#interroblog

[cripplecharacters]

I want to write more disabled characters but my story takes place in the 60s… so far it hasn’t been an issue because the disabilities included would historically either be undiagnosed, kept secret, belong to characters already at the fringes of society, etc

I really want a specific character to have Down’s syndrome but it’s not the sort of story that would at all be benefited from the inclusion of an institution. For personal reasons, I don’t want to touch that. I’ve been writing him with just undiagnosed autism that’s left him socially outcast from his peers. The most extreme his ableism gets is being seen as the local weird girl (as he’s a closeted trans man)

The story is decently realistic for what the queer and intersex characters would experience, imagining doing the same for disability feels bad… at least, to the level of ableism someone with Down’s syndrome would experience. His parents are notably shitty, rich, and care more about their reputation than their kids so I don’t see a way he wouldn’t get that treatment.

Is there a way I can still write this or similar characters without delving into heavy ableism? What are your thoughts on historical stories that ignore or downplay historical ableism?

Thanks, @interroblog

Hello asker,

I'll start first with a small note: It's better to write Down Syndrome as opposed to the possessive Down's Syndrome, since John Langdon Down didn't have DS.

So, with this story there is one general concern:

It feels strange to depict period-accurate intersexism and transphobia and homophobia as core parts of the story, but downplaying ableism when it's as period-accurate as the other -isms. In this case, it can definitely feel like you're glossing over a very relevant part of history that would have been part of your story. Yes, queer and intersex people have faced some really difficult things and still do. But the same is true for disabled people. Ignoring this can feel revisionist.

If you're going for a very realistic story, but you don't want to write ableism at all, it is probably better to just skip the DS aspect. People with DS have faced some truly intense ableism throughout history (and they still do), as people who have intellectual disability and facial and physical differences, two things that lead to some pretty intense ableism from many, many people. It's fine to not do this if you're not comfortable writing ableism, but again, intense ableism was widespread and common.

However, if the only thing holding you back is institutionalization: Not every single person with Down Syndrome was institutionalized. Yes, it was very common, and would probably be thought about, suggested, and even encouraged. But not everyone institutionalized their children with DS, for various reasons.

If you want him to still have that type of parents, perhaps the reason they don't institutionalize him is in fact for the benefit of their reputation. Maybe they want to be seen as 'saintly' for raising a visibly disabled child or something – still shitty, still caring about their reputation more than their actual kids, like you intended; there is just a different outcome.

Now, to my personal thoughts on historical stories that ignore or downplay ableism, as someone who loves historical fiction: It depends on how historically accurate the story in general both is and aims to be. But I don't like stories that completely ignore ableism, especially the more realistic they aim to be. It feels like glossing over history. Even modern stories that completely ignore ableism I don't like. I still recognize that downplaying historical ableism can be a useful tool for authors, especially for disabled authors' own comfort. And, also, while ableism was very common in the past, it doesn't mean every disabled person ever always faced the worst possible ableism ever.

Basically: you, and other authors, can acknowledge historical ableism accurately without making it the main point and focus of the story. But if your focus is a story specifically about discrimination, which it seems like it is, it feels irresponsible to gloss over an extremely common and pervasive form of discrimination.

Hope this helps,

– mod sparrow

[ilovedthestars]

ArtFight 2024 Roundup!

My first ArtFight is over and I had a wonderful time! I set my expectations low and planned to only make a couple of simple attacks, but I ended up being motivated to do more attacks & more polish! I made a total of 8 attacks throughout the month, and had a lot of fun playing with different styles. I ended up focusing my efforts within the Murderbot fandom, attacking some friends and meeting some new people as well :)

Without further ado, here is the art I made of some wonderful Murderbot Diaries fan OCs! (Credit for the characters given by artfight username, followed by tumblr handle if I know it)

Black Swan and Firebird for BWizard @needlesandnilbogs (for their superhero AU!)

Ezekiel Gardens for SunnyTheOpossum @sunnytheopossum

SketchUnit for 56_sketches

Concord for yasterday

Blank for MidwinterHunt @midwinterhunt

And a few non-Murderbot OCs created by fellow Murderbot fans!!

The Eliam for EveryEyeEvermore @interroblog

Liminal for evilduck

Ez & Sage for souldagger @souldagger

Thank you to the friends who talked me into trying ArtFight this year :) It was so good to stretch my figure drawing muscles (and realize how much I've improved in the last few years!!), and make some art for fun, without any external pressure except the desire to make a cool gift for someone. And thanks to everyone who attacked me with some truly wonderful art! I already can't wait for next year.

[sentfromwolves]

◈—⌈ character voice tag game ⌋

Rules: Rewrite the line of dialogue from the person who tagged you into the voice of your OC’s! (You can include a short beat of action to help establish character if you want.) Pass on the tag with a new line of dialogue.

Thank you so much for the tag, @sunset-a-story!! I love this concept and this idea and I'm excited to try it out hehe. I'll be doing this for the hbabl cast! my prompt is "I need help."

◈—« NEMESIS »

Nemesis laughed, a jackal sound, bitter at the edges, sour with self-hate. "Listen," he spat, a dog backed into a corner, baring its teeth because it didn't know how to do anything else, "I'm not asking because I want to. I'm asking because I have no other choice. And I won't say it again—so just help me." His voice smoked at the edges, snuffing out to something rawer. Something far more vulnerable, something young beyond belief. "Please."

◈—« JUDGE »

Judge rolled his cheek into the palm of their hand, nuzzling animal and rough. Blood smeared across his cheek, his neck. "I'll follow you wherever you go," he said, the rich, dark umber of his voice ragged and raw, "but I need you to lead the way for me first."

◈—« HALLIDAY »

Halliday made a bruised sound in the back of his throat, one first curled at his nape, fingers massaging up into the tangled mess of his hair. "I would do it on my own," he admitted, "I would—I tried to, but I can't. I'm sorry." He smiled despite the shame in his eyes. "I'm sorry."

◈—« DESMOND »

Desmond laughed, the sound razored and baleful. It mutilated itself with contempt. In the half-light, he looked nearly animal. Some creature you ran from, for fear of what its teeth could do. "God does not want me," he spat, "God does not care. I bruised my knees for him for two hundred years—and he does not care!" Another peel of laughter, shattered at the edges by a deeper, anguished noise. "All I have is this," he said, "All I have is right here. All I have is you. And what will you do? Why would you care? Even if I—" he cut himself off, but the prayer in his eyes was plain to see. Not a prayer to god at all, but you.

OK THIS WAS ACTUALLY SO HARD LMAO for a moment I wanted to just write Desmond laughing maniacally and then leaping off a cliff because he's. something else. and I wrote this prompt for him with a specific post-HBABL mindset. but I actually love this challenge, and it 100% was challenging!

I'll tag: @tananaphone @juls-writes @awritingcaitlin @turnips-creates @maddstermind @k-v-briarwood @loopyhoopywrites @forthesanityofstorytellers @interroblog @lunafiorewrites @lorenfinch @littleladymab @akiwitch @picrosswrites @crwn-nrth and anyone else who wants to do this game!

Your prompt is: You betrayed me.

>:3333 LETS GOOOO

[blorboblursday]

Blorbo Blursday #1

Welcome to the first of the new generation of Blorbo Blursday, brought to you by @athenswrites! Reblog this post or tag this in your responses, however long or short they may be!

What is the first thing others tend to notice about your character? What makes them stand out in a crowd?

Taglist (DM me to be added or removed): Taglist (DM me to be added or removed): @interroblog @muumysworld @afusiek @the-ravens-requiem @sender-paulson @everthewip @bluberimufim @amaiguri @akiwitch @thetruearchmagos @autumnalwalker @gracehosborn @cljordan-imperium @aether-wasteland-s @saintedseraph @deanwax @berristrawberri @owlbearwrites @the-down-upside-finch @stridingwriter @dandelion-jester @johnmurphysgirl @ghostsofchernobyl @alexsidereus @innocenthedgehog @oh-for-a-dream @unmellowyellowfellow @oh-no-another-idea @druidx @ibuprofen-exe @shay-creates @aquadestinyswriting @loopyhoopywrites @n1ghtcrwler @writingonmymind @wardenred @void-botanist @dyrewrites @sm-writes-chaos @iishmael @romances-not-tragedies @inscrutable-shadow @athenswrites @uraniumwriting @pigeonwhumps @stesierra

[gwens-fiction]

Out of Context Line Tag

Rules: post a line out of context from your WIP!

Tagged by: @theeccentricraven (tagged my main technically but I’m answering here!)

Here’s a line from Hidden Earth:

"Oh she doesn’t need to know that, plus I have to say that is one of the benefits of being married to a necromancer.”

Tagging: @drchenquill @sleepyowlwrites @interroblog & anyone who wants to!

[rkmoon]

Writing Share Game

Rules: share some writing!

Thanks for the tag @late-to-the-fandom and @mk-writes-stuff! I will share a snippet from Project Heartless:

---

No! 

Still loopy from his concussion, Rainier fought through the pain and grabbed the assailant's arm, uncaring of the sticky blood that stained his fingers, growling like a wild animal as he tried to take his heart back. The assailant did not seem to expect Rainier to fight back at all, and was caught off guard as Rainier used all his strength to turn them both around to pin him down on the floor. The assailant yelped, and Rainier shook his head to get rid of the dizzying feeling. He snarled. "Give it back!"

"Argh!" The assailant grunted as he struggled. They wrestled for a while, but Rainier was trained by some of the best and he managed to pin him down even with his weight advantage. Even so, this couldn't continue. He needed to find a way to incapacitate him or they would be here forever. Wait no— he just needed back-up. He needed to alert the security. 

The rooms in this house always had a distress button. He thought there might actually be one in this very bathroom. He looked up, trying to see through the darkness. It must be by the door, by the light switch— 

There! 

Rainier grabbed his heart from the man's hands in a quick motion and then dove for the distress button. Unfortunately, the assailant wasn’t going to make it easy on him. It only took a split second. There was a flash of metal, the assailant pulling a knife out of his thigh sheath, and then the arm reaching for the button fell off from his elbow, his blood spraying on the floor. For a moment, Rainier didn’t process it. 

But then the pain came.

Rainier screamed.

It was a scream of anguish. If he thought having his chest torn open was bad, it was nothing compared to losing an arm. The fact that he didn’t have a heart to pump his blood was the only reason it wasn’t pouring out in buckets, and Rainier wondered if he was dreaming. He had to be, wasn’t he? These kinds of things just do not happen to him. But it was so painful, and it hurt so bad, that it couldn’t possibly be a dream. 

Rainier couldn’t focus on anything. His knowledge on self defense meant nothing when he was writhing in agony. The assailant kicked him off and he hit the floor with a wet sound. His heart was once again ripped out of his possession, and soon the assailant was leaving the bathroom to escape.

With his heart.  

--

Tagging @french-toast-enjoyer and @interroblog to share some of their writing as well :D

[mr-orion]

Here’s the Eliam and Voyzuv

Maybe you should send someone back so I don’t have to draw my own characters (gross)

- @interroblog

anything to not draw my own characters! (i thinks thats to scale-ish) i like the orange slice wings of Voyzuv!

was fun to draw! deffo should not have opened and done it in procreate though! it sucks for any color blocking, i cant believe i paid for it. i dont know why i keep giving it chances...

if you really want to draw any of my ocs I have a list in my navigation, maybe one tickles your fancy ;3c

[maddstermind]

Notice Me, Reader!

Thank you for the tag @the-down-upside-finch!!! This is the perfect excuse lmao.

Rules: Share 3 (or more!) small details from your WIP that you feel have gone/will go unnoticed. (You can choose whether or not to share why the detail is significant!)

It may sound like an annoying, superficial piece of character design, but rings are mentioned a lot. And for very good reason! I don't want to spoiler what, but it's definitely a good idea to keep in mind who has what kind of ring - and even more about who doesn't.

Sometimes people say more by not saying something - especially when they're cursed. Sometimes strange conversations are for talking around a point that the person can't say.

Warmth can be symbolic! Dagon is always warm, he has a lot of warmth for a lot of people and is bad at hiding it. Arthur is colder, but warms up to Christie. So on and so forth!

I'm sure I could think of more but my brain isn't working with me atm lmao. For tags!!! @circuslollipop, @sunset-a-story, @interroblog, and @wintherlywords, and anyone else who wants in!

[sunset-a-story]

Character Voice Tag!

Rules: Rewrite the line of dialogue from the person who tagged you into the voice of your OC’s! (You can include a short beat of action to help establish character if you want.) Pass on the tag with a new line of dialogue.

Thanks to @ceph-the-ghost-writer for tagging me in their post and giving me the prompt of, "I like you."

Marek

Marek laid on his side in the dim light, smiling as he watched them dress, and marveled at their grace--which he objectively knew no one at all had when trying to find their other sock at 1:45 in the morning. "Stay."

Darwin

He looked down. "So you probably wouldn't want to go check out this new salad place I heard of, would you?"

Grace

She folded her arms in front of her chest. "You're just the cutest thing in the world, huh?"

Penn

There was a grumble of a protest as Penn got out of bed. Neither of them was scheduled to work that day (for whatever that was actually worth) and had planned to spend the day continuing the hookup until one (or both) were called in to handle some emergency. Penn's knees ached and the bed looked so warm and cozy but he knew he wouldn't be gone long. "Iced vanilla latte and plain bagel with jalapeno cream cheese, right?"

Fredericka

She sighed. "Goddamnit."

(My co-writer got tagged in the same post so I did the LAHQ cast and they nailed it with the Beatty cast here.)

I'm gonna no pressure tag some of the lovely folks who are eyeball deep in the Words into Potions writing event challenge with me ^^ @interroblog @kbwritesstuff @k-v-briarwood @akiwitch @maddstermind @sentfromwolves and open tag for whoever wants to jump in! Your phrase is, "I need help."

[oddcryptidwrites]

Find the Word

So @chauceryfairytales @loopyhoopywrites @talesofsorrowandofruin @theprissythumbelina and @cat-esper tagged me in this one! I'm gonna do one word from each

smell

Piers was left recoiling, resting their head in their palms and taking deep breaths to clear their nose of the smell of her apple perfume. (Knight of Dawn, NYTF)

privilege

He then realized he had forgotten to lock down the pod himself. No one had privileges to do so besides himself and Aurelia, who forgot her password half the time. (TMFL)

everyone

Everyone else sat around the table, laughing, eating refreshments from the kitchen, catching up, waiting on them. (Knight of Dawn, NYTF)

sneer

His face was dark, except for the light coming from the flashlight on the floor. It cast eerie shadows on his face as he sneered. (Knight of Dawn, NYTF)

water

Only the beeping of the heart rate monitor and the slight rise and fall of his chest signaled he was alive. He’d woken up around midnight, asking for water, but had been sleeping since. (Knight of Dawn, NYTF)

I'm tagging @erraticprocrastinator @interroblog @muumysworld and anyone else who wants to play to find glass, book, tea, and bell!

[cripplecharacters]

Hello! Your blog has been incredibly helpful for me, thank you for doing what you do

Disability is a core theme of the stories I make, so accessibility is one of my most important goals. For reference, I write books but my main project is a show that’s sometimes semi-animated and sometimes similar to visual novel style dialog.

Some of the things I’m doing now are subtitles and narration that’s baked into the show itself, sticking to a simpler style of writing, and making it free to watch. It’s one part practicality and one part frustration at being told these things “ruin the experience” for others. Now they’re a core part of the experience.

But those are just the things I find personally helpful, I only have my own viewpoint. My question is what are other things I can do to make my story more accessible?

Specific things I’ve been struggling with are showing nonverbal communication (The narration covers a lot of this, but not enough) and conflicting needs. I know some things will help some people but hurt other’s experiences (ie, subtitles) which is a really hard thing to navigate! So advice on that would be helpful

Thank you!

- @interroblog

Hello lovely asker!

So I'm gonna throw out some ideas here at the start and these are in no way me saying "You have to do this". No, just me tossing some ideas out and maybe they hopefully help! 😁 Let's try this.

First off you also mentioned that it's part of your style in the way you're animating as well. I think if it's your style that you shouldn't have to change that either. It's both something that is unique to how you choose to do things and it also aids in accessibility. You shouldn't feel pressured to change it because some people find subtitles or Narration annoying. It ultimately comes down to how you want to do it, so again here are some things I could think of.

So if the site you're hosting your show on allows you to have toggle on subtitles and audio descriptions I would do that. If not what you can do is when you put your animation through you can have multiple. Kinda like with certain shows or movies you have a version in its original language and a version that's Voiced over with another language. If you want to accommodate your audience perhaps you can have a version:

Without any subtitles or audio descriptions

With subtitles

With audio descriptions

With both the subtitle and the audio description

Granted going this route may be more work than just doing it all together (I'm not 100% sure, I don't know animation very well) but it's certainly an option. I think the process of rendering and saving it at the end (having to do it multiple times) and in regards to space may be an issue.

Another thing you can do is write up a description transcript for each episode so that people can look at it for reference. Some people use screen readers or braille displays that read over this information for them if you're worried about the text itself. Here's a good example of one done from a DeafBlind film done in the 60's at Perkins [Warning for typical 60's language regarding disability]. It usually includes what an audio description would just typed out.

Another thing you can do is see and look around for anyone who is fluent in the local Sign language that your show is in and see if anyone could record and interpret it for you too, if you want to have that option for people as well.

You could also do kinda like comics and Manga do where they mark the sounds/actions on the panel/animation it self.

[Manga panel from the Manga "Shino-chan can't say her name"]

For instance in this manga panel there's no dialogue but the author gives us multiple cues which the translator also translates as well. There's the foot steps with the text getting bigger and bigger letting us know that the sound is getting closer and the direction, then in the next panel we have two exclamation points letting us know she's alarmed and aware. The text of the foot steps is now darker and bold and we see the streaks around the characters hands letting us know that she hurriedly wrapped up her box. Then we have the word "Sneak" in bold lettering against the wall where the character is pearing over.

Now I'm not sure what type of nonverbal communication your using so I'm gonna go over things a little vague.

Sign Language [Mostly in ASL because that's the sign language I'm most familiar with and can understand the most]

Here's two animations by @scoliwings and they're both in ASL and the way the person made them is with captions into the animation (also they're very cute and lovely). The show ThisClose also does this with their entire Pilot episode but then only does it with their ASL scenes moving forward in the series. The people who wrote and produced the show note that while they made the show surrounding the deaf community and about the deaf community they wanted the show to reach their hearing audience.

This scene that is with a translator has no captions whatsoever. While this scene between the two main characters using ASL does have captions. Then this one does have captions that go away when the characters communicate verbally.

This is a constant thing of multiple different medias is they kinda choose between which audience they want to pertain to. And whoever they choose, it usually ends up leaving the other out or not 100% involved usually at the fault of accessibility on streaming services/wherever the media is being hosted.

If someone Deaf/Hoh wanted to watch this show and there's no captions available on whatever platform is hosting it then it wouldn't be accessible to them. And if they are fluent in ASL, those parts have captions all the way through. For instance those videos on YouTube, not all of them are accessible because they don't have the toggle on Closed Captions. So the moments where there's characters who speak English and don't sign ASL, especially if the camera isn't on them when they're talking, it's just not accessible.

In the episode "Into the Mystic" on Supernatural, they introduce Eileen's character. This is the only episode that she uses ASL by itself, every other episode she is in uses SimCom and she code switches or uses English. Again captions are in the episode Everytime ASL is used except for scenes where she's signing in the background for instance this scene. From This Gifsets by @winchestergifs

[Gif of Eileen from Supernatural. She's sitting across from an older woman on a couch and she signs in American Sign Language "You" while pointing at the older woman, then she forms her fists into a 'S' shape one on top of another and moves them to the right, she then finger spells "Bait".]

It's never translated, not even in the script or the transcript. Even while this show is targeting their hearing audience they still gloss over things like this. (I also want to note that me and Mod Rock spent a while trying to figure out the second sign and came up empty handed as well 😅)

Now when it comes to Audio Descriptions, it's usually "[Character name] signs [dialogue in Verbal Language]". If it's the first time introducing the character or the character is switching languages, then specify what Sign language off the bat, ASL, BSL, ISL (SEE, SSE,) etc. It's the same as in writing that you write the character dialogue followed by "[pronoun/character name] signed". The shows that I know of that have characters using Sign language and have Audio Descriptions is The Boys (kimiko's scenes), ThisClose also has them, Bridgerton (episode 1 scene in s3, it's one scene in BSL but it's there!), and I'm pretty sure Echo does too (it should, I'm looking at you streaming service) but I've yet to watch that last one. Listening to them might help you with getting a grasp of writing them if you have any signing characters.

Ex. Eileen signs in ASL "You sure you don't want both?"

Another thing with Sign language though is body language and expressions and even things like story telling are there also. So describing an action can give a lot of context of feeling and what is going on in the scene. Here's another ASL animation that is in the works and they go more in detail of how they are animating body motion, face expressions and such. Craig of the creek is an animated kids show that also has BASL and ASL in it (and I love how they go about the characters dialogue, the signs are so well animated, and the friend translating and the others learning for him too.)

There's also Pro-tactile & Tactile Sign language. Granted I've never seen or do I know of a show/movie/short with pro-tactile in it or Tactical Sign Language but if anyone were to do that the audio description would probably be like "[Character A] puts their hands over [Character B]. [Character B] signs [dialogue]". That would be for the Hand over method which is Tactile Sign Language.

For Pro-tactile, this involves other forms of communication such as back channeling, mapping, haptics. It should be translated much the same I believe because these certain elements of the language are used to portray emotional tone, contact/interaction, as well as directions.

Here's some examples of pro-tactile and tactile sign language since I know it's not largely known: (all ASL)

Pro-tactile: Video 1 (Captions & No Voice Over), Video 2 (Captions & Voice Over) and it goes further into specifics of Hand placement, Back channeling while Standing & Sitting, Video 3 (Voice over & Captions). Here's five vlogs in PTASL also, no captions or voice over so Fluency in ASL is needed.

Tactile Sign Language: I was having a hard time finding videos (for some reason) but Here is a segment in a video where they show it. Here is another short video too!

Of course you don't want to describe every movement when it comes to Sign language but you want to describe the base movement. If someones Tracking, (this is where a person holds the wrist area of the other person who is signing so that it's in their field of vision) you might describe that before the dialogue. "[Character] puts their hands over [characters] wrist" and so on and so forth.

Haptics/Mapping may also be very similar but they're mostly used in describing the layout of an area someone is in, directions to somewhere, how to navigate the surrounding area. This is gonna be just explaining how they are moving. The same can be said with Visual Vernacular. It's movement to describe something or to tell a story it's not Sign language but a movement of general understanding. Here is a video where an interpreter details Visual Vernacular alongside ASL. Here's the one without the voice over as well.

AAC

The movie Come Play is a horror movie centered around a non-verbal boy with autism who uses an AAC app on his phone. His device is the one where speech is generated from the different buttons that correlate with the words he clicks. I couldn't find an example of an audio Description for this movie anywhere but it might be similar to the next example.

The Boys again also has scenes with Kimiko where she uses her phone to communicate and such. And the audio description usually sounds like "Kimiko types on her phone, it reads [dialogue]". The only difference in Come Play would be that the Dialogue wouldn't be narrated because it's already done so by the AAC device in the movie, but subtitles would be needed.

Speechless gives a lot of examples between low-tech and high-tech examples. This scene in particular where all the characters are in one scene. The main character (JJ) uses a laser pointer and a word/alphabet board with the assistance of an aid. In this instance the aid reads aloud everything that JJ communicates. If you're one on one though, much like with sign language, you wouldn't really read aloud everything they say especially if it's a private conversation. Instead the pov would probably show the characters AAC method they use whenever they communicate. For the audio description it might be something along the lines of "[Character] points and says [dialogue]".

I've never seen other types of AAC in media so it would probably be the same when it comes to Audio Description when describing another method like print on palm. it might be something like "[character] grabs their hand and writes [dialogue]".

In the show In The Dark the scenes with braille are described as "[character] runs their fingers over the braille, it's read [dialogue/text]". And on that topic, In the show All The Light We Can Not See, it has a really (really really really) good basis of what an Audio Description should be like. It also has multiple featurettes and an audio introduction with it that goes more in depth to explain the costumes, settings, the characters, and other visual information that is often important but left out in the audio descriptions due to the pacing of the show/film.

Immersion was the goal, much like with the production of Romeo and Juliet in PTASL that was performed. Introducing your characters and settings in a little short animation before hand or at the begining as a little segment may be something you can do/consider.

This video details some other forms of communication that I may or may not have left out (Auslan & Voice over). Finger Braille (Video of one handed with translator), Lorm Method, Touch Glove alphabet Method, and some other methods I think can all be described relatively the same. You want to describe the base action of what they're doing (writing, pointing, typing, grabbing, lifting, touching etc) and then focus on their dialogue.

Also I don't use any form of AAC to communicate so if anyone who does finds error, please correct it. Or even if there has been a discussion on this before among the community please reiterate or link to it so we have first hand experience and voices as well.

Known problems with audio Descriptions

Here's a Small history and more in depth article written by someone who needs audio descriptions. They primarily talk about its lack of rush to be used in cinema and primarily the UK.

Describing everything but the characters race: I've heard that this is an issue specifically for Netflix that the audio descriptions are good but they never mentioned the race of the character which some people have made note about. (I don't know much about this I will say just I've heard it around here and there)

Here is a post that goes more into detail about Audio descriptions as well by @accessibleaesthetics. And here is an all around really Good source as well called The Audio Description Project.

Forgetting character entrances & exits: This is important because people need to know what characters are in the scenes. Much like in a play with stage directions you need to know who comes in and when they exit.

Over describing/under describing: I read a debate about the use of over describing and under describing when it comes to AD's. The example given was when describing facial expressions. Option one is to just say "[Character] is surprised". Option two is to describe the facial expression in all its little details "[Character] opens their mouth, their eyebrows raised and eyes wide". Under describing in general seems to be a issue but when it comes to things like body/facial expressions it's best to keep it simple and to the point for another reason that I list down below.

Forgetting small details: the audio descriptions of All The Light We Can Not See, and The Boys do a fantastic job of small details. For others some things are glossed over but then don't make sense later on in the scene. For instance, if the character picks up a knife and this isn't narrated but then the part of them stabbing another person is then, it's kinda like "Oh well I guess the character picked up a knife at some point" but the exact moment isn't specified. In this article, the person who makes Audio Descriptions tells that he had described someone as Smoking a cigarette when he was in fact smoking Weed. He says the reason he realized the difference is because these are two separate substances that change the perception of the character. The little details matter because of the implications and importance to who is doing it and why, when gathering all the information and understanding a character.

Misnaming/mixing up characters: The same article I listed right before also says how mixing up characters is an issue sometimes too.

For audio descriptions in general I think listening to a few different ones might help with getting a grasp on how to do them/better do them. AudioVault is one place that if you can't find audio descriptions of your shows or movies, they might have it there. In this instance, maybe listening to your favorite movies or shows with the audio descriptions on might help you. Most shows/movies that are original to Netflix have them, the same with other streaming services like Peacock and Amazon Prime.

I don't use audio descriptions a lot because my tinnitus makes it difficult but I sometimes turn them on (when available) to understand scenes that are confusing to me. Certain actions and how the cameras frame them don't make sense to me sometimes, or even I can't see because of the lighting of the show or movie and so I need to know what's going on. This brings us to that beside people who are low vision or blind, many other people use Audio Descriptions for different reasons too. The same points can all be made for people who use Subtitles/closed captions as well.

Issues with captions/Things that need to be more common with captions

Names: Some captions have the names of the characters next to their dialogue. A lot don't do this. I think it should be done because of many reasons but mainly it makes it easier to follow along for everyone who uses captions.

Tonal Cues: As I mentioned before Tonal Cues in Captions would be so very helpful for a lot of people.

Don't censor: Don't censor swear words, slurs, anything, write it as it's said. Unless it's actually censored in the audio (which is usually done for comedic reasons) then do that.

Lyrics/music/background sounds: So not only making sure to include the songs that are playing over certain scenes but also making sure to include the soundtrack and background music that is playing. Almost every movie and show uses music as an indication for tone, often times characters or certain situations have their own theme too. These are all important to note when writing captions. The caption writers of Stranger Things did amazing when it came to background noises, writing every creak and bang is important especially if it's being heard and reacted to by either the characters or the audience.

Include language changes: This has long been an issue when you're watching something in one language and then when they switch languages it just says "Speaking in [language]". Instead write out what they said in that language. So instead of "Speaking in Spanish", actually write out "Sana sana colita de rana". If the character knows what they're saying because they speak the language you can also put another set of subtitles under it translating it. If you're doing a sorta comedic scene where the audience needs to know what is said but the character doesn't, then do the same, write it out in the language "Ay dios mio!" And then under/above it put the translation "Oh my God!".

Include different speech patterns: If the character has a stutter write it, if they're slurring their words together write it.

Auditory/Visual Learners: Some people just do better retaining and understanding information when it's in an auditory form. For some people, they're able to retain information more by reading it rather than hearing it as well.

People Who Have Trouble With Social Cues: Okay so a continuation to the "Over Describing/Under describing" bullet points above. For people who have trouble reading body/facial cues, the audio descriptions help by describing it as The character is happy, scared, shocked, surprised etc. This is part of the reason why it's best to use those words instead of describing every movement that goes into a person's expression/body language. Like wise Closed Captions with Tonal Cues would also help and serve much of the same purpose but those are rarely ever seen (in my experience).

Help People Learn The Connection Of Words And Actions: a lot of people are always learning new languages and being able to connect the word to the action helps with the understanding of new languages. Again the same for closed captions, being able to look at how words are spelt while listening to them helps grasp a better understanding.

Overstimulation: For some people looking and listening to something at the same time can be too much and it becomes overwhelming. I know I often turn off the sound to a lot of movies I watch and just use subtitles because sometimes commotion/yelling especially in like action movies is a lot. For some people, a lot of visual movement and constant rapid actions can be overwhelming as well.

Dark Screens: As I mention, especially more recently in the media industry, things are a lot harder to see nowadays. The same can be said with dialogue and why a lot of people may opt-in for subtitles and captions because things are just so hard to hear now.

The Busy Bees: Some people just like to multi-task and much like an audio book, you can do something (chores, crafting, homework etc) while listening to the show and not miss any visual information. Multi-tasking also helps some people concentrate better on what they're working on too much like music helps some people.

People With Other Medical Conditions That Make Viewing Screens Inaccessible: If your having a migraine or headaches, a screen is the last thing you want to look at, and for some people, noise is a trigger for them. They're also a known trigger for many people with epilepsy/seizure disorders. People who have photophobia also may AD due to the light sensitivity. People with ADHD, autism, Prosopagnosia, Processing Disorders, and many many other things that I can't possibly list them all, all may use Subtitles or AD's for multiple different reasons.

Okay, that was a lot, got a bit long, but hopefully I covered everything! Things could be more organized but it works so hopefully this helps! I'm not very familiar with animation so anyone who is, please feel free to add on in a reblog to share a few tips and tricks!

~ Mod Virus 🌸

[sodaliteskull]

Thanks for the WIP Anagram Tag, @wintherlywords! You can find theirs over here!

Rules: Find a sentence in your WIP that starts with each letter of the given word.

No-pressure tag for @interroblog, @thoughtofhouses, and @night9uake, as well as an open tag with the following word: PENTACLE

My given word was: COSMIC

Excerpts from SIoC: A Dream Never Dies

C

"Come and fight! No more running!" A garbled voice called out to her.

O

One of the figures (a familiar figure) brandished its sword at her, its guttural voice rasping, "The Island's a dream and a dream never dies!"

S

"So all we have to do is lure Yanna close enough to this thing, distract her, and then this stone can work its magic?" Syrenna asked.

M

Master? She had no master. She was her own master! Who was this voice who would dare to command her so?

I

"I always forget how much of a punch Yanna's telekinesis has," Ivanova laughed ruefully.

C

Clutching her head, Yanna sat up uneasily. She finally felt like herself, felt like she had awoken from some awful nightmare. She smiled up at her fellow Queens, saying, "The Island's a dream, and a dream never dies!"

[sentfromwolves]

thank you for the tag @awritingcaitlin !!! I feel so far behind on my tag games but I am slowly 🐌🐌🐌 catching up sobs. here's a lil bit from hbabl: interlude youth. let's GOO

❖ 》　HIS BODY A BROKEN LAW ; interlude . youth

You look in the mirror, and a silver-haired phantom looks back at you from the other side. Not the first ghost you’ve ever found in this house, and surely not the last, but perhaps the strangest of them all, with their star-white hair and acid emerald eyes, and the outlandish metal stabbed through their ears, the serpent on their throat sneering at you with all its sharpened teeth. “Who are you?” you ask, and he scowls and says, who are YOU?

Tagging: @lorenfinch @maddstermind @tananaphone @awritingcaitlin (reverse uno hehe) @interroblog @willtheweaver @ladywithalamp & open tag to anyone else who wants to do a llt game!

[blorboblursday]

Blorbo Blursday #2

If your character had the choice between ultimate love, money, or power, what would they pick? Why? What would change their mind?

Taglist (DM me to be added or removed): @interroblog @muumysworld @afusiek @the-ravens-requiem @sender-paulson @everthewip @bluberimufim @amaiguri @akiwitch @thetruearchmagos @autumnalwalker @gracehosborn @cljordan-imperium @aether-wasteland-s @saintedseraph @deanwax @berristrawberri @owlbearwrites @the-down-upside-finch @stridingwriter @dandelion-jester @johnmurphysgirl @ghostsofchernobyl @alexsidereus @innocenthedgehog @oh-for-a-dream @unmellowyellowfellow @oh-no-another-idea @druidx @ibuprofen-exe @shay-creates @aquadestinyswriting @loopyhoopywrites @n1ghtcrwler @writingonmymind @wardenred @void-botanist @dyrewrites @sm-writes-chaos @iishmael @romances-not-tragedies @inscrutable-shadow @athenswrites @uraniumwriting @pigeonwhumps @stesierra @imslowlydisintegrating @bittersqxtch

[morriguwrites]

find the word tag game

thank you to @saintedseraph! i'm tagging @interroblog, @ijustwritehonestly, @trixies-show, @italiangothicwriteblr, @meerawrites, @wintherlywords your words are: breathe, sunlight, grief, rain my words were: dark, light, dawn, and dusk! DARK

"After that, I didn’t dare cry. I squashed down all the messiest of my feelings and emotions and sequestered them away. It was not easy, but neither was the heartache. So, I kept them all in a safe, dark place within myself. It was dangerous to possess feelings, so I didn’t. I’ve come to believe that there is something dark, something inherently wrong, that lies just below the surface of my skin. It permeates the lining of my organs and chokes them out until they are cancerous, calcified relics of the little laughing girl I barely remember." - bean sidhe WIP

LIGHT

"It was quiet when they stepped outside. With its enormous green rings, the larger-than-life moon took up much of the sky. On the opposite horizon, the first tendrils of sunlight were peeking over. It cast the garden with strange pockets of both shadow and morning light. There was still a chill in the air. V was correct—it was a peaceful place to think and have the opportunity to soothe her fears." - Earth Enduring

DAWN

"In the dawn haze, his form looked more human than ever—more like her. Hannah pinned her focus to his furry, ridiculous ears and used them to ground herself. He might be different from her physically, but he still understood her human need for presence more than platitudes." - Earth Enduring

DUSK

SHOCKINGLY, nothing for dusk

[rkmoon]

OC in 15

Rules: post 15 or less lines of dialogue that sum up one of your OCs

Thanks to @mk-writes-stuff for the tag! Let's do Rain, my MC for Project Heartless.

1. "You know I can't go. My brother will notice I'm gone and... I don't wanna get caught. It'll be a scandal."

2. “That bastard! My hurt feelings are not more important than an entire community of people!”

3. "You mean, you're not to bring it up to me, like one does for your sick sweetheart?"

4. "Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's a bad idea!"

5. "I know. But this is the path I want to take. This is the path that would help the city the most, at this time."

6. "I'm so sick of people trying to protect me!For heaven's sake, let me live my own life!"

7. "No, I endured a week of torture only to give up in the end, clearly."

8. "Have some faith in me! I could swim your body back to the shore. Besides, corpses float."

9. "Why... can you do that while I can't? Why can you grow up to be an in-between, to be yourself, and get to be accepted? How come you get to not be a freak?"

10. "Vincent could have made me marry anybody, but I'm glad it was you."

11. "I told you that's an inaccurate nickname. I am neither little nor a prince."

12. "Mishap? You think me losing my heart is a little mishap?"

13. "I care so much. I care so much that I can't just stay still while something like this is happening.

14. "Actually, that's a trick question. I don't care if it's not okay. Tell them they could stick their regulations where the rain doesn't fall and that if they have the guts to oppress the entire Heartless community, they have the guts to face three armed Heartless soldiers. Do they really think we need guns to tear them limb from limb?"

15. "Romantic love isn't the pinnacle of human existence. You taught me that."

@crow-with-a-typewriter @interroblog wanna play?