#“I need to do designs for the convention” I say as I then design buttons entirely for myself. Will any sell?

[cuttlebirb]

Been making some button designs recently, and since I've been playing way too much P3P, I decided to make one of two of my faves from it. <3 I haven't been getting through as much art as I could, but I've also progressed in the game way quicker than I was expecting, so it balances out!! The power of nostalgia lmao

[igneouswyvern]

Interrupting my usual posting to talk abt Cereza and the Lost Demon because I just beat the game today and I wanted to share my thoughts. Keep in mind I have never played a Bayonetta game in my life lmao

So first off the game is fucking fantastic. I had a wonderful time with it truly. The game is gorgeous to look at and it uses the storybook artstyle to its advantage and it is AWESOME. Nearly every area in the game had my jaw dropping cause it just looked so beautiful. In a similar vein the music was really good and I will definitely be going through the soundtrack for my playlist.

The gameplay is honestly really solid. Basically you control Cereza with the left stick, and use her actions with the L and ZL buttons, and you control Cheshire (the demon) with the right stick, and use his actions with the R and ZR buttons. The D-pad lets Cereza use one of four items and the face buttons control Cheshire's transformations. Controlling one character with each stick takes a while to get used to but it does work really well. The puzzles using this mechanic were really good too and I enjoyed them a lot. The combat can be a bit clunky at times but I think it works pretty well, using Cereza as a support character to hold the enemies in place while Cheshire wails on them. I will say it gets to be a bit of a slog towards the end of the game when every required Tir na nOg is an enemy gauntlet and none of them are puzzles, but it's not too bad.

I must say I wasn't expecting the game to be a metroidvania but it really is and a well-designed one at that. Getting blocked off by something you can't get through until you have a certain power and then coming back to it later is fun and looping back around or opening up shortcuts is always something I enjoy. The unfortunate part of this is that the game's map SUCKS ASS and the areas are very mazelike, so I had a lot of trouble trying to clean up items. I really wanted to finish off more of the skill tree before I beat the game but I wandered around in many areas and made very little progress with actually obtaining the items I could literally see just sitting on my map but couldn't figure out how to get to. If the map was better designed I probably would have gone for 100%.

Speaking of the skill tree, I liked it a lot. When I first saw it I thought it was gonna be tiny, but it actually expands twice more throughout the game. And I like that they don't let you get to the good stuff right off the bat, cause that means there are still cool upgrades to strive for by the end of the game. One thing I wish is that there were more upgrades that didn't cost Inferno Fruits/Moon Pearls cause when I have a fat stack of cash but cannot find a way to access the other items I need, it ends up being really frustrating.

As someone who has not played another Bayonetta game ever, I liked the plot a lot and I can confirm you don't need to play any other Bayo games to enjoy this one. It works really well as a standalone, and it establishes the lore and mechanics of the Bayonetta world pretty adequately without needing any background. It's also just a really heartwarming and fascinating plot. I cried at the end. I thought it was gonna be super basic and conventional but it did some really unexpected (for me at least) things in the end.

Tl;dr, if you like metroidvanias with cool artstyles I highly recommend it, whether or not you've played Bayonetta. I'd give it a solid 9.5/10.

A few more spoilery (and rambly) thoughts under the cut:

CHESHIRE AND CEREZA OH MY GOD MY HEART. Their friendship was so well done. The fact that you can SEE them growing closer in their animations together AUGH I love it so much. They try to go their own separate ways but they just can't do it without each other. Cereza is pretty helpless without Cheshire but he can't do it without her either. AUGH

I LOVED the Jabberwock sequence. Letting Cereza struggle with her own fear and then overcoming it and unlocking an ability that will allow them to defeat it and the confidence that comes with that. Meanwhile Cheshire realizing that he's not strong enough to beat it without her help and being deeply humbled by that fact. And when they team up to defeat this monster, this thing that has destroyed witch and faerie alike, and that Cereza was paralyzed with fear of and Cheshire almost got killed by, and we KILL it ONCE AND FOR ALL, it's so empowering and grand and awesome GOD.

And Cereza rejecting her teacher and every convention of being a witch and cutting her hair to save Cheshire. It's SUCH an impactful moment. It really shows how different she is. Everyone is telling her that demons are nothing but tools, to be used for the gain of a witch and then cast aside back to Inferno like they're nothing. But right from the start Cereza shows she's different. She refuses to use Cheshire as a tool, respecting him as a person and understanding that she has to get him back to Inferno because that's where he wants to be. She reasons with him, instead of controlling him. She works with him. She protects him, she sacrifices everything to save him. She is probably the only witch who has ever treated a demon like a person. GODDDDDDD

Okay onto the ending stuff. I remember as I was playing the game I was like "what if Morgana was a villain lol." And during the cutscene where Lukaon reveals his name I was like "this stuff sounds hella manipulative, it would be funny if he was the villain." But the story seemed pretty basic and formulaic and I kind of assumed the villain would be pretty boring. Like why would you fight the friendly person who's been guiding you through your whole journey? Why would your beloved teacher turn against you? But god, they really did it. And I LOVE that they did. Neither of these twist villains were a surprise to me, but that didn't make them less awesome.

The fight with Lukaon was super cool. I loved having to get all of Cheshire's transformations back, and then transforming into the Unbound form and getting a whole new awesome moveset was so freaking good. It was truly the culmination of everything we've accomplished, both in the fact that we get each transformation as an attack on the face buttons but also that Cereza and Cheshire control together, showing how they're a team.

Oh and kind of an aside but speaking of Lukaon I really liked that blue was always the color of the faeries, the color associated with evil. That's true for everything...except the tracks of the White Wolf. EXCEPT LUKAON/THE WHITE WOLF IS A FAERIE AND ENDS UP BEING OUR ENEMY (briefly). That just occurred to me but like THAT'S SO COOL I LOVE THE FORESHADOWING

The final fight with Morgana was hard as BALLS though. I got maybe three game overs in the whole game up until this point but it took me seven tries to beat Morgana. And of course I ran out of all my healing items and they didn't give them back. It was awesome to win but it felt like an odd difficulty spike right at the end though lol.

Man I'm not ashamed to say that I CRIED when Cheshire went back to Inferno. I was hoping against all odds that the two of them would stick together (ofc that wouldn't happen) but of course he had to go back. But their mutual promise to see each other again, to be stronger when they each meet? YEAAAHHHHHH THAT SHIT MADE ME CRY AUGH

Okay that's it. I saw this game in the direct last year and was quite intrigued by the artstyle and gameplay and decided to pick it up but I didn't think it was gonna be THIS good. It absolutely exceeded my expectations and I'm gonna be thinking about it for a while yet.

[nicohverse]

Entropic Float's One Year Anniversary!

One year ago today- On July 7th, 2022- I released the 300k+ word long visual novel Entropic Float: This World Will Decay and Disappear, at no cost on itch and steam.

(Madeline by @unluckyerror404 on Artfight)

It was a labor of love- I worked on it for just over a year and a half, and my life changed a lot during that time. I got a job related to my degree, then proceeded to crash and burn when it turned out that I couldn't actually manage that job alongside my chronic conditions. Working on Entropic Float was the only thing during that time that really made me happy at all, so it's no surprise I ended up quitting for my health shortly after release...

Since I released Entropic Float, lots of things have happened. I've seen it referred to on reddit as 'the queerest game I've ever played'. I've received wonderful fanart. People have come to me saying that the game helped them realize they were physically disabled. My good friend, the vtuber FreyaFukunaga, played through the entire game on stream. There have of course been bad reviews too, negative feedback- No game can be for everyone, and Entropic Float is a game for some rather specific people. I've taken into account critiques made in good faith, and made efforts to improve these things where possible in updates to the game, and even moreso in the way they will be structured in Entropic Float 2: Land Of The Witch.

But before we talk about Entropic Float 2, which I'm sure you've all been waiting for information on, let me put some concerns to rest. I have, by no means, been doing nothing all this time. EF2 is coming along, though not in ways that are easy to share. Still, have a look-

Admittedly, it's a bit ugly without all the extra buttons, text, and more that will accompany this frame- It's just one small piece of the GUI I've been building. Entropic Float 2 is a big shift in style from the first game- For one, I'm no longer using Koikatsu for talksprites or environments. For another, it's going to be a point and click adventure game (Though the final release will include a 'kinetic novel version' option for those who prefer to play VNs on auto-advance!). You can see it, right? The menu buttons along the right edge, an inventory with tabs you can cycle in the bottom right corner, some information about the current state of the game in the empty space on the left...However, besides EF2, there have been other things I'm working on, and I'll admit to having some trouble finding a good workflow. During EF's development, it was simple enough- In my free time, I did those things which made me money (commissions, convention prep) and when those were done I worked on Entropic Float and did very little else. This workflow can no longer apply, because in the interim year, I've been building my small business, Nico's Fan Niche, on etsy. There are some pieces of Entropic Float merch available there! But the point is, now it seems there is always 'something to do which can make me money', as designing new products has a direct impact on my life now.

Besides the store, I'm also involved in other gamedev projects- I continue to be support staff on Heart Fragment, and am the primary artist of an RPG with a few friends of mine, yet to be formally announced. To top it all off, I do still have a day job. I work 30 hours a week (sometimes up to 39) with a studio called Small Victories. It's a wonderful and fulfilling position that gives me the space I need for personal projects, but that's still 30+ hours of the week not spent on those projects.

(Sharma by Quartoch on Artfight)

Finally- Entropic Float 2 is a loftier game than Entropic Float was. When I started EF, it was just for fun, to play with ren'py, and was never supposed to be as long as it ended up being. EF2 is a followup game. It needs to be bigger, better, and the pressure is on. For this reason, I decided to postpone making the game's art until after July- After Artfight 2023. My username there is nhitori if you want an attack from me! Each year, Artfight represents a huge burst of improvement for me and my artistic abilities. A talksprite drawn in June and a talksprite drawn in August would by nature be very obviously different in quality. I've been writing, outlining, working on GUI, but there hasn't been anything worth sharing on here yet.

Even so, I am very happy to announce- You should be able to expect the Entropic Float 2 Demo, and its Kickstarter, in November 2023!

Enter the Pine Creek Anomaly to discover exactly what happened in the small, Appalachian town several years ago- And why, so suddenly, the Anomaly started to invite outsiders in, after flying under the radar all this time. Kanatsune Ame returns to be guided by the player as he searches for the answers within a new cast of characters; Some familiar faces, some made more familiar after a mention in the Anomalous Clocktower, and some he's never met before at all.

And following shortly after the EF2 Demo and Kickstarter- There's one backer reward that will be fulfilled right away. Releasing in December 2023, right away for backers, just in time for the holidays if you just want to purchase it on its own (For only 5 USD- But if you played Entropic Float because it was free, and you really can't spare the money for any reason, do reach out to me.)

">It's been such a long time... But I've finally found You." (Box by Vanitasium on Artfight)

Quite a while after the stabilization of the Anomalous Clocktower, but not yet when you join Ame in the Pine Creek Anomaly- A voice calls out to you. A voice that is familiar, the voice which spoke directly to you throughout the first game. Informing you of the endings you've acquired. Warning you of what's ahead. Asking if you'd like to bring about the miracle. You never would have imagined that voice belonged to somebody. But it seems... She's gathered a new collection of stories for you. Fragments of those you've met before. Histories you couldn't see at the time, updates from the year since you left them behind. If you can read these stories and become more powerful again, like you did in the Clocktower, then maybe, just maybe... You and Her can meet face to face.

The Letters To A Beloved Ghost DLC for the first game will be arriving in December 2023! Along with the DLC, you'll also be able to install the 'Anachrono Mode' for Entropic Float. This mode replaces koikatsu talksprites with drawn talksprites in any cases where those have been added for DLC content. As the characters may be dressed in different clothing in these talksprites, and there may not be exact analogues for every expression, and the environments will remain koikatsu-style in most if not all places- It promises to be a bit anachronistic. But if the talksprites exist, may as well give you the option to use them!

One last thing- I'll be tabling in the Artist's Colony at Connecticon 2023, though I haven't got a table number yet. I also may be tabling at FANEXPO Boston 2023 (Unconfirmed), and Otakuthon 2023 (Waitlisted, but I'll still be attending as a guest if I don't get a table.) So if any fans reading this wanted to come say hello- There's a few opportunities. I might even have something for you, if you come by my table.

With that, the anniversary update is finished. That's all I've got for you right now- But there's a lot to look forward to! Thank you, as always, for reading, for playing, for being here with me on my gamedev journey.

[ahundredtimesover]

https://twitter.com/AGlSTD/status/1304260158005051393?t=M8L5cQ4e5nJ0vx2NpwUAKQ&s=19

Omg mimi, this is ceo seokjin in his full glory 😜

The Light of Dead Stars Series Masterlist | KSJ

--

The bell hanging over the entrance door rings, signaling your arrival.

“Good evening, Mrs. Kim,” the tailor shop’s butler bows. “Mr. Kim is in the VIP room. This way, please.”

He leads you into a small hallway and holds the knob of a wooden door, knocking against the surface and announcing your presence. You enter, greeted by the luxurious couches dozens of exquisite suits on display, as well as your husband’s furrowed brows, ones that relax once it dawns on him that it’s you. He’s dressed in a patterned brown suit - one of your favorites created in this store - and he looks stunning, as he always does. He’s holding a tablet and has got a serious look on, though, and you wonder what’s got him into an almost sour mood. Perhaps it has something to do with his supposed quick trip to the shop that’s turned into hours.

“You’re here,” he says, returning the kiss you give him. “How did you get here? I was gonna have us pick you up at the convention on the way home.”

“Oh, I had Mr. Lim pick her up without telling you,” Yoongi explains. “Executive decision, you know? You were taking too long and I know you wouldn’t want your wife to be waiting. We’ve been here for 3 hours already, after all.”

You don’t miss the tone of annoyance in the secretary’s voice at the last bit, and the roll of his eyes tells you that your husband is in another one of his slightly obsessive states.

“So what’s the deal? Wrong pocket length? Buttons too close together? Or maybe the sleeves have gotten tighter? If it’s the last, it’s probably the little one’s fault. She’s gotten so heavy and you insist on carrying her everywhere when you’re home,” you chuckle.

“As she deserves. She’s literally the most adorable human being - why wouldn’t I want to be holding her?” He counters. “But it’s the coat’s hem. It felt off. I had it fixed.”

“And it’s not yet done after… 3 hours?” You arch an brow.

“The buttons suddenly looked too big, and I had the cuffs altered, too,” Jin replies, going back to whatever he’s working on on his device.

Yoongi takes this time to send you a text message. The suit looked fine. He’s just obsessing over details, it says, and you respond with a nod his way.

“I’m sure it looked good on you. Those seem to be minor. You know, little details that won’t matter much? It’s not like people will be zooming in on the photos,” you reason. “The photo shoot’s tomorrow. You should be taking a rest. We should be a taking a rest.”

You walk over to him and bring his arms down so you can wrap yours around his waist, your puppy-dog eyes - ones you’ve perfected - letting him give in a little.

“It’s not just a photoshoot, love. It’s ours - the power couple photoshoot of the CEO and the product development director. And I will be zooming in on this pretty face,” he says, cupping your cheeks. “And this,” he adds, pointing at himself.

You chuckle but give in, too. His father had always emphasized the importance of how Jin should present himself, even if honestly, your husband doesn’t really need the picture-perfect suit. He’s enough on his own, but enough isn’t really enough for him.

“Fine,” you sigh. “What’s this, then?” You lift his hand to show you what he’s working on his tablet - another suit design, as if he doesn’t have hundreds of them that he can pick out for another photoshoot or meeting.

“I’m designing an outfit for our family photo. You know, the one we’ll use to officially introduce our perfect little angel with the smelliest poop ever?”

You laugh. Jin wouldn’t shut up talking about your daughter’s poop last night, asking if it’s the breastmilk and if that’s the downside of it coming from, as he said, the “most perfect tits in the world.”

“You’ll be wearing a suit?” You laugh again. “And I’m supposed to be in a gown? And what’s Sena gonna wear - a chiffon dress or something?”

Jin furrows his brows, not catching on why it isn’t a given that your perfect little family of 3 won’t be in formal attire for the introduction of the future Kim Foods, Inc. heir.

“Love, she’s only a few months old. She needs to be in comfortable clothes, so do we,” you say. “That’s when we’re at our best, okay? Perhaps a nice loose polo for you, a simple dress for me, and something soft for the little one.”

“Fine, fine,” he says, erasing what he’d been working on and messily drawing something that resembles what you’d just described. “I’ll have them create different versions and let’s see which one fits best. Let’s have your designer make dresses for you and Sena, too. We should have practice shots. Yoongi is a good photographer, he’ll do. And then—”

“Okay, one at a time, Mr. President,” you playfully shake your head. “That’s a month away. Let’s talk about it at home. Or tomorrow. It’s raining and I just… I just want to stay in bed with you and Sena. Can we do that?”

It’s the only words that Jin needs, really. A night with the two people he loves most in bed while the rain pitter-patters on the window. Nothing else would matter.

“Okay, then,” he smiles, kissing your forehead, and then checking the baby monitor on his phone to see your daughter wiggling about in her crib. “Let’s go home. The queen is waiting.”

[raisengen]

I’m not usually someone who is good at questions like “what’s your favourite?” or “what’s the best?”. Different things have their own merits in their own ways, and it often feels reductive to try to rank things against each other. It’s rare for something to stand head and shoulders above the competition.

If you asked me what the best video game I’ve ever played was, I would be tempted to name something like Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons. A game that pushed what was possible to achieve artistically with video games, and gave a visceral experience that was only possible in the interactive medium.

But in the end, I think the game I’d nominate, the one that I’d preserve in a museum, the one that I’d launch into space, is Armored Core For Answer.

It’s not a game that challenges what it means to be a game. It’s one of the most video-game-y video games to ever video game. Discrete missions picked from a menu, letter grades and hard modes, sudden difficulty spikes, multiple endings and a minimalist plot.

It’s also really really good. At being a video game. At everything.

This isn’t some nostalgic veteran talking. ACFA is my first (and currently only) AC game. I picked it up last year on a blind recommendation and because I knew it had good music. On that front, I got my £4’s worth from the opening cinematic and title screen alone.

However, it wasn’t a genre I’m very familiar with, and I was initially sceptical of some of the gameplay. Why do I need so many different stats to tune?  Why offer so many different machine parts? Why not smooth things out, give a few plug-and-play options? So goes the conventional wisdom. But ACFA showed me that it was more than justified in its choices. It sold me on a fantasy I barely knew existed, to be Amuro Ray fine-tuning his Gundam and reviewing strategies to take down fearsome enemies. All those “redundant” stats? Turns out there would be times when I would want to tune all of them.

(Well, almost all of them. Still not 100% sure why I should build a mech that dodges further to the right than the left.)

Easily half of my gameplay time was spent trying to surpass the chapter 2 boss, White Glint. It wasn’t enough to just grind against the fight; I had to assess the challenge, and research how to prepare countermeasures. I built up experience and tuning points on other missions, I refined my anti-mech designs on the ladder matches. Determine enemy strengths and weaknesses, fine-tune my build to compensate.

While no other boss fight was such a cliff-face, they did repeatedly force me to rethink my strategies and expand my view of possibilities. I do like the Dark Souls games, but locking your investments in stats and upgrades sorely limits the ability to create bosses that make you completely rethink the game like that.  To realise you know how to fly.

I also gained a new understanding of what it can mean for a game to be “fast”. When both you and your enemies are this mobile, it can be a challenge to just keep the target on the screen. Too fast to rely on reactions, too variable to rely on memorisation. What I needed was prediction, anticipation. Estimate the enemy’s motions and attacks, understand how you’re moving through space relative to them, stagger your attacks to trap their dodges, land the sword strike because you guessed it was likely the enemy would be in range by the time you pressed the button.

Admittedly, it makes gameplay videos half-incomprehensible, because the camera’s shaking everywhere and half the battle’s going on inside the player’s head. But it’s a wonderful experience to be absorbed into the game so fully, and I hope that soon you won’t have to take my word for it.

I could continue to gush about the way the story and gameplay framing matches well with the player character being a mercenary, the construction of a bleak world in such an open way. Or how bazooka shotguns are the best thing ever. But I have to stop somewhere.

(I will say though... the battle UI could’ve been better. If you’re going to make me fight White Glint without any boss health bar or other visual/verbal clues as to their damage taken, the least you could’ve done is let me change the colour of the damage numbers so it wasn’t white-on-white and I would actually know if I shot the target. Grhmph.)

[shopwitchvamp]

I absolutely love your designs! I have a few questions: what made you decide to use the printing process you do?

As someone who currently has designs on Redbubble and is not always content with the quality, I'm not sure what printing places are best.

Thank you!! Hmm, well mainly it was a combination of necessity and chance. I started out making my first skirts through ArtsCow longggg ago, because a friend had made some and it seemed like a fun thing to try. Back then my main thing was selling crocheted amigurumi plushies at conventions and on Etsy, and I'd gotten tendonitis more than once from the ridiculous amount of constant crocheting I'd do.. so I was looking for some more options of things I could add to my lineup that I didn't have to pain(literally)stakingly make individually by hand. I was already designing some things that could then just be printed, like buttons, art prints, zipper bags, etc. but at that time no one was really doing skirts. Eventually we all started gradually dropping the handmade stuff we were making in favor of skirts and other clothing, so the same friend that got us all started with ArtsCow found a manufacturer that we could work with directly. A lot has changed since then (like we didn't even have pockets until a couple years in!), but I still work with that same manu. As for why the process itself, it's because it allows for a relatively low minimum per size/design, a wide range of sizes, and as many designs as I want to make. I know a lot of people think my clothes are expensive, but *relatively* it also allows for affordable clothes. This is also why we don't have natural fiber skirts yet. The printing process for our clothes requires synthetic fabrics, and even if we figure out a different option for getting designs onto natural fabrics it'd bring up a bunch of issues like high cost, high minimums, and not being as size accomodating. Side note with that, but it's likely that whatever I end up doing to make natural fiber skirts happen- it's going to involve me circling back around to a more handmade process and taking on a lot of the work myself. I really want to make bleach-dyed cotton skirts, but I'm gonna have to do it all myself.. and because of that + the cost of plain fabric in the first place, who even knows how high the final price is gonna need to be. Back to your ask tho, yeah I've also used Redbubble and it's not always the greatest. I'd say give ArtsCow a try if you want to design some skirts or w/e clothing. It's been a long time so idk for sure how their quality is these days, but for me it was a great starting point!

[archaeopter-ace]

Back in January I decided that my To Do list needed to be more ~tactile~, and since my new system has been working well going on four months now, I thought I’d share it here

[Image ID: a one-foot square of corkboard in a rustic brown frame, displayed flat on a surface. An eight-pointed compass rose has been painted on it in gold and dark teal, with a circle in the center left bare. At the points of the compass are tiny pins holding metal numbered circular tags in place; visible are numbers 9 through 12. Placed on top of the compass are an assortment of small objects; each object occupies no more than two halves of a point. Object include a Dirt Devil pin, a soda can tab, a yellow push pin, a frying pan and iron from a Monopolgy game, a brown fake leaf, a puzzle piece, a red carabiner, an AO3 Kudos pin, a tiny raven, and white buttons glued together with an charm-sized metal spoon. Off to one side is an upside-down 1.5 inch pot with a strawberry eraser on top. / End ID]

I painted a compass rose onto a square of cork that I had from a previous craft project (the frame is a super-lucky find from Goodwill!). Each point represents one hour, divided into half-hour increments. Number tags are used to indicate time, e.g. I set this one up to start getting things done at 9 AM. (I use a 24 hr clock, so 1 PM is represented with 13)

It only runs for 8 hours unless I go back and update it in the middle of the day, but 8 hours of being productive is enough to be getting on with, and if I don’t hit my targets, then there’s just flex time built in.

Every morning I populate my daily schedule with tokens from a pool of possibilities. And that’s one of the things I really like about this, over conventional To Do list making: I feel encouraged to vary my routine, do something different than I did the day before, give a token I like but haven’t used in a while a chance to come into play.

[Image ID: A large round wooden serving platter covered with small objects, like something out of a kid’s ‘I Spy’ book. Included are: various buttons, a tiny birdhouse charm, a mini Swedish Dala horse, LEGO Spider-Man, two disembodied hands, a 9V battery, toy Mini Cooper convertible I got out of a Kinder egg, white elephant bead, snowflake earring, plastic rat, carved wooden lion, chess piece, supermarket member token, piece of rose quartz with a wolf engraved on it, headphone, rubbed lizard, a 1 centimeter microchip, cardamon pod, fake yellow and blue flowers, plastic shapes, mini halogen bulb, pizza charm, brown glass apothecary jar, and an antique toy refrigerator for a dollhouse. / end ID]

The advantages I have found to using this system:

No red-text OVERDUE designation like on some to do list apps. I get done what I can and that’s good enough. And unlike when I was writing out my list on a piece of paper, it’s super easy to re-arrange as the day goes along.

A lot of people say the fun part of making To Do lists is crossing things off. That is only true if you succeed and actually manage to cross things off. Otherwise you are left with a lot of uncrossed items, which can make you feel worse. Under my new To Do list, the fun part is adding things to my list. I start my day thinking about what I want to fill my day with - fun leisure activities included - and even if I have a very unproductive day and hardly get anything done, just starting out the day every day with this attitude has been a tremendous help.

It only covers one day at a time. I save tomorrow’s worries for tomorrow, just focused on Today

It doesn’t tell me I need to complete given tasks, just that I need to work on them for the allotted time

Brains will read text automatically. I can’t look at a word and Not read it. Which means that with a traditional To Do list, I can’t help but look ahead and worry about an upcoming task I might be dreading. With this tactile to do list, everything is representational. It makes it easier to compartmentalize and deal with one task/activity at a time. Relatedly, it makes it easier to engage with tasks I really dread by giving them a cool token.

It’s flexible. Partly because it’s vibes-based and just needs to make sense to me, but also because I can combine established tokens together. So if I combine ‘Doctor’ with ‘Telephone,’ I need to call to my doctor. But if I combine ‘Telephone’ with ‘Friend’s Token,’ it means I want to call that friend, and if I combine ‘Friend’s Token’ with ‘Computer,’ I should email them instead. ‘Computer’ can be combined with ‘Organize Files,’ etc.

Fun Things and Chores are treated equally. They are all just how I want to be spending my time. This has helped me find time to draw and go for walks, instead of getting stuck in a rut of scrolling on my phone or reading endless fanfiction. There are many and varied ways to entertain my brain, and seeing the maximalist clutter of possibilities every morning helps to remind me of that.

[Image ID: The same board arrangement as the first image, this time close-up from a lower angle. / End ID]

This was my planned schedule for today.

9AM: Dirt Devil pin says clean up house. Paired it with soda can tab for take trash and recycling to dump, and the white buttons and mini spoon that means do dishes.

10AM: large flat brown leather button resting on a Lord of the Rings ring of power, with a one-inch miniature book on top. Go to library, I have some things I need to return. While I’m there, I can take advantage of the distraction-free environment to

11AM: paperwork. It was very satisfying to hammer that nail through a stack of scrap paper. 11:30 This is the token I made to represent Writing. A hexagonal piece of plastic covered in newspaper for the base, onto which I glued a circular bronze-colored button and topped with another button, this one with a swirly green gemlike qualities and gold accents.

12 o’clock: Lunchtime! It’s a frying pan.

1PM has a unicorn-head pushpin and a cast iron raven figurine, representing tumblr and discord, respectively. (For me, ‘tumblr’ here means ‘hey, how about finally getting around to reblogging things from my 4000+ drafts? Or the stuff I’ve been liking since Goncharov that I intended to reblog just as soon as I had the time to go through likes?’)

At 2PM brown leaf says go outside, red carabiner on top says go hiking.

3PM jigsaw puzzle piece says work on a jigsaw puzzle, that one’s pretty straightforward. 3:30 has the iron from a Monopoly game, so I will be putting laundry away.

4PM has an AO3 kudos tag, to remind me to leave one of those comments I’ve been meaning to get around to for ages...

And that’s my planned schedule for the day! If I get even half of these things done it will have been a pretty successful day, lots to feel good about.

[ID: The small brown apothecary jar, sitting in a sunny windowsill. Inside are what appear to be dead insects. /End ID] Bonus! A close-up of the jar of wasps I use to represent doctor business. I think it sums up how I feel about making appointments nicely. (Actually going is fine, finding a doctor and making appointments is the struggle).

[44gamez]

In 2023, Mario Got Weird Again

It might be no coincidence that Mario’s signature voice actor, Charles Martinet, didn't return to lend his skills to the character or his supporting solid in all three main appearances, as a substitute retiring to the position of a Mario Ambassador (no matter which means).

Picture: Nintendo Nintendo appears to have handled 2023 as a really public rebirth for his or her mascot. The dizzying one-two punch of the Mario film and the plumber's return to 2D platforming, plus the ending blow of Mario RPG, signified a clear break from a long time of meticulous visible design and characterization requirements. Sure, Mario nonetheless says “Wahoo!” and wears his trademark overalls and gloves—which will by no means change. However Chris Pratt’s efficiency within the animated movie gave Mario a flatter, a lot much less exaggerated voice, pulled from someplace far faraway from Martinet’s tackle the character. And although Kevin Afghani does an admirable job within the position for Marvel, the sport itself imbues Mario and firm with sufficient character to make the New Tremendous Mario Bros. sequence look downright wood. is prepared to take a danger on maybe probably the most recognizable online game character on the earth, trusting that regardless of his voice, top, or perspective, audiences will nonetheless know who he's. Marvel doesn’t even happen within the Mushroom Kingdom. As a substitute, it brings Mario’s merry gang to the Flower Kingdom, the place aptly named Marvel Flowers function in each stage. This stuff flip every stage on its head, enabling characters to stretch to ridiculous heights, remodel into Goombas for stealth missions, or flip to slime to squeeze into slim passages. However some Marvel Flowers will remodel the extent itself, generally altering the attitude from side-on to top-down, or turning your complete affair right into a musical. You may even equip badges that alter the sport additional, from permitting Mario to drift by means of the air to turning him invisible. And Marvel’s artwork fashion and animations mirror this 'something goes' vibe completely, with an virtually claymation-like aesthetic and designs that hew a lot nearer to Yōichi Kotabe’s unique hand-drawn character artwork. Mario wears a decided expression when he runs, switching stances simply on the contact of the sprint button, whereas his ft smear cartoonishly. And for the primary time in a 2D Mario sport, characters lean nervously on ledges, flailing their arms in order that they don’t lose stability. Even the sound profile is completely reimagined. Jumps and power-ups are signaled by heat and acquainted instrument seems like guitar strings and vibraphones, versus the extra harsh chiptune-ish sound results of the New Tremendous Mario Bros. sequence.

Picture: Nintendo It feels recent now, however we’ve seen such wild creativity earlier than. Mario could also be a product of the Eighties, however even within the ‘90s, Nintendo was nonetheless enjoying round with him. And it wasn’t afraid to let different groups take a crack at it, both. Tremendous Mario Land for the Sport Boy was created beneath the steering of Metroid producer and Sport Boy designer Gunpei Yokoi's R&D1 fairly than Mario mainstay Shigeru Miyamoto and R&D4, and it took a funhouse mirror to what had been then comparatively new conventions of the sequence. In Mario Land, aptly named Bombshell Koopas explode when jumped on, shoot-'em-up ranges punctuate the motion, and the ultimate boss is an alien. That ‘89 sport appeared to set a precedent for Mario within the following decade, releasing him to go wherever and do something he needed. Quickly, he was a health care provider, a go-kart racer, and a celebration host. However outdoors of workplace partitions, issues acquired stranger nonetheless. Nintendo was way more liberal with their licensing in the course of the Tremendous Nintendo period, forging partnerships with edutainment firms, Philips and their CD-i console, and letting third-party builders like Uncommon and Sq. flesh out Mario’s world. This was usually a roll of the cube—1994 alone featured each the wildly profitable Donkey Kong Nation and the moist thud of Resort Mario. Mario’s wibbly-wobbly portrayals in video games like Mario Teaches Typing appear only a bit off by at present’s requirements, and generally even the subject material appeared to float far into the uncanny. Within the case of Mario’s Time Machine, our courageous hero travels throughout the ages to return historic artifacts stolen by Bowser, resulting in the amusing indisputable fact that each Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Gandhi necessitate full pages on the Tremendous Mario Wiki.

Picture: Nintendo Life / Nintendo / Common Footage Mario mania, in fact, additionally prolonged to the worlds of TV and movie, leading to a trio of DIC Leisure animated sequence and the notorious Tremendous Mario Bros. movie, starring Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, and Dennis Hopper. The movie, which options Yoshi getting stabbed within the throat, bears little resemblance to the video games upon which it’s primarily based. There’s a purpose Nintendo waited 30 years to strive adapting Tremendous Mario to the large display screen once more, and why it sought a lot inventive management this time round. However whereas Nintendo noticed its share of flops by means of its varied partnerships and licensing offers, the corporate’s willingness to discover what Mario may very well be as a mascot character helped form him into the affable everyman that he’s often known as at present. Miyamoto has referred to Mario and his pals as actors enjoying roles—not in contrast to Mickey Mouse. And Mickey, in a really comparable means, was additionally a rougher character in his early days. He was extra of a mischievous rascal within the Twenties and ‘30s, thrown into completely different costumes and roles because the story dictated. Quickly sufficient, Disney straightened him out and cleaned him as much as make the universally acknowledged mouse everyone knows, and that’s precisely what Nintendo did with Mario within the 2000s. Throughout Tremendous Mario Sunshine, Tremendous Mario Galaxy, and the New Tremendous Mario Bros. sequence, Mario’s proportions, mannerisms, voice, and perspective had been all standardized in his video games and promotional art work (with some exceptions, just like the stylized Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi sequence). Gone had been the cartoons, movie aspirations, and academic PC video games. Mario would seem completely on Nintendo {hardware}—a streak that went unbroken till 2016, when Tremendous Mario Run launched on iOS. From there, the gates started to slowly reopen, most notably when Nintendo partnered with Ubisoft for Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle.

Picture: Nintendo However even in Kingdom Battle, Mario ’s picture is fastidiously curated to be in keeping with Nintendo’s portrayal of the character (regardless of all of the gunplay). The animated Mario film and Marvel—which was arguably influenced considerably by the Illumination movie—plus Mario RPG, symbolize Nintendo at its most assured and daring. It’s prepared to take a danger on maybe probably the most recognizable online game character on the earth, trusting that regardless of his voice, top, or perspective, audiences will nonetheless know who he's. 2023 could change the best way we see Mario for years to return. Very similar to Mickey—who had an analogous character design overhaul and revival in an Emmy Award-winning sequence—the plumber nonetheless has lots of life in him. Right here’s to a weirder, wackier, wilder Mario in 2024. See Additionally Associated Video games Read the full article

[wastelesscrafts]

hi! first off i love your tutorials thank you so much!

i wanted to ask, do you have any advice on how to make seams that don't itch on the skin (for someone with sensory processing problems)? it's a problem for me. a lot of ways to sew things together or securing the edges of a fabric end up having bulky seams or lose edges on the inside that are potentially very itchy and uncomfortable for me. i've been interested in making one of those patchwork dresses but the seams are possibly a problem. the sewing community is often great at coming up with brilliant techniques so i figured i'd give it a shot :3

Itchy seams:

There are a few things you could try, so good on you for giving it a shot. :)

Inside-out seams:

Fun fact: seams don't necessarily need to sit on the inside of your garment.

Take a look at this picture: it shows three of my most worn dresses. Notice anything?

[ID: three tunic-style dresses hanging on hangers, each made of either jersey or a mix of jersey and woven cotton: a green one with pockets and three decorative buttons, a purple one with a pocket with a fake leather closure and two decorative buttons, and a dark gray one with a black and gray polkadot print, two decorative buttons and a patch of black lace at the top. All three have waist ties and a design that incorporates inside-out seams.]

They're not turned inside-out! They were designed in such a way that the seams sit on the outside.

People sometimes say fashion has rules. Sure: when it comes to construction there's a few things to keep in mind so you don't end up with something you physically can't wear. But design-wise? Those "rules" are guidelines, not laws! You can be as creative as you want, even if what you're making breaks conventions.

Having seams on the outside of your garment is fine. Be creative, and try to come up with designs that complement this style. As long as you finish them properly, it won't effect the garment's strength: I've had these dresses for about 15 years now.

Flat-felled seams:

There are many ways to finish off a seam, but one that might be of particular interest to you is the flat-felled seam. If you're wearing jeans right now, there's a fair chance you've got some on your pants.

(Image source) [ID: close-up of a flat-felled seam in green fabric with white thread. Text: "Flat fell seam. Sewguide.com".]

This technique doesn't leave a bulky seam because the edges of your fabric are folded into each other, then sewn flat.

Check out this flat-felled seam tutorial by Lockstitch & Two Smoking Needles to learn how it's done, or this video tutorial by Notches Sewing.

If you like historical fashion, take a look at this video by Bernadette Banner who shows a hand-sewn variant of this seam.

(Image source) [ID: diagram showing how to sew a flat-felled seam. Two edges are folded into each other and secured with two rows of sewing.]

(Image source) [ID: close-up of two edges of denim fabric being folded into each other.]

(Image source) [ID: close-up of a flat-felled seam in gray denim with orange stitching.]

Flat-felling can be used in patchwork, as Warm Folk demonstrates in this article about a bojagi-inspired flat-felled seam. (Bojagi being a type of Korean wrapping cloth.)

(Image source) [ID: a silk bojagi with a geometric pattern consisting out of blue, white, and brown rectangles made by Youngmin Lee.]

Conclusion:

The fun thing about sewing your own clothes is that you get to decide every little aspect of your garment. This is especially great if you have sensory sensitivities because that means you can avoid the pitfalls that make finding new clothes difficult for you.

These are just two ideas to deal with the sensory issues that seams may cause for some. Feel free to add your own ideas!

[purplenoiseinmyhead]

Korra’s shirt is definitely a bodysuit 🩱👀

So as I said on other posts, I’m writing a longfic and that’s why I’m making all this research paying attention to the minimum detail...

(➡️ That's the reason for all the posts I'm publishing these days.)

And when I started to think about Korra’s outfit (you must know in Mature Fanfics what we all writers do...), I noticed that Korra’s shirt isn’t precisely just a conventional shirt.

Maybe I didn’t discover anything new!! 🤣 Anyway, I wanted to leave this post for all of you here.

🔎 How do I know that it must be a bodysuit instead of a normal shirt? 👀

I have several reasons to think this:

When you see her from behind you can see her shoulder blades are very defined. Same happens with her collarbones. Also in very few scenes you can almost tell the fabric dips a little into her belly button:

All these details could tell us the shirt isn't just made of cotton. It has necessary to be composed as well with some elastic fabric. Plain cotton sometimes erases the lines of your body. This doesn't happen on Korra's shirt.

❓ BUT, now we should ask ourselves:

"How it is possible that she wears an elastic shirt that fits her so tight and NEVER rolls up to her navel??"

We have never seen the skin of her stomach when she's wearing this outfit. And, you know, Korra fights and moves like A LOT. So it is impossible that this shirt is never shown rolled up a single inch.

You can say: "Well maybe this shirt is so long she hides the end of the fabric inside her pants".

🤔 Really? I don't think she could have fought with Zaheer so agressively and the shirt stayed in its place just fine.

It stayed even when the rest of her outfit was a completely mess and she had her pants loosen. Look at these pictures:

And how it closes up? How stays put? It probably has one clasp like this (harder than her muscles...):

🆕 How about the new outfit?

It’s the same design. Even when you could tell she has lost body weight due to physical inactivity, the suit still fits her tight. It's just a darker blue version of the previous outfit.

By the way, in case you didn't know, the top half of the new outfit it's the same she used on Book 2:

-

It's funny. After analysing this topic it came to my mind the idea of a Korra needing so hard to pee and she and Asami were alone on the desert... or some place like this:

And I can imagine her asking Asami for help:

K: "Asami please cover me, I need to pee"

After a while covering her, Asami asked:

A: "Wtf is taking so long Korra?" K: "I need to open up this clasps but they are really hard. Can you help me?"

Hahaha and Asami already had a super crush on her. Imagine our poor Asami fighting so hard with her feelings.

Asami's bisexual disaster moment: "I didn't tell my best friend the little detail that I'm bisexual and I have a crush on her..."

Ps. Nah, at that moment she wasn't completely aware of her feelings towards Korra (I think).

---

EDIT: Asami to Korra after those three years..... ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭

[GIF: Ronit & Esti from the movie Disobedience]

[ceruleanchillin]

Honeymoon Headcanons: Mayans Edition

Characters: Angel, Coco, EZ x F!Reader

Miami (Angel)

It wasn’t difficult at all to decide where the two of you would take your honeymoon. When you weren’t gonna be naked, Angel wanted you in sundresses and bikinis. You wanted him in linen shirts, and to feel him up in a club. Couple that with you both wanting a tropical environment, and Miami it is.

Angel letting you handle the accommodations, because you seem to know more about what you wanna see/where you wanna go than he does. He only cares about a bed and shower for when he’s not taking you in the inappropriate places. He just hands over the cash, though he complains about his hurt wallet.

Angel hard as a rock when he sees your new name on your plane ticket.

The two of you nearly missing your flight because your husband needs to “show his wife he loves her”.

You babying him on the flight, because Angel has never flown anywhere before.

“Mami, it’s perfectly valid to feel like a flying toaster can’t safely get you anywhere but a casket. Which they can’t even put you in, because you’ll be everywhere!”

Cue you distracting him with kisses and dirty words in his ear, which gets you initiated into the Mile High Club

Barely making it into the cute little condo before the two of you are at it again, collapsing in the late hours to jet lag and mutual satisfaction.

Your first official day is spent dragging Angel around the humid streets. Knowing he stresses easily if you plan things too tightly, and wanting to wing it yourself. It’s surprising how well you to fit in, it almost feels like home.

Angel switching from being jealous, because your tiny cotton sundress is attracting more than just his attention, to him kissing all over your dewy skin because so much of it is visible.

You getting as jealous as Angel, because it seems like each place you drag him to has openly interested ladies. It’s the white linen shirt that he won’t fully button no matter how many times you try to make him.

Angel basking in the attention, and even playing it up to force you to be the one to initiate inappropriate public sex.

Smirking when you break after a woman pays for his (and unintentionally yours) order at a small cafe you stepped into and you snap and drag him to a hidden place.

“I only love you querida, mi alma.” he whispers in your ear when he bottoms out inside you.

You two are a beautiful couple. Photogenic as all hell. Alone, neither of you have a problem attracting interest, but together, you make people want to be seen around you. That’s why you have no problem club hopping to all the exclusive places.

Angel taking photos and videos of you dancing because he’s so enthralled. He can’t wait to show your kids one day when they ask why he fell for you, and he explains how full of life you are.

Getting enough liquor in Angel to get him dance somewhere away from the club, especially since he (lies) and says he can’t.

You and Angel competing to see who can get the most people to buy your drinks + the two of you losing track because you both get drunk.

A quickie in the coatroom is the prize, Angel fucking you to the hypnotic beat.

Spending a few hours apart the following day, only to still keep texting and FaceTiming each other until you met up, touch starved, at a small restaurant.

Deciding to spend the rest of the day at your Airbnb laid up under each other after Angel scores weed. Teasing Angel about his monetary complaints when you spend all night enjoying the small backyard pool.

Angel thanking God for getting an adventure loving woman as his soulmate when you wake him up the next afternoon to inform him you rented jet skis for the day.

You being impressed when, while jet skiing, Angel silver tongues your way into an invitation to a nearby yacht party out of the host.

FaceTiming Gilly to make him jealous that you two are doing Hookah and drinking Casamigos in a hot tub.

Angel ramping up the mockery when EZ and Coco appear on screen, attracted by Gilly’s whining. Everyone looking overworked and salty, while you and Angel are living your best non-sober lives.

Slipping away from the party to one of the rooms on the boat, because once again, you and Angel never know when to stop teasing each other before it ends up in sex.

Feeling bold enough to suggest that since Angel’s been documenting so much of the trip, that maybe he should film this too.

The aftermath being a surprisingly sweet series of kisses and confessions where the two of you express how thankful you are to have found each other. How you can’t wait to build a forever together.

Marfa + Roswell (Coco)

No one knew how you got Coco to agree to travel for your honeymoon until you finally revealed where you were going. Splitting a week between Marfa and Roswell.

You and Coco are that “weird” conspiracy, incense, and weed couple, so it makes sense.

Giving Coco an edible before you leave, because like Angel, he doesn’t fuck with air travel like that.

“They got me with that bullshit in the military, but that was out of my control. You askin’ a lot right now, you’re lucky you’re cute mujer.”

Coco getting progressively handsy during the flight as the edible hits. Eventually, you stop fake-fighting his neck kisses and forward touches.

Also like Angel in that he’s unafraid to become a member of the Mile High Club.

The ride from the El Paso airport, to the car rental place, to Marfa takes far longer than Coco would like.

He’s used to long stretches of trip on his bike, and when you notice him becoming antsy, you distract him with interesting facts about Marfa.

The entire time, Coco can’t help but think that you’re the perfect road trip co-pilot, only to realize he actually meant his life in general now.

Coco proud as hell when you fall in love with his accommodations choice like he did. The colorful airstream trailers of the El Cosmico hotel are the two of you through and through.

You both trying to be responsible adults and refresh after travel, but continuing to get lost in each other during the whole process.

Shower sex -> Making out while drying off -> Touching while searching through your bags for something to wear -> bed sex -> repeat

Looking thoroughly mauled when you finally manage to get Coco off of you and into the car in search of food the next afternoon.

Coco being happy you can’t cover up due to the heat, while you wonder what superpower he and his boys have that let them wear flannel and long sleeves in the heat.

Dragging Coco to a cute cafe you saw on instagram, and him knowing, by the hipster design of it, that his wallet is about to cry.

Stealing food from his plate, and laughing at him sucking his teeth and whining when he catches you.

“You’re stuck with me forever now Johnny sooo….get used to this.”

“Small price to pay for that I guess.”

Finding small shops to go to and being Siamese twins in every one. Coco showing he has good taste in a lot of things one might think he wouldn’t. Him opening up his wallet at everything you 'ooh' and 'aww' at. He can’t help it, he likes you happy, and your kisses and adoring looks are addicting.

For almost everything you get, Letty gets something too. Neither of you wants that tantrum when you get back.

You fighting yourself to avoid the art supply store, and Coco not having it.

“I have so many supplies already, it’s an addiction at this point.”

“So? Get some more. It’s our week, we shouldn’t stress about shit.”

Coco bragging on your talents and successes to the art shop cashier when you checkout.

“Cocoooo.” you murmur hiding your face in his shoulder, arms around his waist.

“Don’t be shy ma, you’re fucking amazing. I love your skills.”

Cue the cashier swooning at the two of you.

Finding unique liquor stores and getting tipsy on samples. It becomes twice as fun when locals, and other tourists alike, start discussing the Marfa lights with you, and you and Coco impress everyone with your ideas.

Being invited to a bonfire smoke session with the other El Cosmico guests when you get back.

Sketching Coco by the firelight, because he’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen in that moment, and now he’s officially yours.

The sex being on another level of intimate that night, because all day you and Coco have been engaging in your respective love languages, and it culminates in mutual need for each other.

The drive to Roswell being more tolerable for Coco, but he still misses his bike. Your excitement about AlienFest is so palpable however, he quickly forgets.

Your hotel being more conventional, but the people you meet making up for it. Finally, you and Coco aren’t the weirdest ones in the room.

Taking the time before the festival starts to check in with friends and family and accumulate odd souvenirs for them. You believe Coco is intentionally getting them stuff they’ll hate.

“Taza won’t wear that baby, he has better taste in jewelry than UFO earrings.”

“Ok, but can he bitch about us not getting him anything? Plus, you can guilt anyone into anything.”

Doing cute edible pastries at the festival.

“You know Aliens are demons right? Jack Parsons and L. Ron Hubbard were doing summoning rituals in the Mojave in 1946, and Roswell was the following year.”

“Word?…Shit. Tell me that again when we’re not rolling. I wanna read about it………you’re so smart mami.”

Coco realizing between every snack stop, every dance he shares with you, every trinket you pick up, and every little conspiracy tidbit you share, that you’re his wife now. That the peace he’s been feeling all week, that he thought he’d never have, is going to be his new normal.

New Orleans (EZ)

You and EZ both enjoy engaging with history and culture, and felt that your honeymoon should be built off of your shared interests. During your meticulous wedding planning, it was decided New Orleans would be the honeymoon destination. It didn’t hurt that you missed your southern roots too, even if you weren’t from New Orleans.

Traveling with EZ is a dream considering you’re both pretty organized, together people. He’s not afraid of flying, but you’re always a little nervous.

EZ being Best Husband™️ and soothing even the most minor of your stresses by turning your attention to the excitement of your trip and your new relationship status.

Teasing EZ in-flight won’t get you Mile High Club initiated, because he finds it much more entertaining to punish you by letting you work the both of you up, and making you stay that way for the duration of the flight. He’s got enough will power to suffer through it, because your soft whines make it worth it.

The airbnb is everything it was promised to be, and you’d appreciate that later, but all you can think of is your husband when you step through the door. That’s the other half of why EZ likes to leave you waiting. Your aggression and exclusive desire for him gets, and keeps, him hard.

It rains the following day, which is just as well, because neither of you are quite ready to stop physically expressing your love for each other. The day consists of ordering food, falling out of your clothes and onto each other, separating to read, falling back on each other, and quick naps.

Angel sending mocking texts in your Reyes group about how you’re trying to turn his brother bamma like you, only to stop when you threaten him with no souvenirs.

EZ and you taking responsibility for your own tour because let’s face it, you both know exactly what you want to see, and can plan a more satisfying tour for the both of you. You take turns deciding where to go next.

When it’s his turn, EZ picks an art museum, and can’t quit smiling about it. You think it’s because he picked a place he really wanted to go to.

“Babe, I have a surprise for you.”

“What?” your excitement always makes EZ’s heart race with his own.

He hands you the guide brochure he picked up at the door, folded to the section he wants you to look at.

“Faith Ringgold exhibit?!”

He hums and nods, grunting when you knock into him with a hug.

“Thank you for thinking of me. I love you.” you look up at him, eyes shining with unshed tears and he just kisses you, afraid he’ll cry if he says anything.

The two of you avoid the tourist trap spots for lunch and find a cute family owned cafe. You order for the both of you based on what you know about southern cuisine and both of your tastes.

You love watching EZ fall in love with the food as he keeps asking “Can you make this?” about everything he eats.

The two of you walking through the Garden District in the evening. Hands swinging between you with no plans but to admire the beautiful homes and foliage.

EZ noting how awestruck you are, and you describing what you love about the historic, towering homes.

He catches that when you describe what your dream home in the area would be, he and your future children are mentioned frequently, and it makes butterflies dance in his stomach. He can picture your family in the yards around him.

The two of you almost make it back to your Airbnb, but give into your baser urges after all the domestic conversation. EZ pulls you into an alley for a quickie, the two of you fighting to silence the other’s vocal expression.

You teasing EZ after that he’s more like his brother than he thinks. Him teasing back the two of you would’ve been caught and arrested if he was like Angel.

The following day is relaxed and less planned. The both of you getting thoughtful gifts for each member of your family, blood and otherwise. EZ scores major points for the gifts he suggests for your mom and dad, and you kind of want to jump him again.

EZ is glad you’re impressed, but it’s nothing to him. It all comes naturally because he loves you so much, and refuses to be anything other than the husband he knows you deserve.

AN:

I didn’t want to add this, cuz I wanted to end on a sweet note, but you just know Angel would accidentally send that vid to one of his boys.

Personally, I lose it for shit like this. Anything domestic in writings is my jam, so I decided to make these headcanons.

- Fun fact: Jet Ski is kind of like Bandaid in that it’s become the generic term for “personal water vehicles”, but it’s actually a specific brand’s name for their PWVs. I learned this while writing this enjoy💀.

[skyllion-uwu]

Finally made one of those Carrd things here: https://skyllion.carrd.co/

PFP from here

Title is my current vocal stim

Extra Tumblr-exclusive things:

@sky-kinz (Webkinz blog)

@blakeworther (Dinoverse blog)

@skyllion-oc-archive (OC blog)

@sprinkle-stardust (Bailey's blog) This is a blog for my OC, Bailey! It takes place a couple years before the second half of Round and Round We Go, meaning she's about 15, doesn't know about the timeloops, and only knows Jaxon, Robin, Holmes, and Adrienne. She can't see any meta things, such as my OC blog or any tags I make about her, and she thinks Tumblr is broken because she doesn't see a follow button for anyone's blog. Feel free to ask her questions and stuff!

@mx-mind (post limit alt; follows, likes, comments from @skyllion-owo)

@skyllion-fashion-inspo (fashion stuff I save for character stuff like my OCs and my designs of Batman characters)

NSFW blog (18+ mutuals may message me for the name, minors and non mutuals please don't ask me for it. Mostly just me rambling about stuff I feel like I can't post on my main)

Tags I use under the cut

-I make a lot of commentary. If you want to, feel free to screenshot them and rb as it's own thing. I just ask you add an image description to it, either with one under the screenshot or as alt text

-I do trigger/content warnings as "#tw [thing]". Will tag suggestive content as "#suggestive" and explicit content as "#nsft" (I do not post porn).

-AI generated art (NeuralBlender, Dall E Mini, etc) goes under "ai generated". I don't tag informational posts on it that include examples since that's important

-Reblog for thing to happen goes under "superstitious post" and "rb bait". I ACCIDENTALLY TAGGED OLD ONES AS "SUSPICIOUS POST" SO BLOCK THAT TOO JUST IN CASE

-Fake news usually has an explanation in the tags that it's not real. Joking misinformation is tagged "joking misinfo". I use "tw unreality" on general stuff like something isn't real. Lemme know if I need to expand it to include more things!

-Things that are mentioned don't have a tw before it (for example, "suicide mention" is the most common example).

-suggestive vs. nsfw mention vs nsft: suggestive insinuates something NSFW. nsfw mention says something in passing. NSFT goes in detail.

-"#artistic nudity" is for pics with nudity that aren't sexual

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-"#skys doodly doodles" are low effort doodles I feel don't warrant the art tag

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-"#skyllion ocs" are original posts about my OCs!!

-Speaking of OCs, I love the Blorbos from My Brain! Thus, I'll sometimes tag stuff with these names: Jaxon, Robin, Holmes, Charles/Chuck, Bailey, Adrienne, Etienne, Shiko, Neil, Katsumi/Ryousei (formerly named Kami, so older posts will have that), Alina, Junko, Seoyeon/Trixy, Hasedonia, The Sun King (might be tagged Julius), Evanthe, Pyrite, Ophelia, Lila, Horace, Aiden, Betty Cassie, Talia, Willow, Andrew (name pending), Hunter (name pending), Eden, Mark, and Sky (written as "Sky (sona)"; they're a self insert version of myself in my stories). Fan OCs are less commonly tagged but they're Dahlia (Dinoverse OC), Nettle (Flower Kid from Smile for Me), Bee Batson (AU version of Billy Batson/Shazam), and Nova Armstrong or The Black Hole (DC/Batman OC). Feel free to ask about said OCs because I feel awkward randomly talking without people asking

-"#references" are just useful things/stuff I want to save. I'll tag things that don't apply to me but may be useful to others with this too; feel free to go through and rb what you need/want

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-"#save for mom/my sister" is what it says on the tin. No need to worry much about this one but you get a glimpse into my offline life

-"#lorenzocore" or something involving Lorenzo is an inside joke OC with me and my sister. He loves soup and that's all you need to know. It's soup stuff

-Anything referring to Kokomo is a reference to another joke OC. We don't speak of that evil demon. His lore is very complicated and too much for a simple intro post

[nevertheless-moving]

Suicidal Misunderstanding IX

Star Wars Time Travel AU #27

Part I - - - - - Part II - - - - - Part III - - - - - Part IV  - - - Part V - - - - - Part VI - - - - - Part VII - - - - - Part VIII

Content Warning: This chapter contains potentially triggering material, particularly aftermath of attempted suicide as well as discussions of bodily injury.

Cody woke up the morning after the...drunken keldabe still feeling uneasy. He spent half an hour attempting to read over reports in preparation for the Umbaran campaign before giving it up as a lost cause. He distracted himself for a little while by pouring over last night’s cantina surveillance, before giving up on that as well and sending a message to General Skywalker.

‘Any updates on General Kenobi’s status?’

He watched the comms as communications from everyone besides the General trickled in. He answered a few requests for requisitions, forwarded some medical reports, and ignored an irritating handful of overly-personal questions. 

Agonizing over it the whole time, he opened a comm-text link to Obi-Wan. It took nearly an hour, but he managed to send two sentences. ‘Hope you’re recovering well. Look forward to upcoming mission discussion.’

He immediately wanted to retroactively delete the message, mortified by every word and deeply concerned at every second that passed without a reply.

He spent the next 30 minutes hunched over, quickly closing every incoming CT and CC communication, justifying the time to himself as ‘technically on leave.’

He lurched forward when he finally received a General’s comm code, but slumped in disappointment when it was Skywalker, not Kenobi.

‘Not as drunk but still seems a little high. He says he wasn’t drugged. He’s taking the rest of the day off. I’m monitoring.’

Taking the rest of the day off. Did that mean he wasn’t carrying around his comm? Kriff. Should he more or less concerned that the general was actually taking a day off?

He decided to be more concerned.

‘Thank you for the update. Respectfully request information on any changes.’

Hopefully that would encourage Skywalker to keep him informed even if he stopped freaking out over his vod’s behavior.

Stowing the remote comm, he stood up and exited the temporary planet-side office, throwing himself into cleaning up the mess that was nearly 20,000 clone troopers simultaneously attempting to get the most out of a very brief R&R. 

Shortly before mid-day, he received another update from Skywalker.

‘Just managed to get him to medical. Healer cleared him of drug interactions but Obi-Wan’s still acting strange (not crying, but a lot of hugging).’

Cody stared at that for a long while.

‘Any other verbal indications of upcoming danger?’ he finally asked. Skywalker didn’t reply. 

Shortly after nightfall, his incident reports were interrupted by a call from an unknown temple number. He quickly opened it, and a holo of an unfamiliar Mon Calamari female healer appeared in miniature on the desk.

“Commander Cody. Thank you for answering so quickly. Are you somewhere private?” she asked, voice deliberately neutral.

The Commander tensed up. “Yes, sir. I’m in CC office space, alone. The room and the channel are both secure. Is this regarding General Kenobi?”

“Yes.” She replied. “My name is Master Bant Eerin; I’m a temple healer as well as a personal friend of Obi-Wan’s. He’s...he’s in the healing halls right now. We’re still trying to understand exactly what happened- I’ll tell you what I can but first we need to rule out any possible drugs he may have contact with. I need you to describe in detail anything he may have been exposed to that could have possibly had mind-altering effects.”

The Commander was a professional. He swallowed back his fear, his questions, and his demands to know what was going on.

“Of course. Everything on the Negotiator was GAR Standard, and I was with him when we left the ship. We went directly to the lower levels. The first time he was exposed to anyone outside the 212th was when we left our transport on level 3915. I...actually have footage of him the whole time night after that point. I’m sending it over right now, sir.”

“That would be extremely helpful, thank you.” He watched as she pulled it up on a second comm, sound barely audible. 

He continued with his report: “One of the boys took it without permission. He didn’t mean anything by it, he’s just an idiot; I’ve already issued a severe reprimand. In any case, he brought it to me after I issued surveillance on the cantina, it tracks everything the General did- as far as I can tell, he had a glass of house grub wine, two shots of rancor blood, and an unnamed mixed cocktail ‘on the house.’ You can see everything the bartender added- as far as I can tell nothing was slipped in. He just... blacked out suddenly after the fourth drink, and quickly startled awake, confused by his surroundings.”

“I see.” Her tone was still carefully neutral and Cody didn’t know how to read her expression. He waited, wishing he was wearing his bucket so he didn’t have to keep schooling his face into professional patience.

“You brought him back to the temple...correct?” 

“Yes, sir.”

She let out a deep breath, gills fluttering slightly. “We’ll probably have more questions later, but please understand our inquires are entirely based around determining how we can best help Obi-Wan. This call and any future ones are not intended, and should absolutely not be interpreted, as indications of blame. He’s actually spoken to me about you before, I know he has the deepest respect for you, personally and professionally. Someone will likely be assigned to talk to everyone whose spent time with him recently, including myself.”

The sick feeling in his gut from last night returned full force. “I...believe I understand sir. His condition is serious, then?”

Her gills fluttered again.

“Even now, I think we can safely anticipate a full physical recovery. He...there’s no easy way to say this...it appears he attempted to end his own life. Knight Skywalker got to him just in time, and he received bacta within minutes of the initial burn. I...like I said...we’ll began work to figure out why-”

Her voice broke and she stared up, large tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. She hastily wiped them away.

“Rest assured commander, he’s getting the best treatment possible. Thank you for your assistance. I’ll do my best to answer any questions you might have right now. This is my personal comm link- please feel free to reach out to me at any point for updates.”

“I-” Cody cleared his throat. “Can I come to the temple? To...” he trailed off, not sure how to finish.

“Not tonight, I’m sorry. The healers need to focus; he’s not allowed any visitors until he’s out of Bacta, I’m afraid.”

“Skywalker must be throwing a fit at that” Cody remarked numbly.

The healer winced. “Knight Skywalker is currently sedated. He was...injured in the struggle to keep Obi-Wan from further harm. Master Windu witnessed part of it, but we’ll have to wait until its safe to wake him to get the full story. I’ll be notifying Captain Rex of the situation after we finish speaking.”

“I’ll do it.” Cody offered immediately. “Tell me what happened.”

Eerin hesitated. 

“Please, Sir. It will be better coming from me and...if he’s the only other trooper who’s being informed at the moment...”

“Of course,” she said quietly. “We don’t know the full circumstances, but at some point in performing emergency care for Master Kenobi, Knight Skywalker was stabbed in the lower abdomen with a vibroblade. It pierced his large intestine. The blade was pulled out shortly before healers arrived, causing some further damage and blood loss. He’s already finished surgery, and should only need a few hours of Bacta at most. Considering his extraordinary past recovery rates, he’ll likely be out of bed tomorrow and fully healed by the end of the week.”

“General Kenobi wouldn’t...” Cody trailed off again. He was having a hard time putting coherent sentences together.

Bant looked at the ceiling for a moment, seeming to collect her thoughts.

“Psychosis can have many manifestations. Even with- with conventional injuries, people can mistake help for harm. There’s just too much we don’t understand, and only so much we can learn before they wake up. Are you certain you wish to be the one to inform Captain Rex?”

“Yes.” That was about the only thing the Commander was certain of right now. “Is there anyone else in the GAR I should inform of...anything?”

“The military aspect of this isn’t my area of expertise. If there’s someone you trust who can be a support for you, I don’t see why you shouldn’t be able to tell them in confidence. Some form of what happened is going to get out eventually.” she replied. “Please use your discretion, I suppose. It’s...not really my speciality but I imagine you’ll receive further orders on how much to release to the GAR once Obi-Wan’s stable.”

Right. Discretion. Because Obi-Wan wasn’t just Obi-Wan- he was a high general in charge of nearly 1/3 of the republic’s forces. If word of this got out to the wrong ears it would cause mass panic, maybe even an emboldened separatist advance. It was an insane amount of responsibility for one person, no wonder - he deliberately didn’t finish the thought.

“I’ll comm the Captain immediately. Thank you for the information, General.” he said out loud.

“Feel free to contact me for further updates, and tell Captain Rex he’s welcome to do the same. I’ll message you when its clear to visit the halls.”

“Yes, Sir.” Cody responded, saluting automatically. 

“Take care of yourself, Commander Cody”

The hologram blinked out. Cody sat motionless for several long moment before sweeping his desk off, sending the assorted flimsies and redundant comm-units of various designations to the ground.

He stared at the empty desk, then tapped a button on his wrist comm, opening a private audio channel. “CT-7567, please come in” he said calmly.

“Cody?” came the alarmed reply. “I’m here, what’s going on?” Why did he sound so panicked? He had deliberately used his calmest voice. Oh well.

“Please report immediately to CC Office 12 in Guard Headquarters”

“I’ll be there in 10″

Cody hung up. He stared at the blank wall. He knew something was wrong with how the General said goodbye.

He opened the single desk drawer and dumped the odd wires and coins inside to the floor. Eerin had said burn. That could mean a lot of things, but lightsaber was the most likely. 

Cody puked profusely into the empty drawer. He stared at the vomit for a moment before carefully closing the drawer. He still felt a little sick. He hadn’t even said anything back to the General, he just stood there, frozen. 

He stared vaguely at the wall across, wondering if he was going to puke again.

Rex burst into the room. “Cody! What’s going on?! You- kark, what is that smell?”

“I puked in the desk drawer” Cody explained.

Rex shut the door behind him and slowly walked over. He knelt down next to the desk, gently taking Cody’s hands in this own. “Cody. Vod. Talk to to me.” 

“Obi-Wan tried to kill himself.”

Rex’s hands tightened over Cody’s compulsively and Cody squeezed back harder. He closed his eyes so he wouldn’t have to look at Rex’s expression.

“Some of ghost company went out for drinks last night. Obi-Wan started acted oddly. We flew towards the temple. He started crying. We got to the temple. He Keldabe kissed me. He told me goodbye. I didn’t say anything back.”

“Oh, vod” Rex whispered. He gently pulled the slack Cody off the chair and onto his lap on the floor. Cody continued mechanically. “I did reports today. Skywalker said he was with him. I left Obi-Wan a message. I don’t think he saw it. He tried to kill himself. Skywalker must have left him alone. He saved him. Obi-Wan stabbed Skywalker.”

Rex froze, still holding on to Cody. 

“The healer called. Asked about drugs. They don’t think its drugs but they had to ask. She said they’re both going to heal completely fine. I have a link if you want to call the healer directly. That’s...it. I have reports to do now.”

Rex held Cody tighter. “Not right now”

“It’s war. People get hurt. People die. I have work to do”

“Not right now,” Rex repeated. “You have the right to be upset. You have the right to grieve. You’re a person, of course you have feelings.”

“Obi-Wan said that.” Cody whispered. Then he started crying. He continued to quietly sob for some time, hurt and bewildered and scared. They sat on the floor together; Rex barely moved, simply held on to his older brother as he fell apart.

Inevitably, Cody’s tears dried up and he pulled away. 

“I don’t know how to clean this,” he said gesturing at that closed drawer. 

“I’ll take care of it. Let’s just get you to bed. There’s CC bunks here, right? 

“Yes but...”

Cody didn’t really like sleeping so isolated, but he also couldn’t imagine facing the 212th right now. 

“I’ll stay here with you. We’ll go to the temple together in the morning.”

Rex shepherded Cody to the fresher. He stared at the mirror with a vague sense of recognition before automatically moving through a standard sanitation routine. By the time he finished, Rex had joined him in his room.

“What did you do with the vomit?” Cody asked, suddenly exhausted. They slipped into bed together.

“Swapped the whole desk with Pond’s. That bastard knows what he did.”

Cody let out a snort. Then, much to his surprise, he sank heavily into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Part X

[47gaslamps]

So, due to a revival of interest I was just looking through my long-abandoned crossover project, Mr. Benedict Goes to Winchester. It got way bogged down in my apparent need to develop the entire population of the orphanage and I thus can't go back to it, but I still have to give you the parts I've written out concerning the sequence where Milligan joins the Yotsuba-era task force, because they are fire.

Part 1 of 3

"And the policy for outside communications?"

"Don't make them," said L flatly.

"Why on earth do you believe I am qualified?" said Milligan, his voice extremely mild.

"Please don't pretend modesty." L plopped another cherry cordial on his tongue.

"Think of me as your sounding board," said Milligan, now sounding positively blithe.

L subsumed the cordial into his cheek with an annoyed look. "Oh, very well. The disposal of that novel explosive in the bedpost, the design of the subterranean passage and maze, the escape from Nomansan Island without benefit of long-term memory -- oh, that reminds me, there is a small matter of neurology in which I may ask your expertise..."

"You are familiar with my background, then," said Milligan, with such aggressive good cheer that L swallowed his chocolate in alarm. "Then you will understand that, from my daughter's point of view, I cannot accept any position which involves falling off the face of the earth without a word. I'm sure we can come to some accommodation which preserves the security of the investigation, but if I am mistaken, I'll just see myself out."

L reached out to pluck the next chocolate, then stopped midway, sighed, and pushed the console button for Watari.

‐-----

Milligan sighed at the click in the door. A more conventional approach than the rafters or the window, but he had long since tired of Wedy incessantly proving to Aiber and himself that she could barge into their quarters at all hours and taken strong steps to thwart it.

"Mr. Milligan."

It was not Wedy in the doorway, but L.

It took a further fraction of a second to process that it was only L.

"Ryuzaki," said Milligan. "I notice you are..." He gestured in the general direction of his right wrist. "Unencumbered."

L pulled a face. "Yes, that. Better to explain later."

"No need to explain overmuch when one has been patently ridiculous," said Milligan cheerfully.

"Be that as it may." L raised a long finger, as in warning. "Mr. Milligan, Watari reports that your phone call of eight minutes ago contained details potentially identifiable by the recipient."

Milligan grinned, a bit sheepishly. "A rooster's entitled to crow a little at the break of dawn, don't you agree?"

L tucked his hands into his pockets, and his stare was wearier than Milligan had ever seen it. "You will allow me to judge the nature of the light on the horizon, Mr. Milligan."

A fair point, as it pertained to the chain of command. It was not such a fair point insofar as Milligan had personally introduced Kira's face to the studio floor not three hours ago, but the truth still was that he had forgotten himself. "Terribly sorry, then. May I belatedly ask your assessment?"

"There are several points, few of which seem adequately conveyable at the moment, but to put it as succinctly as possible: Kyosuke Higuchi died in custody while en route to headquarters."

"Ah." Milligan did not particularly need to guess at the cause of death, and he sorely wished he had not hinted at an imminent homecoming. "What should I do?"

"Nothing, unfortunately," said L petulantly. "Whatever damage there may be, is done already."

Milligan frowned. "And you say Watari heard every word. Why would he not cut the call short?"

L gave a vague facsimile of a smile. "Watari has his own ideas of damage control." He turned on his heel. "But I won't allow you to leave such matters to chance in future."

And with a stiff-armed wave of his hand he walked out of sight, leaving Milligan to close the door.

[nerdyqueerandjewish]

I follow historian Heather Cox Richardson on facebook and every day she does a write up about political history - I found yesterday’s on abortion and the anti-abortion movement really interesting

September 2, 2021 (Thursday)

In the light of day today, the political fallout from Texas’s anti-abortion S.B. 8 law and the Supreme Court’s acceptance of that law continues to become clear.

By 1:00 this afternoon, the Fox News Channel had mentioned the decision only in a 20-second news brief in the 5 am hour. In political terms, it seems the dog has caught the car.

As I’ve said repeatedly, most Americans agree on most issues, even the hot button ones like abortion. A Gallup poll from June examining the issue of abortion concluded that only 32% of Americans wanted the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision overturned, while 58% of Americans opposed overturning it.

"’Overturning Roe v. Wade,’" Lydia Saad of Gallup wrote, “is a shorthand way of saying the Supreme Court could decide abortion is not a constitutional right after all, thus giving control of abortion laws back to the states. This does not sit well with a majority of Americans or even a large subset of Republicans. Not only do Americans oppose overturning Roe in principle, but they oppose laws limiting abortion in early stages of pregnancy that would have the same practical effect.”

While it is hard to remember today, the modern-day opposition to abortion had its roots not in a moral defense of life but rather in the need for President Richard Nixon to win votes before the 1972 election. Pushing the idea that abortion was a central issue of American life was about rejecting the equal protection of the laws embraced by the Democrats far more than it was ever about using the government to protect fetuses.

Abortion had been a part of American life since its inception, but states began to criminalize abortion in the 1870s. By 1960, an observer estimated that there were between 200,000 and 1.2 million illegal U.S. abortions a year, endangering women, primarily poor ones who could not afford a workaround.

To stem this public health crisis, doctors wanted to decriminalize abortion and keep it between a woman and her doctor. In the 1960s, states began to decriminalize abortion on this medical model, and support for abortion rights grew.

The rising women's movement wanted women to have control over their lives. Its leaders were latecomers to the reproductive rights movement, but they came to see reproductive rights as key to self-determination. In 1969, activist Betty Friedan told a medical abortion meeting: “[M]y only claim to be here, is our belated recognition, if you will, that there is no freedom, no equality, no full human dignity and personhood possible for women until we assert and demand the control over our own bodies, over our own reproductive process….”

In 1971, even the evangelical Southern Baptist Convention agreed that abortion should be legal in some cases, and vowed to work for modernization. Their convention that year reiterated its “belief that society has a responsibility to affirm through the laws of the state a high view of the sanctity of human life, including fetal life, in order to protect those who cannot protect themselves” but also called on “Southern Baptists to work for legislation that will allow the possibility of abortion under such conditions as rape, incest, clear evidence of severe fetal deformity, and carefully ascertained evidence of the likelihood of damage to the emotional, mental, and physical health of the mother.”

By 1972, Gallup pollsters reported that 64% of Americans agreed that abortion was between a woman and her doctor. Sixty-eight percent of Republicans, who had always liked family planning, agreed, as did 59% of Democrats.

In keeping with that sentiment, in 1973, the Supreme Court, under Republican Chief Justice Warren Burger, in a decision written by Republican Harry Blackmun, decided Roe v. Wade, legalizing first-trimester abortion.

The common story is that Roe sparked a backlash. But legal scholars Linda Greenhouse and Reva Siegel found something interesting. In a 2011 article in the Yale Law Journal, they showed that opposition to the eventual Roe v. Wade decision began in 1972—the year before the decision—and that it was a deliberate attempt to polarize American politics.

In 1972, Nixon was up for reelection, and he and his people were paranoid that he would lose. His adviser Pat Buchanan was a Goldwater man who wanted to destroy the popular New Deal state that regulated the economy and protected social welfare and civil rights. To that end, he believed Democrats and traditional Republicans must be kept from power and Nixon must win reelection.

Catholics, who opposed abortion and believed that "the right of innocent human beings to life is sacred," tended to vote for Democratic candidates. Buchanan, who was a Catholic himself, urged Nixon to woo Catholic Democrats before the 1972 election over the issue of abortion. In 1970, Nixon had directed U.S. military hospitals to perform abortions regardless of state law; in 1971, using Catholic language, he reversed course to split the Democrats, citing his personal belief "in the sanctity of human life—including the life of the yet unborn.”

Although Nixon and Democratic nominee George McGovern had similar stances on abortion, Nixon and Buchanan defined McGovern as the candidate of "Acid, Amnesty, and Abortion," a radical framing designed to alienate traditionalists.

As Nixon split the U.S. in two to rally voters, his supporters used abortion to stand in for women's rights in general. Railing against the Equal Rights Amendment, in her first statement on abortion in 1972, activist Phyllis Schlafly did not talk about fetuses; she said: “Women’s lib is a total assault on the role of the American woman as wife and mother and on the family as the basic unit of society. Women’s libbers are trying to make wives and mothers unhappy with their career, make them feel that they are ‘second-class citizens’ and ‘abject slaves.’ Women’s libbers are promoting free sex instead of the ‘slavery’ of marriage. They are promoting Federal ‘day-care centers’ for babies instead of homes. They are promoting abortions instead of families.”

Traditional Republicans supported an activist government that regulated business and promoted social welfare, but radical right Movement Conservatives wanted to kill the active government. They attacked anyone who supported such a government as immoral. Abortion turned women's rights into murder.

Movement Conservatives preached traditional roles, and in 1974, the TV show Little House on the Prairie started its 9-year run, contributing, as historian Peggy O’Donnell has explored, to the image of white women as wives and mothers in the West protected by their menfolk. So-called prairie dresses became the rage in the 1970s.

This image was the female side of the cowboy individualism personified by Ronald Reagan. A man should control his own destiny and take care of his family unencumbered by government. Women should be wives and mothers in a nuclear family. In 1984, sociologist Kristin Luker discovered that "pro-life" activists believed that selfish "pro-choice" women were denigrating the roles of wife and mother. They wanted an active government to give them rights they didn't need or deserve.

By 1988, Rush Limbaugh, the voice of Movement Conservatism, who was virulently opposed to taxation and active government, demonized women's rights advocates as "Femi-nazis" for whom "the most important thing in life is ensuring that as many abortions as possible occur." The complicated issue of abortion had become a proxy for a way to denigrate the political opponents of the radicalizing Republican Party.

Such threats turned out Republican voters, especially the evangelical base. But support for safe and legal abortion has always been strong, as it remains today. Until yesterday, Republican politicians could pay lip service to opposing the Roe v. Wade decision to get anti-abortion voters to show up at the polls, without facing the political fallout of actually getting rid of the decision.

Now, though, Texas has effectively destroyed the right to legal abortion.

The fact that the Fox News Channel is not mentioning what should have been a landmark triumph of its viewers’ ideology suggests Republicans know that ending safe and legal abortion is deeply unpopular. Their base finally, after all these years, got what it wanted. But now the rest of the nation, which had been assured as recently as the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh that Roe v. Wade was settled law that would not be overturned, gets a chance to weigh in.