#no decision without us

[reasonsforhope]

THANK FUCKING GOD

"The Supreme Court on Thursday [June 13, 2024] unanimously preserved access to a medication that was used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. last year, in the court’s first abortion decision since conservative justices overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago.

The nine justices ruled that abortion opponents lacked the legal right to sue over the federal Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the medication, mifepristone, and the FDA’s subsequent actions to ease access to it. The case had threatened to restrict access to mifepristone across the country, including in states where abortion remains legal.

Abortion is banned at all stages of pregnancy in 14 states, and after about six weeks of pregnancy in three others, often before women realize they’re pregnant.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was part of the majority to overturn Roe, wrote for the court on Thursday that “federal courts are the wrong forum for addressing the plaintiffs’ concerns about FDA’s actions.”

The opinion underscored the stakes of the 2024 election and the possibility that an FDA commissioner appointed by Republican Donald Trump, if he wins the White House, could consider tightening access to mifepristone, including prohibiting sending it through the mail...

Kavanaugh’s opinion managed to unite a court deeply divided over abortion and many other divisive social issues by employing a minimalist approach that focused solely on the technical legal issue of standing and reached no judgment about the FDA’s actions...

While praising the decision, President Joe Biden signaled Democrats will continue to campaign heavily on abortion ahead of the November elections. “It does not change the fact that the right for a woman to get the treatment she needs is imperiled if not impossible in many states,” Biden said in a statement...

About two-thirds of U.S. adults oppose banning the use of mifepristone, or medication abortion, nationwide, according to a KFF poll conducted in February. About one-third would support a nationwide ban...

More than 6 million people [in the U.S.] have used mifepristone since 2000. Mifepristone blocks the hormone progesterone and primes the uterus to respond to the contraction-causing effect of a second drug, misoprostol. The two-drug regimen has been used to end a pregnancy through 10 weeks gestation...

Biden’s administration and drug manufacturers had warned that siding with abortion opponents in this case could [have] undermined the FDA’s drug approval process beyond the abortion context by inviting judges to second-guess the agency’s scientific judgments. The Democratic administration and New York-based Danco Laboratories, which makes mifepristone, argued that the drug is among the safest the FDA has ever approved."

-via AP, June 13, 2024

--

Note: A massive relief and a genuine victory - this will preserve access to the medication used in 2/3rds of abortions last year, for at least another 2 years. (Probably minimum time it will take Republicans to get their next attempt before the Supreme Court.)

Still, with this, a sword that has been hanging over our heads for the last two years is gone. There will be a new one soon, but we just bought ourselves probably at least 2 years. The fight isn't over, but this is absolutely worth celebrating.

[grayeet]

I'm going to be so honest I was really unsure about the whole ghastling and happy ghast announcement while watching it live but then they gave him goggles and I was swayed. Like ohhh you are so fuck ugly I want you.

[arsenicflame]

It's a time-honoured tradition- every time Sam comes across Izzy (and Ed) in their travels, he asks Izzy to marry him. And every time, Izzy turns him down.

At this point, Sam is asking more for the sake of it than any belief Izzy will ever say yes, a remnant of childhood dedication touched with 30 years of heartbreak and regret- though even now, a small part of him still holds out hope. Sam's promises have only got more extravagant over the years, from a job as his first mate, to a captaincy, a fleet at his command, a whole fucking island if that's what Izzy wants- but he knows it isn't though, not really. If Izzy was ever going to agree to marry him, to leave his life and go with Sam, it wouldn't be for anything Sam could offer him. Izzy never did care for flashy shows of wealth, for a ship or to be captain. The only thing that ever mattered to him was loyalty given, and loyalty shown in return. 

It all comes to a head after Stede left and came back, after Izzy lost a toe, lost his leg. Sam hasn't seen him since before things with Ed started to really slide off the rails, before stress permanently set into the lines of Izzy’s face. So, when he sees a dishevelled man with a hoof for a leg in a no-name port, he doesn't even consider the idea that he might know him. It's only when he turns towards him, and Sam catches a glance at those oh too familiar tattoos, he realises this is Izzy, his Izzy, that stands before him.

Knowing Izzy's discomfort with pity, he doesn't treat him any differently than he would in years gone by, positioning himself in Izzy's line of sight before approaching and sweeping him up into a bone crushing hug. 

“Israel-goddamn-Hands!” he exclaims, as Izzy grumbles back a begrudging “Samuel-fucking-Bellamy”, a tradition almost as old as their friendship itself. Izzy might not hug him back, but he can’t keep the corner of his mouth from twitching, just for a second.

(If Sam holds Izzy a little tighter and a little longer than usual, well. That's his business)

By the time Sam lets go, most of the crew has appeared in the town square, drawn in by the commotion. They may have given Izzy his leg and welcomed him as one of them, but still there’s an underlying tension, with nobody quite ready to set aside everything that happened before the Kraken. Seeing him cosying up to an unknown man sets everyone on edge, unsure whether to come to their first mate’s aid, or to assume that they've been betrayed once again.

When Ed sees that the yelling was Sam, his hand goes tense where it's held in Stede's. He knows the routine, has seen it more times than he can count, but as he watches them part he realises that this is the first time in a long time he's unsure of what Izzy's response will be.

Knowing that something’s different, knowing that Izzy's feeling vulnerable already, Sam doesn't go for the same flashy proposal he’s been giving for years. He doesn't promise Izzy the world, he doesn't cause a scene (or, any more of a scene than he already has, anyway). He looks at the fractured man in front of him, takes his face in his hands, and says the exact same thing to him he said when they were little more than boys. “Israel, I have to ask you. I know what you'll say, but I have to try. Come with me. Marry me and sail away with me. I'll keep you safe”

And Izzy… hesitates. He glances over at Ed, at Stede, and says to Sam “...We’re staying in port for a week. Ask me again then”

That's the moment Sam knows there is something deeply, horribly, wrong. He's not just looking at an Izzy who got seriously injured in a fight and is struggling to cope, this is something so much bigger than that- and that Ed has something to do with it. Izzy wouldn't even be considering leaving if he didn't. Whether it was negligence or something more sinister, Sam doesn't yet know, but he intends to find out.

[qoldenskies]

i just have beef with tales of the hidden city cause it's like ... would you rather have Second Hand Embarrassment The Episode, the episode that's about fucking Racial Profiling towards an already heavily adultified black-coded character, nuclear family propaganda that comes down to "well he made us so we should be GRATEFUL to him" (seriously what the hell even was that), or leo vibing for 11 minutes 😭😭😭😭

[ardate]

Every Boromir hater makes my enormous love for him grow stronger. Sorry you couldn't understand him, I get him tho and we're holding hands and the whole of Gondor is laughing at you

[mothmanavenue]

can i confess something else that will absolutely get me stoned in the town square since im dropping my unpopular opinions. I don’t like altean broadsword Lance. i already disliked red paladin Lance. the broadsword was like rubbing salt in the wound. why couldn’t he have his own niche. why was his character development just making him keith. i understand that it was like “he accepts that he doesn’t have to be a leader and excels as a co-leader and you can find happiness that way yada yada yada”. but you could’ve done that without making him keith. also now give him something unique, cool, that falls in line with his sniper bit. i’m not saying just give him another gun, im saying give him something quiet and lethal. like a garotte. yeah i want garotte lance.

i yap a lot more in my notes by the way if you were interested in other unpopular opinions. don’t send me hate messages or comments i won’t read it and will block viciously i also will not be debating this this is my hill to die on <3

[thetorturedlovergirl]

Today in this holy day, the anniversary of “The Woman Who Fell To Earth”, we will celebrate by staring for 24 hours at 13 in 12’s clothes

[gotta-bail-my-quails]

(ch366 spoilers) ok but seriously, i have some thoughts on this that are maybe too long to put in one go but essentially, I don't think Iruma will take up Mephisto's offer on the basis of him being the "king-maker", rather I think he would ask for his guidance more like as a teacher. Especially since Sullivan has already told Iruma becoming the demon king is only one path he has of many, and Iruma himself saying he's still a student when Mephisto originally (jokingly) named him king of the Many-Ears. Plus him being a teacher now and always admiring the teachers of Babyls.

(Although personally I think school + action shounen that results in the MC becoming a techer is hit or miss. Like Assassination Classroom made sense because the whole point was the teachers and students' relationship to each other not the killing. And how people are kinda hating on MHA's ending for yoinking Deku's power [idk that's what I heard] and making him a teacher even though personally I think the ending makes sense from a pure narrative structure perspective though it perhaps doesn't have the same context that makes it satisfying since AssClass was a very small enclosed world centered around the school and MHA did not, afaik. Anyway, I think it would work with Iruma, and I could definitely see him being both a teacher and demon king--it's very greedy but it fits M!IK's themes perfectly)

on the other hand, Mephisto's declaration is basically saying he has chosen who he supports as the next demon king, so regardless of what Iruma decides, Baal will absolutely not overlook it. Obviously, because he has gotten Princess Shura's support seemingly to become king himself, but what if Iruma becoming king will help his goal to (as it seems) extract Delkira's power? Ali only gets stronger as Iruma's rank goes up, so who knows what will happen if he passes Scala here. Maybe Delkira's power will manifest enough for Baal's goals. And now that I think about it, does Iruma even know Baal is trying to kidnap/use him? If Baal ends up showing his support for Iruma and Iruma doesn't realize his malicious intent...

[francesderwent]

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.

[abby-howard]

Scarlet Hollow decision tree

People occasionally ask to see a decision tree for Scarlet Hollow, so a while back I put one together for episodes 1-4! It’s not comprehensive, as most scenes at this point have at least some variation due to any number of tracked variables, but it accounts for most of the really major deviations.

For those who don’t want spoilers but would like to hear about how we kinda structure the game: I like to talk about it as more of a braid than a tree, which is not a new concept or anything, but I feel like it helps other narrative designers understand how to limit the absolute vastness that you can get with branching structures. The narrative branches off at decision nodes, but instead of continuing down significantly different routes, it comes back together at key moments. So there’s a single narrative throughline to the game-- events unfold in the town and you witness them in some capacity, but your perspective on them, who you’re with, the options available to you, all these are impacted by other choices you’ve made along the way, including the character traits you chose at the start of the game.

It’s not necessarily easier than doing routes, since it means Tony and I have to keep track of a ridiculous number of little variations including one-off dialogue choices players have made AND steering players to the important narrative moments can be tricky, but I think it makes for an interesting player experience! People get so excited when, say, a line at the end of Episode 4 calls back to something they said when they first met Tabitha at the beginning of Episode 1.

ANYWAY, HUGE SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT, do not proceed if you don’t want to know about basically everything that’s currently in the game!

Things start to get a little hard to read from here on out....

Episode four had to be broken into four images and looks like spaghetti

I’ll make another one of these for Episode 5 after it comes out sometime next year! (I know that’s a bit of a wait but it’ll be worth it >:D)

[aleksanderscult]

Majority of the fandom likes Zoya over Alina and I don't know why.

Nikolai's duology has certainly made her popular. Most people nowadays love bitchy characters with a tragic past and a happy ending so Zoya ticks their boxes.

📝 She can turn into a dragon and has so many new cool powers so she's a badass.

📝 She is a bitch but she has a "good" reason to be.

📝 She has fallen in love with Nikolai (another popular character).

📝 She has a tear-jerking past (which is always endearing)

In a summary, fandoms and media never change, dear anon.

[nicorobinphd]

stg, being an enjoyer of jane twdg is like being forced into an expert-level course on the way misogyny manifests in video game spaces.

god forbid a woman be complex or difficult or provably mischaracterized (see tags) at the end of her arc to service the culmination of a man’s storyline.

[sangjwi]

[silkieluv]

For context: I slept a really long afternoon nap (four hours), and slept last night a lot. Since I missed out on writing in the afternoon, I’m thinking maybe use the night. I’m starting an hour later, meaning I have a lot of sleeping hours I don’t really need.

*If you’re a Jay hater I suggest you vote for me to write. Skybound and Medwhump anyone?

[wildtales1973]

new rare pair theon x aegon just dropped. no they would not make each other better they would make each other actively worse but i stand firm in my belief that theon should be included in every single piece of asoiaf media until the day i die and that he should be allowed to ride a dragon just once

[hoboblaidd]

General tags

ooc (the veil is strange here.)

shitposting (the veil is wobbly here.)

tbd (the veil is snarky here.)

verses (the veil is thin here.)

aesthetics (even in these wastes there exists beauty.)

drabbles (echoes of a dead empire.)

headcanons (some have wisdom for those willing to listen.)

lore (scattered fragments of memory where some spirit cared to watch.)

meme response (solas slightly approves.)

musings (this land is a collection of tragedies.)

nsfw (the veil is spicy here.)

promo (your friend wanted you to be happy.)

rules (a magical ward of sorts.)

Character tags  always being added to

Fen’harel (an ideologue and a fool.) - hate to give this one to anaris but that line sums him up perfectly

Ratdog (the ragged wolf.)

Evanuris

Mythal (the many wrongs we did we did together.) 

Elgar’nan (first of the firstborn.)

Ghilan’nain (you would not be the first to sacrifice your morals for love.)

Andruil (spare us the moment we become your sacrifice.)

Anaris (a selfish fool and a monster.)

Felassan (his back turned.)

Wisdom (ma ghilana mir din’an.)

Inquisition

Varric (that’s as close to beating the world as anyone gets.)

Solavellan (his love could burn against me like a bonfire.)

Inquisitor (the one who blazes like fire and mends the air.)

Cole (clean and clear. uncluttered.)

Josephine (a bastion of kindness and compassion.)

Veilguard

Rook (everyone is a pawn.)

Emmrich (the spirits speak well of you.)

RP-blog specific this isn't everyone, i'm adding these as i go since im mostly taking them from threads

avrorean (i’na syl emma mir bellanaris.)

aestuum (child of the tides.)

weptduty (malas amelin ne halam varethlin.)

keepsduty (mirthadra mytha.)

keepslore (dirtha garas setheneran.)

aestuum (child of the tides.)

extravagantliar (my decision. my sacrifice. and you don’t get to take that from me.)

martymarked (even now i look at you and i see my friend.)

weptfreedom - alanari (a death unavenged.)

weptfreedom - emithas (there is no war without casualties and no cause without its sacrifices.)

nobodyexpectsthe (shadows wearing vallaslin.)