#The Big Issue Australia
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dougwallen · 8 months ago
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Adrianne Lenker review for The Big Issue Australia
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amethyinst · 9 months ago
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for all that psycho christians get up in arms about sharia law there's really no difference between it and like. basing abortion law on thou shalt not kill or refusing gay marriage based on thou shalt not lie with a man as with a woman for that is an abomination. both are religious laws based on historical interpretations of the text
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sleepygaymerdisease · 2 years ago
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im trying to respond to people on my post who have questions or are confused but theres just so many 😭 i dont know how to explain the intricacies of classism or how hard it is to get a lawyer to start and WIN a discrimination case. especially since i dont know australian laws. but like... this behavior, denying someone a job for their outfit, is really common across the world. classism is pervasive and it's dangerous and it costs people their lives. we would have to change the capitalist system, change policies across the globe, and work on our internalized classist beliefs for the rest of our lives.
#i think a lot of people are sharing the post in shock and horror. not knowing that this happens to people every day. which is really sad.#like. this is an issue that is literally ignored and swept under the rug. to the point where people dont think about it. even though like.#when you hear about Interview/Business Culture you know you have to dress well. everyone knows that's like step 1. but people havent#actually stopped and asked what the purpose of that is or what that means. people haven't considered what happens if you break that rule. or#why that rule is there at all... emily gwen said that they can't afford new clothing. and couldnt get the words out in the moment. but like.#imagine this from the interviewer's perspective. she saw someone who was 'unprofessional' because of their clothing. and that's fucked up!#WE know the situation because of their post. but they shouldnt need to justify their attire like that to get a damn job. we dont need to#know someones circumstances to treat them like a person. and i want everyone to really think about this. how many times in your life have#you seen someone with worn out clothes. dirty clothes. clothes with holes in them. clothes that are 'too casual' for their setting. and how#have you treated those people? how have you thought about them? and think about this in media. how many people with bad clothes are seen as#irresponsible? or treated like shit? this happens every day. and it's not australia specific or america specific either. it's everywhere.#so please show others compassion. this experience is traumatic and alienating. it's hard to reach out. its embarassing to talk about.#and it's even harder to get legal defense for this stuff. you need money and you need solid proof. oftentimes people have neither.#other things to consider clothing-wise: clothes that dont fit. too big or too small. modified outfits. clothes that dont match the weather#(like wearing a sweater in the summer or thin shirts/shorts in the winter). like. these are things people judge all the time idk.#what happened to emily was horrific. but it's not new and youre not immune to thinking the same way.#anis gaymer moments
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vogelmeister · 2 years ago
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thinking about the australian cultural cringe on this sunny sunday hbu
#no but it's kinda true i do actually suffer from cultural cringe but i see how bad it can be for artists from australia#like idk its a big topic but like majority of our tv happens to be reality tv or imports#i actually saw a really good tiktok about how australian tv is stuck in a time warp#i feel like australian music is either indie triple j or x factor winners singles and x factor hasnt aired since 2016#and international shit has taken over the hottest 100#it says a lot that one of the few australian things to get impact internationally as of recent is bluey#dont get me wrong im so proud of bluey i love seeing my home country portrayed#but im 22. give me more.#and im not innocent to cultural cringe or alienation either but id love some good australian media that isnt americanised or makes me cring#even with heartbreak high i physically recoiled after realising it was australian#so i need to also work on not being so ashamed of australian stuff myself#and im not doing myself any favours by only listening to dutch music which in turn is a loop bc dutch ppl probs also have cultural cringe#actually they defs do#its an issue here but i defs talked to dutch ppl in nl who were suffering from cultural cringe she is international#hearing australian accents in songs is also a hard one for me. sometimes its cool but i cringe more than find it cool#even watching tina the tina turner musical when roger appeared i went FUCK NO NOT AUSTRALIANS#and the actor there is australian#idk i am rambling now#but like... this is a complex topic bc i know how bad it is for australian culture and locally produced music and shows and that#but like i do it myself#anyways doei
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snapcracklepop-myjoints · 6 months ago
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wow haha you* think this large area of land is uninhabitable and empty ? wow thats so funny that sounds so much like this fucked up terra nullius thing but surely you arent all mindlessly peddling that colonial narrative of australian land as uninhabited and therefore free for the taking, right ? that would be silly.
and its not like there's a common law doctrine that was only legally discredited in the last 30 years that literally refers to "desert and uncultivated" land as a justification for taking land that is inhabited but is deemed to not have "settled" inhabitants or "settled law" according to colonial standards, right ?
because if there was then it would obviously be super fucking racist to continue to legitimise and perpetuate the erasure of indigenous presence by reaffirming the conception of large swathes of land as desert and uncultivated empty and uninhabitable.
and obviously it would be not only racist but factually incorrect to identify an area as "uninhabitable" purely on the basis that that it was deemed less compatible with colonialist + capitalist agricultural and settler projects and practices, (putting aside the fact that nonnegligible areas are, in fact, settled and used as such) because that would not only continue the erasure of a diverse array of indigenous ways of life, but would also continue to give legitimacy to the idea that presence on land must be identifiable by colonial signifiers thereof, otherwise it is not real and does not count. so obviously you would not do that, yeah ? good talk <3
*"you" as in the ppl in screenshots/ppl who are saying this shit, not op. Just to clarify.
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#also like im sorry. animals can and will be dangerous fucking anywhere. one time i saw a chipmunk eating another chipmunks leg.#u can get fucking rabies in. like. so many places. u know where u cant get it ? australia.#i can get got by a feral raccoon outside the dumpsters in a well populated area any day of the week. i can also get hit by a car.#tbf u can do that in a lot of places but my point stands. no one has died in aus from a spider since 1979. meanwhile fatal car accidents...#...in all of australia per year are barely double those in the state of Massachusetts alone#ppl in the us are getting worked up worrying over snakes 10000 miles away when they should be worried about bmw drivers from boston.#the animal in australia most likely to kill you is a horse.#wow its almost like dying is a part of the human condition but what is and isnt fearmongered about is predicated on whether it can be.....#....associated with 'civilisation' (RACIST) and 'savage untamable wilderness' (RACIST)#car accident vs kangaroo accident. chipmunk with rabies vs dingo. straight up getting shot vs big spider (~~oooh scary ~~)#an uncle of mine got attacked by an emu once but thats because he was fucking. farming the damn things. and also not a smart man.#um. fucking also. the australian desert is fucking gorgeous. it has incredible flora and fauna and the way it looks is literally so distinc#and gorgeous and ur all a bunch of fucking losers if u distill it down to 'empty barren landscape' and uhhh i literally hate u for it also.#um anyway sorry for rant. i am procrastinating on an essay. again.#i also know. way way less abt various aboriginal cultures and historical perspectives and political issues than i would like to so pls if..#...anyone has any recommendations lmk :) im much more well versed in north america and the US for legal stuff#and the hardest part is always getting started w a basis of knowledge with which u can judge the legitimacy + biases of other resources#once u do that it gets easier lol#i am procrastinating again ok whoops#sorry op for the long spiel in ur notes. i am very sleep deprived. u understand.#indigenous#undescribed#ceci says stuff
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renthony · 8 months ago
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How would one go about making an intersex character
That's a big question, and I want to emphasize that I'm only one person, and I can only speak for my own personal experiences. There is no one-size-fits-all guide to this sort of thing.
My advice is therefore the same as it would be for writing any character whose identity you don't share:
Understand that you might fuck it up, but don't let it stop you from trying. No group is a monolith, and what resonates with one member of a group might be considered shitty representation by another member of that group. You're never going to make everyone happy, so instead of trying to make the "perfect representation," try to approach things with the mindset that nothing will ever be perfect. The goal is to have a wide variety of respectful representation, not create the Perfect Rep.
Engage with media created by people who share the identity you want to represent. You can't write a respectful piece of representation if you don't know how anyone in that group is representing themself.
Research activism connected to the identity you want to represent. What are the offensive stereotypes you should avoid? What kinds of sociopolitical issues affect this group of people? Are there any organizations dedicated to activism and support for this group, and have those organizations made any resources for allies?
Work with a sensitivity consultant, and preferably more than one if you can. Many people do this as a paid service, but there are plenty of people who are willing to arrange some kind of trade if financial hardship is an issue. If you absolutely cannot manage to get a consultant for whatever reason, doing your own research becomes even more important.
Since you asked about intersex representation specifically, let me help you get started with some relevant links:
InterAct's Intersex FAQ
InterAct's collection of informative brochures & guides
Intersex Human Rights Australia: Celebrating Intersex Firsts on TV
JSTOR: Intersex Narratives: Shifts in the Representation of Intersex Lives in North American Literature and Popular Culture, by Viola Amato
Human Rights Campaign: Understanding the Intersex Community
GLAAD Media Reference Guide: Intersex People
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notwithoutafight · 7 days ago
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List of posts from 2024-2022 that Daniel deleted/archived on Instagram ⬇️
[there are probably other posts I couldn't find, sorry about that. the links are from tumblr blogs and a couple from twitter. unfortunately, I realized way too late that I didn't keep track of the sources, so I can't list them here, apologies again!]
Unfortunately we just didn’t have the pace this weekend. Fortunately, Singapore is a few days away (Azerbaijan 2024 - September 16, 2024)
Pizza. And some racing (Monza 2024 - September 2, 2024)
Got the most out of the car and myself yesterday, but unfortunately we just lacked overall performance. We’ll get it sorted for Austria 👊🏼 (Barcelona 2024 - July 24, 2024)
Tricky day. But feeling fast. Bring on Sunday (Hungary 2024 - July 20, 2024)
Celebrating 20 years of Red Bull Racing. No 🎂 for me though, just some 🍩 (Goodwood 2024 - July 14, 2024)
Challenging day, some issues in FP2 held us back. Looking forward to tomorrow - rain, hail, shine or whatever 🇬🇧 summer brings! (Silverstone 2024 - July 5, 2024)
Sweet sweet syrup (Canada 2024 - June 6, 2024)
Q3. Good job team. Ciao. (Imola 2024 - May 18, 2024)
Miami 24’ 🎨 Let’s get it 😈 (Miami 2024 - May 2, 2024)
Close to Q3 but all in all not a bad day. Bring on tomorrow. (Suzuka 2024 - April 6, 2024)
The game was right there, can you blame me? (F1 24 ad - March 15, 2024)
3️⃣ (VCARB photoshoot - February 9, 2024)
Honda thanks day 😊🇯🇵 (Honda Thanks Day 2023 - December 3, 2023)
2023. A unique year! But found what I was looking for and very happy for that. Yesterday we celebrated Franz even if he hated every second of it, but his contribution to this team over the years, his pure passion for the sport is something that can only be admired. Thank you Franz!! (Abu Dhabi 2023 - November 27, 2023)
Was fast. But a lap down 🤷🏻‍♂️... team did a great job repairing the wing. Wish they would’ve got rewarded. On to Vegas. Still having fun 😊 (Brazil 2023 - November 5, 2023)
Great weekend from start to finish. Very happy 😊 Grazie @.alphataurif1 (Mexico 2023 - October 29, 2023)
Tough day, some damage on the car cost us pretty big unfortunately. It’s the way it goes, Austin you always have my heart. Until next year. Hook ‘em 🤘 (COTA 2023 - October 22, 2023)
Another day on the sim. Getting closer. See y’all in Austin. (Sim work selfie at Milton Keynes - October 5, 2023)
Full circle (Selfie at the factory in Faenza - July 15, 2023)
Bonjour Monaco (Selfie at Monaco - May 27, 2023)
Weekend 🙃 (Miami 2023 - May 8, 2023)
Don’t leave me hangin 🙃 (Seat fitting, Red Bull garage, Australia 2023 - March 31, 2023)
Great night with @.okx_official. Excited to visit their new office in Oz when it opens 👏🏼 (OKX Event with Scotty, Australia 2023 - March 29, 2023)
We made the last Q3 of the year. Was worth a smile 🙃 (Abu Dhabi 2022 - November 19, 2022)
Mehico (Mexico 2022 - November 1, 2022)
[Not sure if this was a post or a Story, sorry] (COTA 2022 - October 20, 2022)
School in session ✏️ (LA - October 18, 2022)
Tokyo traditions. It’s good to be back! (Dinner with Felipe Massa Japan 2022 - October 4, 2022)
Chillin (Photo at the beach with Isaac and Isabella - September 27, 2022)
Singapore sweat baby sweat prep. I also have no idea what’s going on back there. [Not sure if he posted it on Instagram or only on Facebook] (Selfie with Michael - September 19, 2022)
The mini masterpiece is finally here. (2022 mini helmets - September 6, 2022)
What a legend. Happy retirement mate. (Photos of Vettel after his retirement announcement - July 28, 2022)
😊 (Baku 2022 - June 11, 2022)
Seat time Miami style (Sea-Doo Ad - May 5, 2022)
Miami. We made it. (Dinner with girlfriend and friends. I believe this was the first photo he posted with Heidi, Miami 2022 - May 4, 2022)
Good start to the weekend. FEA. (Imola 2022 -  April 22, 2022)
Alright first Q3 of the year. Not a bad place to do it 😊🇦🇺 (Australia 2022 - April 9, 2022)
G’day. Fun Friday. Good to be back 🐨🦘(Australia 2022 - April 8, 2022)
Shame  we didn’t finish but all in all a better weekend and making steps in  the right direction. We’ll keep at it! Got to watch the last few laps  for the win also, great battle, these cars are pretty awesome going  wheel to wheel this year 😌 next stop, Melbourne! (Jeddah 2022 - March 29, 2022)
Better this week than next…. Unfortunate to miss the test, but I'm starting to feel better. I'll stay isolated and just focus on next weekend. Appreciate the well wishes from everyone as well. (Selfie when he tested positive for Covid, Testing 2022 - March 11, 2022)
Too good not to share. What a record Gang of Youths! (March 4, 2022)
212 laps in a day and a half! Solid start @.mclaren (Testing 2022 - February 26, 2022)
Just happy flying the flag for Australia. Really appreciate the recognition. You can take the boy out of Oz but you can’t… anyway haha big thanks to everyone 🦘🐨 (At the farm, winter ummer break 2022 - January 25, 2022)
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ivygorgon · 1 year ago
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Hey fellow @ 3rd party\nonpartisan Americans,
It is intentional that the current status quo makes you feel uncomfortable to the point of silence; that allows big business to keep putting YOUR money where THEIR elected official's mouth is.
Demand Dems support Ranked Choice Voting in exchange for the vote.
Vote for Ranked Choice so you can vote honestly, not strategically.
But until then;
Sign my petitions
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AN OPEN LETTER to THE PRESIDENT & U.S. CONGRESS; STATE GOVERNORS & LEGISLATURES
Implement Ranked-Choice Voting & Election Reforms For Vote Integrity
22 so far! Help us get to 25 signers!
I am writing to urge your immediate action on introducing and passing ranked-choice voting (RCV) and other vital election reforms at both the federal and state levels. As a concerned constituent and advocate for democratic principles, I believe that these reforms are essential to improving our electoral processes and ensuring fair and representative governance.
Ranked-choice voting has proven effective in promoting democratic outcomes by enabling voters to express their preferences more fully and ensuring that elected candidates enjoy broad support from the electorate. RCV mitigates wasted votes, reduces the spoiler effect, and fosters more inclusive and issue-focused campaigns.
In addition to advocating for ranked-choice voting, I strongly support comprehensive election reforms, including campaign finance reform, gerrymandering reform, and initiatives to enhance voter access and participation. These reforms are critical to strengthening our democracy and restoring trust in our electoral system.
The implementation of Ranked-Choice Voting is a crucial step towards enhancing our democratic process. RCV, which allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference, ensures that elected officials have majority support, eliminates the spoiler effect, and encourages positive campaigning. This system is already in use in several U.S. cities and countries like Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand. Alaska recently became the second state to adopt RCV for statewide offices, following Maine's lead. It is time to consider this reform at both federal and state levels to ensure our electoral systems reflect the diversity of our nation and empower all voices. Therefore, I urge you to introduce and support legislation that promotes RCV and other election reforms.
We must recognize that Americans are more than a two-party system. Let's take meaningful steps to ensure our electoral systems reflect the diversity of our nation and empower all voices.
Thank you for considering my perspective and taking decisive action to improve our electoral processes. I stand ready to support your efforts in advancing these important reforms.
▶ Created on April 9 by Ret. SGT Guild, Independent/Non-partisan
📱 Text SIGN PMZPRT to 50409
🤯 Liked it? Text FOLLOW IVYPETITIONS to 50409
💘 Q'u lach' shughu deshni da. 🏹 "What I say is true" in Dena'ina Qenaga
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Register. Vote Blue. Stay engaged.
End Republicanism. End MAGA.
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unteriors · 3 months ago
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Since you're Australian, why are so many of the posts from the US? Did you start with Australia and then move onto other countries once you'd felt like you exhausted it? Or is the US particularly interesting for your purposes?
A big part of the reason is the enormous difference in scale. Australia has about 25 million people, versus 300 or so million in the US. Each of the 50 states has at least one or two major cities, most have many more than that. In addition to the volume of real estate imagery produced by this market, there are a few things about the US in this context which draw me in from an Australian perspective. One is how real estate listings weirdly embody how much more visually apparent the harmful economic forces of the past 50 years are in American society than they are here or elsewhere. Australia's welfare state was developed roughly during the same time as in the US, and has similarly been cut back since the 1970s. But it was always much weaker in the US than in Australia or Western Europe, and correspondingly the effects of its deterioration - along with other economic trends - have been much more visible than they are here. The way this is played out in terms of localised funding for public services means that many American cities have pockets (of varying sizes) where poverty and other forms of systemic oppression are concentrated and left open to the elements. The sort of stuff Jacob Holdt documented in his photos in the 70s, or that you see in a lot crime films and thrillers with location shooting. Gentrification and other forces since then have pushed these pockets into other areas and made some places seem less grim, but from what I've heard it seems like it would be hard for the average person in the US to ignore that these large, systemic problems exist. Conversely, in Australia, this kind of intense poverty has been pushed into the margins of society during the same time period - to remote communities (where people suffer from chronic diseases that have been eradicated in most other wealthy countries), country towns with shrinking economies, or to the fringes of larger cities (where people sleep in their cars in parking lots, or multiple families form sharehouses to afford $400-500+ pw rents). Though as things have gotten worse, particularly since COVID, it's getting harder to ignore. But still there's a substantial part of the population here who have grown up in ignorance of any of the larger, percolating structural problems in Australian society, and who proactively retain that ignorance into adulthood.
I think you can see these different perspectives play in out in real estate listings. In most American states, even in most of the towns I've looked at, you can see a broad spectrum of living conditions (and commercial interpretations of ideal living conditions) - from burnt out trailers, to overpriced renovated shitty older houses with cheap grey vinyl flooring and white walls, to clearly lived-in time capsules to McMansions to actual mansions. Some photographs are clearly shot by owners, others by real estate agents with a great variety of care and attention to detail (from elaborate staging to crime scenes). Rightly or wrongly, I feel like I get a broader, more honest (or at least more direct) feel for the housing crisis. It's a more honest horror film.
Australian listings, I think in part due to concentrations in corporate power in the real estate industry (similar to other monopolies that have formed in our economy), tend to more heavily adhere to the visual language of advertising and are more heavily regulated by agencies. The problems still exist, the housing market here is among the worst in the world and little effort is being made to address the underlying structural issues, but you can see the lack of will to acknowledge these issues in the level of gloss that's applied. You can look at a listing of an older house in Western Australia, for instance, and know for a fact that it's riddled with asbestos and probably has several other structural issues, but most likely enough time and effort will have been spent on staging and lighting and maybe surface-level renovations that it will seem otherwise fine. Lots of turds that have been polished successfully enough that you need insider knowledge to properly identify them as dogshit. Incidentally, I spent part of my childhood in a house built in the 1960s that had asbestos in the walls and ceiling.
I'm still interested in images from Australian listings (and other sources) though, I just look for other things that are interesting. Anything that runs contrary to the artificially positive, limited world view that advertising promotes. Even if its a poorly-lit time capsule that is directly aesthetically opposite to the ideal of house-beauty at the moment, or an obviously run-down house that has had every realtor photography trick in the playbook thrown at it until it becomes deeply uncanny. And it's always interesting to see what other people find interesting; I genuinely think the housing crisis underwrites every other political issue we have to contend with, its tendrils extend in many different directions, and I think this also means imagery like this can reach people in a diversity of ways. Aesthetically, nostalgically, inspiring fear and self-loathing and horror. All good sources of inspiration for creativity.
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mostlysignssomeportents · 7 months ago
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UK publishers suing Google for $17.4b over rigged ad markets
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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.
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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.
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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
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dougwallen · 3 months ago
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Ela Stiles review for The Big Issue Australia
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faeprincess777 · 9 months ago
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Authors note: This is my first time writing anything, so please be nice! ❣️
Summary: The boys find out you have been talking poorly about yourself.
Ot8x reader 🫠
TW: sexual content (MDNI), afab reader, established relationship, insecurities, use of the color system, choking, use of pet names (babygirl, princess, baby, bunny, kitten, angel, sunshine, good girl, I think that's it), daddy kink, fingering, oral (f receiving), squirting, reader gets thighs slapped.
Let me know if I missed anything!
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It had been a normal day. Hanging out with the boys in the living room, just chatting and joking. Chan had been fairly quiet all evening. He was reminiscing about a conversation he had with his sister, Hannah. You had spent the evening shopping and going to lunch with Hannah as she was visiting from Australia.
According to Hannah, you had been back to your self-deprecating jokes. It concerned her how you viewed yourself and she relayed those concerns to her brother. Chan had become quite annoyed. This was an ongoing battle between you and the boys. They thought they had made it clear how much they loved you and how beautiful they found you. It's no secret to the boys that you have self esteem issues. You all had discussed on multiple occasions that if you were having self doubt that you would be honest and open with them. But you hadn’t.
“Baby? Can you come here?” Chan calls you. You walk over, settling between his spread legs as he places his hands on your hips. He looks up at you. "You know we love you right?"
"Yes?" You say laughing.
“And you know we think you're beautiful?" Chan asks.
Your smile softens and you nod your head. Chan smiles, "I don't know if I believe that." There's a short pause before he continues.
"A little bird told me you've been talking poorly about yourself. I thought we talked about this, did we not?"
"Yes." You answer, shyly. By now the other boys are heavily invested in your conversation, growing just as frustrated as Chan.
"We had an agreement babygirl. What did I say would happen if I found you talking about yourself like that?" Chan asks, his voice carrying a darker tone. You gulp nervously. "I would be punished," you whisper.
Chan sighs sadly. "Turn around," he orders. You do as you're told, turning to face the row of mirrors across from the couch.
"Take a seat baby." Chan says, wanting you to sit in his lap. Again you don't protest. Chans slowing snakes one hand around your throat, just holding you in place and forcing you to look at your reflection. His other hand takes up residence on your waist.
"Here's what we're going to do," Chan whispers in your ear, tilting your head to face the mirrors. "You're not going to look away from yourself. You're going to tell us each thing that makes you insecure and we're going to show you how you're wrong, do you understand?" Chan asks.
You know there is no point in fighting them, so you shyly nod your head. "I need words, babygirl. What's your color?" Chan asks you, staring sternly at your reflection. Somehow, you muster the ability to speak again. "Yes, I'm green."
Chan smiles fondly and gently kisses the side of your head. "Good girl. Go ahead baby." You take a moment to gather your thoughts, you knew better than to lie as that would just make things worse. You try to gather the courage to tell them the truth.
“My eyes, they’re too big for my face. It makes me look weird," you say shyly. Felix is quick to object from his place on your left. “No, baby. I love your eyes. The way they shine when you laugh brings me so much joy. It's my favorite.” He leaves a gentle kiss on your cheek.
You take a moment to process what Felix had said, turning to look him in the eye. The raw emotion in his statement flusters you for a moment. His eyes hold so much love when he looks at you.
“Good job, baby. Keep going.” Chan says, turning your head back towards the mirror.
You sigh, taking a minute to compose yourself before continuing. “My stomach. It’s just not very… attractive.” Jisung gasped loudly from his place on the floor in front of you. “Who told you that?!? I love your cute little belly! I love to lay my head on it when we cuddle.” He says, crawling and kneeling at your feet. “It's perfect.” Jisung continues as he leans up to lead a series of kisses down your chest and abdomen.
It feels so good. You close your eyes and lean your head back on Chan’s shoulder, whimpering.
There's a sharp slap on your thigh. You quickly open your eyes, focusing back on your reflection. Chan is staring back at you intensely as he soothes the sting. “Eyes on me, princess.” Nodding, you continue.
“M-my thighs. I think they’re too big.” You say quickly, taking your lip between your teeth. It was Seungmin’s turn to pipe in. “Your thigh are fucking heaven.” He says, gliding his hand across your right thigh. “The way they hold my marks so well…” Suddenly, Seungmin lands a harsh slap on your thigh, appreciating how the skin turns such a pretty shade of red. “Fucking perfect.” He reiterates.
You’re a whimpering mess, and they know it. They love it. The effect they have on you is obvious, as is your effect on them. Jeongin is desperate to get his hands on you. To show you just how perfect you really are. He joins Jisung on the floor in front of you, gently tracing your calf.
“Anything else, babygirl?” Chan whispers in your ear. You take a deep breath, unaware of the storm you were about to start.
“I don’t really believe that I please you well enough.”
The room goes quiet. Chan takes a deep breath before snaking his hand around your throat. You’re breath hitches. “Y/N. That is the craziest and most disrespectful thing you’ve said.” Chan says through gritted teeth. “Do you really think we would lie to you?” Chan continued, very clearly agitated. You quickly shake your head only for Chan to tighten his grip.
“I want words princess.” He whispers harshly.
“No!” You quickly answer. Chan just lets out another long sigh.
“Let me show you, baby” Chan says as his hand snakes down under your skirt, pushing your now very damp panties to the side to play your clit. You whimper and writhe, “Shh, let daddy play.” Chan says seductively. You attempt to cover yourself, but they simply couldn’t allow that.
“Let's take this off sunshine.” Felix says as he assists in removing your shirt. Seungmin sounds from your right with a satisfied hum. “Mmmm, no bra? It's like you were waiting for this.”
It isn’t long before Felix is holding your left thigh open with one hand while the other hand pins yours to the couch, Seungmin, mirroring the same position on your right. Both leaned over, taking a nipple their mouths.
You let out an embarrassing loud moan, bucking your hips to gain more friction. Before long, Jisung and Jeongin are taking over for Chan, sliding your skirt and panties down your legs in one fluid motion, working you towards your high. Jisung is quick to bury his face in your sopping heat, moaning out at your taste. He is sure to leave room for Jeongin to work. Jeongin watches your face as he slides two long fingers inside you. “So tight, baby.” Jeongin says, taking his lip between his teeth.
It isn’t long before they work up to a punishing rhythm. They assist by spreading you wider with their hands on your calves, massaging occasionally. Jisung's spare hand snakes down to pump his now erect cock as he whines into your pussy.
Chan's free hand moves to slightly grope the breast Seungmin is working on. The hand on your throat slightly tightens again. Minho approaches from your left. One hand massages the breast Felix is working on. He rests his other hand on Felix's head, petting softly, making Felix let you a deep moan.
Changbin takes a seat next to Seungmin and assists in massaging your right calf as Jisung gets lost in pleasure. He takes turns with Chan and Minho, whispering soft praises; calling you a good girl, telling you how well you're doing for them, how pretty and perfect you are.
All insecurities are forgotten. The only thing going you are able to focus on is the mind-numbing, euphoric pleasure coursing through your body. You can feel your high quickly approaching. You're so close to reaching that peak.
Hyunjin approaches from your right, taking his place behind you. One hand resting in his pocket, and the other grabs your chin, tilting your head back. Looking deeply into your eyes. "Hello there, angel." Hyunjin says, leaning closer. You let out a soft moan. Hyunjin chuckles, "Do you want something? Or are you too fucked out to use your words like daddy told you to?"
You look pleading into his eyes. "K-Kisses p-please", you manage to get out. He lets out a chuckle. He loved hearing you beg, but he wanted to reward you. Hyunjin wastes no time giving you exactly what you wanted. His lips smash on to yours. You immediately part your lips for him and he takes full advantage as he snakes his tongue into your mouth, making you moan lewdly. You break free from Hyunjin’s kiss as you start whimpering.
“P-p-please! Please can I cum?” You beg. Hearing a dark chuckle, you know it's Chan.
“Have you learned your lesson baby? Do you realize how perfect you are for us? How much we love and adore you?” Chan asks, sucking at the sweet spot behind your ear.
“Yes! Yes, please. Please.” You moan out, barely holding your orgasm back.
“Go ahead, baby. Cum for us.” Chan grunts out.
That was all the permission you needed. Seconds later you cum hard with a scream Your juices squirt out of you, soaking the boys at your feet (though they don’t mind one bit). Jeongin and Jisung kept going, working you through your high.
“Fuck bunny, you’re so good to us.” Changbin says. Hyunjin sounds from behind you, “So perfect.” There is a short pause and only your panting can be heard.
Minho leans in near your ear, “but we aren’t done with you yet, kitten.”
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woso-dreamzzz · 9 months ago
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Treat You Better III
Laia Codina x Reader
Summary: You visit Spain
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The language barrier posed a bit of a problem but you could get past that.
The food posed a bit of a problem but you could get past that too.
What you couldn't get past was the topless sunbathing.
You weren't prudish by any means. But you were Irish and the beaches you usually went to in Ireland were full of pebbles. You didn't sunbathe in Ireland. You just hoped that you didn't get taken out by a wave.
Spanish beaches were different though. They were sandy and the sea was calm and all of Laia's friends were stripping off their bikini tops and lying out in the sun.
Your eyebrows shot up to your hairline at how easily everyone did it. You hadn't experienced much cultural issues moving from Ireland to England but now you were getting the experience that Laia did.
Moving from Spain to England was a big thing, full of cultural differences that she had to adapt too. Now you're doing the same.
You didn't know the rules surrounding this so you just decided to avert your eyes and pretend that it wasn't happening.
You sat under an umbrella and contemplated whether it was rude to just duck into a shop and stay there until everyone was ready to go.
"You aren't sunbathing?"
"I'm Irish, luv," You say," I don't tan well. I burn."
"Katie tans."
"Yeah, she got lucky. I didn't."
Laia wiggles under the umbrella with you. She's shirtless just like her friends but you don't feel awkward looking at her. You've seen her naked countless times. Seeing her topless seems a little tame in comparison.
Seeing her friends and other world class footballers shirtless was a little different.
"You don't tan at all?" She pouts at you," I could have sworn you did in Australia."
"You were watching me back then?" You laugh," You little stalker."
Her cheeks turn pink. "I thought you were very pretty. It is a shame you won't try to tan here."
"I'll burn," You insist," And we'll go back to London and Katie will tease me. I'm not attempting it."
"But you tan! I know you do! I've seen it!"
"It's too much effort," You say nonchalantly," I'm happy here. I might go and buy an ice cream. I'm fine, luv."
She looks at you suspiciously, her pout getting bigger and bigger the more you attempt to get away.
"Leave her alone, Codi!" You hear someone yell, Mariona you think.
"I'm just wearing her down!" Laia yells back with a teasing smile," Don't ruin this for me!"
"Ruin this for you?" You echo," I see how it is. You want to see me topless."
She tries to deny it but her stuttered words betray her true attention.
"You're cute, luv, but no, I'm not stripping in front of your friends."
"Why not? You're not insecure are you?" Her words come out in a stream, interspersed with random kisses pressed to your face. "Because you're so beautiful and you're stunning and I think you're so much prettier than all of my friends and you shouldn't feel insecure about something like this."
"Laia-"
"Because you have nothing to feel insecure about. And I love you and-"
"Laia-"
"You should never feel bad about your body and-"
"Laia! Luv, shut up. I'm not insecure. I know I have a good body but...These are your friends and they're topless."
Laia frowns. "I don't understand."
You laugh. "It'd be like if we went to the beach with Katie and Caitlin and they whipped their tops off. You would feel a little awkward, wouldn't you?"
You can see Laia think it over for a moment. She turns it over in her mind. You can see the moment she imagines Katie topless because her eyes suddenly squeeze shut.
"I see," She admits," But you promise you do not feel insecure?"
"I promise," You say, laying a kiss on her lips," Just feeling a little awkward. I'm sure after a few more trips I'll feel more comfortable."
She beams. "You want to come back?"
You roll your eyes. "Yes, Laia. This is your home. These are your friends. Of course, I want to come back."
She attacks you with kisses, pinning you against your beach towel.
"Codi!" One of her friends call," Stop kissing your girlfriend! I want to go paddle boarding!"
"Go, luv," You laugh, pushing her away," We have lots of time later."
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hyunjinsjeans · 2 months ago
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Can you believe it?
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Masterlist
Pairing: Felix x Reader
Related: He Knows Universe: Felix ver.
Summary: You and Felix started your family in an unconventional way but it worked out and in the end you even got a little surprise.
Genre: 🧸 Fluff + ❤️‍🩹 Angst and Comfort
Warnings: Mentions of infertility. Mentions of pregnancy. Health issues are discussed. Half-ass proofreading.
Word Count: 3284
AN: Surprise! I played myself with this one (I want what these two have!) Also, full disclosure: I actually wrote this one months before I even got Felix’s He Knows part 1 done… 
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You wake up to the sound of your baby girl crying. Your brain does not even register that someone is next to you on the bed, it sparks into "go, go, go!" mode and you jump off the bed to stumble into your slippers and all but run out into the hallway to hear the loud sobs growing louder and louder.
Kiri's cry was desperate, making your heart feel like it was being squeezed in a cruel invisible fist. Your feet carried you in a hurry all the way to her room where you could see her pretty face now all red and wet with tears. You opened your arms at her right away and cooed at the three-year-old.
She put her arms up and let you pick her up as soon as she saw you in the dark. Her sobs started giving way to more silent cries when you held her and handed her the fluffy brown cow print blanket you got her the day you brought her home.
"What is it, baby?" You kissed the top of her head and pulled her up on your hip.
The little girl laid her head on the crook of your neck and you let her settle there while you paced her room from the door to the window.
When people said you were never ready to be a parent, they were right. You knew it already, but adopting Kiri served as confirmation. She was small and sweet, a little girl who knew little more than the system. She was given up as a newborn and although when you and Felix looked for a child to adopt you had anticipated they would probably pair you with an older one, she was what the social worker saw fit. And after almost six months of paperwork and sneaky trips to Australia, you finally got to pick up your daughter at the centre.
You were happy to introduce her to Felix's family and fortunately, Kiri was in a good mood to meet everyone. During the last few days, you have been getting used to life at home in Korea as a family of three. And Kiri has been nothing but happy, her big brown eyes always discovering something to ask about. She clung to you and Felix as if her life depended on it - in a way, you supposed it does, you are her parents now.
This is the first time she wakes you in the middle of the night like this, and you have to wonder what happened? So you ask her.
"Ki, did you have a bad dream?" you rub circles on her back and hear how she calms down.
When you grab a tissue to wipe her face and blow her nose she looked around the room as if she lost something.
"What is it, peach?"
You used her nickname, both you and Felix agreed you would not change her name once you adopted her. She was given a beautiful Maori name that means "fruit", since she loved the soft peaches in Korea you two started calling her "peach".
"Others?" she wonders in response.
You frown for a second and look around, spooked for a moment before a voice of reason resonates inside your head. She meant the other kids in the foster home. When she was in Australia she shared a room with three older girls, it was natural that she was used to wake up in the middle of the night and catch a glimpse of one of the other girls.
"Oh, baby..." you held her tight against your chest. "It's okay, daddy and I are in the other room. You've got us, Ki."
She squeezed her blanket in her tiny hand. You swayed her side to side to cheer her up as your words did not seem to bring her the comfort you expected.
An idea sneaked into your brain and you fake gasped, "I know!" you looked down at her and bopped her pointy little nose. "A glass of warm chocolate milk will fix anything!"
"Milk?" She repeated, interested.
"Mhm!" You inhaled slowly to avoid yawning, "come on, Miss Peach"
You went up to her large crib and showed her the collection of stuffed animals, "are we bringing a friend?" you asked her.
Kiri nodded and pointed at a small rabbit with a pink bow. You reached down and grabbed it for her. Now she pressed the stuffed animal between your chest and her small body.
Once in the kitchen, you went to put her down on one of the tall chairs by the long bar but she protested. A loud panicked scream left her and you immediately held her in your arms. Not too long after, Felix made an appearance around the corner.
His hair was messy from sleeping and he had pulled a white t-shirt on before coming to see what you two were doing.
"Oh, good!" You smiled at him and pointed at the stove, "would you help us warm up some milk?"
Felix's eyes were not yet fully open, but he needed, needing no explanation he came up to you and your daughter and he touched Kiri's head, brushing her soft brown curls back.
"Chocolate?" he asked her in his deep, sleep-filled voice.
Somehow this did not scare Kiri. She looked up and put a side of the blanket under her nose, running it against it with her eyes on the blond.
"Yeah, that'll put us back to sleep in a heartbeat..." Felix looked up at you and showed you a tired side smile.
You watched Felix closely as he put a small pot on the stove and warmed up the milk before adding some powdered chocolate into it and allowing it to come to a simmer. Kiri in your arms stretched her neck to look into the cupboard once you offered to let her pick a sippy cup to drink from. The collection was humble as you had only brought her home to Korea three weeks ago. Still, you showed her the Molang cup and then the Pororo one, she was not super into either so you reached for the Bluey one. This got her attention and she almost dropped her blanket to grab it.
Felix smiled at her when she handed him the plastic cup, he poured a little over half of the cup worth of milk and then split the rest into two mugs for the two of you.
Kiri sat in your lap while you drank the chocolate milk in silence, Felix was sure if he began talking he would end up hyping her up and then you would have to stay up all night to play with her until she fell asleep.
"Hey," Felix whispered a few minutes later when the small girl cuddled into your chest began dozing off.
Your husband grabbed the sippy cup from her hands, catching it in time before it slipped out of her grasp to land on the floor. He put it down beside his mug and leaned over the kitchen bar to check her face. His eyes squinted and he turned to you with a small side smile, whispering again "she's asleep," he looked back at her once more and added, "she's really cute."
You took a sip of your milk and left the mug on the bar before wrapping your arms around her, pulling her closer so she wouldn't twist her neck.
"Yes, she is."
You kissed the top of her head and then watched Felix clean up, washing some of the dirty dishes before coming up to you to help. He grabbed Kiri and held her against his chest to take her to her room. Walking behind him you agreed to bring her into your room so if she woke up again she would not get scared once more. With your baby daughter sound asleep between the two, you and Felix fell asleep quickly.
The next morning you were the last one to wake up, Felix was already making little Kiri laugh. He had grabbed her bunny and made it dance for her, clapping its hands and sending kisses her way. The young child squealed in delight and admired Felix with enthusiasm.
For her good fortune, the two of you were taking a break from work to settle into your new family life. The next couple of days you went everywhere together and even took her to some play dates with the Hwang twins, which she seemed to enjoy more than meeting the younger yet louder Lee Ho-Joon.
You were worried about how she would react when Felix went back to his hectic schedule, and once the time came she was in fact somewhat fussy. She really took a liking to her new Dad and seeing her wander around the house looking for him in the mornings made you feel somewhat guilty. Felix was not much better with it, as soon as he walked through the door he was greeted with the happy yelling of an excited three-year-old, who rather soon began calling him dad. He was fond of the term but you were appalled as she did not call you mom until about the 4 month mark.
Coming into Kiri’s life was a painful ordeal, so her cuddling into you and calling you mommy was the most amazing feeling you’ve experienced.
After you agreed you wanted to have a baby with Felix it did not matter how much you tried or wanted it; your period was still coming and month after month you wondered if you were doing something wrong. A few times you had a late period and those couple of times were the worst. It was heartbreaking when you woke up one morning and saw the red stains of your late period on your underwear. You cried in silence in the bathroom both times it happened, not wanting to let Felix know exactly how useless you were. Because you felt useless. The only thing Felix ever asked of you, and you were unable to give it to him. It was killing you.
And Felix saw right through your strong façade. He knew you were giddy for a couple of days and then you wouldn’t look him in the eye for weeks. He could tell you were growing impatient, then desperate and lastly he saw your light dim. Felix hated what this was doing to you, so he put a stop to it. “It’s hurting you.” He said one day, early morning. You were reading a script in the patio and he drank a smoothie.
You were insistent that you wanted to have a family with him, that it made no sense you couldn’t get pregnant because there was nothing wrong with you. Felix had enough by then. Seeing you grow small and retreat into a quiet sad creature, he could not recognize his wife. He pulled the plug and brought up a new idea to ease your worries. “We could also adopt, you don’t have to go through all this…”
It took a couple of long conversations. You tried your best, gave it your best shot at doing it yourself, you wanted to have that experience with your husband. Bringing life into the world. Having a little boy or girl or whatever they decided to be and have them be half him and half you.
But it just wouldn’t work. And all the trying and trying was hurting you. 
In the end adoption was a great option, it did not matter that you were not blood related, it would be your baby - very planned, wanted and loved. Korea was a bit tricky for those things, especially as both of you had foreign passports, so it seemed easier to try to do it in Australia since Felix was born there, everyone helped with the process. His family and yours, even your managers helped by finding a law firm in Sydney to deal with the legal aspect, and Felix made all the arrangements necessary to travel with you for appointments with the social workers. You were over the moon when you got approved and then a few months later the email came in with information on your match.
It was Kiri’s file.
You did not know what to expect then, but it came as a surprise that she was still almost a baby. Felix was relieved but he liked to believe he would have been fine with an older kid as well.
You were instantly in love. Kiri’s drawings spoke of her sweet nature even if they were little more than doodles. She smiled in every single picture and her light brown curly hair reminded you of the foamy sea that surrounded her native land. Kiri was a Lee the moment you signed the documents and you were ready to give up everything for your daughter the moment her eyes met yours. She was so little and innocent, a pure little thing with no clue of what was going on. She had been all smiles when you introduced her to Felix’s sisters and then she won his parents over in a matter of seconds as she played peekaboo with his mom laughing that high pitched laugh that is so characteristic of smaller children.
You finished shooting for your last movie the year before and you were still not confirmed for the press yunket that would follow this year, you wanted to settle down with your family before leaving Felix and Kiri alone. Your time was spent at home, cleaning and cooking, playing with your daughter, dancing around the living room in your socks, going on walks to the park and occasionally watching a kids show with your daughter sitting on your lap. You laughed plenty in Felix’s absence and Kiri could never complain your attention was elsewhere.
Your career was obviously not a priority when you were growing so comfortable in your new role as a mom.
Kiri is still so dependent of you. Preferring to turn to you for food and asking you to go on walks. She calls you mom or mommy on rare occasions though. Maybe, you reason with yourself, the word mom is more difficult than dad. Maybe, the word mom does not come easy to Kiri, who was only a few hours old when her mother made the difficult decision to give her up for adoption.
But you chose to let her be, and let things fall into place on their own. Felix fell into a comfortable routine as well, would be out the door before Kiri was awake but at night he would play with her as soon as he was through the door again. He loved to read her to sleep and tuck her in. He would kiss the top of her head as she drifted to sleep and then he covered her with the blanket.
“I think she is going to outgrow that crib before her birthday,” you told him one day.
“I know,” his eyes opened wide, “she’s growing so fast!”
“Aww, are you upset that your babygirl has bigger hands than you already?” You teased, hugging him and placing your chin against his chest to have a good look at his unamused expression.
“My babygirl could be the size of Godzilla and I’d be a proud dad, but… I wish she could stay small for longer.”
You smiled at him and let go, turning on your heel to go put on your slippers and get breakfast started. If only you hadn’t felt your stomach float around inside you. In an instant there were goosebumps all over your arms and your mouth went dry.
“Love?” He grabbed your elbow to give you support as you tried to ground yourself. “Are you…?”
“I’mgoingtopuke!” You practically spat and ran into the bathroom.
Felix followed you, concerned, and entered the bathroom just as you emptied what little contents were in your stomach from the night before. He pulled your hair back and rubbed your shoulder as if he could soothe you. Throwing up on an empty stomach was horrendous. You did not look sick when you were done and allowing your husband to clean you up in front of the sink.
You did not say a word to one another until you had finished brushing your teeth and felt closer to normal.
“So…” Felix started, pushing his hair back.
You bit your lip and turned to your fingers, counting. Then counting again. You jumped and turned to him with a glint of something in your eye. He saw you and felt himself shift in expectation.
“Do you want to go to the store or should I do it?”
Felix reasoned with himself and smiled at you.
“I’ll do it, Kiri might freak out if she wakes up and you’re not home,” he grabbed your face and pulled you into him to kiss your forehead.
“Get two, different brands.” You instructed, holding onto his arm.
You let his arm slip from your grasp as you watched him go to pull on a jacket and a cap. 
He walked out the door soon after and when he came back his heart was racing.
He reached you and gave you the plastic bag, speaking while you both rushed into the bathroom. 
“Whatever happens, Y/N, whatever that thing says… love, it’s okay.”
You nodded frantically and at this point you two cared very little about watching each other pee, so he stood there by the bathroom door as you sat at the toilet and opened the two boxes. Felix bit his nails as you skimmed through the instructions before passing them to him. You were in the tricky business of actually peeing on the sticks when a small voice echoed down the hall.
“Eomma?”
Felix jumped and left the paper on the sink, without a word he left to get Kiri out of her crib. Unaware of what happened with her parents, the little girl was thrilled to see daddy was home. She bounced on the crib, small hands gripping the edge of the wooden railing to support herself. Her hands reached for Felix, the strange blond man who had the funniest things to say and the craziest brothers - for all she knew, all of Felix’s members were her uncles.
“G’day Miss Peach!” He pulled her up with a smile on his face.
She allowed for Felix to carry her in his arms as she gave his cheek a loud kiss. Kiri was most definitely a morning person. 
“Mommy?” She wondered soon.
“Hmm, she is busy right now,” he explained, “should we go get something to eat? Are you maybe in the mood for… waffles?”
Kiri’s eyes lit up, she cuddled into her father’s chest and the two found their way into the kitchen where you had left things half prepared for breakfast. He started warming up the waffle iron and was setting up a chair for your daughter to watch from when you ran into the open kitchen with a tear stained face and two plastic sticks in your hand.
“We did it!” You yelled, making Felix turn around with Kiri on his hip.
“Mommy!” She made grabby hands in your direction. “What we do?”
You laughed like an insane person and rushed around the island to take her from Felix’s arms.
“We made a little surprise for you, baby!” You held her into your chest and more tears slipped down your face. “But we’re all going to be patient until it get here…”
Felix took the tests from your hand and stared in bewilderment. It was true. It was happening. His eyes found you again, his entire world was right there. His best girls. You and Kiri. You, Kiri and your baby.
He went to put his arms around the two of you, his world was bigger than ever and his heart felt like it was about to burst with happiness and excitement.
“We have been patient,” Felix kissed your wet cheek, then he smiled at your daughter. “We’ll wait some more…”
The two of you shared a look, aware of how delicate the topic was to tell your young daughter right now. But the thought crossed both of your minds: Kiri was growing up fast indeed, so much so that she was going to be a big sister soon.
——— Likes, Reblogs and Comments are welcome! Thank you for reading!
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what-even-is-thiss · 7 months ago
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In English, North America and South America are two different continents but in Spanish they’re just one continent and continents are a made up concept and what constitutes as a continent has no useful definition that fits all of our regular lists of continents and why are Europe and Asia and Africa three different continents in the first place and is Australia actually just a very big island?
Anyways that’s why I don’t type things like USAmerican because in English they’re just Americans but I understand why some people do get annoyed with that but at the same time I’ve seen zero Spanish speakers in my personal life argue for speaking that way in English and I guess my point is that we should probably be more aware of how certain people see themselves and be respectful of that but also at the same time I’m an English speaking person in an English speaking country and if I use America to refer to what we call The Americas in my everyday life people will assume I’ve made a mental typo or that I’m being contrarian and if I tried to make that a thing in my everyday speech patterns I’d come off as a pretentious idiot. If I’m speaking Spanish that’s a different story. Then yeah there’s other words for US Americans like estadounidense. Or famously gringo, more colloquially.
I’m not looking to start arguments here. Like I said I totally get why people make that distinction. But there’s also like the nuances of the lived reality of living in certain cultural contexts that I think people forget about.
I’m not here to tell you to not make that distinction in your speech. I’m not even here to tell you that you’re not allowed to be frustrated about it. I’m just here to explain why I don’t do that and why most English speaking people don’t and why it’s not inherently malicious when people do. Like if someone fully dismisses your perspective on the issue and how you view your own identity yes they’re the asshole. But also generally in English it’s The Americas or North, Central, and South America. And yes maybe that’s stupid but so is the existence of Europe as a concept and we all seem to believe that Europeans are a real thing.
And to reiterate. I’m not trying to tell anybody how to speak or how to feel here. Just trying to insert some nuance into this conversation. Because people I call Americans and you might call USAmericans are only gonna call ourselves Americans. That’s just how we view ourselves, how we understand our own identity as a nation. And some people will be jerks about it. But many of us are also just living in the world we live in, referring to ourselves in the way we always have, not aiming to tell anyone else how they ought to view themselves.
I’m American. Soy estadounidense. Some stuff unfortunately gets lost in translation.
Also continents don’t exist. If we try to get rid of the concept of continents we’d all be too confused at all times to have these disagreements. Confusion superiority. We go by tectonic plates. California is on the same continent as Japan now.
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lazycats-stuff · 6 months ago
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Since Christmas is coming up, I wanted to request that Aussie reader that gets rly annoyed because he has to celebrate Christmas in the winter and not the summer with prawns and pavlova.
Just batbro getting so pouty because it’s cold and snowy (idk I haven’t rly been in snow) and hates it.
Also wanted to ask you, what season are you celebrating in? Summer or Winter? You don’t have to answer but I’m just curious.
Well my anon... Christmas is long gone, but that doesn't mean we can't have Christmas! Although I am the Grinch, but hey. Also, I celebrate Christmas during the winter, but it's been years since it snowed on Christmas... Also, this gif is adorable. And cool. And thank you all for 1.7k followers... The fact you like my writing is still a mind blowing thing to me.
Summary: (Y/N) is Australian who celebrates Christmas during the winter. He hates it.
Warnings: minor swearing, (Y/N) is grumpy, the fam is amused.
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Being from Australia made someone a bit more tougher when it came to certain things. Such as snakes and spiders. (Y/N) was used to them and considered them roommates sometimes. Of course, moving from Australia to the good ol' US of A, wasn't an easy change. First one being the ruckus and sensitivity about alcohol.
While being 18, you can enlist in the army and die for your country, but can't drink? (Y/N) thought it was ridiculous. Despite still being underage, but legally an adult, he loved to sip some wine and beer... But Alfred and Bruce always made a ruckus about it. (Y/N) thought that Alfred would be on his side since Alfred is from the UK and they also drink underage...
(Y/N) has never felt so betrayed before.
Secondly, the summers were bad in Australia, especially on the coastal areas of Australia. (Y/N) grew up in Sydney and summers were pretty hellish back there. Here? For Australian standards, these Gotham summers are bearable. Sure, the summers may be from December to February. Yes, Australia has it all flipped around.
(Y/N)'s brothers thought that he was insane with how well he was handling the heat well. (Y/N) never told them that the heat in Sydney was that bad, but the outback and the central parts of Australia are hell on Earth. As if (Y/N) would reveal his secret. The temperatures were perfect...
But there was only slight issue with living in the USA as an Australian. Only one. It's a pretty big one as well.
Everyone knows that Australians celebrate their Christmas during their summer. A summer that begins in the month of December and where people are actually on the beach, enjoying the warm weather with their favorite classic desserts, one of the best examples being a cake called Pavlova.
That is also (Y/N)'s favorite dessert and often makes it when he wants to feel like Christmas is coming. Especially during the summer when he knew that he couldn't celebrate Christmas during the warm weather. That was his substitute Christmas. Winters in Gotham... Well...
He didn't like it. At all. He absolutely hated it. December should be warm, sunny, warm enough so you can go out and enjoy the warmth, maybe even swim! Make snowmen out of sand... Well, then they would be called sandmen. (Y/N) was depressed and sad, to say the least. You know the term seasonal depression?
(Y/N) felt it every single time when December rolled around. Instead of a beautiful sunny day, day filled with warmth, spent on a beach, not bundled in milion layers of clothes...
Not this Gotham winter... Not this snow either. (Y/N) absolutely hated it. Absolutely. While the entire America was looking forward to Christmas, (Y/N) was grumbling in his room, looking out the window, the way that the snow fell. (Y/N) frowned.
At this time, in Australia, he would be eating his Pavlova and his beloved prawns. That's what he would be doing... Just sunbathing. Making sandmen. Eating his beloved Pavlova... And his prawns...
He prefers warmth over this stupid snow. He would give anything to go back to Australia, to Sydney and enjoy Christmas on a sunny beach... Maybe he can take one of Bruce's private jets... Pull something off as well... But only Bruce is allowed to even use them and has numbers of the pilots...
And where is (Y/N) going to find a pilot? Craigslist?
Hell no.
So he quietly puts up with it. December, with January and February, are the hottest months in Australia... And here, on the other side of the world, they are the coldest.
And that's why (Y/N) was moping the kitchen while the rest of the family decorated the tree. He hated this festive feeling in this cold weather.
His Australian mind couldn't comprehend this. Just... Happy in the cold? What is that type of bullshit?
" (Y/N)? Why are you moping? And why do you look so sad, as if someone killed something you enjoy? " Bruce asked as he came into the kitchen, getting a cup of coffee.
" Someone did kill something I enjoy. " (Y/N) muttered.
" Oh? " Bruce asked, smile appearing behind his mug, knowing exactly what (Y/N) was talking about, but choose to stay quiet about it. " And what that might be? " Bruce asked, making (Y/N) scoff.
" You know exactly what I mean B and what makes me so pissed during this winter. " (Y/N) grumbled, crossing his arms.
" Well, it's not my problem that Australia is so messed up. " Bruce said and (Y/N) raised his eyebrows.
" The hell is that supposed to mean? " (Y/N) asked, not sure to be offended or amused, since Australia is pretty weird, that much was true.
" The seasons are all twisted. Australian summer is in the winter months, the winter is in summer months... You get my gist. " Bruce said and (Y/N) scoffed. " And besides, what is so bad about snow? " Bruce added, making (Y/N) scoff even louder.
" What is so bad about snow? It's cold, it melts, it's not fun, it's gross... Do you want me to keep going? It's better when I was back in Australia, celebrating it on the beach, in the sand... " (Y/N) stated and Bruce laughed, ruffling (Y/N)'s hair.
" I know, I know. But it's not that bad here. Snow is not that bad. Sure it is the pure opposite of sand and it's warmth during the summer. You can make snow angels, snowmen, throw snowballs at your brothers... " Bruce said, trying to appease to (Y/N).
" Well, I can't go swim can I? Everything is cold and frozen. I can't do anything in the snow. I can only freeze to death and stay inside. " (Y/N) grumbled, still not happy with this type of Christmas. " It's bullshit. That's what it is. "
" You are lucky that Alfred isn't here, otherwise you would have gotten an Alfred glare for that swearing. " Bruce said, sipping more of his coffee. " Also, is some sort of coldness really that bad? Is snow that bad? " Bruce asked, making (Y/N) laugh.
" For an Australian, snow on Christmas is sacrilegious. Like, a cardinal sin. We celebrate the Christmas on our beaches, during hot weather. Not during this snow and winter... Complete and utter bullshit this is."
" You just need to adjust. " Bruce said and (Y/N) rolled his eyes, just as everyone else walked in.
" Oh (Y/N), snow is not that bad on Christmas. " Jason stated.
" It is! " (Y/N) retorted.
Tim and Dick chuckled and Damian shook his head in amusement.
" I can't believe that you can't understand me! " (Y/N) whined and Damian chuckled quietly.
And that's how the evening was spent, teasing (Y/N) about his hatred for snow. And they even let (Y/N) put the star on the top of the tree.
" Come on, lets watch Home alone. " Bruce said, patting a spot on the couch next to him. (Y/N) laughed sarcastically, but he complied, making sure to wrap himself in a warm blanket, making sure to have his beloved Pavlova nearby. "
" I want my prawns tomorrow. " (Y/N) stated out of nowhere, making everyone laugh.
" Of course, I'll get some for you. " Bruce said, putting his arm over (Y/N)'s shoulders, making sure to bring him closer, to try and give him some comfort.
" Wait, where is Alfred? " (Y/N) asked, confused.
" Went home to see his family. " Bruce explained briefly.
" Ah. "
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