#autostrad

[Image Description: An anonymous ask reading: "Please tell more about the credits and IDs!! (eyes emoji)". /End Description.]

Okay, so:

In Battery City, every citizen has something of a bank account created for them automatically the moment they hit the age of 10 that has their or their family's monetary ranking* (usually recorded on a scale of 1-5, though rank 0 does exist). These accounts hold scores as opposed to actual money, which can later on be exchanged as additional currency or used to raise one's monetary status when in large quantities (>10,000).

Scores can be earned by displaying outstanding academic performance, volunteering information to Better Living about any suspicious activity, filling your work quota early, or generally being a true model citizen. Overfilling your quota, while brining you the same scores as getting it done early, is looked down upon by most and seen as "desperate".

Score can also be lost in the case of sudden negative change in academic performance, being caught with contraband, partaking in non-BL/i approved activities, or worse, conspiring against the company, acting against Better Living values, and littering. Losing scores does not affect one's monetary gain, although it can affect their monetary rank quite drastically depending on standing.

A citizen's credit score is tied to their ID, along with their billing account which keeps track of all purchases and automatically converts scores to currency in case of overdraft. Sky train fares are also deducted from one's billing account, unless said person is under the age of employment, in which case they are deducted from the caretakers' accounts and partially restored to the unemployed person's account as scores.

Nevertheless, IDs are very much still used to easily verify one's identity and thus are mandatory for anyone over the age of 6, pinned to an outer layer of clothing or worn around the neck on a lanyard. Students ages 6-20 have their picture, name, a code to their file in the Better Living Archives, and in the case of Academy students major, while employed adults only have their picture and file code. Citizens are encouraged to update their ID pictures whenever making any modifications to their physical appearance such as haircuts, growing a moustache, dying your hair lighter/darker/a BL/i-approved natural shade, etc, to help facilitate facial recognition.

Because of citizens being mandated to wear their IDs somewhere they can easily be seen and verified, it is easy to clock a killjoy as such unless they are wearing a full-fledged draculoid uniform— a difficult feat to achieve, but possible nonetheless. Some juvies have taken to the roofs in order to avoid recognition, though sometimes credits are still lost even under face masks and/or bold, exaggerated make-up.

Transit is permanently monitored and impossible without an ID.

بغيابك تسهر الدنيا على بابي.. قمر ونجوم.. بغيابك الصيف لبس معطف شتا.. والربيع انحرق قلبه.. تاه وضاعت نسماته.. من يومها لا حدى عاد شافه.. بغيابك يسهرني قلبي ليالي..

والدنيا شاردة، وما بتضحك في بالي..

♦ - quirks/hobbies headcanon

Newsie knows how to tie a LOT of knots. zie found an old scouting handbook in the RadioShack when hir and cherri were staying with doc once and a lot of it couldn't apply to the zones but zie tore through the knot-tying section because, hey, you never know. hir shoelaces are always tied with some fancy and not-entirely-practical-for-shoelaces knot

when pony was teaching ghoul to be a medic ae'd make him practice stitches on oranges when they had them. now sometimes when they have them at the diner and ghoul's hands are cooperating he'll carefully peel an orange, eat it, and then stitch the peel back together and put it back in the bowl

♒ - cooking/food headcanon

okay so the hideout that cherri n newsie live at has like. negative food prep space. those kids eat EXCLUSIVELY protein bars and other readymade shit from TCM's or whatever hot food they're serving at the bars they go to on occasion. newsie's fav is the jackrabbit stew that mega moons serves

ghoul's not a fan of cooking but he loves being in the kitchen while other people cook. he's even pretty good about staying out of their way (and considering the diner kitchen was made for a few people to work in simultaneously, its not that bad), he'll just plant himself on the counter and talk, maybe sneak a taste of two when no one's looking, whatever. he really likes the pasteles that jet makes (which are, of course, a convoy recipe)