#Free Canada Wide Calling

[neofelis----nebulosa]

Propaganda:

Serval:

Pampas cat:

Canada lynx:

Jaguarundi:

Pallas' cat:

Fishing cat

Flat headed cat:

"Jungle" cat:

Sand cat:

[woso-dreamzzz]

Languages

Hardersson x Child!Reader

Jessie Fleming x Child!Reader

Part of The Big Adventures Universe

Summary: You don't want to speak your English

In Canada, almost everyone speaks English as their first language. It's simple and easy to communicate and even those from the French-speaking provinces can speak English too.

At Chelsea, the team was from all across the world so the blend of accents and languages made it difficult to communicate sometimes.

But, Jessie's biggest challenge to date after leaving Canada, is communicating with you.

You're Magda and Pernille's little girl so you speak Swedish and Danish. You were born in Germany though so Jessie supposes you speak German too despite how little you are. Your English is practically non-existent to Jessie's ears though.

Either you can't speak it just yet or you're refusing to because the only English Jessie's heard you speak is the word 'no' when Magda tried to feed you sweetcorn at lunch a few weeks ago.

You communicate exclusively with your mothers in a different language to English despite the way Magda's pressing you to speak it.

You're sweet though, a loveable little girl with a lot of energy and a penchant for stealing footballs.

Jessie just wishes there was another way to communicate with you, especially when you wander over to her in the queue for lunch with a plate.

"Huh? What's up?"

You're look up at her with big wide eyes and smile. You say something and Jessie just stares.

"Sorry, what was that?"

You repeat the word again and present Jessie your plate.

"Oh...wow, cool plate."

Evidently, it's the wrong thing to say because you stamp your foot and repeat the word.

Jessie's still drawing a blank.

You switch what you're saying now - another word Jessie doesn't understand - and then you say something completely different again.

She still can't understand you and she can clearly see that you're getting annoyed with her.

"Er..."

"Maybe," Comes Magda's pointed voice," If you spoke your English, princesse, then Jessie will understand you."

"No!"

That's your favourite English word and Magda rolls her eyes, taking your plate.

"She wanted the chicken," Magda explains with a laugh, placing your desired meat on your plate.

"Oh. Sorry."

"Don't be. Princesse knows she should be practicing her English."

"No!" Your little voice insists and Magda looks down at you fondly, a hand coming up to stroke through your hair.

"Yes. You should be practice your English."

"No!"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes."

"Nej!"

Magda sighs, shaking her head softly before taking you back over to your lunch table with Jessie trailing after.

Now that Jessie's looking out for it, it becomes much more obvious to her just how often you blend your languages. She's not an expert on Swedish and Danish but she can recognise German and has to smother her laughter on many occasions when requests for food or questions are done by using at least two languages.

You jump between words easily and without even batting an eye and it seems only Pernille's the one completely fluent in Princesse speak.

You're getting better though, branching out to one or two words of English every so often when it's just you and Jessie.

You're steadfast in your refusal to speak English to Magda outside of your usual one word answer of 'no'.

Currently, it's you, Jessie and Pernille in the break room.

Everyone else has either already gone home or, like Magda, stuck in meetings or doing media. Pernille and Jessie are free to go home but Jessie's coming over after training is over and Pernille and Magda share the car so you're all waiting for Magda to finish up so you can finally go.

You're sitting on the floor with Jessie, playing around with girl-swan and girl-moose. You stop playing for a moment, frowning to yourself before calling out to Momma in a jumbled mess of Swedish, Danish and Germany, pointing to the bag of toys on Jessie's other side.

"Ask Jessie, princesse," Pernille says and you huff.

You make your request again to Pernille but she gives you a look.

"Jessie's closer," She says and you pout.

Jessie braces herself for the jumbled mess of languages about to come out of your mouth and the mad scramble to guess what you want before you get annoyed.

You open your mouth.

Jessie readies herself.

"Building blocks, please Jessie," You say," In the bag."

Jessie's mouth hangs open in shock.

You frown at her, pointing this time. "Building blocks, please."

Mutely, Jessie hands them to you and you beam.

"Going to be a castle," You tell her earnestly," And we can knock it down!"

[erismourn]

evacuation fundraisers in CAD

for whatever reason my bank won't let me donate any money to fundraisers that aren't in Canadian dollars so I've collected a small and surely incomplete list of fundraisers in CAD for those of us in so-called canada. please feel free to add to this list if you know of any more fundraisers in Canadian dollars and I'll boost to the best of my ability. these should all be coming from sources that have verified every fundraiser, but I am not perfect and may have mistaken some.

Help Basel Abughaben's family evacuate Gaza: Basel left Gaza four years ago to look for work outside of Palestine, and now needs to evacuate his wife and four children from Gaza. the fund seeks to get evacuation money as well as funds to keep his family housed and fed in Egypt.

Bring Najlaa's family to safety in Canada: Najlaa moved to Canada to complete her studies, and was unable to go back to Palestine due to Israeli border restrictions. Najlaa is trying to evacuate her mother, sisters, brothers, and their spouses and children.

Help Sanaa Abu Ghaiben's family evacuate Gaza: Sanaa's family consists of three brothers, two sisters, their partners and children, and Sanaa's elderly parents. His family consists of 25 people.

Help Sujoud reunite with her family: Sujoud left her husband and three sons to seek treatment for her son, Abdullah, who has had health problems since infancy. Her family is still trapped in Gaza.

Help Mahmoud evacuate and continue his education: Mahmoud Abu Hamam is a 20 year-old engineering student seeking to evacuate to Egypt and continue his studies.

I have donated $10 each to these campaigns. if you can match that for even one of these, I would be so grateful. please share widely, and do not give up hope.

[weirdrtvscomments]

in case anyone is struggling with deciding who they want to vote for in the RTVStan/RTVS Nation/RTVSia/RTVS Topia/RTVS Topia-Ville presidential election, i have compiled a list:

Log

Representing the Ethernet Party: “A people with 5 ping to the main server is a people that prospers.”

Will change the name to RTVS Nation

Comic books are a part of the platform

Everybody gets a free moat

Eyes that are twice as big for everyone that wants them

Offload cost to Wifi users

Working on a battery charged snack

Hypnotist is a protected class

Robloxia war veteran

Defenses are proven

Will take your ants and import more

Endorsed by: Soulja Boy, Ken Masters, Stitch 

Signature move when President: Snake Trick (no weaknesses)

Punishment for other candidates: Follow him out & about like an RPG party

Mike

Representing the Sweets & Treats Party: “I was just outside eating a sandwich.”

Orange creamsicles will be available in every store

Free Steam Deck for every American citizen

Will lower tariffs and imports on all types of sweets and treats from Canada, while raising tariffs on everything else

Most important snack is Wasabi Peas

Not very good against zoners

Why are ants so bad?

Endorsed by: 2 (anonymous), Trap Snax

Signature gimmick when President: Whenever he eats a yummy piece of candy he gets an install, which gets its own theme

Special move when President: A cool punch like Marissa from Street Fighter 6

Punishment for other candidates: Have to reach into a bin of Bean Boozled that's 90% gross ones and eat it in public in front of cameras and the press. After, push into the alligator moat. Also, Mira’s idea

Mira

Representing the Drinks & Eats party: “I was rooting around in a dumpster out back.”

Will change the name to RTVSia

One of every food and drink, free of charge

Will develop a chemical compound called “Ketracel White,” will genetically engineer ants to be dependent on it 

Endorsed by: IceFrog, Yoshi, Yoshi (from Mario), baby Yoshi (might be one and the same), Chun Lee

Signature move(s) when President: Level up system (up to 3), if she gets knocked down she loses a charge of it, gets it when she does some power up move (or something), negative edge inputs (landmine, fireball, that one thing Bison does in Street Fighter 5), install where she gets a command grab, 8-way air dash, guard impact, levels reset between rounds, invincible super (can do it on wakeup)

Punishment for other candidates: Detractors rounded up and taken into woods where they are given a knife, camera, and laptop to make a Youtube channel of them living in the woods (Ethernet in the trees)

Trog

Representing the People’s Choice Freedom Integrity Liberty Justice Prosperity Sovereign Citizen’s Ethical Governance Democratic Renewal Global Sustainability Citizens for Unity (may be part of the Lego Star Wars Party): “We’re all part of God’s nation in my eyes.”

All breakfast restaurants have to be open for lunch & dinner in addition to breakfast

THEY HAVE TO GIVE YOU A LARGE WATER WHEN YOU ASK FOR IT

Desegregate PornHub and GayTube

Everybody gets a free castle

Immediately cease all snack exports 

Will start war with Canada

Will mail a bomb if you want him to

Will double your ants and give them to the next guy OR will turn them all into 1 big ant

New category on PornHub for ants

Will build death robots and a spaceship

Will be inventing gorgons, griffins, vampires, Frankenstiens, zombies, mummies, insects, gorgon ants (small)

Endorsed by: The Sims, Captain Video, Half Life 2: Lost Coast (demo), Tobuscus

Super move when President: 1 Sphinx on every tile surrounding, +1 food, +1 culture (if next to a river, +2 food, +2 culture instead)

Theme song: Steppin’ Out by Joe Jackson

Punishment for other candidates: All other candidates have to do an embarrassing pose and gaze into Medusa’s eyes, which will turn them into stone. The statues will be put in front of the White House, where during a nation-wide celebration they will be knocked down with a wrecking ball/individually destroyed with dirty bombs

Wayneradiotv/Wayne John 

Representing the California Milk Processors Board: “Enjoy DOGh.”

Every gallon of milk will have $2,000 in it

Free PornHub premium

Any dairy product you want whenever you want it

Will attract more ants

Will rename it to Milk Nation

Pig milk Iron Fist

Endorsed by: Britney Spears, Beyonce, Rhianna, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Shaquille O’Neal, Harrison Ford (all branded with Permanent Milk Mustache & committed their eternal lives), Batman, Mario, Spongebob

Signature move when President: Cow army that walks on their hind legs and shoot milk as projectiles

Punishment for other candidates: Mulched into feed for his cows

Things you need to rememer for the ONLY ELECTION THAT MATTERS!!!!

[sleepymirko]

Reaction to s/o liking winter but being very chilly (part 2)

..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..

Featuring Bachira Meguru, Reo Mikage, Nagi Seishiro

Fluff

Let me know if there's errors! Enjoy!

..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..

“Y/N, I finished showering. The bathroom’s all yours if you need it,” Bachira said, entering your shared bedroom. When he’d left to shower, you had been engrossed in a book, and you barely nodded at him when he left.

You raised your head and what you saw was enough to make you freeze under covers.

Your boyfriend was standing with only a towel around his hips, droplets falling from his bicoloured locks and the most bizarre thing was that he wasn't shivering in the slightest.

"I was already freezing under the covers but seeing you like this... Feels like torture" you said shivering slightly.

The boy simply chuckled and walked towards the bed, sitting comfortably on the edge, right next to you.

"Are we sure you're not sick? Today is less cold than last week"

"It's probably your fault"

"How is that even possible?"

"You're half naked Meguru???" You said looking at him slightly wide eyed, a smile creeping up your face.

"Oh."

"You're gonna catch a cold at this rate"

"I swear I'm not feeling cold maybe because the house is warm.. wait a minute .."

You looked at him confused as he looked like he had an idea.

"Why don't you go take a shower? You'll feel even better, no?" He said smiling proudly.

"A hot shower is what you need, trust me!"

You looked up, considering his suggestion. It wasn't a bad idea, maybe it was what you needed.

"Okay, why not.." you nodded and Bachira smiled and quickly got up.

"Let's go then" he said offering his hand to you.

You looked at him, noticing that glimmer in his eyes that only meant one thing. He was going to shower again, but this time with you.

"...you realize that you already showered, don’t you?"

"Eheh, let's just say that I forgot to put the shampoo on my hair" he said smiling, faking innocence. What a menace.

..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..

You and Reo had been thinking about what to do for the holiday season in his studio. Saying that Reo was a great planner was an understatement, the guy already thought about 7 holiday location ideas for impressing his girl.

"You already have seven ideas for our holidays?" You asked shocked, struggling to hold your smile at how determined your boyfriend looked.

"Absolutely, and let me tell you which location I thought of.." he said bringing his laptop closer to her.

"First of all, we have Finland. Apparently there's a Santa Village in a certain city called 'Rovaniemi'. If Finland is not speaking to your soul there's Banff in Canada, the place has a lot of mountains and offsprings. Skiing must be fantastic there" he said smiling while checking with her the photos.

"When can even plan on going to the Alps, if you want something more quiet we can pass the holidays in Kyoto, between tea houses and snowy landscapes.."

While Reo kept talking, you couldn't help but smile. And shiver slightly.

But Reo surely hadn't missed that.

"Oh? Is my princess freezing? Should we move the planning in front of the fireplace?" He offered as he looked at her with a soft smile, finding her wrapped in a warm blanket cute. Once he picked up the laptop, he offered his hand, and they both moved toward the fireplace in their living room.

Sitting there, he placed her on his lap and handled her his laptop. "While I keep you warm, feel free to choose the location of our holiday." He said and continued, this time speaking into her ear. "I'll handle the rest".

..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..•°•..

"You're always cold" Nagi mumbled, thumbs moving around his controller as his focus was mostly on the boss he was fighting.

You guys agreed on a simple cozy weekend, with videogames keeping you company as you guys were doing co-op together.

"How are you not feeling cold Nagi?" You asked as despite you were helping him with the boss your controller was under the warm comforter.

"I'm completely fine." When he finished the boss, he laid the controller down the bed and handed her his hand. When she reached for it she looked at him surprised, his hand was really warm and she wondered if his body was like the rest.

"To be one that claims to love winter you have poor luck by suffering the cold like this" he said bluntly while picking up his controller, resuming playing as you rolled your eyes.

"Then why don't you keep me warm?" You asked half jokingly as you resumed playing with him as well.

He paused, giving her a sidelong glance. “Isn’t that, like, extra work?” he asked, sounding as unbothered as ever.

However, he stopped playing and wrapped an arm around you, letting you warm up close to him.

"Didn't you just say that was extra work?" you teased, as he sighed, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly, a shadow of a smile creeping into his usual unbothered expression.

With that, he leaned back, letting you curl up against him while he held the controller lazily in one hand, his other arm wrapped around your shoulders.

"You better worry about not turning into an Icycle" he paused looking at the game, his tone uneven yet with a hint of teasing. "that would be a real hassle."

Let me know if there's errors! Thank you for reading!

[mostlysignssomeportents]

UK publishers suing Google for $17.4b over rigged ad markets

THIS WEEKEND (June 7–9), I'm in AMHERST, NEW YORK to keynote the 25th Annual Media Ecology Association Convention and accept the Neil Postman Award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity.

Look, no one wants to kick Big Tech to the curb more than I do, but, also: it's good that Google indexes the news so people can find it, and it's good that Facebook provides forums where people can talk about the news.

It's not news if you can't find it. It's not news if you can't talk about it. We don't call information you can't find or discuss "news" – we call it "secrets."

And yet, the most popular – and widely deployed – anti-Big Tech tactic promulgated by the news industry and supported by many of my fellow trustbusters is premised on making Big Tech pay to index the news and/or provide a forum to discuss news articles. These "news bargaining codes" (or, less charitably, "link taxes") have been mooted or introduced in the EU, France, Spain, Australia, and Canada. There are proposals to introduce these in the US (through the JCPA) and in California (the CJPA).

These US bills are probably dead on arrival, for reasons that can be easily understood by the Canadian experience with them. After Canada introduced Bill C-18 – its own news bargaining code – Meta did exactly what it had done in many other places where this had been tried: blocked all news from Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and other Meta properties.

This has been a disaster for the news industry and a disaster for Canadians' ability to discuss the news. Oh, it makes Meta look like assholes, too, but Meta is the poster child for "too big to care" and is palpably indifferent to the PR costs of this boycott.

Frustrated lawmakers are now trying to figure out what to do next. The most common proposal is to order Meta to carry the news. Canadians should be worried about this, because the next government will almost certainly be helmed by the far-right conspiratorialist culture warrior Pierre Poilievre, who will doubtless use this power to order Facebook to platform "news sites" to give prominence to Canada's rotten bushel of crypto-fascist (and openly fascist) "news" sites.

Americans should worry about this too. A Donald Trump 2028 presidency combined with a must-carry rule for news would see Trump's cabinet appointees deciding what is (and is not) news, and ordering large social media platforms to cram the Daily Caller (or, you know, the Daily Stormer) into our eyeballs.

But there's another, more fundamental reason that must-carry is incompatible with the American system: the First Amendment. The government simply can't issue a blanket legal order to platforms requiring them to carry certain speech. They can strongly encourage it. A court can order limited compelled speech (say, a retraction following a finding of libel). Under emergency conditions, the government might be able to compel the transmission of urgent messages. But there's just no way the First Amendment can be squared with a blanket, ongoing order issued by the government to communications platforms requiring them to reproduce, and make available, everything published by some collection of their favorite news outlets.

This might also be illegal in Canada, but it's harder to be definitive. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was enshrined in 1982, and Canada's Supreme Court is still figuring out what it means. Section Two of the Charter enshrines a free expression right, but it's worded in less absolute terms than the First Amendment, and that's deliberate. During the debate over the wording of the Charter, Canadian scholars and policymakers specifically invoked problems with First Amendment absolutism and tried to chart a middle course between strong protections for free expression and problems with the First Amendment's brook-no-exceptions language.

So maybe Canada's Supreme Court would find a must-carry order to Meta to be a violation of the Charter, but it's hard to say for sure. The Charter is both young and ambiguous, so it's harder to be definitive about what it would say about this hypothetical. But when it comes to the US and the First Amendment, that's categorically untrue. The US Constitution is centuries older than the Canadian Charter, and the First Amendment is extremely definitive, and there are reams of precedent interpreting it. The JPCA and CJPA are totally incompatible with the US Constitution. Passing them isn't as silly as passing a law declaring that Pi equals three or that water isn't wet, but it's in the neighborhood.

But all that isn't to say that the news industry shouldn't be attacking Big Tech. Far from it. Big Tech compulsively steals from the news!

But what Big Tech steals from the news isn't content.

It's money.

Big Tech steals money from the news. Take social media: when a news outlet invests in building a subscriber base on a social media platform, they're giving that platform a stick to beat them with. The more subscribers you have on social media, the more you'll be willing to pay to reach those subscribers, and the more incentive there is for the platform to suppress the reach of your articles unless you pay to "boost" your content.

This is plainly fraudulent. When I sign up to follow a news outlet on a social media site, I'm telling the platform to show me the things the news outlet publishes. When the platform uses that subscription as the basis for a blackmail plot, holding my desire to read the news to ransom, they are breaking their implied promise to me to show me the things I asked to see:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/save-news-we-need-end-end-web

This is stealing money from the news. It's the definition of an "unfair method of competition." Article 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act gives the FTC the power to step in and ban this practice, and they should:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/10/the-courage-to-govern/#whos-in-charge

Big Tech also steals money from the news via the App Tax: the 30% rake that the mobile OS duopoly (Apple/Google) requires for every in-app purchase (Apple/Google also have policies that punish app vendors who take you to the web to make payments without paying the App Tax). 30% out of every subscriber dollar sent via an app is highway robbery! By contrast, the hyperconcentrated, price-gouging payment processing cartel charges 2-5% – about a tenth of the Big Tech tax. This is Big Tech stealing money from the news:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/06/save-news-we-must-open-app-stores

Finally, Big Tech steals money by monopolizing the ad market. The Google-Meta ad duopoly takes 51% out of every ad-dollar spent. The historic share going to advertising "intermediaries" is 10-15%. In other words, Google/Meta cornered the market on ads and then tripled the bite they were taking out of publishers' advertising revenue. They even have an illegal, collusive arrangement to rig this market, codenamed "Jedi Blue":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jedi_Blue

There's two ways to unrig the ad market, and we should do both of them.

First, we should trustbust both Google and Meta and force them to sell off parts of their advertising businesses. Currently, both Google and Meta operate a "full stack" of ad services. They have an arm that represents advertisers buying space for ads. Another arm represents publishers selling space to advertisers. A third arm operates the marketplace where these sales take place. All three arms collect fees. On top of that: Google/Meta are both publishers and advertisers, competing with their own customers!

This is as if you were in court for a divorce and you discovered that the same lawyer representing your soon-to-be ex was also representing you…while serving as the judge…and trying to match with you both on Tinder. It shouldn't surprise you if at the end of that divorce, the court ruled that the family home should go to the lawyer.

So yeah, we should break up ad-tech:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/save-news-we-must-shatter-ad-tech

Also: we should ban surveillance advertising. Surveillance advertising gives ad-tech companies a permanent advantage over publishers. Ad-tech will always know more about readers' behavior than publishers do, because Big Tech engages in continuous, highly invasive surveillance of every internet user in the world. Surveillance ads perform a little better than "content-based ads" (ads sold based on the content of a web-page, not the behavior of the person looking at the page), but publishers will always know more about their content than ad-tech does. That means that even if content-based ads command a slightly lower price than surveillance ads, a much larger share of that payment will go to publishers:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/save-news-we-must-ban-surveillance-advertising

Banning surveillance advertising isn't just good business, it's good politics. The potential coalition for banning surveillance ads is everyone who is harmed by commercial surveillance. That's a coalition that's orders of magnitude larger than the pool of people who merely care about fairness in the ad/news industries. It's everyone who's worried about their grandparents being brainwashed on Facebook, or their teens becoming anorexic because of Instagram. It includes people angry about deepfake porn, and people angry about Black Lives Matter protesters' identities being handed to the cops by Google (see also: Jan 6 insurrectionists).

It also includes everyone who discovers that they're paying higher prices because a vendor is using surveillance data to determine how much they'll pay – like when McDonald's raises the price of your "meal deal" on your payday, based on the assumption that you will spend more when your bank account is at its highest monthly level:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/05/your-price-named/#privacy-first-again

Attacking Big Tech for stealing money is much smarter than pretending that the problem is Big Tech stealing content. We want Big Tech to make the news easy to find and discuss. We just want them to stop pocketing 30 cents out of every subscriber dollar and 51 cents out of ever ad dollar, and ransoming subscribers' social media subscriptions to extort publishers.

And there's amazing news on this front: a consortium of UK web-publishers called Ad Tech Collective Action has just triumphed in a high-stakes proceeding, and can now go ahead with a suit against Google, seeking damages of GBP13.6b ($17.4b) for the rigged ad-tech market:

https://www.reuters.com/technology/17-bln-uk-adtech-lawsuit-against-google-can-go-ahead-tribunal-rules-2024-06-05/

The ruling, from the Competition Appeal Tribunal, paves the way for a frontal assault on the thing Big Tech actually steals from publishers: money, not content.

This is exactly what publishing should be doing. Targeting the method by which tech steals from the news is a benefit to all kinds of news organizations, including the independent, journalist-owned publishers that are doing the best news work today. These independents do not have the same interests as corporate news, which is dominated by hedge funds and private equity raiders, who have spent decades buying up and hollowing out news outlets, and blaming the resulting decline in readership and profits on Craiglist.

You can read more about Big Finance's raid on the news in Margot Susca's Hedged: How Private Investment Funds Helped Destroy American Newspapers and Undermine Democracy:

https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p087561

You can also watch/listen to Adam Conover's excellent interview with Susca:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N21YfWy0-bA

Frankly, the looters and billionaires who bought and gutted our great papers are no more interested in the health of the news industry or democracy than Big Tech is. We should care about the news and the workers who produce the news, not the profits of the hedge-funds that own the news. An assault on Big Tech's monetary theft levels the playing field, making it easier for news workers and indies to compete directly with financialized news outlets and billionaire playthings, by letting indies keep more of every ad-dollar and more of every subscriber-dollar – and to reach their subscribers without paying ransom to social media.

Ending monetary theft – rather than licensing news search and discussion – is something that workers are far more interested in than their bosses. Any time you see workers and their bosses on the same side as a fight against Big Tech, you should look more closely. Bosses are not on their workers' side. If bosses get more money out of Big Tech, they will not share those gains with workers unless someone forces them to.

That's where antitrust comes in. Antitrust is designed to strike at power, and enforcers have broad authority to blunt the power of corporate juggernauts. Remember Article 5 of the FTC Act, the one that lets the FTC block "unfair methods of competition?" FTC Chair Lina Khan has proposed using it to regulate training AI, specifically to craft rules that address the labor and privacy issues with AI:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mh8Z5pcJpg

This is an approach that can put creative workers where they belong, in a coalition with other workers, rather than with their bosses. The copyright approach to curbing AI training is beloved of the same media companies that are eagerly screwing their workers. If we manage to make copyright – a transferrable right that a worker can be forced to turn over their employer – into the system that regulates AI training, it won't stop training. It'll just trigger every entertainment company changing their boilerplate contract so that creative workers have to sign over their AI rights or be shown the door:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/13/spooky-action-at-a-close-up/#invisible-hand

Then those same entertainment and news companies will train AI models and try to fire most of their workers and slash the pay of the remainder using those models' output. Using copyright to regulate AI training makes changes to who gets to benefit from workers' misery, shifting some of our stolen wages from AI companies to entertainment companies. But it won't stop them from ruining our lives.

By contrast, focusing on actual labor rights – say, through an FTCA 5 rulemaking – has the potential to protect those rights from all parties, and puts us on the same side as call-center workers, train drivers, radiologists and anyone else whose wages are being targeted by AI companies and their customers.

Policy fights are a recurring monkey's paw nightmare in which we try to do something to fight corruption and bullying, only to be outmaneuvered by corrupt bullies. Making good policy is no guarantee of a good outcome, but it sure helps – and good policy starts with targeting the thing you want to fix. If we're worried that news is being financially starved by Big Tech, then we should go after the money, not the links.

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/2024/06/06/stealing-money-not-content/#content-free

[theonottsbxtch]

THE COME DOWN PT 2 | LN4

an: i'd like to preface this by saying this is not everyone's cup of tea and warn you ahead of time this faces the topic of substance abuse and overdose, so if you're not comfy reading this, step back now! if you or anyone you know needs help, please feel free to talk to me or here are links for who to talk to: united kingdom, united states, canada, europe. these are some of the links i've found, if you need help searching for one, my inbox is always open!

wc: 3.8k

warnings: substance abuse, overdose and mentions of death

part one

The flat was quiet, save for the occasional creak of the old pipes and the distant hum of traffic outside. She sat cross-legged on Oscar’s bed, wearing one of his oversized hoodies that smelled faintly of cedar and something else distinctly him. Her bag sat untouched in the corner; she hadn’t bothered unpacking, too afraid that settling in even slightly would mean acknowledging the enormity of what she’d done. Leaving Lando. Leaving everything behind.

Oscar was in the kitchen. She could hear the clatter of mugs and the low hiss of the kettle as he made tea, always keeping his hands busy to avoid saying too much. He had a way of filling silence that was considerate, like he understood she needed time and space but couldn’t leave her to drown in her thoughts.

Her phone buzzed on the bedside table. She ignored it. It wasn’t as though anyone important would be calling her, and she couldn’t stomach the idea of hearing Lando’s voice, slurred or otherwise. The last time still replayed in her mind, a cacophony of anger, confusion, and shame. She pulled the sleeves of the hoodie over her hands and pressed her fists to her temples, willing the memory away.

Oscar appeared in the doorway, balancing two steaming mugs. His face was a study in quiet concern, his dark eyes scanning her as though trying to decipher what she wasn’t saying.

“Chamomile,” he said, setting a mug on the bedside table. “It’s good for relaxing. Not that I think you need it,” he added quickly, scratching the back of his neck. “But, you know, just in case.”

She offered him a small smile. “Thanks, Osc.”

He stood there for a moment, uncertain, before finally retreating to the sofa in the other room. He hadn’t asked her why exactly she called him three nights ago looking like a ghost of herself. He didn’t need to. Oscar had always been like that—a safe harbour. Dependable. Steady. A friend.

She leaned back against the pillows, clutching the mug in her hands and letting the warmth seep into her fingers. The flat was so different from Lando’s. No art on the walls, no clutter, no hint of chaos or indulgence. It was simple and unpretentious, much like Oscar himself. For the first time in what felt like years, she felt like she could breathe.

But the guilt lingered, gnawing at her. She’d left Lando. Not just walked out, but abandoned him when he was at his lowest. The memory of his eyes, wide and red-rimmed, flashed through her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut. She wasn’t going to cry again. Not now.

The days at Oscar’s flat passed in a blur of silence and borrowed familiarity. She didn’t do much—couldn’t, really. Her thoughts were too loud, her energy sapped by the constant cycle of guilt, anger, and self-recrimination. Most of her time was spent curled up in Oscar’s bed, surrounded by the faint smell of his laundry detergent, trying not to think too hard about anything. It was a losing battle.

Oscar gave her space, which she appreciated. He didn’t hover or press her for answers, but he was always there, lingering at the edges of her solitude, ready if she needed him. Sometimes she found him at the small dining table in the corner of the living room, a book in one hand and a cup of tea in the other.

Tonight was one of those nights. She wandered out of his room with the cup of tea he’d given her. He glanced up when she padded into the living room but didn’t say anything, just offered a small, welcoming smile before returning to his book. She sat down opposite him, curling her legs beneath her, and watched him in the soft glow of the table lamp.

The book must have been gripping because his brow furrowed slightly, and he turned the pages with an almost reverent care. She noticed the way his fingers brushed the edges, like he didn’t want to crease them. She hadn’t seen him this still in years. But then again, she rarely ever saw Oscar now.

“Good book?” she asked eventually, her voice breaking the comfortable quiet.

He looked up, startled for a second, before the smile returned. “Yeah. Bit dense, though. I’m not sure I actually understand half of it.”

She huffed a small laugh, the first real one in days, and it surprised her. He noticed, too. For a moment, he just looked at her, like he wanted to say something, but then he shook his head and glanced back at the page.

The silence stretched on, but it wasn’t oppressive. She stared at the mug in her hands and her mind wandered—back to Lando, inevitably. To his voice, slurred and sharp; to the way he used to be, before everything went wrong. She wondered if he’d even noticed she was gone.

Oscar’s voice cut through the fog of her thoughts. “You don’t have to stay cooped up in there, you know.”

She blinked at him. “What?”

“In the bedroom,” he said, nodding towards the closed door behind her. “You’re welcome out here, anytime. Even if it’s just to sit.”

She hesitated, then nodded. “Thanks.”

They sat together like that for a while longer, him reading and her lost in thought. It was strange how easy it was to be with Oscar, even with all the mess she’d brought into his life. She wanted to thank him, to say something to convey just how much it meant that he’d opened his door to her without question. But the words felt too heavy, so she stayed quiet.

Later, when the weight of the day became too much, she retreated to his bed again. She pulled the covers up to her chin, staring at the ceiling, but sleep didn’t come easily. She kept seeing Lando’s face, hearing his voice. Over and over, the same thought clawed at her—I left him.

The phone call came in the early hours of the morning, jolting her awake. She fumbled for the phone on the bedside table, her heart already racing as she answered it.

“Hello?”

The voice on the other end was barely a whisper, but she recognised it instantly.

“It’s me,” Lando said, his voice cracking.

Her stomach twisted. “Lando? What’s wrong?”

“I… I don’t know what to do,” he mumbled, his words slurring together. Then the line went silent.

“Lando?” she said, louder this time, her voice thick with fear. “Lando, are you there?”

Nothing.

She sat up, her chest heaving as she tried to steady her breathing. She knew something was wrong. Her body knew it before her mind caught up. She stumbled out of bed and into the living room, where Oscar was sprawled on the sofa, asleep under a thin blanket. She shook him awake, her urgency spilling over.

“Osc, wake up,” she said, her voice shaking.

He groaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes. “What’s going on?”

“It’s Lando. I think something’s happened. We need to go. Now.”

Oscar blinked himself awake, shaking off the haze of sleep as he sat up on the sofa. The urgency in her voice jolted him fully alert. “What’s going on?” he asked, his voice low but sharp with concern.

“It’s Lando,” she said, pacing in frantic, uneven steps across the room. Her hands were shaking. “He called me, and something’s wrong. I don’t know what, but we have to go. Now, Osc. Please.”

Oscar frowned, running a hand through his dishevelled hair. “Wait, slow down. What did he say?”

“He didn’t—he barely said anything. But I know him. Something’s wrong.” Her voice cracked on the last word, and she stopped pacing, fixing him with a desperate look. “Please, Osc. We can’t waste time.”

He didn’t ask any more questions. He grabbed his keys from the table and pulled on his jacket. “Let’s go.”

The drive was a blur of adrenaline and recklessness. Oscar’s McLaren roared through the city streets, the tyres screeching as he ignored red lights and zipped through gaps in traffic that barely existed. She sat rigid in the passenger seat, clutching the edge of the seat with white-knuckled hands, her eyes fixed on the road ahead as though willing them to go faster.

“What’s his flat number again?” Oscar asked, his voice tight.

“Four. Top floor.”

When they reached the building, she was out of the car before he’d even fully stopped. She tore up the stairs two at a time, her breath coming in gasps, the blood pounding in her ears. Oscar was right behind her, keeping pace as she reached the fourth floor and darted to Lando’s door. She banged on it with both fists.

“Lando!” she shouted, her voice echoing down the empty hallway. “Open the door! It’s me!”

Nothing.

“Lando!” She banged harder, the sound reverberating through her skull. The silence on the other side of the door was deafening.

Oscar caught her arm gently, his expression grim. “Move,” he said.

Before she could argue, he planted a foot against the doorframe and slammed his shoulder into the wood. The first hit made it shudder; the second sent it crashing open.

The smell hit them first—a sharp, acrid scent that made her stomach turn. She rushed inside, her eyes darting around the dimly lit flat. “Lando?”

The bathroom door was ajar, and she spotted his legs sprawled on the tiled floor. Her heart stopped. “Oh, God.”

She ran to him, dropping to her knees beside his lifeless form. He was slumped against the tub, his head lolling to the side, his skin pale and clammy. An empty syringe lay on the floor next to him, and his breathing was shallow, barely there.

“Lando,” she whispered, her hands trembling as she cupped his face. “Lando, wake up. Please.”

Oscar appeared in the doorway, his face ashen. “Is he—?”

“Call an ambulance!” she cried, her voice breaking. “Right now, Osc!”

Oscar pulled out his phone, his fingers fumbling as he dialled. She turned back to Lando, tears streaming down her face. She shook him gently, her voice rising in desperation. “You don’t get to do this, Lando. You hear me? You don’t get to give up like this.”

The operator’s voice buzzed faintly from Oscar’s phone as he relayed their location. He crouched beside her, his free hand resting on her shoulder, trying to steady her as she broke down.

“Come on,” she pleaded, her forehead pressed against Lando’s. “You’re not allowed to leave me. Not like this.”

The sound of distant sirens filled the air, growing louder with each passing second. Oscar stayed silent, his grip firm but gentle, grounding her as she crumbled.

In that moment, a bitter realisation struck him—a knife twisting in his chest. No matter how much he wanted to, he could never truly have her. Her heart was still tethered to Lando, even in its shattered, battered state. And as he watched her hold the man who had hurt her in so many ways, he knew it would always be that way.

She, meanwhile, was drowning in her own spiral of guilt. She’d left him. She’d abandoned him when he needed her most. And now, seeing him like this, all she could think was, I’m the reason he’s here. I’m the reason this happened.

The paramedics burst through the door, their presence swift and efficient, but she didn’t move until Oscar gently pulled her away to let them work. She stood frozen, clutching the edge of the sink as they checked Lando’s pulse and prepared a stretcher.

“Will he be okay?” she asked, her voice barely audible.

One of the paramedics glanced at her with a professional calm. “We’re stabilising him. He’s got a chance.”

As they wheeled him out, Oscar stayed close to her side, his arm hovering protectively near her back. They followed the stretcher down the stairs, out into the crisp night air. She couldn’t stop trembling, her mind replaying the scene over and over.

For Oscar, the sight of her clinging to Lando’s hand as he was loaded into the ambulance was a final confirmation of what he’d already known deep down. He would always be the one standing on the sidelines, watching as her heart belonged to someone else.

“Come on,” he said gently, guiding her away from the flashing lights. “Let’s go.”

The ambulance doors slammed shut with a finality that echoed in the pit of her stomach. She stood on the pavement, watching as the vehicle sped away into the night, its siren cutting through the heavy silence. Her arms hung limply at her sides, her chest tight with the weight of too many emotions to name.

Oscar stood a step behind her, his hands shoved into his jacket pockets, the tension in his body radiating outwards. He wanted to say something, anything, but he knew better. She needed space, and he wasn’t sure he had the words to make this better, even if she’d let him try.

Finally, she turned to him, her face pale and streaked with tears. Her voice was a whisper, barely audible over the hum of the city. “I can’t believe I left him.”

Oscar frowned. “This isn’t your fault.”

Her eyes snapped to his, the raw guilt blazing in them making him wince. “Isn’t it? I walked out, Osc. I left him. I knew he was falling apart, and I still…” Her voice broke, and she pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes. “What kind of person does that?”

“The kind of person who couldn’t set herself on fire to keep someone else warm,” he said softly.

She stared at him, her breath hitching, but the words didn’t seem to sink in. She shook her head, taking a step back. “You don’t understand. You don’t know what it’s like to see someone you love destroy themselves, to feel like you’re all they have, and then to just… leave.”

Oscar’s jaw tightened. “You think I don’t know?” His voice was quiet but firm. “I’ve been watching you do it. For too long. Staying with him, breaking yourself to pieces trying to save him.”

Her lips parted, but no words came. She just looked at him, stunned, as though the weight of what he’d said was pressing down on her all at once.

“I’m not saying it to hurt you,” Oscar continued, his tone gentler now. “But you need to stop blaming yourself. Lando made his choices. You didn’t make him drink, or use, or…” He trailed off, running a hand through his hair. “You didn’t make him do this.”

She turned away, wrapping her arms around herself as though trying to hold the pieces together. “I just keep thinking… if I’d stayed, maybe—”

“Maybe you’d have ended up in that ambulance too,” Oscar interrupted, stepping closer. He hesitated, then placed a hand on her shoulder. “You did what you had to do. For yourself. That doesn’t make you a bad person. It makes you human.”

The tears came then, silent and unrelenting. She leaned into his touch, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her like she was something fragile and precious. She buried her face in his chest, her sobs muffled by the fabric of his jacket.

For a moment, Oscar allowed himself to close his eyes and just be there for her. It wasn’t enough—not for her, and not for him—but it was all he could offer.

When she finally pulled away, her face was blotchy, her eyes red-rimmed, but there was a flicker of determination in her expression.

“I need to go to the hospital,” she said, her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands.

Oscar nodded. “I’ll take you.”

The drive to the hospital was quieter, the urgency replaced by a heavy solemnity. She stared out of the window, her mind miles away, while Oscar focused on the road.

When they arrived, the harsh fluorescent lights of the A&E waiting room made everything feel colder. She checked in with the nurse at the desk, explaining who she was there for, and was told to wait.

Minutes turned into hours, and still, they hadn’t heard anything. Oscar sat beside her, his knee bouncing impatiently. She sat perfectly still, staring at the floor, her hands clenched in her lap.

Finally, a doctor emerged, her expression neutral but kind. “Are you here for Lando?”

She shot to her feet. “Yes. How is he?”

The doctor glanced at the clipboard in her hands. “We’ve stabilised him. He was lucky you got to him when you did. Another half an hour, and we might have been having a very different conversation.”

Her knees nearly gave out, and Oscar steadied her with a hand on her arm. “Can I see him?” she asked, her voice trembling.

“He’s still unconscious,” the doctor said. “But you’re welcome to sit with him.”

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak, and followed the doctor down the stark, sterile corridor. Oscar stayed behind, giving her space.

Inside the room, Lando looked small against the backdrop of wires and monitors. The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor was a stark reminder of how close he’d come to losing the fight. She sank into the chair beside his bed, her hands trembling as she reached out to brush a strand of hair from his face.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “I shouldn’t have left you.”

But as the words left her mouth, a small voice in the back of her mind whispered something else: You couldn’t have saved him alone.

She sat there for what felt like hours, holding his hand and staring at the fragile rise and fall of his chest. In the doorway, Oscar watched her silently, his face unreadable.

For her, it was a moment of reckoning. For Oscar, it was a moment of heartbreak.

The steady beep of the heart monitor filled the silence of the hospital room. She sat by Lando’s bedside, her hands trembling as they clutched his limp, lifeless one. He looked fragile under the harsh fluorescent light, a hollow shadow of the man he used to be.

She didn’t know how long she’d been there when his fingers twitched weakly in hers.

“Lando?” she whispered, leaning forward.

He stirred, his eyelids fluttering before slowly cracking open. His eyes were bloodshot, unfocused, but after a moment, they found her. Confusion flitted across his face, followed by something darker. Shame.

“You shouldn’t… be here,” he rasped, his voice thin and raw.

Her breath hitched. “Lando, don’t say that. I was terrified. I thought—” She swallowed hard. “I thought I’d lost you.”

A bitter laugh escaped him, jagged and broken. “Why do you care? You left, remember?” His words cut, even though his voice barely carried above a whisper.

Her lips parted, but she couldn’t find the words. She squeezed his hand instead, her own shaking. “I care because you called me. You called me, Lando. You could’ve called anyone else, but you didn’t.”

He looked away, his expression crumpling. “Should’ve called no one. Let it… end.”

“Don’t you dare,” she snapped, her voice cracking. “Don’t you dare say that. You don’t get to give up like that. Not when there are people who still care about you.”

Lando’s gaze drifted past her, to the doorway where Oscar leaned against the frame, arms crossed over his chest. His expression was unreadable, but there was a tension in his stance, a sharpness in his eyes.

Lando scoffed. “Even him? What, are you here for moral support, Oscar? Come to gloat?”

Oscar’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t rise to the bait. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m here for her, not you.”

The venom in Lando’s glare was palpable. “Course you are. That’s what you do, isn’t it? Sweep in like a knight in shining armour, acting like you’re better than everyone else.”

“I don’t have to act,” Oscar replied coolly.

“Stop it, both of you,” she snapped, looking between them. “This isn’t about whatever history you two have. Lando, you’re in a hospital bed because you nearly died. Oscar, I didn’t ask you to be here so you could fight with him. This is bigger than that.”

Lando’s gaze flicked back to her, and the defiance faded, replaced by something brittle. He closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling unsteadily. “I didn’t want you to see me like this,” he murmured. “I didn’t want anyone to.”

“Then stop putting yourself here,” she said, her voice breaking. “Lando, please. You have to get help. You can’t keep doing this.”

He didn’t respond, his face turned away. She felt her throat tighten, but she pushed on, her voice softer now. “I left because I couldn’t keep watching you destroy yourself. I didn’t want to, but I had to. For me. But that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped caring. And it doesn’t mean you can’t fix this.”

Lando turned his head slowly, his bloodshot eyes locking with hers. “What if I don’t know how?”

Her heart broke at the quiet, vulnerable question. She squeezed his hand, her tears falling freely now. “Then let someone help you. Let me help you. But you have to try, Lando. Promise me you’ll try.”

Lando’s lips quivered, and after a long moment, he nodded weakly. “I’ll try,” he whispered.

Behind her, Oscar exhaled, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly. But when Lando’s gaze shifted back to him, the bitterness returned.

“Bet you’ve been waiting for this,” Lando muttered. “The great Oscar Piastri, saving the day again. Must feel nice, huh?”

Oscar stepped forward, his expression hardening. “This isn’t about you, Lando. It stopped being about you the day you threw it all away. The career. The friendship. The team. I stopped caring about you a long time ago. The only reason I’m here is her.”

Lando flinched, and she bristled, turning to Oscar. “That’s enough, Osc.”

But Oscar didn’t back down. “No, he needs to hear it. You’re not my responsibility, Lando. You never were. But you made her yours, and you dragged her down with you. That ends now.”

Lando’s face crumpled, his shoulders shaking as he pressed his hand over his eyes. The sound of his muffled sobs broke something inside her.

“Oscar, stop,” she said firmly, standing. She faced him, her eyes filled with anger and hurt. “I know you’re angry, but this isn’t the time.”

Oscar’s jaw worked, but he nodded curtly, stepping back. “Fine. I’ll be outside.” He walked out without another word.

When she turned back to Lando, his face was wet with tears. “He hates me,” Lando muttered.

She sat down again, taking his hand in hers. “Maybe he does. But I don’t. And that’s why I’m asking you to fight. Not for him. Not even for me. For you.”

Lando didn’t answer, but the faintest nod of his head gave her hope.

In the hallway, Oscar leaned against the wall, staring blankly at the floor. His heart ached with frustration and unspoken words. When she finally emerged, her face pale and drawn, he straightened.

“Is he—”

“He’ll be okay,” she said quietly. “He promised he’d try.”

Oscar nodded, his expression unreadable.

He didn't know how this was going to go, but he wasn't ready to mourn the loss of another friendship because of his old teammate's reckless decisions.

the end.

taglist: @waytooobsessedwithlife@iimplicitt

[brainddeadd]

everyone thinking that yn and luke are rivals from usa to canada games, michigan vs michigan state, rangers to devils. everyone has always assumed they hated each other and they always sasses each other but what they didn’t know was they were just teasing each other and have been together for while

maybe the devil finding out by catching the two kissing

i love this idea it's so cute

For years, the narrative around Y/N and Luke Hughes was set in stone: *rivals.* It started with USA vs. Canada junior games, intensified with Michigan vs. Michigan State battles, and continued when they entered the NHL — Y/N drafted by the Rangers, Luke by the Devils. The media ate it up. Every interaction, every chirp, every scuffle on the ice was treated like proof that they couldn’t stand each other. Fans on both sides loved the drama, calling it “The Feud.”

But what no one knew was that all the trash talk and teasing? It was just part of the fun. Off the ice, Y/N and Luke had been dating for over a year, and their so-called rivalry was more like flirting than anything else. They never denied the rumors, mostly because it was hilarious to them how everyone misread their dynamic.

"Try to keep up, Hughes," Y/N smirked during their last game, bumping his shoulder as they skated past each other during warmups.

"Better hope I don't embarrass you out there," Luke shot back, his grin hidden behind his helmet.

Even their teammates thought they hated each other, and neither of them corrected the assumption. After games, Y/N would text him things like “Nice assist, loser” or “Gonna be fun sweeping your team next time :)” — Luke replying with things like “Sure thing, trash can” but always ending with a “<3.”

But their secret almost came crashing down one night after a Devils practice. Luke stayed behind to work on faceoffs, and Y/N had slipped into the arena through a side entrance to wait for him. It wasn’t the first time she'd snuck in—New Jersey was only a quick train ride from New York, and they made the most of every free moment they had.

Luke finally walked out of the locker room, still damp from his post-practice shower. "There’s my favorite enemy," Y/N greeted, arms folded, grinning.

"Favorite enemy, huh?" Luke teased, pulling her into a hug. "That sounds suspiciously like a compliment."

"Don’t get used to it," she murmured, standing on her toes to press a kiss to his lips.

Neither of them noticed Jack Hughes and a couple of Luke’s teammates walking back into the tunnel until Jack's voice rang out.

"What. The. Hell?"

Y/N and Luke sprang apart, wide-eyed and caught completely off guard. Jack stood there, mouth agape, with a couple of the guys exchanging stunned looks behind him.

"You’ve got to be kidding me," Jack said, a mix of amusement and disbelief on his face. "You two?"

Luke rubbed the back of his neck, shooting Y/N an apologetic glance before smirking at his brother. "Yeah. Surprise."

The Devils players started laughing, still half-shocked but enjoying the absurdity of it. "So all that sass was just... flirting?" someone asked.

Y/N shrugged, trying not to blush. "More or less."

Jack shook his head in disbelief, grinning. "You guys had everyone convinced you hated each other. You’re like... hockey’s Romeo and Juliet."

"Don’t say that," Luke groaned, but he was smiling too, knowing that the secret was finally out — and honestly? It felt pretty good.

[reasonsforhope]

"In short: Nine million Canadian women of reproductive age will have the full cost of their contraception covered as part of a major health care reform, the government says.

The reform includes the most widely used contraceptive methods, such as IUDs, contraceptive pills, hormonal implants and the day after pill.

What's next? The government must still win the approval of Canada's provinces, which administer health care."

"Canada will cover the full cost of contraception for women, the government says as it highlights the first part of a major health care reform.

The government will pay for the most widely used contraceptive methods, such as IUDs, contraceptive pills, hormonal implants or the day after pill, for the nine million Canadian women of reproductive age, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Sunday at a press conference in a pharmacy in Toronto.

"Women should be free to choose the contraceptives they need without cost getting in the way. So, we're making contraceptives free," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on X, formerly Twitter.

The announcement fleshes out the first part of a bill unveiled in February that, once completed, would mark the biggest expansion of Canada's publicly funded health care system in decades.

This new regime will also cover the cost of diabetes medication for some 3.7 million Canadians.

The cost of the new system and timing of the launch have not been announced...

The government must now win the approval of Canada's provinces, which actually administer health care, for this new system. Alberta and Quebec have already said they would opt out.

The pharmacare plan — as it is called locally — follows protracted negotiations between Mr Trudeau's Liberal minority government and a small leftist faction in parliament.

The New Democratic Party agreed to prop up the Liberals until the fall of 2025, on the condition that the government immediately launch the drug program."

-via ABC News Australia, March 31, 2024

[peachhcs]

world juniors surprise

hughes!sister x will smith au (samy + will)

samy surprises the guys in canada at world juniors!

wc: 2.4k

this is more gabe, ryan + samy just because i like writing their friendship and showing how much they all enjoy each other’s company and hanging out all together even when will isn’t around. (i also didn’t know how to end this so ending sucks my bad)

au masterlist

even though will wasn't playing at world juniors anymore, samy still wanted to support her other boston boys and her parents were suckers for hockey, so they made the trip into canada for the rest of the tournament. samy also really loved surprises, so she made an effort to surprise ryan and gabe upon arriving. 

she texted back and forth with drew and zeev about making sure neither of the boys found out as she snuck into the practice rink near the end of their practice. she stayed close to the back of the bleachers, watching as the boys played a scrimmage. the sound of the puck hitting against their sticks was like music to her ears. 

drew glanced her way and she gave a tiny wave. the taller boy smiled, making sure to not draw any attention in her direction. she saw ryan wearing the big C on his uniform and gabe with his A and she couldn't be prouder of the two. after all the work they've put in the last year and this season so far, they definitely deserved it. 

their coach called them in after another few minutes for his last remarks about practice before sending them free for the day. with everyone's back turned, samy carefully snuck her way onto the ice.

head coach carle saw her making her way towards them. he began wrapping up his last words, "good work today boys. get some good sleep, we have a big day tomorrow." ryan began standing back up to call out their cheer when coach stopped him, "actually, i think we have someone else who wants to call the cheer today." 

the boys grew confused until samy said, "mind if i do one leno?" 

ryan's head snapped towards her, eyes wide with surprise. the other boys copied his movements, all of their gazes quickly lighting up when they saw the familiar hughes sister.

"no fucking shit," ryan laughed and skated towards her. gabe wasn't far behind as they hugged. 

"what are you even doing here?" gabe laughed as he took his hug and the other guys rallied around for a hello. with most of these boys being old u18s and u17s, samy was very familiar with all of them so she greeted each of the boys with a friendly smile. 

"i'm here to watch hockey, duh?" the girl laughed. 

"what a great surprise. it's good to see you," ryan grinned. 

"we did help plan, by the way," drew spoke up next to zeev. 

"impressive. i don't think i've ever been on the receiving end of a surprise before," gabe patted the girl's shoulder. 

"well since you're here and you asked, you can do the honors," ryan said meaning the team cheer. 

"all hands in," samy smiled and the boys put their gloved hands in the center. "usa on 3. 1, 2, 3, usa," they broke and finally started skating off the ice now in chatter about samy being there. 

"how long are you staying?" ryan asked.

"the whole tournament. my parents are here too. they couldn't pass up an opportunity to watch some good hockey," she giggled. 

"well, we're glad you're here. i don't think we've ever been surprised by you before. give us like..twenty minutes to shower and change and we'll be out," gabe said and samy nodded. she wasn't a stranger to waiting around after a game or practice, so she made herself comfortable against the wall across from the locker room. 

the youngest hughes sent a quick picture to will telling him she successfully surprised the boys. they were both sad he couldn't join her in canada because of the games he had to be at coming up, but he was there in spirit and obviously, samy was going to send him all the game updates. 

james and aram came out of the locker room first. the older brunette quickly hurried over to greet samy where she gave both of them warm hugs. 

"good to see you again hughesy. congrats on your national title by the way," aram nudged her shoulder. 

"thank you. it's good to see you guys too. how's boston been?" she asked and the two nodded.

"amazing. awesome. perfect," james chuckled. 

"you've been doing pretty good this season. i can't believe my little u17 is all grown up," samy poked james' shoulder making him flush. in her eyes, him, teddy, cole would always be her u17s no matter how old they got. 

"i try to stay humble," the boy mumbled, but smiled nonetheless. teddy and cole were the next ones out, quickly rushing over to say a proper hello. samy hugged them all the same. 

"it's kind of weird seeing you without will here," teddy laughed. 

"yeah, i know, but i really wanted to come see you guys. i can't believe how grown up you are," she pinched teddy and cole's cheeks like a big sister would, which, in some ways, she was a big sister to them. 

"you say that like we went from 12 to 17 overnight," cole said making the others laugh. 

"in my eyes you did. i feel like a mom who's birds all left the nest," samy held her heart and the boys exchanged a glance knowing how sappy and sentimental she got. 

the last four finally came back out after another ten minutes. drew and zeev hurried over to also give the youngest hughes a proper hug. "thanks for helping with the surprise," she said.

"of course. glad i got to finally be in the know this time around," drew grinned. 

"are you hungry at all? we can all catch an early dinner late lunch?" ryan wondered and the others nodded, wanting to tag along.

"sure, i'm down," samy agreed too. 

they decided on a restaurant not too far from the rink and piled into their cars. samy got in with ryan and gabe, the dark-haired boy offering her the front while ryan got in the driver's seat.

"when's em and julianne coming down?" samy wondered. 

"emma's coming this weekend and i think julianne is too. like everyone is coming this weekend," gabe said, clicking his seatbelt in. 

"i'm excited to see everyone. all we'll be missing is will and hannah."

"isn't hannah in like jamaica for break?" ryan wondered and the girl nodded.

"yup, her big winter break vacation. the pictures have been super cool though." 

they pulled out of the lot, the other hockey boys following behind them. "so how are you feeling about being captains?" the brunette shifted the subject, her gaze bouncing between the two boys. 

"good, i think. we're feeling confident about this tournament and i think we've been doing a good job?" ryan said in a bit of a question as he gazed back at gabe through the rearview.

"i'm feeling confident too. it's gonna be a good tournament," the dark-haired boy agreed.

"good, i'm glad to hear that. you guys have really great players on the roster this year. you guys and hagens should be a good trio," the girl nodded. 

"dude, hagens is a fucking beast. he's crazy good. he's like the will smith of his year," gabe quickly gushed at the mention of the other taller brunette. 

"i've heard. he was always really good at dev," samy agreed. 

"i know he's gonna go quick at the draft next year. there's no way he doesn't," ryan turned into the restaurant parking lot. all the other boys pulled in, scattering to find parking spots.

the poor hostess was definitely a bit frightened when almost ten hockey players came into the restaurant without a reservation, but somehow, she managed to seat all of them. their chatter carried across the table between one another talking about world juniors, college, hockey, michigan, san jose—all of the topics getting covered. 

"hey, i'm just wondering how you get smitty to post pictures of you like that," aram snickered making the other boys laugh. samy flushed and just shook her head.

"i have no idea. you have to ask him," she shrugged.

"he's sooo whipped for you," zeev poked her shoulder and the girl's poor flush got worse and opted to bury her face in her hands instead. 

"oh she knows. we all know. you should've seen how bad they were before they got together. it was so obvious," ryan shook his head slightly making gabe, drew, and aram all laugh. 

fall of 2021 (samy's junior year and will's first year of dev)

"where are you going?" ryan wondered when he saw his friend putting his coat on. will's gaze snapped in his direction.

"my mom and i are going down to samy's soccer game. you wanna come with?" ryan didn't know the youngest hughes that well yet. their only interaction had been at her house the first time and then she was at some of the preseason games, but the boy wouldn't pass up an opportunity to get out of house and watch a game of soccer. 

"yeah sure," he shrugged and got to find his coat. "do you guys always go to games?" 

"usually, yeah. my mom always had the highlights up or read about it online," will shrugged and the brunette just nodded. he still thought about how much will played it down how close him and samy were and after meeting her, the guys quickly realized how much closer they were than will led on. 

mrs. smith filled the silence with asking the boys about how the program was going so far and if they were liking it to which they said yes. it was hard getting any elaboration out of sixteen year old boys. 

the stands were fairly packed when they got there. colleen found samy's parents and the boys followed her since they didn't really know anyone from her school. 

"there she is," will pointed to samy's #6 down on the field warming up. "she has crazy pre game superstitions. she always has to have her hair up in a braid and she usually eats two apples before every game," the blonde continued. 

"sounds serious," ryan chuckled to himself and will nodded.

"you have no idea. she gets insane with her superstitions," the blonde laughed too. samy finally looked back up at the stands where will waved. she quickly waved back when she saw him, a large smile on her lips. 

"i'm definitely dragging all of you guys out to these games. samy loves the support and she'll find it funny seeing all of us in the stands," the more will kept talking about her the more curious ryan got with their relationship because he seriously wondered just how close they really were. 

the game got underway and ryan also began realizing just how much he liked girl's soccer. he didn't usually watch it, but samy's game had him on the edge of his seat as the girls raced up and down the field to score a goal. the youngest hughes was good. will mentioned how good she was, but now that ryan was seeing it with his own eyes he definitely agreed. the girl was fast and good at scoring. 

when the game ended the family waited around for samy to come back out of the school. ryan and will were discussing what a great game that was when the brunette came out with her team in high spirits after the win. will quickly lifted her into a hug. 

"great game, hughesy," the blonde cheesed.

"thanks, smitty. it's so good seeing you in person," she chucked and her eyes slid to ryan. "i dragged him with me. well, he wanted to come when i asked," will filled in the gaps.

"you were good, hughes. i was impressed," ryan smiled. 

"thanks, that means a lot. i'm glad you came," she offered a quick side hug before greeting her parents and mrs. smith. ryan watched the exchanges and the way the smile never left will's lips as he watched samy in front of them. 

ryan was slowly learning how important this girl would be to all of them in the next two years because after that game, the guys never missed one of samy's home soccer games (unless they had a game too). 

even though she was will's girlfriend and will's friend first, samy had become quite an important friend to all of the guys. she showed up for them and they showed up for her, even when will wasn't around to bridge the gap because there was no gap to bridge anymore. they were close all on their own. 

and her being at world juniors to support them in the tournament was more than the guys could even ask for. they all went back to the hotel for the night knowing they needed to get good sleep for the game tomorrow. samy hung out in ryan and gabe's room with aram and drew for a bit. ryan was out on the balcony getting fresh air when samy came out to join him.

"nervous?" the girl wondered as she leaned against the railing.

"kind of," ryan admitted with a small chuckle.

"you're all gonna do great, lean. you worked really hard for this," samy assured making the brunette smile a bit.

"yeah, i know. i think it's pre game jitters i always get. still getting used to the whole captain thing too."

"hey, i get it. it's nerve racking for sure when people finally watch what you and your teammates have been working on for the past week. people love you guys though. they love you. they're gonna think it's great," the girl said and ryan flushed.

"thanks for coming by the way. it's good having you here with us even though will isn't here," they exchanged a glance.

"you know i'd always show up for you guys. you show up for me. we're friends outside of will. you guys are gonna be in our wedding whenever that happens, so of course i'd show up for you guys," samy loved these boys like they were bonus brothers. all of her brother's hockey friends were her bonus brothers, but the u18s of 2023 were brothers in a way that samy knew they'd all be friends for the rest of their lives. 

"you know will really landed a good one," ryan winked making the girl flush. 

"yeah, i guess he did." 

"you guys better get back in here and watch drew beat gabe at mario kart," aram called. the two exchanged a glance, laughing and racing back inside so they could see drew pull ahead and cross the finish line before gabe could. he jumped up in excitement. 

"i won! finally!" drew exclaimed.

the others cheered excitedly. gabe rolled his eyes a bit and handed off his controller to someone else. ryan grabbed it wanting to beat drew this time.

they played for a little while longer until deciding they definitely needed to go to bed. the guys hugged samy goodnight, “can’t wait for a great game tomorrow!” she grinned as she followed drew and aram out of the room.

[earl-grey-teacake]

hi!! i hope you're doing well!! i saw your baby!loscar au post where you answered an ask about how logan and oscar react to the other drivers on the grid, and the bit on max showing up to their karting events when they're older is SO on brand fr!! especially after canada, i just want to give logan the biggest hug ever and (if you want to) would love to hear more of your thoughts about max cheering on/advising logan during karting races. ofc no pressure!!

Hello! Yes, I am doing much better!

Canada made me so sad but I am hopeful and whatever happens, I will follow Logan to whatever sport he moves to.

I can absolutely expand on that.

When Oscar and Logan first started karting, some of the drivers would come out to support them. They were disguised as to not take attention away from the kids but Logan and Oscar knew who they were. Max was one of the ones who would go out consistently to cheer them on and provide that positive validation he never got as a kid.

He gets more involved when Alex and George have to fly back to England but Logan has school, practices, and a race to attend. Oscar, Lando, and Carlos are sick so Max jumps in and offers to watch Logan for them. His flat is just him, Charles, and their pets and Logan is quite comfortable with animals.

So Logan stays with Max for 2 weeks as Charles has media duties in Maranello. Logan is surprisingly good with the pets and they seem to like him enough to sleep on him- they are not allowed in at night out fear they will suffocate him and Max cannot have that on his soul.

Is Logan old enough to shove them off?

Yes. Does Max have anxiety? Yeah.

Max drives him to school and then to the track for practice sessions. He’s instructing him where to brake, what he did wrong on a turn, why he spun out and what to look out for. Max is free to maxplain and Logan soaks it up like a sponge.

Before the race, he’s checking the helmet, the kart, making sure Logan remember his lessons and then send him off. He’s cheering on the sidelines, anxious when a kid in a similar white helmet spins out, angry and calling for a black flag on another kid’s reckless maneuver.

******

“You got everything? Your helmet is in tight?” Max checked just in case. “Do you remember everything I taught you?”

Logan nodded. “Go wide on turn 1 and brake later on turn 3. Be careful of exiting turn 5.”

“Good job! You’ll do great!” Max gave a high-five.

—-

Max’s heart sinks when he sees a blue kart and a white helmet spin off the track and his the wall. He watches as a red flag is called and breathes a sigh of relief when he seen a white helmet and blue kart come into pit.

—-

Max was going to march down there and yell at an organizer as some kid tried to run Logan off the track. There should’ve been a black flag two laps ago.

“That’s a black flag. Are you blind? He’s shoved two kids into the gravel already!”

When they’re driving back home, Max says, “Logan, next time someone does that. You run him off the track you hear me. It might ruin your race but it’ll teach him a lesson.”

******

Logan places 1st and Max is ecstatic and sending photos to the official GPDA group chat.

After those two weeks and Logan placing 1st in both races, Max, unofficially, has taken him under his wing. Charles comes back, competitive and unhappy that Max has become a favorite, take Oscar under his tutelage.

Alex finds Logan’s admiration of Max adorable but is a little jealous. George is very jealous since he’s also won a WDC but Logan doesn’t listen to him.

Lewis is a bit concerned that Max and Charles mentoring Logan and Oscar might lead to some unhealthy competition like from when they were children.

Thank you for the ask! I hope you enjoyed it! ❤️

[skipper1331]

Mini Swiftie // Jessie Fleming

a/n: based off this request. Hope you like it.

JFlem✔️

i miss you :(

see you tonight? x

you smiled at your phone, pressing the icon to call your girl. Leaving the room where your team mates were sat, watching a movie while you went down to the hotel lobby. "Hey" you said as she accepted your call, "hello, my girl" the freckled girl whispered, slipping out of her hotel room. "How was your day?"

Canada and the Uswnt would face each other at the weekend in a friendly but staying away from your lover was awful. In London you lived together, slept next to each other every day and now not doing so was something neither of you liked. But at least due to the friendly, your teams were in the same town.

One evening, the two of you found a little bench that was located halfway to each of your hotels. It became your spot. "Can i see you tonight?" she repeated her text question "yeah, same time, same place?"

"Yeah"

As you were about to say someting when you saw a glimpse of a small brunette. Kelley. "Gotta go!" Immediately, you ended the call.

You

sorry, Kelley is on her way

see you later x

"Mini Swiftie! We‘re watching your favorite movie and you‘re not there" the veteran ruffled through your hair. Your hands went back in your hair to straighten it. "Who did you talk to lover?" the lover was in the same sing-song voice as your sister performed it, "kelley, you need to stop with these references", you stood up as she dramatically clutched her heart, "don’t blame, love made me crazy" you rolled your eyes, walking to the elevators.

Ever since you made your debut for the senior team, the team loved to tease you with Taylor Swift song lyrics. You get it, you‘re a Swift but it‘s not your fault that she was your older sister, you loved her and she was your biggest supporter (Jess would fight her because according to her, she‘s your number one fan) but sometimes it was heavingly annoying.

"Come on, Mini Swiftie, you didn‘t answer my question!" she ran after you, jumping in the elevator just in time. "My mom" you replied nonchalantly, hoping she wouldn‘t realize that you‘re lying.

Nobody knew about you and the canadian girl and it should stay that way. Compared to your sister, you didn't like the stage. Yes, you played football on a world stage, you became a world champion in 2019, but the comparison to a sold-out stadium and a sold-out Taylor concert was something different. You only got to know peace through the Canadian woman who showed you how it was possible to live in peace despite the fact that you were in the public eye. You loved her for that, you loved her for so many reasons.

-

Midnight couldn‘t come fast enough. Mal was in a deep slumber already as you were wide awake. Mal and you roomed together all the time, you were one of the og-youngsters, gave your debut together and were great friends so it became a common thing. The forward was always in a deep sleep, you could scream next to her and she wouldn't notice, it made things a lot easier to sneak out of the room and sneak in later in the night without getting caught.

20 minutes before midnight, you got up, dressed yourself in a hoodie and some shorts. Thankfully, the weather wasn‘t cold or rainy. You sneaked out of the room and hotel, walking down the streets to your spot.

"Hi, baby" you greeted your girl as you took a seat beside her, your lips pressing against her cheek. "Gimme a real kiss" the canadian whined, chuckling at her antics, "so needy" nonetheless you gave her the sweet kiss she deserved.

-

The following days, you met up with Jess at the same time and same place. During the day you hadn’t had much free time so midnight was perfect to update on how your day was and the missing kisses, something important for the both of you.

"Do you think Mini Swiftie is acting weird?" Sonnett asked her friends, looking at you as you smiled at your phone (texting with Jessie) "how come?" Alex asked. Trying to explain what Sonnett meant, Christen cut her attempt short, "give her a rest, she‘s young" you didn‘t hear Christen protect you but if you had, you would‘ve been very thankful. The defender took the matters in her own hands as she looked at Kelley and Alex. They shared a look before they nodded.

-

"Today was awful" you grumbled as you flopped down next to your girlfriend, ready to rest your head on her chest. "What happened, love?" lovingly, she scartched through your hair, a method to calm you down. "Sonny and Kelley didn‘t leave my side all day long and when I said something they replied with lyrics"

"Oh my girl, you have to tell them If you don‘t like it" her voice was quiet, understanding. "Jess, you know how they are" the midfielder sighed, she knew exactly how they were, "can you just hold me?"

You loved your team mates to death but sometimes they‘re just too much. You had no problem with their teasing, you‘re proud to call yourself a Swift and you didn‘t care If they called you Mini Swiftie but if they don’t give real answer after every spoken sentence of you, only a lyric, it made you angry. That way you couldn't have a real conversation with them and you didn‘t want to either. How do they even come up with (you hate to admit that) a perfect song line in such a short time slot?

"Anything, baby" your girlfriend pulled you closer as she continued to massage your scalp.

-

"Hey, was Y/n with you guys last night?" Mal asked the group. "No, why?" came the reply from the Room Morgan-O‘Hara, Press-Heath, Lavelle-Mewis and Sonnett-Horan. "Weird" your room mate mumbled. Last night, she drank a cup of coffee before going to bed which was why she had to get up 3 times during the night to go to the bathroom.

The first time was shortly after midnight - your bed empty. She thought you were in the bathroom so she waited, no light was on, you weren‘t there.

The second time was around 2am tending towards 3am - your bed still empty.

The last time she went to the bathroom was around 5am, you were soundfully asleep in your bed.

The big question: where had you been?

"Interesting. She's hiding something from us." Kelley had a mischief smile on her face while clapping her hands together. "Detectives, let‘s go!"

Hard to believe but everyone agreed to Kelley's plan.

-

"Good night" Mal whispered in to the dark room, ready to fake her sleep. Her back was facing you while you laid on your bed, staring at the ceiling. Mal‘s phone was hidden under her pillow as your team mates waited for a signal. Sonny had even created a groupchat 'Mission: Swift' with Tobin, Chris, Alex, Kelley, Mal, Rose, Sam and Lindsey.

20 minutes before midnight you checked If Mallory was asleep, "Mal, are you up?" she didn‘t answer you - in your eyes she was in her deep slumber. You got out of your pyjama and dressed into the same outfit as usual. The forward could only assume what you did, her eyes closed.

When she heard the door open and shut, she grabbed her phone and texted.

Mal

suspect left the room.

Team Kellex and Preath were down in the lobby, Chris and Tobin sitting at the bar while Kelley and Alex sat in the armchairs which were not in your sight. The other group members were still in their rooms, waiting for the next sign.

Kelley

down.

As soon as they saw Kelley‘s text, everyone sprinted out of their rooms, down the stairs to join the rest of the group. "She went this way" Alex whispered as they arrived, Chris and Tobin already by their sides.

They kept enough distance from you as they followed you yet always had an eye on you. Every once in a while you turned around but didn't see anyone so you just kept walking like nothing happened, maybe your mind was messing with you.

The team felt like fbi agents, working on an undercover case or like they‘re in a movie, either way it was exciting.

"My love, hello" you sat down next to her, giving her a kiss.

"Did she- did she just-" Sonnett started, completely shocked.

"..kiss someone?" Rose ended the question, eyes wide.

Everyone‘s mouth was agape, mini swiftie with a girlfriend? What? "I didn‘t expect that" the tall blonde said, looking at her friends.

"Yeah, yeah, but who is she?" Lindsey chipped in, her curiosity on high-levels.

Tobin was the first to approach you and the mysterious girl by your side, Chris, Kelley and Alex close behind, Mal, Rose, Sam, Sonny and Lindsey following. Tobin scoffed, clearing her throat. It made you turn around, your eyes wide as you stood up, pulling Jessie behind you. The first who opened her mouth was Kelley though, who would‘ve thought. "What‘s this?" Kelley asked, her tone strict, kind of like a mom. The others gathered around you, glaring a the girl behind you "Baby Canada!" Tobin said, walking around the bench. "H- Hi" the canadian gave a little wave, shaking slightly as all the women stared at her. "So?" the small but scary brunette asked, she wanted an answer, everybody wanted. You looked at your girlfriend, you didn't want to tell them anything she wasn‘t comfortable with. "We saw you kiss so don‘t lie to us" Alex added. As Jess nodded with a reassuring smile, you turned back to your team mates "Jessie is my girlfriend. We‘re a couple" you squeezed her hand for your own sake. "Well, well, well, baby Canada" Kelley joined Tobin, intimidating the freckled girl "do we have to give you the shovel talk?" It was Alex who was talking, taking some steps to stand next to Kelley "Stop it guys" you didn‘t like how that turned out at all, you had a feeling that your girlfriend was scared, not that she wouldn‘t face them but it was dark and late and 9 women were just to much. "Go back to the hotel, we‘ll talk in the morning" you said about to walk away with Jess. "What‘re you gonna do?" Rose asked.

"I will walk her to her hotel"

"She‘s old enough to walk alone!" you glared at Kelley. "I don‘t care, I’ll walk her back to the hotel and then go back to ours."

"Well then we‘re all gonna bring her, we won‘t let you walk on your own" Christen added, not liking the feeling to let you walk home alone. She liked that you felt the same way with Jess walking alone.

"Fine"

Jessie and you walked ahead of them as they trailed behind you, gushing over the new information they had about their Mini Swiftie. "I‘m so sorry" you murmured while you pulled her into you, your arm around her shoulders as hers went around your mid section. "It‘s fine, they love you"

"They‘re annoying" you grumbled.

The rest of the walk was spent in silence, you ignored your friends, your only focus: the midfielder in your arms. As you arrived at the hotel, Kelley instantly opened her mouth again "Now say bye, we all want to sleep" rolling your eyes, you looked at your girl, smiling fondly. You were so in love with her. "Good night, my love. Sweet dreams" you pushed your lips against her forehead, not giving her a real kiss as your team mates stared at you. "Good night, baby" she gave your cheek a peck, understanding why you didn‘t give her the proper good night kiss like usual.

You watched her as she entered the hotel, waiting till she wasn‘t in sight anymore before you turned around.

"Tell us everything, Mini Swiftie"

————————

[peppermint-cardboard]

hey. hello my friend. i am grabbing you by the shoulders oh so gently. do not become hopeless. that is exactly what they want. blue state governments will give them hell over the next presidential term, and you can rest assured there will absolutely be people in our government fighting for democracy.

the thing we can all do that will have the most direct immediate impact and will lay the groundwork for cultures of help, creativity, and love is to get involved at the local community level.

i’m talking especially to my fellow teens here!!! may not be able to vote but that doesn’t mean we’re not able to help.

for my fellow Angelenos!

Hollywood Food Coalition - free food! you can sign up to volunteer and do meal prep (cooking), meal service (serving food), or help at their food bank. locations are on their website. thanksgiving is coming up and HFC will need volunteers!

My Friend’s Place - free aid for youth homelessness, especially queer youth homelessness. volunteering is for 18 years and older

Los Angeles LGBT Center - exactly what it sounds like. offers a wide range of wonderful services and opportunities for volunteering. also works with school GSAs!

Moonwater Farm - a community farm in Compton with great opportunities for education and sometimes paid fellowships

for people everywhere else! just some general recommendations:

The Trevor Project - queer youth services that have saved my ass a number of times. i don’t know if they call the police as part of their responses or not (offers a single-click-to-leave button in case of emergency)

TrevorSpace - a great queer youth-centered website and a very safe place for queer community and discussion

Debate Me, Bro - a great anarchist newsletter/advice column run by a friend of mine!

The Child And Its Enemies - anarchist child rights-focused podcast also run by that same friend of mine :)

Neocities - make a website! learn some HTML! it’s fun, it’s pretty simple, and it’s a way to get a message out if that’s what you want but it’s also just a great de-stresser

Queer Liberation Library - need i even elaborate on the importance of libraries and access to queer media over the coming few years? (offers a single-click-to-leave button in case of emergency)

American Civil Liberties Union - an activism and aid organization that gave the Republicans absolute hell last time and will continue to do so this time

Blackline (800-604-5841) - a crisis and help hotline prioritizing BI&POC and black queer people. will not call the police!

Trans Lifeline (US: 877-565-8860, Canada: 877-330-6366) - a helpline run by and for trans folks. has a quick escape button and will not call the police!

Wildflower Alliance Peer Support Line (888-407-4515) - a warmline to chat with trained therapists and professionals. will not call the police!

StrongHearts Native Helpline (844-762-8483) - a domestic and sexual violence helpline prioritizing Native Americans and Alaska Natives. has a quick escape button and will not call the police!

Thrive Lifeline (313-662-8209) - a live crisis warmline prioritizing marginalized people. also offers text messaging! will not call the police!

LGBT National Health Center (888-843-4564) - exactly what it sounds like! warmlines for queer people if you need help. has a quick escape button and will not call the police!

Transfeminine Science - a fantastic resource for... transfeminine science. exactly what it says on the tin.

Planned Parenthood - an incredibly prolific and important organization that offers a very wide array of vastly important services. if you live in an at least semi-urban city in the U.S., Planned Parenthood probably has a clinic near you. you should find out if they do!!!

please feel free to add more resources if you know any!!

other recommendations: say hi to a neighbor. bake someone a pie. start a garden. treat homeless people like your neighbors (because they are). propose a community movie night. have a party in your apartment building. call a friend. text a friend. draw something. cook something good. go to a restaurant you like. buy some DVDs. get a new stuffed animal. compliment a stranger’s shirt. ask for a hug. offer someone a hug. listen to music. KEEP LIVING!!!!!!!!!

don't just survive, keep living <3

[official-darkforest]

in your anthro au, does bramble actually make it to canada? is the plotline of the lake territory scrapped for something else?

rambled quite a bit here!

no, they dont make it to canada. they abandoned that idea after feather was killed. instead her funeral and burial is held in california by her dying wish and her family drives/flies over. graystripe and mosspelt took feather's car, but mosspelt flies back home via plane. graystripe is staying wirh storm indefinitely and eventually meets millie.

with storm's blessing, bramble,tawny, crow, and squirrel take the van back home. tawny is dropped off on the way, but crow insists on tagging along to thunder because he's not ready to be alone yet. his family is pretty small and he's not sure his parents will be able to help much, as much as they may try.

dodging the draft can get you into trouble, but there are many that got off scot free and bramble was one pf those lucky fellows (especially with firestar's involvement. he made sure bramble wouldn't have it held against him in return for keeping squirrel safe and bringing her home). firestar was furious at both bramble and squirrel but he's not cruel and unsympathetic, especially considering they just lost a very close friend (and that gray isnt coming back for a while).

this is where crow and leaf meet, crow is kinda bunking with bramble at his place and even had plans to move in for good. his parents were pretty combative but couldnt do much since he was a few states away!!! they dont know where the fuck thunder-whatever is. but eventually he gets a call about his father's rapidly declining health and immediately abandons his plans to stay. he asks leaf to come with him but leaf still isn't finished with med school (she doesn't know she's pregnant yet) and they part ways. crow makes it home to help ashfoot care for deadfoot in his final few months and fills in after his father dies. it's something he didnt plan to continue but its notnlike he HATES doing the work. eventually meets+marries nightcloud a 1-4 yrs later

leaf meanwhile continues med school. being unmarried with kids is still a social taboo, especially at such a young age (im imagining she and squirrel are around 18-19 by now, 17 during the road trip). squirrel and bramble, however, had been in a relationship with one another for a while after coming back home. sure, it got a bit messy when ashfur came back from vietnam and got a bit too close to squirrel for comfort, but they sorta resolved it and eventually bramble/squirrel got engaged. leaf confided in squirrel for her help with the pregnancy and squirrel immediately offered to take the children in as her own if leaf needed. it was a huge jump but leaf took the offer. bramble was let in on the plan the closer leaf got to her due date. he thought it was a very impulsive decision and they fought a bit about making the decision without him but he was enthusiastic about being a father regardless.

the others in town had their suspicions but dont ask dont tell.

theres some other parts i havent fully ironed out yet like where hawkfrost and mothwint come in.

as for the actual lake territories, they coexist with the forest territories by just being in different states LOL windclan and thunderclan's territory was pretty consistent in terms of The Basics so theyre mostly in the same general area (tc is east coast forests, wc is southwest-midwest prairies. theres a lot of cowboys, farmers, and ranchers in "windclan" as a result). shadowclan i can see being in the southern swamps, especially florida or louisiana, and riverclan is kinda interspersed alont the mississippi and ohio rivers. maybe a few along the east coast, too, as the lake territory equivalent. skyclan is probably in the rockies or the redwood forests out west. maybeeee old skyclan is in the appalachias???? idk LOL since the cats are so far apaer now the conflicts are a little less wide scale and more personal if rhat makes any sense at all. of course this whole au is a huge work in progress so some of what i say here may change!

the clans are rural/small/poor towns in my head. tight knit communities that have to rely on each other. kittypets are urban/suburbanites as a contrast and keep the 'kittypets r fucjing spoiled' theme going . you inow the city slicker junk LOL

bloodclan is probably a gang in new york. at least scourge's bloodclan. the other iterations are probably in other huge metropolitan cities. idk what warriorclan is, and the tribe is a whole can of worms im trying to be very careful with so im not gonna talk about them as a whole quite yet other than imply they exist

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

November 26, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Nov 27, 2024

Today presented a good example of the difference between governance by social media and governance by policy.

Although incoming presidents traditionally stay out of the way of the administration currently in office, last night, Trump announced on his social media site that he intends to impose a 25% tariff on all products coming into the U.S. from Mexico and Canada “until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” Trump claimed that they could solve the problem “easily” and that until they do, “it is time for them to pay a very big price!”

In a separate post, he held China to account for fentanyl and said he would impose a 10% tariff on all Chinese products on top of the tariffs already levied on those goods. “Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he added.

In fact, since 2023 there has been a drop of 14.5% in deaths from drug overdose, the first such decrease since the epidemic began, and border patrol apprehensions of people crossing the southern border illegally have fallen to the lowest number since August 2020, in the midst of the pandemic. In any case, a study by the libertarian Cato Institute shows that from 2019 to 2024, more than 80% of the people caught with fentanyl at ports of entry—where the vast majority of fentanyl is seized—were U.S. citizens.

Very few undocumented immigrants and very little illegal fentanyl come into the U.S. from Canada.

Washington Post economics reporter Catherine Rampell noted that Mexico and Canada are the biggest trading partners of the United States. Mexico sends cars, machinery, electrical equipment, and beer to the U.S., along with about $19 billion worth of fruits and vegetables. About half of U.S. fresh fruit imports come from Mexico, including about two thirds of our fresh tomatoes and about 90% of our avocados.

Transferring that production to the U.S. would be difficult, especially since about half of the 2 million agricultural workers in the U.S. are undocumented and Trump has vowed to deport them all. Rampell points out as well that Project 2025 calls for getting rid of the visa system that gives legal status to agricultural workers. U.S. farm industry groups have asked Trump to spare the agricultural sector, which contributed about $1.5 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product in 2023, from his mass deportations.

Canada exports a wide range of products to the U.S., including significant amounts of oil. Rampell quotes GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, Patrick De Haan, as saying that a 25% tax on Canadian crude oil would increase gas prices in the Midwest and the Rockies by 25 cents to 75 cents a gallon, costing U.S. consumers about $6 billion to $10 billion more per year.

Canada is also the source of about a quarter of the lumber builders use in the U.S., as well as other home building materials. Tariffs would raise prices there, too, while construction is another industry that will be crushed by Trump’s threatened deportations. According to NPR’s Julian Aguilar, in 2022, nearly 60% of the more than half a million construction workers in Texas were undocumented.

Construction company officials are begging Trump to leave their workers alone. Deporting them “would devastate our industry, we wouldn’t finish our highways, we wouldn’t finish our schools,” the chief executive officer of a major Houston-based construction company told Aguilar. “Housing would disappear. I think they’d lose half their labor.”

Former trade negotiator under George W. Bush John Veroneau said Trump’s plans would violate U.S. trade agreements, including the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) that replaced the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement that Trump killed. The USMCA was negotiated during Trump’s own first term, and although it was based on NAFTA, he praised it as “the fairest, most balanced, and beneficial trade agreement we have ever signed into law. It’s the best agreement we’ve ever made.”

Trump apologists immediately began to assure investors that he really didn’t mean it. Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman posted that Trump wouldn’t impose the tariffs if “Mexico and Canada stop the flow of illegal immigrants and fentanyl into the U.S.” Trump’s threat simply meant that Trump “is going to use tariffs as a weapon to achieve economic and political outcomes which are in the best interest of America,” Ackman wrote.

Iowa Republican lawmaker Senator Chuck Grassley, who represents a farm state that was badly burned by Trump’s tariffs in his first term, told reporters that he sees the tariff threats as a “negotiating tool.”

Foreign leaders had no choice but to respond. Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum issued an open letter to Trump pointing out that Mexico has developed a comprehensive immigration system that has reduced border encounters by 75% since December 2023, and that the U.S. CBP One program has ended the “caravans” he talks about. She noted that it is imperative for the U.S. and Mexico jointly to “arrive at another model of labor mobility that is necessary for your country and to address the causes that lead families to leave their places of origin out of necessity.”

She noted that the fentanyl problem in the U.S. is a public health problem and that Mexican authorities have this year “seized tons of different types of drugs, 10,340 weapons, and arrested 15,640 people for violence related to drug trafficking,” and added that “70% of the illegal weapons seized from criminals in Mexico come from your country.” She also suggested that Mexico would retaliate with tariffs of its own if the U.S. imposed tariffs on Mexico.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau did not go that far but talked to Trump shortly after the social media post. The U.S. is Canada’s biggest trading partner, and a 25% tariff would devastate its economy. The premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, seemed to try to keep her province’s oil out of the line of fire by agreeing with Trump that the Canadian government should work with him and adding, “The vast majority of Alberta’s energy exports to the US are delivered through secure and safe pipelines which do not in any way contribute to these illegal activities at the border.”

Trudeau has called an emergency meeting with Canada’s provincial premiers tomorrow to discuss the threat.

Spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington Liu Pengyu simply said: “No one will win a trade war or a tariff war” and “the idea of China knowingly allowing fentanyl precursors to flow into the United States runs completely counter to facts and reality.”

In contrast to Trump’s sudden social media posts that threaten global trade and caused a frenzy today, President Joe Biden this evening announced that, after months of negotiations, Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the U.S. and France, to take effect at 4:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday. “This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities,” Biden said.

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel shortly after Hamas’s attack of October 7, 2023. Fighting on the border between Israel and Lebanon has turned 300,000 Lebanese people and 70,000 Israelis into refugees, with Israel bombing southern Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah’s tunnel system and killing its leaders. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,000 people and injured more than 13,000, while CBS News reports that about 90 Israeli soldiers and nearly 50 Israeli civilians have been killed in the fighting. Under the agreement, Israel’s forces currently occupying southern Lebanon will withdraw over the next 60 days as Lebanon’s army moves in. Hezbollah will be kept from rebuilding.

According to Laura Rozen in her newsletter Diplomatic, before the agreement went into effect, Israel increased its airstrikes in Beirut and Tyre.

When he announced the deal, Biden pushed again for a ceasefire in Gaza, whose people, he said, “have been through hell. Their…world is absolutely shattered.” Biden called again for Hamas to release the more than 100 hostages it still holds and to negotiate a ceasefire. Biden said the U.S. will “make another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and others to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza with the hostages released and the end to the war without Hamas in power.”

Today’s announcement, Biden said, brings closer the realization of his vision for a peaceful Middle East where both Israel and a Palestinian state are established and recognized, a plan he tried to push before October 7 by linking Saudi Arabia’s normalization of relations with Israel to a Palestinian state. Biden has argued that such a deal is key to Israel’s long-term security, and today he pressed Israel to “be bold in turning tactical gains against Iran and its proxies into a coherent strategy that secures Israel’s long-term…safety and advances a broader peace and prosperity in the region.”

“I believe this agenda remains possible,” Biden said. “And in my remaining time in office, I will work tirelessly to advance this vision of—for an integrated, secure, and prosperous region, all of which…strengthens America’s national security.”

“Today’s announcement is a critical step in advancing that vision,” Biden said. “It reminds us that peace is possible.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[porterdavis]

Political hacks in black robes (not white)

We will do well to remember that when the issue of Presidential immunity reached the Appellate Court (the one just below the Supreme Court), that court unanimously ruled no such immunity did (or should) exist. Trump appealed that to the SCOTUS, which sat on their decision long enough to ensure no trial of Trump could proceed prior to the November election, then issued a bizarre, tortured verdict that has been widely condemned as one of the worst ever by that Court.

Two of the Justices (Alito and Thomas) should have recused themselves for having (at the very least) the appearance of bias in the case; three of the Justices were appointed by the very man the ruling benefitted. That smacks of third-world machinations.

I have lived in Canada for 44 years now, and while I consider myself a student of current events, I cannot name a single Justice of the Canadian Supreme Court. That's a good thing. They go about their business of calling balls and strikes without fanfare or favour.

Sadly the SCOTUS has been largely reduced to a den of grifters and sycophants who preach 'originalism' and practice partisan skullduggery. They have changed the face of American life drastically in recent weeks, not just abortion, but the ability of government to regulate health and safety, curb predatory business practices, and mandate free and fair elections. The Court is rubber-stamping the christo-fascists attempt to remake America in their vision.

It may be too late, but we must resist and fight back.