In fact Atlas and their push to be a C-Corp is a bad play for us small timers

A C corporation can still make a lot of sense for a small business depending on the nature of the business and the interests and needs of the owners.

C corps can offer a lot of advantages in terms of shareholder and employee benefits, particularly around healthcare, and QSBS is a huge benefit for qualified businesses and owners who might one day sell the business.

...unless you're based in a jurisdiction like the UK, where an LLC may not get the same tax treatment as a C-corp (Ltd companies being the norm here).

What are some good alternatives to Stripe for people to pay for your stuff?

Unsure how much I trust my searches for this kind of stuff on the web lately

Adyen is similar to Stripe, and it's an European company. But they select their customers, so you need to contact them, you can't sign-up "diy".