#Braille would be cool too

[kittentf]

At first I wanted the ancestral one, but then noticed it's singular and with my luck I'd end up with it choosing my English ancestors...

no wrong answers! if you'd like to elaborate on your answer i'd love to hear it!!

[mysticetus]

i present to you my blind kieran AU where he lost his eyes when he got kidnapped and interrogated by the o'driscolls but he got rescued...

i have a bunch of notes about it i put under the cut.

ive had fun researching disability history and also how each disabled person finds their own solutions and methods.

white canes weren't properly invented until the 1920s but he would pretty quickly start using a cane and likes finding good sticks (+ different sizes for different things).

he already couldn't read when he was sighted so not much changes there but mary beth would learn about braille and teach him i feel like she would be into it shes nerdy.

the gang seems to hold an attitude of acceptance for societal outcasts and find ways of survival in harsh circumstances so he would be in good company i think.

being blind doesn't impair his fishing that much because fishing doesn't rely on sight and hes got a little bell on the rod (sighted fishermen use this too).

HORSE: he can still ride and care for horses. it's so cool seeing all the stuff blind equestrians do. horse is a lot of tactile and smells and stuff and it's more about bond than anything. Bro's best friend is his horse i think branwen would be a great companion for outings.

despite a glass eye making a slightly plot-relevant appearance in rdr1 kieran wouldn't bother with one. these days prosthetic eyes are made of acrylic and are much more comfortable but in his era they were delicate and uncomfortable. i imagine arthur looting a glass eye off a body and giving it to kieran, asking him how it feels, and kieran's like "it feels like i have a rock in my face." and he never wears it again lol.

reblogs are greatly appreciated :)

[adelheidvonschicksal]

I know you’ve already kinda written smt similar, but maybe how LnD ML would cuddle?

Xavier can fall asleep in any position, loves almost any position as long as it doesn’t leave him with weird aches in the morning. However, he likes it when he can feel you the best, where your body can lay against his and when he wakes up, you’ll be there.

He’ll fall asleep with his head on your lap if you let him. He falls asleep in such unconventional places, but you make the perfect spot to catch up with a quick power nap. If you get visibly surprised and a little shy when he does so it’s a cute bonus, along with your fingers in his hair. If not, your shoulder makes a good replacement, especially on long station rides back home.

In bed, he likes to lay on top of you, letting him feel you completely, letting him smell the soft scent of your hair, letting him feel you breathing gently against his neck. It helps cut down on your little movements that wake him up (and it’s so easy to plea with you for a few minutes when you’re like this); and when you do get up, he can feel it and wake up with you when needed.

Zayne wants to protect you and make you feel loved. It’s difficult for him to say but his actions always prove it. So, he doesn’t mind giving you the more comfortable spot in any position. But you like to cuddle into him fully, pressed against his chest with his arms around you, not only because you love him but because the coolness from his evol helps you sleep comfortably through the night.

He’s worried about giving you too much. Sometimes, he doesn’t like to cuddle, preferring to make the smallest distance after you fall asleep; all so he can make sure your dreams are peaceful and to cup your cheek in his hand when you tense from a nightmare. It’s hard to shake off this need to keep watch over you, no matter the hour.

Even more-so, Zayne’s greatest desire is to be protected by you. His nightmares are much more frequent than yours. He likes waking up to you, squeezing onto his hand or spooning his back, your arms around him and drawn into his chest like a hug.

Zayne’s favorite position is holding you face-to-face, with his head pressed into your chest, your hand at the back of his nape, and your knees bent towards each other so your legs can meet and cross. There’s something safe and warm about being in your arms, like an eternal home. It chases away nightmares, but he isn’t ready to tell you how much he not only loves but needs it just yet.

…You know anyway.

Cuddling makes Rafayel shy when your relationship finally reaches that level. He’s happy you want to with him. Who could blame you, right?

He didn’t think the memories of doing so with you in a past life would affect him so heavily. The newness and familiarity of such a thing makes his ears red when it’s brought up. Still, why wouldn’t he indulge you?

It’s easy for him to be the big spoon, holding onto you tightly. It reminds him of cold nights in the desert from your travels long ago. It’s nostalgic, even the way his heart skips when you want to make him the little spoon.

His favorite position is when your head lays against his chest and your leg slides over his own. It’s where he can fasten an arm around your waist. It's where he can grasp onto the wrist of your playfully wandering hand and let your knuckles fall against his lips as if to read in braille the sweet words he whispers. And when he looks down, he can see you’re there; after so many centuries, you’re finally there again.

This time when you comment again on how fast his heart is beating and how cute you think it is, he doesn’t blush. It’s fine as long as listening to it helps you sleep better; he doesn’t mind the teasing this time. Rafayel will hold you tighter, as if he could pull you into that beating heart.

[amberlynnmurdock]

Neighbor Pt. 3

Matt Murdock x Reader

Summary: Matt hears her come home from a date, and interrupts when he hears it go south.

Words: just above 2k

A/N: So this series is basically different excerpts, so the chapters may not fall right into each other if that makes sense... so here's another night of them being neighbors! Hope you enjoy :)

Genres: light angst, comfort, fluff

Part 2

Matt came home to a quiet and cold apartment. After jiggling his keys in the lock a few times, his musty old door finally opened, and he was met with the cool draft that came in from his even older windows. Pushing the door closed with his back, he sighed deeply and dropped his suitcase on the floor. He hung his head low. 

Today was long. Too many papers at the office, too many people to talk to… or maybe, the night before, he spent too much time out as Daredevil and barely got any sleep. Or maybe he had trouble falling asleep. Matt wasn’t sure, but it didn’t matter. He was finally home. 

It seemed like everyone else in the building had livelier apartments than he did—he could smell spaghetti from an apartment below him, with jazz music playing in the background. Another apartment had children laughing at a cartoon. Another one was having guests over for dinner. Even Fran, the apartment’s snoop, had brownies in the oven. Of course—it was Friday night, and people like them had plans. 

Their apartments were all warm and inviting. But not his. It was cold and empty, and nothing played in the background—only these heightened sounds in his ears and his thoughts. His ever so dreadful thoughts. 

But what about hers?

He cocked his head against the door to listen closely to her apartment. What was she doing? Nothing seemed to be going on. No tea was on the kettle. Not even the sound of pages being turned in a book. She wasn’t home. 

Matt furrowed his brows at this—he knew she had the morning shift today because they had their usual morning greeting and walked each other out. Part of him was disappointed he couldn’t share his lonesome with her, but the other part felt guilty because, of course, she had plans. While Matt was reclusive and preferred the dark, she was friendly, inviting, and liked to be out. Why would she waste her radiance on being locked up in her apartment? 

So, Matt did what he normally did. Instead of being at home alone with his thoughts, he changed into his Daredevil gear and waited on his rooftop for something, anything, to call for him. Eventually, it did, but something was missing tonight. 

***

He wasn’t out for long. 

He was missing punches, throwing them too soon, otherwise just overall thrown off. Something was off. After stopping a robbery, and nearly taking a bullet to his shoulder, Matt tapped out. He sulked in his gear all the way home and stomped down the steps from his roof, back to his cold and empty apartment. 

It was nearly midnight. Some people in the building were awake, and others getting ready for bed. And still, she wasn’t home. 

Is she okay? 

Matt pushed any thought of worry away. Pushed any thought or feeling of attachment away. After all, she was just his neighbor. His neighbor who sometimes said hello to him, who sometimes dropped a book off in braille for him. Not his emotional support neighbor. Just a neighbor, whom Matt couldn’t keep himself from listening to her calming presence. 

So what if he liked her anyway, just a little bit? 

She would never get involved with a complicated man like him, who held so many secrets and even more baggage. 

Plus, they were neighbors. It could neverwork out. 

Matt immediately stripped himself of his Daredevil gear and stepped into a hot, steaming shower, to wash these thoughts of her away. Wash this awful night away. Wash the dried blood on his skin away. 

He lay in his bed, silk sheets sprawled over his half-naked body. He had his hands behind his head on his pillow, senseless eyes staring up at the ceiling. The building was winding down, finally. No loud conversations, no ovens beeping. Just people getting into bed and soft snores. 

And then, he heard it. 

The front door of the building unlocked. Footsteps make their way up the stairs. That familiar and therapeutic scent of warm vanilla filled his senses. Finally, she was home. 

But she wasn’t alone.

“I had a good time tonight,” he heard her say on her way up the stairs. Heavy footsteps followed closely behind her. Matt listened to her heartbeat and furrowed his brows—she wasn’t telling the truth. 

“Me too,” a smooth, masculine voice said. “Are you sure you don’t want to have some coffee?”

“Oh yeah,” she said nervously, masked by a high-pitched tone. She was being overly nice. Cautious. “We had so much food at that restaurant. I’m stuffed. I’m honestly ready for bed,” she laughed, again, a quiver in her laugh. Matt sat up on his elbows as he listened closely. 

“Me too,” the man repeated, in a tone Matt didn’t like. Conniving. Entitled. There was an underlying message. 

“Well, here’s my place,” she announced, placing a hand on her door. Matt noticed she often forgot to grab her keys when she was nervous. Matt had made her nervous that one morning, but nothing like this. She was… uncomfortable now. She wanted this man to leave. “You didn’t have to walk me up.”

And there it is. 

“I wanted to,” he said, leaning against her door, blocking her from the lock. “I thought maybe you could show me the inside.”

“I, uh,” she stammered, fidgeting for her keys unsuccessfully. “I don’t know, it’s late…”

In an instant, Matt throws on a shirt, gray sweatpants, and his dark glasses and hurriedly walks to his door to meet her and this stranger in the hallway. This stranger who won’t leave her alone, who takes the hint and ignores it, this stranger who’s making his neighbor uncomfortable. 

Her heart leaps when she sees Matt suddenly coming outside his door, brown hair disheveled and a smile on his face. 

“Matt!” She exclaimed. “I’m sorry, was I loud?”

“Not at all,” Matt smiled through gritted teeth. “Just thought I forgot my mail. That’s all. What are you up to?”

“Um…”

“We’re on a date,” the man states plainly. Matt pretends to be shocked, that he didn’t know someone else was there. He feigns surprise and lifts his eyebrows. 

“Oh,” Matt said, “Sorry. I didn’t realize.” 

“There’s no mail,” the man said curtly, clearly upset that Matt interrupted whatever it was he had planned. “You can go back into your apartment now.” An icy tone. 

Matt took a step forward, eyebrows tightening, jaw clenched. He wants to tell this man that he can break every bone in his body. He wants to tell him that if he ever hears him in this building again, he’ll make him beg for mercy. He listens to the man's body muscles tightening, his heart rate is fast in anger. Whatever his plans with her were, they weren’t pure.

But Matt remembers she’s here, witnessing this, scared. He doesn’t want to be whatever that man is. He wants to show her he cares enough about her to walk out of his apartment at midnight and save her from whatever is happening. 

So, instead of answering the man with a threat, he looks in her direction—concern etched in his expression, care in his voice. 

“Is everything all right?” Matt asks her. 

She shakes her head, mistakenly. She quivers a weak “no.” 

The man stood menacingly over her. If she didn’t open her door for him, he’d manipulate her into doing it eventually. And Matt was interrupting his plan, he knew it. The man didn’t like that. Well, Matt wasn’t going anywhere until he left her alone.

He walks up to Matt, close enough so they’re standing face to face. Matt can smell the rum on his breath, which reeked with bad intentions. His hands turned to fists as the man began to speak whatever bullshit threat he tried to come up with. But Matt cuts him off.

“If you don’t leave this apartment in the next thirty seconds, I will have Detective Brett Mahoney and the entire 15th Precinct outside for your arrest for harassment and intimidation. Or worse—I’ll have the apartment snoop named Fran come out and scare you herself. Have I made myself clear?” Matt spoke through gritted teeth, keeping his voice calm and even. 

The man was looking at Matt like he really had the nerve—and he did. She stood there, watching this all unfold, wanting nothing more than to lock herself in her apartment and shut her phone off for a week. 

He stared Matt down, trying to find any glare behind his dark red glasses. All he saw was his angry expression in the reflection. How can he be intimidating to a blind man? Matt is blind to an extent, but he’s not blind to people with malicious intentions. 

All he does is scoff at Matt. He turns on his heel and looks at her as she cowers into the corner of her door. Matt takes a step forward immediately to stand between him and her. He scoffs again. 

“Didn’t know you were fucking your neighbor,” he spat before bounding down the stairs, slamming the door behind him. 

Matt stood for a moment, listening to the man curse to himself outside, kick a random can on the ground, and walk himself down the street before entering a taxi and returning himself to whatever hell he came from. It wasn’t until Matt was sure he was gone from the vicinity that he heard a loud stomping again, booming in his ears, that he realized it was her scared, frantic heartbeat coming from behind him. 

Matt turned around to face her, taking a step back to give her some space. “Hey,” he cooed. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah,” she lied, placing a hand over her heart in an attempt to calm herself down. “Well, now I am. Goodness… he wouldn’t take a hint.” 

Matt sighed. “I think he was ignoring them on purpose. Who was he, anyway?”

“Some guy I went on a first—and last—date with,” she answered sheepishly. “I didn’t even want to go. My friends encouraged me to get myself out there. Clearly, it was a mistake.” 

“I’m sorry he treated you like that. You don’t deserve that,” Matt replied in a soft tone, your usual calm heart beating frantically still. “You should never do anything you’re uncomfortable with. Even if it’s as simple as a first date.”

“I know,” she said, defeated like she’d told herself this before. “I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t come out. Thank you, Matt.” 

“No need to thank me,” Matt said, shaking his head. “That’s what neighbors are for.”

She smiled softly. “You’ll save me from my next bad date?”

Matt laughed, glad that she seemed to calm down and was back to her friendly, unafraid self. “It’s late,” he said softly, deflecting from her joke. He didn’t want her to go on another bad date—she didn’t deserve that. But he also didn’t want her to go on a date with someone other than him. Which was why he was about to wish her goodnight. 

“It is,” she yawned. “Well, maybe I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Matt whispered. “Don’t forget to lock your door.”

She giggled, already letting herself inside. “I won’t.” 

“Hey,” she said suddenly, half inside her apartment, half out. From this alone, Matt was looped in her scent. “You don't think he will come back, do you? Now he knows where I live.”

“He won’t,” Matt shook his head, “and if he does, I will deal with it. Don’t worry. Get some sleep, okay?”

“Okay. Thank you again, Matt.” 

She closed her door softly, and Matt waited until he heard the lock click before he went back inside his apartment. 

Laying in his bed, he listened as she crawled into her bed in her apartment. Her heartbeat told him she was still awake. When he heard it slowed down, signaling she had fallen asleep, he closed his eyes and drifted into a slumber himself. 

TAGS: @mattmurdocksstarlight @yentroucnagol @danzer8705 @allllium @i-marvel-bitch @mattsgirlsworld @babygrlmurdock @writtenbyred

[pleasurebuttonwrites]

Irritated

Matt Murdock x F!Reader | Explicit 18+ | 2.2K

Summary Cooking for Matt goes all wrong and your insecurities come out.

Warnings smut, oral (f receiving), angst with a happy ending

A/N First time writing for Matt. The perfectionism was strong with this one - this has been sitting for months and I'm finally posting.

~~~

The cloud of smoke is quickly filling the apartment. You had turned the burners off, but the charred mass in the skillet is still sizzling. You crank the vent hood fan on high, and open a window. It isn’t enough.

—

As he’s racing home across the rooftops, the smell singes his nostrils. His body is exhausted but it gives him a dose of adrenaline before he realizes that it’s not a fire, just a burnt dinner.

Dinner? At this time of night?

That’s when it dawns on him. The smell is coming from his apartment. Maybe it’s my neighbor, he hopes with half-hearted optimism. With the way his night has gone, he doesn’t think he’ll get that lucky.

—

You’re fanning the smoke out of the window, using one of Matt’s law document tomes in Braille, when you hear the door to the roof. You speed up your fanning, as if that will in any way remove the smell from the apartment.

His footsteps are on the steps now and you turn to apologize — with some self-deprecating humor to relieve your anxiety — when you catch the irritation on his face. Cautiously, you say, “I’m sorry about the smoke. I was just trying to cook and I don’t know what—”

“It’s fine.” He cuts you off with words a little too flat and forceful to be sincere.

That familiar feeling washes over you. You had expected it to happen sooner or later, and here it was. He was finally figuring out that you were more trouble than you were worth.

He tosses his mask on the chair and yanks off his gloves, his mood infecting every motion. Without another word to you he retreats to his room and closes the door behind him.

—

From the other side of the door, Matt catches the way your breath hitches, hears you gather your things and walk out. He wants to stop you but the devil still has a hold on him and he knows he could only make things worse now.

He knew this would happen sooner or later. He knew he’d drive you away. Took longer than he thought it would. He tells himself the smart thing to do would be to let you go. Just let it end here.

But he hears your footsteps on the pavement outside. You’re walking home instead of taking a cab. He throws a shirt and pants on over his suit, and chases after you.

—

You only make it a block before he walks out of the shadows and strolls along next to you, not even winded from catching up.

“You shouldn’t be out here alone. You could get hurt.”

He says it so matter-of-factly, resentfully even. If he’s there out of real concern for you, rather than a sense of duty, he doesn’t show it. You say nothing to that and he doesn’t speak again.

The walk seems to take longer under the weight of the silence between you. When you finally get to your building’s door, you unlock it quickly and step inside. You don’t even look at Matt as you push the door closed behind you. But before it can latch, he catches it.

“Sweetheart,” he begins. “I’m sorry about the way I— the way I acted. It had nothing to do with you. I had a shitty night and I should’ve cooled off before coming home.”

When he puts it like that, it makes you seem unreasonable. Softly, apologetically, you say, “No, you should get to cool off in your own home.”

The words you’re not saying hang in the air between you but you feel too foolish to speak them so instead you stand there in the doorway, picking at your nails, looking down at them instead of him. He reaches out and stills your fidgeting, his warm hand enveloping both of yours. “What is it, sweetheart? Will you talk to me, please?”

Your first instinct is to lie, but the way he subtly turns his ear to you lets you know he’s listening to your heartbeat. Your pulse picks up just from knowing he’ll know if you lie.

You let out a sigh. “I just— I feel like I can’t do anything right.”

His brows furrow and he lifts his chin. You wait for him to prompt you but he’s going to keep silent until you tell him everything. He’s stubborn like that.

You remind yourself that he actually wants to know. He’s asking you for the truth. You take a deep breath, gearing up for an act of trust, and you let it all spill out. “All I do is make everything worse. I mean, I don’t bring anything to this relationship. But I thought maybe I could make you a nice meal. Then I’d be good for something. And that blew up in my face. Almost literally.”

A thick silence follows and you think he must be struggling and failing to dispute anything you’ve said. But you realize you’ve read it all wrong when he says in a quiet and deadly voice, “You think you don’t bring anything to our relationship?”

That voice — his devil’s voice — never fails to light a fire inside you. The sudden heat on your skin makes the night air feel that much cooler, and you shiver. His nostrils flare as he inhales deeply, taking in all the ways your body has reacted to him.

He steps forward into your building, and you step back. “It seems I haven’t properly showed you how important you are to me.”

As he advances, you back down the hallway. You can’t take your eyes off his face. The naked desire, the grim determination, the devil stalking his prey. You nearly collide with the staircase banister, but he gently guides you out of the way with a hand on your hip. One he doesn’t remove until you get to your door.

He plucks the keys from your hands and feels for the right one before quickly unlocking your door. It swings open but you both stand at the threshold.

“Matt,” you begin. As much as your body is begging for him, you feel guilty that the whole situation got turned around. You were trying to prove something to him and now he’s the one putting in the effort. Again. “I just feel like I haven’t yet earned your love.”

He hangs his head, exhaling his frustration. “First of all, you don’t need to earn my love. Secondly, if you even think for one second that you don’t deserve it, then I’ve failed you.”

“No, stop! I’m the one who fucked up, okay?” You storm past him into your apartment. He follows you inside, shutting the door behind him.

He draws in a breath to say something, but thinks better of it. He nods and says simply, “Okay.”

It’s the way he gives in that has you on alert. He never just gives in; he’s planning something.

“Make it up to me, then,” he tells you.

“How?”

“Take off your pants.”

“Matt—”

“I said, take off your pants.”

“That can’t be all I’m good for.”

“Sweetheart, I promise you we will find a way for you to feel deserving in this relationship. But right now, let me surround myself with your scent so I can get this smoke out of my nostrils.”

How were you supposed to think straight when he says things like that to you? You really wanted to give him what he wanted, but it didn’t feel right. “Well then that’s just you doing something for me again and I still can’t give you anything.”

He flashes that grin he uses during cross-examination when he’s about to tear the prosecution’s case to shreds. “You wanted to feed me. Now let me eat.”

—

You don’t know how he does it. But as soon as you stopped protesting, he had you naked with your ass at the edge of the couch and him kneeling in front of you.

“Spread your legs for me,” he says in a low, soft voice. You do as he says. He takes one deep breath and whines, his tongue flicking out over his bottom lip. “I can already taste you.”

He starts on your thighs, pressing kisses from your knee to the hinge at your hip all along the soft, sensitive skin of your inner thigh. You feel the heat of his breath pass over your cunt before he kisses his way down to your other knee.

He’s doing it on purpose. Taking his time and lavishing you with kisses. Giving again. The guilt washes over you. “Matt—”

He shushes you just as the pad of his thumb brushes at your entrance, collecting your slick before sliding up to your clit. Your eyes roll back into your head and your words die on your lips. He applies just the right amount of pressure as he works circles over your sensitive nub. You whimper at his touch and he gives a satisfied hum in response.

It feels so good yet it’s not enough. “Matty, please.” Your voice is barely even a whisper but he hears you loud and clear. He lifts his thumb to his lips, moaning as your taste hits his tongue at last.

You expect to feel his mouth on you but instead he brings his hands together and says, “Bless us O Lord and these Thy gifts—”

“Matt—”

His name is no sooner from your mouth than his lips wrap around your clit, and you cry out from the pleasure. His skilled tongue slides through your folds and dips into your entrance. You clench around nothing, pushing more of your juices onto his greedy tongue. You don’t have to worry about making a mess on the couch. He’d never let one drop of you spill.

You honestly don’t know which of you are making more noise. He’s so vocal even with his mouth as busy as it is. He grunts and moans with every exhale, and every inhale is a heavy intake through his nose — when it’s not pressed into you.

Your hand, outstretched at your side, grips a throw pillow, the stuffing clumped beneath your palm, your fingers wrinkling the fabric. Matt clamps his hand over yours — while his tongue continues swirling — and guides you to the crown of his head. You grip a fistful of his hair and instinctively pull him even tighter to you.

His moans muffle but grow more desperate. In truth, you try hard not to make more sound than your breath, just to catch every unhinged noise of his.

You’re so close now. You can’t help but raise your hips a bit, humping his face as his tongue works you over. The vibration of his growl sends you over the edge. No matter how quiet you’ve been trying to be, the force of your orgasm rips pleas from your lips. “Matty…fuck! Oh, Matty, hngh…”

As you come down from your high, you loosen your grip on his hair and he slowly pulls away from you. You take in the sight of him. A bit of his Daredevil suit peeks beneath his shirt. His hair is mussed, hairline damp with sweat, and his mouth and chin are coated with you. He licks his lips and smiles and it’s totally unfair how pretty he is just like this.

You let your head fall back, your breathing slowly returning to normal. But the drop in your heart rate coincides with the rise of your thoughts, and the feelings of guilt, shame, unworthiness. You don’t know why you can’t just accept his love. But no matter how much you try to trust that he means what he says, you can’t shake the feeling that you’ve fooled him somehow. And he’s going to wake up one day realizing his mistake.

Almost as if he can read your thoughts —

“Sweetheart, if you need me between your legs to chase away your thoughts, I’m more than happy to be of service, but it’s probably not the healthiest way to deal with it.”

“Matt Murdock’s lecturing me on what’s healthy.”

“I know. I know.” He gives you that wide smile. So comforting that it’s impossible to feel anything but warmth when he smiles at you like that. Then he gives your thigh a little smack and says, “Let’s get cleaned up.”

—

Later, while you’re laying in bed together, his body cradled around yours, you’re both too tired to continue the conversation you know you need to have, a conversation of the ongoing variety. In the quiet and the dark you both feel your insecurities rise. Matt is pretty sure he’ll end up driving you away. You’re pretty sure he’ll realize you aren’t as great as he thinks and leave. But both of you really want this to work and you’re both willing to work on it.

Your thoughts hazy, your breath becoming rhythmic, you speak into the dark. “I don’t have to cook for you, you know. Like if you don’t want me to. Do you want me to?”

He hums in response, sleep nearly stealing his ability to speak. “If you want to… then I want that…too. But you don’t have to. But you can. You can use my kitchen whenever you want. If you want.”

You’re both quiet again and you nearly fall asleep then he says, “Just not for a few days. Let the smoke clear. ‘M staying at yours til then.”

[cripplecharacters]

Hello! I need advice for writing a character with oculocutaneous albinism who’s a platonic love interest without descriptions of her coming off as fetishising albinism. Her name is Glass and she’s blind and an investigative journalist and will be a reoccurring character in the series. The MC is gay and he describes her very affectionately in the narrative. When she’s introduced he fondly points out (to the reader) a lot of traits about her including things related to her albinism like “slightly wavy snow white hair in a fashionable bob and striking dark blue eyes that gently danced back and forth. One eye was pointing slightly inwards as she tilted her head and smirked at him.” I got the “dancing eyes” idea from a short film made by someone with albinism and nystagmus. I’m going to try and describe other traits about her more, especially about her personality to counter this.

I also have a question that might be too specific? I’m planning on giving her a little brother with ocular albinism, OA. If someone has a daughter with OCA are they more likely to have a son with OA or are the two kinds of albinism genetically unrelated? I wanted to include him to have more then one blind character in the story. Thanks for your time. :) -Anon Blue.

Hey! We don't currently have mods with Albinism, so I'll try my best. I recommend our #albinism representation tag for resources made by people with it.

If you don't put most of the attention of how she looks to her hair or skin color, I think it should be fine. It's okay to mention it - I mean, that's just how she is, would be kinda weird to fully ignore it - but don't make other characters or the narrator gush over her paleness or eye color every time she comes up. Change it up and praise her fashion sense (like you did with her hairstyle), the shape of her nose, how bushy her eyebrows are, or how her gums show when she's smiling instead. Her appearance shouldn't be reduced to just "girl with albinism" - give her other visual traits.

For other descriptors, I would avoid making her "angelic" or "ethereal" because of her disability. Remember to not make it mystic or magical; there's a whole "Magical Albino" trope out here that you should try to avoid.

You mentioning nystagmus and strabismus is great. Those are often forgotten or ignored in characters with albinism because they're not seen as "pretty". I've seen some people describe their nystagmus as "dancing eyes" before too, I think it's a very cool of conveying it.

In general, a good way to avoid fetishization is to include the "boring/mundane" things. When you show the medical parts of albinism like the esotropia, avoiding the sun, having her use a white cane or a guide animal, or using Braille, the representation will be more informed overall and not just an "aesthetic" - which a lot of characters with albinism unfortunately end up being. There's a big difference between a blind journalist guided by a German shepherd who happens to not have melanin and needs a Big Hat, and an evil sniper with bright red eyes and mysterious powers.

In case that Glass is Black, I'd recommend looking at the #albinism tag at @writingwithcolor - it's always good to make sure your descriptions don't come off as unintentionally colorist if you go into her skin color. Things like describing her as more frail or delicate (when compared to other Black characters) would be in poor taste, so look out for that intersectionality if it applies.

The brother with ocular albinism part; those two types are completely unrelated, and it would be incredibly rare (not impossible) for that to happen as far as I know. For reference, almost all OCA (1-7) and OA (1-2) types are caused by completely different genes. The only exception could be OA1 and OA3; we don't currently know what causes the third one, and there's a theory that it's just a different presentation of the first. But I'm not aware of anything like that for oculocutaneous albinism, so if Glass has OCA1 (as I'm assuming from the description), her brother would have OCA1 as well (as opposed to OCA3 or any other subtype) if anything.

One interesting thing that you could do to have him have OA that I never see in fiction is to have him be adopted. I know multiple families who had a child with a certain disability and decided to adopt a second (or third, or fourth...) one with it. I think it could be very cool and would make sense with him being the younger one. Here is an interview/vlog from a real-life family with six adopted blind kids, if you want an example of that.

Wanting to include multiple blind characters is a great idea - if adoption doesn't work for your story, he could have the same type of albinism as Glass or have a non-genetic cause of blindness, like CVI, Retinopathy of Prematurity, glaucoma, or a whole lot of other things.

A story about a blind investigative journalist sounds awesome. Good luck with your writing.

mod Sasza

[j0kers-light]

Hey <3 What would Joker think about a reader who speaks lots of languages? Does he speak multiple as well? Would he learn some together with the reader? Or does he not really pay attention to that? Have a lovely day~

Hey hi my love!! 🖤✨

It’s a beautiful day actually and my brain is running a mile a minute to answer this. As someone who is trilingual, (and working on learning more) I find it tricky to answer this ask from Joker’s perspective. 

Because on one hand learning a new language is both daunting and fun; anyone can do it! However it does have a tendency to pinpoint origin and define you as a person. 

Joker knowing a different language (in my opinion) is too risky given his strict, “I have an untraceable past” reputation. If he starts speaking a different language, it can be traced back to his past.

So no. I don’t think Joker would bother learning a different language. He speaks English and sarcasm. Now if it were for the betterment of his Light? He might?

Joker believes that pain translates the same across all languages, so why bother trying to understand what a person is saying as they plead for mercy?

He doesn’t have the need to pick up a new language so English it is!

That all changes when he meets his Bunny who is a foreign speaker. And ohh boy, he wasn’t prepared.

Your accent, the speed in which you talk.. Joker finds it downright sexy! Everything you say has a bit of a kick to it.

He doesn’t know a word you’re saying most of the time and you use that to your advantage when you’re upset with him. 

You stop talking in English and rant in your mother tongue leaving Joker standing there like 👁️🫦👁️

Joker is a certified simp. We know this. He instantly bricks up hearing you speak, especially if you say something during sex that he can’t translate. Horn-Y to the point of no return. 🥵

He is in awe how you speak multiple different tongues in the same conversation, simply because you can. 

One minute you are cracking a joke in English, you pause to listen to someone speak (insert language) and then you reply in a third; effectively blowing J’s mind.

You are constantly translating in your head and thinking of the correct consonants and vowels to use while still engaging in conversation.

It takes a sharp mind and loads of patience that Joker greatly admires. How you do it? He’ll never understand but it’s definitely hot.

Joker finds out that you know to sign and can read Braille too by accident; what are you? A walking Rosetta Stone? At this point what language do you not know?

Imagine his disbelief when he discovers you can sing certain songs in several more languages…

Joker dubs you his Google translate and if he needs assistance, best believe he’s asking for your help. 

You turn to glare at your boyfriend in disdain. He really dragged you out of bed for this. “I don’t know Mandarin, Joker.” You say for the fourth time.

Your response isn’t what J was expecting and his wide grin slowly falls from his face. Tense seconds pass as he hides his disappointment. “Bunny… you know a loT of languages..”

“Yes, but not..” You pinch your nose with a sigh. You are not an automated translator that J assumes you to be. You don't know every language! (that would be so cool btw)

The best course of action is letting Joker's hopes and dreams down softly. “It’s a rather hard and complicated dialect to learn, J.”

“And that mumbo jumbo you sang the other day wasn’t hard?!”

You drew a blank at him cutting you off. “J, what are you talking about?”

“Uhh you sa~ng in the car jusT fine, what's stopping ya now?” He grumbled. It took you a minute to remember what he's talking about and even then, you're still confused.

“Joker. That was Hebrew. Completely different language. Omg, are you really that racist?” You ask.

The poor guy that Joker abducted will just have to wait until you and J finish arguing to confess that he's fluent in English. He's too invested in this discussion to interrupt.

So that was a self insert head canon anon sorry not sorry. 🤣🤣🤣🥴 To clear the air. 

I can speak English, Greek, and Spanish. Although I can read and comprehend Spanish better than speaking it. 😭

I began learning French and Russian when I was in school but dropped it for personal reasons. Oh! I totally forgot that my boss was teaching me Vietnamese for two years back in the day lol.

I can sing certain songs in Hebrew, Danish, Latin, Spanish, French, and Japanese. I also poorly translated a few chapters of a book in German out of desperation until the official release was published in English. 🙃 I'm a menace.

[narsh-poptarts]

also attempting to make myself a new oc, she's a blind old woman who uses her whiskers/antennae as well as her nose and ears to sense the world around her. her head is based on a thylacine/tasmanian tiger

im imagining she's a collector kind of, her home is stacked tall with meticulously organized boxes of items and it's borderline packed with stuff. if you've ever seen those braille punch tags, she uses those on just about everything in her home. as well as little scent markers.

maaaybe she fits into the robot's story, Mezzanine, but im not sure on that front. she fits well character-design wise into the sci-fi with some animal-like characters setting, but for now she doesn't have a home story. i need to draw her and the Robot together eeeheehee they both interact with the world in similar ways with the antennae. they would have much to share and she would love to chat their ear off about shared experiences and whatnot. also i imagine she might have some part or another that they need. i don't think she's a mechanic or any sort of healer type role, i just think she likes to collect things.

im thinkin she has legs more like a human, digitigrade doesn't quite fit the image i have of her in my head. though the number of fingers thing im still deciding on. whatever it is, it isn't 5 fingers per hand, she's too cool for that

anyways if i had a nickel for every time i made a blind old person oc, i'd have two nickels. but that's neither here nor there

[twiniverse]

Just to give it its own post, because it's important enough to warrant it:

I'm not "the person choosing the give the finger to people who need accessibility tools". I have not once said that people can't write ids on my posts. I didn't say I wouldn't look into having someone else do it. I said that I can't do it, that it is not my job, and that a certain someone's attitude is foul and that makes people less likely to want to do what they say.

I also have not thrown a little hissy fit because someone isn't doing what I want. I haven't literally told anyone that I wouldn't leave them alone until they did what I wanted them to do. I haven't used several different accounts and ips to evade being blocked in order to angrily yell about how superior I am to everyone else in the fandom, or to belittle anyone. I haven't gone to the side account of someone who has blocked me to continue my tantrum there.

I don't have a problem with accessibility, or with people who volunteer their time to give access to more people. Believe it or not, accessibility is something I'm highly dedicated to and something I am often finding new ways to implement in my actual job. My team is implementing on-site image blockers on the user side so they don't have to see things that upset them. We're making sure our on-site games aren't going to be triggering people's vertigo. We're making sure there are colour themes so that no one has to choose between blinding white light or blinding white letters, but the people who do like those options will have them, too! We're implementing high contrast mode! Our head coder is blind, in fact. We'll be working with her quite a bit to make the site- which is visual based- still accessible for those with screen readers and other aids. She has a braille display, isn't that cool? I didn't even know those were a thing until she told me.

My problem is specifically with the person who has not only harassed me, but other people in the fandom. My problem is specifically with the person who outright admitted that their reaction to being told "no" is to become aggressive and condescending. My problem is specifically with the person who thinks they're the only person who gives a damn. My problem is with the person who says that they don't have to do it, that they're volunteering their time because they care, but also says it's their job and we need to let them do it. My problem is with the person who speaks on behalf of others who do not want to be spoken for. My problem is specifically with the person who told me that they would continue harassing me unless I met their demands. My problem is specifically with the person who will read a fraction of what I actually said here and will respond with how horrible of a human I am because I focus on accessibility with my actual job and not my fancomic that I barely have the energy to work on in the first place.

My problem is specifically with the person who read everything I said and instead of recognising and accepting that they're the only one I have a problem with decided to start attacking me and accusing me of being ableist because they, and no one else, have pissed me off.

As I said to begin with, I blocked them because of their attitude and the way they harass people. The way they've harassed my friends, the way they've harassed people I don't like, the way they've harassed newbies, etc, etc. It had nothing to do with IDs, and it still doesn't. I blocked a shitty person, and that person made an assumption and is throwing a hissy fit about it. That's all there is to it. The bottom line is that genuinely anyone can add id's to my posts except for that specific person because I don't want that specific person interacting with me.

This next bit is for you, that specific person: "-but you blocked me after writing a single image description for your posts, for some stupid reason." It was not a stupid reason. And like I said in my response, it had nothing to do with you writing an image description for my post. It's because you're a foul, slimy little cockroach with a superiority complex. You think you're the hero but you're the villain here.

So, again, as disrespectfully as possible: Fuck. Off.

[blindbeta]

Ok i don’t know if you’re doing asks right now but I’d honestly like to ask about a character in a murder mystery/fantasy story I have and I’m not sure if they align with any negative blind stereotypes or if it’s something I should avoid altogether even if it’s not a stereotype.

To start, my character (let’s call him B) has JOAG (juvenile open angle glaucoma) and has tunnel vision. He also relies on a cane and braille. He also takes medication for his condition ( I was thinking carbonic anhydrase inhibitors or beta blockers but I still need to dig deeper into that.)

I was thinking of having a blind main character (and blind side characters too). He has a tsundere/ojo-sama personality (rude on the outside, sweet on the inside type of guy) and water powers. I know that there is a bit of a pattern with rude or defensive blind characters and I feel unsure about whether or not I should add that into my story. I thought of him being apprehensive of one of the other main characters because he doesn’t know them personally and isn’t a huge fan of change. He slowly warms up to the other character but he struggles to do so. He helps the rest of the other characters in solving the mysteries and tries to think as logically as he can but sometimes his bias slips in every now and then.

Onto his powers, I was thinking of him having the ability to control water. I was also think about having him have an interest in potion-making and his spell books being written in mostly braille because he relays on braille the most.

He has a few hobbies and interests such as going on picnics, siren singing/just singing in general, drinking tea and organizing his stuff. (Apologies if this is a lot, I love rambling about my characters lol).

That’s all I have for this character at the moment. I hope nothing in this ask was offensive or anything. You don’t have to answer this if something in this post came off as rude or offensive. Thank you for your time!!!

Avoiding Rude or Defensive Blind Characters— Explore It and Add More Blind Characters to Show Different Personalities

It sounds like everything is in order right now. The only concern I have is addressing the rude/defensive thing you brought up.

I’ll admit, I actually enjoy this type of blind character. It falls a bit into Disabled Snarker trope, which I love. I feel these characters tend to be viewed as having more agency than blind people are typically believed to possess.

It also allows us a bit of fantasy escapism.

Typically, blind people aren’t allowed to express the level of snark that these characters are. This is because we are expected to lack desires of our own, be excessively passive, and to not complain even when we are wronged. An example of this would be blind people being told they did something incorrectly when they are denied services, or were ungrateful when refuse help they don’t need.

Here is a video where Sadi on Tiktok laments her rideshare troubles caused by bigoted drivers. Link here.

Here is one where she discusses being grabbed by a stranger. Link here. And another where she expresses her frustration with the dismissal she faces when she speaks about being treated inappropriately. Link here.

Here is one by Tobes, who describes accidentally running into cars that are parked on the sidewalk and being scolded for it despite that fact he had no reason to believe a car would be parked that way. Link here.

We are often considered rude because of ableism. Additionally, we often have to be stern and stubborn just to get through the day and this can be perceived as rude by others.

You could have him use this attitude in areas other than blindness or only when provoked in an obvious way. Having a cool attitude that others find intimidating or unapproachable might be a way to go about this.

Or he could still put someone in their place for being ableist and this actually might be a refreshing fantasy for a lot us who can’t always call out ableism the way we want to. To me, people are going to think blind people are rude no matter what we do. This means most of us, especially those of us marginalized in multiple ways, are forced to police our tone or reactions in frustrating ways, even when someone is being harmful toward us or openly oppressive.

Sometimes it’s fun to see a blind character who responds in a way that is proportional to the ableism being directed at them.

I am not sure if you can go against this stereotype one your own, because again, some people will see blind people as rude no matter what. This is in direct opposition to the idea that blind people are all innocent beings without agency. These two opposing stereotypes of blind people are very strong and I know from experience that it is difficult not to be put into one of these boxes. He may deliberately display an aggressive attitude in an attempt to gain some agency over how he is perceived. Conversely, he might be defensive or rude about everything, while being chill about blindness stuff or even ableist attitudes. Instead, he could become colder, distant, or emotionally cut the ableist person off. He could also be like Toph and react to personal or structural ableism with jokes.

Basically, it’s good to be concerned about this, but I think commenting on/exploring it would be a better option. Subverting the trope is also challenging because it might accidentally cause him to be put into another box. Therefore, it might be more helpful to explore it for him personally, giving him more depth and challenging the idea that all blind people are naturally rude for “no reason. [Quotes around “no reason” to indicate sarcasm.]

Personally, I want to see blind characters having agency, depth, a community, and using mobility aids and blindness techniques. So I’m okay with this. The story might still benefit from a sensitivity reader or two though, and I’d love to read it myself. You can also try @sensitivityreaders

Lastly, having other blind characters would help challenge any stereotypes readers might have. In addition to showing his sweet side mentioned in the ask. Sorry I couldn’t give you a yes or no answer on this topic, but my personal go-to fix for stereotypes is always to show more blind characters. This allows you to show off more personality types of experiences around blindness.

Also JOAG can be painful if not caught early or managed properly. You seem to have done a good job of showing treatment options and different conditions. There will be a lot of medical stuff in his future/present, which means he has experience advocating for himself. This could also help explain why his attitude might seem rude or defensive to abled characters, in addition to the Rude Blind Person stereotype.

If any other blind or disabled folks have thoughts or suggestions, please share.

In closing, I don’t have any concerns with his powers. Also points for cane use!

Some parts of this ask might be relevant as well. Link here.

Hope this helps.

-BlindBeta

[silanb]

Self restraint

(A lil snippet I wrote as a warmup)

>>> Interfacing: You look up at the cabinet, rows upon rows of medication bottles and medical supplies lining the shelves. The two bottles in your hand have a place here, somewhere, you just have to find it.

SHIVERS: Lieutenant Kitsuragi shuffles the bottles around, once, twice, three times. The bottles never seem to find their right place. Their home. Not like this is his city. He shuffles them along anyway.

The bathroom is cool. You try not to shake it off.

Visual calculus: there is a system here, if you take the time to examine it. Carefully planned and sorted so he can find everything he needs. Little braille labeled caps that let him find things even when it’s late and dark, or in the early morning when he’s too tired to put his glasses on. To grab them without looking. Yes, there is a system here, you just don’t know it.

Reaction speed: Yet.

Interfacing: You could take the time to try to piece it together, that way you’d know where to place the bottles. It might take some time but it’s only been a few seconds of you standing here. The Lieutenant is busy putting things away, and it shouldn’t take all that long.

Electrochemistry: That’s right, he’s distracted, so he wouldn’t notice if you popped a few of those bottles into your coat pocket. He’s bound to keep some strong stuff in there, maybe leftover prescription pills from being shot. It would be oh so nice to relax with Kim once you have *those * in your system

Logic: he would notice as soon as he went to grab something and his system was disrupted.

Rhetoric: and if he didn’t, what if he reached for a bottle in the morning, without his glasses, and because you’d moved them he picked up the wrong one? He wouldn’t make a habit of buying ones with brailled caps if he didn’t use them.

Electrochemistry: that could be a problem for future you. You might not get a chance like this again to see if he’s got some really good stuff in there. Just, for future reference.

Volition: and violate the Lieutenant’s trust in the process, undo all your work getting sober, and ruin your ability to work tomorrow. You shouldn’t. It would be better to simply place them on the shelf to the side of the cabinet for Kim to handle later.

Interfacing: [Failed] You try to understand the system Kim has put in place, without looking for drugs to pilfer from your friend, but aside from all the bottles being arranged so they can be easily grabbed without shuffling it’s impossible to tell. Some have prescription names you don’t know, allergy tablets and mild pain pills are next to each-other while stronger pain meds and a decongestant are in completely separate locations. You won’t be figuring this one out champ.

You place the bottles delicately on the shelf next to the cabinet instead, front and center so he won’t miss them when he comes in next to grab them.

When you walk back in to the kitchen Kim has only put away about half of the groceries you helped him bring up. The ones left sit half organized and dumped from their bags on the counter.

“I set them next to the counter so I didn’t mess up your groove in there,” you offer, leaning past Kim to grab something in hopes of helping another way. “Hope you don’t mind.”

“No, that’s preferable actually, thank you,” Kim offers one of his small, rewarding smiles.

Empathy: The Lieutenant is tired today. He barely bothered to put on presentable clothes when you came by, maybe even to the store. Not having to clean up your messes is always a good thing but today it’s a relief that you’re just here. He’s glad for your thoughtfulness.

Inland empire: He always is. Now help your partner in arms, he needs the relief.

In a comfortable silence, you get back to work helping him sort the groceries away.

[skierisa]

(dont bully me for the weird looking german shepherd I NEVER DREW ONE BEFORE OKAY)

Full name: Shiho Yuhara Akagawa (her realm's culture allows her to have more than one last name)

Age: 13

Birthday: December 13th

Sexuality: lesbian

Species: Wereavian (raven)

Elemental Powers: no elemental powers but studies magic from Mysterium

Occupation: middle school student and volunteer on children's reading time in the library (uses braille)

Personality: Shiho is usually very calm, but likes cracking jokes, especially if they are related to Shunsuke, and it's hard to annoy her. Her lack of reactions to these kinds of jokes usually annoys people, and she only sees advantages in acting like this because it kind of avoids the bully's happiness. Unlike Shunsuke, she has a more positive view about life. She likes her brother's company because he usually doesn't talk much, just murmurs about his videogames and asks her opinions on his melodies. Shiho likes singing, her favourite kinds of singing are, surprisingly, lyrical singing and screamo.

Shiho is sarcastic from time to time, but usually mocks people in a "it's funny 'cause it's true" way instead. Shiho really likes it when her siblings visit, because it means there will be games and a few gifts Kenichi brings them. She likes that he still treats her like a baby most of the time because he spoils her. She usually mocks the people who mocks her siblings, unaware of the actual reason the gang exists. 

Shiho is surprisingly an amazing liar, so sometimes, she isn't the most reliable.

Story: As a little kid she was taken to a doctor and it was discovered that she was blind (retinitis pigmentosa) and the condition would be getting worse as she grew. Her family always did their best to help her out.

When she turned ten, Shiho got her guide dog from her older brother Kenichi, and they named the german shepherd Periwinkle. This helped her get "popular" in her school for a while, because she was the girl that could bring her pet to class.  

Shiho is less quiet than Shunsuke and more sociable, but had difficulty making friends as well. That's when she was taken to the library and she met her friend, a werebat named Leiny, who found it cool that she could read by touch. Since then, they were inseparable. Shiho and Leiny would be having playdates together and soon studying in the same school. Shiho revealed to be very smart and a bookworm, which helped her get better grades. By Dragon's Rising events, they are separated due to the merge.

Once she listened to Valerie practising singing, she wanted to join, and her mother gladly started teaching her. Like Valerie, Shiho had quite the talent for singing, however none for instruments besides flute.

TRIVIA AND HEADCANONS:

Shiho loves Just Dance and is always playing it;

Despite her looks and age, she loves opera and is learning how to sing it;

In older concepts, Shiho was adopted into Valerie's family through Kenichi, but they always had very little age gap for it to work;

She was supposed to be an only child in older concepts;

Likes visiting Valerie and Nessa in the monastery (and to annoy whoever's there);

She was supposed to be a cat person, but it was recently changes (however she loves cats too, but prefers dogs);

Her main inspiration for design was a character from the anime Charlotte (the blind singer one, forgot her name);

Due to Nessa's influence, she likes darkwave, but loves scene music and hyper pop more;

Ironically allergic to feathers;

Spends time with Shun and his bandmates most the time;

Likes when Valerie brings Lloyd over for family gatherings because he listens to her talking (completely quiet because he doesn't get a thing she's saying)

Talks too quickly

disclaimer: im not blind and Shiho is my very first attempt on writing a blind character, so i'd love critics (just don't be mean, please, i love learning)

[accessibleaesthetics]

Earlier this year, I went to Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, and I was struck by who I saw using some of the accessibility features of the exhibits.

[Image Description: Photo of the Command Module Columbia exhibit at Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. The command module, which sits behind glass, is a full-size truncated cone with a docking probe and dish-shaped aft heat shield. In front of the glass is a sign with information about the command module on the left, a photograph in the middle, and a labeled smaller model on the right. The smaller model is labeled in both slightly raised text and Braille, and has a slightly raised hand icon next to it inside of a yellow speech bubble. End Image Description.]

This exhibit, like several others, included a part of the sign you were supposed to touch, as indicated by the hand symbol. This meant that people who couldn't see the actual thing behind the glass could get a very good idea of what every part of it looked like by touching the model and reading the label, which was offered in both raised letters and Braille.

[Image Description: Close up of the right side of the exhibit sign from the previous image. The light shining on the black surface of the exhibit sign shows darker spots where people left fingerprints. The entire Braille label is a near solid dark spot. End Image Description.]

This is obviously very cool and it's great that they invested inclusive design. But what really struck me about this was how much it was being used. You can tell from the photo that the Braille part of the sign has had many fingers on it, but I don't actually think all of those were from members of the target audience.

I could be wrong, of course, you can never really tell if someone is blind or low vision simply by looking at them. But I saw multiple children come up and run their hands over the smaller model mounted to the sign. At least one of them was running their fingers along the Braille too.

And it wasn't just children either. I saw at least one adult (other than myself) interacting with a similar model in another exhibit, one of a footprint on the moon. This one openly encouraged you to touch it rather than just implying permission like the one in this picture did. And that got me thinking: how many more adults would be doing the same thing the kids were if they weren't held back by this unspoken "oh, this feature is not for me" assumption? There are many haptic learners out there, after all.

If the people who design these museums realized the potential for a curb cut effect here, how many more exhibits would have these features?

And having full three-dimensional modules for people to touch weren't the only thing this museum offered either. You don't have to have all that to make the sign more user-friendly to those who have trouble seeing it.

[Image Description: A sign with a two-dimensional diagram of the Blériot XI aircraft. Each part of the illustration, including the person next to it for size, is slightly raised off the surface of the sign. All words on the diagram are labeled in both raised text and Braille. Beside the diagram is a slightly raised hand icon next to it inside of a yellow speech bubble. The labeled parts are the front, propeller, rudder, and elevator, most of which have arrows pointing to the respective parts of the illustration. End Image Description.]

You can make two-dimensional diagrams accessible too.

Finally, as an aside, the videos at the exhibits, the ones you could play on your own, all had open captions, and at least one had open audio descriptions as well.

[iphig3nia]

Cursed || Sebastian Sallow

“That girl had laid a curse on me”

Sebastian can’t seem to stop thinking about you, it’s almost like a curse.

cw - none

a/n || Favourite Lord Huron song honestly they were COOKING cooking. Thank you for all the notes and kind words too :000 I am SHOCKED I am in TEARS. You guys are so sweet :D I didn’t think some of these would take off like that, especially since its all song fics oopsies.

—

“I think I’ve been cursed.”

Sebastian looks over to Ominis, who doesn’t even react to his friend’s comment. “I think you’re overreacting.” Ominis replies back continuing to feel the braille of a textbook. “She plagues my mind, I can feel her presence all around me. How is that not a curse.” Sebastian rubs his face with his hands, feeling the blush creeping up on him. “That just sounds like a crush, the remedy would be to tell her how you feel.” The brown-haired boy shakes his head. He knows he’s falling for you, and Sebastian doesn’t want to believe it. He grumbles and goes back to studying, clearly his friend doesn’t understand how terrible this curse is and how you’re too good for Sebastian anyways.

“I’m a goner I guess.”

Sebastian sighs as he walks through the empty hallways. The moon is high in the sky, shining through the tall windows. As he walks he swears he can see you in the shadows. He can hear your laughter following him as he walks back to his room, blowing over him and enveloping him like a warm wind. Sebastian shudders, he can almost feel your touch on his skin. “I hope its not too late to break the spell.” He mumbles to himself. You wouldn’t want to be chained down by him, all the bad that Sebastian’s done would follow him to the ends of the Earth. He feels suffocated in the hallways and quickly finds himself in the courtyard, steadying his breathing as the cool air hits him.

He sits down on a bench, his breath remaining unsteady despite his best attempts. Even though Sebastian is outside and the moon and stars are shining down on him, something is constricting him. Holding him. Making him unable to breathe easy. You’re not even there and your presence is somehow haunting him. But its not you that’s making him feel this way, its the thought of how you would take his confession that plagues his mind. You may have cursed him to always think about you, but that doesn’t mean you have to accept his love. Sebastian could throw up, he swears he catches your perfume on the wind.

Do you even know how you make him feel? Of course you would, you’re the one who cursed him right? With your teasing touches that leave him in a puddle, your eyes that hold the universe and so much more. You once kissed him, out of excitement rather than true love Sebastian thinks. It was on the cheek and it was because he gave you his potion notes. Sebastian holds his hand to his cheek and still feels your lips on them. He looks up at the night sky and leans back against the bench “I don’t know how to fight what I can’t see.” He reaches up a tentative hand and brings it back down. Why would the heavenly stars answer him after all the hell he’s raised.

“Fighting demons there Sallow?”

Sebastian jumps at your voice, he almost doesn’t believe it’s really you until you’re standing in front of him. You smile warmly at him but your face has worry written all over it. You sit next to him and remain in a comfortable silence, not wanting to push him. You knew about his little crush (Ominis told you after he got tired of hearing Sebastian whine), but you didn’t know about the true turmoil its caused him. Finally you both look at each other “you think I cursed you?” You laugh as Sebastian blushes “I can’t stop thinking about you every day, I was doomed by our first kiss.” You knew that it would stick with him, the sweet peck on the cheek turning his brain into mush.

You see him look down at his hands “I’ve done things that have no name.” You see him frown. You gently take both of his hands, erasing those thoughts from his mind. “What’s the point of the future if not to move on from the past?” You squeeze his hands gently, his warm hands that envelope yours.

“I can’t ask you to love me (Y/N).”

“There’s no need to ask when I already do.”

You words make his heart flutter, he can feel it jumping out of his chest. “Your chained to me now, not the past, I’ve cursed you to love me forever right?” You joke as you hold his face in your hands. “Who knew love was going to be like this.” Sebastian is melting into your hands, stuck in a trance by your eyes. His past will always be right there, mocking him from the shadows. But when he’s in your hands, when he’s in your presence, all of it somehow disappears. Sebastian supposes that he should just stop fighting the curse and let it take all of him. You have him under quite the spell, he’s not even sure he could undo it, or want to undo it. He’ll let it come over him, like the tide coming to pull him back into that ocean blue. What better way to die than to drown in your love, than to stumble around drunk with it.

You let your lips cross the space between and find him at the end.

[icouldhyperfixatehim]

last twilight finale time for me and i'm going to jot my thoughts as i go and just post it altogether bc i don't want to fill the tag w nonsense to excess so lets go

4 minutes in and i'm already pissed off. 3 years my entire hole, ugh. where's that meme of a woman putting a toy out of a child's reach? i'm the woman the child is p'aof and the toy is fucking time skips

so glad mork got to fulfil his five minute dream of being part of the exploitative tourism sector decimating hawaii. cool love that for him, it's definitely better than finding healing through love and support or whatever

i hope they had fun with the mork porjai implication bait and switch, because night walked through the door and my only reaction was: well obviously -_-

and here's the man himself! aof why are you doing your stan lee cameo in THIS ep of all eps. you could have photoshopped yourself into the last twilight mountain scene like the teletubbies sun and i'd have been less fucked off w you right now

okay but i'm never too bitter to appreciate a nice little bookshop. this is cute. i hope the shelves have braille indicators or smth. would have been cool to see some practical accessibility considerations - evidence of what day has learned and how he's letting the ladder down for others. also where's his white cane? i thought he was finally using one?

the lighthearted tone of this flirting...i am being gaslit. rubbing sugar in my wounds doesn't feel any better than salt hey

i do love watching porjai get the full princess treatment though, she deserves it

their "adult" conversation over cake has me so weary. don't explain how you want me to interpret this narrative thanks, i'm a big girl with some, nay, muLTipLe brain cells. you can tell me it was all about mork pitying day and day not liking to be pitied, but i don't like being told what to think. it's a disservice to these full, multifaceted characters to turn them into informed-storytelling puppets

porjai is my ep highlight so far for real. namtan, the actress that you are and the beauty that you have in the bridal get up. nightporjai are so dark horse special to me. THIS. THIS is what i wanted for mork! to do the growing and the healing IN SUPPORT AND WITH LOVE TO STAND FIRM FROM AGHHH, not on the arse end of america for no reason at all

ah, the classic romcom airport dash, except i'm mad lmao butWAIT PORJAI DOING A GRIFT FOR LOVE SHE IS THE EP HERO!!!

oh christ. oh christ they're not are they?

no

no they are...oh my god. oh i'm. i've written this whole thing pissy over the relationship thing i didn't even. oh my god. i'm heartbroken.

"the worst page in my novel" i'm. i actually feel a little sick. how horrible. what an absolute reversal. they waited until the last 15 minutes to make my worst fear on seeing the very first trailer come true, they waited until my guard was down

to all my disabled buds out there, wherever you fall on the spectrum of weary to deeply hurt by this narrative decision: your happy ending is in no way reliant on you someday "getting better". you do not have to "get better" to be whole, to be worth loving, to find meaning and joy in your life. you are not incomplete.

this is so busted. i'm so incredibly disappointed by this turn. they cocked this up massively, i need to go make mashed potatoes bye

[chobani-flip]

so... I've been tagged by @newtkelly (WHO HAS A WIP IN THE WORKS WHICH IS GONNA BE SO AWESOME OMG GO READ ALL THE FICS I LOOOOOOVE) and @alchemistc (THE AMAZING ALCHEMISTIC MAGE OF AWESOME WRITERY POWERS WHO WRITES TRULY EXCELLENT FICS ????DAILY????? GO READ) to put my music on shuffle & list the first 10 songs + tag 10 people

but

the thing is... i... kinda don't listen to music? 👀👀👀 i know, i know, believe me.

like, i am not an alien, i have heard music before, but i don't go out of my way to listen to music in my regular day to day life.

so rather than just not taking part, or trying hard to come up with songs i really love a lot (which, they totally exist! but i can never think of one until i hear it on the radio or in a shop or as background song on a show or something) im gonna tell you about the audiobooks i found really fucking cool and my one podcast i adore:

the podcast AKA the only reason i have spotify on my laptop :

Ridiculous Crime (iHeartRadio) -

Zaron Burnett and Elizabeth Dutton talk about "outlandish capers, heists and cons" to "shine a light on the absurd side of criminality". "Always 99% murder-free and 100% ridiculous". i adore this podcast so fucking much, i am willing to 15sec+ manually skip the embedded ads that appear in LOOOONG chunks at the start, at the 20 minute mark, at the 40 minute mark and at the end of the episodes. also, Elizabeth Dutton is a 911 fan and she's the one whose endorsement finally made me decide to give the show another try. like, srsly, if you've gone off true crime because while you enjoy listening to RL stories and mysteries but all the sensationalizing of brutal crimes just got too much made it impossible to consume? THIS IS THE PODCAST FOR YOU (just srsly, skip the ads, they're fucking annoying

⬆is one of my favourite episodes

the audiobooks:

Vital Organs - Suzie Edge

this is a book full of extremely interesting stories from history connected to various bodyparts.

this is the tagline: From Napoleon's penis to Van Gogh's ear, from Marie Antoinette's teeth to Marie Curie's bone marrow, this book brings together the remarkable stories of body parts that have made history. and you might get the impression that it's going to be a bunch of kings and queens and famous people from that (and like yeah, they're there obviously) but there are so many fascinating stories about people you've never heard of? it's really cool. the one that really stuck with me was about the creator of the Braille writing system, Louis Braille.

Ask A Historian: 50 Surprising Answers To Things You Always Wanted To Know - Greg Jenner

(he also has a podcast, my friend loves it - that's how i found out about the book - but i have space for only one podcast in my heart)

abso-fucking-lutely excellent and interesting and hilarious. remember the tumblr post about the corpse pope put on trial? well, that one was one of the questions Greg Jenner got asked and he talks about the Cadaver Synod in great detail. Mansa Musa, ever heard of him? No? well, google the name and you'll be just as outraged as i was when you realise just how massive and influential he and his Mali Empire was and how your (generally really good) history classes and textbooks never fucking mentioned him. you'll also find out when the first monday was, and why the devil is a goat, and what the Flintstones ot right about Stone Age

A Curious History of Sex - Kate Lister

(also has a podcast apparently, but like i said i can only manage one)

It's a really really cool and interesting book 😁 here's the tagline:

This is not a comprehensive study of every sexual quirk, kink and ritual across all cultures throughout time, as that would entail writing an encyclopaedia. Rather, this is a drop in the ocean, a paddle in the shallow end of sex history, but I hope you will get pleasantly wet nonetheless.

Savage Appetites: Four True Stories of Women, Crime and Obsession - Rachel Monroe

so this isn't true crime, but it's about true crime, it explores why people, and women especially, are fascinated by it. it's not particularly accusatory or judgemental since the author is interrogating her own fascination, but it doesn't shy away from the nastier implications and sides of being enthralled by true crime.

honestly, this describes it really well: Combining personal narrative, reportage, and a sociological examination of violence and media in the 20th and 21st centuries, Savage Appetites is a "corrective to the genre it interrogates" (The New Statesman), scrupulously exploring empathy, justice, and the persistent appeal of crime.

currently listening to: Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

did you know that the word salacious comes from salt? because people believed that salt made you horny and virile? and also that it protected you from evil spirits so in some places in the world (like France and others) in the middle ages, infants would be bathed in brine and salted before a baptism? and that salad is a salad and also from salt because the Romans loved to salt their assorted veggies, when they weren't making garum, the salty stinky fermented fishsauce? AND THAT SOLDIER IS A SOLDIER BECAUSE IN SOME PARTS THEY USED TO BE PAID IN SALT AND SOL AND SALT AND AAAAA i love it so much

ok 🤣 im done. now, i am aware that this was very much not the assignment if the assignment was getting recommendations for music, but if the assignment was finding out more about the person behind the blog, well, here you are 😁 these are the things i find cool and interesting

__

no pressure tagging: @wakeupnew @tiltingheartand @26-cats-in-a-trenchcoat

@kinard-buckley @bugboybuck @mistmarauder

@jackmichaela @do-androids-dream-ao3acc @so-that-was-okay

@apartmentsmoke