cripple-woe

[cripple-woe]

Happy disability pride month! Im so happy that my old disabled sonic stuff blew up on the 1st so that I got reminded to draw them again

Plus some new headcanons this time. I think headcanoning Amy as severally visually impaired is fun bc that’s why she is always mistaking ohter hedgehogs for sonic lol (she only uses the walking stick if she’s going out alone, otherwise she just relies on the person she’s with to guide her.)

I’ve always headcanond Tails as nonverbal do to the tism, his iPod thing is one of those text to speech communication aids

He also taught Kit sign language because I think Starline is ableist (Kit is deaf)

[cripple-woe]

Last week my doctor told me she was going to take all my pain meds away and send me to a ‘living with pain’ course because I was asking her for an ‘impossible cure’ and needed to ‘get over myself and face reality’

If I didn’t spend the next ten minutes with my family screaming to music and screaming about the doctor in anger I might have just ended it. But I’m going to complain, instead. Because that bitch shouldn’t be a doctor. A DOCTOR.

I still remember the nurses who laughed at me after major spine surgery when I was walking around with my butt out because I didn't know to bring shorts to the hospital and wasn't allowed to double my gowns due to the incision location. I still remember the aid who told me that I smelled after days of being unable to move my limbs or get out of bed while sweating uncontrollably from spinal shock and agonizing pain. I sat and cried after that because I had overcome so much that hospital stay just to be dehumanized. Never did they ask if I wanted something to cover up or assistance bathing. Just laughed at me and joked with each other.

I also remember the nurse who checked on me extra during the night with a hospital stay in the middle of covid because they kicked my mom out and I have trauma about being in the hospital alone. She made extra visits to make sure I was okay just like she promised my mom. I remember the nurse who held my hand and called me honey as my limbs trashed and shook from spinal shock.

Basically being a good nurse and being a bad nurse to patients does stay with a person. It's been years and many other hospital stays since a lot of these instances and I still remember them clearly. I know nurses are burnt out, traumatized, and exhausted. Nurses deserve better treatment. But so do patients.

[cripple-woe]

humans are space orcs

imagine someone with chronic joint pain, whose dream their whole lives has been to go to space and meet the aliens and be a scientist and learn

so they look up the requirements as a kid and go "fuck."

they wouldn't make the cut.

their dreams are dashed. hopes ruined. lifelong dre destroyed.

except....

they've never really said a whole lot about their pain. they don't particularly like doctors, and they think that they've been managing just fine, so they never saw the point.

so maybe... maybe if they just don't say anything, they can make it to space.

they spend all of their time training. doing physical therapy exercises so that their joints aren't so loose, soaking up as much scientific and mathematical knowledge as they can, teaching themselves to push through the worst of it in pursuit of their dream.

and they make it.

they make it to space! it was gruelling, tortuous work, but they made it!

their first mission is an exploratory one, with a diverse crew which only has one other human.

they're thrilled.

they have dozens of alien friends and acquaintances. they spend hours learning and researching alien planets and cultures. it's everything they've ever wanted!

but

it's exhausting.

they're in more pain than they've ever been, more frequently than they ever have.

they keep up their exercises as best they can, but even those are often too much.

they smile when asked if they're alright, tell everyone that "i'm fine! just tired."

but they need a break. they can't imagine going or being sent back to earth, this is their home now, with these people, on this ship. but they don't know how much longer they can take this.

one day, on their day off, a fellow researcher comes and knocks on their door.

"are you here?"

"not today islith."

"but we've been called! there are some exciting new discoveries that need further cataloging and investigation, and carlmoth thought you would enjoy the task!"

"i can't today, islith."

"are you ill?"

"...kind of? but i'll be right as rain tomorrow. it's my day off anyhow."

"nonsense! you should go down to medbay!"

"i'm alright, i promise."

"you get out here right this minute or i'll report you to medbay myself!"

"no!" there's a series of crashes and thumps, and then they open the door.

"oh, you look awful. come on, you really must need medbay, what if you're contagious." islith tries to grab them but they shy away.

"i'm not contagious, i promise."

"how can you possibly know that? what if you picked it up from a sample, or, or, garfon has been sick recently! humans can't survive cerian sicknesses-"

"i didn't catch something from garfon, islith," they sigh and open the door wider. "come in and let me explain."

"alright, but if i think you should go to medbay afterwards then i'm taking you there."

"sure, islith."

islith enters, notices the piles of clothes, rumpled bedsheets, the lights are off and the port window shut.

"what's wrong?"

they sigh again, "my body doesn't work like it's meant to, islith."

islith is wildly alarmed, "and you said there was no need for medbay?!? come with me right now and-"

"no! i can't, islith, you don't understand."

"then explain it to me."

"i've... always been this way, although it's gotten worse as i've gotten older. my body, it just isn't built quite right, there's something wrong with it that makes it not work properly and hurt often."

"you're right, i don't understand. why can't you go to medbay?"

"i'd... be thrown off the ship."

"what?!?"

and so they tell islith a story about a young child whose dream was to touch the stars.

"and now, it's too late. i'd get in huge trouble for lying to the government, especially for so long."

"well- but- but humans are so resilient! you hear all the stories!"

"not every human is the same, islith. some of us are born disabled, and some of us get hurt in accidents, just like any other species."

"well, then, well there must be something we can do?"

they look up in shock, "we?"

"of course we, you ridiculous creature," islith said with a fond sigh. "you didn't think i'd leave you to suffer, would you?"

"but, you could get in so much trouble!"

"that's alright, i don't mind. what else are friends for? and, anyway, we don't have to tell your government, we can tell mine."

"but i'll-"

"we don't have any rules like that. any of us who are disabled can still manage in space just fine with the right support, and i bet you could too."

"i- islith- i don't-"

"don't worry, we'll all back you when it comes down to it. you're out teammate, our family. no one on this ship wants to watch you leave because of something you can't control. now come on, let's talk to glidlep in medical, she'll understand."

and for years, things continued on that way, until eventually it was an open secret that the human with the exosuit was disabled and not technically allowed onboard.

and down the line, when nasa found out and was furious, the entire ship and more stood by their side.

[cripple-woe]

Do you think aliens would get freaked out when we crack our joints?

*human stands up after too long spent hunched over the computer, all joints cracking*

*alien coworker whose only experience with human anatomy comes from movies where crack = broken bone*

[cripple-woe]

You know what’s cool about humans?

For most animals, going blind, deaf, or losing a limb might be a death sentence.

But for humans, it’s like,

“Oh, you’re blind? Have a cane, no biggie. You can hold my arm while we cross the street if you want.”

“You’re deaf? No problem! We can talk with our hands! Yay!”

“You’re blind AND deaf? It’s cool, we can talk with touch.”

“You lost a limb? That��s badass dude. Nice prosthetic btw.”

And archeological evidence suggest we’ve been doing stuff like this since the Paleolithic era. We are just SO DETERMINED to care for each other that we can survive and thrive with disabilities that would KILL other animals. And we do it with love and intelligence.

[cripple-woe]

thinking about how Humans Are Space Orcs stories always talk about how indestructible humans are, our endurance, our ability to withstand common poisons, etc. and thats all well and good, its really fun to read, but it gets repetitive after a while because we aren't all like that.

And that got me thinking about why this trope is so common in the first place, and the conclusion I came to is actually kind of obvious if you think about it. Not everyone is allowed to go into space. This is true now, with the number of physical restrictions placed on astronauts (including height limits), but I imagine it's just as strict in some imaginary future where humans are first coming into contact with alien species. Because in that case there will definitely be military personnel alongside any possible diplomatic parties.

And I imagine that all interactions aliens have ever had up until this point have been with trained personnel. Even basic military troops conform to this standard, to some degree. So aliens meet us and they're shocked and horrified to discover that we have no obvious weaknesses, we're all either crazy smart or crazy strong (still always a little crazy, academia and war will do that to you), and not only that but we like, literally all the same height so there's no way to tell any of us apart.

And Humans Are Death Worlders stories spread throughout the galaxy. Years or decades or centuries of interspecies suspicion and hostilities preventing any alien from setting foot/claw/limb/appendage/etc. on Earth until slowly more beings are allowed to come through. And not just diplomats who keep to government buildings, but tourists. Exchange students. Temporary visitors granted permission to go wherever they please, so they go out in search of 'real terran culture' and what do they find?

Humans with innate heart defects that prevent them from drinking caffeine. Humans with chronic pain and chronic fatigue who lack the boundless endurance humans are supposedly famous for. Humans too tall or too short or too fat to be allowed into space. Humans who are so scared of the world they need to take pills just to function. Humans with IBS who can't stand spicy foods, capsaicin really is poison to them. Lactose intolerance and celiac disease, my god all the autoimmune disorders out there, humans who struggle to function because their own bodies fight them. Humans who bruise easily and take too long to heal. Humans who sustained one too many concussions and now struggle to talk and read and write. Humans who've had strokes. Humans who were born unable to talk or hear or speak, and humans who through some accident lost that ability later.

Aliens visit Earth, and do you know what they find? Humanity, in all its wholeness.

#and I think they would love us anyways

[cripple-woe]

Idk hearing this after grieving the loss of people far too young and having to cope with the losses of both those that couldn’t have been avoided (due to a lack of medical knowledge in the current age) and ones that could (due to medical negligence, failure of the systems that should keep us safe, suicide, etc) makes me remember that we are carrying the torches of the dead.

I am carrying the torches of my lost friends . I’m carrying the torch of the people who introduced me to disabled joy and pulled me out of my first rut of depression when I was only 11. I carry the torch for the disabled people at local groups who have died, people I considered comrades, friends.

You know.

Whenever I listen to epic the musical I get filled with an overwhelming need to not let myself die because of the fact that if I’m not here than there’s one less voice fighting for disabled rights and maybe I’m a quiet voice but I’m still here doing something . In real life and online and every day by calling out every little thing I can . By being annoying and nagging to the abled majority until they listen.

I think it’s cool that music can remind me that I have a voice and I should use it while I’m here

[cripple-woe]

Whenever I listen to epic the musical I get filled with an overwhelming need to not let myself die because of the fact that if I’m not here than there’s one less voice fighting for disabled rights and maybe I’m a quiet voice but I’m still here doing something . In real life and online and every day by calling out every little thing I can . By being annoying and nagging to the abled majority until they listen.

I think it’s cool that music can remind me that I have a voice and I should use it while I’m here

[cripple-woe]

This is a safe space for whiners, complainers, bellyachers, and the generally unsatisfied

[cripple-woe]

so many ablebodied people never cared about capitalist eugenicists and social programs singling out paralyzed and quadriplegic and severely physically disabled people for euthanasia until the prospect of it potentially happening to an ablebodied person with adhd is introduced. then they think it’s the worst thing theyve ever heard about in their whole life. but as soon as the topic drifts away from those ablebodied ppl with adhd they don’t give a shit anymore. it’s totally selective compassion

[cripple-woe]

In the kitchen straight up "chopping it". And by "it" haha well. Let justr say. My vegetble

[cripple-woe]

call me a smoker the way i suck on fags

#nsfw

[cripple-woe]

What the fuck? Why do I have to remember? I feel dirty and bad. I feel like it’s my fault. I feel messy. I feel . Disgusting and sick and bad. Is this what it feels like? Do I have to just live with this?

Unrepressed memories of someone touching me inappropriately every day of highschool (5 years) and I can’t cry I just can’t stop shaking . Like . The Fuck?? I want to cry. I can’t stop shaking and feeling hands? I can’t even type. I’m supposed to be working rn. fuck

[cripple-woe]

Unrepressed memories of someone touching me inappropriately every day of highschool (5 years) and I can’t cry I just can’t stop shaking . Like . The Fuck?? I want to cry. I can’t stop shaking and feeling hands? I can’t even type. I’m supposed to be working rn. fuck

#tw s/a #s/a mention #sexual assault

[cripple-woe]

I am the storm that was approaching. I’m going away now. I’m shy.

[cripple-woe]

It happened to me once at a gay bar. No, it’s not magically a safe place, and no, men aren’t immune to this happening. Keep your guard UP. No matter the club, the atmosphere, how you are presenting in terms of gender. Be vigilant, get a roofie/spiking cover for your glass if you can.

Also, remember, your drink may not even be clear, meaning even if you somehow looked at a tab before it dissolved you wouldn’t see it.

WATCH THIS VIDEO

a very, VERY important post. spread everywhere and screen record the video to your phone. or message me and ill happily send you the video. give to every woman and girl you know.

bc as they both said / demonstrated, its not only super easy to do, but super easy to miss.

[cripple-woe]

this ad I just got on here is absolutely dog nuts insane

#WHAT