#the wheelchair feels like a horrible secret

[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. :]

[cherry-pop-elf]

hello! 🌷 is it okay to request weasley twins x hufflepuff reader that was tortured by umbridge, but didn't give away the prank / bad thing that the twins did? out of loyalty for them

maybe comfort too, since they're thankful to reader and also feel guilty for what umbridge done to her. could be pre-dating or already dating them !!

have a lovely day 🎀

As a Hufflepuff who would have 100% been forced to not use their wheelchair because Umbridge would think I was faking my disability for attention, yeah we gonna get some Whump in this shit. ((Lowkey having some rough shit going on mentally so some vent fic like this will be hella. Thanks anon! Perfect timing!

—————————————————

Honey Wounds

Warning: Violence, Umbridge in general, blood, torture, whump, hurt/comfort 🎆🐝🎇

“Where’s little bumble bee-?” The twins would worry, as they had wondered why you didn’t show up to the secret little defense class Harry started up. Where could their little Hufflepuff be? Had them a little worried. By little, it was a lot. Things have been getting a lot more tense recently. Umbridge was really hammering down, and she was making her mission to find a way to get those two into Azkaban. By any means possible. The only reason she hasn’t was probably because of Percy somehow. As they worried, someone was quick to grab them.

“Fred, George, something bad happened. Something really bad happened-!” The first year was crying, and the duo were on red alert now. The poor kid was in to many tears to really speak, so they figured there was no need to. George was quick to pick the first year up, as the child was just pointing. Fred was in the running lead, as George was trying to comfort the child. The poor kid was hiccuping, and seeming so scared. Something bad happened, and they had to figure out what it was. That’s when they saw it. Blood on the barrels, like someone was slapping bloody hand’s desperately to get into the Hufflepuff dorm.

“Shit shit shit, what did she do now-?” Fred hissed, as he tried to focus on entering the dorm. Having to get literal blood on his hands, in order to get inside. With the pattern played, the duo were able to run inside. Left to see the Hufflepuff dorm full of noise. So many students all busy and around someone. When Hannah Abbott noticed the twins, she stepped away. Pulling away fellow students, and the horror was on display.

“Fred, George…..?” It was you, and you were not looking hot. Not looking hot at all. You were horribly pale, and your hands looked as if they had been through a chopping block. The fellow Puff’s had done their best to try and help, but it was like they wouldn’t stop bleeding. George had instantly covered the first years eyes, despite the fact the child had long seen it. It was just habit after all.

“WHAT HAPPENED-?!” Fred was soon by your side, while George was quick to hand the child off to someone. Now he was on your other side. You were just to tired to really process it all, given the blood loss. If it wasn’t for their brilliant hair, you would have assumed it was just more worried Hufflepuff’s. Just trying so hard to help. It’s rather scary. Sure, it’s Hogwarts. Things get violent, but this wasn’t just a random accident. Nor some run in with a beast. This was a woman who wanted to hurt.

“I didn’t tell her. I didn’t tell her-“ You managed to say, with a smile. The twins looked at each other, wondering what you were blabbering about, before they were quick to take over. The Puff’s made sure to stay out of their way, as the twins were able to move in ever perfect unison. Not needing to speak, to move. Fred was quick to start emptying their bags, as George was taking care in trying to wash the wounds on your hands.

“I know it’s in here, come on out you bastard-“ Fred hissed, as he sorted through the assortment of old tins they had collected. Each with its own experiment, as George tried to not freak out. Seeing you hurt like this. It was making him feel so many emotions. Anger at Umbridge, fear for what that woman will do next, sadness for your pain, anxiety on it Ron and Ginny would be next. It was all so loud in his eyes, as he tried not to let the tears spill.

“Found it-!” Fred sighed, as he was quick to start lathering a strange substance on your hands. It felt rather strange. As if he was lathering your open wounds with pudding. You expected it to hurt, but it was rather nice. Very cooling to your burning wounds. It would soon seem to harden on your fingers and palms. As if stopping you from bleeding, and absorbing the blood. Forcing it to stay inside. If you weren’t so dizzy, you would praise them for being so smart.

“Bumble Bee….What happened?” Fred asked, as George was busy with someone. Quick to get some water from one of the prefects, and try and nurse it into your body. George was gentle, and you needed it. You choked on it, but he knew you had to drink some. You lost alot of blood, and you had to stay hydrated. He would keep your head against his chest, as you managed to get some down. Enough to satisfy him, and calm his nerves. You could feel how sweaty his hands were, with worry, as he stroked your hair. With a few minutes to breath, you spoke.

“She brought me to her office. Asked me who had broken in it last night. I said I didn’t know. She didn’t like that, but I didn’t give up.” You smiled, as the twins were staring in horror. They broke into her office, last night. They swore they didn’t leave behind a trace. They had to break in. She confiscated Ginny’s bracelet. Said she fiddled with it too much. It was made just for her, by Bill. Ever since the incident in the chamber of secrets, she was more susceptible to dark magic. So, a Curse breaker made her something to help. Umbridge was actively putting her in danger. How could they not protect their little sister?

“It was a trap…..She did that on purpose-“ Fred realized, as it made sense. Of course they would break in to get it back. That horrid woman. “Can’t believe she dragged you into this. I mean, I can, but you get the point I’m making here! We’re so sorry Honey Bee-“ George would soon echo, as he kissed your head. Feeling so guilty. You didn’t blame them, of course, but they sure didn’t stop feeling guilty.

“It’s ok. Im ok. Ginny needed it. Like I would ever rat you two out.” You tried to reassure them, but their minds were made up. They had to do something about Umbridge. This woman was going insane. The twins swore she wasn’t aware that you three were in a relationship of sorts. They were magical twins. Not fair to compare them to muggle ones. They shared a partner, no big deal. Communication makes the dream work. Seems like maybe you three communicated in the wrong hallway one to many times, and she put two and two together.

“We are going to fix this. We promise.” The twins spoke, as they comforted you. George with keeping your head to his chest, as Fred was between your legs. Hugging your stomach, and nuzzling into your thigh. Just needing to hold onto you. As if you would disintegrate into his hands then and there. You would have comforted him, but it didn’t seem like your hands wanted to exist at the moment.

“Looks like we can’t wait for that down payment any longer. Now or never.” George said, as Fred gave a defeated sigh. He was right. If they stayed at Hogwarts any longer, Merlin knows who else she will drag into their mess. George was right, it was now or never. Because never means they’ll be in Azkaban for murdering her at this point.

“Say, Bumble bee….Think you can handle living in a rundown hollowed building for a while?” Fred asked, as you tried to focus your eyes. You didn’t really understand half of what they were saying, but you knew this. Wherever they went, you would follow. “What makes it any different from a dungeon?” You tried to joke, and that seemed to solidify the deal. Look out world, the Weasley Twins were about to show off their latest invention.

The WhizBang

[masked-and-doomed]

So thought about something.

Would you rather fight Pocketcat or Faust?

For why I pit these two against each other, it's because they will make the average person greatly uncomfortable/pained in battle.

Pocketcat:

Rubs his dick during battle. Just casually.

Will whisper secrets into your ear that are so horrible, you get paralysed with fear for a turn.

Can just rip your limbs right off. Or behead you if you're feeling like it.

All while he's yapping and yapping about philosophy or whatever, mind you.

Faust:

Jams his fingers/scalpel into your ass.

Rams a wheelchair into your shins.

Will lick you. As a damaging move.

Eats you. Straight up vore.

For the sake of evening it out, let's say you don't get permanently damaged by any of this, only having pain. (because I mean. Unfair. One of them is a doctor and the other is using self defense against you when you fight against him in game)

I know this post is going to be partially affected because some of you are into these guys and would gladly take whatever they got. Which is fair enough, I love them.

[return-of-a-space-cowboy]

🧚‍♀️ Anon

I had this idea in my head and in my notes for awhile so here it is based off Silver Bullet

Darling is crippled (It was an accident and now has to use a wheelchair), she does volunteer work at the church, but has to find a way to prove that it’s Father Pucci that’s been doing all these killings in their small town (She sees it’s up to her to stop Pucci) especially since he turns into a Werewolf!

However seeing as she’s no match for Father Pucci, she gets the help from Jotaro, her childhood friend who’s been tasked with taking care of her while her folks will be gone for a week and he’s the only one who will believe her after seeing the evidence himself and must protect Darling and himself from Father Pucci, especially since tonight will be a Full Moon

Ooh I like this.

After several deaths in town darling reaches out to Jotaro to stay with her for a while while her familyis out of town. He's writing a thesis and agrees, being in the country might help clear his head.

Of course Pucci asks many questions about this stranger, he's had feeling for her but due to his position he refuses to act upon it.

One night Jotaro is attacked while out in the woods but manages to shoot whatever attacked him in the eye and ends up telling darling. She's shocked to see Pucci the next day with an eyepatch. He claims he ended up in a horrible accident but she can't help but be suspicious. She talks to Jotaro and the thought of werewolves are brought up. It's too crazy for anyone else in town to believe them so keep it too themselves.

He's began be be awfully overbearing, trying to keep her around for as much as possible. She thinks that he might be onto her knowing and pushes back from him. Making him even more jealous of Jotaro.

Notes begin to flood the confession box, someone claiming to know Pucci's secret but he knows it isn't darling. He able to have some one on one time with Jotaro and attempt to kill him but fails. Jotaro is able to get back to darlings house and rummages through the house for silver and gets what he could find melted into metal. He doesn't let darling know as to not worry her but if the werewolf theory is true then he'll want to finish him tonight.

[web-novel-polls]

Favorite Disabled Web Novel Character Tournament

Last Checked: February 5th, 2025 - Please check the original post for updates

Submissions End: TBD

Rules

One character per submission

Submit as many times as you want

Must be from a web novel or an adaptation 

In-world disabilities that don't exist IRL (ex: a character unable to use magic in a world where everyone else/most people can) will be accepted as long as you think it qualifies as a disability

Mental & non-physical disabilities will also be accepted, including mental illnesses & neurodiversity

The WN doesn't explicitly have to mention they're disabled/their disability, but I don't want to include pure headcanons since this tournament is more about highlighting canon disability representation. Feel free to talk about any headcanons in the ask box though! I enjoy hearing y'all's thoughts :)

Tag: #disabled WN characters tournament

Submissions

Cui Buqu from Peerless

Submission: Chronic fatigue, vulnerability to illness, heart in the wrong spot. Basically generically chronically ill 

(The following is all from the Less Popular Danmei Character Tournament bc it’s really good propaganda lol)

Submission: He’s mean, he’s disabled and unapologetic about it, he’s a genius and all his braincells escape him when faced with his rival, he’s a secret agent and has no martial arts, he’s deeply in love and will never say so unless pushed, he will liken his rival to his sun and then tell him he’s the most annoying person he’s ever met. He’s a bastard little fox <3 

Additional Propaganda #1

Additional Propaganda #2

Fu Shen from Golden Terrace/Golden Stage

Submission 1: Fu Shen's leg is broken in battle. He has to use a brace and a wheelchair while he recovers.

Submission 2: 

Crippled legs/wheelchair bound for most of the novel  propaganda: The prologue of the novel is him basically suffering an assassination attempt which crippled his legs horribly when a bunch of rocks fall on him. Despite being wheelchair bound for most of the novel (he later gets these like leg exoskeleton support things but he can't wear them for more than a few hours or something and still has to use the wheelchair), he's still depicted as being just as badass and respected. His men still hold him in high regard, and he still goes around investigating shit and even once using a crossbow to take someone down. He also uses people underestimating him now that he's crippled to his advantage. His love interest is also incredibly sweet and remodels his whole estate to be wheelchair accessible right before he moves in after they're married. 

Carrd/Image Link

Gu Mang from Remnants of Filth / Yuwu

Submission: He's missing some of his souls, which renders him intellectually disabled and amnesiac.

Wiki Link

Gu Yun from Sha Po Lang 

Submission: He's half-deaf and half-blind, but still a badass.

Wiki Link

Hua Cheng from Heaven Official’s Blessing 

Submission: Blind in one eye and uses his magical butterflies as a disability aid to help him see!

Jing Weiyi from The Imperial Uncle

Submission: Jing Weiyi's leg was broken when he fell off a horse when he was young. Afterwards, he walked with a limp for many years. 

Ji Yushi from Mist [Unlimited]

Submission: Hyperthymesia... Basically, he can remember almost everything, and while that helps some in the scenarios of the novel, it also has a huge detrimental effect on him, and he needs pills to calm his mind and such. I'm not sure if it really counts as a disability, especially since there are less than a hundred people with this in real life, but I think it should count for this tournament since it's neurodivergence and such. 

Kim Kiryeo from The Hunter of the Other World Who Is Being Misunderstood

Submission: Kiryeo has a badly healed leg injury which makes it difficult for him to walk and impossible to run, lungs damaged by smoking that heavily limit his physical ability, lung cancer that causes him to cough up blood occasionally and a severe depression to the point of memory loss. He couldn't receive treatment for his leg and cancer due to the lack of money and in the end gave up on it and started to smoke to cope.

Mae Yakbing from Best Teacher Baek

Submission: She has a rare chronic illiness that causes her to get sick often, grow weak over time and die young.

Mu Tianchi (Jing Wang) from The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish

Submission: Jing Wang is mute.

Shen Qiao from Thousand Autumns

Disability: Blind

Shen Qingqiu from The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

Submission: Chronic illness. SQQ is poisoned by a fictional poison literally named “without a cure.” In universe his condition is treated much like a chronic illness that requires constant monitoring and maintenance (medication, check-ups and regular qi infusions) in order to keep in check. Even when he adheres to his treatment regime, it still has unpredictable flare-ups that could put him in serious danger if they happen at the wrong time. The flare-ups (which happen randomly and vary in length unless he receives medical aid) completely block his ability to use qi thus making in-universe actions that are normal/habitual for most his peers (such as flying) much more risky for him. 

Shi Qingxuan from Heaven Official’s Blessing (TGCF)

Submission: Ends up with a broken arm and leg that is not healed

Song Qingshi from Mistakenly Saving the Villain

Submission: 

ALS before he transmigrated (hopefully this counts, it's big part of his character as a doctor and he thinks about it a lot, and he even gets panicky in his new body when his limbs go numb!!) It's also not explicitly said but he's very autistic coded and canonically has a hard time understanding metaphors, communicating with other people/understanding others emotions, and when he's reading about medicine or doing experiments he hyperfixates and doesn't do anything else for the entire day. When he's with others he gets so anxious he ends up putting on a stern face, so people think he's scary when he's internally panicking 

Wiki Link

Wei Wuxian from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Submission: Wei Wuxian has trauma responses to several things, in particular dogs and the sparky sparky spirit whip. There's no way he doesn't have PTSD with everything he went through.

Xiao Xingchen from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation 

Disability: Blind

Xue Xian from Copper Coins / Tong Qian Kan Shi

Submission: 

Peddling my disabled gay dragon again... He's paraplegic for most of the story, and this affects him in his true form and all of the forms he shapeshifts into. He also gets a wheelchair at a certain point and he's so happy about it 🥺  He's also, like, such a vibrant and charming character. Hes soooooo annoying(affection and approval) and so over the top and i support him in everything. Also lets not forget that he has a tiny noodle form and curled around his bf's wrist like a bracelet. this lives rent free in my head what a move

Carrd Link

Zhou Zishu from Faraway Wanderers

Submission: He injects himself with the Nails of Seven Apertures for Three Autumns. These nails result in him becoming sickly. The effects of the nails are a limited life span, halved martial arts strength, periodic pain, a ruined sleep schedule, and withered meridians. 

Wiki Link 

Rejected

Ballister Blackheart from Nimona

Reason: Not from a web novel

Sapphia from High Class Homos

Reason: Not from a web novel (Webtoon)

[ajshaweel]

02 || The Brother

Niall got home that day and told his mum about Louis' sleepover part while they were having tea.

"That's lovely Niall" she said, but he could tell that she was not really listening. She was too busy concentrating on feeding his brother, Greg. Niall was dumbfounded at that but it was usual.

It took all his willpower to not scream in frustration.

"There now, Greg, yum yum" his mother mumbled, spooning yoghurt into Greg's mouth.

Their mums mouth opened and shut but Greg's mouth didn't always open and shut at the right time. It snapped shut so that the spoon clanked against his teeth or suddenly gaps open so that yoghurt drooled down his chin.

Their mum, Maura, mopped at him and Greg's arm jerked up as he tried to grab the cloth.

"There! Did you see that Niall? Greggs trying to wipe his own chin. Cleave boy Greg!"

"Mm, clever boy" Niall repeated, trying to not sound sarcastic

Niall thought his brother Greg wasn't clever. He didn't even go to the same school a him, not this new one or their old one. He never used to go to school at all, he just stayed at home with their mother, but now he goes to this new special school.

That is why Niall had to attend this new school, because they moved house. It's a special school because Greg has special needs. That was the right way to describe him in Nialls brain.

There are a lot of wrong ways to describe him. Some children at his old school used to call Greg horrible names when they saw his mum pushing her in the street. That caused them to call Niall names too.

Niall didn't think that Zayn would call Greg horrible names, neither would Louis or Harry but he wasn't exactly sure about Liam.

Niall talk about his brother since he started this new school because he didn't want anybody to call him names even though he himself called his brother names sometimes.

He got mad at him because he isn't a real brother. They can't play together or swap clothes. They can't dance and giggle and mess about. Greg is not like a big brother to Niall because he can't even tell him or hold his hand crossing the road or watch out with him at school.

He is not like a little brother either because he's too big to sit on his lap and he's too heavy for him to carry around. Lately, it has even been a struggle to push him in his wheelchair.

Something was wrong with Greg when he was born, he won't ever be able to walk or talk at least that's what their dad says. There mum says that they just don't know and there is always a chance.

Nialls parents have arguments about Greg sometimes, and he doesn't like it. Sometimes he almost hates his brother because he's always in the way and he cries a lot and he wakes up in the night and takes up a lot of time.

At the same point, Niall always feels lousy if he is mean to Greg. He will get into Greg's bed at night when their parents are asleep and whisper sorry in his brothers ear.

He cuddles him and even though he doesn't exactly cuddle him back, he acts like he's glad that Niall is there. He makes these little soft sounds.

Niall pretends that it is Greg talking to him in his own secret language. The boy whispers secrets to him under the covers and he whispers "ur-ur-ur-ur-ur" back to him. It is as if they are having their own tiny private sleepover just for them.

Getting into bed with Greg that night, Niall told his brother all about Louis' sleepover. Niall has already told him heaps about Zayn, to the point that he probably sounds whipped.

Niall has told him a lot about Liam too and how he wishes she didn't sometimes act like she was his worst enemy.

"What are you saying, Greg?" He whispered "oh, I get it! You say that Zayn is probably going to get seriously fed up with Liam being so mean and moody all the time. You think he's going to friends with him and be my best friend instead?"

Greg went "ur-ur-ur-ur-ur" and Niall gave him a grateful hug.

Sometimes he was almost glad that he had a brother like Greg.

Masterlist

[measuringbliss]

Spider-Man Read-Through 084 Secret Wars

MASTERPOST

It's not as fun as you'd think!

So various heroes get transported...

...there. Who are they?

Oh. Well, that's helpful. I'm glad to see Captain Marvel <3

And who are their foes, you may ask?

Nice.

Oh, and Magneto's also there.

You must admit that this has style.

Ultron, in his infinite wisdom, decides that his companions are his enemies, which is fun. Doom painfully persuades a reformed Molecule Man to get Ultron out of the way, but MM is honest now! Well, throwing Ultron against Galactus's giant legs isn't too violent, I guess.

Beyonder then appears: if either camp defeats the other one, they'll see their desires come true.

They all finally land on Battleworld. Magneto quickly gets sick of everyone treating him like a criminal and leaves the heroes. Similarly, Doom's fed up of the villains' stupidity and gtfo. He's become obsessed with the possibility of speaking and getting information from a higher being, but the heroes's compassion when they find him makes him go berserk.

And then the rest of the villains appear.

#2!

Doom goes to Galactus and he's very funny.

It's interesting to see that several of the villains (Magneto and Doom, notably) think about the implications of this event, while the heroes just want to stop the villains. Doom and Molecule Man keep being very gay.

Jen and the Wasp have a heart to heart.

Awww. Things suddenly happen: Magneto takes the Wasp away, Ben's not the Thing anymore, and Spidey and the Torch almost kiss. The "almost" does a lot of heavy lifting, admittedly.

In #3, it quickly turns out that Magneto had planned a date for him and the Wasp. Sure! Meanwhile, Spidey eavesdrops on the X-Men, who don't feel very welcome.

You brown-noser. Professor X eventually calms him down. All his forgotten (literally).

At this point, it's clear that this world has elements that appeal to each character's sensibilities. A true playground (which, given its real-world origins, makes sense).

You Casanova.

Anyway, Doom made two new supervillains, Volcania and Titania (Black Cat should have come to him in the first place!). As for Thor, he heals the Enchantress and she leaves. I'm sort of skimming through these issues, if you can't tell.

Soon, the villains attack our heroes.

Hey that's a great cover for #4!

Volcania and Molecule Man flirt with each other, and the latter drops mountains on the heroes. Admittedly, it makes for really cool visuals.

Things keep happening. Magneto makes a comb for the Wasp, the Torch sings Michael Jackson and kisses Zsaji, who Colossus was interested in, the Lizard has a fun moment, Spider-Woman's introduced...

Always fascinating lines.

Anyway...

Oh. Surely nothing bad will come from this.

Very similar to what USM 2024 would do decades later, isn't it?

I... don't like that costume. Oh well...

Peter thinks he was influenced by that new Spider-Woman's costume. Maybe!

I have a feeling Battleworld's fashion is rather limited. Johnny calls Peter a fruitcake the next panel, if you're curious.

So Peter's officially bisexual. Yay!

He's also a slut, but we already knew about that.

That's raw. At that point, Doom possibly absorbs Beyonder's energy and can basically do anything? Sure. He also shows the heroes his face and he's kind of not very handsome.

Later...

I like his theatrics.

Love the contrast though.

The war eventually ends. Professor X, no longer confined to a wheelchair, wants to lead the X-Men more actively. Storm isn't happy about it.

OH WELL.

Oh, okay.

What else can we check... Oh, I know!

Such a strange idea, I'm sure nothing will come of it.

It first spoils what happens in the next Spidey comics, and THEN diverges. The plot is kind of horrible. When the heroes finally get the symbiote off Peter, he's become an old man, drained of energy. He just has the time to have a melancholic moment with May, then he dies of old age. Then the symbiote continues to possess other people until, finally, Black Cat blasts it and keeps serving the Kingpin. It's really dark, oof.

Overall, uh, it's a mess I wasn't very invested in, but I liked the showcase of Molecule Man's powers.

Next time: we get to DeFalco's run!

[postsforposting]

Trigger tags are not shaming and they do not function to say "this is a horrible thing no one should be exposed to". They are about someone's personal issues and an attempt to make the world less abrasive for themselves. This is like you being upset that someone won't eat your potato salad because there's egg in it, and they'll die, but you're offended because they just won't be polite enough to eat what they're given and now they're going on about you wanting them to die and oh just how horrible a thing to accuse you of....while you're still going on about their rudely refusing to eat something that will kill them. This is the same mindset that conservative people have when they say that tws are for "snowflakes" and people who won't engage with the real world, that it's just people who need to nut up and be forcibly exposed to rape scenes so they'll get over it and stop ruining everyone else's good time, or stop trying to get out of college course work by claiming they're too fragile to handle the work they chose to sign up for.

People asking for and using tws are allergen warnings. It's literally just a content label, an index. It's not a moral reprehension. You thinking tws are for immoral things only, like a movie rating scheme, is your personal misunderstanding. It's a disability tool, it's a simple index, not a political platform or religious edict. It's not a secret scarlet letter project. People sure like to act like it's a moral brand, but it's not.

Making it into a moral issue and demanding people "nut up" is not a healthy or unbigoted attitude. That's no different than telling a wheelchair use to just "stop being lazy, get up and walk". Surely that's not something you do.

These are competing needs. You don't want to deal with anyone being upset by your art, that's fine. But you don't get to police other people's choices either, just as they can't police yours. That is how boundaries work. They don't get to call you horrible because you upset them, and you don't get to call anyone horrible because they upset you. That's simple courtesy and fairness. People can ask for tags, and people can say no. Neither party is in the wrong, until you involve moral judgement. This is not a moral issue. You cross a line when you claim the only reason someone would be upset is because they're a bigot, that people should nut up or shut up, because that's the same kind of reasoning that justifies telling a rape survivor that same line. They aren't different. You can't condemn one and not the other, you can't justify one but not the other. Asking for a justification before you'll stop claiming anyone's a bigot is "prove you're not faking it" territory. Nobody owes anyone their life story or personal details. People do owe each other simple courtesy. Going straight to claiming people are bigots without wondering about a justification isn't better, it's execution without trial, because you don't think there could be any reason, because again, you don't understand it's not a moral condemnation.

Claiming other people are immoral for using a simple tool is the only immoral and shitty thing here, and is a total misunderstanding of what a tw is. It's a disability tool. That's it. You wouldn't claim a wheelchair user refusing to walk in your house is "making a statement that you don't clean your floors enough" and then throw a fit at them. Because them using a wheelchair is not about you. Other people using tws is not about you or even your work, it's about their own feelings and history. That's literally what...post...traumatic....means.

I would caution against phrases like "employ critical thinking". It sure gives a great zing when you think you're getting one over on people you're judging, but when it's your turn on the chopping block, it really just makes you look bad. Things that you use to hurt other people can be used to hurt you too. When we agree being mean is bad, both things stop. This is the same kind of issue with using name calling and other negative tools. They feel great, but when you're the one in the wrong, it backfires, because then you look like a fool who "doesn't have a brain"--which is a really hateful thing to say if we're trying to be kind, decent, progressive. People can be wrong for lots of reasons, none of which have to do with intelligence, none of which have to do with lack of careful thought and moral reasoning ability. Simply not having had the thought happens, and it's no more a moral issue than forgetting things as we all do. That sort of phrasing is also flat out nasty to people with intellectual disabilities, they aren't incapable of reasoning and morality just because it takes longer to get there, any more than the rest of us are incapable of it because we're not Einstein.

someone tagged multiple drawings of mine ft fat characters as “tw body image” i am entitled to compensation and im stealing shit out of your house right now

[pandoravalentine]

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 1 𝖕𝖗𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖊𝖜: 𝖆 𝖒𝖎𝖘𝖘𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖌𝖎𝖗𝖑, 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖘𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝖘𝖊𝖈𝖗𝖊𝖙𝖘

(Chapter 1 preview: a missing girl, and the sister with secrets)

"Reporting live from the Sinopa Sheriff's department. Local teen, Adelaide Leroux has been reported missing by family. I'm here with Sheriff Monroe. Sheriff, this is shocking news, what can you tell us about this case?"

Miriam sighed, slurping up the remainder of her takeout before dumping it into the trash. Watching the media vulture's claw at the department before they could even fully begin the case. Side Eyeing Deputy Sheriff Wrangler, who sat laughing alongside his co-workers.

While watching Clara Randall, the news lady for the counties station, her stomach dropped at seeing a former partner glaring at her through the screen, even if she wasn't looking, Miriam could feel her radiating off the screen.

"Well, Mrs. Randall, we just got the report early this morning. We don't have very much to deliver to the public yet. But once we do, you will be the first to know.” Miriam could see the twitch in the older man's brow, his curled mustache hiding his obvious frown.

“But sheriff, should we be afraid for our children at all? School starts in less than a week!”

“I guarantee you, that we're all safe here, thank you.”

She watched as the sheriff opened the front door to the station, and she heard the stomps toward the break room.

“WRINGLER.” his voice rang through the hallway like a roar.

The once smug man jumped as his cohort seemed to scatter to different tables as the sheriff made his way into the room.

“uh, yes sir?”

“What have I said about involving your wife in private police affairs!?”

Sheriff Wringler gulped, looking away as Monroe ripped him a new one. Miriam made a point to bite her tongue from laughing at the display.

Sheriff Wringler. Or as his full name was, Sheriff Sidney Wringler, he was a crass forty-something whose wife worked at the news station. Both were known for being snoops and blabbermouths around town. He wasn't well liked around the station either. Especially when it came to other officers' private business or cases they were given. Sheriff Monroe kept him on as a second in command, but he wasn't allowed near any cases as a condition of sorts.

Miriam was snapped back to reality when Sheriff Monroe called for her to follow him out of the room. Unlocking her wheelchair, she rolled out of the room behind him. Glancing back t o see a very irritated Wringler glaring back at her.

Once they made it to his office, Sheriff Monroe rolled back and sat his hat down. Groaning as he slouched into his office seat.

“What did you need sir?” Miriam said, her hand finding her forearm. Her nail rubbed alongside the skin, gently.

“Well, as you saw in that horrible display of a news anchor. We have a missing girl.”

“Yes, I saw. But what does that have to do with me, exactly?”

He smiled, his old wrinkled face was a sight of comfort for her.

“You're my best worker, Detective greendale. Which is why I want you to be the one to work this case. I trust that you'll bring her home safely.”

Her heart dropped to her stomach. A new case…? But, the last time she was on a case, it was a disaster. The lump where her right hand used to be, was a daily reminder for her.

“But sir, I can't! I mean i can't work the field– not after last time–”

“Miriam, calm down.” he said, she nodded, taking in a deep breath as she tried to stop the shaking in her hands. A flair up in her hands was causing them to spasm.

“I know you can do this, even with what happened before. But you're right about field work, which is why I'm pairing you up with someone else.”

She stopped, brow quaking as he pulled out a file for her. His somehow not so aged handles gingerly handing the thin file to her. Watching as she read through the information they had already obtained from the report.

“Who am I working with?” she finally said, looking up from the paper.

—

As his alarm clock rang, Micheal sighed as he got up and dressed for his new job at the Sinopa Sheriff's office.

Brushing the long dark strands of his hair back into a ponytail, he wondered what his former sergeant meant when he said this place was doozy. The curiosity only festered as he brushed his teeth and ate his breakfast. The questions he had for this sheriff monroe. Especially with a new case right off the bat.

As he hopped into his car, he waved goodbye to his neighbors. Making sure to steer clear of the rez dogs. Many of his neighbors gave a large cheer for him as he ventured out of the rez, a hopeful air in his head as he drove out into the woods, and into town.

The drive was 30 minutes, 30 long minutes of him wondering and thinking of a new job and wanting to see how it all worked. An average drive that felt like an eternity to the anxious man.

As he got into the building, asking the receptionist for Sheriff Monroe, he was sent to his office, where he softly rapped on the door. A muffled come in was heard.

“Right on time Micheal! Detective Greendale, this is Detective Aider. He is your partner in this case.” the woman in the wheelchair turned to look at him.

Micheal smiled at her, as did she.

Detective Greendale was only a few years younger than him. With auburn hair and freckled face. He didn't seem to notice her missing and until she fully turned towards him, her left hand on a controller of sorts.

“Well, let me show you where you'll be working. I'll fill you in on the case Detective aider.” Sheriff Monroe said. Leading the pair into the hallway.

Detective Greendale handed him the files as Monroe spoke of their case. Leading them into a conference room, detective Aider finally spoke up, reading through the missing persons report for the girl, Adelaide Leroux.

“The Leroux family, Joseph and Genevieve LEroux came in last night, reporting their daughter as missing. They said she was going camping up north for two weeks, but as that second week concluded, they got a text from her, saying she'll be gone another week. But as that final well ended, and no more calls or texts came in, they filed a report.”

“Wait, her parents let a 17 year old go off on her own for two weeks?”

Sheriff Monroe shrugged, “I don't know, all they reported was in those files. But that's why they're coming in an hour. They're going to fill in any gaps in the report.”

After sheriff Monroe left the room. Detective Greendale turned around to Detective Aider. Her face stern as she wheels up to him.

“Make me a promise, will you?”

Brows furrowed, he nodded. “Sure.”

“Promise me–” she hesitated. “Promise me you wont die.”

Stunned, he nodded and gave a thumbs up. She looked into the hallway, and then glanced back at him.

“Ladies first.”

Chrodling, he walked out into the lobby. Greendale took a deep breath, the quivering in her hands failing to cease after her little speech.

—

Tessa groaned as she exited the bathroom stall. Wiping her mouth of vomit and drool. Turning on the faucet to splash some water in her mouth, hopefully the taste of her stomach acid would soon subside.

Glancing up into the mirror, the person staring back at her wasn't herself. It was just a fake, sickly version of herself. The deep purple eyes, her grown out hair, and her once rounded curvy face was slim and sickly. Whoever said heroin chic was out clearly didn't give her the memo.

Imagine her surprise, when she is pulled from what wants to be a year's worth of treatment after just 2 weeks being there. All because little miss Adelaide didn't show up after a 3 week long bender, or as her parents called it, a “camping trip”.

The bathroom door opened, her mothers heels clicking on the floor as she held the door open, her deep blue eyes piercing into Tessa's face. She could see her mothers tight expression, her hand gripping the door. Hard.

“What was with the dramatics THeresa?”

“Nothing mom, I'm just not feeling good. You know, withdrawals are a bitch.”

The cliocking of her heels was rapid as she gripped onto Tessa's arm. Yanking her to look in her eyes. Tessa's eyes widened in shock, despite the feeling of bile in her throat. Threatening to come up for an encore, she swallowed it down. Trying her best to focus on her mother.

“You will not make a fool out of us Theresa, I don't care if you're having “withdrawals” suck it up and be a good sister.”

“Okay.” she shrugged off her hand. Turning to the sink and finishing washing her hands.

Her mother sighed, watching Tessa wash her hands for the second, and third time. “Im sorry, your fathers just–”

“I get it mom. Dads worried about Adelaide. I get it.” She dried her hands and left the room.

The police department was old. Like 40 or 50 years old. The carpets had the smell of dust and age seeped in alongside the walls. A fake brick with a yellowed paint job. The stripes of red and blue are a powerful contrast, the only lively thing in that place.

Turning the corner, her mother was close on her tail as she entered the interview room. Standing back against the wall as her father gave his testimonial. One that stank of his blatant favoritism and rosecoloured ideology of her younger twin.

“So, sir, I want to be crystal clear here. You allowed your 17 year old child to go to some strange cabin up north with friends you cant even give a name to?” the tall man said.

She watched her fathers hands clasp into a hard fist atop his lap. Yet his face was that of pure calmness and tranquility. He was pissed, and they were all going to face that when they got home.

“No sir, I was under the impression that she was going with Andrea and Marcie. Two of her friends from school.”

“Do either of them own a cabin?”

Her dad shrugged, “id expect andrea Russo to have owned one. You know their money.” he tried to laugh it off. But his tense hands and tight jaw spoke a different story. His hands only seemed to tighten as her mom placed her hands onto his shoulders.

“Alright then, uh do you want your children to maybe go next?”

Glancing over at her little brother, Caleb seemed to freeze at the mention. Shakn ghis head softly.

Her mother, rushing to explain Caleb's lack of talking, was interrupted by the woman sitting next to the tall man, smiling, handing up a clipboard and pen in her hand. Her little brother's eyes lit up. Looking to his parents for confirmation. They nodded.

The lady led him out into the lobby, Tessa's father following after them. Leaving tessa and her mother in the room. Her mother giving her an expectant look to sit with her.

“So, you're Adelaide's twin sister.” she nodded.

Tessa's heart beat in her chest, while it was rhythmic and at a normal pace for her, her chewed nails found their way to her lips. Chewing and pulling at her nails and cuticles. The detective took notice of this, in his attempt at a reassuring smile, he spoke again.

“You can relax here. I promise it's a safe space for you.”

In his words, she felt a slight weight off her shoulders. Sighing as she nodded at him.

“Alright, do you remember the last night you saw your sister?”

She nodded. “Uh, it was August 3rd or 4th I think. I remember her talking about it on the phone with someone a couple days before.”

“Was it andrea?” he jotted something down.

Shaking her head, the memories from the weeks prior wee foggy. “Uh, no I don't think it was.”

The detective furrowed his brow. Crossing something out. “Then who do you think it was then?”

“No clue if I'm being honest with you.”

“You guys didn't talk about this kind of stuff? Would you say you two were close at all?”

Tessa shook her head. No they weren't close. Not at all. That was the honest truth, too. Despite what her parents would have you think. Despite being twins!

Her silent answer was enough to make her mother nudge her, her eyes glaring hard as her lips were pinned in a straight line. A warning for her to behave.

If Tessa had to decide what was more confusing in that moment, being honest with the detective over her foggy memories, or committing to a stupid lie that had more risk over her sister's life? She wouldn't be able to choose. Not that she cared, really. She knew her sister, and much like her, Adelaide was probably just partying before school started. That's usually what she did.

“If I'm being honest, Detective. My memories a bit hazy on that last night i saw her.” she finally spoke up.

He sat there, a bit puzzled by her words. But regardless, he let her continue.

“I was crossed that night. I remember it being rainy, and cold. My sister had packed up her bags and we were arguing. I think it had something to do with her boyfriend? My brain is really foggy from that night.”

“Boyfriend you say? Whose that?”

“Oh benjamin! What a lovely boy. He's Roxanne McCains boy. He's a lovely young man…”

Her mothers words about the boyfriend faded out of her head. The memories she hadn't tried to think of– in fact, the memories she actively tried to forget were coming back to her.

“You stupid fucking bitch!” the sound of glass shattering and slaps being thrown.

“He would never ever do that you lying whore!” her sister screamed. Twisting her hands as she tried to get a punch in at Tessa's face.

The bruises on her wrists were still sore from her sister's grip. The need for nicotine painted at the back of Tessa's throat. Her hands softly patted the laminated wood of her chair, before knocking on it thrice. She continued the action two more times, until the detective finally called her name back into reality.

“Theresa? Are you alright?”

“Yes, I am. Sorry. I got… distracted.” She tried her best to smile at the officer. Who gave an equally awkward smile back.

“Well, we'll call you guys if we need anything else.” he shook their hands. Tessas is still shaking from the withdrawals.

As he led the family out of the room, meeting her dad and little brother. He shook her fathers hand, Tessa noticing her dads blatant ignorance of the woman. She made sure to shake her hand in goodbye.

The day was sunny, which seemed right for late August. But the sunlight reflecting off of her face seemed to burn a little, maybe it was the withdrawals, maybe it was the tiredness that hit her like a truck. But the feeling left up her skin was the burning pain of the sun.

It was a Wednesday, and despite her release from the psych ward just a day ago, she was ready to continue her summer plans. Especially as they related to the September long parties. Not that she wasn't worried for her sister– she was! Tessa also knew that Adelaide had a habit of scaring her family with her antics. Despite their denial of it, she knew that ug anyone caused a panic like this, it wasn't her doing it.

Tessa and Caleb had waited by the car, their parents behind, seeming to have said something to the cops.

Hopping into the car, she tried her best to ignore the feeling of dread that encompassed her stomach. The anxiety that she had forgotten something, that same feeling followed her all the way home.

—

Groaning as he read through the written statement of the boy. Detective Aider looked back at his partner, who opened a pill bottle, popping a pill before following it up with some coffee.

“What's that?” He asked, setting the inboard down.

“It's just some anti-inflammatory medication, for my flare ups.”

“Flare Ups?”

She nodded. “I have CRPS, I got it from an accident, that's why I'm in this wheelchair too. Fucked up my legs really bad.”

He swivels towards her, “can you walk?”

She nodded, “and drove too. But only for short distances, that's why I live like 3 minutes away, I usually walk home.”

He hummed in acknowledgement, before looking back at the clipboard.

“So this report…”

She sighed, nodding as she wheeled up to him, taking the clipboard and reading it aloud.

“‘the night my sister went missing, my sisters had a fight. Addie and Tessa were throwing things and screaming at each other. I remembered Addie destroying the fancy cups and plates upstairs before throwing tessa around. She almost fell down the stairs.’ that's really fucked up. But I don't know, the kid seems out of it mostly.”

Aider chuckled, “you should've seen the sister. She was out of her mind!”

“Didn't her parents say she was just out of… rehab was it?”

“Psych eval. That's rough, dealing with that at 17.”

Greendale nodded in agreement. Looking over the other statements taken.

“it looks like the fight was absent from both of the parents statements, why do you think that is?”

“no idea. It's a bit concerning though. Especially since we have a detailed written report and another that's really hazy.”

“Do we trust Theresa's statement?” Greendale said.

He shrugged, “I don't know, she did bring up a good place to start though.”

She cocked her head, “and Where's that exactly?”

“school starts in a week, and her mother gave me a full list of friends to look at.”

[dutch-oven-cowboy]

having to remind myself that i’m allowed to call my discomfort and pain severe

[dilfdoctordoom]

On Tom Taylor, the Current Nightwing Run & Ableism

I did mention I was gonna do a post about it, so here we are. There are some things I want to make clear before we begin: the issue exploded on Twitter on the very first day of disabled Pride month; disabled people have been discussing the ableism in Taylor’s Nightwing run since it began; nobody has blamed Taylor for what happened to Barbara in 2011. We are, however, blaming him for the way she is written in his series during 2021. 

I am also going to be discussing the ableism in the fandom in this post. The reactions I have seen, from here to Twitter to TikTok, are showing not only a great misunderstanding of the situation, but a purposeful misunderstanding. The very real reasons disabled people are angry right now have been twisted to make us seem ridiculous and overly sensitive and I cannot help but feel that is very intentional.

Another quick addition: disabled people are not a monolith. Barbara Gordon spent over 20 years as a paralyzed wheelchair user. Stating (and I would like to note, never truly showing) that she is a part time cane user now is still erasing her disability. These things are not interchangeable.

So, with that out of the way, let’s begin.

Tom Taylor’s run is ableist. That is a fact of this situation. He made the active choice to include a version of Barbara Gordon that is ableist caricature. Story wise, the role that Barbara plays could have easily been filled by anyone else. There is no real season, within the narrative and outside of it, for Taylor to include this version of Barbara Gordon, who has received a decade of criticism from disabled people. It’s very well known that this iteration is problematic, to put it kindly, and Taylor is aware of that. 

He made the active decision to include her, anyway, showing, at the very least, that he is passively, if not actively, ableist. Passive ableism is still ableism and disabled people are allowed to take issue with that.

That alone is reason enough for disabled people to be angry. But that’s not why things exploded on Twitter.

On July 1st, the very first day of disabled pride month, the new design for Barbara was dropped. After months of teasing Barbara’s return to a wheelchair using Oracle (see: Last Days of The DC Universe, Batgirl (2016), etc), they debuted... a new Batgirl costume that the artist has openly said draws inspiration from the Burnside suit.

There’s a lot of issues to unpack here, so let’s start small: the issue with consciously calling back to Burnside. The Burnside era of Batgirl stories was... beyond awful. The villain of the series’ first arc, was an AI based on Barbara’s brain patterns when she was disabled. It was evil because of all the rage and pain Barbara felt. The actual Barbara, on the other hand, was good -- because she was able bodied. Because her PTSD had been tossed aside. It was a horrifically ableist era that drove the idea that Barbara’s life was terrible when she was disabled; that it was some horrible, twisted secret.

Comics have kept that narrative going. Barbara is seen hiding books on chronic pain; she reacts aggressively to the mere idea that she could be in a wheelchair again, acting like it would be weakness. Whereas Barbara had once been Oracle not because of, but in spite of, her disability, who was fantastic representation for the disabled community, she now acts like it is the most shameful thing in her life.

To call back to Burnside is to call back to that ableism and make no critique of it. If anything, it’s to embrace the ideas of that era.

There is also the design itself to consider. Many people have pointed out the inclusion of a back brace, as if that saves it from ableism -- it does not. Any person who has ever worn a back brace can take one look at this design and know that they did not consult a disabled person. Hell, by how impractical that thing is, I doubt they even Googled a picture of a back brace.

It’s a superficial acknowledgement that Barbara is supposed to be disabled. Something that was apparently thrown in to appease the numerous complaints of Barbara being able bodied; something that no one working on it put any effort into.

When it comes to aids, this is not a new thing for Barbara in Infinite Frontier. She’s said to be using a cane occasionally, that we got a better look at in Batman: Urban Legends, and as any cane user can tell you... that is not a cane that could feasibly be used. It’s another pathetic attempt to acknowledge that Barbara is supposed to be disabled, without actually doing anything of importance.

[IMAGE ID:  A segmented cane with a tri-pointed handle with a wrist strap. There is a stripe across the sections to connection them, labelled “solar battery charger buttons”. The text reads: “telescoping antenna doubles as cane or weapon if needed”. END ID]

Dropping this design (which we have now established to be problematic) on the very first day of disabled pride month is a sickening move. The very first day, and DC has doubled down on their disability erasure, thrown in superficial things like a back brace to act like it’s fine.

Tom Taylor is definitely involved in this, whether you like it not. No, he is not in anyway responsible for the events of the New 52 and what they did to Barbara Gordon, but that does not absolve him of blame for what is currently being done to her in his run.

When the design dropped, it started trending due to disabled fans reactions. To be clear: we were directly calling out the ableism in this design. This was Tom Taylor’s response:

[IMAGE ID: A tweet from TomTaylorMade that says: “Hey, @Bruna_Redono_F I think our new Batgirl suit is getting some attention.” He then adds a winky face emoji and tags @jesswchen and @drinkpinkkink. Attached are a screenshot showing that Batgirl is trending in the United States and a picture of the design itself. END ID]

This is him, bragging about how the disabled community reacted. Perhaps before this tweet, you could’ve made an argument that he was not ableist, but after he flaunted the fact that disabled people were rightly furious over this, like it was something to be proud of? No. If you are defending him, you are a part of the problem.

Taylor has included ableist writing in his Nightwing run, beyond the inherent ableism that comes with the current iteration of Barbara Gordon (whose inclusion, yet again, is his decision).

[IMAGE ID: A panel from Nightwing #79. Barbara and Dick are standing in his apartment. Barbara is saying: “I have some pretty new technology holding my spine together. I’m happy to do most things -- eat pizza in the park, take down low-level thugs -- but leaping from rooftops seems... unwise.” END ID]

What Barbara says in the panel above has bothered a lot of disabled people. The implication that she couldn’t “eat pizza in the park’ and “take down low-level thugs” without a spinal implant that conveniently erases her disability is... fucked up, to put it mildly. Those are both things that Barbara has done in a wheelchair. The first one is something wheelchair users can do and the implication that it’s not is beyond offensive.

But, let’s leave Barbara behind for a moment. I have previously mentioned that disabled people have been discussing the ableism present in this run long before July -- and that ableism is not only centred on Barbara. Dick is also a player in all this.

Dick Grayson was shot in the head. I don’t believe I need to retread the story, but just in case: Dick was shot in the head by KGBeast, developed amnesia from the event, and went by Ric Grayson for a long enough period in comics. If you have been active within the DC fandom for the past year or so, you know all about this controversial storyline and its fallout.

The Ric Grayson arc concluded itself the issue before Taylor became the writer for the series and ever since his tenure has begun, Taylor has completely ignored the reality of Dick being a disabled man. We understand this is comics, that things do not function the way they do in our world, but still -- it is clear that this gunshot wound to the head has affected Dick massively. We had an entire arc dedicated to how he struggled to find himself in the aftermath.

Taylor is choosing to write Dick as an able-bodied man, despite his canonical injuries and how they would impact his life.

This man is choosing to give empty gestures towards Barbara being a disabled woman (as discussed above, the completely dysfunctional back brace, etc) whilst writing her as able-bodied as possible. He writes both Dick and Barbara as able bodied as humanly possible. That is ableist. He is ableist. This is the same man that said he made a dog disabled ‘in honour of Barbara’. I do not think I need to elaborate on why that is bad.

The least he could’ve done, was get a sensitivity reader. We know that Taylor is not beyond getting people from marginalized communities to consult on his work (see: Suicide Squad), so why, when writing two characters that should be disabled, one that the disabled community have been criticising for a decade, does he not reach out to a single disabled person? A mere Google search could’ve improved the situation massively. In both the new design and the current writing, it is beyond clear that this is not just an able-bodied person writing it -- it’s an ableist person.

He could have listened to the numerous disabled fans that spoke out. Instead, he chose not only to refuse to do that, but to describe justifiable anger as ‘raging’. He treated us like we were crazy for daring to speak out about blatant ableism being parading around of us in our pride month.

Tom Taylor has failed to do the bare minimum and in doing so, he is, at very, very least, guilty of complicity. Again: passive ableism is still ableism.

The argument at hand is not just about Barbara Gordon and the continuing ableism that shines out from her current writing. The argument is about the treatment of disabled characters in his run. It has also become about the way he treats physically disabled people.

We also can’t have this conversation without acknowledging the fandom’s role in it all. I waited a day to write this up, to allow all the reactions to flood in... and I am sickened.

We have everything across the board. Able-bodied people that have actually listened to disabled people, who have supported us (which is deeply appreciated). Able-bodied people who may have had good intentions, but a skewed sense of the situation and perpetuating some of the more insidious lies being spread around (IE. that this is only about the new costume).

There are, obviously, the ableist reactions, though, that we will be discussing here. People deeming the current issues as ‘crazy’, calling disabled people ‘overly sensitive’ and ‘delusional’. Many people have completely glossed over the examples given for why Taylor, specifically, is ableist, and instead have resorted to telling disabled people that we are wrong and should be mad at DC instead.

It’s important to note that Tom Taylor is an adult man. He doesn’t need a fandom to attack disabled people for daring to call him out. He is not the victim in this situation; he has, for quite a few disabled people, been the aggressor.

I have seen claims that Infinite Frontier is a ‘slow burn’, implying that disabled people need to patient... as if we have not waited a decade for less ableist writing. There is a complete refusal from able-bodied fans to actually listen to what disabled people are saying. They would much rather rush to the defence of the (honestly rather mediocre) current Nightwing run. 

Disabled fans know that comic book spaces are ableist. We know that both DC and Marvel and many of their writers are ableist. We are still allowed to be pissed as hell about it and acting like the current reaction being had right now is disabled people being ‘overdramatic’ is yet another example of how the able-bodied side of the fandom both refuses to listen to and undermine disabled people when we call out ableism.

We know it when we see it. We always do and we always will and we will always be able to recognize it far faster than an able-bodied person. If this many disabled fans are coming out and talking about an issue, calling it ableism, then it’s time for you shut up and listen.

Stop being a part of the problem and start supporting disabled fans for once.

[adoribullpavus]

reasons why i am anti finn hudson: an essay by me

yo gleeks and gays.

welcome to my humble abode.

now, before i get started, here’s a disclaimer for you little shits;

this post is NOT about cory monteith. it is about a character he plays on a tv show. i’m not gonna refrain from attacking finn just because of cory.

okay, here we go.

first of all, i think it’s important to mention that i don’t hate finn. i strongly dislike him. admittedly, my opinion goes up just a little whenever he says something dumb. but i am a firm believer that he is the most overrated, weakest character in glee.

as for will, i can openly confess that i HATE him. but that’s an essay for another day.

1. male lead

finn is introduced to us as this ‘hero’ of sorts, here to save glee club and unite the cliques of mckinley.

does he do this? no, not really.

throughout the pilot, we have people saying that they can’t win without finn or that they need him as their male lead.

i do not agree one bit.

they could’ve done perfectly fine without finn, considering it was rachel who was the star of the show. they only needed wanted finn for the look.

guess what, will? having the school quarterback in your club won’t make you number one!

cory was a good singer. he got stronger as the seasons went on and they could’ve had a worse male lead than finn.

but they could’ve had better.

scratch that - they HAD better.

kurt? maybe not as the lead. but they definitely could’ve utilised his voice a whole lot more, as it was one in a million.

but artie’s voice was a whole lot better than finn’s, yet they brushed him aside because, well, he didn’t fit the ‘asthetic’ (which is complete crap to me. why can’t a guy in a wheelchair be the lead?).

even puck’s voice was better than finn’s. granted, he wouldn’t have joined glee if not for quinn, and quinn wouldn’t have joined if not for finn, but they should’ve used him while they had him.

besides his voice, there are other reasons i don’t believe finn was suited to be a leader of the new directions.

like his loyalty, for example.

he constantly put his reputation above all else throughout the whole of season one and a lot of season 2. when asked to pick between glee or football, yes he always came back to glee, but his reputation was always taken into consideration. evidently, he usually went for the ‘cooler’ option when given an ultimatum.

i do have some examples of when he’s done this, but i haven’t watched season one in months and i do not have time to revisit it right now.

2. rachel and quinn

yes, quinn cheated on him and got pregnant.

yes, rachel cheated on him in uncalled for ‘revenge’.

no, i do not agree with either of those actions.

but finn wasn’t completely innocent in either situation.

in the second episode of season one, we see finn and rachel kiss for the first time. which is cute, for finchel stans. but he’s still dating quinn at this point. which makes him a cheater.

“but quinn’s was so much worse” i don’t care. cheating is cheating. if finn knew about quinn and puck at this time, then i’d understand. but he didn’t. as far as he knew, his relationship with quinn was solid. he actively chose to kiss rachel, betraying quinn in the process.

after this, he suddenly remembered how much he loved quinn and pushed rachel away. he was awful to her, manipulating her feelings for him in order to get what he wanted. like in 1x05 when he took her out on a ‘date’ just to get her back into glee so they could win. he went to her house in 1x11 because he was attracted to her, yet again going behind quinn’s back.

back to quinn, i felt bad for finn in the long run. you could see how much pressure quinn was putting on him during the pregnancy and how stressed he was about it all. but outing her pregnancy to her parents without her permission? horrible. quinn probably knew how her dad would react, so she most likely wanted to keep it a secret for a reason. but finn, not knowing if it would go well or not, decided to expose the pregnancy on his own terms and ended up getting quinn kicked out of her own home.

after breaking up with quinn, he, rather harshly, rejects rachel and tells her he doesn’t want to date her. but then when jesse came into the scene, finn decided he wanted her again and practically forced her to end things with jesse. he spent their whole relationship acting jealous and bitter, constantly trying to convince rachel to end things with jesse and date him instead.

but then they finally get together and everything seems okay for a minute.

until rachel finds out finn slept with santana and gets payback by making out with puck. which, yes, wasn’t fair on rachel’s behalf. finn didn’t cheat on rachel and she had the right to feel jealous of santana, but she didn’t have the right to be angry. so yes, i understand why finn broke up with her afterwards.

but then what does he do? chases after quinn once again. the girl who had a baby with someone else and broke his heart.

and for an added punch - she’s dating sam.

for someone who knows what it’s like to be cheated on, you wouldn’t think he’d go after a girl who is taken. but he does. he knowingly helps quinn cheat on sam and ruins their relationship with no remorse.

and then he parades their relationship around in rachel’s face and makes out like he never even loved her.

but guess what happens next.... jesse comes back to take rachel to prom and finn has issues with that. issues so bad that he ends up attacking jesse out of jealousy.

here is a boy that only wants the girl when she’s with someone else.

now, i despise quinn so i don’t feel particularly bad for her when finn breaks things off with her. but he was in the wrong for messing both girls around for so long.

at least this is the end of his and quinn’s relationship.

i don’t have a clear enough memory of their relationship in season 3 so i can’t really comment. all i’m gonna say, though, is that rachel did not cheat on finn with brody.

finn ended things with her in the last episode of season 3. even if it wasn’t a clear breakup, it was still a breakup. he ended things with her and then disappeared for months. rachel was moving on with her life and had every reason to move on with brody.

3. santana

i don’t care how mean she was to finn. i don’t care about the names she was calling him or anything else. there is never, ever a reason to out someone.

to quote his words; “that must hurt to not be able to admit to everyone how you really feel.”

he knew she was hiding her sexuality and he knew she was ashamed. he didn’t do this to help her. he did this because he saw her repressed homosexuality as a weapon he could use to get one over on her.

he calls her a coward for not admitting who she really was, which is absolutely vile. people are in the closet for different reasons. it doesn’t make them cowards. it makes them people with valid fears and emotions that are nobody’s business but their own. santana was afraid of coming out because she wasn’t sure if brittany loved her back. she was afraid of coming out because she knew her grandmother was homophobic and didn’t want to risk losing her. she was afraid of coming out because she still hadn’t completely accepted herself or who she was.

none of this had anything to do with finn and there is no valid excuse on earth to justify outing her like he did.

what makes me even madder was that he wasn’t even held accountable for his actions. santana was pissed and slapped him, as she should, but all he did was sing her a song and all was forgiven.

completely messed up!

4. kurt

now, i am a sucker for furt. i love their brotherly relationship and seasons 2b-4 furt have my heart.

but finn was a complete jackass to kurt, and it’s time someone called him out on it.

finn was not homophobic. he wasn’t against gays and he didn’t hate kurt for being gay. but he was definitely scared of being labelled by association.

and kurt wasn’t exactly shy about his crush on the quarterback.

while i do agree that kurt took his crush too far (i mean, setting up your parents just to spend more time with your crush is not normal behaviour) but i don’t believe he meant to be manipulative. he was just so blinded by his feelings that he didn’t realise he was going too far.

that doesn’t mean finn had the right to react the way he did.

that whole scene where burt lectures finn on his use of slurs was a powerful scene and one of my favourites in the show. but it still feels as though it was swept under the rug.

i get that finn was worked up, but calling his brother f*ggy? not acceptable by any measure. (yes, he was talking about the blanket, but he wasn’t really, was he...)

finn constantly judges kurt and hates on him for being himself, saying it would be easier for himself if kurt wasn’t so out there. and then when kurt was getting bullied, finn only decided to step in and protect his brother once burt forced him to. he practically admitted to rachel that he was staying out of the bullying because he didn’t want to tarnish his reputation. and while i don’t agree that the glee club confronting karofsky did kurt any favours, it was sure sweet in principle and finn should’ve wanted to stand up for his brother.

in 2x04, finn is awful to kurt in regards to sam. he wanted to sing a duet with him, and sam was clearly open to the idea, but finn still tried his hardest to shut it down. why? because he didn’t want kurt to ruin sam’s reputation. and while i understand he was thinking about what had happened between him and kurt, surely that was for sam to decide? i mean, who would’ve even known about the duet apart from the glee club? even if finn was partially right, he had the wrong intentions and being told to his face that he ruined people’s lives couldn’t have been nice for kurt to hear.

5. others

finn calling sue’s baby, who had downs syndrome, a r*tard was completely uncalled for and brushed under the rug far too easily.

finn’s treatment of blaine at the start of season three was horrendous and he shouldn’t have tried to make blaine feel bad about himself just because he was jealous of his talent.

finn using his grilled cheesus to pray for stupid things like touching rachel’s boobs instead of praying for his step-dad who was in a coma was shocking.

finn attempting to pull a handicapped quinn out of her wheelchair. now, i can’t really remember this scene all that well so imma leave it there. but it happened and it was wrong.

will favouring finn in everything he did. two instances that come to mind are will accusing santana of slapping him “unprovoked” when he knew full well finn had outed her. also him doing nothing when finn was beating up puck in season one. yes, finn was the victim in this situation. but as a teacher, will should stop violence whenever it happens. yet he watched kurt get abused for months and said nothing.

in conclusion, finn was praised as this “special” guy who was better than everyone, but in reality, he was insanely average. he wasn’t the best singer or dancer. there really wasn’t anything special about him, apart from being a dumbass most of the time. finn hudson is overrated and should’ve been held accountable for his mistakes far more than he actually was.

[earnestly-endlessly]

Cherik angst!

Ooooh the angst!! The cherik fandom has an abundance of angst fics and I could probably make a list of hundred fics to recommend, but these are some of my favourite angsty cherik fics. I should warn you though, some of these require tissues.

Cherik Angst

Everyday Love in Stockholm – tahariel

Summary: Magneto is the ruler of the posthuman world.

His only secret? Charles Xavier, the human he's kept locked in his bedroom ever since his right-hand woman, Mystique, came to him pleading for mercy for her stepbrother, who accepted her mutant form and protected her as a child. The human he started fucking after Mystique was killed in battle, despite the guilt he feels at contaminating even this last promise to the woman who was integral to his life's work and happiness.

Boden’s Mate – kaydeefalls

Summary: "Shaw has information that we need, and we need him alive to extract it," Moira says, and there it is: the job is on the table. Extraction.

XMFC/Inception fusion AU. Erik is an extractor, Alex is his point man. They're assembling a team to go after the most dangerous mind in dreamsharing: Sebastian Shaw. But unless Alex and the team can keep him in check, Erik's desire for vengeance might just rip the whole job apart around them -- and then there's the shade that haunts his dreams...

Ritual Self-Torture – TurtleTotem

Summary: Shaw is King, Charles is his royal consort and Erik is a Knight/Lord. Shaw is sterile but his kingdom can't find out, so he asks Erik to impregnate Charles.

He doesn't know Erik and Charles are in love.

The Winter of Banked Fires – Yahtzee

Summary: Charles Xavier has returned from the dead -- but is lost within his own mind. Rogue has cast aside her own power and doesn't know where she fits in the world any longer. The production of synthetic Cure means mutantkind itself is newly at risk. And Magneto, turned human against his will, is in despair until the day he feels a familiar consciousness tugging at his own

Us – Pangea

Summary: “Charles,” Erik says, and if his voice hits a pleading note then who can really blame him, “Charles, it’s me.”

It takes several longer moments before Charles musters up the strength to answer, breath stuttering horribly as he tries to breathe. He’s shaking, entire body trembling.

“Erik,” Charles says, his voice cracking, “Erik, I want to die.”

Enigma – Yahtzee

Summary: Erik dies, or finds a reversey-time mutant, or a magical time travelling device, and wakes up in the past. This time, though, it's before he ever met Charles - in fact, it's before his mother died.

He can save his mother that one time (thanks to his mastery over powers carrying back), but what does Erik do after that? Does he stick around, or escape and run to find Charles again (and hope everything doesn't go wrong)?

By Faint Indirections – kianspo

Summary: Erik is in his ~50s, and lonely and bitter. He survived the Holocaust and was only ~14 when the war ended; and even ~40 years later, living in a country that helped to end WW2 and the Third Reich, homosexuality is still a taboo topic. Then one day, he stumbles over Charles, who is young(early 20s) and bright and smart and cheeky and full of energy and beautiful. And moving in the same street where Erik lives.

Lonesome on the Shelf – ikeracity

Summary: After three years of marriage, Charles has to admit that his relationship with Erik has significantly cooled off. These days, they're barely ever home at the same time and it seems like every conversation they have turns into an argument. Charles misses the way they used to be, misses the spontaneous dinner parties and the surprise morning sex and the wake up calls in the early mornings to catch the sunrise. But it's going to take two of them to fix this marriage, and some days, it seems as if all Erik wants is to be rid of him.

A fic about rekindling marriage.

When the Spell Breaks – kianspo

Summary: Erik, a high-profile lawyer with a successful career, meets a 21-year-old grad student in a bar, and within a few short months marries him. He and Charles are blissfully happy, until Erik's boss runs a background check on Charles and discovers he's been cheating on Erik. Charles denies everything, as there was no affair, but Erik doesn't believe him and throws him out. As Charles tries to figure out how to survive and stay at school that he can no longer afford and makes a lot of bad if not plain dangerous choices, Erik has to fight his own battle of discovering the truth and winning Charles back.

The Tower and the Hurricane – dreamlittleyo

Summary:(Post-movie AU.) Five years after Shaw's death, Erik's predictions prove painfully accurate. Violence rages on both sides of the human/mutant conflict. In a world ravaged by war, it doesn't really matter who's more at fault. Charles struggles to teach his students a better way, but what choices will he make when peace really isn't an option?

The Attempt – Yahtzee

Summary: Charles knows everything about Erik, knows how obsessive and self-destructive he is, how Erik would do anything, give anything, in his quest for vengeance against Shaw. But he also knows that Erik loves him in ways that aren't exactly platonic.

I'd like to see a completely straight!Charles, out of pure love and care of Erik, initiate a romantic relationship with him. It can be because he wishes to give Erik something positive in his life or because he thinks it might help change Erik's mind about Shaw, the reason is up to author. Also, while Charles finds intimacy with Erik strange and awkward, he does enjoy the new, non-romantic layers that have developed in their relationship.

Apple Seeds – pprfaith

Summary: Charles, Erik, apple seeds and Shakespearean love affairs.

Ashes, Ashes – winterhill

Summary: Post-apocalyptic AU — When the bombs fall, and mutually assured destruction occurs, it turns out that Shaw was right and radiation does enhance mutant powers. Snapshots of the XMFC main ensemble in the time after the bombs: Erik decides to stay, Moira thinks she might be the only human left, Raven is having trouble sleeping, and Charles is losing his mind.

Warnings: nuclear holocaust: death (death in general, not a specific character), cancer, burns, medical procedure, mutant powers gone awry

Five Bullet Points – Sperare

Summary: It was supposed to be Erik locked away in a prison one hundred stories below the ground.

Charles was never supposed to be there with him.

Tequila on a spaceship – faerie_ground

Summary: In 2014, Charles Xavier gets brutally murdered and Erik Lehnsherr spends the rest of his life mourning his death.

In 3014, Captain Lehnsherr and CMO Dr Xavier are colleagues, best friends and maybe a little more besides that aboard the Magneto I.

The Tower and the Hurricane – dreamlittleyo

Summary: Post-movie AU.) Five years after Shaw's death, Erik's predictions prove painfully accurate. Violence rages on both sides of the human/mutant conflict. In a world ravaged by war, it doesn't really matter who's more at fault. Charles struggles to teach his students a better way, but what choices will he make when peace really isn't an option?

Simple and Uncomplicated – Pookaseraph

Summary: Erik and Charles had been fuck buddies for some, but when Charles is in an accident he figured their relationship would be over. Erik's visit to his bedside in the hospital changes his assumptions even as he has trouble believing Erik is sincere.

Lazarus – Clocks 

Summary: Erik is 19 when he says ‘I love you’ for the first time.

It would take five long years before Charles says it back.

Broken Eternity – CractasticDispatches

Sumnmary: It starts with being alone. It shouldn’t, perhaps, but it does because, of course, alone is what no one ever wishes to be.

Shout it Out Loud – dreamlittleyo

Summary: (Movie-Concurrent AU.) When Charles forges a telepathic link between himself and Erik, the two men find themselves bound together by more than just destiny. With the world on the brink of war, Charles and Erik struggle to cope with a psychic connection that may well be permanent.

Call Me By His Name – sinuous_curve

Summary: Charles wakes from the absence of noise.

There is an empty space in his room, beside his bed. Not quiet as in an abandoned room, but utterly, featurelessly blank. Like a box made of unblemished, impenetrable metal and Charles knows before he opens his eyes.

The Longest Word – septicwheelbarrow

Summary: "I'm Charles Xavier," he says, smiling from ear to ear. Then he gestures to his wheelchair. "Terminal spinal osteoblastoma, reaper due to collect in a year."

After some time, the man gestures at himself with a sardonic smile. "Same, one year. Lung." And then, reluctant, as if trying to keep his name to himself, "Erik."

I reject your reality and substitute my own. Doesn't really work that way, both ways.

Copy – chantefable

Summary: Charles wakes up without his memory. His sole caretaker, Erik, claims to be his husband, and tells him he's recovering from a car accident on their honeymoon.

Slowly falling for Erik again, Charles begins to regain his memories. He starts to notice strange things about his body, Erik, and their secluded mansion.

Myosotis – SomeCoolName

Summary: When Charles got back from Cuba, he lost the two things which made him stand: his legs and the love of his life, Erik Lehnsherr. Charles can get used to the wheelchair but he won't ever be able to get pass the loss of Erik.

"I wish I never met him" is something Charles says one night, maybe a bit drunk, absolutely wrecked for sure. It's a bit silly but Charles figures out his only solution is to use his own powers to erase Erik from his mind, progressively.

Except one day Erik comes back to the Xavier mansion to win him back. And even if Charles doesn't want to stop forgetting about him, Erik will do anything he can to convince him otherwise.

Das Haus am See – sareyen

Summary: The Lake House AU:

Erik is an estate planning lawyer who takes some time off to get away from the big city after his marriage fell apart. He lives in a picturesque lake house by Chautauqua Lake for almost two years, before moving back to New York City. This is in 2019.

Charles is a famous but very private author stuck in a creative rut, and moves to his lakeside estate for a short while to try and find a reason to write again. This is in 2017.

By magic or fate, Charles and Erik discover that the letter box at the lake house has the ability to send letters through time, between Charles in 2017 and Erik in 2019. Through letters that transcend the barriers of time, Charles and Erik fall in love. Charles vows to find Erik two years in his future, and Erik promises to wait for him. Two years - just two, meagre years.

But, fate is fickle, and time waits for no one.

Appropriate Boundaries – Yahtzee 

Summary: Charles has been having serious problems with back cramps in the year and a half since he's been in a wheelchair. His doctor prescribes massage therapy. But when Charles meets his masseur, Erik, in some ways they begin to heal each other. So how do you cross the boundaries between professional touch -- and the personal?

Unbound – Cesare, helens78

Summary: Thousands of miles apart, Erik Lehnsherr and Charles Xavier form a soulbond. But when that bond is severed five years later, they have to spend the next ten years trying to rebuild their lives alone.

Do You Love Me – cgf_kat

Summary: Charles and Erik have been married for 25 years, thrown together by a mandatory post-apocalyptic pairing system attempting to increase and strengthen the population. They have seven children. They have never spoken of love, but change is on the horizon.

A Quiet Riot – cloudstroke (aQuired)

Summary: Erik can't stand the fact that his father has brought home a boy less than half his age.

But mostly because he's madly in love with Charles Xavier himself.

[autisticcassandracain]

Been thinking about this since I read it but the way The Oracle Code handles the idea of curing disabilities is so good.

The thing is, it never unilaterally states that you should never try to find a cure for a disability. The director's daughter died of a disease at age 12; OBVIOUSLY you should try to find a cure for that, and it's a tragedy that there wasn't. Nobody disputes that.

What The Oracle Code highlights is the way abled people make those cures about themselves. The director and physical therapist claim to be acting in the interest of disabled people, all the while ignoring the wishes of said people, treating them inhumanely, and even seeing them as 'broken'.

I don't know if it was intentional (I think it is, but I'm not sure), but you can see this reflected in the entrance to their lab. It's a stairway without a lift, inaccessible to disabled people. Because it's not meant to be entered by disabled people, except when they're being carried by the abled. They are not involved in the process of finding cures for themselves, except as subjects.

And the entrance is hidden behind a portrait of the director's daughter. Her face plastered on a secret cell of human experimentation, created in her name, supposedly to help people like her. Would she want that? Probably not! But then, it isn't really about her, as a person, is it? It's about her father, how he felt watching her deteriorate, how he felt when she died, how he wants to spare others that grief. It's not about her. Then again, it never is, isn't it?

The Oracle Code highlights how the desire to find a cure for disabilities is steeped in the arrogance and selfishness of abled people. The physical director trying to fix disabled people, the arrogance of the assumption that he knows what's best for them, that their wishes don't matter, that his way of living is better than theirs. And the director's selfishness, using the memory of his daughter to do horrible things, never stopping to consider that she and the people he's experimenting on are human first and disabled second.

Instead, the Oracle Code focuses on disabled community and accomodations as 'cures'. Accepting the help from fellow disabled people is what lead Barbara to come to terms with herself, to stop feeling like she's broken. The lessons in how to use a wheelchair let her and her friends get down those stairs leading to the lab anyway, even if it was intended to shut them out. Her fellow disabled people did far more for Barbara than those people who were kidnapping her friends in the name of 'curing' her.

It's not necessarily that no disabilities should ever be cured; it's that, for abled people, that's the only solution they can see, the only one that matters. The director was already honoring his daughter's memory by helping hundreds of disabled people, but he couldn't see that. He saw those efforts, the one where he helped teach them how to live, how to reclaim their agency, as insufficient and barely worth mentioning. Because it wasn't about them, or his daughter; it was about him and his grief.

The effort to cure disabled people is often steeped in abled arrogance and selfishness. It shoves aside disabled people in the very effort that should involve them the most, because it isn't about them. It's about the abled people horrified by them, sorry for them, grieving for them, believing their lives to be inferior and broken.

Maybe a cure is necessary or helpful! For certain disabilities, it is, but you'll never know which ones unless you ask disabled people. Furthermore, a cure is hardly the most important way to help disabled people. Accessibility, community, and human dignity are far more important; if you can't give those first, you cannot be trusted to try and find a cure.

[danny-chase]

The Batfam as Tech Majors

AU where Alfred got tired of watching Bruce slap duct tape on the Batmobile and call it good, so he forced the children into college. He makes each of them complete an internship with Lucius in R and D so they have better knowledge of how the devices that their lives depend on work. Majors/minors/tropes under cut.

Dick:

Mechanical Engineering Major

He was in undeclared engineering for as long as possible

He settled on mechanical because it seemed the most broad

Plus he joined a car club, loved it, and there were a ton of MechE’s there

He ends up taking credit overloads most semesters because he always finds 1-3 random classes that he wants to take

Despite taking everything from advanced computer science classes (he somehow convinces even the most intense professors to let him into their classes) to hyper specific phycology classes, he doesn’t have any minors to show for it

He just gets bored with the subject after a couple classes

This gives him a bunch of random knowledge

When he talks to his younger siblings about classes, somehow he’s always managed to take at least one that they’re in, and offers advice.

He has the best RA stories. He most certainly did not need to be an RA. But the school was hurting for them and he thought it would be fun.

His residents loved him, but that didn’t stop them from playing beer pong in the common spaces at 3am.

He founds a circus arts club after his residents pull up information about his past and get overly excited about it

Specifically, he finds out they know about his past, because one of them decided it was a good idea to try and juggle knives, and because he’d prefer there not to be any additional bloodstains on the carpet he decides to start the club

He nearly graduated late because he forgot he needed to take specific classes for his major

Barbara: 

Computer Science/Math duel Major

She’s a TA for Comp Sci 1, all the students fight to get her help because she’s amazing at spotting bugs and is super patient

Somehow she’s the president of 3 clubs and is on student senate

She’s the curve breaker

She gets homework assignments meant to take a week done the day they’re assigned

She and Dick went to a single party together, stayed for five minutes, decided it was too loud, and went to get ice cream

Along with her club, she’s in professional organizations, and is part of a women in STEM mentoring program

She started a petition to get more wheel chair ramps installed. Half the buildings are protected under some “historical grounds” bs that’s an excuse for not being accommodating

The petition didn’t go anywhere at first, but it was widely shared on social media and made the school look horrible, so they implemented some of her proposals

Jason:

Philosophy/Cognitive Science duel Major

He gets asked “There’s a philosophy major?” every time he has to do one of those stupid what’s your name and major icebreakers

Jason lives in the library

He’s fallen asleep in there at 3am after it gets locked up

He quotes philosophers at his siblings when they’re being annoying, and it effectively shuts them up, because he only quotes the most nonsensical arguments

He gets involved with the college’s community outreach program

He volunteers for a local robotics team

When people find out his majors, they’re genuinely confused, because he understands robotics really well

He lies his ass off about being really interested in it as a child

Dick convinced him to be an RA for a semester, and he almost had a heart attack

Someone choked in front of him on the first day

Despite seeming like a tough RA, he genuinely cared about his residents and had to quit because he was so stressed out that one of them would do something stupid and die

Cass:

Innovation/Design Major

She’s really observant, so she’s great at spotting flaws in infrastructure and coming up with ways to fix them

Spending time with Barbara made her realize the lack of systems designed with wheelchair users in mind

Her experience being illiterate and not knowing English has imprinted on her the need for signage that can be understood by anyone

She focuses on taking project based classes, where she can draw out her designs and build them, rather than figuring out the math behind them

She has patents for the inventions she created at WE

She was exempted from the “Alfred’s mandatory college degree program” but decided to go as a part time student for herself

It took her twice as long to graduate, and a lot of tutoring from her siblings, but she made it!

The family threw her an extra special party when she graduated - everyone else had minor celebratory dinners, but they went all out for Cass

There was not a dry eye at her graduation ceremony

Cass works part time with WE on and off as a designer after her first internship

She comes up with ideas during patrols, draws them and sends them to Lucius

Tim:

Computer Science Major with a minor in game design

He makes it to approximately 20% of his lectures

He nearly didn’t graduate on time because he put off his humanity courses for so long

He missed the actual ceremony, even though the family showed up

He starts all his assignments the day before they’re due

If at all possible he avoids groupwork and offers to do assignments by himself because he gives his teammates heart attacks when he starts his part the project at 3pm the day before it’s due

This leads to extremely frequent all-nighters

He always finds himself rewriting everyone else’s code to make it work more efficiently

This can, of course, cause some people to feel a little upset

Other students specifically seek him out as a teammate so they can half ass their parts

He participates in game jams when he has time, and got super into the hacking club

Against all odds, he joined a fraternity

Dick literally fell off a building when he found out

He makes up stories about partying for the heck of it, when in reality he and the guys just play Smash Bros together until 3am

He hasn’t seen anyone drink more than two beers, and he hasn’t tried alcohol there either

He joined on accident, he had just pulled an all-nighter and stumbled into a recruiting fair, he heard someone shouting about Mario Kart Double Dash, and bada bing bada boom, he agreed to rush because it involved being stuck in a room playing video games all weekend

Steph:

Civil Engineering Major with minors in Sustainability and STSS (Science, Technology, and Social Science) 

She gets constantly shit on for being a civie

Every time she introduces herself someone mumbles “fake mechie” in the background

She and Jason complain about the disrespect together

She was genuinely shocked when Bruce offered to pay for her college tuition

She’d been planning on going and cutting costs any way possible

But Bruce took her aside when she was applying and offered to pay it all

She refused at first, but then money just appeared in her bank account, and what was she supposed to do, give it back?

She also participates in professional groups and is a member of SWE (Society of Women Engineers), and she mentors younger students

She ends up as class president by running a very successful social media meme campaign

She got and email saying she’d won and panicked because she had no idea what she was doing and was just having fun making memes

She ended up staying class president the entire time, and ended up getting really into it, and ended up with a pretty solid approval rating

She joined a sorority and had a blast

They worked with the local animal shelter, and she started bringing Damian along as well

Her sisters think he’s adorable and he secretly enjoys the attention

She gets her revenge on all the civil engineering haters by landing her dream job redesigning the poorer areas of Gotham to include more green spaces, increase affordable housing, and upgrading access to utilities

Duke:

Biochemisty Major with a minor in Neuroscience 

Harper, Tim, Steph, and him are all in the same year

Tim convinces him to join the fraternity with him

He joins a variety of professional groups as well

He mentors other BIPOC, and joins NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers) and runs helps run professional development programs

But he’s also in like million other clubs that he does not put on his resume

He’s runs the college’s meme page club, is part of the Pokémon Go club, is on the competitive Overwatch team, consistently attends the anime club’s Dragon Ball Z watch parties, joins the Dance Dance Revolution club, and the list goes on and on

When Tim is awake, and Harper isn’t busy, they go with him, but both of them have too much inconsistencies in their schedule to join

He ends up meeting like half the campus

He unintentionally has become a god of networking

Unlike his siblings, he goes all the way for a doctorate

He researches Joker venom, determined to figure out a cure for his parents (in my HC, he eventually does)

He wins like every award imaginable for his groundbreaking research into venoms as he comes up with vaccines that save countless lives

He still works on the meme page, even after he graduates

Harper:

She somehow defies all odds and triple majors in Physics, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering

She takes credit overload every semester, and gets credit for her internships at WE

She and Steph were roommates freshman year, and Steph swears that Harper never sleeps

She is the most wanted partner for every engineering project

She thrives in college, and lives off of coffee

She’s in the front row in every lecture

She doesn’t leave the lecture halls, she’s gotten locked in more than once after falling asleep

She had a heart attack the first time she saw students using the machine shop

Half the students weren’t wearing safety glasses, she counted three people wearing slides, the machines were rusted over, the soldering irons were all broken, and she nearly watched someone break their wrist using a power drill

She refuses to work there

Her secret to success is prioritizing - she absorbs the material like a sponge so if homework is only worth 5%, it isn’t getting done, and she’ll just cram before the exam

She almost joined Tim and Duke’s frat (it’s co-ed), but she didn’t have the time

They let her in without rushing senior year because Tim ended up as the boss, and he said so

Cullen:

I don’t know a ton about Cullen, but I feel like he would be a comp sci major

He comes in when Harper, Tim, Duke, and Steph are upperclassmen, and he joins all of Duke’s clubs

They have a million inside jokes

To the other siblings, it seems like the two have their own language

He also joins a club that mentors LGTBQ+ students at the local high school, and encourages them to pursue STEM careers if they’re interested

Jason recruits him as a mentor for the robotics team (he’s the lead mentor at this point) after some of the kids in his mentoring program mention him at a meeting and Jason is like O.O

He avoids parties at all costs, and ends up joining the frat as well

It’s all Duke’s fault he’s in a frat

He does however, meet some lovely boys in the frat

Damian: 

Aerospace Engineering/Environmental Engineering dual Major with minors in sustainability and biology

He nearly riots when he’s presented with the college’s idea of a vegetarian/vegan meal

He manages to get out of the meal plan after that, and begins rallying students to push for better options that contain actual protein

He joins a community service club that works with the local animal shelter, and secretly joins the circus arts club (that’s thriving even without Dick there)

He learns how to sew blankets out of old clothes for the animals

He and Barbara are the only siblings to graduate with a 4.0, simply because they were the only one that took the time to actually do all the homework, and remembered to turn things in on time

He refuses to live in the dorms, and instead lives in one of their apartments nearby (once again somehow managing to complain to the college enough to get his housing waived)

He literally walked in once when visiting Duke, and immediately walked out, and resolved never to step near one again

He makes a total of three friends while at the school, both are in the animal shelter club

They exchange vegetarian/vegan recipes, and get together to cook

He decides to move off campus with them his junior year when they needed another roommate, and he won’t admit it to his siblings, but he had a ton of fun

He and his friend group may have joined an animal rights hacktivist group and may have helped orchestrate some major hacks

Poisson Ivy finds out and feeds him targets and information when they’re supposed to be fighting (she just walks back to Arkham if the others aren’t watching, and slips him a list at the end)

Bonus Bruce:

He cries at every graduation

He’s asked to make a speech at every graduation

He never does - it’s about his kids, not him

He single handedly is keeping the school from bankruptcy - not that any of his kids (other than probably Barbara) know

He sobbed for days after Cass graduated

He genuinely didn’t expect Dick or Tim to graduate

After Dick graduated, he wouldn’t let Bruce touch any of the equipment, and the rest of his kids followed suit

He isn’t actually bad at engineering, his education was just super informal, and hey duct tape works 95% of the time in his experience

The real reason Alfred was annoyed was because he refused to take the time to properly fix something if someone was in danger, and then he’d forget that he’d just used duct tape to patch something

But now since no one lets him touch anything, he’s genuinely lost a lot of the knowledge

But in a pinch, he can fix stuff

[saintobio]

UHM HI??? CAN I JUST SAY HOW AMAZING THIS CHAPTER WAS? I swear I feel more emotions reading every SN chapter than a whole day in my life, everything is just—wow. 😎👏

Also Yuuta?? I'm so so proud of him for being able to confess something so heavy like his mother's acts. I wanna hug him, tell him that everything will be okay and that I will be his defense lawyer if he gets blamed for keeping (after literally being forced and threatened to) Eula's horrible secrets. Don't worry Yuuta my boy, I have your back 😭.

To say the least, thank you once again for this masterpiece of writing you bless us with, I really admire you and thank you for doing what you do and sharing your works with the world. Thank you thank you thank you!! Please take care of yourself, eat well and drink water. I hope you have an amazing weekend! <3

@toshiiushijima said

this chapter was *chef’s kiss*

love that sera is growing … do i smell character development!?! 🤔🤔 but the REAL question is … does naoya like her? is he willing to establish a relationship with her? if not … how would she react once he drops her. though i pretty sure he doesn’t like her and is only using her but who knows homeboy might have a heart.

Anonymous said

When Satoru said that (y/n) should be made to feel like a queen in her own home, it took me back to the time when I read the part where she was made to feel like a mistress in her own home. And damn did that hit hard. And even though I am mad at Sera, I can see that she is trying hard to change. And when chairman fell down the stairs I went like “Eula 💀”

And I’m so happy that Yuuta decided to come to Satoru to tell him about her! I can see it’s finally coming together and it’s being executed really well! I don’t wanna push my expectations on you or anything but I can’t wait to see how Gen would react to all this as well as Naoya when they find out about all this. Not gonna lie, it’s like a mini k drama in my head. And it’s so good! I hope you’re taking care of yourself though cause I know these chapters aren’t easy to write. Please take care and feel like updating when you want to. Writing is a pleasure for some and not an obligation. If you need a break don’t hesitate in taking one okay? We’ll be patient in your return. Stay safe, happy new healthy and get some ice cream okay? Get a whole tub >:] (it really helps)

(P.s. My broke ass feels rich in this story. Birkin bags are so expensive. 💀)

Anonymous said

With all the money the Gojos have, they should have someone make a really hi-tech wheelchair and communication device that can help Dadjo communicate using his eyes — kinda like Stephen Hawking’s wheelchair but I know his device functions differently by using the small contractions of his cheek muscles SO THAT HE CAN SOLIDIFY EULA’S JAIL ARC 🔥🔥more witnesses, stronger case💪

Anonymous said

I love how there's little reminders to the affair, they're good now but satoru can't relax just yet because there's a chance things might revert back or end. Props to y/n for giving satoru a chance, I think?

Y/n can forgive satoru but there's no way it can be forgotten.

thank u for all these feedback, they’re always a joy to read :’) i’m sorry it took me long to reply to u guys <3