#for the poor mobile users

[taxfraudtom]

I finally got my first non-homemade cane, it folds up and is so comfortable to hold and walk with, w’s in the chat

[marsdeathdefiances]

I have a question for my fellow mobility aid users! Specifically forearm crutches, and rollators users! How do you keep your wrists from hurting while using them? I’m very prone to wrist sprains and strains and as a result they’re very sensitive and it doesn’t take much to hurt them and since I have to put a lot of weight on my mobility aid it obviously doesn’t take long for my wrists to start hurting real bad (or I end up tweaking my wrist as well). I do some wrist stretches and keep some pain killers on me but it’s not enough. So any tips will be very much appreciated!

[astralcat]

I have just discovered something catastrophic

[mellosdrawings]

I'm a fervent "genuine cane user Azul" believer, just so you know. It just makes sense ? Guy who's got his legs cut from eight to two, who has bones and has to face gravity for the first time in his life, etc.

In the original Little Mermaid story, the mermaid's legs actually hurt her a lot whenever she took a step. Maybe it's not to that point for Azul, but he's explicitly said to have poor balance and stamina. A cane would just be the perfect mobility aid for him in all aspects.

[sophie-baybey]

re: the new discord mobile update, I keep seeing people shouting "send feedback!! tell them you don't like it!!" and honestly? Y'all gotta stop deluding yourselves LOL

Feedback sections like that get ignored. Maybe if Discord was in the business of making changes to benefit its users they would listen, but that's not what they're here to do. The Discord mobile update is here to do one thing and one thing only, and that's to appease stockholders so they can point to the new UI and say "see? look! we're doing things!"

A social media outcry is going to be far more effective than using the in-app feedback option, because social media can't be ignored. If we all played their game and kept our feedback in-app, they could sweep the dissatisfaction under the rug and pretend that there's tons of people who secretly love the changes. It's infinitely more useful to shout about it in a public facing manner so they can't ignore the problem. A public outcry affects their stocks. Feedback through the official channels does not.

The reality is that this update is probably here to stay, because reverting it would mean they wasted a bunch of money developing it, and wasting money is not what stockholders want to hear. Maybe they'll tiptoe back individual features piece by piece, but that's the best we could even hope for. Don't treat Discord like a poor little well-meaning indie company that accidentally pushed an update people didn't enjoy. This was purely to appease investors at the expense of the userbase. They don't care if we like it.

[guilty-love]

I guess the main reason for cooking it in tea is, in fact, the aroma of the duck. I am not knowledgeable enough in cooking, so I can't say for sure that the tea helps reducing the fattiness. I can just hope for it.

Otherwise the rather fat meat would be a bother in the afternoon, making him especially tired. Well, it was a risk that Klavier was willing to take. Just like Daedra had said before: spoiling himself with something delicious to eat should help to brighten his mood.

I think, in the whole office, the only person I can think of who prefers paperwork over working with actual people is the Chief Prosecutor himself.

The thought of Edgeworth engaging into conversation the way Klavier or Daedra do was rather amusing and the prosecutor couldn't help himself but chuckle softly.

You do seem like someone who loves their job, ja. You are also very diligent at it, no matter how bothersome the work you have to do is. That is admirable. If you ever feel like you are losing your love for work or if you stop having fun, please let me know, ja?

"Oh? That's why they do it?" she couldn't help but ponder. "I figured it was just some way to make it taste better - like putting on special seasonings or marinating it. Though, I admit to not having duck often enough to notice, but I suppose that might be more because I just find them so cute!"

Not that chickens and cows weren't, but there was something so charmingly silly about a waddling rubber-footed water fowl~ All white and smooth and a funny honk!! Still, Daedra supposed she couldn't let herself get too caught up, lest she be unable to eat.... much of anything ever again.

At Klavier comment, the redhead could only chuckle. It was nice to hear some people took enough pride in their work. Daedra wouldn't name names, but some prosecutors did like to peddle all the 'lesser' jobs to her.

"Well, I never really mind taking all the phone calls," she admitted regardless. "I love talking to people! You never know who you'll meet and what you'll get to hear. Paperwork isn't as exciting, I admit, but I always worry I might fill out something wrong from time to time. It hasn't been an issue yet, but you never know!"

[cripplecharacters]

Disabilities that You Should Consider Representing in Your Writing More… part 1

[large text: Disabilities that You Should Consider Representing in Your Writing More… part 1]

While all disabilities are underrepresented in basically all sorts of media, it’s hard to not notice the trend in what disabilities make up the majority of representation. It’s especially visible when having a blog like this, where we can see what disabilities writers even consider including in their writing, and which ones never come up.

One in four people are disabled. With eight billion people alive it means there’s a lot of disabled people, and a lot of reasons why they are disabled in the first place - but this diversity is rarely represented, even on this blog, and anyone who has been following for a while has probably noticed that fact.

To be blunt: there are disabilities other than “amputee” and “invisibly disabled mobility aid user”. Does that mean that it’s wrong to write either of those? No, and we don’t want to imply that it is. Does it mean that either of these have a lot of good representation? Absolutely not, half of all the amputee characters out there are written by people who don't seem to be even aware they're writing a disabled character. Does it mean that when you are deciding on what to give your character, you should think beyond (or along! people can be, and often are, multiply disabled!) just those two? Absolutely. Disability is a spectrum with thousands of things in it.

This is, simply, a list of common disabilities. This is just a few of them, as this is part one of presumably many (or, at least three as of right now). By “common” we rather arbitrarily decided on “~1% or more” - so at least 1 in 100 people has the disabilities below, which is a lot. Featuring!: links that you should click, sources of the % that are mostly just medical reports and might be hard to read, and quick, very non-exhaustive explanations to give you a basic idea of what these are. 

Intellectual disability (about 1.5%) Intellectual disability is a condition we have written about at length before. It’s a developmental disability that affects things such as conceptualization, language, problem-solving, or social and self-care skills. ID can exist on its own or be a part of another condition, like Down Syndrome, Congenital Iodine Deficiency, or Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. This post covers a lot of basic information that you might need. We have an intellectual disability tag that you can look through!

Cancer survivors (5.4% in the US, about 0.55% worldwide) A cancer survivor is a pretty self-explanatory term. There is a lot of types of cancer and some of them are very common while others are very rare, which makes this a very diverse category. Cancers also have different survival rates. While not every survivor will have disabling symptoms, they definitely happen. Most of the long-term side effects are related to chemotherapy, radiation, and other medication, especially if they happened in children. They can include all sorts of organ damage, osteoporosis, cognitive problems, sensory disabilities, infertility, and increased rate of other cancers. Other effects include removal of the affected area, such as an eye, a spleen, breasts, or the thyroid gland, each of which will have different outcomes. Cancer, and cancer treatments, can also result in PTSD.

Diabetes (about 8.5%, ~95% of that are type 2) Diabetes is a group of endocrine conditions that cause hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) for various reasons depending on the type. The vast majority of people have type 2 diabetes, which can cause fatigue, poor healing, or feeling thirsty or hungry. A diabetic person will use insulin when needed to help manage their blood sugar levels. There are many complications related to diabetes, from neuropathy, to retinopathy, and chronic kidney disease, and there's a lot of disabilities that coexist with diabetes in general! You might want to check out the #how to write type 1 diabetes tag by @type1diabetesinfandom!

Disabling vision loss (about 7.5%) Blindness and low vision are a spectrum, ranging from total blindness (around 10% of legally blind people) to mild visual impairment. Blindness can be caused by countless things, but cataracts, refractive errors, and glaucoma are the most common. While cataracts cause the person to have a clouded pupil (not the whole eye!) blind eyes usually look average, with strabismus or nystagmus being exceptions to that fairly often (but not always). Trauma isn't a common cause of blindness, and accidents are overrepresented in fiction. A blind person can use a white cane, a guide dog or horse, or both. Assistive solutions are important here, such as Braille, screenreaders, or magnifying glasses. We have a blindness tag that you can look through, and you might want to check out @blindbeta and @mimzy-writing-online.

Psoriasis (about 2-4%) Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition with multiple subtypes; it can cause intense itching, pain, and general discomfort, and often carries social stigma. It’s an autoimmune and non-contagious disability that affects the skin cells, resulting in raised patches of flaky skin covered with scales. It often (30%) leads to a related condition, psoriatic arthritis, which causes joint pain, tenderness, and fatigue, among other things.

Stroke survivors (0.5-1%) A stroke survivor is a person who has survived any kind of stroke (ischemic, hemorrhagic, etc.). While the specific symptoms often depend on the exact location on where the stroke happened, signs such as hemiplegia, slurred speech, vision problems, and cognitive changes are common in most survivors to some degree. When someone has a stroke as a baby, or before they are born, it can result in cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and other disabilities. We have a brain injury tag that you can look through!

Noonan Syndrome (about 0.1-1% - mild is 1%, severe 0.1%) Noonan Syndrome is a disability that is almost never mentioned in any context, but certainly not around the topic of writing disabled characters. It’s a congenital condition that can cause cardiomyopathy, chronic joint pain, hypermobility, short stature, facial differences such as ptosis, autism, and various lymphatic problems among other things. Some people with Noonan Syndrome might use mobility aids to help with their joint pain.

Hyperthyroidism (about 1.2%) Hyperthyroidism is a condition of the endocrine system caused by hormone overproduction that affects metabolism. It often results in irritability, weight loss, heat intolerance, tremors, mood swings, or insomnia. Undertreated hyperthyroidism has a rare, but extremely dangerous side effect associated with it called a thyroid storm, which can be fatal if untreated.

Hypothyroidism (>5%) Hypothyroidism is an endocrine condition just as hyperthyroidism is, and it causes somewhat opposite symptoms. Due to not producing enough thyroid hormones, it often causes fatigue, depression, hair loss, weight gain, and a frequent feeling of being cold. It’s often comorbid with other autoimmune disabilities, e.g. vitiligo, chronic autoimmune gastritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Extreme hypothyroidism can also be potentially fatal because of a condition known as Myxedema coma (or “crisis”), which is also rare.

Deafblindness (about 0.2-2%) Being DeafBlind is often considered to be an extremely rare disability, but that’s not really the case. DeafBlindness on its own isn’t a diagnosis - it can be caused by a wide range of things, with CHARGE syndrome (congenital), Usher syndrome (born deaf, becomes blind later in life), congenital rubella, and age-related deafness and blindness being some of the most common reasons. DeafBlindness is a wide spectrum, the vast majority of DeafBlind people aren’t fully blind and deaf, and they can use various ways of communication. Some of these could be sign language (tactile or not), protactile, the deafblind manual, oral speech (aided by hearing aids or not), the Lorm alphabet, and more. You can learn more about assistive devices here! Despite what various media like to tell you, being DeafBlind isn’t a death sentence, and the DeafBlind community and culture are alive and thriving - especially since the start of the protactile movement. We have a DeafBlindness tag that you can look through!

It’s probably worth mentioning that we have received little to no asks in general for almost all the disabilities above, and it’s certainly not due to what mods answer for. Our best guess is that writers don’t realize how many options they have and just end up going for the same things over and over.

Only representing “cool” disabilities that are “not too much while having a particular look/aura/drama associated” isn’t what you should aim for. Disabled people just exist, and all of us deserve to be represented, including those whose disabilities aren’t your typical “cool design” or “character inspo”, and literally all of us deserve to have good, informed representation. Sometimes we are just regular people, with disabilities that are “boring” or “too much”, and don’t make for useful plot points.

mod Sasza (with huge thank you to mod Sparrow, Rot, and Virus for their contributions with research)

[vaspider]

Hey y'all. Since I just saw someone use "wheelchair bound" in tags, a reminder that this is not a kind or correct phrase. Mobility devices do not bind us, they free us.

Please use, for example, "Hephaestus uses a wheelchair," or "Hephaestus is a wheelchair user."

This is specifically not a callout, which is why no one is tagged, and I'm not using screenshots. This is me taking an opportunity to educate, not me yelling at someone. 💗

EDIT: Got tired of people pissing on the poor. Turned off reblogs.

[gootarts]

as of 8/3, the most recently updated version of this post is here (it's a reblog of this exact post with more info added)

as a lot of you know, limbus company recently fired its CG illustrator for being a feminist, at 11 pm, via phone call, after a bunch of misogynists walked into the office earlier that day and demanded she be fired. on top of this, as per korean fans, her firing went against labor laws---in korea, you must have your dismissal in writing.

the korean fandom on twitter is, understandably, going scorched earth on project moon due to this. there's a lot currently going on to protest the decision, so i'm posting a list here of what's going on for those who want to limit their time on elon musk's $44 billion midlife crisis impulse purchase website (if you are on twitter, domuk is a good person to follow, as they translate important updates to english). a lot of the links are in korean, but generally they play nicely with machine translators. this should be current as of 8/2.

Statements condemning the decision have been issued by The Gyeonggi Youth Union and IT Union.

A press conference at the Gyeonggido Assembly will occur on 8/3, with lawmakers of the Gyeonggi province (where Project Moon is based) in attendance. This appears driven by the leader of the Gyeonggi Youth Union.

The vice chairman of the IT union--who has a good amount of experience with labor negotiations like these--has expressed strong support for the artist and is working to get media coverage due to the ongoing feminist witch hunts in the gaming industry. Project Moon isn't union to my knowledge, but he's noted that he's taken on nonunion companies such as Netmarble (largest mobile game dev in South Korea) by getting the issue in front of the National Assembly (Korea's congress).

Articles on the incident published in The Daily Labor News, Korean Daily, multiple articles on Hankyoreh (one of which made it to the print edition), and other news outlets.

Segments about the termination on the MBN 7 o' clock news and MBC's morning news

Comments by Youth Union leaders about looking into a loan made to Project Moon via Devsisters Ventures, a venture capital firm. Tax money from Gyeonggi province was invested in Devsisters in 2017, and in 2021, Devsisters gave money to Project Moon. The Gyeonggi Youth Union is asking why hard-earned tax money was indirectly given to a company who violates ESG (environmental, social and governance) principles.

Almost nonstop signage truck protests outside Project Moon's physical office during business hours until 8/22 or the company makes a statement. This occurs alongside a coordinated hashtag campaign to get the issue trending on Twitter in Korea. The signage campaign was crowd-funded in about 3 hours.

A full boycott of the Limbus Company app, on both mobile and PC (steam) platforms. Overseas fans are highly encouraged to participate, regardless if whether they're F2P or not. Not opening the app at all is arguably the biggest thing any one person can do to protest the decision, as the app logs the number of accounts that log on daily. For a new gacha such as Limbus, a high number of F2P daily active users, but a small number of paying users is often preferable to having a smaller userbase but more paying users. If the company sees the number of daily users remain stable, they will likely decide to wait out any backlash rather than apologize.

Digging up verified reviews from previous employees regarding the company's poor management practices

Due to the firing, the Leviathan artist has posted about poor working conditions when making the story. As per a bilingual speaker, they were working on a storyboard revision, and thought 'if I ran into the street right now and got hit by a car and died, I wouldn't have to keep working.' They contacted Project Moon because they didn't want their work to be like that, and proposed changes to serialization/reduction in amount of work per picture/to build up a buffer of finished images (they did not have any buffer while working on Leviathan to my knowledge). They were shut out, and had to suck it up and accept the situation.

Hamhampangpang has a 'shrine' section of the restaurant for fans to leave fan-created merch and other items. They also allow the fans to take this merch back if they can prove it's theirs. Fans are now doing just that.

To boost all of the above, a large number of Korean fanartists with thousands of followers have deleted their works and/or converted their accounts from fanart accounts to accounts supporting the protests. Many of them are bilingual, and they're where I got the majority of this information.

[note 1: there's a targeted english-language disinformation campaign by the website that started the hate mob. i have read the artist's tweets with machine translation, and they're talked about in the second hankyoreh article linked above: nowhere does she express any transphobic or similarly awful beliefs. likewise, be wary of any claims that she supported anything whose description makes you raise eyebrows--those claims are likely in reference to megalia, a korean feminist movement. for information on that, i'd recommend the NPR/BBC articles below and this google drive link of english-language scholarly papers on them. for the love of god don't get your information about a feminist movement from guys going on witch hunts for feminists.]

[note 2: i've seen a couple people argue that the firing was for the physical safety of the employees, citing the kyoani incident in japan. as per this korean fan, most fans there strongly do not believe this was the case. we have english-translated transcripts of the meeting between the mob and project moon; the threats the mob was making were to......brand project moon as a feminist company online. yes, really. male korean gamers aren't normal about feminism, and there's been an ongoing witch hunt for feminists in the industry since about 2016, something you see noted in both the labor union statements. both NPR and the BBC this phenomenon to gamergate, and i'd say it's a pretty apt comparison.]

let me know if anything needs correction or if anything should be added.

[localicecreambiter]

beware the yappening

if you saw me post this, no you didnt

I hate tumblr mobile

IF IT WASNT CLEAR BY THE SPIKE IN FOUR SWORDS CONTENT ITS BEEN ON MY MIND LATELY!!! so obviously that means the obligatory redesigns >:) I tried not to play too far into the stereotypes (not that there's anything wrong in indulging in those!!... i did throw in headcanons tho, like heightened and dulled senses... ill explain dw)

we'll start with shadow since I kinda forgot to draw him initially, lol. sorry buddy 😥 I gave him a shard of the mirror as a means of being able to exist. he can still float around and slip into the shadows and all, but he's not as powerful as he was when the mirror was full. (his ego definitely still is big though) he's not fond of chainmail despite the rest of the four and Link wearing it. his tunic mirrors what links would've looked like. any triforce motifs appearing upside-down and little swirl on his belt backward since he's from the Dark World and all that jazz. silly stuff. I kept it relatively simple since I doubt Link is very over the top, and Shadow has no sense of bodily autonomy at that point (he would so have an over the top outfit, let's be real) Obviously he gets along well with Vio, but he and Blue banter quite a bit. Sure, both mistakenly get offended sometimes but it's all in good fun! His hair looks a little more rounded here, but it's usually more flowey and sticks up every which way. unruly hair for an unruly boy. shadow loves quality time!!! what could be better than hanging out with those you love and burning down towns??? okay, void the town burning.

Red's design is also fairly simple: longer skirt, exposed chainmail, sleeved tunic, and a rounded collar. he has a rounder shape language (not that I paid too much attention to it, obviously) his hat curls up where the elemental stone is at. no one understands how it does this. Red thinks it's some knick knack he stored in there. UNNATURALLT WARM. like. concerningly warm. He's their magic user, preferring to use his magic rod over his sword (honestly, probably could wipe the floor with the other three if given a good magic item, but don't tell them that)(and yes im calling it a magic rod cuz it shoots fire and ice) Poor Red got the short end of the stick with poor hearing but great taste buds. He's a foodie at heart and it's obvious why. His hair is a lot fluffier and rounder than the other three, matching his soft and bubbly personality. Not a pant wearer. Obviously he has the magic rod and slingshot, but i also gave him the Bombos medallion since its an item in the FSA game. Green suggested they split the loot evenly. No. He's not allowed to use it. Yes, he's accidentally blown up a lot of things with it. That's why hes not allowed to use it. definitely a physical touch kinda love language guy. you know exactly why. impulsive spender. has quite a few burn scars from learning to use the fire rod. most of his tunics are a little singed, but he keeps some neat

ah, Green, the resident insomniac. usually that's Vio's role, but you cannot tell me this guy didn't get Link's terrible sleeping habits. he constatly looks sleep deprived in some compacity, but he's getting better! sure, it usually means someone has to hold him down until he sleeps but hey! better than nothing! his tunic matches most Links with the sleeved overtunic and collared undershirt. he uses he sword quite often, having the most finesse with the weapon out of the group. occasionally he'll bust out the boomerang. sort of the unofficial leader, keeping the group on track, but is always open to suggestions from the rest of the Colors. I gave him the Pegasus boots, since I'd assume they all don't get the loot they would've picked up along the way. His element is wind, so it felt the most fitting he had them. his hair is a little messy, and sure he sometimes has a stick in there, but he does his best to keep it combed. Despite his drowsiness, he's got sharp eyes (the best in the group, as a matter-of-fact!) Unfortunately, his sense of smell is lacking (but clearly he has it a lot better than Red does. I mean, seriously, id take hawkeyes over tasteaholic any day). Hes a little shit when playing Ispy; typically picking really tiny things and reveling in the fact no one can guess it. his elemental stone is attatched to his belt even though its a place it can get easily lost. somehow he has yet to lose it. the back problems arise from Link, mostly, though his isnt as bad as Vio's (maybe because hes not slouched over a desk half the time, but i digress) Typically level headed and focused, keeping the group moral high with Red (aka, keeping Vio and Blue's moral high because they tend to be more pessimistic) (well, Vio considers himself a realist and Blue is Blue)

since i dont consider Shadow that much of an idiot, Vio probably had to actually stab Green to make it look convincing. While the scar isn't big, there's once on his lower abdomen from the Four Sword. They didn't have any health potions, so they had to go back down the mountain to get him help. Green holds no resentment, knowing Vio did what had to be done to gain the enemies trust. the cheek scar is from the pyramid cuz there aint no way he got out of that unscathed fighting against Valenzuela. more of a words of affirmation guy, but enjoys quality time like the rest of them.

Vio is obviously their whittier member. honestly, if he were to be described in DnD stats, he'd have a high intelligence and a medium wisdom because man is this man stupid sometimes. he's not as outwardly arrogant as Blue, at least, not as loud with it. his clothes are usually wrinkled, being more focused on bookwork than much else (this pisses Blue off to no end, being the neat freak he is) despite this, his room is the definition of organized chaos. he knows where everything is, and if you move something, he will not be happy. also not a pant wearer, his tunic has a longer skirt than the others and his sleeves are a lot looser. his hair tends to droop into his eyes and somehow this has yet to get in the way. he prefers to pick off enemies from afar as the team's bowsman. amazing aim and a very steady hand. while he doesn't have as big of a magic reserve as Red, he can still use elemental arrows (probably in the same way as in WindWaker) strangely bad at math (simply because i find it amusing) and is pissed that Blue is good at is (again, because i find it amusing. it freaks Blue out) Vio is more of an acts of service kind of guy, but like everyone else enjoys quality time. especially when it's quiet quality time. impuslive spender, mostly on books. everyone else insists he uses the library, but he argues its different when you own the book. impecible hearing, cannot taste shit. it makes eating rations easier, but sadly cannot enjoy the nicer foods in life, so he tends to choose things based on texture. Got the brunt of the back pain, but makes it worse with how he sits and for how long he does. honestly has a weird complex where he thinks of himself as superior to the rest in a way, yet also manages to struggle to fit in and hates himself for it. not explicitly touch avoident, but hes not one to seek out physical affection often and tends to be one of the first to push Red off (other than Blue) his stone is pined to his bow holster since he tends to always have it on him, he wont lose it that way. the fact that the rest have theirs in such irresponsible spots upsets him. refuses to sleep until he's done something he considers productive.

last but not least: Blue! my favorite guy!! god what a prick, i hate him. his design is a lot more knightly with more chainmail and a brutish sort of look. he's intimidating alright, even at his 4'11 stature. look. hylians are short. his hair is spikey like his personality and his hat is more angular (mostly cuz he folds it everynight. theres permanent crease marks in it) ends up with the most scaring thanks to his irrisponsible sparing and little use of healing potions (yet despite this, he's the group medic) the nick in his ear was from some random enemy camp that he just ignored for a while. I never said he was a responsible medic when it came to himself. hes mean, sure, but hes trying. just a little blunt. okay, very blunt. very blunt and very angry. hear me out: mom friend. if that mom was divorced and had anger issues. he knows the others are fully capible of handling themselves, cuz if he survives, why shouldn't they? despite that, he still worries. I know that it says his left eye is blind, but he can still see some color, its just reaaal blurry. does anyone know that? only red. will he tell anyone else? not unless he has to. does he run into shit when hes not paying attention. sometimes, yeah. to top it off, he - like red - got the short stick with shit vision but a heightened sense of smell. he can smell a monster camp from up to a mile away. impressive, right? dont tell him that. this boy has a lot of injury issues, being as reckless as he is. the knee injury was from a particularly nasty moblin (possibly the same as where the eye scar came from. who knows? he wont tell) and got worse as it got ignored. look, when you're the medic, you gotta make sure everyone else is okay before you. at least, thats how Blue sees it. not to even mention the nerve damage from being frozen for god knows how long. I don't know about you, but (assuming it was a Wizrobe) being magically frozen has its side effects. so what hes a walking icepack (exaggerating, but he's cold enough outwardly that you can feel it) and so what his hair grows in a few shades lighter than everyone elses? they don't gotta know why or when or how or even that it happens. the hair dye is stashed under his bed and he will die if anyone finds out. it reeeally fucked with his magic, seeing as hes associated with the water element.. do green and vio know about any of this? nope. red was sworn (read: threatened) to silence. probably the most physically fit when split, and makes sure to take good care of his body. he likes to push himself, hence the ankle weights. always has to be doing something productive. hes their financial guy, somehow having the least impuslive spending habits. will typically only spend on necessary things. gets mad at the others for buying egregiously expensive recreational shit. (that umbrella shadow has? yeah. expensive as hell. he was not happy) the most touch avoident of the bunch. unexpectedly, blue is a gift giving guy. he gets embarassed about it when you question it, or even when hes giving it to you, but yeah. he likes giving things to people and then will throw insults at their face. not in a mean way. in a "im embarassed and you suck so shut up" way. quality time is something he enjoys as well, liking to spar with his brothers often. can easily master a lot of melee weapons, its impressive, but cannot for the life of him make anything else work. his stone was made into an earring, and despite vio's complaints, he usually knows when its missing.

[highlighter-goblin]

Ok I have more headcannons for the ✨hatchetverse✨

Number 1:

All the men in the Lipshitz/Mathews/Goldstein family have a middle name that’s a derivative of Jon. Paul, Gary, and Jerry have jon, John, and Jonn respectively, Trevor has Jonah and Richie Jonathan, and other men in the family tree also have one of those middle names, something similar, or the same with different spelling.

Headcannon B:

Some of Lauren’s characters are cousins. Specifically Emma, Ruth, and Brooke, their mothers are sisters, hence the surname differences. This little tidbit is relevant to another headcannon coming up.

Part III:

Richie introduced Paul to anime. Paul was babysitting and Richie put on sailor moon, now Paul likes anime, specifically magical girl anime. Because it was his first, his favourite is sailor moon, and he’s a crystal truther (like me) and has seen the original anime but dislikes all the filler that wasn’t in the manga that crystal excludes to cut to the chase of the plot. And the precious little simp sees him and Emma as Mamorou and Usagi, Endymion and Serenity, Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon, he thinks he is her fate destined saviour (he is) and simps for her in the same lame way as the dumping in the show.

4rd:

None of the nerdy prudes can drive. Ruth can’t safely drive because her headgear is considered a distraction, Richie is an ambulatory mobility aid user and legally can’t drive, Peter can’t drive because his eyesight is so bad in one eye that he’s legally blind and also legally can’t drive, Grace’s parents don’t let their little girl drive and she doesn’t want to go against her parents, Steph can’t drive because she lost her licence for reckless driving (she gets exited a bit too easy on the road)

(Edit/update: I should have probably mentioned that Pete’s situation is being based off of the road laws of Victoria, Australia, where from my knowledge if you have poor vision in one eye and are legally blind in the other you can’t drive, so I might be wrong when it comes to American road rules)

Fifth:

There was a comic convention “incident”. Ruth and Richie wanted to set up Paul and Emma, because the little nerds are friends and they wanted to set up their uncle and cousin respectively because they were seeing ✨signs✨ that their loved ones had a crush on each other. There was a comic convention in Clivesdale or some other close town to the island and Ruth and Richie wanted to go and found it as a way to set them up. Ruth asked if her favourite adult cousin could chaperone her to the convention, and hey there might be some stoners to test product. Richie told Paul there would be sailor moon and also he can’t drive and come on uncle Paul you get me the most. Ruth and Richie withheld the information for each other’s attendance to their respective adults and “coincidentally” found each other at the con, and Paul and Emma were befuddled and smitten, and now the 4 of them go to at least 1 con a year for the sake of family and saving gas money (and so Paul and Emma can flirt)

Ok sorry if this is long these have been brewing for a while. (This took me 40 minutes to type)

[summitprinter]

Charli and Dixie D'Amelio's New Look

The darling TikTok stars Charli and Dixie Dixie D'Amelio have it all. Fame, popularity, beauty; You name it, they had it. However, instead of being content with all the privileges gained from stardom, there was one aspect that they wished to be different. While many would kill to have such a tight waist and thin body, it seems the sister duo wanted a body with a bit more… “volume.” Could you blame them? Neither sister was endowed with particularly large assets. And with most celebrities going viral for their plump tits, bubble butts, and thick thighs, it’s no real surprise that Charli and Dixie feel a little self-conscious with their small chests and flat behinds.

Surprisingly, their demands for bodily changes were answered by a quaint beauty product they found on the TikTok shop of all places. It claimed that if ingested once a week over the course of a few months, the user would experience growth in both the breast and backside areas! Never mind that it had no reviews and about a paragraph of warning disclaimers. This was the answer to all their self-inflicted problems! Of course wanting to capitalize off of this, the two filmed a video to post on TikTok, promising to post progress videos every week. The video immediately went viral, with many tabloids picking up the story. Charli and Dixie couldn’t have been more pleased…

8 Months of Pill Popping and Body Growth Later…

Genetics are a strange subject aren’t they? Despite being related, Charli and Dixie reacted very differently to the pills. While taking them, Dixie has had nothing but success with the drug. Over the course of a few months, Dixie watched her chest blow up into a nice set of hanging tits, bouncing hypnotically with every step she took. She would smile to herself as she felt her ass growing in size, almost bursting every pair of pants she would put on. Her body was shaped into the perfect hourglass figure. For Dixie, this was a dream come true.

However, it seems that poor Charli's body reacted quite negatively to the drug. She did increase in size like the pills said she would, but not in the ways she expected. Quickly after taking the pill for a few weeks, she began to grow in all the wrong places. Her small perky tits grew, but they became saggy and unappealing. Charli's once cute little butt grew into a sack of lumpy lard. She gained large thunder thighs that wobbled and jiggled with every step she took, much like her stomach, which had changed the most out of everything. Gone were her washboard abs, now replaced with a cellulite covered apron of a fat belly. It hung low and was extremely heavy, making movement very difficult. This drug was nothing short but a nightmare for Charli.

The public reaction to the vast differences in the sisters' bodies was huge. Going from nearly identical figures to absurd opposites helped tabloids and even some major news outlets generate headline after headline of the sisters. Dixie embraced her newly gained fame by doing large amounts of PR while Charli was embarrassed beyond belief and tried to hide from public view.

Online comments would praise every new photoshoot of Dixie, lusting over her new busty figure. Fashion magazines began claiming that Dixie was the next big model on the scene. Her music began to chart consistently, based solely on her massive boobs and juicy ass. Dixie loved all the attention she was getting and became extremely cocky.

Charli on the other hand did not have as much success with her new body. She had lost all popularity and favor in the public eye and was the source of much ridicule. Any and all endorsements and sponsorships with her had pulled out, claiming that they couldn’t see a successful partnership with her, with My 600 Pound Life being the only one that had sent an offer. Without any hope for the future and her mobility coming into question, Charli now had to rely on her much better looking and successful sister for everything. 

Today was no different, with Dixie pulling poor Charli by leash to make her photoshoot on time. As Dixie gracefully strutted down the street with Charli waddling behind her out of breath, a crowd of people formed and watched in awe, some even taking pictures and videos much to Charli’s dismay. Dixie looked beautiful as always, wearing a low cut shirt that showed off her bust perfectly and ass hugging jeans. Charli however was not as elegant, with her too small tank top exposing her saggy tits and fat gut.

As Charli felt her face burn with both exhaustion and humiliation, she felt a hard tug on her neck. When she looked at Dixie, who was smiling and waving to the crowd, Charli felt all hope forever drain out of her body. This was it for her. She was to forever be a fat disgusting pig, mocked by those who saw her. Taken advantage of by her sister Dixie, the beautiful and sexy celebrity, applauded and loved by all…

ALTS: • Leash Version

Sweat

Slob

Slob and Farts

• No Leash Version

Clean

Sweat

Slob

Slob and Farts

[dollsinvogue]

This is not my usual type of post, but it is something that I believe is important and I feel that talking about something through a misunderstanding with dolls can be a chance to educate people in this community!

I am not a Twitter/X user (I hear the doll community is especially brutal on there) but I was sent these tweets. I mean absolutely no hate to the original poster of these tweets, these were sent to me cropped so I am unsure of who op is or if there is more to the story, so please forgive me if I have missed something.

Op is saying “oh…” because the doll is a wheelchair user, but on the box art the doll is seen standing.

I can see why this may be seen as a problem, and it’s likely that op is someone who thinks of wheelchair users as completely wheelchair bound, which many people do so I don’t blame them (if I saw this doll a few years ago even I may have been upset my her standing). But not every wheelchair user is completely unable to walk and/or stand, this is called being an ambulatory wheelchair user.

This tweet of theirs followed up:

I do agree with op, I highly doubt that this shein/temu brand doll was trying to “represent” an ambulatory wheelchair user, this was likely a fluke that she happened to be drawn standing. But it is not necessarily a bad thing or an ableist action.

Many wheelchair users are ambulatory; whether that means they can only stand from their wheelchair to grab something high up, or they can go for a walk three days in a row before they flare up and have to rely on their mobility aids to get around. These individuals are still disabled and are still wheelchair users.

To be completely honest, I do not care that Defa Lucy is standing, I’m more curious about how she moves as she has no access to her wheels, nor a control panel? To me, that is a poor design choice, even if she is just a doll and can’t move the wheels on her own so there is no “practical use” of the access, it is a significantly more incorrect design choice than her just being drawn standing up. (Not that I think the brand cares about portraying this topic accurately in any way, however, I feel one is more realistic than the other, even if it is “just a doll.”)

[sjsmith56]

Night Music

Summary: While wandering around Brooklyn on a hot summer’s night Bucky is drawn to the sounds of a woman singing a blues song.

Length: 4.9 K

Characters: Bucky, OMC, OFC (not described other than mixed heritage), 2 minor OFC.

Warnings: Some talk about mortality, race laws in the past, and mixed marriages, brief mentions of cannabis use, bitchy caregiver.

Author notes: A conversation over the comments section on AO3 with user Dornish_Jedi inspired this story. Thank you. Songs referenced include a live recording of Blues in the Night, sung by Ella Fitzgerald (music written by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Johnny Mercer), Alright, Okay, You Win, sung by Peggy Lee (music written by Sid Wyche, lyrics by Mayme Watts), As Time Goes By, sung by Dooley Wilson (written by Herman Hupfeld), I’ll Never Smile Again, sung by Frank Sinatra and the Pied Pipers, music performed by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra (written by Ruth Lowe). All are available to listen on Spotify.

🎺 🎶 🎺 🎶

It was uncomfortably hot inside his flat so Bucky put his lightest jacket on, slipped on some cloth gloves and headed out into the night. Still not comfortable displaying his left arm in public, he found little difference between being in his flat versus out on the street. Aimlessly, he walked along the avenue, threading his way through the other poor souls without air conditioning trying to avoid sweltering in their apartments. The sidewalk cafes and outdoor seating areas for the small bistros were bustling with people fanning themselves with menus, hands and whatever other flat objects they could use. The really busy places were those with air conditioning, or with large fans connected to misting nozzles. The latter, sending out a cool spray every 60 seconds or so would attract everyone eager to stand directly in the path of the fine droplets which evaporated within seconds upon contact with their overheated skin. The sounds of their relief combined with the disparate music coming out of each place along the avenue created a morass of sound that eventually became overwhelming for the super soldier.

Just as Bucky decided the hot but quiet confines of his flat were preferable to the hectic bustle of the street, he heard it; the rich voice of a woman singing Blues in the Night to a recording of it. The music came from an alleyway that led away from the street.

My mama done tol' me

When I was in pigtails

My mama done tol' me

A man's gonna sweet-talk and give you the big eyes

But when the sweet-talking's done

A man is a two-face, a worrisome thing

Who'll leave you to sing the blues in the night

She wasn't just singing it, she was belting it out as if she were Ella Fitzgerald herself. He recognized the legendary singer's voice on the recording that the unknown woman was singing along with. Following the sound, as if it were a siren calling just to him, Bucky kept walking down the poorly lit alley until he looked up to where a rooftop space was lit up. Whoever was singing was up there, at least six stories up. He could have gone around to the front of the building trying to find a way up by elevator but by then the song would be over. Noticing the fire escape ladder of a nearby building on this side of the alley, he jumped up, grabbing a metal rung and pulling himself up to the first landing. Following the stairs up he eventually got to a point where he could see across to the other rooftop.

It was a patio but a private one, with only two people out there, a woman who was just finishing the song, and an old man in one of those mobility scooters. When she finished, he clapped his hands.

"Darlin', you sound just like Miss Ella," wheezed the old man. "You should have seen her live. That woman could sing the pants off of any man I knew."

"You were so lucky to have played for those singers, Grandpa," smiled the younger woman, her face full of affection for the older man.

"You're just as good as any of them," he said. "How does the auditioning go?"

She sat on a nearby chair. "I keep trying to figure out what they want to hear but they say my voice isn't what they want. They say they're looking for something more contemporary sounding. No one wants to hear the old songs, unless it's Lady Gaga, or Michael Bublé singing it."

"I'd listen to you all night long," whispered Bucky.

"You keep plugging away, my darling," said the old man. "Someone will hear you and realize you got the goods. Now, what's another one you can sing for me?"

She grinned and pulled up her phone, finding another song. Her face lit up as she sang the opening verse along with the singer on the recording.

Well alright, okay, you win

I'm in love with you

Well alright, okay, you win

Baby, what can I do?

The old man beamed as she sang it enthusiastically. During an instrumental break, she took her grandfather's hand, pulling him up into a standing position from the scooter, laughing. Bucky found himself smiling along with the pair as the old man shuffled his feet a little before waving her off and sitting back onto the scooter. It was obvious they had a special bond formed over the sharing of music the older man knew well. She sang several more songs for him, until she checked the time and begged off, telling him that she was going to her regular open mic night.

"When are you going to find a boyfriend that will make sure you get home okay?"

"Oh, Grandpa, they don't make them like you anymore. The good ones are already snapped up. I'll be fine."

Kissing him gently on the cheek, she picked up her phone and purse, leaving the patio. For a moment, Bucky thought of following her but by the time he could make it to the front of the building she would be gone. Instead, he sat there for a while, thinking about how much he enjoyed that impromptu concert.

The old man, still in the scooter, suddenly maneuvered over to the edge of the patio and looked directly at where Bucky was perched.

"Well, what did you think?" Bucky leaned back into the shadows. "Yeah, I'm talking to you there on the fire escape. Is my youngest granddaughter talented enough to make it in the music business?" The old man grinned. "I saw you sneaking up there. You're that Barnes fellow, aren't you?" Bucky stood up from where he sat on the fire escape ladder, coming into the light that spilled across the alley. "Yeah, it's you. Why don't you come on over? I've got some good bourbon, some Cuban cigars, and we can share stories about the good old days. I got air conditioning as well."

He gave Bucky the building address and apartment number then moved the scooter, disappearing into the apartment through a set of open doors. Indecision made the super soldier pause, as he considered the old man's offer. He could have jumped across to the patio but that could attract attention that he really didn't want. Instead, he went down the fire escape, jumping down from the bottom landing. It only took a couple of minutes to get to the entrance of the apartment building. He entered the apartment number on the intercom button, then heard the buzz of the door being unlocked and opened it. Taking the elevator, he went up to the sixth floor, turning towards the apartment, and hearing 1940s music playing through the door that had been left open.

Knocking as he opened it, he heard the old man's voice. "Come on in. Close the door behind you before the neighbours say I'm playing my music too loud."

Standing in the entryway he fidgeted a little until the sound of the mobility scooter brought the old man into view. He stopped, looked at Bucky from head to toe, then offered his hand.

"Sid Goldstein," he said. "I'm 103 years old, so I figure you and I might have something in common."

"Bucky," said the super soldier, shaking the old man's hand. "But I guess you know that already."

"You can take the gloves off," said Sid, "and the jacket. Wouldn't mind a peek at your fancy arm there but I knew enough veterans who were amputees that didn't like people staring."

Bucky removed his jacket and gloves, finding the cool air conditioning refreshing. Sid pointed to a glass of bourbon already poured for Bucky, then moved his scooter over to a humidor, opening it up and taking two cigars out.

"I bought a few cases of these in 1951. Saw the writing on the wall for Cuba, and figured if I wanted the best cigars I better secure my own supply. I'm down to the last dozen as I saved them for special occasions. Smoked Dominican cigars for everyday. Figure I can die after finishing the last Cuban one."

He offered one to Bucky, showing him how to cut the end, then watching and nodding as he did it. Flicking a Zippo lighter on, he inhaled several times before the tobacco caught on his, then offered the lighter to Bucky. As he blew out the smoke from his cigar he sighed, then positioned his scooter next to an armchair, gesturing to the super soldier to sit there. For several long minutes the two men puffed on their cigars and drank some bourbon.

"You're not from Brooklyn," said Bucky. "If you were in the music business in the 40s I might have seen you in the clubs."

"Queen's," replied Sid. "They wouldn't let me in the clubs until I was 21 which I reached in September of 1943. I was 4F, because I had a heart murmur." He smirked. "Yet here I am, 103 years old. I tried, damned if I didn't go to a bunch of recruiting offices but they wouldn't take me."

Bucky smiled. "Sounds like Steve Rogers. I know he tried at least 5 times. Don't know how many times I didn't find out about." He took another drag of the cigar. "Then he volunteered for that stupid super soldier experiment."

"Sure did the trick for him," smiled Sid. "You boys made a difference ... well, mostly."

They were quiet again.

"So, you played for Ella Fitzgerald?"

"Yup, trumpet. Played for Lena Horne, Billie Holiday, Doris Day, then Peggy Lee and several others in the 1950s and 60s. Loved playing for the women. Classy ladies, all of them."

"Your granddaughter has a good voice," said Bucky. "Sounded just like Ella Fitzgerald."

"Lia always loved listening to the records I was part of. Started singing along to them when she was a little girl. Been trying to get a recording contract or a part on Broadway. She's been at it since she graduated from Juilliard ten years ago." He shook his head. "I might be biased but I can't understand how the music industry can ignore her talent and yet promote some person who needs that auto tune to make their voices sound good. What do I know? I'm an old Jewish musician who disappointed his parents when I started playing jazz and disappointed them even more when I married a black woman." He glanced at Bucky. "She was my only wife. Minerva West. She could have been a great singer but once we got married in 1952 she couldn't travel with me and the band because of the race laws against mixed marriages in other states. So, she stayed home here to raise our family. She died some time ago. Love of my life."

"I'm sorry," said Bucky. "You were married a long time."

Sid nodded, taking a drag on his cigar, and sipping his bourbon thoughtfully.

"You ever marry?"

"No. Was too busy playing the field before the war, then ... I died." He shrugged. "Now, it's hard to find anything in common with most women."

"That's too bad. A good woman at your side is a blessing." Sid drank some of his bourbon. "Lia's single."

That remark lingered for some time, as both men continued smoking their cigars and drinking from their glasses.

"She mentioned something about an open mic night," said Bucky, finally.

"Yeah, there's a bar in DUMBO, Barney's," replied Sid. "They have late open mic night on Friday nights. She got some Juilliard friends to make her some instrumental tracks and sings to those. One of these nights the right person will be in the audience and her dream will come true."

They heard the sound of the door opening and a voice that was a little too sharp.

"Mr. Goldstein!"

He practically jumped out of his scooter.

"Shit, it's my nurse. Quick, take the cigars and the bourbon out to the patio. Save the cigars for another time."

Bucky grabbed the glasses with one hand, putting his cigar in his mouth, and Sid's cigar in his left hand. Heading out to the patio he drank his bourbon, then looked at Sid's, drinking it as well. Using his left hand, he pinched off the lit end of Sid's cigar, then his own. As he did so, he could hear the nurse speaking to Sid.

"Have you been smoking cigars?" she asked, her voice full of suspicion.

"No, I have a guest over but he was having one on the patio. Some of the smoke must have drifted inside."

"Mr. Goldstein, you know what the doctor said about the cigars."

"I know, one a week and I had one yesterday. Give me a break, Irene. I'm 103 years old."

"Well, I'm just making sure you stay as healthy as you can. I'm going to get your medications ready then help you into your pyjamas."

Bucky peeked through the window until she left then came in with the glasses and cigars.

"I figured I should finish your bourbon as well," he said, lifting up the empty glasses.

"Good thinking," answered Sid. "Just put them in the dishwasher."

"They're crystal."

The old man shrugged. "Irene will wash them. She always checks the dishwasher as I have a habit of putting the good crystal in it." He wheezed slightly as he chuckled. "Put my cigar in the other humidor. I'll have it tomorrow after the day nurse gets here. Keep yours for another time."

"So, she's here to put you to bed, huh?" asked Bucky, looking in the direction the nurse went.

"Pffft," muttered Sid. "It's not like I get to sleep before 3 am. Old habits. Out late, sleep in, except when the kids were little. Had to adjust for that. Couldn't let Minnie do it all on her own." He gestured to Bucky. "What I told you about the cigars and dying? Don't say anything to Lia about that." His mouth straightened into a grim line. "She doesn't like it when I talk about dying. It makes her sad. I just hope to live long enough to know she realized her dreams."

"Oh, this is your friend, Mr. Goldstein?" The nurse stood in the hallway with her hands on her hips, glaring at Bucky, especially when she noticed his left arm and hand. "You know the cigar smoke isn't good for his lungs."

Bucky glanced at the old man, who had a smug smile on his face.

"I do now, ma'am," he replied. "Although, if you ask me, a 103 year old man should be able to smoke whatever he wants, whenever he wants."

"Are you the one who brings him cannabis?" She shook her head disapprovingly, not waiting for Bucky's answer, then came forward. "Say goodnight, Mr. Goldstein. It's bedtime."

Sid's smile was still on his face when he offered his hand.

"It was good spending time with you, Bucky. Come see me again. We'll talk more about the old days."

"I'd like that," said Bucky, shaking the old man's hand. "I'll check out that bar you told me about."

The nurse, Irene, glared at him, until he waved at Sid, gathered his jacket and gloves, and went to the door. He could hear her complaining all the way to the elevator.

After the air conditioned comfort of Sid's apartment, the heat outside felt like hitting a wall. Looking up the address of Barney's, Bucky headed in that direction, getting there 15 minutes later. He could hear someone singing, poorly, as he approached, but with it being open mic night even the bad singers got a turn at the microphone. Stepping into the dark confines, he found a spot at the bar, ordered a double scotch neat and turned towards the space, looking for Lia. He saw her, sitting with another woman near the stage, both of them sipping drinks with lots of ice. She was generous in her manner, listening to the bad singer, and when that woman was done, she stood up clapping her hands, then offered an encouraging word to her. It made her seem even more beautiful than he thought she already was.

After two more average singers, Lia's turn came up. A buzz of anticipation became audible when she was announced indicating that she was a favourite of the bar regulars. As she stood, waiting for her music cue to start, she looked around smiling at everyone, making eye contact with those closest to her. Then the music to As Time Goes By started and Bucky found himself transported back in time. Not to when he first heard it sung on the radio by Rudy Vallée in the early 1930s but how it was when he saw Casablanca and it was sung by Dooley Wilson. She literally had the audience in the palm of her hand and when she finished, there was a heartbeat of silence before the place erupted in applause and whistles.

"Sing another!" yelled someone in the bar, and the sound technician started the introduction to Blues in the Night.

It was one thing watching her sing along with Ella Fitzgerald's rendition to her grandfather on the patio. It was another thing entirely seeing her sing it to an audience. She commanded it, and made it her own, as the music went out through the doors and into the night, bringing in others to see the woman that belonged to this incredible voice. There were calls of "more" and "bravo" and she was given time for one more song. Lia waited for everyone to settle down.

"If you don't already know, my grandfather, Sid Goldstein, was a big band trumpet player from the 1940s to the 1960s. He played for some incredible women singers, like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Doris Day, and Peggy Lee just to name a few. My love for these older songs came from him. My grandmother, Minerva West, could have been famous like them but being a black woman married to a Jewish man didn't go over too well in some parts of the country during the 1950s and 1960s. They could have been arrested. So when, my oldest uncle was born, she made the decision to leave the music business, stay in New York and raise their kids. They managed, until she died of an aneurysm in 1968. Grandpa, being the good man that he was and still is, quit playing then, went into his family's business, and got busy raising the four kids they had together. He never remarried. This next song is for him."

Bucky felt his face go hot. Sid said Minerva died some time ago. He assumed it was just in the last few years and commented about them having a long marriage. Sid didn't contradict him. Then the music for I'll Never Smile Again, a Frank Sinatra tune, when he was with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, began. Bucky found himself torn between hating a Sinatra song (because the guy was a real punk back when only the Bobby-soxers loved him) and allowing himself to feel the pain and the heartbreak that this song represented for Sid. His own heart almost broke at how Lia sang it, reinforcing just how close that old man and his granddaughter were. The standing ovation that she deserved lasted some time.

She stayed to watch two more singers then made the decision to leave. Bucky paid his tab and followed her, keeping her in his sights as he made sure she got home okay. His old self would have caught up to her, making some suave comment that would have swayed most women. But times were different, women were more suspicious of how guys approached them, with good reason. If he wanted to meet her, it was going to be with Sid's help.

The next morning he showed up at Sid's apartment, with a bag of bagels, cream cheese, lox, red onions and capers from a deli he liked. He waited until Irene left and before the day nurse arrived. Sid let him in right away, then watched with anticipation as Bucky unpacked the paper bag, taking the small containers with the fixings out and putting them on the table.

"Now, that's breakfast," said Sid, appreciatively. "Plates are in the cupboard nearest the sink and cutlery right below it. Irene started some coffee up. It's decaf but drinkable."

Bucky looked at the oatmeal and cut up fruit that were on the counter. "What about the breakfast she made for you already?"

"Keep the fruit, throw out the oatmeal," growled Sid. "Now get in here."

Smiling at the grumpy old man, Bucky returned with some plates and cutlery, then returned to the kitchen, coming back with coffee. He had to go back once more for sugar and milk for Sid, then finally the two men got down to business.

"I went to see Lia perform," said the super soldier. "She's good. The crowd loved her. People even came in from outside when they heard her voice."

"That's my girl," answered Sid, as he lathered on a thick layer of cream cheese, topped it with lox and the other fixings. He took a huge bite out of it, obviously enjoying it, as he spoke before he finished eating. "Can't get enough of this."

"Close your mouth, old man. You're getting crumbs on my food."

"Who you calling an old man? You're older than me, right?"

"Then listen to your elders."

Both men chuckled like little boys. It was like being young in Brooklyn again for Bucky, as the two men traded insults that would have been seen as endearments in their childhood and youth. They were each into their second bagel when they heard the door opening and a woman appeared. Although she didn't seem as irritated as Irene was the night before, she looked every bit the disapproving mother she probably was.

"Morning Cheryl!" exclaimed Sid. "This is my friend, Bucky. He brought me breakfast."

"You're going to get me in trouble, Sid," she sighed as she approached the pair. "But it does look good."

He beamed at Bucky. "Cheryl here is a real peach. You want to join us?"

"I already ate," she answered bluntly, then sighed again. "Just take the garbage with you so I don't get reported. I'm guessing you want a cigar after."

"Well, I do have a partially smoked one I could finish so it won't be a full one," he said, winking at her. "Irene was early last night."

She looked at Bucky. "How did you get involved with this senior delinquent?"

"I heard his granddaughter singing on the patio and kind of climbed a building to listen. He invited me in after. We have similar tastes in music."

"Uh huh, just what I need. Two senior citizens up to no good. He can finish his cigar but no more after that. At least you're not the "friend" that brings him weed." She shook her head, then looked at her watch. "I'm going to change your sheets and do your laundry, Sid. You got anything to add to it?"

"Nope, it's all in there." He bit into the bagel, rolling his eyes at the taste, then looked at Bucky. "So, why are you really here? We've only known each other for hours and you bring me a good Jewish breakfast." He waggled his finger. "You want something."

"I want to meet Lia, properly," said Bucky. "I want you to introduce us."

Sid looked intently at the super soldier. "What, you can't meet girls on your own?"

"I'm not that guy anymore," he replied, then he returned the old man's serious gaze. "You're the one who told me she's single. Did you have a reason to tell me that?"

The old man looked at Bucky for some time then backed up his scooter, and went over to a bookcase, pulling a photo album out, then bringing it to the table. Flipping it open, he searched for the right picture then showed it to Bucky. It showed Sid and a beautiful black woman on what he assumed was their wedding day, as they fed each other a piece of cake. Other pictures from the luncheon showed a who's who of singers and musicians that Bucky recognized.

"Other than the music we had nothin' in common. I was a Jewish boy from Queens that didn't want the life that my parents had, with a marriage arranged by a matchmaker. It was a good marriage but there was no passion in it. It was a duty, marry, continue in the family business, have a family, make sure they did better in life. My parents were concerned because I wanted to be a jazz musician, and almost disowned me when I married Minnie. She was something else. She was from Savannah, Georgia. Her voice could melt butter and she made me feel like I was the best man in the world. We knew it would be difficult being married but I couldn't stand the thought of her with any other man and she felt the same way about me and any other woman."

He went silent as he gently touched the part of the picture that had her in it.

"Lia sang I'll Never Smile Again," said Bucky. "She said her grandmother died in 1968."

Sid nodded his head slightly. "One minute we were laughing and talking about the tour I had been on and the next minute she was gone. Just like that. 16 years of marriage and I had been home for maybe half of it because I was on the road so much. I quit the business, my father gave me a job and I raised our kids myself. They're good kids and they all went to college, found the right one to marry and had their own families. But none of them were interested in music and I thought the music wouldn't ever come back into my life. Then Lia was born." A fond smile appeared on his face. "She heard me listening to a record that I performed on with Ella Fitzgerald. Who is that Grandpa? She sings real good. Then she started singin' along with it, perfect pitch in a 7 year old. It was like listening to Minnie sing." His eyes refocused as he came back from his little trip down memory lane. "I want her to meet a good man who won't hold her back."

"You know my background," murmured Bucky. "You know what I did."

"I know you went through a hell that no man should have ever gone through." He put his hand on Bucky's left hand. "But you came through it and instead of folding, you played with the hand you were dealt, and you're still in the game. She needs a good man to keep her safe and to be her anchor. I think you're that man."

"How do you I know I'll treat her right?" asked the super soldier. "You and I have only known each other for a few hours."

"Even in the short time we've known each other, I've found a friend who remembers what it was like back in the day. You grew up when blacks and whites didn't mix, yet the history books talk about you going to the clubs in Harlem for the music, and your unit, those Howling Commandos, had a black man in it. You were integrated before Truman ever made the decision. They all say that Sam Wilson is your best friend."

"Gabe Jones was a good man and I just liked the music no matter where I found it." Bucky grinned mischievously. "As for Sam, well, the man can't even buy a friend."

Sid chuckled, then picked up his bagel, finishing it off. When he finished eating he looked at Bucky with fondness.

"So, I'll introduce you and then you're on your own. She's got a mind of her own, just like her grandmother. But she's worth it, if you're willing to work for it."

"I'll remember that, Sid."

When they were finished breakfast, Bucky cleaned up the breakfast dishes, even though Cheryl came out to say she could do it. He put the few leftovers back in the paper bag, planning to take them home with him, so that Sid and Cheryl didn't get in trouble with Irene. Then he joined the old man on the patio, under the large umbrella as it was too sunny otherwise. Sid had his cell phone with him and peered at the music app, bringing up a jazz playlist featuring trumpeters. As it played, he lit his cigar, then offered the lighter to Bucky who pulled his half-finished cigar out of his pocket.

The two men were still there talking when Lia arrived for lunch, recognizing Bucky as soon as she saw him. She was impressed with the handsome man when he stood up as her grandfather introduced him. She was even more impressed when he gave her his seat and brought another over for himself, then told her how the sound of her night music drew him to climb the fire escape on the building opposite so he could put a face to the voice that called to him. It was probably the most original pickup line she had ever heard. When Sid winked, she knew then that her grandfather had no objection, and she asked Bucky if he liked to dance. His incredible smile told her everything she needed to know.

One Shots Masterlist

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[cripplecharacters]

Is it ableist to have an abled character who used a cane not as a mobility aid (he carries it around for intimidation factor)

Hello,

I mean, not really. A lot of people in real life do it and I've never seen anyone have a problem with it unless they're using the cane to fake a disability, but if he's not doing that then he's just being extra.

If you really want to be safe, you can include a supporting character who actually needs and uses a cane, but you don't need to worry about it too much. It's fine if he's just doing it for the aesthetic as long as it isn't a disabled aesthetic.

Mod Aaron

Hey,

In my view, not ableist but could potentially be in poor taste. What's intimidating about a cane? In my experience, people tend to look at us cane users as fragile or helpless more than intimidating. I would just advise you to trace your logic on this.

For the fact that he's abled, eh. Able-bodied people have historically used canes as a fashion accessory, so I guess it's fine? But as Aaron said, please have characters who actually need theirs.

mod Sasza

[dissociacrip]

i'm gonna spare the op of that post my adderall-fueled ranting but tbqh i wouldn't say being disabled affects how i perceive my gender identity so much as its impacted how other people gender me, and then that informs my perception of my gender identity. it's not purely an internal thing.

autism and ADHD, for example, are associated with things like poor volume control and generally "boisterous" behavior (though not every person with these conditions exhibit these behaviors, of course.) a lot of behaviors i exhibited as a child (and still do today) in relation to being autistic and having ADHD are ones that are considered "masculine" and this is part of the reason that i've been read and i'm still often read as not-female or at least not feminine/girly/womanly by my peers. and that is something that has definitely affected my gender identity (aside from the fact i have various bodily features that are conventionally understood as "masculine.")

that's just scratching the surface though. i've seen this mentioned sometimes on here before but not often. there are some disabilities that i would say are very much gendered while others are kind of degendered instead (or in addition to), in that people who are disabled in certain ways are pushed out of womanhood or manhood or "acceptable" understandings of gender by external forces for a variety of reasons related to their disabilities.

intellectual disability. other (neuro)developmental conditions. certain intersex variations that lead to disability. other conditions that affect the structure or functioning of the sex organs (because gender is also wrapped up in one's ability to sufficiently "perform" heterosexuality, which is also wrapped up in normative ideas about how to perform intercourse.) reliance on mobility aids. limb differences and other structural differences. paralysis.

that's not even close to a complete list.

Because I'm a wheelchair user, people see me as incapable of having a gender identity, so often they will correctly avoid using gendered language or pronouns to refer to me, but it's not because they're recognizing and respecting my identity as a nonbinary person — it's because they think my wheelchair automatically makes me genderless. It's not misgendering as such, but it's degendering, and it's a different kind of harmful and it's part of a larger system of ableism that considers me less of a person because I'm disabled and a wheelchair user.

( "Here's What Transgender People With Disabilities Want You To Know," Buzzfeed )

idk where i'm going with this. generally the ways in which disability impacts the way someone is gendered or someone's gender identity are super complex and difficult to map out + something that is very wrapped up in the way external forces affect us in relation to gender.

there's a multitude of ways to have a "wrong" body (or "wrong" behavior in terms of how behaviors are gendered, which is more often the case when we're talking about psychiatric disability) and both womanhood and manhood are wrapped up in normative ideas about bodies, bodily functioning, and what someone does with their body. perceived deviations from normative ideas about those things irt disability are not only punished on the basis of being a "failed" person (not being abled) but often also being a "failed" woman/man.