Day 24093 This is my house. I won’t allow anyone to harm it. There should have been no more intruders after the last one. I do not want these people here. They will leave-
Day 24095 They are siblings. They are loud. Always singing and talking and stomping. As if they must be louder than anything else.
Day 24106 There are bolts on the door now. Bolts and hideous, gaudy new locks. How dare they-
Night 24112 I was going to fill the night with terrors. But he woke up screaming before I began. She came running from the other room. They sleep right across the hall from each other, with the doors on a crack. …they are young, are they not, to be living on their own. Was I ever so young?
Day 24114 She has fixed the squeak in the door at the top of the stairs. It never squeaked when I still lived.
Day 24121 The noise of the doorbell scares them. But they get so many deliveries. It is a good bell. It has worked all these years- I can see one of the men coming now with his packages, trudging up to the door. …perhaps if I knock before he is here, they will come and look before he can sound the bell.
Day 24129 He is planting flowers in boxes on my windowsills. I always wished I could have some flowers.
Night 24137 She is afraid of the dark. I could see it in her eyes when she got out of bed. …I lit the lamps for her.
Day 24142 They have moved the couch to the sun spot a little to the right of the window. That is where I used to have my armchair. It is the only sensible place for it.
Day 24163 Sometimes the noises of the world are suddenly too much for him. He winces and tries not to sway his head. This is my house. …I can keep it calm and quiet for a while.
Day 24178 She just got a phone call and now they are both laughing. Laughter is a good sound, isn’t it. They said this house has been good luck…
Night 24205 They are singing in our kitchen. He found my cookbook in the gap at the back of the kitchen cabinet and now they are trying to cook. They wanted to start with the soufflé. They don’t even know how to make béchamel! I turned the page to the casserole instead.
Day 24236 This is my house. These are my boarders. I won’t allow anyone to harm them.
“My body, my choice” only makes sense when someone else’s life isn’t at stake.
Fun fact: If my younger sister was in a car accident and desperately needed a blood transfusion to live, and I was the only person on Earth who could donate blood to save her, and even though donating blood is a relatively easy, safe, and quick procedure no one can force me to give blood. Yes, even to save the life of a fully grown person, it would be ILLEGAL to FORCE me to donate blood if I didn’t want to.
See, we have this concept called “bodily autonomy.” It’s this….cultural notion that a person’s control over their own body is above all important and must not be infringed upon.
Like, we can’t even take LIFE SAVING organs from CORPSES unless the person whose corpse it is gave consent before their death. Even corpses get bodily autonomy.
To tell people that they MUST sacrifice their bodily autonomy for 9 months against their will in an incredibly expensive, invasive, difficult process to save what YOU view as another human life (a debatable claim in the early stages of pregnancy when the VAST majority of abortions are performed) is desperately unethical. You can’t even ask people to sacrifice bodily autonomy to give up organs they aren’t using anymore after they have died.
You’re asking people who can become pregnant to accept less bodily autonomy than we grant to dead bodies.
reblogging for commentary
But, assuming the mother wasn’t raped, the choice to HAVE a baby and risk sacrificing their “bodily autonomy” is a choice that the mother made. YOu don’t have to have sex with someone. Cases of rape aside, it isn’t ethical to say abortion is justified. The unborn baby has rights, too.
First point: Bodily autonomy can be preserved, even if another life is dependent on it. See again the example about the blood donation.
And here’s another point: When you say that “rape is the exception” you betray something FUNDAMENTALLY BROKEN about your own argument.
Because a fetus produced from sexual assault is biologically NO DIFFERENT than a fetus produced from consensual sex. No difference at all.
If one is alive, so is the other. If one is a person, so is the other. If one has a soul, then so does the other. If one is a little blessing that happened for a reason and must be protected, then so is the other.
When you say that “Rape is the exception” what you betray is this: It isn’t about a life. This isn’t about the little soul sitting inside some person’s womb, because if it was you wouldn’t care about HOW it got there, only that it is a little life that needs protecting.
When you say “rape is the exception” what you say is this: You are treating pregnancy as a punishment. You are PUNISHING people who have had CONSENSUAL SEX but don’t want to go through a pregnancy. People who DARED to have consensual sex without the goal of procreation in mind, and this is their “consequence.”
And that is gross.
^ THIS. This is this this THIS THIS THIS. THIS!!!!!
This is probably the strongest and well worded/supported argument for abortion that I have ever read.
WHY THE FUCK HAS TUMBLR FLAGGED THIS?! i’M FUCKING FURIOUS!!!
Yep, this was flagged for me too. Which is why I’m going to reblog it several time until Tumblr implodes.
Why the Greeks would have won during the Roman Invasion at Camp Half-Blood
From time to time I think about the worst case scenario in which the Greeks and Romans actually fight on Half-Blood Hill.
Throughout the series, the way they describe the legion is as an unstoppable force that would make the Greek demigods falter and be crushed in that they were out matched in every sense - sheer numbers, skills, and tactics, but I actually think that the Greeks would win, hear me out.
1. The Greeks live in a camp with a forest that comes stocked with monsters to fight and train against. They live in near constant danger.
2. Because all the Greeks are 1st generation demigods they are likely more in touch with their godly parentage. (There’s not a whole lot of evidence of this, but if Octavian is the Augur for the romans and he’s a distant descendent I’m inclined to believe that not many of them have much control over their parents domain/sphere of influence)
3. The Greeks - 30-40 strong defended Olympus: against hordes of monsters, titans, and turned gods and goddesses - ALONE. And since then the survivors have been training along side the newer campers, teaching them how to stay alive.
4. When Percy first arrived at Camp Jupiter and played in the legion’s war games, none of the Roman defenders knew how to defend or stop Percy’s fighting style - which is VERY much Greek. (Yes I know he had the help of a miniature hurricane, but mainly kept projectiles away from him. The romans utilize numbers while the Greeks utilize surroundings.
5. Half-Blood Hill is where the Greeks are strongest. Literally a home field advantage. Almost every Greek demigod reaches Thalia’s Tree against the odds of a pursuing monster.
6. The Greeks have always been more attuned to other creatures in their world. They have more friends - both beast and human. Percy can call upon the Cyclopes in Poseidon’s Forge (because let’s be honest- you hurt Percy’s home Tyson will kill you dead), Grover can rally all the nature spirits in a 5 mile radius as a Lord of the Wild, Chiron could theoretically ask for the aid of the Party Ponies - which would really terrify the Romans as centaurs are seen as evil beings to them (also noted by Percy that evil centaurs felt wrong to him), worse comes to worse, Thalia and the Hunters of Artemis would likely lend a hand too, despite their grudge with the campers -which was eased during the battle of manhattan to a friendly rivalry (also, the hunters were very much a Greek tribe of warrior women) because CHB is their second home — basically what I’m saying is that the Greeks could easily rally enough supporters to triple or quadruple their numbers, enough to match those of the Roman camp
7. But Matt… what about the roman’s Eagles, their elephant, and the Amazons? Listen. The eagles are very good at scouting and recovering but they make easy targets for the Apollo cabin to shoot out of the sky. The Amazon’s have no stake in the squabble- it’s unlikely that they would come to the aid of a conquering force: the amazons have always been known as defenders - their own homelands, Coming to aid Troy - they always get something out of it. And I’m sorry but Hannibal would barely make it up Half-Blood Hill before Peleus ripped him apart.
8. This is definitely not the first time the Greeks have been ambushed at CHB. The will have tons of defenses laying in wait. Many, even they forgot we’re there. After Thalia’s Tree was posioned Monsters could break through the magical barrier protecting camp - showing how quickly the Greeks could respond to an attack, and how deadly they could be be even in pajamas and half armored up. Not to mention how rapidly they were able to establish a countermeasure for the Battle of the Labyrinth at Zeus’ Fist.
9. The way CHB is set up, gives each cabin a voice, a way to promote their strengths in times of need - the Athena and Ares cabin would easily dominate the warfront and strategy talks while the other campers race around thickening the brush in the forest, added more gadgets and automaton defenses, prepping weapons, laying distractions, setting up hunters perches in strategic places, fortifying camp and adding bunkers and hideouts to sneak around (we all know the Greeks are cunning- it how they survive when numbers are low - think Trojan War, Battle of Manhattan, All of Percabeths time in Tartarus is just showcasing the inherent trait they all share.)
10. The Roman legion is literally without proper leadership. Both acting Praetors are off field - yes Reyna is returning, but even she would likely not support the attack on CHB after learning everything she has and traveling with the the Statue of Athena and fighting alongside Greeks.
11. And let me say- I know we had more time with the Greeks but even the powers that some of the halfbloods at camp Jupiter have seen relatively unimpressive: the most spectacular being Jason who can control the winds - but the Greeks can bless and curse weaponry (Ares/Athena), necromancy and mist manipulation (via Hecate cabin), and the ability to put others to sleep and plague their dreams (Hypnos) to name a few. The connection to the gods was always stronger in Greece than in Rome.
12. The Greeks fight with no rules. Everything is about survival. And they (as a whole) always survive. The romans fight was a kind of respect, for a lack of a better word.
13. You better believe there would be some monstrous tag teams from the Hephaestus-Hermès co-op that would do some SERIOUS damage… and no one wants to be on the receiving end of a Hephaestus machine or a Hermès prank.
14. Culturally speaking, if the romans could even destroy the Greeks it would entirely decimate their own culture. Their gods only exist because they were adopted from their Greek forms - some were literally just pull straight over - ie Apollo (didn’t even get a name change smh). The Greeks could theoretically decimate the Roman camp and remain unaffected by the blow back as their pantheon would remain intact. (But that’s hypothetical)
Ask Game: An a.u. in where instead of being becoming a bitter and abusive businessman, Kotaro Shimura instead becomes a politician with the intent of making things better for heroes with families.
Kotaro remains bitter against his mother and the hero she replaced him with for all his youth. That is, until he finally confronts All Might. He gives him every bit of information about Nana he asks for, as well as the few personal belongings she left behind. He softens somewhat after hearing about her sacrifice and ultimate fate, but not much. Why didn’t All Might contact him to tell him this sooner? Because Nana asked him not to. And All Might has learned from that situation to not have a family in the first place. Kotaro isn’t exactly sympathetic, but he leaves without further trouble.
Things don’t really change until his own daughter is born. Suddenly, he gets it. He would do anything for her, even if that meant removing himself from her life for her to live longer. Double so after his second child. His son, who loves nothing more than to sit in his lap while he works. Them, along with his beloved wife, finally fill the void where family is supposed to be. And then, one day while putting Tenko down for a nap, he remembers All Might. Sat alone in his office, not so much as a single picture on his desk. About how he’s taken an oath of loneliness to assure his hero work doesn’t bring anyone harm. Kotaro realizes it’s not fair.
Things are actually worse for some heroes and their families now. Heros weren’t celebrities in his mother’s time. There are “fan-made” databases listing heroes’ home addresses and the names of family members. It starts with a simple letter writing campaign. He shares his own story of family tragedy, and encourages others to do the same, to convince lawmakers in his area to put regulations in around paparazzi nd the publication of private information. The campaign goes viral, and soon it’s a national conversation.
Many any politicians are hesitant to back such legislation; there’s a lot of money in the celebrity culture around heroes, not to mention counter-campaigns by hyperfans. Kotaro realizes if you want something done right, you do it yourself. He runs for mayor of his mid-sized city first, on a campaign of safeguarding the right to privacy of all citizens, not just heroes. But in the middle of his campaign, Tenko’s quirk develops and he accidentally disintegrates the family dog. if that wasn’t hard enough, his opponent’s supporters leak the story, saying he wants to make it easier for potential villains to disappear. He counters that he wants to prevent innocent people like his son from being tried on the court of public opinion for making a mistake. Right when it seems like his political career is going to be dead on arrival, he gets a surprise endorsement: All Might. He makes an impassioned speech of his own about how Kotaro’s plans would make his own life easier and happier. Landslide victory.
Years later, many of his policies have been adopted nationwide after he proved they could work in his city. His long-term goal is a national standard, as an unintended side effect has been that areas lacking the regulations have fewer heroes. The day before he’s to announce his bid for House of representatives, his friend Toshinori texts him a picture. A healthy baby boy with a tuft of green hair, captioned: Izuku. Happy and healthy, as is Toshinori’s wife, Inko. Kotaro puts down his campaign plans, and goes to show his family their new cousin.
anyways I think it’s based that toby fox nade a game that sold a million copies and became massively culturally iconic and got in smash and was both given as a gift to and had its final boss theme played in a performance for the pope, but his wikipedia article has no “early life” section, the “personal life” section is three sentences long, and there isn’t even a picture of him. for the 3 years between the release of undertale and deltarune chapter 1 there was talk of deleting his article because they couldn’t find any information for it that wasn’t already on the one for undertale. king of privacy.
literally the more popular and successful his games have gotten the less willing he is to appear in public. before undertale released he got up on stage and pitched it at a con. a month after it came out he did an audio-only interview with game informer. on the 6th anniversary livestream they had a facecam of the fangamer guys on a couch playing and then a cardboard cutout of the annoying dog that read out communication from toby via text to speech device. by 2030 he’ll have no online presence and a usb drive with “deltarune chapter 7″ written on it in sharpie will just mysteriously appear on gabe newell’s desk one day.
Doing some deep reading into Cherokee history for the project that I’m working on and I am continually amazed how fucking funny old Cherokee leaders were
