#(and even if it doesn't and vss just is That distressing to you)

[anileahvictoria]

I'm gonna rant about Ed for a minute here. Ok, maybe a little more than a minute... I've already told ya'll that Ed is loosely based off of the Man of la Mancha, but I've been thinking long and hard about his character and realized he's also a bit of a tribute character to a girl I saw on swim team.

There was this girl on the team who I remember watching her swim laps till she was crying with exhaustion, but she never slowed down. She would cry and gasp, but she never quit, and that girl swam herself into the ground. Yeah, she was crying, but I guarantee you, no one ever thought she was weak. Cause dang, that girl had grit. Ed is kinda my tribute character to that girl. He can't do everything everyone else can do. He is physically weaker, but Edmond is not weak. Just like that girl, he doesn't quit. He will work as hard as he can and then some. Because you know how muscles grow? They work until they are this close 🤏🏻 to breaking, and then they rest. And when they've healed, they're stronger than before.

Ed may not know his own limits, and he doesn't know when to quit, but he's pretty religious about self-care like proper hygiene, diet and sleep. If he wasn't, he would literally dissolve into a puddle. He's always hungry but will never ask for food; instead, making sure he never leaves the castle without proper snacks. He's always cold, but will never bother someone for a coat; instead, he can almost always be seen with some kind of scarf wrapped around him. Ed sleeps whenever and wherever he can. Especially on long horse rides.

Chris comforting Ed happens a lot, mostly cause Chris is the only one who knows how to spot the warning signs of an emotionally or physically exhausted Ed. Ed will do his darndest to hide any pain or sadness and can be stoic till the very end, right up until someone shows concern. The moment you put a hand on his shoulder, force him to look you in the eye and ask if he's alright, the floodgates open. Then you hold him tight while he has a good cry and set him down somewhere soft when he inevitably falls asleep on you.

I recently decided that Ed has a mild case of VSS, which means that certain triggers can cause him to pass out for a few seconds. Some of his triggers are blood, dogs, extreme emotional distress, standing for long periods, and the occasional jump scare. Things I mentioned before, like always being hungry, sleepy, and cold, are also part of his VSS. Keep in mind that this is a very mild case of VSS. I would've liked to explore more extreme symptoms, but due to there being no medication, help, or even knowledge about VSS in the setting I've chosen for my story, to have Ed still be fully involved in the adventures, I couldn't have him suffer more extreme symptoms without serious drawbacks and consequences. His VSS will also be information only privy to me the author and those who have read about Ed outside the story, seeing as there wasn't a diagnosis or treatment in the stories setting. So Ed might pass out and Blithe would be like "What the crap?" and Chris wouldn't be like "Ah yes, my squire suffers from VSS *insert google description*. The proper thing to do in this situation would be to elevate his legs etc etc." Instead he'd say something along the lines of "Oh, yeah. He does that sometimes, not sure why. He'll wake up in a minute, give him some water when he does." Make sense? I'll be posting more about Ed and VSS in the near future with more details and information. Thank you to all my new friends who helped me learn more about VSS! @hey-i-like-writing and others!

#vss #ed #edmond #oc #my oc

[vss-culture-is]

VSS culture is constant derealization, interrupted by periods of intense depersonalization, and just general disassociation

VSS culture is

#(anon i know this is probably not what you want to hear from a gimmick blog) #(but you might want to get that checked out) #(because that sounds like a problem running deeper than vss) #(and even if it doesn't and vss just is That distressing to you) #(you still should get that check out) #(with a neurologist i suppose) #(there is medication that helps with depersonalization and derealization) #(therapy can help to learn coping mechanisms to deal with it better) #(etc etc) #(i won't totally hijack the post with it hence why i'm writing this in the tags) #(because i cannot know what you're doing about it in your life and maybe this whole rant is useless and you're already getting help) #(but as a psa to everyone who may read this: caused by vss or not you should really get all those problems starting by D checked out) #vss #visual snow syndrome #neurodivergent #vss culture is