#scar uses a mobility aid

[icarus-o7]

Hide Me From Winter's Approaching Hands

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To Raven; I can write fluff and this proves it!

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Grian had always been unsure how he felt about the colder months, like, on one hand, he gets to cuddle up with warm blankets and Scar, who is like a walking heater, but on the other, the cold constantly has his wings fluffed up to preserve warmth and he has to watch Scar be sorer than usual as the cold settles into his bones.

So yeah, he wasn’t the most thrilled being on the server when the warmer Autumn days start having a chill that bit when the wind decided to appear. And today was one of the coldest so far, Grian found himself curled on the coach of Scar’s wagon with a lovely cup of peach tea reading. And while he would love to enjoy reading the book it seemed his attention was being dragged away every few seconds due to Scar trying to work in the kitchen, causing pots and pans to clang together.

“Scar, just what are you doing?” Grian finds himself asking the man whose in his wheelchair today due to the icy air, he takes a sip of his tea, looking at his mug. He really has to find where Scar gets this brand, especially since Scar doesn’t drink tea himself.

Scar perks up from where he’s rummaging in a cupboard at the hearings of his name being mentioned. Or, he tries to. As he goes to lift his head, Scar lightly knocks the back of his head against the roof of the cupboard he’s looking in causing him to wince and hiss slightly. The vex wheels his chair back an inch and sits up straight, giving the pretty bird sitting on his couch a charming smile.

“I wanted to bake, and I seem to have misplaced my cupcake tray.��� The scarred man answers with cheerfully, peaking the avian’s attention very quickly.

 

It’s no secret that while Scar isn’t the best cook, he’s an excellent baker. The Hermits loved when Scar baked enough to hand out and share some with them. Grian had tried on occasions try to replicate what Scar bakes, but he is absolutely abysmal when it comes to baking, but is a decent cook if he has anything to say about it.

“Can I help?” Grian asks, knowing that probably means the kitchen will end in a mess as it did the last time he help with baking. He quickly finishes the last of his tea and brings it up into the kitchen.

Scar pauses and considers, while he does love his kitchen being, mostly, clean, he knows how much fun the last time they baked was between the flour battle and each of them trying to eat the batter without the other looking. The scarred man shrugs before giving his answer, a softer smile settling on his lips. “Sure, I Don’t see why not.”

Returning the smile, Grian rinses his mug and settles it down next to the sink before turning and clapping his hands together. “What do we need?” He enquires looking over the ingredients already gathered atop the counter.

“Can you preheat the oven while I look for the cupcake tray?” Scar asks as goes back to searching in the cupboard for the last item needed.

The avian nods, despite knowing Scar can’t see him do so, and walks across the kitchen toward the oven. Grian luckily remembers what number Scar had asked him to preheat the oven to last time and set it to that once more, checking to make sure the oven was actually on before shutting the door and turning back to where the vex is, just as he finds the cupcake tray.

“Aha!” Scar rejoices victoriously, going to sit up straight with the tray in hand but once again, he hits his head on the top on the cupboard. “Ouch..” He hisses out before carefully sitting up and looking towards Grian, who seems to be torn between concern, and stopping the small chuckles threatening to escape his vocal cords.

“You okay?” Grian asks amusement and worry clear in his tone, though Scar easily washes the concern and worry away with a reassuring smile before he wheeled himself closer to where the ingredients are on the counter. “I’m just fine, Songbird, don’t you worry your pretty feathers about it.” Scar’s tone is a mix of reassurance and teasing, causing Grian to roll his eyes fondly.

Scar set the tray down and passes one bowl to Grian and setting one before himself. “Would you be a dear and mix together the dry ingredients?” He asks, looking up at the sandy blonde, who nods in return while the brunette hands the list of the measurements for Grian to follow.

Grian took this task with the utmost responsibility, sticking his tongue out slightly as he tried to measure the sugar up exactly to what was written down, huffing out through his nose in frustration when he didn’t get exact on the first pour. Scar watched this fondly before mixing together the wet ingredients together.

It didn’t take long for the pair to finish mixing their individual bowls and Scar took over explaining once more.

“Okay, I’m going to slowly pour my bowl into yours while you mix, okay?” Scar asks, lifting his bowl carefully, waiting for Grian's nod before he pours the first bit into the dry ingredients.

From there they repeat until the dry and wet bowls are one and Grian works on making sure it's thoroughly mixed together with no clumps Scar focuses his attention on putting the red cupcake cups into the trays. Once the avian was convinced the batter is perfect to be poured into the cups he hands the bowl to the vex who does just that.

Scar moves to open the oven and put the trays in, making sure the oven is at the right temperature and setting a timer. With his back to Grian, he doesn’t see the smile that spread across Grian's face as he held a pinch of flour. He only realized a moment too late, when he moves his chair to turn around and he felt powder hit the side of his face and white momentarily obscures his vision.

Slowly, Scar turns his head to Grian, who freezes with one hand in the flour bag as he watches a smile with too many teeth spread across Scar’s features. Any normal or sane person would think the smile meant something bad, something dangerous. But this is Hermitcraft, and Grian knew his Scar wouldn’t ever intentionally hurt him, so all that smile meant to him was to not let the vex get ahold of the bag of flour.

Grian lets out a shout of laughter before pulling his hand out of the bag and throwing the small handful of flour at Scar, hitting him in the chest.

“Pfft-” Scar makes a noise as some of the flour gets into his mouth and he looks down, seeing his blue tee having a white splash on it. He looks back up with that smile once more, his narrowly playfully. “Oh, you're so going to regret that Birdy.” His tone is light as he declares this, moving forward and quickly grabbing the bag before a handful of flour is launched at the pesky bird.

Flour is already spread across the floor and counter, the sounds of Grian’s screeching laughter and Scar’s vex-like giggle fill the cold Autumn, cupcakes rising slowly in the oven. 

Grian may not know how to feel about the colder months, but he sure can enjoy moments like these if that’s what the cold brings.

[saym0-0]

guyysss i have such a good angsty teen/human au brewing in my brain,, gem and grian's snails are involved. they're these guys

(african giant land snails)

au rambling under the cut vv

basically the au follows gem, from when her house blows up due to a gas leak when shes at a sleepover at her friends house (sausage pearl and grian) when shes 14 through her working through her trauma from that event and into adulthood

its more fleshed out than that i promise 🫶🫶

grian has two pet snails and immediately gives one to gem when he finds out she's staying with them for a few weeks because her house blew up

fwhip and gem are twins and fwhip got very blown up oops. hes an ambulatory wheelchair user and an amputee (his right leg below the knee). he doesn't get a prosthetic fr a long time bc they're not a super well off family in the first place so he prioritises a good wheelchair and you know. a house. over a prosthetic for a pretty long while (a few years at least)

sausage is their half brother but lives with pearl and grian (and impulse! hes their dad. and maybe skizz. i think it would be funny if they adopted three kids together as homies) because his dad died and their family wasnt in the right financial situation to support three children. at least he stayed close?

uh yeah theres still more to it but still. gem gets a skateboard at some point and she and fwhip race down hills to see whos set of wheels is the fastest

[brinnanza]

I think it's important to resist the urge to pathologize ultimately harmless behavior like maybe you can trace it back to its parent disorder but if it's not harmful to you in any way that isn't a symptom it's just a trait

[impostorsshow]

Cries I'm binging Scars episodes of secret life, on episode 8 right now and the way he's so distrustful of everyone and keeps saying "no-dont- no more hurting,every time someone says [I'll help you] that they hurt me" I always see those posts about how the traffic light series is giving trauma to the characters but I NEVER WATCH THE LATER EPISODES I GET IT NOW I NEED TO GO BACK AND READ ALL OF THE TRAFFIC LIGHT FICS can someone tell me what tag its under for ao3 because ts gone through like 4 name changes

[imflyingfish]

I'm only going to be reblogging Scar fanart with him in a wheelchair from now on unless I forgot to take any out of my queue btw

[androdragynous]

as my own direct immediate list of game grievances i hate that stardew valley expects you to side against a wheelchair user who is upset that he was moved without his consent. i hate that the mass effect trilogy gives you visible scarring as a direct result of choosing mean dialogue and heals it if you're nice. i hate that the vampire the masquerade ttrpg has a monstrous player class that can appear as horrible vampiric monsters or as visibly disabled people and both of these appearances are mechanically the same. i hate that dark souls games have a difficulty level implemented in a way that cannot be adjusted for disability. i hate that i can play as a mermaid or a werewolf or a horse in the sims games but can't use a wheelchair. i hate that the ace attorney games have so much flashing and not all of the games can disable it. i hate that disability is constantly something that happens to teach a lesson, i hate that disability is something that happens as a punishment, i hate that disability is either compensated perfectly with no drawbacks or something that is endlessly sought to be cured. i hate that no character customization will ever include the mobility aids i use, that the player avatars that represent me will never look like me. i am so goddamn annoyed and so goddamn tired.

[void-tiger]

Well, my pcp isn’t ready to give up, which is great, ‘cause I am, but sadly Can’t with how much my symptoms seriously hamper my daily function in ways people just. Really take for granted.

[littleogreboii]

i see a lot of people talk about edward being disabled in fma, but it's less often talked about how alphonse is also disabled. i think it's partially because alphonse doesn't experience physical pain like edward so for a majority of the series, he's not having any of those kind of symptoms, but he is still disabled. also because alphonse's experiences are unique. like you don't see ant walking, talking suits of armour in real life (unless they're piloted by a human being physically inside them) and in world, there are about 3 others like alphonse).

alphonse is dependent on edward's survival to function. after fighting scar for the first time, alphonse is literally in pieces. he can't walk or anything until edward is in a position to fix him. similarly his body is dependent on nutrients from edward's body. like there's the point towards the end where edward gets impaled and alphonse collapses. furthermore, these periods where alphonse collapses start to become debilitating towards the end of the series and massively alter his daily living.

also, alphonse constantly talks about how upsetting it is for him to not feel any physical sensations. yeah, he's not feeling physical pain, but he's also not feeling the warmth of a fire, the sun on his face, or the fluffiness of the cats he keeps petting. he talks a lot about not being able to eat or sleep, and how there's a lot of foods he wants to try.

there's another thing that highlighted by edward at one point. alphonse's body doesn't regenerate at all. the parts scar destroys are gone forever; edward stretches out the metal that alphonse has left to repair his body. and obviously human beings don't regrow limbs, but imagine if your skin didn't ever heal over a cut. how long would your body last?

also alphonse gets told several times that his body is great throughout the series, and he literally argues against it every time, because to him it is shit. like he is missing some of his senses just for some supposedly immortal body that isn't even immortal.

even once alphonse gets his own body back, the amount of physical therapy the boy has to go through. his body has essentially been doing nothing and only receiving what nutrients it can get from edward for years. by the end of the series, he's still using a cane as a walking aid. it's unknown whether he requires that cane for the years to come, but for at least a period of time he requires a mobility aid. I don't know enough to say what effect muscle decay from inactivity and severe malnourishment during a major portion of his teenage years would have long term.

[genderqueerdykes]

as someone who has been scarred for life by experiences at gay bars, i need people to understand it's beyond tacky to mock people who want queer spaces beyond queer bars- it's dangerous.

let me explain. i went to 2 of my local queer bars a lot last year, as much as i was able to despite being poor. i witnessed a fist fight that was so bloody that ended up with a transmisogynistic drag queen getting hit in the head with a metal baton. the sight caused me to uncontrollably throw up in the bathroom of the club because of how gruesome it was. they had to close down the club and forard people out the back door because of how out of hand this person got- he was screaming transmisogynstic slurs and phrases at the bouncers were were transfem.

i was also sexually assaulted at these places, i was repeatedly groped by several people who i was not interacting with in the first place who found me attractive and decided physically grabbing me on numerous occasions was the way to get my attention. being femme in a queer bar is dangerous even if the people groping you are gay men.

i am also a recovering addict who dealt with alcohol issues in the past and could be considered a recovering alcoholic. i don't want to be around alcohol. i don't want to smell it. it triggers awful memories and also sometimes makes me consider getting a drink, but i can't have one, because the medications i take will cause a fatal reaction- i don't want to be tempted to drink, because it will kill me.

it's not right to mock someone or call them childish or whatever for not wanting to go to a club. whenever alcohol is involved, people's inhibitions are gone and they will do whatever. this includes fighting. i witnessed several other fights. just because it's a queer bar doesn't mean there won't be fights. and it especialyl doesn't m ean that you won't get groped or assaulted because, like i said, since alcohol is involved and it's a bar, there's a high chance this can and will happen.

queer people are not inherently safe angels to be around by virtue of being queer. there are still transphobes in queer bars. tranny chasers come to these bars. homophobic lesbians show up and lesbophobic gay men show up. drag queens and performers bring their cishet friends and family to support their shows. these are not perfect havens. they are not safe. we should not force other queers to interact with inherently dangerous spaces if these are supposed to be our safe spaces.

also these spaces are not friendly to people with disabilities; wheelchair users have nowhere to go especially when it's very crowded. other mobility aids get kicked and knocked over. neurodivergent people can get overstimulated by the deafening music very quickly. photosensitive people can have seizures due to the strobing lights. people with emetophobia like me run the risk of running into those types of triggers. people who are overstimulated by intoxicated people have no choice but to deal with it. dancing is one of the only activities to do other than drink and not many disabled (or even abled) people can dance for extended periods of time comfortably.

not to mention these spaces are not geared toward aromantic or asexual people at all, either. there is a long list of reasons why bars should not be our primary venues of interaction with one another. they serve a specific purpose- for people who want to cruise- but for the rest of us, it's really crucial that we have spaces that provide meaningful interactions with other queers on other levels of our identities.

some people just want to hang out with other queers in a quiet environment and craft, or shop, or drink coffee, or read books together, or just about any other activity on planet earth, and that's not "lame" or "cringy" or bad in any way- these are extremely normal and necessary parts of human interaction that we all require and crave and it's normal to want to do healthy, domestic things with other queers. we need this in our lives.

please take it seriously when people attempt to create queer spaces that don't involve alcohol and bars. it's necessary for our survival and well being as a community.

[cripplecharacters]

Where to Start Your Research When Writing a Disabled Character

[large text: Where to Start Your Research When Writing a Disabled Character]

So you have decided that you want to make a disabled character! Awesome. But what's next? What information should you decide on at the early phrase of making the character?

This post will only talk about the disability part of the character creation process. Obviously, a disabled character needs a personality, interests, and backstory as every other one. But by including their disability early in the process, you can actually get it to have a deeper effect on the character - disability shouldn't be their whole life, but it should impact it. That's what disabilities do.

If you don't know what disability you would want to give them in the first place;

[large text: If you don't know what disability you would want to give them in the first place;]

Start broad. Is it sensory, mobility related, cognitive, developmental, autoimmune, neurodegenerative; maybe multiple of these, or maybe something else completely? Pick one and see what disabilities it encompasses; see if anything works for your character. Or...

If you have a specific symptom or aid in mind, see what could cause them. Don't assume or guess; not every wheelchair user is vaguely paralyzed below the waist with no other symptoms, not everyone with extensive scarring got it via physical trauma. Or...

Consider which disabilities are common in real life. Cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, stroke, cataracts, diabetes, intellectual disability, neuropathy, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, thyroid disorders, autism, dwarfism, arthritis, cancers, brain damage, just to name a few.

Decide what specific type of condition they will have. If you're thinking about them having albinism, will it be ocular, oculocutaneous, or one of the rare syndrome-types? If you want to give them spinal muscular atrophy, which of the many possible onsets will they have? If they have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which one out of the 13 different types do they have? Is their amputation below, or above the knee (it's a major difference)? Not all conditions will have subtypes, but it's worth looking into to not be surprised later. This will help you with further research.

If you're really struggling with figuring out what exact disability would make sense for your character, you can send an ask. Just make sure that you have tried the above and put actual specifics in your ask to give us something to work with. You can also check out our "disabled character ideas" tag.

Here are some ideas for a character using crutches.

Here are some ideas for a character with a facial difference (obligatory link: what is a facial difference?).

If you already know what disability your character is going to have;

[large text: If you already know what disability your character is going to have;]

Start by reading about the onset and cause of the condition. It could be acquired, congenital, progressive, potentially multiple of these. They could be caused by an illness, trauma, or something else entirely. Is your character a congenital amputee, or is it acquired? If acquired - how recently? Has it been a week, or 10 years? What caused them to become disabled - did they have meningitis, or was it an accident? Again, check what your options are - there are going to be more diverse than you expect.

Read about the symptoms. Do not assume or guess what they are. You will almost definitely discover something new. Example: a lot of people making a character with albinism don't realize that it has other symptoms than just lack of melanin, like nystagmus, visual impairment, and photophobia. Decide what your character experiences, to what degree, how frequently, and what do they do (or don't do) to deal with it.

Don't give your character only the most "acceptable" symptoms of their disability and ignore everything else. Example: many writers will omit the topic of incontinence in their para- and tetraplegic characters, even though it's extremely common. Don't shy away from aspects of disability that aren't romanticized.

Don't just... make them abled "because magic". If they're Deaf, don't give them some ability that will make them into an essentially hearing person. Don't give your blind character some "cheat" so that they can see, give them a cane. Don't give an amputee prosthetics that work better than meat limbs. To have a disabled character you need to have a character that's actually disabled. There's no way around it.

Think about complications your character could experience within the story. If your character wears their prosthetic a lot, they might start to experience skin breakdown or pain. Someone who uses a wheelchair a lot has a risk of pressure sores. Glowing and Flickering Fantasy Item might cause problems for someone photophobic or photosensitive. What do they do when that happens, or how do they prevent that from happening?

Look out for comorbidities. It's rare for disabled people to only have one medical condition and nothing else. Disabilities like to show up in pairs. Or dozens.

If relevant, consider mobility aids, assistive devices, and disability aids. Wheelchairs, canes, rollators, braces, AAC, walkers, nasal cannulas, crutches, white canes, feeding tubes, braillers, ostomy bags, insulin pumps, service dogs, trach tubes, hearing aids, orthoses, splints... the list is basically endless, and there's a lot of everyday things that might count as a disability aid as well - even just a hat could be one for someone whose disability requires them to stay out of the sun. Make sure that it's actually based on symptoms, not just your assumptions - most blind people don't wear sunglasses, not all people with SCI use a wheelchair, upper limb prosthetics aren't nearly as useful as you think. Decide which ones your character could have, how often they would use them, and if they switch between different aids.

Basically all of the above aids will have subtypes or variants. There is a lot of options. Does your character use an active manual wheelchair, a powerchair, or a generic hospital wheelchair? Are they using high-, or low-tech AAC? What would be available to them? Does it change over the course of their story, or their life in general?

If relevant, think about what treatment your character might receive. Do they need medication? Physical therapy? Occupational therapy? Orientation and mobility training? Speech therapy? Do they have access to it, and why or why not?

What is your character's support system? Do they have a carer; if yes, then what do they help your character with and what kind of relationship do they have? Is your character happy about it or not at all?

How did their life change after becoming disabled? If your character goes from being an extreme athlete to suddenly being a full-time wheelchair user, it will have an effect - are they going to stop doing sports at all, are they going to just do extreme wheelchair sports now, or are they going to try out wheelchair table tennis instead? Do they know and respect their new limitations? Did they have to get a different job or had to make their house accessible? Do they have support in this transition, or are they on their own - do they wish they had that support?

What about *other* characters? Your character isn't going to be the only disabled person in existence. Do they know other disabled people? Do they have a community? If your character manages their disability with something that's only available to them, what about all the other people with the same disability?

What is the society that your character lives in like? Is the architecture accessible? How do they treat disabled people? Are abled characters knowledgeable about disabilities? How many people speak the local sign language(s)? Are accessible bathrooms common, or does your character have to go home every few hours? Is there access to prosthetists and ocularists, or what do they do when their prosthetic leg or eye requires the routine check-up?

Know the tropes. If a burn survivor character is an evil mask-wearer, if a powerchair user is a constantly rude and ungrateful to everyone villain, if an amputee is a genius mechanic who fixes their own prosthetics, you have A Trope. Not all tropes are made equal; some are actively harmful to real people, while others are just annoying or boring by the nature of having been done to death. During the character creation process, research what tropes might apply and just try to trace your logic. Does your blind character see the future because it's a common superpower in their world, or are you doing the ancient "Blind Seer" trope?

Remember, that not all of the above questions will come up in your writing, but to know which ones won't you need to know the answers to them first. Even if you don't decide to explicitly name your character's condition, you will be aware of what they might function like. You will be able to add more depth to your character if you decide that they have T6 spina bifida, rather than if you made them into an ambiguous wheelchair user with ambiguous symptoms and ambiguous needs. Embrace research as part of your process and your characters will be better representation, sure, but they will also make more sense and seem more like actual people; same with the world that they are a part of.

This post exists to help you establish the basics of your character's disability so that you can do research on your own and answer some of the most common ("what are symptoms of x?") questions by yourself. If you have these things already established, it will also be easier for us to answer any possible questions you might have - e.g. "what would a character with complete high-level paraplegia do in a world where the modern kind of wheelchair has not been invented yet?" is more concise than just "how do I write a character with paralysis?" - I think it's more helpful for askers as well; a vague answer won't be of much help.

I hope that this post is helpful,

mod Sasza

[sandersstudies]

So my husband has had three surgeries involving the skull/brain in the last three months and to be honest I have forgotten that he looks “weird” to strangers (has prominent recent scars, for some time had a PICC, sometimes uses mobility aids), but I think we have actually been getting more superior customer service than ever before? I feel like people are like “damn I really shouldn’t make THIS guy’s day any worse. So brave that he’s shopping for a new shelf when he clearly was bit on the head by a lion quite recently.”

[valcaira]

Look I get that we all want to relate to one another. I really do. But seeing people on my post about how shitty it is to exist as a visibly deformed & disabled person in public say things like "that's why i don't stim in public" or "that's why i'm scared to bring my cane in public" is just... You're missing the point.

Some of us cannot mask our disabilities. You can simply not stim if you can supress it in the first place. You can leave your cane at home if you're doing that already in the first place. A knee brace doesn't make you look like a "freak". You do appear abled otherwise.

I cannot. Many people I know cannot. I can't just "hide" my deformities and abnormal gait or convulsions to appear abled. I *need* my crutches everywhere I go. I can't supress my tics. Full-time wheelchair users exist. High support needs autistics exist. Schizospecs who cannot mask exist. People with William's Sydrome, Down's Syndrome and various obvious deformities exist. Little people. People with severe chemical burns or otherwise or scarring. People with Parkinson's, Tourette's, Huntington's, Cerebral Palsy, every disabled person who looks "abnormal".

We can't just "turn it off" like you. People WILL stare at us. Point their fingers at us. We have no power. They used to put us into freakshows. Not you. Not you who can hide your disability to "appear normal". That post was not for you to "relate to". I and many people are sick of many invisibly disabled people claiming they "want to look disabled" so they'd be "taken more seriously". It's not an invitation of you to declare you leaving your mobility aid at home or shit like that. It's not the damn same.

[thesaart]

Lycaon

My headcanon for Lycaon is that he also uses mobility aids like a wheelchair and crutches and that he also has different kinds of prosthetics. The one I drew here is supposed to be way simpler and lighter than his normal ones. Also I just really love the thought that after a tough day he just sits either on his wheelchair or a comfortable sofa in his home hanging out with Rina and Corin and maybe Ellen as well and just having their little Bangboo make food for them all. I'd love to see what is under his eyepatch. My idea here is a big burn type scar that stretches quite a bit over his face.

[delicatewhumps]

lasting, visible impacts of a character’s injury.

scars!! so many possibilities. hidden, so that only the character is reminded of them; this can go great for intimate reveals with a loved one. or what if the scars are big and obvious? mottled burn scars climbing up an arm, a surgical scar winding around the side of their head, slashed scars from an attack on their face, or scarred rope marks around their neck!

canes, crutches, wheelchairs, walkers… any mobility aid. have they decorated it? do they use it with pride? maybe they’ve added spikes to the handles of their wheelchair, or whittled cool designs into the body of their cane.

glasses or an eye patch! or maybe even the lack of an eye altogether. combined with scars, this could be peak character design.

prosthetic limbs.. walk with me! facial prostheses, too. depending on the context / genre, you could go in so many different directions. fantasy prostheses are amazing. has the character built it themselves?

on the other hand, what if they choose not to have a prosthesis, or what if they can’t? a finger, a missing arm, a missing leg… a world of possibilities.

medical devices. maybe they need hearing aids now. maybe their injury has left them with an invisible disability, like diabetes or heart issues, and they need an insulin pump or a pacemaker! they could also have an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, which is visible as a lump under the skin of their chest, to jumpstart their heart if it stops. (these can come with a host of side effects…. for another post.)

as a disabled person, i just really love disabled characters. and i especially love when a character survives something amazing & they have lasting reminders of it.

[saveyoursunshine]

i love when artists explicitly write/draw eddie and steve with very noticeable, maybe even deforming scars. i love when they dont fail to mention the repercussions the things they've been through have left on their bodies. because yes, we talk a lot about ptsd and horrible nightmares and all the psychoemotional issues, but we should totally talk more about the physical side of it.

eddie with a scar on his jaw that tugs when he smiles and aches after a long effusive rant. having to use mobility aides like a crutch or a walking stick because the muscles on his leg never fully recovered and the scars on his abdomen hurt if he tries to tighten his core too hard.

steve with awful migranes and early onset hearing loss and complex vision problems and slight trouble breathing because his head/face got fucked up one too many times. the scars on his back that got infected because no one gave them notice, that are now scars that twinge when he moves his arms and hurt after a day of running around with the kids. the scars on his abdomen that restrict his range of motion. that raspiness in his voice that never went away after a bat tried to crush his windpipe.

i don't know where i'm going with this i just... we constantly recognize their heroic deeds, but i think it's also important to remember that they are not heroes. they are just teenagers who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. they were doomed by the narrative, literally cannon fodder, and their bodies tell the history of that, and of how they're still here despite it all.

[fagsystem]

As an ambulatory wheelchair user I have so many thoughts about how people draw/write disabled!Scar. This is sort of a guide/insight from a disabled person about writing/drawing disabled people.

Specifically in regards to wheelchair users.

Do not get me wrong, this fandom is genuinely probably the best group of people I have ever seen when it comes to drawing wheelchairs. I do not believe I have ever seen Scar fanart where he is in a completely unusable, horrible, hospital chair. It is so clear people have taken the time and energy to research into wheelchairs and I love it. I am in no way saying stop that.

I just think people could maybe put a little bit more consideration into him being disabled beyond visual appearance.

I saw a really amazing artwork of SL!Scar and he is in a sports chair. Which is really cool, in many ways, as it shows some thought being put into the setting. If I were in combat, I would in fact like to not be knocked from my chair or have my chair tipped over.

Yet, you have very limited mobility in a sports chair. It is, by design, made to prevent you from tipping over. Which means that you are incapable of going over bumps, really, let alone natural terrain.

Just in general, there really is not any wheelchair that exists in our world that would allow wheelchair users to exist in a setting like the life series.

So, I have some ideas:

- Horses. Hands down my biggest suggestion. Especially with Secret Life they fit in very well with the setting, everyone uses them, and it fits the bill perfectly for what he would need. Especially considering Scar is an archer, it makes a lot of sense for him to be on horseback. It suits him and his style of fighting so well.

- Some sort of redstone power chair. There are all sorts of ways you could design something like this. Perhaps with pistons that push down against the ground, allowing for jumps. Perhaps just a series of pistions functioning as like a bunch of little spider legs. There are a lot of things you can do with that, you can get very creative.

- For my Vex!Scar lovers, you could have magic be used as a mobility aid. Perhaps a magic wheelchair, or perhaps a magic exoskeleton.

And with all of the ideas, considering how they fit into the setting really changes everything. What are the strengths? What are the draw backs?

With horses, they are strong and fast and agile. But they are big, it is hard to fit into small spaces, and they can be killed.

With some sort of redstone chair, I feel as though it would make sense for it to be robust and strong. Depending on how it is constructed, something fast and agile or perhaps something a bit slower and more clunky. Is it loud? How would stealth work in something like that?

When it comes to any sort of magic you do not want it to fix the disability. It is a mobility aid like any other. Not perfect, not the same as not being disabled, just another tool with its own unique draw backs. Perhaps magic is draining or it takes concentration. Would he tire quicker than others? Would he require food quicker than others? Is it possible for him to lose focus on it in a stressful situation, leaving him stuck until he can calm himself down?

Other things to consider are really specifically the setting as well as what disability you are giving him.

I feel as though on Hermitcraft an option like a redstone chair just makes a lot of sense. Multiple redstone chairs, even, all constructed differently for different uses. Such as ones for building. How does long distance travel work with the chair and how you lore your setting? Is it something he can put in his inventory? Is it something he remains in when using an elytra? Does that have any draw backs, such as being slower or needing more rockets or being less coordinated in the air?

I feel as though in the life series a mix of vex magic and horses makes a lot of sense. The magic is good for small spaces and short trips and emergencies, but it is too tiring to travel across the map with and too much effort to maintain when he needs to concentrate on battles. That would be where the horse comes into play.

As for what disability, well, it truly depends. Most of my rambles here have been based upon paraplegia, because I often times see people making him an ambulatory wheelchair user just because they do not know what to do otherwise.

Not that making him an ambulatory wheelchair user is a bad thing by any means. I am one and I adore reading stories like that. It is just a bit clear that a lot of you are quite lost as to how to navigate hurdles disabled people face, so you make it so he can walk over those hurdles. Which, once again, I am not shaming you for! This post is just to show there are other options

But in the case of him being an ambulatory wheelchair user: why is he one?

Mobilities aids are disabling unless you need them. You cannot access spaces or you do not have hands free or any number of things. What to the Scar you are writing makes using mobility aids helpful instead of a hindrance? What times are they more trouble than help, and what cost is there for not using it?

A good example is if Scar can walk around short distances with minimal difficulty/drawback, but long distances are painful or physically not possible.

Look into different disabilities and consider it. A lot of people tend to default to chronic pain because that tends to be quite a common one across a lot of disabled people, but there are a lot more different reasons why.

It could also be that he is very slow because of his disabilities. I have muscle weakness sometimes because of my FND, and it is like moving through sludge whenever I try and move.

It could also be that the mobility aids are a preventative measure. He does not need to use his wheelchair, unless he has done too much walking and then his body refuses to support his weight. He does not need to use his wheelchair, but when he does not he is a lot more likely to dislocate something and then yeah he can't walk. He does not need to use his wheelchair, but he is a fall risk especially after a lot of walking or running. Him being in his wheelchair prevents him from falling! (And if he's a fall risk, maybe he's strapped in too!)

I just have so many thoughts and I wanted to share them.

I see so many of you putting in effort already and it warms my heart. It is why I feel comfortable enough to make this post, because clearly you all care a lot about representing disabled people well.

:]

If you have read this far thank you so much. Let me know what you think or if you have any questions.

Edit: I made a rough redstone wheelchair design. It is one of the few reblogs that has comments, if you filter for that you should be able to find it. If not, reply to the post and I can send you the link to it. :]