#Being disabled is so fun...

[a-totally-reasonable-username]

If i want to have the same independence healthy people have, specifically the ability to leave the house and go places by myself it would cost over 50000€

[t4tmorston]

Having fun at Beecher's Hope

[aroaceleovaldez]

one of the things that I found particularly interesting in Demigods of Olympus is that it finally gives the best direct comparison we've seen so far between Percy and another character's experiences in terms of academics and particularly ableist discrimination.

The way Zane describes his experiences and what we see in his POV is that, while he is similarly discriminated against for his "atypical" behavior and blame is placed on him, the only sorts of punishments he receives for this are relatively benign, such as an increase in counseling. (It is also notable that Zane is somewhat autistic-coded, such as having the "incorrect" scripts when speaking with adults and Sam explicitly reminding him to remember to make proper eye contact.) Percy, on the other hand, similarly experiences discrimination for "atypical" behavior, but whereas Zane is treated as "too smart for his own good" and given slaps on the wrist, Percy is automatically labeled as aggressive, destructive, and a trouble-maker based on preconceived assumptions about him and is more severely punished, such as being frequently expelled.

We rarely get this level of direct comparison between Percy's experiences and that of another character, particularly such similar experiences, so looking at the differences is really interesting to gauge what their different experiences with ableist discrimination is like - and how it could potentially tie into intersectionality and other forms of discrimination at play for them.

For instance, Zane's parents are generally heavily implied to be middle-class and/or generally financially secure, versus Percy who grew up poor, so it could be classism in combination with ableist discrimination. Alternatively, it could be intersectionality with racial discrimination, as neurodivergent behavior in people of color is significantly more likely to be punished more severely and labeled as aggressive or disruptive behavior due to racist preconceptions - particularly since we know Percy's experiences with ableist discrimination are also somewhat based on assumptions people make regarding his appearance. Both Zane and Percy are racially ambiguous - Zane's appearance essentially being completely unspecified, but Percy at least having some notable details such as having a deep tan complexion. If not racism, it could also be colorism, which in this context often has similar intersectionality. There's a lot of potential options.

It's just very interesting to me! I love having such a direct point of comparison to examine the experiences of two characters within.

[moeblob]

[proudfreakmetarusonikku]

WHY ARE PEOPLE DOING THIS BULLSHIT WITH FUCKING MEWGENICS

[qoldenskies]

Just wanted to say I really like how you write Splinter. It feels very authentic as someone with a home life like that so I find your fics vry cathartic :)

thank you! ;~; i have very complicated feelings on splinter because i admit that the "good/bad parent splinter" tags kind of annoy me sometimes just a little... because i think splinter is a parent they all love and cherish and adore and they end up with good relationships with him from what's shown, but we also must not undermine it. splinter was a neglectful parent, and neglect is abuse, and that is extremely noticeable in the way that they all act. but it also wasn't his fault for being mentally ill and... i suppose the whole transformation feels like a metaphor for physical disability? ive always seen it as something kind of like chronic illness.

splinter's a victim of circumstance and he is not fully responsible for the position he put them in. the sad reality is that the closest equivalent is living a life in poverty, and the kind of situations raph and donnie were put in can happen to kids even with attentive, considerate and healthy parents. but this doesn't mean poor, or disabled, or mentally ill people shouldn't be having children. that is a eugenicist narrative that would also predominantly be applied to and enforced on people of color. the problem lies in the lack of resources and capitalism as a whole. i feel like making him unambiguously abusive because he's malicious and hates his kids can be kind of a cop-out, although it depends on the story you want to tell.

i do think accountability is something i want to hit splinter with and the show does try to do it to at least some extent-- but also it's a comedy first and foremost. some of splinter's neglect is played up for goofs and gaffes so i feel like taking gags to show that he's secretly an abuser (whatever the hell the end of lair games was, or him whacking them with his tail, for example) is kind of disingenuous lmao. rise plays up very real problems for the sake of comedic effect, and i like that there's some underlying things to pick at in-between the lines that makes the characters feel so alive. i feel like it's what fanfic's for.

but also i understand why people DONT like splinter. there are some parts of his characterization, especially his design, that are very racist. i just hate when people make his depiction even more racist when they make him evil. i also dont like the fatphobia in the show idk. the biggest reason i havent drawn him is because i would want to redesign him, but i cant really fix the weird racist undertones without making him anything but a rat i fear.

[sonknuxadow]

really bad sonic take that i still remember every once in a while because of how outrageously awful and out of character it was is that sonic would be ableist and mock people with mobility issues for being slower than him . he would NOTTTTTTT fucking say that

[goddessofroyalty]

I'm falling back into X-men: First Class stuff again thanks to the Deadpool x Wolverine movie and I had kind of forgotten how much I love the very specific dynamic of the Erik x Charles relationship where I watch Erik do some borderline supervillain stuff going "fuck yeah! Good for you!" and then watch Charles ream into Erik calling him out for said behaviour and/or the shit Erik has done to him personally going "fuck yeah! Good for you!"

Original X-men movie dynamics is much more the (normal) dynamic of wanting them to set aside their differences and find a way to progress their cause together. But First Class is all about the anger behind their actions being completely justified but also oh so very entertainingly messy.

[th3archivisst]

Things I've started noticing in media as someone who recently developed a not yet diagnosed chronic pain disorder that has fucked up my life.

- seeing rep for any. Any. Disability makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

- in fandom, every time I see another disabled person discuss a disabled character, they actually like analysing the character in terms of how they function with their disability. But I only ever see ablebodied people make aus in which "everything is fine".

- seeing arguments about what is and isn't good representation is extremely draining. This goes for any minority, many of which I'm part of. It's an important conversation to have, but so often the focus is on tearing down the character instead of building them back up yourself. The approach is too focused on rooting out the bad apples, not on planting the seeds for better ones.

So often I see complaints, and those complaints are entirely valid. I agree with most of them. But wouldn't it be more productive to point out what was done right and suggest what could've been done to make it even better? If there's one thing school taught me, it's that constant criticism just leads to resentment.

Make up ocs with disabilities, draw them as well as you can or commission someone to draw them for you and post that shit with a detailed explanation. Someone is bound to see it. Write fanfiction of your favourite character and go in depth on the struggles they face and how they still find happiness alongside those struggles. Make videos or write books or animate something and include your story there, because that won't make you miserable. Force people to see you for who you are. It's far more effective than getting into arguments online.

[bmpmp3]

finding out ur coworker is way older than you thought and having to very quickly reorient how you talk to them

[liminalweirdo]

lmfao canada is just destroying the covid vaccines available for the XBB variant now while we wait UNTIL OCTOBER to get updated vaccines.

i guess it just would've been too hard to destroy them one or two days before the others becomes available huh? /s

they told us to wait until fall and then destroyed all available vaccines we have as fast as they could

[wereh0gz]

The way some ppl talk abt game!maria vs movie!maria is so weird to me bc like ppl go on abt how the movie shows her "being a kid" as if game canon hasn't been doing that (especially in recent media)

Like they just do it differently. Movie!maria does fun things like rollerskating and doodiling funny pictures on shadow's test tube and building blanket forts to watch movies in. Meanwhile game!maria is mostly shown going to school being excited abt her classes and geeking out over the aurora borealis and being so excited to show shadow that she overexerts herself running to take him there. They're basically just being shown as different types of kids

Also. Saying the (apparently) not-chronically-ill version of the character gets to "actually be a kid" more than the original chronically ill version is. A bit strange. Y'know. Smells a bit like ableism in here

[utilitycaster]

something interesting I've noticed in this campaign's discourse is that there's a fascinating moving of goalposts closer to what I (and others with similar opinions) said originally. Like, consider:

this ship isn't interesting because it lacks conflict being met first with "yes it is, you're just evil haters" to "must ships have conflict to be interesting?" to "well if things were DIFFERENT you'd like it"-style claims, threaded through constantly with "obviously it's great/bc I have eyes" tell-and-never-explain style arguments

or

"Bells Hells isn't as bonded" met with "YES THEY ARE THEY PLAYED WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THAT??" to "they would be bonded, but for the plot, which I see as something separable from the story and not the story itself" to "um actually it's better that they're not because that makes it different from the past campaigns where the characters had strong and complex relationships with each other, and novelty is always superior."

[orions-aether]

you ever just see a super niche piece of d&d advice (idek if this is the right word for it) and feel an itch in your bones to make an entire zine that's effectively an essay talking about how much you dislike it and the ableist implications of it being enforced at tables but it's just for you because you don't share your thoughts with other human beings that'd be wild and you don't particularly feel like being told it's not actually ableist and you're just oversensitive and can't take a joke today. no just me never mind dw about it

[normalbirb]

the lines still lack a lot of confident strokes, but im starting to get used to the screenless tablet.

[macabrevampire]

society wants me dead my family wants me dead I want me dead and yet still I live #resilient