#invisibility immune

[elgaberino-mcoc]

ULIK has been added to the MCOC Wishlist 

This classic member of Thor's rogues gallery never should have been omitted, and that has been rectified. This entry by @elgaberino_MCOC

[puppetmaster13u]

Another Ghost Dragon Prompt? Indeed.

The Ward had made a mistake. Had stolen something that had caused the very Skies to lash out, entire worlds at risk from their actions.

Time Itself shrieked in rage at the loss of Its child, or at least that's how every magic user- and the speedsters, pale and shaken and looking sick- had described it.

Someone had taken the young prince of the Infinite, and it was not the Tyrant King, long since sealed away, that lead the charge, but the Queen Regent that many had long since forgotten.

Many forgot that it was not the Dark who courted Time, but Time who courted the Dark. That It was just, if not more so, merciless as Its partner, and would Devour worlds should Its child- still with newdeath soft scales- was not returned.

Which meant that for the heroes, there was now a Clock ticking down ever so quietly. They had to take care of what was a government branch, had to deal with consequences of going over the law, or their World would End in dragon fire.

[crazyw3irdo]

okay, i think any time anyone asks what superpower we’d like to have most everyone on this website would say shapeshifting but what kind of shapeshifting would you like

type 1- wild shape, you can turn into any animal, real or fictional

type 2- mystique, you can turn into any real person

type 3- cosplay, you can turn into any humanoid fictional character

type 4- jake the dog, you’re super stretchy

type 5- character creator, you can alter your own appearance- like changing voice hair length texture color, changing height and weight, transing gender, etc, but you can’t add anything non-human (ie horns, wings, claws, etc)

type 6- additional features, you can add things like snake eyes, horns, cat ears, tail, claws, wings, mermaid tail, but you remain humanoid overall and can’t change things like height or gender presentation or hair color. you can still change your voice tho

type 7- were-wolf, we all know what a werewolf is, lads. can be any kind of animal. can be straight up wolf or more monstrous wolf form that’s up to you.

type 8- furry, you just become your fursona. or any kind of fursona really you can change between them

type 9- antman, can become small or big

type 10- other, say what kind ya want

[skullingwaydraws]

A recent illustration I made to submit to a show about disability

I wanted to depict pain and work. It wasn't selected, but I still wanted to share for any who relate 💕

[total-drama-brainrot]

i now wanna hear your very long character analysis on how the drama machine affected alejandro

Yeah alright.

So I haven't actually watched All-stars, but I did skim through this video to get a feel for Alejandro's characterisation in it, since All-stars is the only canonical material we get from Alejandro post Drama Machine.

And by skim I really do mean skim; I was mostly looking out for signs of his imprisonment's influence, which for the most part seems to be as follows:

His legs fell asleep.

He developed a minor case of agoraphobia, mostly in the context of sleeping in open spaces.

His standards of human interaction have plummeted; something he's aware and accepting of.

Interestingly enough, he doesn't really seem to acknowledge the volcano itself (outside of an offhanded comment) or the injuries he got from the explosion. His focus is solely on his time in the suit, not what out him there in the first place. He even skirts over a memory loss issue, which could contribute to this.

I'll tackle these three points in more detail, and then give examples of how they can be developed into actual characterisation points instead of (for the most part) gags.

Number one; Leggy McLatin and the paraplegia scheme.

Alejandro's inadvertant and unintentional escape from the Drama Machine, and subsequent readmission into the competition (as himself, instead of as the machine) is, for the most part, entirely focal on the fact that his legs no longer work after his year of entrapment. It's a big deal - or, at least, as big of a deal as any injury or ailment can be in the context of Total Drama, considering that he doesn't miraculously get better in the span of an episode. Of course, we learn fairly early on that he's faking the paraplegia, but it's fairly heavily implied that his legs really were asleep initially (and that, in all likelihood, the massage we see him getting from an intern is what "wakes them up").

What's interesting about this particular plotline choice is that it would, realistically, be entirely feasable for Alejandro to have mobility issues after spending a year inside a robot.

Now, I'm no doctor, nor do I have any formal medical training, but I do know that not being able to move your body for an extended period of time results in a serious case of muscle atrophy. We see in canon that Alejandro was essentially locked in a seated position for the year; his arms, head and (assumedly) torso had place to move around, but he couldn't really stretch out his legs. This would explain the "weakness" of his legs in the first episode - i.e. their wobbliness, and the fact that they couldn't hold up Alejandro's body weight. The numbness he cites would be explained by poor circulation - again caused by him being sat down for a solid twelve months.

Or it could be nerve damage from the eruption, but given that Alejandro doesn't seem to have any long-term issues that stem from the volcano itself, it's unlikely.

So it can be assumed that the numbness of his legs was offset by the massage he gets after the first challenge. The masseuse kickstarts the blood circulation back into his legs, resulting in him regaining sensation in them - enough feeling to notice a crab pinching at his feet.

And, if I really want to reach into headcanon territory/realism, the reason he keeps up the "ruse" is because, despite having feeling in his legs, the muscles there are still fairly atrophied and he has a lot of trouble walking, let alone running, for extended periods of time. Though, as it stands, any long-term impact on his health would be entirely headcanon/fanon territory, due to the nature of the show itself.*

Then there's the psychological aspect to consider. Alejandro's a very prideful person by design - that's evident in both the way he portrays himself and the physical standards he holds himself to. Having use of half of his body stripped away from his is bound to be distressing, perhaps even traumatising. Hence why he tries to make himself as useful to the team as possible despite still recovering; he needs everyone to see that he's still capable.

Eventually his legs fully recover, because this is Total Drama and things like "realistic healing processes" and "lasting damage" don't seem to exist in-universe.

Number two; snug as a bug in a rug.

Alejandro's shown to have started sleeping in a sleeping bag throughout All-stars. He even canonically states that he needs to, because of his time in the Drama Machine. He cites that sleeping whilst srpawled out makes him uncomfortable, unspokenly referring to the fact that, for a year, he'd only had the option to sleep in an incredibly cramped position/environment.

This is interesting since, for the most part, you'd assume that someone held in close-quaters captivity would develop claustrophobia instead of a form of agorophobia, and yet Alejandro seems to have internalised the need to be in an enclosed space to sleep. Maybe it's symptom of just how long be was encased for - a year is a long time - or maybe it started out as claustrophobia, but the indefinate nature of his captivity morphed the initial fear into a twisted sort of coping mechanism.

It begs the question; what else can't Alejandro do in open spaces?

Is he perpetually uncomfortable with the openness of the outside world? Does he resort to hermiting himself into closed-off corners and enclosed rooms, just to feel a semblence of normalcy after he escapes the confines of the Drama Machine? Would he take to wearing tighter but more concealing clothing, just to immitate the feeling/pressure of being trapped in a too-tight enclosure?

Is his need for a snug sleeping space indicitive of him missing his isolated imprisonment?

Which brings us nicely into the third point.

Number three; long-term isolation and the effects thereof.

Alejandro explodes out of a glorified toaster and one of the first things he really comments on is Heather's off-putting personality and her facial hair. In a positive manner. He's so starved for human contact that he attaches himself to the first "friendly"/familiar face he sees, which in this case is Heather, and focuses on the aspects of her that make her human.

If he were a "weaker man", I have no doubt Alejandro would be clambering for attention from his team, mostly for proof that he's no longer completely isolated. It's a well-documented phenomenon; people who experience a long time in isolation, or who suffer through long periods of loneliness, become desperate for socialisation (and physical contact), to the point their immune systems and biological rhythyms (from circadian to infradian) start to deteriorate.

Realistically, Alejandro would've come out of the Drama Machine a desperate and sickly mess, riddled with insomnia and paranoia and incredibly touch-starved. But, as established, the show isn't exactly true-to-life when it comes to things like this, so...

As it stands, the fact that he emerged from his prison and immediately jumped back into his charming persona attests more to the fact that his flirtatious act is so deeply ingrained into his psyche than it does to his mental wellbeing. It could be argued that he's using the same act/mask/persona as a tether to his old self and an anchor to normalcy, as he'd likely crumble into an inconsolable mess without the scaffolding of his "TV personality" keeping him upright (metaphorically of course, as Alejandro is in fact not upright in the show. He's upside down for the majority of his time on All-stars).

Or maybe he's just built different? Who's to say.

We don't exactly know what went down during his year away, so it's impossible to make any concrete statements as to whether Alejandro was afforded the luxury of other people's company, or if he really was kept 100% isolated in the machine. The only thing we do know is that he likely had access to a phone, though didn't have the capability of using it without assistance, since he calls Heather out for never trying to contact him but also states the impossibility of him doing the same in turn.

Number four; lava damage and the lack thereof.

It's sort of explained during his scene at the end of World Tour, but Alejandro's whole "being trapped in the Drama Machine" deal - alongside being a parody of the scene where Anakin Skywalker is first put into the Darth Vader suit - is stated to be for his own benefit. He's essentially being locked away into a healing suit. Again, just like Anakin - they both even sport similar burn wounds.

He mentions at the beginning of All-stars that he doesn't really remember being put into the machine, and it's safe to assume that the majority of his time in the contraption is likely fuzzy to him as well; being fully concious of complete isolation for a whole year would be enough to drive anyone completely mad, and Alejandro is decidedly not insane (for the most part). Ergo, it's also a safe assumption that the inner mechanisms of the Drama Machine act as a sort of stoporous healing chamber, keeping Alejandro semi-concious and healing his various lava burns over the course of his concealment.

Sort of like a medical coma. Inside of a robot. A portable medical coma.

The "healing properties" would also justify why Alejandro's whole body hadn't deteriorated from muscle atrophy, or developed any (visible) burn scars from his stint in the Hot Sauce. Of course, as far as burn scars go, unless they're significantly deep they do tend to fade into near-invisibility over time. That, paired with the ~magical healing properties~ of his confinement, likely resulted in his lava burns scarring over into insignificance.

Then again, I once again have to take cartoon logic into account - the show itself likely just didn't consider the semi-realistic consequences of a year of entrapment, and wanted Alejandro to be near-enough the same character he was at the end of World Tour before the consequences™.

The main point here is this; Alejandro doesn't seem to remember the majority of his injuries following the volcano eruption in the World Tour finale, or if he does he's had a year of semi-conciousness to work through his thoughts and feelings on the matter, and as a result he doesn't seem to carry any (reasonable) trauma regarding lava, volcanoes, or other related stimuli.

He does, however, retain some "quirks" from his time in the machine.

Number five; an overview.

Alejandro comes out of the Drama Machine with a surprisingly little amount of visible trauma, both in terms of physical damage/scarring and observable mental changes.

He developed a very minor case of agoraphobia, spurned on by him becoming accustomed to existing in a very small, very cramped space, but otherwise attunes himself to the outside world incredibly fast.

Is this probably related to his social training, as a diplomat's son, and his heavy reliance on a "suave and charming" persona. He's likely battling with a lot of internal issues throughout the season, but squahing down his inner turmoil under his determination to win, which explains how/why he falls so easily into his scheming mindset - it, in and of itself, is a coping mechanism, though not a very healthy one.

*The paralysis of his legs was in all likelihood genuine, and a result of poor circulatory issues and minor muscular atrophy, which was almost immediately treated by the masseuse intern after the first challenge. Realistically (and how many times have I said that word) he'd have some lasting weakness in his legs, and maybe require the use of a mobility aid and/or physiotherapy. This is not the case, because... Total Drama.

There are subtle signs of the mental impact of his imprisonment, mostly in his immediate attachment to Heather (despite her taking away his reproduction privileges the last time they spoke, and her being Heather) and his innate need to prove himself as useful/capable despite his gameplan riding on him appearing pitiable and unthreatening (due to his "sleepy legs"). He's so starved for social interaction and validation that his actions are directly contradictory to his gameplans.

Though in the case of his Heather attachment, he could just be like that. He was also fairly infatuated with her in the latter half of World Tour, and the pineapple scene speaks for itself.

In conclusion; Alejandro is either completely goated and (for the most part) just shrugged off the trauma of being trapped in a tiny box for a year, or he was already so traumatised that the imprisonment was just another needle in his haystack of turmoil.

[tumble-tv]

No one:

Me and my eight boxes of masks:

[secondwhisper]

Love and solidarity to people with less-spoken-of "invisible" disabilities.

Disabilities of breathing, eating, and drinking. Disabilities of language, speech, signing, reading, and writing. Disabilities of digestion and toileting. Disabilities of sleep. Disabilities of thermoregulation. Disabilities of sexual function. Disabilities of navigation, balance, and motor control. Disabilities of taste and smell.

"Invisible" disabilities with obvious causes, and "invisible" disabilities with unknown causes. "Invisible" disabilities with treatments, those with helpful adaptive technologies, those with experimental approaches, those with social or infrastructural accommodations, those with nothing that really helps. "Invisible" disabilities that go unspoken even in spaces meant for those of us who have "invisible" disabilities. "Invisible" disabilities that have yet to be named.

"Invisible" disabilities that wouldn't be so invisible if others would just look at us and how we live.

[aeide-thea]

like actually i think that 'zomg the word blorbo made it to an NYT book review????' post is very psychologically interesting/telling bc it's basically the OP going 'wait the real world can see us under this rock????' and it's like. it always has been able to! the Real World is comprised of individuals some of whom have both jorbs and blogs!

[angelic-girlblogger]

only people constantly in the hospital will recognize these 😛

[ishkabibblethings]

i hate when I just can't. When I'm unable to perform the way I expect to. It's like being disab- oh. Right. I am disabled. Why doesn't knowing that ever actually help?

[adamslilith]

Pretty much 6 months ago I had my first clinic flare up and got diagnosed with MS.

And here I am now.. again with a flare up. Again my immune system is destroying my central nervous system. This is way too early. This is not good at all.

So once again I can post "Gloria" who is my visualisation of Multiple Sclerosis.. from my art project A Thousand Faces created to raise awareness of this invisible illness by visualising every aspect of it.

[melodymorningdew]

⚠️ CW gross skin things mentioned ⚠️

My doc said I have some kind of staph infection that's causing my itchiness (plus an allergy to my meds), but it really doesn't look as bad as staph. Idk what it is, but I hope the antibiotic cream helps. Like I feel like a staph infection would be much worse than several tiny bumps that are itchy. Anyone know what I'm talking about?

[clownalley]

I’m so fucking exhausted

I’m living in a house with people refusing to mask or take any other precautions & I’ve been desperately trying to avoid catching COVID again because of my mysterious chronic cough but now I might have it 🙃

I’m going fucking feral

[cripple-culture-is]

could you tell us about question 7 in the ask game? Also 1 if that's ok.

Hi! Yeah, of course! No problem at all =D

Question #7: What's a struggle you wish more people talked about?

Oh, there's honestly so much. I wish more people talked about the struggles and importance of accessible household items, I think. I don't think people talk enough about how accessibility is really important when considering buying certain things.

For instance, I struggle to open the handle at the house my family and I live in. We bought our new house a few years ago, and we couldn't change the handle. My parents have been intending to change it, but they haven't.

We are also currently looking to get a new vehicle, which means we have to check how accessible it is for me. How hard it is getting in, how much leg room I have, where the handles are, and how easy it is to handle/drive.

Accessibility is about more than ramps and wheelchair accessible vehicles. Even though I don't 'look disabled' (whatever that means), I still have to consider accessibility wherever I go and anytime I'm looking at something new.

It could simply be the difference between squeezing a tacky glue bottle vs. squeezing an Elmer's glue bottle, which is a struggle I have dealt with. Tacky glue bottles are CONSIDERABLY harder for me to use due to wrist strength than Elmer's glue is.

It's as simple as needing someone else's help to put on a fitted sheet, or having glass containers that are hard to open. I don't 'look disabled', but I am. And because I deal with wrist pain and my disability affects my wrists, it leads to issues with wrist strength.

So while there are many struggles I'd like to hear about more, I think that is my choice.

Question #1: What disability/ies do you have? (and are they mental, physical, or both?)

I have one diagnosed disability. I believe I have some undiagnosed ones (autism, ADHD, anxiety, depression, c-PTSD and/or PTSD, either celiac or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, and hyperthyroidism).

But for the sake of accuracy, I am only going to explain my diagnosed disability =)

I don't think I have gone into full on detail of what my disability is, even on my main blog. I honestly can't remember.

I have an autoimmune disease called RF (rheumatoid factor) negative polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Because I am 20, this would (I think) be referred to as juvenile-onset arthritis, but again, for the sake of accuracy, I am going to give the diagnosis I have on my medical record. By 'juvenile' it means that it is diagnosed/occurs when someone is 16-17 or younger.

Polyarticular means 5 or more. This means that at least five joints in my body are affected by my arthritis. In my case, I have arthritis in every single joint in my body.

It affects my neck, jaw, spine, collarbones, ribs, shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers, hips, knees, ankles, toes, etc. All of it. Pretty much my entire skeleton is affected. I mostly tend to have problems with my knees, jaw, and wrists. But they are all affected. Because of my disability, I do deal with chronic pain. I struggle when walking sometimes, though I often push myself due to familial expectations, and the fact that I don't like 'complaining'. I also can't stand for long periods of time because of my disability.

My disability is physical. It is mobility related. My disability is categorized as a physical disability, an autoimmune disease, a chronic illness, a musculoskeletal condition, a connective tissue disorder, and a mobility impairment, which is honestly a mouthful XD

I think my arthritis has affected other parts of my body that don't inherently have to do with my joints (potential livedo reticularis on my legs, watery eyes, etc.), though because those aren't confirmed, I just went with what the condition is said to cause (the other issues might be caused by RA, which I am technically not diagnosed with [though I feel like I might have seronegative RA, which would just end up being the more adult type of the JIA I have])

Thank you for the questions!

[dndtreasury]

Shadows Refuge

[godlesslostsoul]

I love the fall time it’s just so quaint and pretty and not sweltering hot. I can be in comfy clothes all the time now.

My immune system and lungs reminding me that they’re broken: I hate this time of year