell hamburgers on a minimum wage.

And yes, the ending was good. To see Loki finally secure of himself, to see him finding his purpose and his powers, it was cathartic, even if bittersweet: we already knew he was capable of great things! And, at least to me, it didn't feel much like a sacrifice: he does not die, he does not suffer; yes he is alone (side note: at least Mobius has the decency of feeling sad to have lost his friend, Sylvie simply doesn't care, which is unlikely even for her, but they wrote her like that, so...), but he has the means to travel across time and space whenever he likes (he literally spent centuries studying physics! Who knows what else he could do!), he is not trapped inside the time branches. He becomes the most powerful being in the MCU so far, truly a God, and in that his ending is way better than Thor's ending (poor Thor...). But Loki gets here for all the wrong reasons, and the thing that I hated the most is that he needed Mobius advice. So, in the end, Mobius gets to say that he always felt like pruning timelines was a heavy burden, but a burden he chose to bear for a greater good in lack of better options. Seriously?! And we have to pause and think "oh, you see, he wasn't really a mindless killer, he had pity, empathy, especially for children, poor him, he was just trying to do the right thing..." and we have to accept that what Loki does in the end is inspired by him, can be compared to what TVA did for centuries. In fact, what Loki does is presented as an improvement: TVA's purpose was to avoid the multiversal war and to avoid the distruction of all timelines by protecting just one of them, they did it as best as they could given the impossible circumnstances, now thanks God (literal God: Loki) someone else can keep all the branches alive without the whole world collapsing, so they can focus on finding Kang's variants and avoiding the war, yay!

I have much more to say, but I ranted enough for now. Thanks for reading all this :)

Loved the rant! 😉

I'm glad to hear he wasn't sidelined in this one. It's crazy because I remember a review published before the series aired saying the exact opposite, so… I'm glad they were wrong.

No wonder it felt rushed, 6 eps are not enough to tell a good story, not when they pretend to take the lead character from point A to B with a completely different characterization/motivation. And I suppose it's made worse by the fact that Loki was always this complex character so trying to tell a story where he's hilariously basic just can't work out.

They're wasting an outrageous amount of money on these eps, making a longer series is unattainable, especially when everything I have read on the matter states these streaming services are not making huge numbers, if anything Disney+ is losing money.

I'm not surprised the TVA are shown as good though, Marvel thinks they're Shield. If they refused to acknowledge that Shield was corrupted in its core, they were never going to do it with the TVA.

Why does Loki feel guilty around Sylvie though? Are they still claiming he was in the wrong in the S1 finale? That's insane!

I couldn't agree more with you about flipping burgers at McD's. It screams of elitism that these execs are so stupid they think these jobs are what… humbling? A life lesson? If Sylvie wanted a simple life you can't give her a mid-life crisis or a break where she does something a human would do. She's not human, she's a goddess.

I feel bad that they ignored her though. It seems she didn't have as big a fanbase as we were led to believe but to write her as the main character in S1 only to push her aside in order to show more Loki/Mobius is just wrong. The problem with Sylvie is not that she exists, is that she was written only to take the spotlight from Loki and make him look bad, she never had a complex story of her own.

And with Mobius… the very same guy who said the TVA was his glorious purpose, the same guy who said he didn't waste time in questioning anything and he just accepted what was, the same guy who put Loki in a torture chamber for escaping them… we have to fall for that "I was doing it for the greater good"? Come on, now! 🤦‍♀️😂

#loki negativity

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