#And the characters who are inspired by real people

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

hello! sorry to bother you but i am currently working on character designs for my next d&d campaign. i am creating a winged elf inspired by avariels, and he will have some form of physical disability which causes them to be unable to fly. however, i am not very educated about physical disabilities, so do you know any which might affect limbs such as wings and any ways i could portray life with them and accommodations for them in a respectful way? any tips are appreciated. thank you :)))

Wing disabilities are a bit harder to research than regular human limb disabilities, but you might be amused to learn that the very first thing i found upon a quick search for bird wing deformities was something called "angel wing", found in many different bird species. I've linked the article I found. It develops over time and can be corrected, but obviously when it happens in wild birds they have no means to fix it on their own and it becomes permanent.

Angel wing is a deformation of the wrist area, making it droop and then turn outwards. Once it's permanent, the crooked shape of the wing makes flight impossible. If a winged humanoid had this problem, they would need to worry about things like how far the crooked wing sticks out, maybe bracing it to alleviate chronic pain. I'm sure something like that would cause pain, even if it wasn't mentioned in the article. It may be helpful to clip the feathers on that part of the wing, so they're not in the way. Finding a comfortable sleep position may also be a bit tricky.

Other possible wing disabilities which I have not researched at all but sound like plausible congenital issues for people with wings:

- underdeveloped wings. They never get big enough for flight, maybe the feathers never grow in properly, possibly they're also shaped wrong for flight. Could come with chronic pain, weak muscles/atrophy, etc.

- missing wing. Somehow just didn't develop a wing, or developed a nub where the wing should be. Could also be missing just the "hand" part of the wing.

- general feather growth problems. Weak feathers, feathers that come in short, chronic molting that causes a lot of unhelpful bald patches, etc.

- chronic joint pain. Wings appear to be normal, but the joints hurt a lot and movement is difficult.

You can also go the route of disability by injury, having a wing broken or amputated or otherwise harmed in a way that is difficult or impossible to recover from.

Overall, the accommodations needed could include pain relief, a brace to keep the wing in a comfortable folded position, feather clipping, massages, etc. Mobitiy aids to let this character fly without the use of their wings is easy to handle in fantasy because you could give him an enchanted flying device of some sort. Magical prosthetic wing might work, but that depends on the disability you're working with and also wing prosthetics are pretty tricky. It would not be as functional as a real wing. If the wings are fully grown and intact, but the problem is something like joint pain, then a flight brace to steady the wings could be useful. They'd only be able to fly for short bursts though, probably. But it would be akin to giving someone leg braces so they can walk, while also having access to crutches or a wheelchair. You can work with your dm on figuring out what's allowed in the campaign setting.

As for being respectful in how you portray the character, I think the most important thing is to let them be a full person. The disability is obviously a major part of their life, but they ought to have more personality than that. Hobbies, interests, attitude.

They're also allowed to be sad about the disability, but this should not be their main defining trait. I think it is pretty normal to be sad that you have a physical difference preventing you from doing something other people can easily do. The problem in fictional characters who are sad about their disabilities is that it often becomes Their Entire Thing and then the character arc is either "so I became evil about it" or "and then they died" or "but there was a magical perfect fix!" all of which obviously don't respect the reality of being disabled. But making them totally happy go lucky about it also doesn't work. So you just need the middle area there, as that's the most realistic one. How does it feel to have a permanent disability? Well, it ends up feeling pretty normal when you're used to it. Sometimes it sucks a lot. Sometimes you hardly pay attention to it. Focus on making your character emotionally varied and give them an interesting personality that makes their interactions with other characters more fun.

Roleplay games are great for that, because you'll have to mesh with the group and really flesh out your character relationships as you go.

Anyway I hope that was all helpful! No illustrations to show, because I'm sleepy today. But good luck with your character! And maybe go check out @cripplecharacters for extra advice on generalized disability rep if you haven't already!

[nipuni]

Hello! Time for another blog post! I think my last one was two months ago and a lot has happened since 😊

We have been attending a ton of historical recreation events so I still have many photos to share, hope you don't hate those! It's been really fun! We are exhausted and all out of social battery however so we are taking it easy this month. Another thing that's been happening a lot is that even when we are not dressed in historical clothing we keep getting stopped by strangers on the street because of our everyday outfits, it's been like that for a couple of years now so we are no longer startled or nervous about it but it's happening more and more often now and it's so nice! we always end up chatting about the events we go to and our jobs and hobbies and exchanging contacts or they ask for photos and stuff! people are really kind and excited about it and I still find it so surprising in the best way. We grew up in a very hostile city and environment and that makes you paranoid and cynical so these interactions and response has been healing really. I know their words will stick with us for years to come 😭 Sadly the unbearable heat is starting though so that means our outings for the next three months will be limited to the crack of dawn and after sunset 😞 but at least the summer brings a lot of fruit with it so we can sit at home and eat pineapples and strawberries while we wait for autumn.

My family came to visit a few months ago too and we made them watch most of Doctor Who's season one to four and some of our favourite episodes from all the other seasons lmao. And much to our delight they really enjoyed it!! They both loved Ten the most and my step dad is now in love with Martha 🥰

We have also been watching the current season and it's been so fun keeping up with fandom theories in real time and talking about it and speculating with friends in person, it's the first time we get a chance to do it since we got into the series and we are enjoying it a lot!

We also watched season one of Jessica Jones and we loved David's performance as Kilgrave!! He stole the show for real. Kilgrave is such an incredible villain, one of the best I've seen and DT does such an amazing job portraying every aspect of him. He's detestable and volatile and frighteningly powerful and has such an intimidating terrifying presence in the narrative while also being pathetic and vulnerable and ridiculous and childish and so human with all it's worrying implications. It was just so gripping and I wish he had stayed for the rest of the show honestly!! Now we have to pick our next David Tennant series to watch! 😊

Also!! Dragon Age is back!! AHHH I wanted to thank everyone that commented on my last DA pieces, it has made my month to read the comments, I didn't expect so many people to remember my art or my character after so many years and it's so touching and flattering you have no idea 😭💘 I look forward to making more and sharing them with you all, I'm truly grateful for the kindness you've shown me both back then and now I hope you know.

I feel so spoiled lately with all these franchises that I love releasing new content!! I've never been in these many fandoms at once!! I have so many ideas to draw and keep jumping back and forth between drawings from different shows and games AAAAA it's a good and welcome change honestly, keeps me busy and inspired!

Anyway that's all for now I think! I hope you are doing well and this summer/winter is kind to you all ❤️

[bimir]

it's not something strange or unique to say that after the last haikyuu movie, most of us got into it again, but at the same time, I know for sure that I'm not the only one who benefits the most from this re...union.

I went to see the haikyuu movie alone, and at first, it didn't hit me that much. maybe it was because I couldn't help but wonder how much I would have enjoyed it with my best friend, but we are grown-ups now and long distance.

after a couple of days, the internet was full of haikyuu content again, just like during lockdown, and because of that, I also got into it again and realized how much of a masterpiece it is.

haikyuu is well known, but in my opinion, it is underestimated and categorized by others as just a silly volleyball-sport anime. it saddens me so much that there are so many people who will never get to embrace this piece of art.

Furudate not only created a coming-of-age story, a story that inspired and still inspires generations to fight for their dreams, to engage in the complex mess of relationships, teamwork, and partnerships. haikyuu teaches you that if you really do have a dream, and if you are really ambitious, if you work hard for it, your time will come too. but it also teaches you that not choosing to be great is not a tragedy; your dreams of what a good life means can be different from the ideals of others: "life is unfair, but damn it, at the same time, it is really fair too."

so why did I go on writing about this? because I can't comprehend how haikyuu manages to be there for me at the best time—or the worst, better said—how it really took its "comfort anime" title seriously for me. I started haikyuu in my last year of high school: extremely stressed, depressed, and anxious, so scared of what the upcoming end would mean for me that I'd tricked myself into living by coming to the conclusion that I'd simply not make it to 18 if I didn't see a future for myself. it seemed only fair and the universe would do its thing, no? I know, kinda depressing and triggering, but it did help that miserable me then, it did help but not in the way I prayed it would. the universe didn't send me "death," it sent me life and hope through haikyuu. feeling so empty, so bland for such a long time, haikyuu managed to make me laugh and cry. it doesn't sound like much, but real ones know what I'm talking about. seeing their connection, their ambition, the troubles and feelings I was so desperate to put into words right in front of me saved me from my misery. I began to wish to live, to wish to be like them, to wish to fight, to wish to connect again with people.

now, after almost 4 years, I'm in my last year of uni. the main reason for my depression back then in high school was because I didn't know what to do with my life, what uni and career to choose. hell, I didn't know I would take this path until last autumn, but here I am, on my way to becoming a teacher. it's hard, really hard, but right now, after the new movie, I finally committed to start and finish the manga even though I knew bits and pieces of what happens. it was the best time to read it now. over these 3-4 years, I pondered why I couldn't start getting into the manga and see for myself what happens, but damn it was the best time to read it now. seeing them go all out on their path, learning that in order to succeed you need to fight and fight and fight, to push through, to overcome your limits, to push yourself, to not take it easy if you really want it, came at the best time as I got into a slump and a burnout from learning too much but also not learning enough. I've got to see all of the characters continuing to be pros while fighting for their way, but also choosing to let go of something they once loved in order to live a normal life.

haikyuu is like a reminder that there is more to life than just your high school/childhood years, that your path could take a 180-degree turn at any point, but at the same time, it makes you appreciate those times and not want to sweep your childlike wonder, your growth, and mistakes under a rug. Furudate was a genius for creating haikyuu, and I really hope and pray that haikyuu will continue to be there, to comfort and save future generations until the end of time.

[porcubus]

i feel that even more as time passes kromer's relationship to nazism has been forgotten, minimized, or used only as a joke etc "crazy fans think im a nazi for liking kromer" (which i personally have not seen but i have seen a lot of complaints about it). what kromer actually does in-story is not 1-1 with nazism and is more often (fairly enough) compared to ableism, or said to be left vague enough that it could be interpreted as multiple different things. i do agree with most of this, that you can make parallels to a lot of different types of bigotry from her language & that ableism is probably the clearest thing you can take from it if you focus only on who she actually targets. i also think that the way this is written is confusing and leads to people saying its not that/not as bad, because its "mostly rich people/more absurd fantasy prosthetics" rather than the type youd typically see in real life. to me this is kind of a failure on the writings part more than anything but thats not what i wanted to talk about. i disagree on the vagueness of what she actually represents

kromer (and nagul & hammer) is textually a nazi allegory. she is a white german fascist with inspiration lifted from christian inquisitors committing targeted genocide against a group she views as impure/heretical. something much less brought up from what i've seen but could do well being circulated more is that her title "One who Grips" is lifted from an essay by carl jung on hitler and nazi germany. its a translation of the title "Ergriffenheit" meaning one who seizes (notably cg jung and hermann hesse, the author of demian, actually knew eachother and were inspired by eachother's work, which this may be a reference to)

kromer is a villain, this isnt a complaint about how bad you can make a bad person or me saying you cant enjoy her for what she is. i do think some things could have been changed or handled better in regards to this but more than anything i just want to remind people that it is in fact what she is based on and not "People being crazy Woke Haters who just call everything nazis" or whatever. this is a core part of her character that i would say cant be handwaved away but seems to be overlooked regardless

[veespee]

My Creepypasta AU

okay i don't have a name yet but,,, bear with me 😭 anyway i just wanted to make a general post about my AU! (inspirations, setting, the characters, the changes and how it works) hope you guys like it :)

SETTING: Pinewood, Texas / The Piney Woods - summer of '93.

INSPIRATIONS: Texas Chainsaw Massacre, House of 1000 Corpses, and in general older horror movies and slashers. (and of course credit to Moon for inspiring+encouraging me to write it :)!

look below the cut for the characters and more info!

CHARACTERS + BRIEF SUMMARY:

(these are just the ones i have an idea of, there will be more added in the future)

Jeff The Killer/Jeff Woods -> Jeffery Thomas/'Butcher of The Woods': was diagnosed with ASPD, left to live in a cabin on Piney Woods after his parents kicked him out, and became a serial killer who targets hikers and campers. his face got burned almost entirely after his first kill went wrong. he also owns a bulldog named 'Butcher', after being nicknamed 'Butcher of The Woods' by the townspeople.

Eyeless Jack/Jack Nyras -> Jack Underwood: was bullied from a young age, started developing anxiety issues, panic attacks and seizures. due to him living in a small, heavily religious town, medicine was pretty much nonexistent. his parents believed he was possessed, so they took him to the town's priest. the priest did a dangerous exorcism, which actually invoked a demon to possess him. Jack fled the scene after almost killing the priest, fleeing to the forest out of fear of hurting others. in the forest, the demon forces him to eat specific organs, usually from animals, but there are desperate times where he needs to eat human organs.

Ticci Toby/Toby Rogers -> Tobias (Toby) Smith: since Toby was a young boy, he was taught how to hunt by his father. his father was a stereotypical American patriot, and was often drunk and aggressive. he forced Toby to hunt animals, even with his disability (tourettes) and Toby's dislike of harming animals. at 17 years old, after a specific bad episode from his father almost killing his mother, Toby grabs a hatchet and kills his father while his sister and mother are asleep. he removes the body and starts to experience a manic episode, where he makes an impulsive decision to run away to the forest. he leaves a frantic letter to his mother and sister, and leaves for the forest to hide from everyone else.

BEN Drowned -> Ben Williams: a 12 year old boy who was bullied for being lower class by children his age. the bullies went too far and drowned Ben in a river near their school. the young bullies left the scene in fear, and Ben's body was inhabited by a raging river spirit who was waiting to take revenge on the town's people.

Sally Williams -> Sally Brown: a porcelain doll that was actually alive. she was owned by a little girl by the name of Oliver, and was taken care of very well. sadly, Oliver's father was physically abusive, and after a certain incident, Oliver passed away, murdered by her father. Sally took her revenge, murdering the father. the mother of Oliver kept it a secret, secretly glad her monstrous husband was dead, and let Sally free. Sally went on to target abusers for her killings.

Laughing Jack -> Jackson Garcia: nicknamed 'The Ringmaster' by the townspeople, since almost no one knows his real name. he owns a moving circus, with a cast of entertainers. suprisingly, before he was a ringmaster, he worked as a mortician. his dream was to work in a circus. that's when he found a way to bring dead people back to life, by feeding them others' souls. so, he assembled a group of (dead) entertainers, and in his moving circus, he travels around Texas to live his dream. his usual victims are kids since they're easier to obtain due to his circus, and all souls work the same.

most of the name changes are giving them Texan last names! (plus LJ is human now.)

ALSO IMPORTANT: i don't consider Hoody and Masky creepypasta, so they are not included.

PINTEREST + SPOTIFY PLAYLIST:

Pinterest! (board for each character)

Spotify playlist!

CHANGES:

Most impactful changes are the setting, names and backstories, their appearance have little tweaks also. Some stories might be a bit repetitive—as i'm trying to keep a theme. All of them live in Texas or somehow end up in Texas, and i wanted to keep a southern gothic aesthetic to it all. So; there is going to be lots of mentions of strict religion, small conservative towns and some heavy and violent stuff. (so just be warned!)

!! There's will also be a few mental disorders discussed, and i will try my best to depict them as accurately as i can, so if i make a mistake, please correct me. (nicely because i am sensitive /hj) !!

ARE THEY STILL PROXIES?

Yes they are! I'm also debating giving Slenderman a different appearance to fit with the theme. More importantly though, the way Slenderman acquires them as his proxies is more manipulative, as he promises what that specific proxy desires. (ex. he promised Jeff attention and fame)

The Slender Mansion also doesn't exist, they all have their own homes.

thank you for reading<3 this will probably become a fanfic in the near future, i hope you guys like it :3

[awkwardtuatara]

Having the vaguely interesting and annoying urge to write bnha fanfic metafiction about Jeanist, Monoma, and Mic. Like with Monoma it's right there - his obsession with drama, forced to be the side character, "I'm pulling the strings!" etc. etc. but also Best Jeanist as the designated explainer, the guy with the inspiring speech that just so happens to tell you what the main theme of this fight/arc is; there's no room to tell us his own motivations, his backstory, because he has to tell us what the Heroes should believe and how Working Together is the important thing. And he's very aware of that. He has to know everything that's going on because he's holding together the narrative threads as well as the literal ones, he's the one who knows what the story's about but can't know how it ends. (Maybe he'd even get along with Monoma.) And finally Present Mic's announcer segments being the most common way we see him - who is he talking to? what show is he hosting but the one we're watching? Every scene he's in, he's tangentially connected to the main Plot going on, maybe he's even involved, but he's the witness. He can tell us who these new characters are but he will not meet them. He watches the disaster, he's in the disaster, but he can't change anything. For all three - somehow being aware of the roles they play separates them from the focus, impossible to really dive into, because they've become storytelling devices as well as people.

So they're always always putting on a performance, being flamboyant and confident and embodying whatever they're supposed to. Sure heroics is performative, but there's a certain incredibly deliberate thought and shaping that's gone into their facades. The denim theme and the Responsible One - actually everything about how Jeanist approaches heroics, that's an entirely separate topic, his entire character is just like that and it's fascinatingly frustrating because there's never anything about who he actually is; he is the denim costume and the top-ranked hero and the one who thinks about what's actually happening, there's no Hakamata Tsunagu without it, but that's besides the point. the obnoxious competitive kid. the happy-go-lucky, loud, fun one. and these are absolutely masks, because we've seen Present Mic let it go when he is trapped and pushed, in the moments when he does become part of the story, a real character - he is intense and desperate and it changes nothing. Hakamata needs his performance to be himself, to be a hero, to maintain control. Monoma... just look at him in s7. he's Important now and the euphoria is so intense his laughter is so close to sobbing, and this is what flips his perception, gives him the blissful illusion for a few episodes that he's the main character when he's still not. like bnha is almost certainly not making metafictional commentary in any form (except maybe s7 monoma), but I could make it.

[justcakeythings]

Have you had something in a daydream that came true irl?

[bluebobatea]

if sasuke was the main character then he probably would've been a LOT more sympathised with than he is now (which is to say rarely). like the narrative wouldn't even need to change to show his pains or 'his side of the story', bc it does that plenty. it's just that he is not the main character. and idk what it is about our human minds but we tend to sympathise with main characters automatically (unless ofc you go off the rockers insane and do something like obliterate almost everyone from the planet *cough* eren yeager *cough*)

an instance that comes to my mind where this does happen is with lelouch from code geass. while i don't agree with his character motivations, people generally do sympathise with him as he is the mc and as viewers we know he isn't inherently evil. sasuke's goal towards the end is slightly similar but ofc people love to hate him so they don't even try to understand where he is coming from.

my point is, most people while engaging with the naruto story don't read between the lines and so don't see how traumatised and in pain sasuke is and hence don't understand his character motivations. heck, they don't understand a single bit about him and so they automatically hate him, as he is supposedly going against the main character's goals.

which is really sad given all that he has been through.

[bunisher]

might be the aro in me but i think one of the reasons i don’t ship mattfoggy is because i enjoy the idea of platonic intimacy and friendship without romance. i enjoy them as best friends, because their friendship is not any less than romantic love or needs to be. especially for characters like them, i think it’s important that they have friendships that are not inherently romantic. matt, because he has severe abandonment trauma and avoidant attachment, where all of his romances have ended in some form of tragedy. he has trouble feeling comfortable with people, he feels like he has to perform in many aspects, and does not with foggy, at least not anymore. trust is a hard earned thing with him, but it’s not just about trusting with being a hero, but trusting to be himself. in regards to foggy, because he also has his own issues regarding family and not feeling accepted. he needs that friend who provides the motivation, validation, and feeling of being good enough just for being him. his insecurities often come from being underestimated, being awkward, not fitting in, and with matt he can just be. they’re able to have a relationship with each other that has rupture and repair, knowing eventually after time it’s them against conflict and not them against each other. they set the standard for each other in how romantic relationships are. they provide that safe place for love that doesn’t have the weight of being someone’s everything or partner. they’re already partners! they’re best friends. i personally am a little in love with all of my friends, and i am utterly devoted to them. i will be affectionate and supportive and loving and i am not dating them. so yeah i see how stuff could be read romantic, i understand why people enjoy the ship, i get it, i do. but it’s more powerful to me when it’s not. romance is not the end all be all and that’s why i am obsessed with their friendship without it being this stepping stone for romance or there being no other explanation.

[mettywiththenotes]

People need to realise AFO is The Worst Some Guy Ever

Like, is he horrifying and poses as a threat to everyone? Manipulates and grooms people? Is everyone scared of him including his spies? Yeah

But he's also a man inspired by a comic book he only half read. He continously calls himself Demon Lord and implies he is a better version of that character. Clearly that character stuck with him from the moment he read the comic and, upon literally getting a super power, goes "I'll be the greatest demon lord!" and uses that as a motivation to ruin people's lives

His Origin came from basically reading a book he didn't like the ending of despite never fully reading it. He's a Some Guy

But he also kills people, grooms them, does what he wants because he can and has the power to do so. He's the Worst Person Ever

So he is both. He has that range. He is The Worst Some Guy Ever

[starbuck]

i can’t remember if i ever actually made the Ravenous Ghost Bell analysis post, but i wish i had time to make it because i feel like it would be received well in this moment…

[marshmellowtea]

objectively the funniest form of shipping discourse is "this fictional creature is underage!" like yeah. they're also a fantasy creature that doesn't exist in the real world. not sure if it matters tbqh

[sonknuxadow]

i dont know what would be worse if amy is never in the sonic movies at all or if they do introduce her in the next one but shes pushed to the side and doesnt get the amount of focus she should be getting considering shes a main character and this is her introductory movie because theres too much other stuff going on with shadow and/or they just completely butcher her character

[singsweetmelodies]

Shipping real people is so gross TF get a life

sending anon hate is so gross TF get a life

[imunbreakabledude]

with nothing to do after losing her powers and going into hiding after season 3, maeve needs new hobbies, so she decides to take up cyberbullying ashley

[gemstarstarlight]

If I have learned anything in life, it’s that the Single Handsome Boy who does Bad Things will be adored.

Regardless of morality or level of Bad Things.

I think I want to call it The Ted Bundy Precedent.