#either way happy disability pride month!

[swordsandholly]

Across the Way

Chapter One: New Places, New Faces

Ao3 | Next

MDNI

Pairing: Ghoap x fem!plus size!Reader

Word Count: 2.7k

Summary: You go to Scotland with high hopes for your future. After all, you have the bakery you always dreamed of and a whole new life to live. Plus, the men who own the butcher’s shop across the street seem nice.

Johnny stirs awake with a grunt as Riley’s wet nose bumps against his hand. There’s a very slight ache behind his eyes - the kind that marks an oncoming migraine. He groans, not wanting to open them to the invasive sunlight that will inevitably make it worse. Then again, that’s the only way he can get any preemptive pain medication in his system. He still makes a noise of complaint when he finally peels back his lids.

“Feelin’ alright?” Simon rumbles, setting a glass on the nightstand along with two little pain pills. How he’s able to tell what kind of morning Johnny’s having before even he can is a true mystery.

Johnny just grunts back, rolling onto his side to grab his hearing aid out of the nightstand drawer. Normally he wouldn’t bother with putting it on with a possibly impending migraine, but he figures he can chance it. They’ve been lessening in the past few months. Somewhat.

“Plans for the day?” Simon asks as he pulls on one of his work shirts. “Up for coming to the shop?”

The little clock beside him blinks out five in the morning. Even after being retired for nearly three years, neither of them can manage to sleep in late whether they have to be up or not. “Gonnae take Riley out tae the park. Might drop by.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Me? Never.” Johnny flashes his husband a grin.

Simon just rolls his eyes in response. The rest of their morning is quiet, as most are when Johnny isn’t up for talking. It’s a comfortable silence, one they both came to appreciate long before this current chapter in their lives. One that developed on cots and in tents and the wreckage of war zones.

It’s just how they are.

Being essentially a stay at home husband was not how Johnny pictures his thirties. Being disabled was not how he pictured… any of it. He thought he’d be up for Lieutenant by now. Thought Simon would have taken over as Captain of the 141. He’s learned not to be bitter about it (with Simon’s and some professional help).

He can’t complain too much. He’s alive. He gets to be with his family. With Simon. With Riley in this run down dog park throwing around a ball that she dutifully chases and brings back with the pride of a great hunter bringing home a prized beast. He gets to go home to a place that is truly his, with a big comfortable bed and a man he fought tooth and nail to fill it with.

It’s a small life but he’s learned that small doesn’t mean unimportant.

Christ who knew turning thirty would make him a damn philosopher.

“Alright, lassie, time tae go.” Johnny crouches to shuffle Riley’s harness and leash back on. He knees pop and his back protests the movement. It’s a mercy that they were able to get such a lovely service dog. She’s such a good pup, always at the ready and happy to obey.

Except now, as she begins to tug insistently at her leash with her full weight - or at least as much as she can use without hurting him. It isn’t like her. He clicks and commands her to heel. She tugs harder and whines. It isn’t an alert that he knows - maybe it’s one that they don’t need often? He lets go of the leash, following as she quickly jogs away.

He circles a few bushes in pursuit, coming to face one of the large trees on the outer edge of the park. There’s a girl leaned on it, breath coming in and out heavy. She starts to slip forward a bit before Riley props her up, stabalizing the girl in much the same way she does Johnny when he gets faint. He speeds up his steps, holding out his hands on either side of the girl in case she falls.

“Aren’t you a good girl?” She coos at Riley quietly. American. Huh. He watches the girl dig in her pocket for something, eventually pulling out what looks like a to-go salt packet. She tears it open, throwing it back like a shot.

“Ye a’right?” Johnny asks, tilting his head.

She nods and takes a long, deep breath. “Sorry, I have a…thing.” She waves her hand around her head, straightening up and turning to face him. She’s cute. Insanely cute - with big eyes and soft body. Lovely curves from head to toe. Johnny may be a married man but that doesn’t mean he can’t apprecaite a little, right?

“Donnae apologize. I’ve got a thing, tae.” Johnny grins and points to the scar on his head where his hair never quite grew back.

She gives him a soft smile. “Well, you’ve got a good dog. I’ve never had one alert like that.”

“Aye, she was tuggin’ hard. Must’ve been a pretty bad spell. Ye sure yer okay?”

“Yeah.” Her braided hair falls about her shoulders. “Just didn’t eat enough before I went for a walk and then I stood up too quickly…”

“Och, standin’, my age old enemy.”

She giggles quietly, pressing her fingers over her lips to cover them. It’s pretty, the way her round face gets even rounder with her smile.

“Johnny.” He holds out a hand, flashing his most charming smile he can muster. It’s a little more tired these days - the corners of his eyes crinkle more than they used to. The girl takes his hand, so soft and warm and small in his, and breathes out her name quietly. Almost bashfully. So cute.

Unfortunately his phone chimes, interrupting the moment before he can ask her more.

“I should be off, ye sure yer okay?” Johnny lets his eyes take over her, not just her body but also checking that she is, in fact, okay. Her eyes seem clear, stance steady, not too pale or too flushed. He’s no medic but he’d say she’s going to be fine.

“Yeah, yeah. Thank you.” She crouches slightly, slowly moving to look at Riley. “And thank *you* ma’am.”

Johnny watches her walk away, pausing to make sure she doesn’t stumble. He’s not sure what compels him - maybe it’s the solider in him still wanting to watch for the safety of those around him. It definitely doesn’t have anything to do with the way her wide hips sway as she makes her way down the path.

Johnny can’t stop smiling as he makes his way to the shop for some reason. It wasn’t even all that impressive of an interaction, but something about it really warmed his heart. Maybe it was just meeting someone else with a *thing*, as she put it. There really isn’t anyone else in his life who needs as much support as him - certainly not many adults in this small town who need assistance on the whole. It’s rare to meet someone who gets it, however briefly.

“Wot’s got you so chipper?” Simon quirks an eyebrow as he enters.

The door bell chimes above his head. Riley trots off from Johnny’s side to her designated bed in the corner of the shop. Away from the food but close enough that she could easily get wherever Johnny might be. One of the regulars even made a plaque for her that his Da screwed on the wall.

“Met a nice lass today in the park.” He shrugs. “Pretty little thing.”

“Ah, your great-aunt’s prayin’ finally do you in?” Simon chuckles as Johnny ducks behind the counter to rest a hand on the small of his back.

“Aye, finally realized I should turn tae a life of lassies an’ biarns. Yer great arse has no power over me now, foul demon.”

Simon chuckles. There’s something about it that always does Johnny in. A low rumble he can feel in his very bones. “Glad to see you’re feelin’ better.”

Johnny hums. “The warm weather helps, fer whatever reason.”

“Good. You see the shop across the street?”

Johnny turns, looking out their front window. The construction has been going on for a few months - various workers milling in and out. Neither he nor Simon could figure out what they were putting in until small signs were put across the windows announcing the new location to be The Honey Bun Bakery with an opening date at the bottom. A bit cutesy for their taste, but a new bakery in town is exciting. The last one closed because the owners got too old and had no one to take over. His mother has been buzzing about it since the signs were first put up.

The biggest mystery is the owner. No one has seen hide nor hair of whoever owns the place. There were movers taking things into the attached apartment on the floor above about a week ago, but no one has actually seen the resident. He or she is a ghost. Gossip has filled the town, of course. Especially among the older folks. That’s another thing his mother has been fluttering about.

“Already opening day, eh?”

“Yep.”

“We should check it out, then.”

Simon hums. “We’ll go after the morning rush if you’re up for it, hm?”

“Aye.”

“Johnny?” The shorter man jumps as Simon’s hands rest on his waist. He’ll never get over the intensity of Simon’s eyes. For a man who keeps his emotions locked in the deepest parts of him, he sure carries a lot of it in those pretty dark pools.

“Aye?” The word comes out breathier than he means it to.

“You look sunburnt.”

Johnny barks out a laugh, half-heartedly shoving his husband off. “An’ here I thought ye were gonnae say somethin’ romantic.”

“You know me better than that.” Simon’s eyes crinkle in the corners with a smile as he pulls the mask to the side, pressing a kiss to Johnny’s lips.

You may or may not have slept exactly 3.46 hours last night. It’s not your fault, really. Today’s your first day. Your first real day of your new life and your new career. Years of prayers and months upon months of planning, waiting, crying, and straining have finally come to a head. You’re in Scotland, your bakery is constructed, all that’s left is to actually bake.

And sell, of course, but you try your hardest not to think about that part or you might throw up. Again.

You curse the time it takes you to shower, carefully acclimating to the heat of the shower and sitting in your little plastic seat. You want to run, to act like the a whirlwind you feel in your head. You can’t, though, it’s not worth possibly ruining the most important day in your life just because you were impatient and passed out. At least you finally got your medication situation figured out before coming over here - the perfect little cocktail sitting on the corner of your dresser.

Your hands tremble a bit as you open up one of the cardboard boxes still sitting in your living room. You’d picked out a special outfit for your first real day of owning your own business months ago - one you made sure would be here with you on opening day. Really, it isn’t anything special - just a pair of black gingham trousers and a black cotton t-shirt along with your well-loved non-slip shoes. It’s yours though, and it perfectly matches your specially embroidered apron with your little logo on the front, center pocket. It’s yours. All yours. It’s a reminder that you’re here. You made it out.

You had already done a good bit of the work the day before - putting together your doughs and shaping up pastries to proof overnight in the fridge. Now all that’s left is to actually bake them and put them out. The smell wafts through the building, covering any left over scents of paint or construction work. It feels real. Grounding. You’re here and you can feel, smell, even taste it.

You expected a few customers. Not much. High hopes and low expectations. Just a couple people here and there that noticed the new shop coming to town and were curious about it. You’d advertised as well as you could from across the pond. Maybe a little rush around the late morning when people are usually out for brunch and shopping at most.

You did not expect a constant stream from the moment you propped the door open until the late afternoon. These Scots run you fucking ragged. A constant flux of in and out, all day. All them wanting to chat, as well.

“Oh, American! Whit part are ye from?”

“Yer sae young! Just a wee bairn!”

“So nice havin’ a bakery again, aye?”

“Urr ye merrit? Ah hae a son-“

You regret not buying that coffee machine for the back room.

Just as you’re stacking display baskets to take to the back to wash up the door chimes behind you. Here you thought you were finally done for the day. You sigh. “Sorry, hun, I’m pretty much out of everyth-”

“Ye!” You whirl, only to meet those same bright blue eyes from the day before.

“Johnny!” You squeak, eyes wide.

“Why dinnae ye mention the shop?” The man grins wide - the same as the day before. Sparkling and bright and far, far more pretty than you’re prepared to deal with. His hair is neater today - not ragged from exercise with his service dog who currently sits politely by his feet.

“Ah, was little light headed. Wasn’t thinking straight.” You shrug.

“Speaking of, how’s yer thing?” He waves a hand about his head the same way you did the day prior. It’s cute how invested he seems to be, genuinely asking if you’re alright. The man looming behind him watches silently.

“Oh, I’m alright. Finer than the hair on a toad split four ways.” You grin.

The man behind him furrows his brow slightly at the expression, but doesn’t offer a word. He’s tall. Wide too and dressed in all black with long sleeves despite the warm, spring weather. His hair is buzzed neatly. There’s a severity to him only emphasized by the scar splitting his brow and the small chip missing from his ear.

“Och, this is my husband Simon.” Jihnny steps to the side and gestures toward the brooding figure behind him. “We own the butcher shop across the street.”

“No shit!” You can’t help but smile ear to ear, holding out your hand. They seem so sweet. “Well, it’s very nice to meet you. Glad to have such nice neighbors.”

Simon shakes your hand a single time curtly before stepping back behind Johnny. The severity in his dark eyes softens whenever he glances toward the other man. Cute.

“We wanted tae come see whit ye’ve got.”

“I haven’t got much left…” You tap your chin and rest a hand on your hip, wanting to rectify the dip of disappointment in the pretty man’s brow. “Oh! I’ve got a sourdough in the back. One sec!”

You skitter off, paying little mind to how silly you must look practically prancing toward the back room. Originally, you’d planned to save this for yourself tonight as a job-well-done treat but it feels more gratifying to give it to your new neighbors. Hopefully they like it - maybe you can finally make some friends for the first time in… ever really.

“How much fer it?”

“On the house. We’re neighbors now, yeah? First ones free.” You grin, wrapping it extra nicely in some brown paper packaging.

“Thank ye, bonnie.” Johnny cradles the loaf so carefully you almost laugh - as if he’s afraid too much pressure will completely ruin it. Like he’s holding a precious treasure. “We’ll leave ye alone tae close but we’ll see ye around, aye?”

“Course.” You nod, waving after them and they exit. You can see the big blonde, Simon, turn to Johnny to say something but it’s impossible to hear them or tell from their lips as they cross the street back to their butcher shop. They link hands, fingers intertwining with long practiced grace, and something in your throat constricts.

What’s it like, you wonder, to have a love like that?

[echo-stimmingrose]

I just made a post about the end of pride month. It's July now, so happy disability pride month to my fellow disabled people!

Friendly reminders to able bodied people

Don't tell disabled people how to refer to themselves

Listen to them when and how they refer to their disabilities

You don't need to know why someone is disabled

This includes if they have a service dog, you may ask what tasks the dog performs if you are a business owner. Not what disabilities they have.

Also, in the US there are no "service dog cards/papers"

It's illegal to refuse service to someone because of a disability

If you know someone who is disabled questions are fine as long as you are respectful. Some of us love to educate. (However some aren't things we like to talk about, be respond that)

Slurs are never acceptable if they don't apply to you (you wouldn't use a racial slur don't use one about disabilities either)

Don't make jokes based around disabled people stereotypes. It's not funny.

Not all disabilities are visible!

I know you mean well but you do not know what it feels like, please do not tell disabled people you do.

When we say we are tired and you are also tired, we do not mean the same thing.

Abilism isn't funny, it causes so much harm and discrimination please don't be abilist.

Reminders for my fellow disabled people

You are valid no matter what.

You are allowed to have good days and still be disabled.

You are allowed to have bad days and need extra help or more time to rest.

With that you are allowed to take days to rest.

You know your limits, please follow them and don't harm yourself.

You are not an inconvenience!

Please remember to take your meds, they are important

Don't stop taking your meds without consulting with a doctor (unless they are doing horrible things, even then please contact your provider)

Also doctors who don't listen suck, we've all been there and we feel you.

You are not faking for attention no matter how much your brain tells you that

Sometimes you can't always look on the bright side. It's okay to recognize the negative as long as you don't let that take over.

Asking for help is good and doesn't bother people. And if it does those aren't people you should have in your life.

If a mobility aid will help you then use whatever will help you

Your problems are "bad enough" and valid. Don't compare yourself to other people and if you need help then get it.

You do not need to be absolutely horrible to get help.

If your diagnosis came as relief that is perfectly fine, knowing there's a cause for your problem and now having ways to manage it is wonderful.

If your diagnosis did not come as a relief that is perfectly fine as well. It's terrifying and soul crushing sometimes getting diagnosed and realizing you're going to deal with this forever. You're not alone.

You know your body better than anyone else. Listen to yourself and what your body needs.

You got this, you aren't alone. Mental and physical disabilities suck but be proud of them.

You live with them everyday and you're still here, you're still fighting. You're so strong.

[psychhound]

5e homebrew for disability pride month

hey yall :D since it's disability pride month and i am a Local Disabled TM i wanted to spotlight the d&d 5e homebrew i've done featuring disability mechanics!! they're all FREE / PWYW and available on itch!!

autism & adhd mechanics

traits for mechanically emphasizing a character's autism and/or adhd!! there's 11 traits total, with 5 shared between them, and 3 each that are specific to autism and adhd. the traits are beneficial, detrimental, and a mix of both, intended for 1-3 to be chosen for a single character. includes traits like sensory processing disorder, time blindness, and rejection sensitive dysphoria

service monsters

service animals - monster edition! you choose a customizable base for your monster, a statblock, and origin, and then get to choose your service type: guiding, hearing, mobility, medical alert, trauma, schizophrenia, or autism! each service type has a unique monster with different abilities, strengths, and magic. service monsters can't be used in combat but they have resistance to all damage and go to a pocket dimension upon dropping to 0hp

trauma mechanics

10 traits for panic disorder, ptsd, and cptsd, with an included definitions section and suggestions for trait application. includes mechanics for triggers, as well as for traits like panic attacks, insomnia, hypervigilance, and trust issues. the traits include different outcomes for meeting the dc or failing by different margins, and the aftereffects of failing a save, as well as ways that allies can help

my inspiration for making these was that i'm an autistic, mentally ill, traumatized disabled person who's been an active and leading disability advocate for the last 9 years and a disability-specialist social worker for 2.5 of those. definitely still room for improvement with my homebrew but i think there always will be when trying to put the incredibly varied human experience of disability into a crunchy numbers&rules format :o)

if you liked them please consider throwing some dollars my way either on itch or on my kofi as i get ready to head to grad school to study gamification in the mental health & disability space!! you can also check out the rest of my 5e homebrew here!

happy disability pride month to all, go run over some toes

[ofmdrecaps]

07/04/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi & Rita Ora; Con O'Neill; Nathan Foad; Samba Schutte; Disability Pride Month; Fan Spotlight; Love Notes; Daily Darby / Today's Taika

== Rhys Darby ==

Yet another FFXIV Tural Commercial! Please keep them coming!

Rhys was also out on July 4th for his son Finn's Great Big Cow Band's concert! He was heard saying "Merry Christmas everbody!". You can watch the whole video Finn shared on Great Big Cow Band's Instagram

Source: Great Big Cow Band's Instagram

== Taika Waititi ==

Out at a celebration of Maria Sharapova with Aman Essentals as well as at the Girls Aloud Concert with Rita!

Source: krisroma's Instagram

Source: amanessentials Instagram

Source: RitaOraHun Instagram

Source: Instagram

Source: kyaora29 on Twitter

Source: YulYY4 on Twitter

== Con O'Neill ==

Con's been asking everyone to #VoteTheFuckersOut and here he was reminding everyone to go out and vote in the UK! (Hey good news, they "voted the fuckers out"!

Source: Con O Neill's Instagram

== Nathan Foad ==

Our friends over at @adoptourcrew wrote up a very lovely dedication to Nathan being one of the Hot Shots 2024 Top Writers and Script editors! Nathan loved it! You can read the article here!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Instagram

== Samba Schutte ==

Samba sent some love and PSA for July 4th <3

Source: Samba Schutte Instagram

== Disability Pride Month ==

Did you know July is Disability Pride Month? I know many of our crewmates are disabled and so I wanted to highlight this pride month in honor of them. Below is a wonderful video by ChronicallyJenni on instagram. I'm including the transcription of the video as well below. Found via the lovely @a-little-revolution here on tumblr.

"It's July & that means it's Disability Pride Month! But what actually is DPM?! I didn't know until a few years ago either so here's the run down!

Disability Pride Month was born out of the disability rights movement in July 1990 to commemorate the passing of the Americans with disabilities act (ADA). It has since become a global celebration, as well as an act of protest in order to campaign for the world to be more inclusive of disabled people. The first Disability Pride Parade in the UK was held in Brighton in 2016. Whilst we love our LGBTQIA+ friends & community members, #DisabilityPrideMonth has nothing to do with LGBTQIA+ Pride, they just happen to be next to each other.

The 3 main goals of Disability Pride Month are: ✨ To change the way people think about & define disability. ✨ To break down & end the internalised shame felt by people with disabilities. ✨ To promote the belief in society that disability is a natural, beautiful part of human diversity in which people living with disabilities can take pride.

All of these things are so incredibly important & change needs to be made in wider society in regards to ableism, accessibility & representation. Especially as being disabled is one of the only minority groups anyone can find themselves in overnight. Things are improving but I long for more disability representation in the media & in governance.

It's taken me a long time to discover my self worth as a person with a disability. And, don't get me wrong, being disabled is really tough But my disability has made me stronger, more resilient , more adaptable & has helped me find myself and the things that are important to me in a way I wouldn't have experienced otherwise. It's also helped me find the most incredible friends & community across the world.

I am disabled and I am proud." Happy Disability Pride Month Lovelies! I hope you have many many good days <3

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jenni | Chronic Illness Hacks (@chronicallyjenni)

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Cast Cards =

More cast cards from @melvisik! Thank you as always hon! Today's cast cards are Jochen FitzHerbert who is "another Emmy submission 'for Outstanding Picture Editing in a Comedy Series for The Innkeeper' - AdoptOurCrew" annnnd, Pancho Cardena was a patron of Spanish Jackie's establishment in "A Gentleman Pirate"!

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies! It's, well, now it's Friday cause I'm a bit late, but Happy Friday and early Saturday to the folks on the other side of the world!

I truly hope that you are doing well at the end of this week. It's been a long one to be sure, even if you've had a holiday. Remember that you are doing the best you can-- don't let anyone tell you anything different <3 Love notes are gonna be short today since I'm so late, just know we're thinking of and rooting for you <3

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Katie Abey 🌈 (@katieabey)

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

Tonight's theme is nose scrunches <3 Gif Courtesy of our darling Jodi! @saltpepperbeard

[alienaiver]

Catch and release

Komori Motoya x Chronic Pain/Disabled GN!reader but reader is described wearing skirts

content: It's Komori's birthday and you wanted to dress up nicely for the dinner party. Just your luck that your planned outfit and your disability decides to have a playfight. It's a good thing you have your high school sweetheart to cheer you up when navigating the new world of dynamic disability.

tags: fluff, sfw, birthday fic, post-timeskip, disabled!reader, body positive and poc friendly reader, canon compliant, no use of y/n, sweetie + my love + baby as petnames, sappy and supportive boyfriend, childhood friends to lovers, established relationship, childish/cheeky komori, chronic pain/disability condition is not mentioned/left vague on purpose but reader does need a cane (type of cane not described either), genderneutral reader, unbeta'd but proofwritten twice, sakusa's there too but only to suffer the humor of literal kids

wordcount: 1.1k

notes: guess who learned something new today about cane usage and long skirts! 🙋🏼‍♂️ its a journey! luckily i have some soft, comforting boys to maladaptive daydream about taking care of me 🥰 i hope you enjoy this little work of mine! either as a disabled person or as an abled interested in learning something new!!!! im smooching u all, have a lovely evening! i also know im a ✨ little ✨ early about komori's birthday but who doesnt think about him 24/7?

also happy disability pride month ✨

"you ready?" Komori calls from the entrance, where his keys are circling his finger, making a jingle sound. It's his birthday, and you're going to a restaurant with his parents for dinner. Sakusa's even agreed to stop by.

He hears you hum from the bedroom before your steps sound through the living room, a little uneven but with your usual speed. He whistles when he sees you, but his eyebrows still raise at your choice of clothes.

"You changed." he states blankly, unsure what else to say. The outfit was important to you today, and you took great care in planning it last night, which is the reason he sends such an apparent statement your way.

You avoid his gaze as your lips draw a thin line, "yeah, don't worry about it," you say hastily, clearly eager to end the subject as you pick up your shoes from the rack. "Don't get me wrong sweetie, you look amazing. But I thought you wanted us to color match today?"

From the bench where you're tying your sneakers you glimpse at him for a split second, but it's long enough that Komori notices the disappointment you're trying to hide from him. He sighs and bends down in front of you, "what happened, my love?" his thumb grazes your cheek before it drags a sliver of hair behind your ear. From this angle he sees your small pout more clearly. He puts down his keys to let his other hand hold your head as well.

You sigh and lean forward. He meets you halfway and revels in the contact of your foreheads touching. He's always loved being close to you.

"I need the cane today."

Ah.

You recently learned bitterly that long or airy maxi skirts and canes don't match up. It's not like they tangle extremely and directly cause you to fall, but it changes the pressure in which you need to pull and move your cane for your next step if it's windy, which can cause mishaps. You haven't fallen because of it yet, but you've decided you don't want to risk it.

And then you need your cane on his birthday, where you'd planned such a skirt. He winces and you sigh. There's a distance of walking from the train station to the restaurant, so he can't offer much of a different solution than your own.

Then he kisses your nose, "I'm sorry, baby. Is there anything you need?"

You close your eyes and try to relax in his closeness. His left hand has traveled down to rub your arm, and you don't have the heart to tell him that his touch aches today. Not on his birthday.

"No, it's... It is what it is, right?" you ask and he nods hastily, "I know it might not help on the disappointment, but I still think you look absolutely amazing. And I'm glad you're listening to your needs and doing what you have to, even if it sucks major ass."

You snort and shake your head at him. He prides himself in the smile he won from your lips before he claims them with his own, sighing at the contact. He's needy today you notice, before you kiss him back with the same energy, trying to push away the negative thoughts clouding your mind. Today is about him.

When he pulls back he looks so lovestruck that you can't believe that you're high school sweethearts. Who gets this winded from a simple kiss from someone they've been with for over 10 years? Slowly and little by little, warmth and light fills you up again. He comes back for a quick peck before he gets back up and smiles down at you, flustered.

"Which cane would you like today? Personally I think the blue one with flowers would match your blouse perfectly!"

He turns his back to you as he opens the entryway closet, and you hum behind him thoughtfully, "maybe the grey one will garner less attention. I still feel awkward being both dressed up and so visibly disabled."

You're still getting used to using canes publicly, embarrassed and afraid someone will see you as a fraud if you're able to walk a few steps without it or if they suddenly deem that you're using it wrong. You know it's irrational, but it's taken you great courage to accept the dynamic part of your dynamic disability.

Komori's been supportive and understanding in every possible way, never batting an eye at any need you're voicing. He only complains when you hold back needs or lie about how you're feeling when you're out doing something together. You'd be, too, if the roles were reversed so you're glad he always lets you know while you learn to navigate being a burden - and being okay with burdening the people you love.

You admire his back. Broad, reliable and secure and always ready to support you. You still can't believe that you've been so lucky with him, grateful that your distasteful joke about his eyebrows he overheard in your second year somehow made him interested in you. You still cringe when you think back on it but he tells the story with a joyful and prideful expression every time.

He turns around with the grey, foldable cane and starts unfolding it for you, doing a little shimmy of a dance for you while doing it. You throw your head back and laugh, "so the birthday boy's the one giving a show this year?" you joke and he smiles cheekily at you, the expression making you flustered. Maybe you're just as bad as him, with the lovesickness. Sakusa will roll his eyes today, surely.

"Well... My favorite entertainer is indisposed, so if my lying hips can delight and beguile my audience, I'm happy to shake things up a bit."

He leans down with the cane, offering it as a sword to a knight. You snort and receive it just as gracefully, before he reaches a hand out to help you up, "I'll order your favorite from the menu and give you half of it if you kiss both my cheeks and my forehead in front of Omi."

You're busy laughing at his childish antics getting up, so you miscalculate your balance and fall into his arms. He catches you easily, like he always has and always will. You bite your lip, "then I'll order your favorite dessert if you do the same to me."

His antics may be childish, but they definitely match yours.

"Happy birthday, Motoya. Thank you for always catching me and helping me release the tension." you say and kiss him, hoping your emotions reach him. The smile he can't hold back against your lips tells you he might've gotten the memo.

[thatonegaybrit]

; I know it's talked about but genuinely it's not talked about enough how difficult ( difficult ) it is being autistic. And it's not even just because I have autism, sometimes it's from Third Party People Being Ableist™ and making my life 20x harder than it was previously.

; and I'm sick and tired of people trying to be allies by denying that I'm autistic ?? Denying my struggles and saying " you're just a little funky !! " or " you're not different, you're the same as any other person <3 " because I'm not ( not ), I'm genuinely not like every other person. And wow are you going to be disappointed when you find out I actually can't function like you, I physically can not. I can't do most anything like a " normal " person and every day is a struggle because people want to see me as average, so they treat me as average and neurotypical and no different from them, but I am different. I do need things that others don't, I do need support even if I'm probably categorized as low support needs, I still have needs that the average person doesn't !! I'm Autistic !! I am different, I am not like the average person and it disables me. I do not resent being autistic, I do not want to be neurotypical. What I resent is how I'm treated because of it, how my struggles are either ignored or stigmatized. I resent not being able to function how others want me too, and therefore being labeled as a nuisance or a difficult case.

; I. Am. Autistic. And yk what ?? I'm not making it my whole personality, it is my whole personality !! It's my mother fucking brain, of course it's going to effect most every aspect of me and how I work ?? And so of course most things I talk about or most my experiences are going to " look autistic " or could be categorized as autism, because I'm autistic !! I'm a walking book of autistic traits so yeah, a lot of the ways I think and the things I do are gonna be related to autism, because I literally am autistic. Sorry if that bothers you ?? Like ?? Idk what people expect from me, I'm going to talk about it because it's kinda hard not to when everything I do or say is " affected " by it ?? :/

; anyways, happy disability pride month. Thanks for listening to my miniature rant

[0nemorestranger]

i don't think anyone understands. like yeah of course i love joe and lupita i'm not blind but it's like i don't want any behind the scenes photos or videos i don't wanna keep watching the press tour it would be great if they could be in another movie together but what i WANT is more time with sam and eric

i haven't seen either of the other films in theaters (didn't even watch the second one yet tbh) and i do NOT do well with sudden noises of any kind so it was the most stressful and painful viewing experience i've had in recent memory but but BUT i felt so safe with sam and eric they were such Good characters from every standpoint. you rooted for them you sympathized with them and they were good kind tender-hearted people who only knew each other for a DAY and yet you could feel the almost desperate need for each other that finally just gave way to genuine friendship and and and???

the part with her meds. and her patch. iykyk. that scene happened and i started crying and kept it up on and off until the credits rolled (happy disability pride month!!!)

some of the best horror movies are stupid trash but the real ones that shine through are ALL ABOUT LOVE

[cy-cyborg]

I'm seeing a lot of people here and on other platforms getting angry at people who have come from Tik Tok (and youtube to a lesser extent) who refuse to say words like death, racism and anything relating to heavy topics. Sometimes they won't even say the names of minorities either.

Any I get why this is frustrating and just not a good practice. The people criticising these folks are absolutely right, we need to get comfortable saying these words and discussing these topics. Not to mention the fact that self-censorship can cause issues for people who are legitimatly triggered by those topics (e.g. due to trauma), But as someone who spent a lot of time on Tik Tok and youtube before coming here, I think there's some vital context missing here.

I'd say a good 75% of the people on tik tok, and by extention, people who have moved elsewhere from Tik Tok, using words like "unalive," "r#pe," "sewerslide" or whatever else aren't using it because they're uncomfortable with the topic. In fact, it's quite the opposite. They want to talk about it, but Tik Tok's content moderation is so wildly strict that they can't. Even saying the words would get you flagged by the algorithm, ESPECIALLY if you had captions enabled or the actual word written in text from the in-app editor. This was especially true for people from minorities trying to talk about issues affecting their community or even just themselves (hence the hesitation to even say the minorities name sometimes).

This isn't just some conspiracy theory either. Tik Tok staff admitted to doing this intentionally on several occasions as a way to "keep the peace". I remeber when I first joined, it came out that they intentionally limited views on videos of visibly disabled people, both to prevent bullying but also because "some users find that content disturbung." I couldn't even show my stumps in videos without my videos getting stuck on 0 views at best or account warnings for "inappropriate content" at worst. I got DMs from several people after my video about disability pride month in July asking why their comments wishing me a happy disability pride month got removed, when I went into check the filtered comments, they'd all been hidden for "bullying". The same thing was happening with people commenting and saying the word "autism." And that's just the disabled community. I know similar stuff was happening in other communities too.

Most of the time, you had to speak in coded language to get your point out there. It's not that they're uncomfortable with it, it's because the videos would be dead in the water if they didn't. Getting the message out using these "toned down" replacements was better than not getting it out at all.

"OK, but this isnt tik tok, they shouldn't do that here" yeah, I agree, but for a lot of kids, Tik Tok was their first real experiance with social media, it makes sense that they're going to assume other platforms will be the same. YouTube is just as bad, if not worse, in some respects. Tumblr even has its fair share of censorship issues, too (e.g. queer people's posts being flagged as mature for seemingly no reason). It's not a stretch to make the assumption they'd need to continue the practice of self-censorship here, too.

This isn't to say that NO ONE is using the censored words to avoid hard topics/because it makes them uncomfy, but in my experiance, those people assume this is the best thing to do because everyone else was using it. They don't stop to ask why. They just repeat it, which in turn contributes to making them umcomfey with the real word.

I'm not saying don't pick people up on this stuff. We NEED those words, and we need to be more comfortable with them so stuff like the above situation doesn't happen and become a self-perpetuating cycle. But it started from a real, genuine need to censor ourselves to even get the message out, and I think it's important to keep that in mind. It's not just kids being "too sensitive."

[i-am-the-hero-alfred-jones]

Why Do You Care So Much About Our Flag Means Death?

I've been out to my family for about 8 months now. (My very religious, not very happy about it family. I'm not in danger of getting kicked out, and no one's treating me any different, but they've made it clear they're not thrilled with the announcement and/or don't really believe me).

Maybe it's the way I came out, maybe it's the upbringing, but overall, I kinda of don't care if people know my sexuality?

It's not a big deal for me. Unless I'm trying to hit on you, you don't need to know that I'm queer. Sure, it's a part of me, but it's a pretty small part.

But it's my sexuality, and I get to choose how big that queer part is. Tiny and quiet suits me just fine, thank you very much.

But quiet isn't really an option anymore.

Almost all media tells you, you have to be loud in order to be proud.

There are no quiet queers.

You're either the gayest gay to ever gay radiating gay energy [RuPaul, Crowley and Aziraphale, Stede Bonnet, Calico Jack].

Or you're straight.

There are no quiet queers.

There's no characters that just. . . are. They don't plaster their rooms in their pride flag, they don't parade around announcing it to everyone, but they're still queer.

And then they gave us Izzy Hands.

OFMD gave us a show where a badass, disabled, never flirts with anyone, doesn't radiate any sort of gay energy is queer!

Undeniably queer!

Canonically confesses his love to another man queer!!!!

And I LOVE THAT!!! Fuck that makes me feel so seen.

Not only that! But a quiet queer and a loud proud queer fell in love WITH THE SAME MAN!!!

They exist on the same ship! There's no judgement for Izzy to be loud, there's no pressure for him to change, they're happy with Izzy being quiet because that's how Izzy wants to be.

And that's not an attitude that gets reflected in the real world very much.

There are many times where I feel like I'm not gay enough. I don't want a pride flag. I don't want to announce it to everyone. I like being quiet. Being quietly queer makes me happy.

So to see someone else- even if he's fictional get to be that. And be celebrated for it.

It makes me want to cry with joy.

OFMD is being threatened right now, and it's not often I talk about how much a fandom really means to me.

But this show has helped me on my journey more than anything else, and I wanted to talk about it.

And to personally thank the writers, directors, and Con O'Neill for making me feel seen and safe.

Bless you <3

[Feel free to repost this to other social media, I don't have any]

[cinderswife]

in honor of pride month, i now present to you my favorite ouatis oc: cimorene, general white's gay... something. they've got something a lil lesbian going on. who knows what though. certainly not them. she's essential to the plot of my ouatis au for the sheer fact of being the reason general white didn't die of a stress-induced heart attack

this ref sheet is her towards the end of the war btw

info under the cut !!

cimorene is general white's secretary, though over three decades of war her role shifted from admin assistant to more personal assistant. she functions as the smaller dragon guarding the entrance to the big dragon's lair: you don't get to talk to general white without going through her first. she's a sweet talking jack of all trades who is very happy in her support role thank you very much. if you dig into her history, you'll find out she's the youngest daughter of a planet owning count.

she is based on cimorene from patricia c. wrede's enchanted forest chronicles. i initially wanted to name her after a proper fairy tale dragon, but those... don't really exist??? especially with names and stuff. so cimorene it is!

cimorene was always the black sheep of the family. while all seven of her older sisters were golden haired ponyfolk who could (seemingly) do no wrong, cimorene was the dark haired serpentfolk who kept getting in trouble for trying and excelling at things outside her designated gender role. granted, she also had a bit of a 'not like other girls' thing going on, but she was definitely a victim to regressive gender nonsense.

want to try out sports, like say hunting or rowing? sorry, that's a boy thing. okay, what about practical things like accounting or admin work? nope, both a man's job and below your station. fine! what about cooking? well... still below your station. cimorene spent plenty of time learning these things before she got caught and forced to stop, but it was a real shame.

her parents found her out of control, so at the advice of her godmother they arranged for her to be married to some lame noble boy. closeted nb lesbian cimorene, at age 19 almost 20, wasn't having that. this combined with her burgeoning politics of "hey actually i think this empire stuff is garbage actually" meant that the new rebellion sounded like a fantastic place to go. so off she went!

despite recent victories on hamlin, the year-old rebellion was hurting for hands and desperately needed someone willing to do the admin work. lieutenant dunwich had better things to do with his time, but he was also the only person decent enough, so he was who general white trusted most. in comes cimorene, who aces boot camp and proves herself brilliant at being a secretary. general white offers her the job, which cimorene gladly accepts.

unfortunately, this does not entirely shake off her infuriating family. believing cimorene to have been kidnapped by the rebellion, their family offers a substantial reward and their hand in marriage to whatever knight can rescue them. this is deeply infuriating, but luckily cimorene has many ways to either convince them to fuck off (and keep them from discovering rebellion bases) or to join the rebellion and leave her tf alone thank you very much.

although half her job is admin work, cimorene very quickly realized that the other half was joining dr. lorenzo (and to a minor extend cinders) on the "general white care squad." general mercymourn white may be brilliant and capable, but due to a variety of reasons such as disability (her injuries from the wedding and the anderson left her with half a face among other things, intense ptsd, and undiagnosed autism that flew under the radar as rich noble politician snow), the amount of other plates she was spinning, and sheer grief/self loathing from the events of the wedding day slaughter, she doesn't take care of her body as well as she needs to. luckily, cimorene soon discovered that she was very good at and happy with the caretaker role.

she was offered promotions many a time, but cimorene always turned it down to stick with mercy. she did, however, demand raises. out of everyone in the universe, cimorene can accurately boast that she knows mercy the best. she may not know general white's biggest secret, but she's there for the myriad of minuscule mask slips and the stress-induced meltdowns and the shitty puns and anything and everything you might imagine. it's to the point that cimorene can identify what exactly general white is feeling and/or needs by the microexpression even before general white figures out why she's feeling like shit.

that's not to say that cimorene is unappreciated - far from it. alongside a stupid high paycheck and a significant amount of leeway, cimorene is granted what everyone else covets: the paranoid general white's unending and complete trust. cimorene will never, ever betray that trust. she joined the revolution for freedom from her parents and liberation for the oppressed, but she's stuck around and gotten in deep for general white. that's what you do for a badass woman a decade older than you who could lift you off the ground.

this has some downsides though: when cimorene attempts to have a very limited personal life, she runs into the fact that people associate her with general white and she doesn't have the chance to like. bond. it's very frustrating. she's made a few friends here and there, but it's a lot harder to go out and socialize.

and dating? don't get her started. despite the fact that she's willing and able to put herself out there and a real catch (seriously, she cooks so damn well. try her cherries jubilee sometime!), no one wants to date her! why? well, unbeknownst to her everyone else can pick up on the intense homoerotic tension between her and the general and have gone "whelp that's general white's girl nobody get involved with her." rip to her dreams of a lovelife

also this is what her and general white's relationship looks like, with cimorene as the moon and mercy as the earth:

anyways, they don't properly get together romantically because there's a war to win and who has time for distractions like that? in the canon timeline this never gets resolved even after three decades because uh. general white dies. but since this is dogstar!ouatis and i made general white live (see: my fic eclosion) they get to be properly gay together in the end. yay!

in her spare time, cimorene likes to hang out at bars, cheat at cards, spread gossip (both false and true), cross stitch, and generally be a cunning little bastard. she Will kick your ass at a baking competition. she can do things with chocolate mousse that will make your girlfriend leave you.

her personal quarters are mostly decorated with weird shit she finds on the ground and her cross stitch projects. she has a lot of them. she finds them... relaxing, especially when people are getting On Her Nerves. *angry wolf portrait embroidery intensifies*

she is fluent in kingstongue & revolution sign language and has bits and pieces of a variety of languages from across the galaxy. she'd be a polyglot in her ideal world, but quite frankly she doesn't have the time nor the energy to do that.

anyways. gay people real. i hope you enjoyed reading about cimorene !!!! she Will show up in revolution era fics

[drarrydisabilityfest]

Drarry Disability Fest 2023

Happy Disability Pride Month!! We are so incredibly excited to announce the start of Drarry Disability Fest 2023! Posting begins TODAY and continues every 2-4 days until the end of the month!

Thank you so so much to our lovely participants for making this happen, we would not have been able to pull this off without you; great job team!

Drarry Disability Fest was created with the purpose of encouraging more creators to include disabled voices in their works, highlighting the daily lives and struggles of people with disabilities. It all started with the mods uniting on addressing the unfortunate fact that a lot of disability representation is either given to minor characters, sensationalised, romanticised, or worse villainised. These issues are very prevalent throughout society as well as in the fanfic community. We created this fest as a way to encourage disabled creators to make their voices heard, and for able-bodied creators to really work on their representation of disability through writing.

All the mods of this fest are disabled and every fanfic/art in this fest has been beta-read, and sensitivity read by a person who experiences the disability in question if the fic was not written by someone who experiences that disability!

We really hope you enjoy this first post and follow this space for updates on the amazing work done by our creators for this fest, and for future years of Drarry Disability Fest; we hope to make this a yearly occurrence.

Without further ado, we present with all the disability pride:

Title: Any Emotions

Author/Artist: @steampunkserpent27 (AO3/Tumblr) Grievers27 (Discord)

Rating: Teen

Word count (if applicable): 11,261

Warnings/Tags: No Archive Warnings, Alternate Universe- Canon Divergence, Post-Canon, Post-War, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Mental Health Issues, Disability, Disabled Character, Autistic Harry Potter, Autism, Sensory Issues, Emotional Dysregulation, Crying, Gryphons, Social Anxiety, Social Issues, Misunderstandings, Bullying, Ableism, Hogsmeade, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Developing Relationships, Good Harry Potter, Good Draco Malfoy, Supportive Draco Malfoy, Painter Draco Malfoy, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Honeydukes, Kissing, Getting Together, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Self-Discovery, Happy Ending, Minor Ron Weasley/Hermione Granger,

Summary: During Harry's Eighth Year at Hogwarts, he finds himself not only trying to figure out his feelings towards his old rival and nemesis, Draco Malfoy, but also trying to figure out why he's always felt so different, even amongst his closest friends.

Please leave comments and kudos for the hard working creators of this fest, even if you just comment an emoji or a "good job" your feedback means a lot to our writers. Also share! Spread the disability pride month joy!

Warmly,

- Your Drarry Disability Fest 2023 mods: Ceylon (@quackquackcey), Kel (@slytherinthelibrary), Rowan (@basicallyahedgehog)

[ilminnestrone]

Some days I feel like what mental health recovery really means is getting so good at acting better that you manage to fool even those who know you best. The closest, the dearest, the most important. The professionals. And taking so much pride in it that you feel like you're actually better. I've been praised lately - by my therapist, by my psychiatrist, by my husband - for how good I've become at coping with bad times. For all the work I have done. For how much better I'm clearly feeling.

I have never felt so alone. Would you believe me if I told you the only people I've been talking to in the last few months are you? (A handful, really, four people in total). "But Kei, you've been back on the platform since March, we've known each other for weeks, months at most…" Yes. I don't text or call people around me IRL, and they don't either. We only do it if when we need something, or when some relevant political event happens, or when my husband plans something with mutuals. I still have Christmas presents to deliver. My more frequent interactions are with people at the dog park: we have actually learned to read each other's moods.

I feel invisible. I never felt invisible when I was visibly depressed. I wanted to be, but I wasn't. People can't ignore you when you're rotting and have a huge black wing on your shoulder. Friends rally around you. They text you to see how you're doing. They call your husband to know if meds are working. They throw you a birthday party and go to your favourite vegan bakery to see your smile. They shit their pants when they hear about the s-word and they rush to avoid it, or not to have regrets if they can't.

They don't tell you what happens when the s-word is out of the way. When meds are out of the way. When you look better enough in their eyes. The answer is absolutely nothing. As soon as you promise them you won't do anything stupid, everything goes back to normal. An act of kindness. Except normal sucks. Normal you absolutely sucks. Normal you feels things, and feeling things sucks the most. You can't go back to feeling things once you've learned how deep despair can be. Because another thing they don't tell you is that despair doesn't suck: it's comforting, without expectation or fear.

They don't tell you that feeling better doesn't mean being happy, or less alone, not necessarly. It just mean being you. And if you are a totally socially disabled, lonely and incapable of being happy person, years of therapy are not going to help. I'm still unpleasant. I'm still autistic. I'm still an overthinker. People don't start to like you because they've seen you at uniliving risk (thankfully, that would be hypocritical).

They don't tell you that now that you can feel it you'll feel guilty: you'll miss having a black wing, because you felt loved when you had one. Even if the love was actually fear. And that's wrong. That means you're not fooling yourself with your act.

But the show must go on.

[twyla19]

Happy Pride Month!

It's June 9th, and we are just iver a week into this amazing month.

Some reminders:

Trans men are men

Trans women are women

Non binary individuals are non binary

This also doesn't define them if these individuals look, dress, or have interested that don't "align" with their gender.

Men can wear skirts and like dolls

Women can be mechanics and like trucks

Non binary people don't owe people androgyny nor being masc or femme to "fit in" a box.

There is no pride in genocide, yes i am bringing this up cause theres a bunch of pink washing and general rainbow washing that makes certain countries look "better" to prove that the genocide they are commiting is "okay"

GENOCIDE IS NOT OKAY, DEATH AND MURDER ARE NOT OKAY!

No matter who you are, in Gaza, Sudan, Congo, and the many other places that are currently suffering from genocide, the oppressor wants them all dead.

They do deserve life and live freely. They deserve love, compassion, and to be able live on THEIR land without worries of being killed for it.

Im not gonna be a hypocrite either. This goes for Indigenous people, indigenous Hawai'ians, and all the other territories the US has power over. They deserve to be independent, thriving nations without the worry of a money hungry billionaire country stepping in the way.

Hell billionaires shouldn't even exist. Housing is a necessity. Food is a human right, and so is water. Education should be free. Healthcare is a human right and deserves to be given to everyone that needs it.

The US needs to bud out of other peoples business and focus on what is going on here. But nope, they dont care cause of capitalism. Where workers basically work until they die or die while working. And if you fit outside their standards (like myself being disabled), they dont want you to live anyways nor be happy.

Pride events need to be accessible FOR ALL, meaning spaces need to be wheelchair and accommodative to disabled queer people.

Intersectionality needs to be a part of everything we do and especially for activism.

So for some hopeful stuff.

Some states have been working on becoming state sancuaries for queer and trans people.

There have been many resources that i have reblogged about Gaza and helping palestinians get funds to get out of Gasa and to safety. If not, OperationOliveBranch on Instagram and Tiktok also have a great linktree resource of how to help.

Finally, love will win and conquer over everything else. This post may seem hopeless or doom posting, but that is the reality. It's not even half of what my brain goes through a cycle of hope and despair. I am hopeful things will change and get better, that we all will stop worrying about our differences and fight against the people who actually want us to fight while they play astronauts and water divers.

If you made it this far into this post, share an emoji in the comments or reblog this.

[wordslikesilver]

American Christianity makes me sick honestly. It’s just so insane. Western Christianity really, I’ve seen it enough in Canada too. Like man if there’s one group I just wanna grab by the face and tell them “LISTEN. YOUR WORLDVIEW IS CRIPPLINGLY SMALL. YOU NEED TO SEE MORE OF THE BEAUTY OUT THERE OR YOU’LL NEVER FILL THE HOLES THAT EXIST IN YOUR DEFINITION OF THE WORD HAPPINESS AND LOVE.” It’s them. It’s so much them. I want to tell them how happy I feel when I’m surrounded by love and support and queer family, I want to shake them to their core talking about what real virtue and grace is, I want to talk to them and not be mindlessly preached at. It’s so dull. It’s so bizarre. I love and honour my wife in a way that I know, deep in my heart, makes me holier than any preacher in the Deep South. I pray to no God and yet through the company of merely the friends that I keep I am as holy as the Christ. The disabled. The despised. The abused. And radical Christianity is so fucking boring because if they took a moment to really understand their own god, took a moment to really question what they believe, like their own fucking god REPEATEDLY tells them to, maybe JUST MAYBE there’d be a little less misery in the world. But instead, I live in a world where fucking idiots just use and abuse the word of their text to harm people they don’t like. Fucking idiots who can’t even seem to wrap their heads around the idea that Jesus wasn’t even white for fuck’s sake. Love for others doesn’t mean you just tolerate them either. It means you understand them. It means you sit down and listen and find the love in your heart to accept them the way they are, or by god you can try til the day you’re dead. Was generational hatred and pain something your god asked you to pass on like a genetic cancer? Is your god’s love conditional? Fuck off. I don’t even need to claim the devil had anything to do with you being so stupid and mean. You needed to try harder, look closer, love louder to be more than a hypocrite in my eyes.

Happy Pride Month, Tumblr. Don’t any of you dare forget your wrath when someone tries to tell you your love is wrong. As long as you have love for others in your heart, you’re stronger than the words of any ancient, poorly understood text on the planet. You’re as strong as the God they fear.

[drill-teeth]

Happy disabled pride month! I’ve noticed people tend to summarize DID in two ways. They either completely incorrectly summarize it as the horrible and ableist depictions of it in media (you know what I mean DID serial killers, people who are evil and it gave them DID that sort of nonsense). Or they summarize it only slightly incorrectly as like. Just having roommates in your head. And I’d like to talk about this.

While headmates/alters are much more like brain roommates than anything else, I think it’s important to highlight that DID does also come with debilitating symptoms that get left out in a lot of the posts I’ve seen. I’m sure I’m not the first to point this out, but I still want to post about it. And also I highly encourage further research on this if you actually want to learn. PLEASE do not get all your DID info from my tumblr posts. This is from my experience and perspective.

Anyway. DID tends to come with some degree of memory loss. For me it impacts my long term memory and short term memory especially when I’m dissociating. DID also comes with dissociation. If you don’t know much about dissociation, look it up. It’s not just spacing out for a few seconds. It’s a trauma response and my dissociative periods can last days, are very hard to form memories during, and are extremely hard on me. And I’ve known DID systems who have experienced much longer dissociative periods. As for my long term memory, after so many years, stuff just starts fading out. And it is genuinely, extremely distressing. People have recounted entire events to me and what I did there that I just don’t remember. Sometimes, alters will disagree on something and that can be very hard. Sometimes, some alters will remember things that others don’t. For my system, some symptoms of other mental health conditions will be more prevalent. One of my alters has an incredibly hard time with tone and vague language while others struggle less.

And every DID system is different!

So please. Be more understanding of memory issues and dissociation. Make sure to ask about and understand the boundaries of the system you’re talking to! Some alters are not comfortable being known by more than a couple people or have specific mental health struggles.

Most systems I’ve met are not comfortable being outed as a system without permission! And don’t do it!! Unless that system explicitly says you can tell someone!!!

And remember. The symptoms of DID impact the system first and foremost. If you feel inconvenienced by a system’s memory struggles or additional symptoms from other mental health things like issue with tone and attention span etc. it’s important to remember that however inconvenienced you may feel is nothing compared to actually experiencing that symptom. So be patient and be kind.

[isa-ghost]

I don't know if astigmatism "counts" as a disability but I'm also autistic so I guess I "qualify" disabled either way.

So happy Disability Pride Month to all my fellow disabled friendos, no matter what form or level of visibility your disability has. :) You're all valid.