#i know most of these apply to other disabilities too but i wanted to focus on autism bc of all the 'autism website' stuff

[swordsonnet]

i'm sorry but i don't think we should call this the "autism website" when there's still posts with tons of notes mocking people who:

struggle with social skills / have anxiety around social settings

are unemployed / unable to work certain jobs

have intense or "age-inappropriate" interests

haven't had certain life experiences that are deemed universal/essential

struggle with personal hygiene

don't have any friends or dating experience

don't go outside much or at all

take things literally / don't get sarcasm/jokes

have unusual ways of speaking

generally aren't "normal"

[phoenixyfriend]

This is a bit of a silly question, but you honestly seem to know a lot about political, business, and economics, so I thought I would ask.

So I’m seventeen, soon to be applying to universities, but I’m already so disillusioned with the world. Like, don’t get me wrong, I still have hope in collective action and volunteering and voting and all that, it just makes me sad that the entire world has kind of gone to hell. I like english literature and I like history and I like studying them, so I used to hop to study both at uni. I wanted to get a job as a teacher, because I want to make a difference in the world and have more variety than a typical desk job.

However. Being on Tumblr since the age of thirteen has taught me that no matter how kind or good or hardworking one person is, or even a lot of people are, one politician can still screw things up for entire groups of people. I mean… a few politicians overturned Roe Vs Wade and that sort of thing. The disability benefits bank account thing. Politicians have an enormous amount of sway over the world, and that area seems to be where someone could make the most difference.

From what I’ve seen of a political science degree, I genuinely don’t think I would enjoy it much, but I could get through it. I want to make a difference in the world very badly — it’s the only sort of legacy I care about leaving behind. And I thought being a teacher could do that for me, but the scale of being a teacher and a politician are on entirely different levels, and Tumblr has really shown me that.

So I guess I’m just asking, since you seem to be passionate making the world better too. Do you think I should study politics, so that I can try and change things on a large scale? Or study what I love and make a much smaller impact.

I honestly don't think I'm the best person to ask this question. A lot of how I ended up where I am was a matter of luck, including the luck of having parents who let me live with them rent free while I put together some savings (and even while I was unemployed).

I don't know a whole lot about polisci. I was a business major and, honestly, that major did not come in useful when hunting for a job after college... partly because all the jobs it was a foot in the door for were uhhhhhh let's go with Not The Right Fit. Most polisci majors are... I guess probably pre-law and intending to become lawyers, and lawyers do in fact often become politicians, so there's that.

My first instinct is actually 'learn a trade and join a union.' The last few years have been pretty evidential of the impact that unions can still have on both the business world and politics in general: see the impact that UAW is having, at least in the media, on the presidential election. Unions are also a pretty solid option for local networking, which is pretty key when it comes to having an impact on local or regional politics. A trade job is also something that is in high demand, stable, and pays reasonably well in most places, including paid apprenticeships, so it would give you the financial stability to focus your free time on what you want instead of on stretching to pay the bills, or having to worry about student loans. It also gives you an expertise or specialty that you can then leverage as 'evidence' of understanding the working class as a unit when engaging in something like a town hall.

Being in a union or other local organization will also give you a more hands-on understanding of how politics and things like that work, as you'll have things like contract negotiations, union votes, and policy debates going on regularly.

If you aren't the kind of person who thinks they're a fit for trade work (I'm definitely not), then college might be the right fit! But I'd definitely consider going into it with a plan for how you want to impact the world. Look up some charities or impact organizations and see what it is that they need. A lot of places are looking for grants writers or financial coordinators, or just someone who can do the accounting. It's not glamorous, and it's not like you'll be held up as a hero the way a doctor in a warzone is, but keeping track of funds or writing letters requesting funding from the government, for something like Doctors Without Borders or Planned Parenthood or Coalition for the Homeless is still an important part of the process.

Local volunteer work is also often a lot more personally satisfying and requires less overhead, so more of the money goes directly into the community you want to help, e.g. the grant writers and accountants do need a salary in a huge organization, but a local soup kitchen can probably just hire someone from the local tax office once every few months and call it good. Doing volunteer work once a month, for a soup kitchen or a homeless shelter or summer childcare program, can make way more of an impact than maybe getting a position as a staffer for a politician you may not even like that much.

That said, if you think you're good at polisci, that you'd be good at law, or that you can get a different degree with polisci as a minor that would then help you enter politics directly... maybe college for polisci is the right choice for you. Maybe you have the finances to not worry about loans, you have parents that would be supportive, and you can find an effective position after you graduate.

I can't make that decision for you. If you have a guidance counselor and they're any good--not a guarantee, but let's hope--talk to them. If you don't have a guidance counselor, maybe find a trusted teacher, or a local librarian, something like that. I don't really know you or your situation well enough to tell you what to do, but hopefully I've given you something to think about.

[softswitchbutch]

a random question for you, Gideon: do you have any tips for dealing with subdrop? what are your favourite ways to take care of your sub or be taken care of when you sub?

Okay so I would say for one it can definitely vary, somenpeople will want specific comforts so my first piece of advice us to know beforehand if they have specific things they want/need and to express your own wants/needs for subdrop. (I find many of these can helpin a domdrop too! Subs can and should use this advice to help their doms as well if it can be applied)

With that:

I always start with water. A hydrated brain is always better at regulating. Snacks can also be good for the same reason. (Chocolate is one I used to get suggested a lot when I did reaserch on the subject, due to it's encouragement of serotonin in the brain. I find any soft of sweet tends to make somon cheer up a bit though, since most people like them. Fruit is also a really good one, because it'ssimple to eat and also doubles as more hydration.)

Soft textures (blankets, pillows plushies), or a piece of comfort clothing. Being in a drop can be a vaunrable of a state as being in the initial subspace, and I often like to be covered up and held. I usually do the same for my partners, because being close under a blanket can help be physically grounding.

Comforting words. Subdrops can feel isolating even with someone there, and they can make you feel like you have done something wrong. Let your partner know that it's okay, and even though they don't feel the best right now, they aren't alone and they haven't done anything wrong. Let them know that they're safe with you and you've got them for as long as they need. The space to know that you can still be taken care of is good.

Talk about it. Was it caused by something? If not that's okay, My sub drops are usually not prompted by anything specific, but knowing can help you avoid making it worse if there was a cause. It also means you might have something to discuss later to avoid this from happening from the same cause.

Simple activity. Get them up to clean up, take the,with you to set up a space to cuddle. Some movement of the body will be good for them. Doesn't have to be fancy. I like to follow my partner to get snacks if I'm not dizzy, and keep them in sight. And it does help more then laying there sad and possibly alone. Even for a few seconds when I'm in a drop can feel much longer.

I find that things I use when I'm sad can help with subdrops as well. Listening to music that helps, watching something with my partner, or playing a simple game that doesn't take a lot of brainpower. It can be nice to just spend time with my dom and know that there's no pressure to return to a specific state of mind.

I'm disabled and sometimes subdrops flare my pain. Check in for physical responses to the mental state especially if you're disabled. Pain meds to lessen the physical shit can make it a bit easier to focus on coping and calming dowm from the mental things.

Other suggestions I've seen are baths (I hate baths for sensory issues and so do my partners so not our thing, but the warmth of a good bath can't be beat if you like them), Making and having some tea, Burning candles and doing grounding exercises, Or prayers (If you practice that way together/are willing to do it with them if it would make them feel better).

And through any of these or other things you might try, take your time. It's not a rush to feel better. You're allowed to work through the subdrop like any other emotion, which might not be instant.

[This is in no way a fully fleshed out list or a one size fits all, so do your reaserch and take note of what does and doesn't seem to help you/your sub/your dom.]

[gaypolls]

Submission Guidelines/Disclaimers

First, things to keep in mind when you submit:

there is a limit of 12 answers for polls, and on this blog one of those answers will always be 'show results,' to allow for people that the poll doesn't apply to to see without skewing data. so in reality you have a maximum of 11.

there's also an 80-character limit on the options

SO, if you go over those limits, know that I will take it into my own hands to decide which answers to omit and/or how to re-word it to fit the limit.

even otherwise, expect that the wording of your submission may be slightly altered in order to be more inclusive (when it doesn't affect the data), or because i think you missed an option that you probably meant to include, or just to make it sound less clunky. if you have an issue with any changes upon posting, i'm happy to hear you out.

currently there is no wait time, but if things go as expected, soon enough it'll likely be about a 4-5 day wait between the time you submit and the time it gets posted

if your poll is addressing a very small group, don't be surprised or angry when the 'see results' poll is the biggest. that needs to be there to keep data from being skewed by anyone's curiosity.

Base Guidelines For Submitting:

poll must be related to gayness in some way. it doesn't have to be directed exclusively at gay people, but it should center same-gender attraction. if you have a poll in mind to direct specifically at bisexuals, there's @mspecpolls

it CAN be a general LGBT poll, but if it's specific to something that has nothing to do with gay attraction, you're better off submitting to another blog. there's @transgenderpolls for trans stuff and @aspecpolls for ace/aro stuff.

it CAN be directed at a specific type of gay person, such as gay men, lesbians, specifically trans lesbians, nonbinary mlm, gay poc, disabled wlw, etc - literally you can address any specific gay group you want, just make sure to say so.

...this DOES include 'cis gay men/women/people' but tbqh you're gonna have to provide a good reason to be excluding trans people from the poll

in general if you want to explicitly exclude people who have a nonconforming relationship with gender, you better explicitly say so AND have a good reason. otherwise it'll be assumed that all sorts are included and if your options don't reflect that, i will change them or reject the poll.

it CAN relate to sex (i expect many polls here will be), just try to be tasteful about it. like, as long as it sounds like you're trying to collect data rather than arouse people lol

What would make me NOT post a submission:

as mentioned previously, if it's excluding subgroups without a good reason

if it's an opinion poll about the validity of any particular type of gay person. "validity" is a moot topic and i'm not going to encourage it, and in any case i'd like the focus of this blog to be about recording experiences (real, undeniable, forever in stone) rather than opinions (always changing, meaningless)

pride discourse polls, lol

anything that tries to pit issues against each other. no "which intercommunity issue is more important to you? ableism? racism?" like cmon

if it's just way too niche and would make a pointless poll. if a poll is "who's your favorite lgbt character" and then you've got 11 options from different TV shows, you gotta know that most of the ppl who see that poll will NOT have seen ALL those shows, so they'll really just be voting for the show that they know. it's just dumb.

if it's something like "gay people: do you like pineapple on pizza?" or some other question that doesn't actually have anything to do with being gay. if you wanna send something like this, make your case for why it's relevant that the poll is directed at gay people.

if it's some other obviously offensive shit, obviously. no racism or whatnot here.

FAQ:

Who counts as gay?

Like most of these guidelines I'll continue the same sentiment from the trans polls blog: We self-define here. But I will stress answering in good faith and understanding what any given poll is asking and what definitions they're using. If you're, say, nonbinary and bisexual in a way that makes all your attraction gay, or you're gay in a very specific way (like nb4nb), or you call yourself gay bc you're mostly gay but you're technically bisexual, or you're definitely homosexual but don't actually like to call yourself gay, etc, it'll likely just depend on the poll. It's totally up to you to decide if it includes you or not, or you can always ask if you want to be sure.

Though if it's not explicitly stated that the poll excludes transmasc lesbians or transfem gays, or other trans/nonbinary gay people, you should still for sure assume it includes you.

Why isn't there an option for X?/You missed an option.

Sometimes I may genuinely miss an option, but 9 times out of 10 the lack of the option is either due to the poll limits on tumblr, or because it goes against the point of the poll. For example, if the question begins with "If you're in a relationship," then "i'm not in a relationship" isn't going to be an option. If the prerequisite of the poll doesn't apply to you, then what you click is "see results." If it's something a little less concrete, polls will usually include some kind of "other" option anyway.

Can you make more polls for X type of gay person?

*I* make polls based off what I'm personally curious about. If you're curious about something, submit it!

Do you know that some people are gay in very unconventional ways that your polls aren't accounting for?

Yes, I know. When there's room on the poll, I try to be inclusive, but often there's not, and that's really the main thing there. However, I will admit that a secondary reason is that when a poll is addressing exclusively gay people, the fact that they're only attracted to one gender is relevant, regardless of whether or not it would still be gay of them to be attracted to more.

Can you get rid of the 'see results' button? Or can you not include it on this particular poll? I only want X people to respond. This poll is ONLY for X people.

If a poll is on this blog, it's for everyone, questioning and simply curious people included. It's also not going to stop curious people from clicking if there's no 'see results' button. It ensures that the data doesn't get skewed, and gathering data is what polls are for. It doesn't hurt you to see a big see results bar. The data is still there. If the bar does wind up obscuring more significant data, that means the poll was addressing too small of a group to begin with. And that's NOT the end of the world. This blog is far from the only place where you can get information about other gay people's experiences.

[lylahammar]

Do you have any tips for developing a healthier relationship to being fat? I'm fat and have a uhhhhh very negative relationship with the physical appearance of my body, despite treating my body well on a physical level. I read a ton of fat liberation stuff and fat positive studies and while logically I know that being fat isn't bad and has no bearing on morality, personality, etc, I still can't seem to apply this reasoning to myself. Most of the content on the internet is geared towards cis abled woman when I'm a trans disabled man, so that probably contributes to some extent, but idk. It also doesn't help that attraction-wise I'm definitely drawn to people who are the exact opposite of me physically (tall, lanky, angular, etc). I've been trying for years to even just be okay with my appearance and none of the common advice has worked. I pretty much only feel okay with myself when I forget that I have a physical body. Your fat positive content makes me really happy and you seem to have a positive relationship with your body, so I thought it was worth asking if you had any tips for me or anyone else who might need them.

Feel free to disregard this message if it makes you uncomfortable! You don't know me and I don't want to put my feelings on you. I appreciate any response you might give, but I also don't want to breach any boundaries. I hope you have a nice day!

-🧪

Hello!! I've been thinkin about this question since you sent it yesterday, it's a very good question but also a toughie 😅 The thing to keep in mind is that internalized fatphobia isn't a problem caused by personal problems, it's almost entirely a societal thing. I've been working on my body image issues for a long long time now, and honestly sometimes I do still feel down about my fatness. BUT it gets easier and easier as you get older, I promise you that! Especially if you keep working on it. So here are some tips I can think of:

Try to consume a lot of body neutral media! For me, body positive stuff can get a little grating and actually do the opposite of its intended purpose, because the constant focus on "everyone is beautiful!! Love your fat body!" can start to feel... I don't know, like it's drawing attention to it too much, and making it less normal. I like media in which fatness is portrayed as normal and doesn't get alienated so much, even in a positive way. A few good recommendations I can think of off the cuff are Dungeon Meshi (can't help plugging my fave manga heheh, Ryoko Kui is just so loving in her portrayal of different body types), Steven Universe, Hairspray, and Porco Rosso. Couplagoofs on Instagram, tiktok, twitch and youtube are really good influencers for this, watching their content has helped me a lot with my own body image! I've heard that Shrill is a good show for fat representation, but I've only seen this one scene (which is very good) so I can't speak definitively about it's quality! If anyone else has any good suggestions, please reply with them 🙏

Stay off of tiktok until you feel more comfortable with your own body. Tiktok is kind of a trap, because it'll put a lot of really great diverse body neutral stuff on your fyp to lure you in, but then it'll shut you down with the most hateful shit you've ever seen. And if you're not on the body neutral side of tiktok, you'll be in skinny town USA thirst trap hell forever lmfao it's just like not worth it

Surround yourself with accepting people. It's especially helpful to seek out other fat/fat positive friends (especially of the queer and neurodivergent variety). Fat people are everywhere, we're way more common than society and media would have you think!! It's good to have people around you to remind you of that 😁

If you have the money for it, try going on a special shopping trip to find some clothes that make you feel really good. Go alone, unless you have someone who you feel 100% comfortable with, because this trip should be about your needs and whatever makes you feel happy with your own body. You don't need anyone else's opinion for that! I know that this bit of advice is a little cliche, but it's just what has helped me personally.

This might be just a me thing, but practicing with drawing fat bodies has probably done more for my body image than anything else. It forces you to spend a lot of time looking at fatness and really growing to understand it and accept it. I've got a pinterest board for fat poses that I've been collecting (which I've just realized only has feminine people in it, I need to fix that >:/ ). Fat Photo Reference is another good site for practice, but it requires a password, so if anyone wants to get in then just DM me! Self portraits are also a great idea for this, especially if you find fatness beautiful in other people but not yourself, like you've said! Maybe give it a shot on a day when you're feeling up to it 💛

I hope this helps!! I'm not an expert on this, so my advice might be just as cliche and unhelpful as everything else out there 😅 but this is all just from personal experience. Fatness is normal and healthy and beautiful, so I hope you can come to accept your own soon!! 🙏

[joy-haver]

✨I get better at handling my disability every day✨

And that’s not because of doctors, or physical therapy, or yoga, or some fad diet, or essential oils, or whatever. It’s because I learn from everything I do, I do everything I can, I take breaks, and I do things that I value.

{this is not a guide. You can learn from it, but it not meant to be instructional! Still, there are useful insights that you might could incorporate, if you think on how they’d apply in your own life. But don’t take what I do and expect it to work perfectly for you. This can be a starting place, but it is not an end point.}

🔶 I learn from everything I do.

➕Every time I get hurt doing something, I treat it like a blessed piece of information. I now know more about my body and how to move it in less harmful ways.

➕Every time something goes wrong, I ask for advice from others with similar experiences, and I read every journal article about it that I can get my hands on.

➕Every time I do something that helps me feel better or brings me joy, I take note of it and experiment with it over time, till I find the most effective ways to utilize it in different scenarios.

🔷 I do everything I can while still working within my limits.

➕spending time cooking saves us money, but it’s also one of the most intensive activities i can do without tending to get very injured. Which means I’m moving my body, and also familiarizing I myself with how it works. This creates many opportunities for learning! And I get to have far more variable and nutritious meals, which helps honestly everything.

➕I cycle thru activities that use different types of spoons. For example, I might do a high intensity standing activity for a bit, and then switch to a medium intensity vocal activity, then a medium intensity hand & thinking activity, then a low intensity art activity.

This helps a lot. Overtime, I’ve had to realize that every thing I do causes injury and pain. And the more I utilize the same motions or joints at the same intensity (even at low intensity), the more injured I get. But I still have to, and *want to*, do things. So, I utilize my adhd urge to switch tasks frequently, and I’ve turned that into a protective measure! I still do hyper focus. But when I do, it’s less damaging because I’ve done so much harm reduction work outside of it!

➕when I do overextend myself, I learn from it.

♦️I take breaks.

But, importantly, my breaks are never just laying down and staring at the ceiling. That’s something I’m forced to do when I get too injured, and I don’t want to be tired of it when that happens.

So instead, I take other types of breaks. This isn’t a complete list by any means, but it gives a better idea of how I conceptualize breaks.

➡️sensory breaks — I do both low sensory and high sensory breaks.

~Low sensory breaks~ can be as simple as putting on noise canceling headphones, putting on a slideshow of black and white photos, and having low, even lighting in the room, and a squishmallow on my chest

~High sensory breaks~ can be listening to a grating song with a very active music video, while taking sharp and fast breaths a couple times a minute, and drinking alcohol or a warm drink, and letting my brain spin on something I have a lot of conflicting feelings about.

➡️artistic breaks — these are the types of breaks where I focus on creating things for my own enjoyment. I spend most of my time acting in service of others or for a higher purpose. This is taking a break from that to do something specifically for me.

~inaccessible art~ I spend much of my time very focused on making things accessible and shareable, so sometimes I make purposely inaccessible art that only I can understand. This lets me reaffirm my own personhood.

~poetry~ a lot of the most important work I do involves detailed and nuanced long form writing. Poetry allows me to push back on this by writing in a way that trusts the reader to interpret. The nuance is in the implications and the word play, not in 5 paragraph digressions.

~music~ as someone without much agency, I often feel the need to be heard. Playing music makes me feel unignorable and creative. It’s very hard on my joints, but it’s a release i can’t receive elsewhere.

➡️calm/silly breaks — I spend all of my life thinking everything through, weighing the ethics of every decision, thinking of ramifications, incorporating everything I learn into my world view, checking my ideas against each other. Sometimes I just wanna look at sheep, or pretend my squishmallow is a baby, or be incredibly silly all day.

🔳 I use my ability & energy on things that are in line with my values

➕when I do get injured, it often feels worthwhile. This is because I usually know the risks of injury pretty well. But more importantly, because I don’t spend my time on things that I don’t see as valuable unless I absolutely have to. Even with tasks I don’t enjoy, I do them because I know it’ll help me, or my household, or my community, or the world, or whatever. So if I get injured in service to that, I tend to view it as worthwhile.

➕i acknowledge that there is important work to be done that is grueling, slow, and not very rewarding. I know I have to do the work. But I make sure my life isn’t *just* that sort of work. There are some things I do that I know do a ton of good for very little energy. That allows me to keep going with the work that is more of a slow burn.

➕I don’t work for works sake. I don’t work ‘hard’ unless ‘hard’ is the only way to do the work. I work efficiently. And I don’t do work that others could do much easier unless I have to. I don’t value work, I work towards my values.

✨alrighty, that’s all for now! I might make a part 2 if this gets traction, but I don’t wanna burn myself out on something if I don’t know that people will read it✨

[theindependenttrentcrimm]

✨Finals for People w ADHD and Chronic pain

Hello, hello fellow phys and mental disabled people. This should be able to apply to a lot of people outside of those w chronic pain and ADHD but as those are two of things I struggle the most with, I wanted to be specific. It’s finals season! Yikes! Some of the things that I use to make sure that I’m getting my work done:

The pomodoro technique

the thing that I love about this one is that you can totally adjust it to your needs. Can only focus for 5 minutes before you need a break? Great- do 5 minutes of work and take a break for 2.5 minutes. You need longer stretches to focus? Great do 50 minutes of work and then take a 10-15 minutes break. Make it work for you!

On these breaks, check in with yourself. What hurts? When was the last time you went to the bathroom? Did you drink any water today? Do some stretches- especially those of us with chronic pain in our finger joints and hands. Do you need to stand up? Has sitting been hurting your back? Get a snack. Use this breaks to recharge

2. Body doubling!

if you don’t have a buddy to study with, look up study with me on YouTube. I highly recommend Angela V’s channel. Helped me get a lot of work done in high school. if neither of these work, go to a cafe or a library or other study space with people. If you see other people are working, you’re more likely to work

3. Make a list of things that ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO be done today

no, not a priority list. Those don’t work (at least for me). I make a list of what is due at midnight that day and then only set out to accomplish those tasks. 4. Recognize when you’re done

sometimes the executive dysfunction or pain hits and you simply cannot get anything done for the rest of the day. Stop there (if you can). Trying to push through this will only impact your ability to get things done for tomorrow. When you hit this point, do something that helps you relax. Watch a movie or do something creative or go outside or make yourself a hot drink or take a bath or talk to a friend. Try to accept that you can’t do anything for the rest of the day. Give yourself grace

5. Take pain meds before it starts hurting

if you know that staring at screens gives you a migraine or typing or sitting for too long cause chronic pain flare ups, take the meds ahead of your study session. There is no reason to be in pain on top of the already excruciating ordeal of getting through your studying and homework. If you get dehydration headaches, keep a glass of water readily available.

6. Try to have everything at ‘point of performance’

try to have everything right on your desk or in your study area. This helps both with not moving too much while you’re studying and with limiting distractions when you get up to find things. THIS INCLUDES CHARGERS (mostly a reminder for me, my phone is dead right now)

7. If all of this fails, that’s okay!

you’re disabled. it is not your fault if your brain and body are fighting you. it’s absolutely exhausting and even just today I decided that I’m not doing an assignment because I can get a decent grade without it and I need the energy that I would’ve put into that assignment to put into another more weighted assignment

[brightgnosis]

Your Neurodivergence Isn't The Issue- Nor Is It An Excuse

Honestly this kind of nonsense annoys me- especially as a disabled and neurodiverget person myself; we often get used as an excuse by everyone (both within our own group, and by outsiders) as the example for basically every excuse under the sun, and as I get older, I get more tired of it.

But the part of posts and complaints like these that specifically annoy me the most, however? Are expressed mentalities like this one in particular:

The problem is in the exact opposite of what I ended up doing for myself: pressure to do it the “usual” way or the way you are told. if you put a book in front of me and told me I HAVE to read the entire thing before even thinking about moving onto worship, I don’t think I’d ever be able to do it. I certainly would take much longer than neurotypical people trying to do the task. my brain wouldn’t be able to handle it, so I’d give up.

The problem isn’t anything said here at all. The problem is that, when we (as a whole; as teachers, educators, and even bystanders) tell people to “go research” ... Y'all, for some strange reason, seem to automatically translate that as “you have to do all the research and know everything there is to possibly know before you're allowed to start anything” ... When that’s never even remotely been the case at all. Ever. Under any circumstances. 

Not only has it never been the case just as a default? No one who has ever said “go research” has ever even remotely implied or merely suggested that has ever been the case. Though certainly, some of us may occasionally mention the fact that it is important to have a solid foundational understanding of certain specific topics before committing to specific actions or practices. But only for the sake of safety in those specific areas- and only because those specific areas are more prone to harm or danger to the practitioner; this does not and has never applied to everything, however. And it takes exactly one minute amount of common sense to understand that.

In fact, all of our Elders have blatantly said the complete opposite of this, numerous times over. A fact which would be well known if anyone would actually read a legitimate book and pay attention to its contents in any minute amount. Heck, even the most seasoned “stick up their ass” kind of Reconstructionists who have long been actively stereotyped for being too hardassed about “proper research first” (as I well know, being a prior Recon myself) will themselves openly tell you that the vast majority of the time? All they even do is treat their own books like references for use as needed; that not even they often read a book from cover to cover, let alone follow it exactly as instructed.

But, like... No... Actual, proper research isn’t easy. It is going to be hard; regardless of whether you're Reconstructionist, Revivalist, or Reimaginist? Any amount of research is inherently a process which takes time, energy, resources, focus, and a number of other things to do correctly. And if you have ADHD, or Autism, cognitive dysfunction, or some other issue- or even a combination of issues (hello! I am here! I am included in this!)? Then Yes! It is inherently going to be harder for you to do. You are naturally going to have to spend more time and energy than a neurotypical person finagling out a system that works for you in order to accomplish it!

But whether you're neuroatypical or just neurotypical- able or disabled- there’s still no short cuts to doing it ... Especially not if you ultimately want that information to be good and accurate. And that’s true regardless of your ability or status. It's not going to change just because you're crying about it.

And if you do want that information to be good and accurate? Then yes, there is a certain series of protocols that you should follow in terms of how to do research the right way; a way that does get you accurate, up to date information from reputable sources, with long source trains that can provide appropriate jumping-off points to lead you through to additional sources which can help further your research. And there is a certain series of protocols to follow in order to further verify the efficacy and accuracy of the information you've obtained. And yeah, it’s annoyingly time consuming.

Again: Neuroatypical or typical- able or disabled- there’s literally no easy way to get proper and accurate information. That’s true regardless of your ability or status, and it's not going to change just because you're crying about it.

Yet despite the fact that these various protocols do exist to some extent? There is also no “usual way” to do research in any capacity; there is no "standard pace" that you have to follow. There is no specific amount of knowledge that you’re “supposed to know”- especially not “before you're allowed to do x or y or z” thing; there is no point at which you are definitively “ready” or “know enough” or "have mastered” a subject.

In fact, the second you think you have mastered anything or figured anything out to its best extent? You have either greatly deluded yourself, or you very quickly realize you actually know nothing at all. There's even a joke about this phenomenon. It’s literally called the Dunning-Kruger Effect and it's well documented.

Shoving urgency, strict instructions, and the “right way” onto beginners, even with the best intentions, may be the reason that beginner drops consideration of practicing. especially if that beginner has a disability you are probably unaware of. this also is inflexible and can make neurodiverget or disabled pagans feel pressured to follow abled / neurotypical methods and practices.

As said earlier: Literally no one is doing this. No one. Not a single person. Not a soul ... The blatant reality is that this mythical “usual way to research” and invisible standard is entirely made up by you in your own mind. It doesn’t actually exist- and it never has. It's etirely fictional in all capacities.

When we say “go research”? That means, and has never meant anything more than, exactly what is being said: “Go research”; it means (as one minuscule example) “if you’re not sure how to do offerings, then go look at some basic sources within the specific system you’re interested in, which discuss offerings and various things related to them”. That's it. There is no hidden meaning or additional subtext to it.

In other words: Literally go research. Pick a topic, go look at things, read some stuff about it, and take some notes until you feel like you have at least some kind of a basic cohesive understanding of the information you've read. End of.

That is literally what "researching" a topic consists of. That is all that research is. And no one else around you is doing anything differently than you. Nor can we; it is actively impossible for us to, because that is the entire process of research in a very hypercondensed and oversimplified nutshell.

Now if you ask someone where to start, however? We can sometimes hand you books and various bits of information as a starting place in order to help you out ... But the onus is still on you, as an individual, to do the research for yourself; we can answer questions once you’ve read things, and try to help you better understand what you’ve read. But we can’t read the material for you. We can’t force it to stick in your brain, or force your understanding of it. You must still put in the effort and energy yourselves instead of relying on people to spoon feed you everything, or working off the back of others.

You have got to stop using neurodivergency as an excuse, and blaming other people for your own self created research paralysis that you've caused entirely on your own- and then calling it “abelism” because you don’t want to put in the work.

No one else is responsible for your research paralysis and laziness in this area but you. And you will only ever be the person responsible for it- and the only person capable of solving it for yourself.

This is an opinion piece based in 20+ years of experience (especially as a neurodivergent practitioner). If you found this helpful or interesting, please consider Tipping or Leaving a Ko-Fi; even $1 helps

This account is run by a Dual Faith «(Converting) Masorti Jew + Traditional NeoWiccan» & «Ancestral Folk Magic Practitioner» with 20+ years of experience as a practicing Pagan and Witch. If that bothers you, don't interact.

[scribefindegil]

Writing thoughts below the cut for organizing/externalizing purposes:

The Broccoli Small Gods Fic:

Pros: closest to being complete; I am allowed to be as earnest as I want; Important emotionally so unlikely to lose motivation

Cons: Important emotionally so I want it to be Good; need to decide what tense the dang thing is in; stressed about successfully getting The Point across

To Do: get all the bits into one document. Figure out which scenes you need that aren't written yet. Figure out the tense thing. Trace the big three Thematic Words and see if there are any gaps. Cry probably.

IT IS OKAY IF: it still takes a while; not everyone gets it; the prose is a little wobbly or overwrought.

THE POINT IS: holding the catharsis in my hands like a ball of light and feeling like I explained what it meant to me

The Post-Mogami Fic:

Pros: genuinely have a draft of Most Of This; Important emotionally; I am allowed to be as earnest as I want; not being able to finish before the show ended means I have better characterization since I know the ends of everyone's arcs

Cons: Important emotionally so I want it to be Good; feel like it might be controversial (so I have to work harder to make my point clear)

To Do: organize the draft I do have, write the Dimple section, figure out the middle (bullet-point outline with Themes is okay!!); remember that the themes of gentleness apply to you too

IT IS OKAY IF: the prose doesn't feel the way it does in your head; it still takes a while; not everyone gets it

THE POINT IS: HOLDING THE CATHARSIS IN MY HANDS LIKE A BALL OF LIGHT. THE TRANSCENDENCE OF THE RETURN. THE LOVE THE LOVE THE LOVE. the gentleness of being loved when you're recovering. the narrative that's already there

The Emergency Contact Fic:

Pros: aiming for more show-accurate style so it gets to be fun and silly! The prologue works as a standalone so you can focus on that! You love your plot ideas and your weird ensemble!

Cons: aiming for more show-accurate style which is SCARY! Even the prologue is long which is also scary! Lots to keep in your head! (Scary)

To Do: TRUST YOUR BETA WHO LOVES YOU AND KNOWS YOU ARE CURSED. Send a thing even if it's rough. Cover it in annotations about the parts you don't know how to write. Let it ramble instead of choking yourself trying to keep things compact. Also do a Real Outline in Excel with scene breakdowns. You know it will help.

IT IS OKAY IF: it takes a long time. (There will still be people who want to read it and you will be happy to have written it.) The writing is not as funny as you would like it to be or some of the characterization isn't perfect. (Snadge is funnier than you and will help. Also you will get better as you practice)

THE POINT IS: having fun! Literally that is the only point of this one!

A Secret Fourth Thing (various other ideas):

IT IS OKAY IF: most or all of these are just daydreams. you have no moral obligation to finish a fic, even if you really like the idea. It is also okay to be wildly self-indulgent. this is fanfiction for crying out loud. work on the ekurei disability fic with an audience of You; it is literally fine.

THE POINT IS: to have a good time with these characters that you love! To give your sad cursed brain something to play with even if you are just lying in bed thinking about it very slowly. escapism is a powerful force.

[antiterf]

(Prefacing this to say that I'm not trying to convince you to move from neutral to pro transandrophobia- i think you being neutral is ur right and I can definitely understand why you are neutral. Just wanted to state my own perspective as a trans man, esp. As a trans man of color. Feel free to delete if necessary!)

I'm personally pro transandrophobia as a term because just as Trans Women have unique experiences due to their intersection of being Women and being Trans, and Black Trans Women experience a particularly unique blend of issues due to being Women who are Trans and black, Trans men also face a unique set of issues. Of course these issues can vary depending on where Trans men live, what their race is, how well they pass (as BS as passing is as a concept)and other factors, but so too might a Trans Woman's experience of transmisogyny/transmisogynoir vary based on similar criteria. Until recently, I've felt that there has been a major lack in information/discussion of transmasc specific issues, especially as a black Trans man. I've always felt like the specific intersection of transness and agab of transmasculinity causes unique issues combining misogyny and transphobia that isn't the same as transmisogyny. On top of that, Trans men of color like myself have the added issue of racism, adding to the bigotry stew we face. imho there just hasn't been adequate language to describe these issues until the introduction of transmisandry followed by the (more apt imo) term transandrophobia. I feel like this term adds to the toolkit we need to break down the systemic and societal issues we face. Ofc this is just my personal perspective, but I feel like the transphobia, misogyny, racism, and homophobia I face varies greatly from the same issues others face due to my identity, and I feel like discussing transandrophobia helps Bring light to how differently Trans men may be affected by these issues.

I'm not sure if I'm making sense, and apologies if my thoughts are all over the place, but hopefully this adds a perspective that others can see and take into account in the conversation surrounding transandrophobia...

I felt the same with lack of discussion around the issues trans men face. And I've thought about how I can make many shallow excuses, but overall I think I simply don't know enough about what's going on to speak on it.

I'm only 21, and what you get from everyday interaction with other trans people in activist spaces when learning about 20+ years ago in written history is limited if not non existent. Much of it focuses on a broad view that would be put through the individual lens of the historian or the person recording it, and there aren't many of those people. Basically, I can't relate to what I've learned of queer history back to this because the most queer history we have with trans men is "look, a trans man, or a possible one" and nothing about theories or activism from other trans people. This also applies heavily to trans women. So what we end up with is a cisnormative lens of what gender and how one gender is oppressive against the other, without much solidly believed theory from actual trans people.

This is part of what transandrophobia does. Its taking the issues of being men and having masculinity, but not as what we expect in a cisgender world, and the struggles that come with it. This can possibly applied to men in other minorities, like Black men or in my case disabled men, but much of that I've seen is surface level ("oh, look how masculinity hurts these groups in different ways" rather than "so how about we theorize how we see structural gendered oppression through this"), and that would be my responsibility to find out more for comparison about how this can work out.

I think transandrophobia has potential to finally take "but what about men?" And actually make it productive in the examination of gender rather than anti feminist nonsense. But what it seems to do as of currently is focus on the inner LGBTQ+ community more than anything, especially trans women for some fucking reason (transmisogyny, blaming them for hypervisibility), rather than the cisnormative societies that mainly hurt us.

Like, the other day in the gay trans men being called fujoshis post, someone added these tags. I never mentioned trans women once. I've always focused more on the experiences of trans men because I am one, but the fact that I talk about it now and shade is thrown at trans women is incredibly worrying.

And what I said there is probably inaccurate because right now it's so new and there hasn't been a common ground established. Everyone that is loud about it, either for or against, are automatically biased and will show extreme negatives with each group. I don't know how the community is doing as a whole, what's going on as a whole, and do it reliably. That coupled with a lack of history doesn't sit well.

And I kind of wrote that rant because its really not because I don't see the use of transandrophobia, and I think it can be important especially with trans moc or honestly any of us who have intersecting minority statuses. I genuinely hope it can carry on to be critically looked at and discussed. But right now it's just chaos and please don't compare it to transmisogyny because thats on the basis of intersectionality, and transandrophobia would not fit under that same concept.

If something clicks from the research I do either in school or my free time I'll definitely talk about it.

[nofuturecomic]

Chapter 15 behind the scenes!!

As usual there will be spoilers for chapter 15 of No Future.

I kind of can't believe I managed to do 48 chapters of this (so far) that's almost 2300 pages x.x with an average of 4 - 5 panels a page, do you know how many times I have had to draw Andrew and company?? And I'm not even close to finished ._.

Anyway for this cover we got Lorelei, Lorelei is unfortunately a character that took a long time for me to be able to draw consistently x.x I'm really not sure why she gave me so much trouble but it was a problem for a while. Though I think I've got the hang of drawing them by now 40 chapters later (at least I hope)

Era explaining how gods can just casually erase themselves from photos while harassing Osiris.

I really need to go back and make Osiris's hair poofier in this scene, it was much more everywhere in the sketch but for whatever reason I toned it down in the finished version? I'm not sure why actually?? But I remember not really liking the end result of that panel and feeling like I could have done better after posting it. I was really feeling that 'erasing the image from existence' energy Osiris was feeling I guess.

Abaddon jump scaring Andrew again.

Andrew is truly a wordsmith.

This scene was a lot of fun to do, despite how tedious that balcony was to draw in every panel. At this point I was defiantly used to Era and Aeon's characters so they became far easier for me to work with both in concerns to writing and drawing. Working with them was very natural at this point so I think a lot of their scenes where they are together turn out better now than they did in earlier chapters.

I messed up on Lorelei's height trying to get the door frame in the panel so the visuals for the gag would work better. I tend to focus on one detail at a time instead of the whole picture x.x so I run into a lot of mistakes like this when going through pages. The consequences of being the only person working on a project I suppose.

"Andrew is smart" was a plot twist for readers just as much as it was for Era and Aeon.

Also this scene made a few readers think that Lorelei was into Osiris, she isn't, at least, not like that. She just got focused enough on what he wrote on the board to inquire about it, she's just like that. Unfortunately this does not apply very often for things that pop up in school so she some subjects she's in the below average version of the classes. She has learning disabilities, she mentions so later in the comic, but that doesn't make her incapable of learning, just things have to specifically interest her for her to want to learn about it.

This was kinda of a thing for me too, a lot of people I know think I'm smart, or must have done well in school because I just... remember the most random facts and can bring them up in a conversation, but then they are always really shocked to learn that actually, I did not do well in school and was often in the below average classes. There's a very specific stereotype of kids that are in those classes that is really unfair, and I generally wanted to give a more accurate example of some of the kids that do end up in classes like that.

I enjoy how completely unbothered Lorelei is with Era's comments and just works with them.

Era please.

Aeon please.

This chapter was fairly straight forward compared to other recent chapters, from beginning to end we remained in the same location despite the topics of conversation jumping from one things to another.

Sometimes comic chapters will jump around to all kinds of different scenes, and sometimes it'll just stick to one, both a great as long as your readers are still engaged I think. Just do whatever your story needs for you to tell it.

[vtori73]

Need to make comics... horror comics.

Honestly, for awhile I may have not been willing to admit it but I think I was sort of avoiding trying to come up with a full fledged horror comic and I think I did this because i have higher expectations for what I make in regards to horror. I'm a big horror junkie, sure there are some classics I haven't seen still but I've watched, read & played plenty of horror, it's one of my fav genres.

I do also avoid doing things in general (art related) because I don't want to mess up/high expectations & also executive dysfunction but even more so with horror. I want my comics to be scary, to dig at you, I worried I wouldn't be able to do that because even though I LOVE horror I also... don't really get scared by it often. Video games tend to get to me more but I'm not making a video game, I'm making a comic.

I sort of recently (a few months ago), decided to read a bunch of Junji itos work because while I was aware of him and his stuff I never really read much past a volume or two (not because of disinterest i just have a horrible attention span/memory). I wanted to read more, specifically comics, since it was something I was interested in doing but was a bit afraid to tackle. I read probably all of tomie, some short stories (still haven't read some of his more famous ones, need to find those) & some of that one about fish gaining legs and going on land (don't remember the name) & I also read the Drifting Classroom, I was reminded of it when I remembered my dad owned a copy & seeing it once when I was a young teen (I think I read it too). I also have looked for various webtoons/indie/web comics to read. And while its good research I think what really made me feel more open to making horror/freeing my mind to come up with ideas for horror was finally figuring out how I can use that sentiment I hear a lot of from people who make horror and that is to create from what scares you, to use it, pretty much the "create from what you know" thought process. And look, this was already something I knew AND was applying to my other stories I have created (in my head mostly, but still) but I was having hard time warping my head around this concept FOR horror. Sure I have fears but as adult most of mine are more dull, mundane, common, or a fueled by my anxiety, so I never really felt any of this could make a good story or more specifically I never thought I could make it into a good story and would make something either "preachy" or boring (or WORSE... both). And yeah sure I fear normal things that most normal people do but I don't want to make those into horror stories, honestly those kind of horror stories bore me a bit but mostly it's because they've been done and I don't really want to redo something that has been done over & over and over again but also because those types are hard for me genuinely get scared by like the ones that go off of the whole "stranger danger" philosophy because in reality it's so rare your going to be hurt let alone murdered by strangers & more likely will be someone you know to some extent.

Also considering I'm also very critical of the genre (look, this isn't a sole problem with horror BUT we can't deny horror has some very big issues regarding how it depicts disability, poc, & trans people but also with how it depicts woman & queer people). I also didn't just want to make any old horror story, I want to avoid demonizing anyone marginalized which I feel isn't going to be too to hard, like yes, I still have biases and stuff I may not notice that might creep into my work that I need to be aware of & to look out for BUT... the reason I decided to say it wouldn't be too big of an issue for me to try avoiding is because these marginalized groups don't scare me. I have a general fear of new people but that's my social anxiety. I wouldn't make it a focus because I've done/am doing the work to undo anything that our society has tried to tell me I should fear, distrust, or hate.

So, what I fear, I never thought I personally could translate it into a good horror. I could never wrap my head around making my fears in to something that wasn't completely obvious, but I think I kind of get how to now. Like, I still think I could be less obvious with some of my ideas BUT there is always time to work on that, I have time to improve my craft. I just need to be less afraid to creat and finish my work and just make it all the way through.

[pluglong]

Stopad auto start not working

#STOPAD AUTO START NOT WORKING DRIVER#

If the remote seems to be functioning normally but the vehicle is not responding, it may be as simple as the remote needing to be programmed to the vehicle again. Your remote might also have lost programming. If you own one of the high-end Compustar remotes that have internal batteries, then it needs to be charged. If you have an LCD-based remote control, is the display dead? If the remote is not responding to you, there is a good possibility you just need a battery for it. The first thing to look for is the LED flashing when you push a button on the remote. My vehicle will not respond to my remote control. Here are some of the things that might come up. While many of the situations with a remote starter apply to all brands, we are going to focus on Compustar, our feature brand. What do I do now”? If this applies to you, the good news is that, most of the time, one of these situations will apply to your vehicle.

#STOPAD AUTO START NOT WORKING DRIVER#

The driver shouldn’t have to do anything to re-start the engine.When the weather turns cold, one of the most common questions we get at Perfectionist Auto Sound & Security is “My remote starter stopped working. When the system realises the driver wants to move off because they’ve released the brake or dipped the clutch pedal, the ignition starts again. It then tells the car to stop delivering fuel to the cylinders. It detects when the car is stationary and out of gear (if the car’s a manual) or the brake pedal is pressed (if it’s an automatic). The system works with the car’s main computer. I always think it’s best to do this before it actually fails and leaves you stranded somewhere. If the weather isn’t too cold or you’ve been driving at speed for longer than 20 minutes and it still doesn’t work when you come to a halt, it’s definitely worth taking your car to see a mechanic. It really depends on when the stop-start doesn’t work. Best to change it before this happens (Picture istock/lentolo) Stop-start not working might be a sign the battery is about to pack up. You’ll know this because a warning light will illuminate on the dashboard. Neither will it work if there are any faults with the engine management system. And the car is smart enough to disable stop-start when you’re on a steep hill. The system realises there’s a high chance you’re manoeuvring and will find the engine cutting out every few seconds more than a little irritating. Having the wheel turned at an acute angle will prevent it working too. Stop-start won’t operate when reverse gear is selected or a parking aid is active. Other reasons why stop-start may not work To make all those starts seamless, the stop-start won’t kick in if it detects the battery is dying and it’s going to struggle to restart the car. I read somewhere that while a ‘normal’ car’s engine would start up about 50,000 times during the car’s life, on a stop-start car, that figure would be around 500,000. Or maybe your battery needs checkingĬars with stop-start use special batteries that can withstand constantly starting an engine. So it disables the stop-start in case the battery is drained so much the engine won’t re-start. The computer knows the battery’s most important job is ensuring the engine starts. This is because all those features will then be drawing electric current from the battery. If it’s cold and you’ve switched the lights, wipers and heater on it may decide that cutting the engine isn’t going to do the battery any favours. Stop-start is clever enough to monitor the battery and how much current is being drawn from it. You’ll know the stop-start has stopped working because an A in a circle with a line through it will appear on the dash. Therefore the clever computer keeps the engine running until it’s at an optimal temperature. This is because the car’s computer is sufficiently savvy to know that an engine is at its most efficient when it’s fully warm. Stop-start won’t intervene when the engine is cold. And I’m not the only one the cold’s affected. The weather’s been so chilly lately, I’ve struggled to get out of bed in the morning. But if it stops stopping, is it a problem? And should you take your car to the garage? It might be due to the cold weather And it’s on nine out of every 10 new cars sold. Stop-start is designed to save you fuel and cut a car’s exhaust emissions by reducing the amount of time your engine sits idling without going anywhere. Is your car’s stop-start system on the blink at the moment? If it isn’t working as you think it should, there might be a very good reason for it.

[blindbeta]

Blind/Visually Impaired Person’s Review Of ‘The Blind Bandit’

It is here! At almost 6 thousand words (I have a problem lol). This is a review of season 2, episode 6 in Avatar: the Last Airbender. The episode is called The Blind Bandit.

Note that this is only a review of the portrayal of blindness rather than the episode or show itself. This show also has audio descriptions on Netflix so any blind followers of mine can watch the show if the want to. I would also like to make it clear that this is my opinion. It is my no means lacking in bias and I won’t pretend that it is. I love this character for some of the reasons I will explain here, and that will show even as I consider criticisms of her or things that simply could have been better.

This character, Toph, was my first exposure to a blind character in television.

CHARACTER INTRO:

“Your champion, The Blind Bandit!”

We first hear Toph introduced as The Blind Bandit. She is described as having pale eyes which is usually how eye conditions are conveyed visually. Some online sources describe them as light grey or sea form green, but glazed over. This could be due to cataracts or some other deterioration. Part of me wants to mention that not all blind people have eyes like this. Most don’t; I don’t. However, blind people can have many eye problems outside of just The Blindness, so it isn’t inaccurate either, especially for a time period where eye surgeries are not available, and Waterbenders are not as easy to reach for healings as they may have been before the war. I also suspect her family would not care about cataracts if Toph was not in pain— their main issue would be her blindness. I’m getting ahead of myself.

The point is, I don’t mind the way her eyes are portrayed here. I do think non-blind people are too obsessed with portraying eyes like this, however, and I feel like it is not necessary in non-visual media unless you have established why their eyes are cloudy/lighter/Like That other than Because Blind. I’m happy they didn’t fall into the trap of portraying her eyes as constantly closed.

I also read somewhere that the creators tried not to move her eyes much. I don’t know how true this goal was, but I feel it is not entirely necessary. Blind people can also have uncontrollable eye movements or rapid eye movements. This might be too hard to animate and too confusing for viewers. Therefore, I feel the creators chose a more practical portrayal of eye movements that is the easiest to animate and least confusing for people who may not know blind eyes can and do move, whether due a condition or other factors.

“She can’t really be blind, can she?”

I like that everyone says “blind” without stumbling over it or treating it as a bad word. Katara is surprised and Aang is accepting, feeling hopeful that this girl could at last be his teacher. I even like that she chose to capitalize on it for her persona. Already we can tell Toph has no issue with being blind, nor does she feel the need to hide it in such a setting as this. She is already the champion— it must be working for her. It is this openness and acceptance of blindness that I like, especially from the main character. Rather than make her hide her blindness or angst over something she has lived with all her life, the writers just introduced it as fact. She’s blind and she’s a champion. That is how we meet Toph.

“Sounds to me like you’re scared, Boulder!”

Trash talk. She’s trash talking him. If the champion thing was not an indication that this wasn’t your stereotypical innocent, blind flower, her first line should be! Already Toph is brash and fearless. A far cry from the angelic stereotype we often get in the media.

“Your winner, and still the champion, The Blind Bandit!”

Toph kicks Boulder Butt. Pretty easily. I loved every second of it.

Now let’s talk about the Super Crip trope here.

IS TOPH A SUPERCRIP?

The Supercrip trope is a bit hard to pin down. I found a few definitions floating around. This link has two: Trope: SuperCrip | #CriticalAxis: a community driven project from The Disabled List

The Supercrip is seen as having “overcome” their disability in order to do normal things or even extraordinary things— with a focus on their disability rather than their accomplishments.

The first part is avoided. The narrative doesn’t focus on how extra special it is that Toph is doing things like: walking, talking, eating soup, sitting with her family, yelling at Aang and his friends, etc. Toph is not seen as extra special for doing normal things that her disability does not make more difficult. Not only would this be patronizing and ignorant, this would reflect that attitudes many real life strangers have: disabled people are so strange and mystical to some people that they feel the need to ask blind people on the street how they walk or talk.

Personally, I find this portrayal of disabled people to be the most harmful. It caters to able-bodied onlookers alone and offers nothing for disabled people. To clarify: the problem is not portraying disabled people/characters doing normal things! The problem is expecting your audience to feel inspired because a disabled person did a thing that is completely ordinary for them.

This does not apply to Toph.

Another definition is that a disabled person is portrayed as “overcoming” their disability in order to do something cool/big, usually something able-bodied people don’t do everyday. This disabled person is only noteworthy because they did something extraordinary such as win several gold medals. This presents two problems: 1) it is hard for disabled people to meet these expectations, especially when this is shown as the only positive way to live with a disability. And 2) able-bodied people see this and believe all disabled people must be winning gold medals or doing super extraordinary things because their disability somehow gives them privilege, pity-points, or superhuman powers that make up for their disability. An example of these powers would be the myth that blind people have superhuman hearing rather than simply using their hearing more than sighted people and thus being more attuned to sound. An example of pity-points would be the time my family was watching Dancing With the Stars featuring a blind contestant. After the dance, someone remarked that the contestant would probably get sympathy points and go on to the next round. Her talent was not a factor the same way it was for the able-bodied contestants; pity-points could not be separated from her success. It was impossible that she would be supported and judged the same way as the others, with her blindness being only an extra factor that might make copying a dance to learn it more challenging for her. Keep in mind, these ideas are so ingrained in people that my own family believed it in even when they know me and several of my blind friends.

Let’s consider Tooh:

Pity-Points? - Not even a factor. This was not brought up by Aang, nor Katara, nor Sokka. It was certainly not thought of by the owner of the battle ring nor Toph’s opponents. In fact, she was only doubted when she lost. Her talent was never viewed as the result of someone else’s pity or reduced to inspiration for an able-bodied wrestling audience. The announcer says her name and nothing else. Her parents don’t bring up the idea that Toph only wins because she was pitied either. They witnessed her bending and only believed they needed to protect her more, not that she was not talented.

Privilege? - It is no question that Tooh’s family is rich. It is hard to say how much that affects her here. She has a tutor who undermines her growth and is pretty much useless. She has protection she doesn’t want and riches she doesn’t seem to use. She does have more free time to battle as a result of her riches, not having to work at a young age (although her parents probably would not have let her even if they needed the money). Toph’s family status could have been seen as playing a role in her winning— if her parents allowed the world to know about her. - It is no secret that Toph is rich, however, when privilege is brought up by able-bodied people, they don’t usually mean riches (although the stereotypical rich disabled person is something I could discuss at a later time). They usually mean some combination of government benefits that may or may not exist and pity points. Disability makes things HARDER, not easier. A person can have multiple privileges they did not earn, or lack of privileges they did not ask for. Toph does not gain special privileges due to her disability, nor does she ask for or expect them. My opinion is that no one asks for this, anyway.

Super-human? - This one is a little trickier. It is the one people are obviously hung up on when they consider Toph. It is difficult to consider this without considering Toph’s entire arc. However, I have chosen to focus on her bending and “sight” and how it is used in this episode. I may talk about this more if I do other reviews. - First, bending. Toph is not the only bender in the series. She is also not the only good bender, as Katara is also someone who grows into her bending and becomes particularly powerful. Aang is already a master of airbending in addition to being the Avatar. He is special and particularly powerful, mastering water quickly. Azula is also said to be a prodigy and has mastered lightning at 14. The point is, Toph is a powerful bender. She is not the only powerful bender in the world. The Avatar needs someone to teach him and that person would, reasonably, have mastered their bending in order to teach the Avatar. - Now for Toph’s bending in relation to her blindness. It is true that Toph is powerful AND blind— is she powerful in spite of being blind? Is she powerful because her blindness gives her superpowers? This is tricky. To me, the narrative doesn’t go out of its way to say “she overcame her blindness and was able to win”. It also doesn’t show blindness as a superpower, such as causing superior hearing. - How is it portrayed then? First, Toph never has to “overcome” her blindness, which is important. The obstacle is the limitations placed on her. The obstacle is society, not her disability. Toph does not need to accept her blindness before doing anything, because she has been blind since birth. She does not have to overcome her blindness before fighting or becoming a champion because when we are introduced to her, she already was. She is not expected to overcome her disability in order to teach Aang; he tries to recruit her without seeing her disability as an issue. She does not need overcome her disability because it is not what stops her, as is the case for most people. There are some things being blind makes difficult, different, or impossible to do, but this isn’t one of them. Blind people can learn to fight. They can win. And when people reduce such accomplishments as “overcoming disability”, it can feel like a misdirection, like a dismissal of hard work and talent.

This does not happen with Toph.

Second, does Toph’s blindness give her superpowers? Maybe. I feel like it might be necessary to cover Toph in other episodes. However, this review is focusing mostly on The Blind Bandit and so I will focus on Toph’s unique “sight”. Toph’s bending is unique from others because she can feel the vibrations in the ground, allowing her to sense objects and people. This ability allows her to fight and beat others. In my opinion, this is more of an adaptation perfected through sheer amount of practice. Katara and Zuko don’t always bend. Toph is using her bending constantly. Of course she would be good at it. Her bending is a tool for her use. Fighting? That’s just a bonus, a hobby.

Toph also has weaknesses and is in fact beaten by Aang, who wasn’t even trying. Losing to someone who had no intention of winning is a pretty big deal.

Personally, I don’t think Toph is a supercrip in this episode. She is a Blind Seer, a trope popular in literature. The Blind Seer can’t see physically, but they can see in other ways you can’t. I don’t have an issue with this trope and think it can be used in cool ways, especially if the blind character isn’t the only one with a superpower.

I do, however, want people to question why a blind character always needs to have a power that relates to or makes up for their lack of sight in some way. Unless you are making a deliberate allusion to something or a blind is not the only one with sight-related powers, I ask writers to question why they jump to sight-related powers in the first place. Or powers related to hearing, something to “make up for” their lack of sight.

Can this be done well? Absolutely. Toph, while she can fall into both The Blind Seer and the Supercrip tropes for some people, she is beloved and interesting for many fans, blind or sighted.

I ask people to trace their logic about why they choose to give their blind character powers related to sight. What kind of power is it? Does it make up for (aka erase) their blindness and make them less relatable to blind readers/watchers? Are they the only blind character and/or the only person with such a power? Can they have another power? What works and does not work for good characters like Toph? Why?

Getting rid of these particular tropes are not the answer. I simply invite people to consider other options, try new things, think critically about why and what woks or doesn’t work in other characters.

I absolutely invite blind writers to use whatever tropes they want, as they can probably write it in a more nuanced way.

My personal opinion about the Supercrip trope is that it is somehow focused on success or talent as the enemy without recognizing what it means. Wanting to succeed is not wrong. Being competitive is refreshing!

It isn’t really about doing super things or not— it is about disabled people being made to feel like they will not be successful, accepted, or taken seriously if they do not win everything or succeed at impossible feats. Able-bodied people are permitted to exist without needing to prove anything. Disabled people are not afforded that respect.

Either disabled people fight against the ingrained expectation that they simply cannot do anything, that will FAIL, because of their disability, or they fight against the realization that, for many people, even impossible feats will never be enough. Their accomplishments will never be seen as just that— accomplishments.

Blind characters should be talented or hard-working, prodigies or people who claw their way to the top. Their disability may be an obstacle and it may, in fact, barely even be necessary to mention aside from adaptive tools. The Supercrip is so alluring because people are under the impression blind people— and disabled people as a whole— cannot do anything. To the point that some condescendingly assume certain things are impossible because they did not think of adaptive techniques or technology. This is why research is important.

Remember why this trope/stereotype exists: for the inspiration of able-bodied people who are uninterested in making changes in society’s attitudes and the amount of accessibility it provides. Problematic tropes like this usually have a specific issue behind them and you cannot tackle or discuss r subvert the trope until you understand the harmful reason it exists.

Not everyone agrees with me. Here are some reading materials:

On the pervasive Supercrip trope in martial arts:

http://feministing.com/2010/02/19/media-portrayal-of-disability-and-martial-arts-a-personal-statement/

On the pressure this trope puts on blind people:

Challenging the ‘Supercrip’ Stereotype of People With Disabilities | The Mighty

[In the comments, I would prefer people not speculate about Toph being a Supercrip or not if they aren’t blind themselves. It would be more helpful to focus on other aspects of this review or share posts by other blind people instead.]

Keep in mind, this is only a review of one episode. And I personally will take a powerful disabled character over a powerless, sad one anytime.

This concludes our commercial break. Back to the show.

BEING BLIND IN EARTH KINGDOM SOCIETY

Earth Kingdom Boy 1: “Well, a flying boar is the symbol of the Beifong family. They’re the richest people in town. Probably whole world.” Earth Kingdom Boy 2: “Yeah, but they don’t have a daughter.”

Now this is interesting. It implies that Toph is: a) hiding herself well so as to keep up her double life and/or b) being hidden by her family. I suspect it is a little of both. A) is pretty obvious, especially with the wall surrounding their estate, while b) could be due to overprotectiveness or shame on the part of her parents. Shame may seem harsh. However, this is not exactly a modern time period and respect for disabled people can vary depending on culture, time, place, and individual attitudes.

When portraying poor social attitudes toward disabled characters, writers must work hard to show the attitudes as wrong and work to reduce them. I do feel that, like with gender discrimination, people tend to preemptively assume accepting disability is modern and Western concept- and that any ableism is fair game because it is realistic. That is far from the truth, especially if they get it wrong.

Too much and it could be mistaken for an excuse to be ableist. Too little and it may seem like erasure of societal barriers faced by blind people.

Let’s see how the ATLA writers handle this.

TOPH’S “SIGHT” AND MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

Anyway, the Gaang finds Toph again. Toph: “What are doing here, Twinkle Toes?” Aang: “How did you know it was me?”

Two things stick out here. I love that The Gaang interacts with her normally and this episode is not about the able-bodied characters learning how to treat a disabled person like a person, nor is it about them confronting their biases. Instead, they have a favor to ask, one that Toph cannot grant. The episode shifts focus onto Toph and her emotions and needs.

I also liked that Aang asks how she knew it was him. This is a common question and it seems to be asked in curiosity rather than implied judgment or suspicion on Aang’s part, as is often the case nowadays. Later in the episode, Toph explains how she knew, but she could also have recognized his footsteps (light as they are) with or without her bending. Blind people are also usually more reliant on hearing or smell and so may pick up on scents or sounds others do not. That is not to say their hearing or smell are superior (see the Supercrip discussion), but that they are used more often. This is how I conceptualize Toph’s bending— it is something she uses all day, every day. Like her hearing and smell and touch, she is more reliant on these senses and so uses them in ways others don’t.

I do wish we had a few more examples of this in the episode/show rather than Toph using her bending for every situation. As I said, I do not mind that she can “see” with bending as it is not true sight, but showing how she uses other senses would have been nice details.

TOPH’S PARENTS HAVE ENTERED THE RING

Toph: “I thought I heard something! I got scared.” Guard: “You know your father doesn’t want you wandering the grounds without supervision, Toph.”

With this, we can understand her father is overprotective, so much so that Toph is able to believably pull off this act of helplessness in front of the guards. Her father does not believe even walking around her own home is safe for her.

With that in mind, it is NOT a plot hole that she can walk around her home in front of her parents. Even overprotected blind kids don’t use canes or need a guide within their own homes as they often memorize the layout. Canes are not usually used inside ones own home or very familiar areas. Outside areas might be an exception as they are likely to change due to nature or redesign, but generally familiar, casual areas do not warrant canes or guides. It is completely believable that Toph can walk around in her own home without causing suspicion.

Toph’s father, indicating soup placed in front of her: “Blow on it. It’s too hot for her.”

Not only is her father overprotective, he is infantilizing. He thinks she can’t blow on her own soup and must be confined to basic stances of bending, something Toph is clearly unhappy with. Toph’s parents are the kind of people who wouldn’t let her watch TV lol!

Toph’s father: “And sadly, because of her blindness, I don’t think she will ever become a true master.”

There it is. There are many people in the world who have this mindset, believing disabled people succeeding is unrealistic, or only achieved by pity-driven intervention from others for inspirational purposes or a lie told by overly soft parenting. Toph’s father may seem radical, but his views are very common even for those close to a blind person. Even for those who might like the inspirational stories about blind people doing things.

HOW TOPH SEES THE WORLD

Toph: “It’s kind of like seeing with my feet.”

This is where I disagree with some interpretations of Toph. She can sense where things are and what they are. She has a wider range than someone with a cane would. However, I don’t know if this is quite erasing her blindness. Could they have done better? Yes. However, to claim the show made her sighted with magic is not quite fitting to me. Toph is not seeing with a magical potion, nor did Katara heal her blindness. She is using a power a lot of people in the ATLA universe have in bending, one she has used her entire life and perfected through sheer number of practice hours. I think it helps that she did not get this power, narratively, because she was blind. Rather she is a blind person who adapted a skill to her use.

A cane or an animal guide might have helped make the narrative more relatable for blind people, however. They could have also played up being unable to see people’s facial expressions. In other episodes, they show areas where she is unable to bend, such as on ice, sand, or floating objects like the warship or Appa.

In these instances, they could have shown sighted guide.

However, I think what they did worked. Would I suggest anyone else try it? Maybe not. It depends on their motivation for doing it. Toph’s powers basically act as a cane or Sunnu band would. They aren’t a magic spell letting her see all the time.

They could have done a little better— I still think it worked. It does not seem to have unfortunate implications of sight being better than blindness or blindness needing special cures.

For writing purposes, it is important to understand why this worked, how it was portrayed, factor in that bending is not unique to Toph, understand the nature of her ‘sight’, and understand what they could have done better. Just because it works here doesn’t mean it will work everywhere. It is important for writers to understand that and question their motivation for giving their character a different kind of vision.

THE DISABILITY EPISODE - AVOIDED

Toph’s father: “My daughter is blind. She is blind and tiny and helpless and fragile. She cannot help you.” Toph: “Yes. I can.”

Some may feel uncomfortable that Toph’s first episode is about her parents doubting her, dealing with ableism and being forced into stereotypes by her own family. It is important to remember that this is a show for children and any blind children watching it will have dealt with similar issues from adults in their lives. The show doesn’t seem to say this is the only narrative a blind character can have, but rather that it is a relatable occurrence for blind children who are watching it.

Toph also has many episodes left — this is only the beginning. This is hardly her only arc, and even her personality and abilities challenge so many stereotypes.

In most shows, the blind character gets one episode. Toph, however, is a main character.

Toph is also a well-rounded and interesting character with agency. She hardly seems like an inspirational puppet for adults.if this show had been written for adults or if Toph had been focusing on wanting to become a champion “despite her blindness”, I might have felt upset. It goes to show how important nuance is when writing disabled characters and how powerful it can be to make an effort to challenge stereotypes.

This is not how we first see Toph— helpless, unproductive. Instead, we FIRST see her out in the world kicking butt with her bending skill and I think that it is important.

NOT SO HELPLESS AFTER ALL

Toph’s father uses these words to describe her: Tiny, helpless, fragile. Unable to help others. Unexpected to become a true master or even advance beyond breathing techniques.

Toph challenges all of these at some point. She helps Aang defeat the bad guys. She faces many people in battle and wins, remaining an undefeated champion until Aang accidentally beats her. She advances far beyond basic bending techniques. Toph is good at very active things, with bending as a martial art and as a sport here. It is refreshing to see blind characters being so active and a stark contrast to the passive image her father has of his blind daughter. She does things for herself, including developing her bending style without the help of a master who limits her- and she hides her double life well. Toph’s ability and personality also challenge notions of fragility: she is boisterous and fearless, stubborn and even a bit rude. She mostly says what she wants to and fiercely hides what she doesn’t want to, even when pressured. She yielded only to her parents, which is tied up in love, respect, fear that they will no longer love her, possible aversion to change in some aspects of her life, and cultural expectations. For disabled children, it is often hard to go against your parents because the world teaches you that the world will never accept you or allow you to live in it. Your family is all you have.

Toph IS tiny, although that is due to genetics, environmental factors, and her age. However, her stature is used to prove the other qualities assigned to her when in reality her height has nothing to do with anything her family believes about her.

When the fighting starts, Toph creates a cloud of dust which effectively blinds her opponents. I thought it was a nice, ironic touch. The point is not just that her opponents now cannot see; Toph is already used to fighting under these conditions. She didn’t level the playing field. She is already better than them, already used to working without sight, and so the advantage is hers.

ABLEISM IN ACTION

Later, Toph confronts her parents:

Toph’s father: “You will be cared for and guarded 24/7.” Toph’s mother: “We are doing this for your own good, Toph.”

Unfortunately, this kind of infantilization is not uncommon. They saw her as she truly was and were still unable to let go of their ideas of their blind daughter. At this point, Toph is more trapped than ever despite opening up. The first time, it was surprising to see them not change their minds, given the happy endings we are used to in children’s shows. However, what happens is more relatable to blind kids with overprotective or controlling parents.

Of course, Toph makes the choice to leave them, showing more agency than most blind characters get, with or without controlling parents.

OVERALL

Overall: I loved this episode. It was a nice introduction to a character that both challenged expectations and dealt with obstacles relatable to blind fans. Toph’s struggles with her parents and the weight of stereotypes could have been cheap inspiration porn, but the way it was handled and the target audience of children rather than adults changes things immensely. This episode goes out of its way to challenge many stereotypes viewers may hold about blind people in ways that are fun and exciting. Toph’s personality is refreshing even over a decade later. While her bending as ‘sight’ may be disliked by some, it feels more like something with missed opportunities (the use of a cane or sighted guide), although I thought this episode did it well. Toph is not given special powers so that she can see—she adapts an ability for her own use.

Toph is a martial artist, encouraging children to try something similar if they are interested. She challenges her own parents, which may be very relatable to blind fans.

Unlike most children’s shows of the time (and even now), Toph does not feel like a vessel for able-bodied viewers to learn about blindness.

ACCESSIBILITY:

However, it is important to remember that at the time ATLA aired, there was no Netflix with audio descriptions. Descriptions were infrequent at the time and are still spotty on cable TV. The ATLA DVD did not have audio descriptions either, which is the case with all DVDs I have come across. Netflix also took an embarrassingly long time to add audio descriptions to a show with a blind character.

Consider that Toph was nearly inaccessible to blind children at the time — until 2020, well after other sighted children could enjoy it fully. Blind children could not watch a show about them with the same ease that a sighted child could. Think about that.

Is the show to blame for this? I don’t know. Usually the broadcasting service handles descriptions. I have yet to come across a DVD with descriptions. However, I wonder why it took this long. Did the staff consider a blind audience at all? Could they have pushed for descriptions to be added to the DVD?

And what about fans? Did fans consider that the character who challenged stereotypes for them might not be as accessible to blind people themselves? While they scrabbled about whether the characters were ableist, did they bother to consider Netflix’s lack of audio descriptions? Do they remember to add image descriptions to GIFs, pictures, or video clips in the years ATLA was popular online? Did any of this occur to anyone BUT the blind community?

Doesn’t seem like it.

TOPH AND THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE OF/LESS OF IN BLIND CHARACTERS

I made a post about things I would like to see more/less of in blind characters. You can read it here:

https://blindbeta.tumblr.com/post/637419979125489664/things-i-want-to-see-more-ofless-of-in-blind

Here’s how Toph compares to that!

More of: -Blind main character ✔️ -Blind character of color ✔️ -Active (sports/martial arts) and competitive ✔️ -Acknowledgment of difficulties faced in society ✔️

How They Avoided Things I Wanted Less Of: -Being portrayed as sad or broken because of blindness - Avoided - Toph owns her blindness by giving herself the same The Blind Bandit. The only time she is sad is when facing ableism from her parents.

-Being innocent, helpless, and unrealistically kind or selfless - Toph proves she is not helpless, even directly challenging it in the narrative. - Toph is also not unrealistically kind or selfless, not only insulting other characters- but refusing to help Aang when he needs it because it would change things between her and her parents. She also challenges her parents in the end, putting her desires before their feelings toward their perceptions of her. When she follows Aang, she doesn’t do so only to help him. She has her own want to travel and gain independence. - As for innocence, Toph IS 12, although she is far from naive. She is able to fool her own parents into thinking she is who they want her to be.

-Being portrayed as ungrateful or rude in general - Toph’s rudeness comes from a non-ableist place—herself. She is not rude due to anger about being blind nor rude due to entitlement. She doesn’t accept she doesn’t need and is not demonized for this, even when going against her own parents. Toph’s rudeness is in her personality, making it subversive in avoiding the idea blind people must accept all help and be grateful for it. The narrative does NOT expect Toph to go along with the ‘help’ of her parents or even Aang. She refuses this help until she is ready and willing to receive it.

-Going blind due to accidents or trauma - Toph was born blind

I WOULD HAVE WANTED TO SEE: -more adaptive technology/skills in addition to her bending -how she utilizes her other senses -another blind, minor character somewhere in the show (doesn’t apply to this episode, but still)

Toph is, in the end, a token blind character. It works better because she is a MAIN character, which is still not a common occurrence in modern media at all. Toph works because she does not have any stereotypical traits about her personality, which means the sighted audience does not have to rely on another character to broaden their perspective. However, it is still important to include more than one blind character in your stories. For ATLA, 1 or 2 minor blind characters may have helped, or maybe an additional secondary or even main character with low vision.

Toph has a well-rounded personality, which also means the “token” is not completely applicable to her. Toph is a great character. It would have been nice if she were not the only blind character. In fact, I cannot think of any show that has more than one blind character, as if it is a character quirk that cannot be done more than once.

RANDOM IMAGINES TIME

Now I’m imagining a Zuko whose eyesight was affected by the burn or a Zuko whose father decided he didn’t need that side of face anyway if he could not see out of it. Or an Azula who is blind and still better than Zuko -sticks out tongue-! Or perhaps Sokka or Ty Lee contrasting Toph’s personality and bringing to the table a struggle with a lack of depth perception while hunting or performing in the circus, respectively.

The point is, you don’t have to overload your story with blind characters unless you are setting it at a school or event for the blind. Instead, consider who is blind in your story and who else possibly could be. Consider why you only have one blind character and why.

That about wraps up all my thoughts on Toph. In short, I love her. There are things they could have done better or additions they could have made to improve the episode and Toph’s character as a whole, but she is still one of the most beloved and recognizable blind characters ever. I think that says something about the impression she left on people.

If only she would have been accessible to more blind children from the start.

I hope this review was helpful! If you need help writing blind characters I provide sensitivity reading in exchange for donations. My inbox is also open for questions.

[thegingeralien]

Thought I might share my “doing homework with adhd” tips in case the might help even just one person (because that would make me feel happy).

Who am I to be giving you advice? Good point! I am still terrible at studying and I’m 26 and at University for the millionth time. But I have studied A LOT in my 22 years of schooling with varying degrees of success.

I see a lot of people, especially teenagers or first year university/college students, with ADHD asking for tips on how to study. But if you do a google search most of the websites and advice that comes up can be extremely ableist. So I hope I can help someone!

TIPS TO HELP YOU STUDY WHEN YOU HAVE AN ADHD GREMLIN BRAIN!:

1. Chewing gum!

- This might come across as a weird one, but it has actually really helped me. I use it as a form of stimming to help keep me focused and concentrating. Other forms of stimming can potentially end up being more of a distraction when you actually need to be reading or writing - but they can help if you just need to be listening. Try not to get a bubble gum or fun flavoured one though - as they can end up making your mouth feel dry, lose flavour quickly, and just give your brain way too many sensory things to become distracted with.

2. Buying colour coded stationary!

- New stationary can make me really excited to start studying, but that excitement never lasts long and the act of buying stationary can sometimes become it’s own hobby. That’s not what we are going for here. I really recommend, especially if you are a visual learner like me, to buy colour coded stationary. This means removable page markers, different coloured post it notes, highlighters, sometimes even pens. This way if your mind jumps from one topic to the other, it doesn’t matter. Go with the flow. Forcing your ADHD gremlin brain to focus can be extremely counter intuitive. So pick a colour for each topic, and stick to that system to find organisation among your own chaos!

3. Buy a really cheap, boring year diary with hardly any writing inside.

- Not sure if your school/university has their own diary but they can be perfect for what I am on about. Generally you can find them for really cheap, soft cover, no writing or designs within the dates. Just dates, days, weeks and lines where you can write your homework. This helped me a lot in High School. I wish I had kept doing it in University, but I am good with giving advice, and not so much with taking it. I used to decorate the outside of it however I wanted. Some years I would redecorate the same diary every semester. In the public holidays or holiday days I would colour those lines in with different highlighters to make it look like a rainbow. But every assignment due date, homework, draft, rewrite, form I had to bring back, library book due date, school activity days, ANYTHING to do with school I would write in there with reminds and check lists. Important due dates would be highlighted, general homework and daily to do lists t(o help me not leave my assignments to the last minute) would have a tick box beside them (because ticking tick boxes is free dopamine). Try to not put birthdays or fun things in it. This is a small way to stay on track so it helps you actually stay on track with the big things when you’re home.

4. Big whiteboards stuck on the wall where you can’t avoid it.

- This is not something I had in school, but I so wish I did. I have been using this recently to keep on top of house work (as maintaining your own house is tiring) and my small business or other things I really can’t avoid. If I physically write it down (not just in my phone) it psychologically does help you commit it to memory. Again, physically putting a line through a task you just completed is a hecking great rush of dopamine. But the biggest reason I love my white board, I can’t ignore it. It is stuck to the wall and is never out of sight, out of mind. I can’t put my phone or diary down and then refuse to look at it until I’m past the due date. Again, I’m not a perfect person, there are days where I don’t do anything I have written on the white board. But the great thing is, I don’t have to continuously feel like I failure, as I can wipe it all off the next morning or week and start fresh. I also put important things I have to remember that I’m doing during the week so I don’t forget them.

5. Icky Medication.

- I know not everyone wants to be on medication, and I understand. I am not forcing you to. No matter what your opinions are, you lovely gremlin who is still reading this post, regarding medication, you are valid and I respect you. My personal experience with medication has not been the best. I have been misdiagnosed for a severe chunk of my academic life which has seen me trying to focus and maintain school work under some even worse states then I am unmedicated! However, since receiving my diagnosis and finding the right ADHD medication for me, I have the ability to get so much work done without having to unnecessarily struggle. It’s unfortunately not magic, it will not turn me into a robot that makes me do work and turn out incredible, noble peace prize winning assignments (as much as I wish that were possible). I still have the ability to be a lump, doom scrolling through tumblr, forgetting to eat, and ignoring responsibilities. But it really helps me when I sit down and start that thing that isn’t fun. Yesterday it helped me hyperfocus on cleaning my office which was a terrifying room to be in. So it’s pretty close to magic in my opinion!

6. Accessing Disability Support at your place of learning.

- Not all of you taking the time to read this will have either a) an offical diagnosis or b) a good disability support available to you wherever you are completing your studies. And that is okay. This dot point just won’t be for you right now. But keep it in mind for a time when it might apply to you, as it’s something I never thought I would need, but will never take for granted ever again.

- If you have an offical diagnosis and Disability Support, make an appointment with the disability support adviser. DO IT NOW! Get your psychiatrist to write a diagnosis letter outlining that you have <enter superpower that makes you hilarious here> and that you are receiving <enter x,y,z treatment here> and that you would benefit from receiving <enter what you have always wished you had on the days you can’t make your ADHD gremlin brain do the thing here>. Now these benefits can be, but not limit to: automatic extensions on ALL assignments, extra time on exams, extra breaks to walk around while taking exams, special consideration when marking assignments, my university allows me to take exams in a separate room with only the other students in my subject who also have disability support (occasionally I have taken an exam alone with only a tutor present) so I don’t get distracted, permission to take fidget items into class or exam (I have the option to wear headphones, as long as I can display that they are not connected to anything). Maybe you can come up with some great ones for you with your disability advisor or your psychiatrist.

- The disability advisor will often go through your course outline with you at the start of each semester or year. This is annoying and a great time for disassociating, but can be useful in hindsight because you are made aware of everything that will come up during your class so you are not surprised. Because lets be honest, it is unlikely you are going to look at the course calendar too often.

- Side Note: I make an appointment every semester with my disability support officer for my area of study to make sure I have my special considerations for the year. Now I may go through the whole year without ever using my considerations. However, the fact that I know they are there takes an insane amount of pressure off of myself. If I’m having an insanely screwy loony tune mental health moment, I can email my coordinator my disability plan and say I need an extension due to personal reasons, and WHOOP, there it izzzzz.

7. Dedicated one thing or a few things that have nothing to do with food/alcohol/other substances to reward yourself with for doing the thing!

- This may not work for everyone. It doesn’t always work for me. I used to reward myself with food, but that only reinforced my stimming with overeating and my already bad relationship with food. And I feel as though that would be the same with any other substance that can be linked with addiction. (Addiction is a tough word, cause what aren’t I addicted to, I have ADHD, but hopefully you get what I mean!).

-Now, boring try and not choose this aside, lets think of somethings that work really well as rewards!

- My partner likes to come give me a kiss and a hug when ever they have written and reread a paragraph, you might buy a book when you get a really good mark, you might want to go make a cup of tea and watch an episode of your hyperfixation after studying for <enter a good period of time here>, you might allow yourself to partake in an activity you usually do while procrastinating (but at least this time you know you aren’t putting something off), talk to someone who you know will tell you they are proud of you as they understand the mental struggle you go through to concentrate (if you can’t think of anyone, it is 110% okay if that person are the amazing people on tumblr or the adhd tumblr chats. We will freaking pop a bottle of champagne for you cause we get it!).

- Try and make what ever you choose be something in a different room or away from your working space. Getting out can really calm you down.

8. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance.

- This is true for anything, but I don’t mean just asking your teacher to give you extra help understanding the task and marking rubric. Many people online, tutors, librarians at your school, past or present students offer assistance rereading and making small edits (they won’t make it magical unfortunately) to your assignments. If you are like me and once you have written or completed the dreaded thing, you can not imagine or force your gremlin brain reread or edit the thing. So it can help to just delegate this to someone else, who hasn’t read it before, so they won’t disassociate or skim read it. They will often notice things you never would have even if you were neurotypical as that is just what happens when you have been working on something for so long.

9. Repetitive music.

- It generally helps if this has no lyrics. Lo-fi is amazing. Classical is alright too if it works for you, but both my partner and I agree that it can really assist you to keep up pace and focus when the beat is a high and repetitive (almost meditative) tempo.

10. Limit your screen space.

- This is a tip completely from my partner @dr-adhd who also has ADHD, is an avid PC gamer and is consistently in a battle with their gremlin brain to focus on completing their PhD. They have discovered that it really helps them to limit their screen space - simply put, work on one screen only. They have done more work more easily when they have their one screen on their laptop to focus on. Whereas their office has multiple screens so they could be playing runescape, watching YouTube, listening to lo-fi and doing work - which never worked (shocking right hahaha).

11. At the risk of sounding like a Mum... Put your phone and other electronics other than the assignment necessary one, away.

- I am a Mum, but to a fluffy puppy dog, so I hate to sound like my Mum when I was in high school, but she was right. Mobiles are the single easiest and biggest distraction in ADHD history. I often, even at coffee shops, have to turn my phone over so that I am not consistently looking at it every time the screen lights up to say the pizza place has sent me a coupon, or a carpet place that has been having a sale since I was born is... still having a sale, or a friend from school wants you to watch this TikTok. Even though you might not want to ignore your friends, because people pleasing, difficulting making/keeping friends and RSD are hecking real things, but they can all wait. Trust me, none of them are urgent. That TikTok will still be funny in an hour or two. And I’m probably completely right when I say that whomever just messaged you, never replies as quickly as you want them too. So I doubt they are going to think twice if you are MIA to finish your thing.

My partner or I might add to this later, but at the moment I already know that I probably wouldn’t read this wall of words if I was the one reading it, so if you are still with me, THANK YOU and I really hope I might have helped you. Sorry for the mound of words, but maybe you can reblog, screen shot, or save this and read a dot point at a time or refer to it when you need. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, I promise what ever it is, I’ve asked the same thing once in my life or something MUCH stupider.

[crypticfandomtrash]

L Headcanons Part 3

Since the author confirmed L is the smartest character in the series (How to Read), I’m in full agreement. I’ll also take it further. He’s THE most intelligent person in the world but he never got his IQ tested. L finds IQ to be a poor measure of a person’s potential and capacity to learn because it’s a flawed system. That’s actually what IQ measures: capacity, not intellect. He is fully aware that creativity, social smarts, street smarts, and other skills are forms of intelligence.

L is definitely a child prodigy. He skipped most of grade school and graduated High School (or the French equivalent since L was in France at the time and their school system is different than the USA’s) at 6. He was also dual enrolled and taking college courses at the time. When his parents were murdered at age 7, he had to put his classes on hold for mourning and because the French orphanage did not let him (it made him too “different” and “intimidating”).

After Wammy took him in when he was 8 and moved him back to England, he made up for lost time by taking lots of extra classes (like 6 or 7 classes a semester) and summer classes. He graduated with his Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Psychology with a focus in criminal psych at age 9. He got his first Master’s (upgrading the previous one) when he was 12. He turned that Master’s into a PhD at 15. He also has a Bachelor’s in IT (he got that at 17). 

He is naturally gifted different things (psychology/reading people, technology, and a few musical instruments). This allows him to be very skilled in hacking, playing video games, figuring out how things work, putting things together, taking them apart, and playing and composing music.

He is very knowledgeable about laws. He knows the laws in all major countries and most minor ones. If he doesn’t know, he finds out. He has enough knowledge about legal stuff to go to law school and become a lawyer (either a prosecutor or defense), but he doesn’t want to.

L has special permission to carry a gun everywhere, even in countries with strict gun control laws. This extends to Wammy and his other official agents/proxies. It does not apply to his informants or criminal employees. Being the greatest detective in the world comes with tons of perks.

As I mentioned in a previous post, he plays piano, flute, lyre, and duduk (a double reed wind instrument from Armenia that is ancient). He can also play organ (which is impressive since organs are the most complex instruments) and does so when there is one around. He likes big church organs.

He sees things as equations or puzzles to be solved. People are more complex, ever changing equations/puzzles.

Since those with autism (especially less severe versions like Asperger’s) can develop/learn the social skills they lack if they want, L is fully capable of doing that. He just doesn’t care about being socially acceptable unless he is in a situation where he has to. He has plenty of social skills and uses them when he needs to. He will also play up his autistic traits to annoy others and get them to make mistakes.

L actually gets irritated if someone mentions or believes the myth that autism is caused by vaccines. He’ll go into a long, scientific explanation on why that is false. If they don’t listen/believe him, he’ll just be like “well, I’m a genius but I can’t fix stupidity”.

He will also correct misinformation about autism and other disorders. He’s a psychologist, so he knows what he’s talking about. Most people realize this and just let him point out why they’re wrong.

He supports autism rights, disability rights, and LGBT+ because he was treated badly in the past for being autistic. He donates heavily to charities and he does research to make sure they ACTUALLY help people before giving them money.

He also supports scientific research (as long as it’s ethical) and environmental stuff (as long as it’s ethical and doesn’t screw working class people over). He has a lot of places that he gives money to.

In terms of politics, L is an independent voter. He’s not a Tory (conservative) or a Labour Party person (using the British English spelling, it’s the more liberal party). He is a mix of conservative and liberal. There are things he’d side with the Tories on and things he’d side with the Labour Party on.

L purposely suppresses his emotions during a case or other situation that requires him to be serious because he doesn’t want emotions to get in the way of hard facts and logic. He’s also British and is very familiar with “stiff upper lip” and “keep calm and carry on”.

Since he’s autistic, he also has trouble displaying his emotions in a way society deems acceptable and distinguishing between similar feelings (frustration and anger, for instance). This DOES NOT mean he can’t tell what emotions are. He sometimes can’t tell WHY he’s feeling a particular emotion (because I have this issue too).

He has a high level of empathy, though many people see him as cold. He can quickly tell what someone is feeling and why, although he is not good at comforting others and generally keeps people at a distance. It’s been shown through research that a lot of autistic people have higher levels of empathy than “normal” people do or a different type of empathy.

Wammy actually did adopt L, who does consider him to be his adoptive father as well as his assistant. As Wammy’s son, L will inherit all of his possessions and the orphanages (since there’s more than one) on top of L’s personal fortune.

No one but L and Wammy know how much money L has. He’s a billionaire and that’s all people need to know. L does invest in the stock market to get more money, but he won’t be concerned if he loses some (he’s super loaded, so losing a few million is nothing to him). He gets tons of money from working difficult criminal cases. He’ll get back whatever he loses and more.

When staying at one of his own houses, buildings, or bases, his bills are rather high. He cranks the AC constantly, he has a huge internet bill (since he uses the latest tech), his water bill is big... All together, it’s probably around $2,000 (or less/more depending on the currency of whatever country he’s in) a month. But it’s not like he can’t pay. He’s filthy rich.

L’s pillows and bed sheets are all made of nice materials. He likes to be comfortable. During Yotsuba arc, his sheets are imported fine linen. He put similar sheets on Light’s bed.

He does enjoy video games every so often. He’s very good at them.

He also likes reading and researching. L will research whatever is relevant and necessary to the case he’s currently working on. So if a serial arsonist was leaving codes in the the form of memes, L would research memes. He’s definitely done that. He knows about internet culture.

He also keeps up to date on world events (he has an information network, so of course he’s well-informed about whatever is going on).