#mysterious disability

[cripplecharacters]

Hi! I hope this isn't too similar to a point in your pinned. I read that, but felt this might be a little different. I'm writing a character heavily based off of myself, and I've hit a dilemma with him.

I'm almost certain I have some kind of heart condition, but I don't know exactly what condition(s) I have because I haven't gotten a diagnosis or any clear answers about it. So I want to give him my conditions, but well... for this case, I don't know what it is. I'm wary of making him have this Vague Undefined Disability, especially because it's his only physical disability aside from severe nearsightedness.

The rest of his and mine are mental, and I know what those are. Making his mental disabilities clearly defined, yet one of two physical disabilities nebulous and undefined has me worried it could come off the wrong way, even if it's my own experience.

The solution I'm thinking of is to make him undiagnosed like I am.

Hello, thank you for your ask!

Basing a character around your own symptoms is always fine, no one knows how you feel & experience them better than you do! I understand being worried about labeling the condition just in case it's actually something else, but you don't have to give it any more definition than you're comfortable with. Your character can always just say they think/suspect they have a heart condition if that works best.

The main problem with giving a character a vague disability comes from abled writers wanting to be able to give their characters symptoms of a disability while ignoring any symptoms they don't like, doing so so that they have an excuse not to do research or listen to disabled voices, or because they don't want to admit their character is disabled for whatever reason (almost always ableism). Undiagnosed disabilities do exist and are okay to write, but some people just use them as excuses to be inaccurate and not do research. But as a disabled person going on your own experiences, thats completely fine even if you don't know the name for what you have!

Have a lovely day!

Mod Rot

[phleb0tomist]

tumblr users will have the most inaccessible, unreadable, low contrast, flashing carrd you can possibly imagine, with a dni full of insider acronyms with no translation and numerous link buttons labelled with cryptic captions, and then go ahead and put “ableists dni and kys!” on that carrd

[tuttle-did-it]

You know, it's genuinely sad to me that aging favourite character actors no longer have any fun murder-mystery tv shows to guest-star as murders on.

[brandyschillace]

Hey everyone! I’m featured in this @washingtonpost.com story!! For FRAMED WOMEN and #autism #disabilityrepresentation

Quoting me in the article;

“Women, even at a very early age, are taught to subjugate their needs in favor of others. They are taught to ‘behave’ and to take up less space, to not be a burden but to help support others — the men and boys or other children in their lives,” Schillace said in an interview. “What this means for autistic girls is that they learn to mask early, to hide their true natures and to ��not be a problem.’”

In creating Jo, Schillace said she aimed to create a protagonist who “isn’t treated like a savant, and her autism — though present — does not become the most interesting thing about her. … Jo isn’t the mystery; she helps to solve one. Likewise, I (and other autistic women) are not enigmas. We are people, fellow human beings, with intrinsic value.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2024/04/01/autistic-women-mystery-fiction/

[tide-locked]

there's something very uncomfortable about being in a fandom where all three of the main characters spend a substantial chunk of their lives disabled or chronically ill or both, and the show itself handles this far better than i would have expected, and the fandom handles it way fucking worse.

the frequency with which fics and meta reach for ableist rhetoric that the show itself avoids is absolutely mindblowing to me.

someone being disabled doesn't mean that the ending is unhappy. li lianhua, alive and happy but an ordinary person without powers isn't a bad ending. alive and happy and not in pain, without powers, and disabled in other ways isn't a bad ending.

also, though, an ending where he's dead isn't necessarily a bad ending, either. dying on your own terms isn't nothing. it is, in fact, more than many people get.

the other thing is that people who are disabled or chronically ill or mentally ill still deserve bodily autonomy. even if the people around them don't like the choices they're making; even if their choices cause the people around them pain.

taking away that autonomy and forcing someone to accept a treatment, even a possible cure, that they don't want is a pretty fundamental violation of their personhood. it's striking to me how often narratives in this fandom are like, 'we forcibly cured you against your explicitly stated wishes! be happy and normal again. ok, they lived happily ever after.'

i'm primarily an ot3 person. i am deeply invested in li lianhua being found on this beach by his ridiculous boyfriends and the three of them heading off into the sunset to have some kind of a life about it.

that life looks real different if li lianhua doesn't have agency of his own body. it looks sort of less like a life together, and more like captivity. and maybe you want that! maybe you feel like that's what has to happen! but if that's what you write, you should do so knowing that it's a betrayal and a violation, and that whatever harm li lianhua has inflicted—which is admittedly a lot—di feisheng and fang duobing are inflicting just as much in return.

disabled and chronically ill people still deserve bodily autonomy.

[funishment-time]

"this plot could have been solved if they just communicated" yeah but Let Me Tell You. people do not communicate. ever? the world's problems run on miscommunication and lack of communication. there are grown adults who would rather 1) devour rusty nails like pussy, 2) disappear to a foreign country, and 3) drown themselves in a lake of piss, in that order, than communicate anything Truthfully or Sincerely

[mystery-aberration]

Do not censor yourself/selves for others, and do not play into their expectations of who you should be. Do not exclude others simply so you are not excluded, yourself. Do not downplay your disorder, sexuality, gender or identity to make it easier for others to digest. Do not lie simply in order to fit in, unless it is for your own safety. Do not let others hatred of you rule over your own life, and do not let it influence you into hating others within similar communities or even your own.

Know that whatever or whoever you are is still important, even if you have to hide for now to stay safe. Your experiences, your identity, and you yourself are important and deserving of spaces safe to express yourself/selves.

I am so very tired of seeing people hate on those with stigma surrounding their identities. Otherkin, queers, psychotics, systems, trans and gender diverse people, and anyone society does not understand. You do not help your own group by harming another. You are only helping those against us all.

[letsplaythermalnuclearwar]

a non-exhaustive list of reasons I think The Dragon Prince is great:

1) good disability representation

2) a unique art style

3) Soren 

3a) really good character development and character arcs

4) incredible world building and lore

5) Rayllum 

5a) well-written romances were we get to see the couple interact after they become a couple

6) is, on a fundamental level, about how committing horrifying acts of violence for loved ones does not fix things. About how the horrifying acts of violence are still violent and horrible, not matter how much love you did them with. About how hurting people does not help make things better. About how the enemy might deserve death and pain, but them suffering won’t make anything better. That everyone has to chose mercy, because if we all demand justice, there won’t be anybody left

7) has adult characters who are people 

8) autistic space elf. autistic space elf who was only on screen for fifteen minutes but who I felt a visceral connection with. me if I was a murdered space elf.

[casscainmainly]

Hi

i wanted to ask, in canon, cass is able to speak normally and fluently but struggles with writing and reading and dyslexia right?

From what i've read that seems to be true, but i haven't read modern cass stuff besides bg 2024 where she seems to be able to read and write aswell

She does indeed have a language disability! From Batgirl (2000) #67:

Important part is that while she does struggle to read and write (more than speaking), Babs points out the she "can learn". We know from Gabrych's earlier issue (#58) that Cass has advanced significantly at this point in her reading skills:

It's still a struggle, but I think at this point her skills are speaking > reading > writing (and speaking is not completely fluent). Another thing we know from Batgirl (2008) is that Cass attended ESL lessons and got tutoring from Alfred. Beechen was trying to explain evil!Cass though, so whether you accept this explanation for her sudden fluent English is up to you. I think this is a copout since we didn't see this progression, and it's immediately followed by N52 anyway. But to answer your question about modern!Cass, honestly it's all over the place. We can start with Tynion's Detective Comics (2016), which remains the modern run that focuses most on her disability. Basil's Shakespeare lessons improve Cass' language ability, to the point where Babs says:

This is markedly different from pre-52, in that Cass seems to be a better reader than a speaker. So modern!Cass is reading > speaking > writing in terms of skill. This is supported by Batgirls (2022), where Cass is seen to be a huge bookworm and reads Steph's letter in #14. I think Batgirls overshoots this a bit because we don't see her struggle with reading at all, erasing her disability to an extent - this is my qualm with the current Birds of Prey run as well in regards to Cass' dialogue. Modern comics are hit or miss in terms of how they handle, or if they even address, Cass' disability.

Writing is the field least explored both pre- and post-52. We know from Batgirl (2000) #2 that Cass does practice writing, or at least she did at one point. As far as I recall we don't see her write again? Cass can type - as far back as Batgirl (2000) #30, we see that she can use a keyboard. We also know from TT's Nightwing that there's a family group chat, though Cass mostly sends emojis. Typing with a keyboard reduces the cognitive load of making sentences, so it's likely Cass is a more confident typer than she is a handwriter.

In general, modern comics have focused most on the speech aspect - Tynion's 'Tec, Batman and the Outsiders (2019), Batgirls '22, Batgirl '24, and Mariko Tamaki's story in Festival of Superheroes generally all focus on speaking over reading/writing (in contrast to Batgirl (2000) which touched on all three areas). The preview of Batgirl #7, though, has Cass listening to an audiobook as she reads, so Brombal is highlighting Cass' reading disability! Even if it's not all that visible in Cass' modern appearances, her disability is still a huge part of her character!!!

If you want a fairly in-depth look at the history of Cass' disability (until 2023), check out @dailycass-cain's post!

[duality-disability]

happy disability pride month to those with degenerative/progressive disabilites:

-Those who know what their disability is and why its getting worse

-Those whos disability hasnt been diagnosed yet but the symptoms and degenerative nature of their illness is still taking effect

-and those who have to watch their bodies steadily decline while their healthcare professionals refuse to treat them (for no fault of their own)

-to the ones who are told they are too young to have their body declining

-'too young' to be using their mobility aids, or seeing certain specialists, or who notice they're the youngest patients in certain clinics by years if not decades

You deserve to be seen, and heard, and supported; You deserve kindness and respect and to be taken seriously about your medical concerns and the nature of your disability/ies

having a degenerative disease can be really fucking scary, I wish that tomorrow is kinder than today was.

[cripplecharacters]

I want a character to be able to make light about his tics or stims. (Not when he is in a tic attack but rather when it randomly happens) How could I do this so other characters are laughing w i t h him not a t him?

Hello,

Note; There are more tic disorders than just Tourette's Syndrome, I'm just using Tourette's as an example

So, a great example of what you mean to portray would be videos by Jade O'Connell on Youtube. She films videos doing things such as cooking with family and friend while having Tourette's. When she tics and something funny happens, she laughs right along with the other people in the video. If a tic frustrates her, whoever she's making the video with doesn't laugh, they either don't say anything or they offer to help. They're basing their reactions off of hers so that they don't wind up laughing at something she doesn't think is funny.

Have the other characters gauge the character's emotions. Just a tiny pause, seeing if the character seems unhappy. Maybe they'll wait for some cue that the character thinks what happened was funny- a small smile, or maybe they wait for the character to laugh or grin before they do. Have you ever seen the Anthony Padilla episodes where he's talking to people who have Tourette's? When they tic, he always watches and mirrors their reaction. If Sweet Anita tics and laughs about it, he laughs too. If she tics and either tries to ignore it or seems to not find it funny, he mirrors her reaction, moves past it and doesn't laugh. By pausing to see how they react and mirroring how they react, he avoids laughing at them when they don't think it's funny and laughs with them when they do find it funny.

If the characters without Tourette's are narrating, include them gauging the other character's reactions. Character didn't laugh when the ticced, just moved on, so they recognize that the character find the tic funny and they follow Character's lead and just move on. But if character tics and grins or starts laughing? That means they find the tic funny, so it's okay to laugh.

If the character with Tourette's is narrating, just have them occasionally mention that their friends wait to see their reaction before laughing. Character starts laughing and the others quickly follow them. But if Character tics, feels kind of frustrated or embarrassed, and tries to move past, they know that the other characters get the idea and don't laugh.

It's a tiny thing, but it's easy to get across, even if you don't explicitly mention that they base their reactions off of Character's to avoid laughing at their friend.

Mod Aaron

[lifewithchronicpain]

I’m watching Mystery Diagnoses and this woman with lymphoma actually smiles when she gets the diagnosis. The doctor asks if she understands she has cancer and she’s like “yeah but I’ve been going to doctors for years to now finally hear what is wrong with me” She was happy to finally have an answer.

I’ll never forget feeling happy when the MRI came back with a herniated disc, because Finally I had an answer for the pain. Before then I previously had a doctor told me I just really need to exercise more.

[batwynn]

I’m about 60% sure my grandmother’s twin brother was intersex and it maybe even had something to do with my grandmother’s ‘hormonal problems’, but I’ll never be able to know for sure because like many families it was hidden away like a deep, horrific secret shame. Just as my great grandmother’s sister was quietly lobotomized and no one was allowed to talk about it other than to say how much ‘easier she is to manage’. Just like my grandfather’s sister’s kid was quietly shuffled away as her progressive disease got more disabling, and just like that same sister hiding herself away after becoming disabled due to an accident. Just like my mother’s cousin just… kind of being ignored when she became disabled, left to deal with it by herself. The ablism is baked in so deeply that I have no real idea where a good chunk of my inherited health problems come from because it was forbidden to talk about them, never mind treat them properly. How much longer could some of these family members have lived if they felt comfortable enough to tell someone else about their health? If they’d been allowed to even aknowledge mental health stuff? How many of us down the family tree could have avoided so much suffering, ourselves? We’ll never know. The deep family secrets… are all just normal ‘your body is doing some shit’ things only hinted at in drunk conversations and whispers behind people’s backs. Because being sick or a bit different has been so socially unacceptable that my own family members would rather watch you die alone than ask you what you might need to survive.

[squidbian-ink]

very frustrating issue I keep encountering as an undiagnosed sick/disabled person.

$1 kofi doodles <- help me get a laptop and pay for medical bills. might actually help me get a diagnosis that way lol

downloadable stickers on my Etsy

[exteenpopstar]

“it’s easy to maintain clothing if you have basic mending skills” is one of my petty hatreds bc this is flat out not true if you don’t have regular access to a washing machine / the washing machine you use happens to be very old or crap quality / you don’t have the physical or cognitive ability to wash your clothes (by hand or machine) sufficiently often. and if ppl are putting the basis of convo at point of mending they are not thinking about the difficulty of washing. i’ve had clothes *rot*. i’ve also had a lot of them end up with an unwearable waxy-gritty-cardboard quality after like 2 yrs despite my best efforts.

[fleeglefazbeagle]

General headcanon stuff for the holiday special antagonists plus Glimmer Bunny(I'm not leaving her out).

[DISCLAIMER: No hate please, they're only headcanons, any hate or bullying will not be tolerated. You can disagree but don't be a jerk.]

Mortality: Any pronouns+xe/rot/🎁/heart/honk/💕/plush/doll, polygender, genderfluid, gender apathetic, xenogender, transneu(AFAB), panromantic, demiromantic, apothisexual, polygamous(with Jolly and P.R), AuDHD, PTSD, BPD, schizophrenia, depressive disorder, OCD, agere/petdre.

Jolly: She/they, voidwoman, xenogirl, straight, asexual, queerplatonic(in a QPR with Witch Sheep), ADHD.

Sad: He/they/void/honk/heart, non-binary, xenoboy, gay(actually canon), asexual, autism, depressive disorder, anxiety disorder.

Glimmer Bunny: She/doll/it/star, Pangender girl, demifluid, xenogender, lesbian, apothisexual, AuDHD, OCD, sensory processing disorder.

Pumpkin Rabbit: He/they, non-binary, transmasc, biromantic, asexual, polygamous(W.S and Mortality), autism, PTSD, anxiety disorder, disabled(mobility aids+breathing issues+lisp), petre+caregiver flip(caregiver leaning).

Witch Sheep: She/void/thorn/🥀/🌙, trans woman(implied because look at her), straight, queerplatonic(in a QPR with Jolly), autism, PTSD.

Jonkler(Halloween Billy): He/it/they/honk, pomogender, gay, greysexual, AuDHD, OCD.

TVA: He/it/bot, agender, questioning, aroace, techtum, ADHD, disabled(human form uses a wheelchair, text-to-speech voice).