#also: sorry I'm trying to do better with including image descriptors

[cevansbrat0007]

I personally love as little description about a reader insert as possible. It truly allows anyone to read along and picture themselves in her place. As a women of color it’s great when writers are inclusive like that because anyone no matter their race or body shape can still have a fun time reading and escaping from reality. Thank you for all your hard work ❤️

That's fair. And I do try to do this, even when describing her quirks or features. I'm open about the fact that Reader is written as a POC, but as such the only descriptors I typically include revolve around her having kinky, curly hair. I purposely don't try to give her a skin tone so as to avoid alienating dark-skinned or light-skinned individuals.

I see her in my head as being short because I am also short. Always have been and I always will be. This also goes back to writing the type of content that I wish to see as well. But I would just like to point out that a lot of times when Andy refers to Reader has being "little" it's also because he's working to establish or, in some cases, reestablish, their shared power dynamic.

Because he's her Daddy. And she is his Baby.

The line above could also be a point of contention for some folks. But I don't particularly want to hear their opinions about it because, well, you don't have to read anything that goes against your taste or squicks you out. Because at the end of the day, our triggers are also our own responsibility.

So he's going to call her his "little girl". And I occasionally will make references to her being short because in my mind she just is. But that's where the power and beauty of imagination comes into play. If I come across a certain character I like who's described as being "blonde", I might still choose to imagine them as a brunette because the image I've conjured up fits better -- to me. Sometimes my brain just does what it wants.

But I will never make a fuss over it. I will choose to ignore it and reshape it, or write what I want to see. Which is exactly what I'my trying to do every time I publish a piece that I've written.

No matter what I do, I will never be able to please anyone. If I write about Reader having self-esteem issues people will disagree. If I write about Reader having stretch marks, like many of us do including myself, someone will claim that it's gross. If I incorporate too much slang, I run the risk of the Reader sounding too ghetto when I personally see her as being an educated woman who also happens to be black.

It's really frustrating sometimes if I allow myself to become bogged down by it.

And I'm so sorry that this is coming off as more of a venting session instead of a tailored response. But please know that I sincerely appreciate your being respectful while throwing in your two cents. Thank you for accepting the fact that I do try for acknowledging my hard work. And what's more, I appreciate your constructive feedback.

Had the initial anon who started stirred all this up on my blog this morning conducted themselves with even a modicum of the grace and tact that you possess, I would have a whole different vibe going right now. Because I too use these characters as an escape.

And when people tell me that something I've created acts a comfort to them - be it a character, feeling, or situation - that is, perhaps, the ultimate compliment that I can receive as a writer.

But instead I feel the need to defend myself when this is supposed to be fun. Argh.

Anyways, thanks boo.

-Britt

[silver-stargazing]

Disability Pride Month must be smiling at me this year because I finally discovered the kind of epilepsy representation I’ve always been looking for: epileptics in comics and graphic novels created by people with seizures and/or epilepsy.

Anyway, please read Mis(h)adra by Iasmin Omar Ata if you get the chance. The story follows Isaac, an Arab-American in college, as he manages his epilepsy and deals with a lot of related issues such as drinking at parties, repeatedly missing class because of seizures, not having a support system, and trying to get medication refills when you can’t technically prove to your doctor that you have epilepsy.

The book is also just visually stunning and I’ve truly never seen better visual representation for epilepsy. I especially loved the running theme of representing the ongoing threat of auras and seizures as knives constantly hanging around Isaac.

[Image ID: A 3 panel excerpt from Mis(h)arda:

Panel 1: Isaac, a man who is the main figure in all three panels, is sitting at a classroom desk, staring distantly while three knives with eyes circle around him. Three speech bubbles, one for the off-screen teacher and the other two for two off-screen students, are behind him, the teacher’s speech is heavily obscured by the knives. Teacher says, “You all have the study guide already so if you stick to that you’ll be (...) But just so you (...) there will be multiple choice (...) questions.” First student says, “They say he has a drug problem or something and almost failed out.” Second student says, “No way!”

Panel 2: Isaac has an annoyed look on his face and tries to wave away the knives. Teacher and First student are still off-screen, their speech bubbles appear behind Issac with Teacher’s bubble still partially obscured. Teacher says, “There will be a decent amount of questions about the chapter on gender politics in the countries of the (...) so make sure you don’t skip (...) one.” First student says, “Yeah, he might be the only one in our class to not walk at graduation.”

Panel 3: Close-up view of Isaac as he watches the knives disappear. He is visibly sweating and appears frustrated. Second student says (off-screen), “Makes sense. I mean, look at him. He always looks like he’s on something.”

/End ID]

As a general warning, there is a pretty big TW for eye trauma. Isaac also experiences a lot of ableism and racism from the medical community, which can be triggering.