#nitpickrider

[cripplecharacters]

Alright, I'm just gonna bite the bullet. Worst that can happen is I make a fool of myself. I've been working on superhero stories, versions of the same universe since I was in 8th grade and what I want more than anything is to modernize superheroes, create a world where they act for all people's social good and take representation to the highest level I can think of. From your position of expertise, what can I do with the creation of disabled characters that would buck the trend, do some good, and show a good side. The non-prosthetic and non-corrected for disability rep in the genre is basically nil, I have no ideas and nothing to draw on. I guess I just wanna know what disabled audiences might like to see for once in their lives.

Hello!

Disabled superheroes are awesome. There's really few of them but the ones that we do have are often really important to us - you can look at the reactions to Sun-Spider being first introduced to the Spiderverse, back then I couldn't open my fridge without seeing that one panel where she explicitly says she has Ehlers-Danlos.

Here are a few suggestions of what I'd like to see in the superhero genre:

Superheroes with facial differences. Comics love to use us for their ugly disfigured evil villains but not much else unfortunately. I'd kill for a superman type hero who saves people with a smile and a facial difference on his face. Especially for superhero stories that are geared towards kids and teens, we just desperately need something to help with shifting the public perception of people with facial differences from "evil and ugly" to "people that can be awesome". A hero with burn scars, with Treacher Collins syndrome, Bell's palsy, neurofibromatosis... anything.

Superheroes who use disability aids (and still need them when doing their job!). Sun-Spider is an awesome example, she swings from her crutches and has a spider wheelchair. That's cool as hell. But even a less in-your-face aid would be great. A superhero flying above the city with her ankle-foot orthoses visible would go really hard. Also, superheroes who are concerned on how much these things cost and try their best to make sure they're still functional while they save the city.

Heroes with different causes of their disabilities! The vast majority of morally good disabled characters were involved in An Accident or some sort of Attack that disabled them. That's not bad or wrong at all, but I think in media is kind of oversaturated with this specific portrayal when a lot of people have progressive or congenital conditions. We need more stories that show those who were born disabled as heroes equal to those who were born abled and spent most of their lives abled. Superheroes with cerebral palsy, chromosomal disorders, congenital rubella, achondroplasia, all the disabilities that tend to get ignored despite so many people having them. Same for really common chronic illnesses, diabetes or COPD are criminally underrepresented.

Disabled superheroes that aren't saints because of their disability. This is the whole "disabled person can do no wrong" trope that appears sometimes. I'm mentioning it since superheroes are more "perfect" than most characters in other genres, so try to not make it so the disabled ones can do no wrong. Disabled people can still make mistakes that are their fault, make poor decisions, or just simply be angry sometimes.

When there's no active superhero action going on, show the normal human parts of the disabled experience. Depending on the demographic you're writing for it would be different things, but there are some fairly universal concepts like inaccessibility, microaggressions, or just boring things like the prosthetic leg no longer fitting well after the character gained some weight. If your characters are from the US, don't be afraid to mention that their insulin costs are barely affordable with their superhero pay. Show how the common everyday kind of ableism affect them when they're in civilian mode. This will make it much more authentic to disabled readers.

These are my suggestions, and I hope they are helpful. My last advice is to have multiple disabled characters, and in different roles. Maybe a character with late ALS can no longer do superhero fighting, but he can still be a wonderful parent. Maybe the character with Usher syndrome is more interested in the hero than being a hero themselves (disabled heroes in relationships!). Maybe the character with phocomelia can't be a hero yet because she's six, but she can train hard to be one when she's older. Keep it varied, have them come from different life situations and have different goals just like abled characters do.

I hope this helps!

mod Sasza

[edenfenixblogs]

How strange. YOU were the one born and yet WE were the ones who ended up with the gift <3

😭😭😭

This is so nice!!! This is so incredibly kind! I just want to make my little corner of the world better. And if that’s how people think of me, that’s the best gift I could ever ever ever receive.

Thank you so much. I am grateful for your friendship today and all days.

[tunemyart]

Ok but we HAVE disowned Hercules right? Like I'm totally up on watching Xena (wish it was actually AVAILABLE places but that's neither here nor there) Kevin Sorbo can just kiss my ass, is my point.

Oh yeah. Sorbo can fuck all the way the fuck off.

I’m not a Hercules fan aside from the very iconique moment of Empress Xena pulling Gabrielle up by her hair in that one AU episode and the fingers in mouths moment that followed (do I keep screenshots of these on my computer for the express purpose of throwing friend chats into sudden horny disarray without warning? Yes I do), and even that is due more to Lucy and Renee making excellent acting choices and my interest in how it reflects back on the (actual) Xenaverse. Hercules is just nowhere near Xena’s caliber in terms of scope/ambition, narrative, themes, and - ofc - its legacy to queer media. But the first three in conjunction with the last are honestly why it has such a grip on my heart.

It is SO unfortunate that Xena has been removed (for the moment) from just about every streaming platform, but I continue to cross my fingers that per the nature of streaming, it’ll pop back up somewhere soon.

[thefingerfuckingfemalefury]

:D

@nitpickrider I managed to find this issue while out shopping today

The very first time Superman became involved in the SKELETON WAR

[thegayhimbo]

🙄 @erictyberiusduckman Bro, you didn't disprove anything. You came, peddling a conspiracy theory about October 7th (while providing zero evidence to back up your claim), spewed a bunch of other antisemitic garbage, used your "Jewish family" (whom I doubt would be impressed with how you're acting right now) as a shield from any criticism (which still doesn't make any of what you said less antisemitic), got called out on your bigotry by multiple people, including @edenfenixblogs and @nitpickrider, who both did a thorough breakdown of everything wrong with your comments. And instead of listening to anything they've said..............you're sitting here behaving like a condescending douche. The only measly thing you've done at this point, in a pathetic attempt at hiding your hypocrisy, is change your username after getting called out by @tikkunolamorgtfo for initially naming your blog (@iblewrichardspeck) after an American Mass Murderer and Rapist.

Let's be honest: You weren't interested in having a good-faith discussion. You wanted to ragebait. Now that you've accomplished it, you're crawling back into your hole like the cowardly worm you are. You have nothing meaningful to contribute to the conversation about Israel/Palestine beyond spreading hatred and ignorance.

Get a life.

[vo-kopen]

So Pokémon Go has added the new feature of taking photos of multiple Pokémon at once, so to celebrate me beginning to edit an old story again, here are my Pokémon stand ins for that story’s leads: the All-Human and Cory.

The All-Human is the avatar of humanity, and can shapeshift between every species of the Homo genus. Cory is similar, he is the avatar of corvids and can take the form of any member of the genus Corvus. The All-Human depends on paleontologists and archeologists uncovering new species of prehistoric humans to gain new form, and rarely do those forms vary much in ability. Cory gets more out of his forms given the many crows and ravens alive today and they have pretty different abilities. Together they fight against systematic injustice as vigilantes, in the story they help stop ACID (American Central Immigration Department, no relation to other elementally-named agencies that oppress immigrants) from rounding up a number of Latinx folks.

To celebrate me getting through my Autistic Inertia to start reading the original Jekyll and Hyde story, I have started writing a sequel about a villainess who uses samples of the All-Human’s blood to take the form of a Homo floresiensis. (They were short hominids) as a Homo floresiensis not only does she look different but her DNA and fingerprints are unrecognizable, but she is still in possession of her faculties. It’s effectively a child-sized disguise to use to do whatever she wants, with most folks assuming her crimes are the actions of the All-Human, since Homo floresiensis is extinct.

@thefingerfuckingfemalefury @nitpickrider @majingojira enjoy these snapshots of the Pokémon I use to represent my vigilante duo. For the record, the All- Human consider herself and Cory partners, it’s just usually they deal with human social problems. Crows have less war crimes going on. She’s a butch lesbian Autistic, and there is a theme that people react to her forms like she is subhuman, and that it feels all too familiar for her as a queer masc presenting Autistic.

[mamawasatesttube]

https://www.tumblr.com/nitpickrider/757619106154479616/you-are-going-to-learn-that-a-thoughtful-gift-goes?source=share

FREAKY NASTY CLOIS!!!! THE TWO OF THEM ARE SOOO GROSS FOR EACH OTHER I LOVE THEM

reminds me of these panels too skdjfh i love them.

[krinsbez]

Random Thought

-Got the number of gmail emails I need to get through down to 69, from 150+. Nice!

-Current plan is to RB Pulptober stuffs after I get through my 99+ bits of tumblr Activity, and then do the round-up tomorrow.

-Not sure what I'm going to do about @nitpickrider, I don't think I can RB all of their posts and have stuff in between without hitting my post limit, and also I don't have the patience, but also I want to read all their stuff. Grr.

-Holiday was pretty good BTW. Got to see a lot of my younger niece got to talk to my favorite cousin and her husband, who's one of my closest friends, got some reading done, my dad is starting to talk to me again...

[comicgeekscomicgeek]

Please know if you are my tumblr mutual, someone I follow, or just someone who likes or shares my posts, I will do deep dives on your blog and share many things in short order, whether that’s posts or tags.

@cryoverkiltmilk, @nitpickrider, @thefingerfuckingfemalefury, and @tumbleaboutit can attest this.

You have activated My Interests (tm).

There will be no escape.

[allthegoodbobdylanlyricsaretaken]

Rules: Answer and tag 6 people

(thanks for tagging me @merbear25!)

Favourite colour: carmine red

Last Song: Jose Cuervo (Shelly West)

Currently reading: A Sicilian Romance by Anne Radcliffe

Currently watching: The announcement board in my doctor’s office

Currently craving: a toasted roast beef and Swiss cheese sandwich

Coffee or tea: TEA o_o

No pressure tags: @varenychenko @ichhabeeinekleinepapagai @nixie-dantes-belvedere @timidusnix @honest-moth-of-silver-grove @nitpickrider

[nitpickrider]

"Nitpickrider, why didn't you annotate anything from Action Comics 184?"

Can you say "Violently uncomfortable Native American stereotypes"?! :D

Action Comics 184

[dcoasis]

15 Questions for 15 People

Thanks for tagging me homie @nitpickrider

1. Are you named after anyone?

My middle name sorta is after my dad (Brian, Ryan).

2. When was the last time you cried?

I was actually crying from laughter yesterday because of a YouTube video.

3. Do you have kids?

Fuck NO. I like babysitting every so often, but I haven’t the patience for a full time kid. And I am absolutely NOT pushing a baby out. Maybe adoption when I am older and wiser.

4. What sports do you play/have you played?

I don’t play any currently but I have played tennis, and a bit of basketball.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Wouldn’t YOU like to know…

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Their ability to hold conversation. I cannot hold conversation. If you can lead then we are solid. If you cannot then we are sinking faster than the titanic.

7. What's your eye color?

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Scary movies. I used to be terrified of them but now I love the suspense.

9. Any talents?

Storytelling. At least I hope I’m talented at it. Also autism. I’m slowly gaining the ability to name every single DC character I see. I will be watching a movie or show and my parents will say “who is that” and I’m like “yeah, that’s Matter-Eater Lad 😌”. I’m very proud.

10. Where were you born?

The great state of Missouri in the US of A.

11. What are your hobbies?

Reading, writing, drawing, baking, watching random YouTube videos. Recently I’m working out more and trying to self-teach martial arts.

12. Do you have any pets?

No, but I want a dog. Too bad I’m broke.

13. How tall are you?

5'4. But if anyone asks I’m 5’8.

14. Favorite subject in school?

Science!

15. What is your dream job?

An indie comic book writer. I used to be very wary about that profession. It’s one of those starving artist jobs that I always leaned away from even though nobody told me that I couldn’t.

One day I read a book called My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness (highly recommend, especially if you are a lonely lesbian and an adult) and I got to the part where the main character was looking for a job. She was being interviewed, and the interviewer asked what she liked doing. She went on and on about manga, to the point that the interview stopped and he told her that her eyes were lighting up in a way that their job couldn’t make it. He encouraged her to go for what she was passionate about, and she woke up to the reality that you don’t have to be miserable just because you are an adult. That really resonated with me.

I don’t think it has to blow up and reach millions of people, I just want to make something I’m proud of and have the courage to share it with others. Moral of the story: reach for your dreams.

@memengwaans @gothamcityneedsme @brucetalias @bi4bi-wallinda @fatheriimaginedyoutaller @aliteralchicken @jessechambers-ass @tatsujeff @ormymarius @reverseflashes @nyxqueen97 @strawberrytalia @fancyfade @antifa-terra @funnefatale

[thefingerfuckingfemalefury]

@nitpickrider @vo-kopen THIS IS GONNA BE AWESOME :D

[anhilliator1]

Nine.

These are really the types of people y'all wanna be associated with, huh?

Making assumptions based entirely on what media one consumes.

@nitpickrider

Funny how just a few moments earlier they actually changed their stance on nuclear energy because someone provided a logical argument, but a few minutes after I follow this happens.

How interesting.

[vo-kopen]

I briefly was interested when I saw the first issue of a new Edge of Spiderverse comic was beginning before rapidly losing interest. The synopsis claims it will be starting “the build to the biggest Spider-Versal story (marvel) has EVER DONE!” And that immediately pushes me away.

I wanted to see some windows into other spider realities, this is an anthology about parallel realities, can’t that be enough? Does it need to lead into a crisis? Does it even make sense for there to be a crisis? The comics Spiderverse has been almost destroyed so many times in the last few years, it’s lost its impact. I just want an anthology, not another ever escalating event. Let us breathe.

I don’t crave to see Dragonball Z/Super levels of threats, I don’t want all of reality constantly at risk, I want a snapshot into another setting with its own heroes. Like give me a neat concept for a alternate version of a hero, have them do street level stuff or at least stuff limited to their own universe, and I am peachy. Maybe do a riff on Pokémon/his dark materials and have the spider hero be powerless but have a familiar that is a radioactive spider? Or a spider medic in WWI trying to save everyone caught in the war, bandaging wounds with webbing and sneaking through no man’s land to get the heavily injured medical treatment? Maybe follow up on the Hobie Brown Spider-Man from that Secret Wars tie in? Let Valerie the Librarian be the star of a setting? Or just revisit Spider-Rex again, at least that’s fun. Give me standalone snapshots (of Spider-Man)

Sorry for ranting. But remember how the og Crisis on Two Earths was just “Barry helps Jay come out of retirement and take down three villains who are just robbing people?” That’s the stakes, just helping a retired hero suit up again and solve a crime wave in one city? Why can’t we get those kind of stakes in multiverse stuff? Street level and person stuff? Why must every multiverse anthology lead into a crisis crossover? And *grumble grumble grumble whine whine whine*

@thefingerfuckingfemalefury @nitpickrider @espanolbot2 @docgold13 @newx-menfan am I so out of touch? No, it’s the children who are wrong.

[krinsbez]

Random Thoughts

Anyone else have the experiencing of having a post by @nitpickrider cross their dash and subsequently looking at the clock and realizing you've spent the last several hours reading scrolling through their blog instead of whatever you were planning on doing?