#limp representation

[cripplecharacters]

Hi! I have a character that has a slight limp due to injury, Im not sure if it counts as a disability or if this is the correct place to ask since what I find online differs a lot, but I figured it wasn’t wrong to ask. I’d like to know if there’s some advice from someone with personal experience. I know it depends on many factors, like the type of injury, the severity, etc. But I think all kind of input would be nice! I’m specially interested in difficulties people don’t usually consider (Does your bad leg bothers you even if you’re sitting down? Is there something that aggravates it that isn’t usually considered?) and misconceptions people may have (How much can you actually endure? Can you actually push yourself to do something (like run) or is it straight up imposible?). Most of the things I find online are about cures and hypotheticals so I’d like to know more about the mechanics about living with one. Any advice would be useful! Thanks!

Hello!

Yes, a limp can be a disability, especially if the underlying cause of it affects the person in other ways too. That being said, there are people who have permanent limps that wouldn't consider themselves to be disabled, which may be why you've found some conflicting information online.

To give some context for my further answers: I have a pretty bad limp in my right leg, which was caused by a past injury and has only gotten worse over time due to my chronic pain and issues with my joints -- especially those in the lower half of my body. I use a cane full time because of it and have used a wheelchair before when it gets bad.

You are right that it depends a lot on somebody's specific situation such as the cause and severity of their limp, but it also depends on other factors such as the part of their leg that is affected and any other conditions they may have.

Keep in mind that a limp is always the result of something, not the cause.

In my case, it's from my past injury to the leg as well as my chronic pain and other condition(s). However, the root cause isn't always pain in the leg or even in the leg at all. A limp can also be caused from an injury to the spine/back or other places in the body, chronic conditions such as arthritis, limb differences such as a leg length discrepancy, several neurological conditions, and a whole host of other things.

Because of all the different causes of a limp and the different factors that can impact somebody's situation, people's experiences can differ greatly. I can only speak from my own experience, so please keep that in mind.

Now, to address some specific questions you've asked:

Does your bad leg bother you even if you're sitting down?

I'm at the point where I don't typically notice my pain unless it's much better or much worse than usual. It's just a constant sensation in my life that I've gotten used to (For lack of a better term).

That said: I find that my bad leg is usually bothering me regardless of the position, though sitting or laying down is almost always better for it. It doesn't stop the pain entirely, but it does help to ease it and prevent my leg from feeling stiff or cramping.

With that in mind, it depends on how I'm sitting. Having my leg folded up (Such as when sitting cross legged) or sitting on my leg is the worst, even compared to standing, especially when in close quarters such as the back or middle seat in a car.

Most of the time, I'm fine with sitting in a chair normally or even cross legged with my bad leg pulled up but having my leg stretched out is better since it doesn't start to cramp or seize up.

The best position I've found is sitting normally on a chair with my bad leg outstretched and propped up slightly on a stool or a lower chair. Propping it up too high (Such as straight out or above the chair I'm sitting on) causes my knee to overextend, which makes my pain worse, while propping it up too low is just an awkward position and doesn't help.

On days when it's worse, sitting down doesn't do much for me except stop the pain from actively getting worse. These are usually the days where I can't stand for longer than a minute or two unassisted and for around five minutes with my cane or another support.

Is there something that aggravates it that isn't usually considered?

To be honest, I rarely see characters with limps in the media I consume so I'm not sure what kind of things are already considered as it is. That said, here are some of the factors I find make it worse:

Overuse: Being on my feet or pushing myself the previous day can cause the next day to be much worse. Before I stopped being able to play sports, I found that my limp was always worse after a hockey game or a particularly active practice. I'm still fairly active even without organized sports (Though I do play wheelchair basketball on occasion) and I now find that my leg is worse and my limp is more pronounced after I've been hiking or walking around.

Underuse: On the other hand, spending the day in bed or in one position also doesn't do me any good. My leg begins to ache and cramp up if I can't stretch it frequently. In general, a good balance for me has always been shorter, frequent walks throughout the day or one longer but slow-paced walk.

Standing Still: This may sound counter-intuitive but standing still (Or generally keeping my leg in the same position for so long) actually aggravates my leg more than being active does. Walking around allows me to move and stretch my leg out. Keeping it in one position too long makes the pain worse and causes it to seize up and cramp. If I'm able to, I'll usually try walking back and forth or even just taking a few steps but sometimes this isn't possible when waiting in line.

Weather: When there's a sudden shift in the weather, especially in the air pressure or when it becomes damp, my leg tends to ache more and be more stiff. Usually this is when a big storm is coming or there's a drastic shift in temperature but even just cold or damp weather in general makes it worse. I don't fully understand the science behind it myself, but this article [Link] goes into it a bit.

Other Injuries/Pain: Though this isn't something people tend to think about, having pain in other parts of the body (Especially the opposite leg) can make my limp worse. If it's pain in a completely different part of the body such as a headache or stomach ache, it usually has no effect. For pain in my back, arms, or other leg, however, it can have a big effect. This is usually because my bad leg has to compensate in some way. This could mean putting more weight on my bad leg to take weight off of a sprained ankle on my 'good' leg, walking with a slightly different gait to avoid worsening back pain, or needing to use my cane on the other side to compensate for shoulder/arm pain.

Poor Footwear: This is one I am... very guilty of. My combat boots don't have the best support but they're what I have right now and I can’t afford better footwear or orthotics right now. This is to say, wearing poor footwear such as flipflops, sandals, or other shoes without proper support will make a limp worse. I don't personally notice much of a difference with my boots since I use them all the time regardless but wearing flipflops is very difficult because I have no stability in them.

Something to note is that sometimes bad days can come on with seemingly no cause at all. Though I don't doubt that there is something influencing it in the background, it's not always possible to pinpoint what it is.

How much can you actually endure? Can you actually push yourself to do something (Like run) or is it straight up impossible?

On a good day, I'm sure I could run for a bit if I absolutely had to but I would certainly be paying for it later. Running puts a lot of strain on my leg and I know from experience that on a very bad day, I wouldn't be able to get very far without my leg giving out, even if it was a life or death situation. I'm unsure how adrenaline would effect that, however.

Something to keep in mind is that for a lot of people with limps and/or chronic pain (Myself included), the pain is rarely linear. There are days where I feel great and I barely notice it and there are other days where I can hardly walk without wanting to cry from the pain. And I have a fairly high pain tolerance.

In general, I am fairly fast with my cane. I'm able to walk at the same speed as most people my age and I generally tend to outpace them on a good day. My cane helps me avoid putting too much weight/strain on my leg and also helps with my balance issues. Without my cane, I'm usually in too much pain and don't have the stability to walk normally.

Whenever I do have to push myself to do something (Such as navigating the stairs during a fire drill or carrying my gecko's terrarium into my room), I try to get ahead of the pain if it doesn't show up immediately. Ice packs help to mitigate any swelling or pain that might come and I usually have pain meds with me to take just in case. I usually take a Tylenol (Or the generic version) and an Advil (Or the generic version). This is at the advice of my doctor to help with my specific issues, I strongly advise against mixing pain meds without approval from your doctor.

Phew, that was more than I thought I'd type about this! Hopefully some of this is helpful, I'm also happy to answer any more questions you might have!

Cheers,

~ Mod Icarus

[thedisabilitybookarchive]

'The Storm Runner'- Cervantes, J. C.

Disability Rep: Limb Difference, Chronic Limp, Cane User

Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Adventure

Age: Middle-Grade

Setting: USA (New Mexico specifically)

Additional Rep: Mayan Mythology, Latin MC

For more information on summaries, content warnings and additional tropes, see here:

[nostalgia-tblr]

she had multiple children by some other man, you say? 🤔

[thebibliosphere]

I was just playing gotham knights again and noticed some passive dialog regarding Babs having a back brace, which is at least acknowledging that there was damage done, but I'm a little sad for the loss of some really cool disability representation. What are your feelings on her (and on a similar note Batman's) miraculous recovery from paralysis in DC?

I think Gotham Knights handled her disability fairly well, considering this is a universe where magic, nanobots, and puddles of evil green goo that can heal the dead exist. All things considered, it would have been very easy for them to either erase it entirely or just handwave and say, "She worked really hard and got better," as previous iterations of the canon have done.

Because she did work hard and get better, but the hard work is ongoing because they depict her issues as chronic.

She's got a limp (it's the most obvious in her Talon suit with no cape in the way), which means she can't rely on speed or high kicks like the others can (I mean, she can kick, but it's her slowest motion, and until you max out her suit, it's the most liable to get her thrown to the ground), so she falls back on precision and her tech.

Jason punches for maximum pain, Dick moves with dizzying speed, and Tim's gonna sneak up on you and drop you like a rock, but Babs is going for the pressure points with ruthless precision. Not to mention her drones.

The conversation with Tim, realizing she might need help boosting her suit to compensate for her pain/strength issues, is a nice little way of making the player aware that she's got these ongoing problems because, honestly, a casual observer could mistake her back brace for athleisure wear if they didn't recognize the shape of it. It's also a good way of throwing in some exposition about how she's still going to physical rehab and that her PT would like her to "wean off" her back brace, but because her PT doesn't know her actual job as a vigilante, Barbara admits she can't and is essentially finding ways to manage her own care and create her own accommodations. Accommodations which they are all shown to be willing to help with.

It's a nice little touch when superhero narratives tend to revolve around self-sacrifice to the point of self-destruction. Alfred giving Dick into trouble for pushing himself too far and hiding injuries is a nice touch, too, even if it's like trying to bail water on the Titanic with a teacup.

I also like that not only do you see her wheelchair lurking around the Belfry—along with the disability adaptations they put in place, like the ramps, the wheelchair elevator, and the desks that move up and down to wheelchair height—but that she also still uses her chair from time to time.

[ID a screenshot from Gotham Knights showing the Belfry. Light streams in through a giant clockface, showcasing a bank of computer screens. In front of the screen, Barbara Gordon is using her wheelchair as Dick Grayson stands behind her, probably making a bad pun.]

Whether she's using it because she's tired or simply because it's more comfortable than the computer chair is never revealed. Nor is it brought up or commented on. It's just something that's normal for Barbara to do, and I like that. I like that it's normal. It's not a part of herself she's trying to erase. She works with it, not against it.

Is it perfect? No. Do they outright erase her disability like so many of the comics are guilty of? Also, no. I'd argue that, in fact, they kept her disability. They just changed the nature of it.

Barbara now has a dynamic disability, one which fluctuates and requires different management based on her day-to-day (or night) activity. She's in active treatment for it and will be for the rest of her life. Are some of the physical feats she achieves realistic for someone with an injury of her nature? Not really, but again, this is a world where nobody stays dead, and there are zombie assassins coming out of the walls. I'll take the attention to detail and care they put into her story any day over the "Willpower Fixed My Spine" narrative we could have gotten.

As for Bruce getting healed by magic, again, it's Batman. Comic book logic is wibbly-wobbly at the best of times, and realistically speaking, they couldn't leave Batman paralyzed. His whole deal revolves around being stealthy and punching the shit out of people. He wouldn't be Batman anymore, and frankly, I don't trust the comic writers as far as I could throw them to handle that right.

By contrast, the Gotham Knights writers handled Barbara with much more care and nuance than I ever expected. And I'm thankful for that.

---

*I also like that both Dick and Barbara are often shown wearing joint braces. Dick's are especially reminiscent of the way gymnasts and people with hypermobility tape their joints to reduce pain and prevent injuries. It's a nice little touch. They're not invincible. Their bodies hurt. They're just like me but with money and much bigger problems like giant killer robots and zombie assassins.

[breadandblankets]

you know when batmans "ears" go limp when he's sad (in batblob representation)

dukes signal helmet should have his kitty ears lay flat

[tardigradetheking]

I'm struggling to even articulate how bad the Iron Izuku armor is conceptually. It is everything wrong with One for All and the story as a whole. It exemplifies the failures of My Hero Academia.

The story is supposed to be about Izuku becoming the greatest hero. There are two ways a story like this could deliver. He could either become the strongest or fundementally redefine what it means to be a hero. My hero academia does neither.

When Izuku was given One for All fundementally has to becomes the strongest. That's how the world works. The last guy with it could at a sixtieth of his prime missing a lung and over extended can punch storms into existence. Yet even when Izuku is opperating at what should be well above a sixtieth of All-Mights strength. Izuku never becomes stronger then All-Might. Izuku can never be stronger then All-Might because the quirk gets destroyed.

If Izuku cannot be the strongest then in order for the story to deliver he has to become meaningful. He has to redefine the meaning of a hero. Izuku doesn't do that either. He spends the entire story wilfully disregarding the blatant problems with his society. Izuku is written as someone who is more distressed about lady nagant going rogue by killer he boss then the fact that her boss repeatedly ordered her to carry out illegal assassinations. Izuku is a bootlicker and bootlickers don't like meaningful change.

Iron Izuku becomes a sad consolation prize giving nothing of value. Izuku cannot become meaningful because after the entire story his character is the same. He is still someone who wants to be a hero yet does nothing to become a hero. Even now he is given Iron Izuku. He did not design it, he did not build it, he didnt come up with the idea for it and he didnt even facilitate its builders meeting. Not only can't Izuku become meaningful he also can't become powerful because a small suit of armor simply cannot match up to the power of One for All. Iron Izuku could have worked as a representation of the lives he changed for the better and the bonds he made. It could have but it doesnt. All his friends and classmates canonically barely saw or talked to him for almost a decade because he isn't important to them. Maybe Iron Izuku could have worked as an ending but not for this story. In this story Iron Izuku is a pitty laugh and limp twisted applause as the moth eaten curtains close, used as nothing more then an aknowledgement that a story occured and now it is over.

[caspersscareschool]

favorite lair details

- the giant heat lamp

- the clean looking moat that they never use or acknowledge because they prefer to swim in dirty sewer water

- mikey's graffiti tags all over the place but especially the scribbles all over his room that look like practice doodles in crayon going back to like kindergarten, practicing his name and abcs, etc.

- them having beanbags instead of a couch so they can lean back with their stupid shells. same goes for mikey's hammock. same goes for the massage chairs that only appeared once

- the mystery gamer room that only appeared in the purple game- i presume because it had to be sealed off after the events of the episode due to the gamer stink

- the kitchen cabinet with a sticky note that always says "BUY GRANOLA"

- the med bay that they only used one time that's just a giant industrial garage with a single dentist chair in the middle

- their actual garage that apparently just leads directly onto the streets of Manhatten and still no one has found their lair. it's also where they keep training dummies made to look like each of them and donnie's is always strung up on the rafters, limp. forgotten. like a frisbee on a roof

- number 1 lou jitsu huggy pillow

- the fact that leo has a queen sized mattress with pink & red sheets while raph sleeps on a twin sized bunk makes me feel like he lost rock paper scissors for the big bed at like 6 years old and has paid for it ever since

- donnie's titanium self portrait sculpture that's so hyperrealistic that raph thought it was his actual decapitated head and this item just migrates around the house as like a doorstop or whatever and no one ever acknowledges that he is apparently, canonically, in-universe, a master representational sculptor much like the real Donatello of Renaissance fame

- splinter having an extremely elaborate expensive sewing setup in his room to keep up with their constant demand for stupid little outfits

- splinter having a minibar in his room . actually everything about his room just in general he's so real for this

- their fucked up toilet

- the only visible way to get upstairs is a skateboard ramp

- probably more I'm forgetting

[savethegrishaverse]

Disability and neurodiversity in the Grishaverse

With Disability Pride Month, let’s explore the Grishaverse's disability representation. Leigh Bardugo’s experience as a disabled author gives her a unique perspective in writing disabled characters, resulting in an intersectional cast that includes characters with physical disabilities and neurodivergences.

Kaz Brekker relies on a mobility aid—his infamous crow's head cane—due to a leg injury he sustained as a teenager that left him with a limp and chronic pain. Mobility aid users are usually portrayed as older, meaning Kaz, as a younger character who uses a cane, brings much-needed representation.

Wylan Van Eck has severe dyslexia. As he describes it, letters get mixed up, unlike music, numbers or equations. However, he excels in math, science, music and art. While there are many types of dyslexia, with differing severity, Wylan’s struggles resonate deeply with many dyslexic fans.

Bardugo also confirmed writing Jesper Fahey as having ADHD symptoms. His energetic nature makes him restless and impulsive, potentially contributing to his gambling addiction. He often spins or fidgets with his revolvers and rings, which can be interpreted as stimming. Fans with ADHD can relate to Jesper’s trouble focusing and constant need for stimulation.

Genya Safin suffers from monocular vision due to injuries from a Nichevo'ya attack and wears an eye patch. Her inclusion brings awareness to different types of visual impairments.

David Kostyk is a brilliant scientist and inventor but has trouble navigating social situations, is often quiet and prefers to keep to himself. He has difficulty maintaining eye contact when overwhelmed and expressing his feelings. David is interpreted as neurodivergent by many fans, which provides further representation to the series.

Two characters with prosthetic limbs are Adrik Zhabin and the Darkling. Adrik has a prosthetic arm due to an attack by the Darkling’s Nichevo'ya. Ironically, the Darkling lost his hand as well and now uses a prosthetic. Having two characters like this helps normalize limb differences.

Leigh Bardugo took great care to include neurodivergent and disabled characters in her stories, without them being defined solely by it. They go on adventures, fall in love, make mistakes, save the day—and just happen not to be neurotypical and/or able-bodied.

Because of this, the Grishaverse has some of the best disability representation in the fantasy genre. Not only does this kind of positive representation help similar fans feel seen, it also helps to destigmatize differences, showing we are all human. Happy Disability Pride Month!

[cripplecharacters]

Navigation: Helpful Posts

[large text: Navigation: Helpful Posts]

Complication of posts from CrippleCharacters, as well as other blogs providing advice on writing disabled characters!

This post covers the general topics - for posts on specific disabilities, please see part two.

Last update: 15/06/2024

Character Making Basics and Ideas

[large text: Character Making Basics and Ideas]

- How to Start Doing Research When Writing a Disabled Character - Disabilities that are Common but Have no Representation - Facial Differences that Would Be Cool to Actually See Represented - How to Do Historical Research - Our "Disabled Character Ideas" Tag - Our "Character Inspo" Tag

How to Describe XYZ?

[large text: How to Describe XYZ?]

- Blindness Tropes: the "Blank Look" - Describing Characters with Facial Differences as Pretty - Difference between Fetishization and Being Seen as Beautiful - First Description: when to mention the Facial Difference - How Often Should You Mention Mobility Aids? - Dialogue and Speech Disorders - Sign Language in Dialogue - Words for Residual Limbs (stumps) - Describing a Limp - Words to Use instead of "Walk" for Wheelchair Users - How to not Describe Facial Differences as "Scary"

How to Draw XYZ?

[large text: How to Draw XYZ?]

- Tips for Drawing Characters with Facial Differences - Annoying Tropes in Art Re:Facial Differences - Drawing Blind Characters - Drawing Amputees - How to Draw (and not draw) Characters with Vitiligo - Drawing Cane Users - Decorating Wheelchairs

General

[large text: General]

- Writing a Newly Disabled Character - Writing a Visibly Different Character - The Accident - Including Disabled Communities - Disabled Characters in Historical Fiction - Coming up with Fictional Disabilities - Tokenism Discussion - Disability and Superpowers - Curing and "Fixing" Disabled Characters - Is It Realistic to Have Multiple Disabled Characters? - "Jaws Effect": how media affect the real world - Worldbuilding with Accessibility in Mind - How to Let Readers Figure Out the Character's Disability - Does the Disability Need to Have a "Purpose"? - Including Ableism in the Story - Casual Representation vs Fetishization (with albinism as an example) - Including Body Horror without doing an Ableism

General Tropes

[large text: General Tropes]

- "Super-Crip": Magic and Disability - Abled Characters Pretending to be Disabled - I Did a Trope but It's Too Late - What You Should Do - made with the mask trope in mind, but could be applied more widely - Magical Cure - made with blindness in mind - Including Healing Magic without Disability Erasure - Why is the Cure Trope Bad? - How to Do a Scary Disability Reveal without being Ableist? - Disabled Character Recovering, but without Disability Erasure - Killing off a Disabled Character without Doing an Ableism - Writing a Disabled Villain without Doing an Ableism - What is Fetishization of Disability, and what Isn't - Not All Sign Language Users are Mute and American

Mobility Aids

[large text: Mobility Aids]

- General Overview - Overview, but with More Options - not writing advice, educational - More Detailed Look at Crutches and Canes - Magic Mobility Aids - Tips on Writing Wheelchair Users - Writing a New Cane User - "But Mobility Aids Wouldn't Exist in my Fantasy World" - Basic Information on Service Animals - Should My Non-Modern Wheelchair User use XYZ instead of a Wheelchair? - Accessible Wizarding for Wheelchair Users - Fidgeting with Wheelchairs - Pet Peeves for Cane User Characters

Other

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- Writing Characters with Tourette's Syndrome - Introduction to Writing Characters with Speech Disorders - Writing Little People (characters with dwarfism) - Dwarfism and Fantasy Stories - Stereotypes around Characters with Dwarfism - Writing and Drawing Burn Survivors: basics and resources - Caring for a Burn Scar: the everyday things - On Chemical Burns - Writing Characters with ASPD - Writing a Character with Russel-Silver Syndrome - Complex Dissociative Disorders Terminology: A Basic Primer - What to Consider when Writing about Pollution-induced Disability

Making Your Content Accessible to Disabled Readers

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- Why add alt text? - Image Descriptions Tutorial - Writing Image Descriptions for People Who Can't Write Them - "But how do blind people even use alt text" - How to Tag Your Posts (Tumblr) - ScreenReaders and Color Text (Tumblr) - FanFiction Accessibility

Recommended Blogs/Sources

[large text: Recommended Blogs/Sources]

- @blindbeta - @cy-cyborg - @a-little-revolution - @mimzy-writing-online - @writingdrugs - @vitiligo-is-not-a-trend - Fantastic website for any historical needs

[thedisabilitybookarchive]

'Scar of the Bamboo Leaf'- A. M., Sieni

Disability Rep: Chronic Limp as a result of Limb Difference, Scarring

Genre: Romance, Contemporary

Age: Young Adult

Setting: Samoa

Additional Rep: Samoan MC, POC, F/M

For more information on summaries, content warnings and additional tropes, see here:

[chobbleblog]

A quick message to Goodtimeswithscar fanartists!

If you tend to draw/portray Scar in fanart with zero mobility/disability aides (wheelchair, cane, cannula, etc), or with them but in a way that pretty much disregards their existence (keeping the cane on his back at all times, making the cane purely aesthetic and not functional, treating the wheelchair like it's as light as a feather and can go anywhere, drawing cannulas but no oxygen tank, etc), I just want you to take a second and ask yourself why you portray it that way.

Scar has stated that he is ok being drawn with or without being visibly disabled, but he sees the wheelchair as a big part of himself ([LINK]). I'm not here to force anybody to do anything. But I just want you to seriously consider why you minimize or completely erase his disability. Is it just because he's a minecrafter and therefore he's not disabled in-game (debatable because when making fanart, the medium and therefore many universal constants are 100% malleable, not to mention how his disability does indeed affect his content such as when he is forced to take breaks, falls out of his chair, etc)? Or could it be that you are uncomfortable with the fact that he's disabled, or at least uncomfortable portraying/acknowledging that in your art? Could it be that you're afraid to get it wrong, don't know how, or simply don't feel like it? Please don't take this as an attack, but a small ask to consider the reasoning behind this design choice.

I do not use mobility aides as my physical disabilities would not be benefitted from them, but I am quite active in the online disabled community, and please believe me when I tell you that physical disabilities are erased enough. They are ignored and minimized enough. If you look in the comments of Scar's videos, if you look at the donations that were read during the charity event a couple of months ago, you will see so many people using mobility/disability aides (or not because they can't get them for many reasons, but need them very much) who are so encouraged by Scar doing what he does, by seeing a representation of their experience and community that they very, very rarely see (and even when they do it's in a pitying, infantilizing, or degrading way). When you draw fanart of Scar, please consider this. Please consider why you are erasing or minimizing his disability, and if you find it in your heart, please consider a design change.

There are aesthetically pleasing ways to include mobility aides. Some great ones I have seen are linked below if you want design inspiration. And plus, if nothing else, it will help you become a better artist by diversifying your experience:

[LINK] - An example animatic with a cane. While it is sometimes on his back, it's usually when he's flying (how would he use it? It makes sense for it to be put away). While he's walking it is being used properly. We don't see him walking around much since it's an animatic, but if I animated it more thoroughly, I would show that he had a clear limp, fatigue, or other difficulty walking, to avoid the "cane solely for aesthetic" interpretation.

[LINK] - An example animatic with a wheelchair, which is coincidentally the same scene. There was a fantastic one where his wheelchair transforms into a flying machine but I searched for 30 minutes and can't find it, so if someone knows the one please link it!

[LINK] [LINK] [LINK] [LINK] [LINK] - Great example drawings with wheelchairs.

[LINK] [LINK] - Drawings with canes.

P.S. all of this goes for writing and other non-visual forms of fanart too!! I see him written disabled even less often than I see him drawn disabled.

Thank you for reading all of this. I hope it helps somebody.

[ladyknightellen]

It's a Mobility Aid...Not a Fucking Prop!!!

I guess it's just my brand at this point to go mia for a few weeks, then come back with a rant about some new, mildly infuriating realization I've had.

This particular realization is one that's kind of been buzzing in the back of my head as something that was kind of off, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was until now. The 'aha' moment came when I was looking for pictures of Kaz Brekker to add to my collection of stickers on my binder for school. As I scrolled through, I began to notice a frustrating trend in the fan art...

Kaz Brekker, a canonically disabled character, who uses a cane to walk is consistently being drawn holding his cane as if it's just a prop, or a weapon, rather than what it actually is A GODDAMN MOBILITY AID!!!!

And before you start with 'but he hits people with it' I'm going to stop you right there. Yes, he does use it as a weapon sometimes, and it's even described in canon as being designed with the intention of using it as a club if needed, but it's still a cane. It is still a mobility aid that he needs TO WALK, and when you treat it like nothing more than a prop or a weapon, you erase a very important aspect of who Kaz is as a character, and honestly, as a cane user with chronic pain myself, it feels almost violent to see how often it happens.

Whenever I see art of Kaz standing with his cane in his hands like a billy club, or holding it across one or both shoulders, all I can think about is how much pain he would be in to hold a position like that without using the cane for support. At numerous points in the books during Kaz's pov chapters, we get several very detail descriptions of what it feels like for him on a daily basis as a result of his chronic pain. We also get several instances of how it feels when he has his cane taken from him, when he uses it to fight, or when he's disguised and doesn't want to give himself away. We see the toll it takes on his body to do this, and he always pays for it later.

Kaz does not swagger around Ketterdam with his cane over his shoulder, occasionally taking a swing at rival gang members. If this is the image you have in your head of him, please, I beg you to get rid of that image. Kaz is DISABLED. He has severe chronic pain and walks with a heavy limp and that cane is making contact with the ground on every step. Based on the kind of injury he had, I would imagine that his injured leg might even be a bit shorter than the other, which would possibly be evident in a visible lack of symmetry in the height of his shoulders. And that's just one possible way it could affect his body beyond just his leg that would be outwardly visible.

There are many more, but the point is that injuries like the one Kaz experienced can affect the entire body even with the best care and therapy, and Kaz didn't have any of that. I'm not asking you to be a medical expert just to draw fanart, but I am begging you think about things like this and at the very least, PLEASE draw the mobility aid being used as a mobility aid, not a prop. Stop erasing and sanitizing what little representation we have. If you think it makes him 'look more badass' or whatever to have his cane over his shoulder, I kind of don't really care.

P.S. And don't use the tv show as a reference because Freddy Carter is yet another example of a non disabled actor playing a disabled character.

[murfpersonalblog]

Gotta wake up to this anon in the tags, undoubtedly referencing/shading what I reblogged here:

Nonny, at least say it to my face if you wanna call me an internalized misogynist, just cuz I don't cosign the predominately white court of popular opinion's dogma that ONLY sees Lestat as the female-coded victim of Louis' "abuse" of the crossdressing campy Queen Mother de Lioncourt; while you reject any acknowledgement let alone honest discussion of Lestat as the patriarchal Coven Master terrorizing his fledglings/children--even in effing 2022 when he's setting Rat Catcher ablaze with the Fire Gift in Louis' honor & kicking him out in to the hurricane--another round in the stormy romance of you two.

And plot twist: I (mostly) agree with nonny about Anne Rice, and how she engages with (trans)gender through Louis--and I agree with Nalyra that there's also complexity to how AR engages with Lestat LATER--10+ years AFTER IWTV & her daughter Michelle's death.

It's not at all easy to pin down, especially when in these convos about Loustat & gender, the most integral part of their dynamic is ALWAYS EXCLUDED by Lestans: CLAUDIA. She's only babytrapped cuz, as I've said 1000 times, Lestat was hyperaware of LOUIS' emotional/behavioral resemblance TO LESTAT'S MOTHER, GABRIELLE; and Louis' "maternal instinct," that resembled ANNE'S own excitement to be a mom.

Anne Rice is NOT saying Louis (or even Lestat!) represents her as a woman (in METAPHOR, not biology, DUH) cuz he crossdresses & gallivants around twirling his hair & flicking his limp wrists--I already discussed the effect of 18th century Franco-European dandyism on an 18th-century vampire stuck in the Rococo period (X X), where clothing is just ONE aspect of how masculinity & femininity are expressed--BY MEN.

Gender is MORE than Loustat crossdressing. Like I've said: it's misognyist to assume that everyone crossdressing is female-coded, while blatantly ignoring their BEHAVIOR--just like Nalyra said:

I have screamed & hollered from the rooftops this whole time how the power dynamics between Loustat are being grossly misunderstood or outright overlooked, as everyone gets distracted by fun & c*nty Lestat. Somehow, ONLY Lestat gets to represent Mother, but LOUIS DOESN'T!? Sus! But I'M the misogynist homophobe for calling y'all RACISTS who can't acknowledge/accept a Black gay man in a suit (or cardigan) as a female-coded representation of motherhood, when the show's beat y'all over the head with it 1000 times? SUS!

Esp. when I explicitly say Louis AS Woman, Louis AS Mother--nonny, grab a dictionary and realize that I didn't say Louis IS Mother, Louis IS Woman--it's SIMILE. It's METAPHOR. It's PARALLEL. It's CODING.

It's highly problematic to reject AR's own words being "not solid" evidence (anon), or downplay it as outdated/irrelevant (Nalyra), just cuz it doesn't align with your own interpretations. That's not how proper analysis of primary sources works. It's CONTEXTUAL evidence about the processes of personal growth; just like it's contextual how AR couched her shift to Lestat in direct relation to her tryna move past her maternal depression/grief via Louis. You cannot discuss one without the other, but that's all I ever see far too many ppl do: downplaying the foundational conceptualization of these characters within the books, film, and show alike; and hiding behind accusations of homophobia & misogyny rather than honestly engaging with the characters and their behavior. You wanna talk about misogyny? How about MISOGYNOIR, and how y'all don't know EFF ALL about BLACK MOTHERHOOD, and the hypermasculinization of Black gay men, to even BEGIN to fathom everything Louis represents in contrast & relation to Massa Lestat.

Cuz there's CERTAINLY a marked lack of discussion or acknowledgement about how race factors into all of this. I see NO mention/discussion/analysis of Lestat by that anon rejecting the other side of the conversation I'm arguing against--esp. the white privilege Lestat enjoys that allows him to be far freer with explorations of gender & sexuality than black!Louis, and thus embraced by his predominately white cis female fans--who find it so effing impossible/offensive to see the ways that HIS BEHAVIOR directly contradicts the feminist ideals about agency & autonomy they allege to hold oh-so-sacred--"crushing what you cannot own."

Which only further indicates that this particular propping up of Lestat in the fandom is being done at Louis'' expense in bad faith by bad actors running to everyone's accounts on anon and obfuscating the context they're even responding to.

Claudia never lied: "It's a STONING."

[brightlotusmoon]

I keep trying to explain to Gen Z folks that I'm still so not used to TV shows and reality shows actively, willingly, deliberately encouraging the audience to care for people, to be kind, to love, to help, to understand, to reach out, to accept. That wasn't a thing for me as a disabled child. For me there was pity and awe and curiosity and questions I didn't know how to answer, and it reflected in my media exposure. Queer people weren't talked about, let alone trans people. Autistic and ADHD kids were nuisances. There was an almost militant sense of You Should Fit In. No "be who you are, make friends, encourage individuality." I was told many times to not talk about cerebral palsy, to hide my limp, my spastic T-Rex arm, to be like everyone else.

When Steven Universe started talking about therapy I was stunned. A cartoon explaining how trauma works? In my lifetime? And now, in 2023, it's normalized to have characters in soap operas using words like neurotypical and genderfluid? Are you fucking serious? I will take it. What do you mean it's not enough representation? It's more than I ever had.

[stickandthorn]

While I am in the camp of “Delilah returning over and over again is slowly but surely turning her into a reoccurring villain from a Saturday morning cartoon who’s about as threatening as a limp ham and cheese sandwich, and I would rather she be gone for good at this point,” I think her best possible use is as a symbolic representation of Laudna’s motivations and emotional state. Delilah can stay (on thin fucking ice) if she only appears as the mourning veil and purple light that aesthetically signify Laudna’s mental state.

[sarahsedserio]

Shuro haters: HE IS AN ENTITLED, CALLOUSED ASSHOLE WHO LED LAIOS ON WITH NO REGARD FOR HIS FEELINGS!!

Shuro lovers: HE IS A NUANCED CHARACTER AND CRUCIAL AUTISTIC REPRESENTATION IN HIS OWN RIGHT!!!!

Me: HE IS withering away on the ground as we speak. Like he's hanging on by a thread actually. Oh shit he just went fucking limp YOU GUYS--