#and astra was the person who patched Jaya up over and over again

[unravelingwires]

Stoopingly

Jaya physically showed the most signs of the war after it ended. That made some sense. Astra was a healer, the person who most commonly patched Jaya up after scraps, so she knew that Jaya won her fights by tanking injuries most people would dodge. When people expect self preservation, having very little gives you an edge. It wasn’t that much of a surprise that she was the first person after the war to start physical therapy, walk with a cane, or avoid the stairs.

It was kind of sad to see the most active person Astra knew slow down so quickly. Jaya seemed happy with the trade off, with being soft and worn instead of quick on her feet and made of sharp edges, but Astra remembered the way Jaya looked when she scrambled up trees, and she kind of missed it.

#To do something stoopingly is to do it with a slumped posture #to be clear astra isn't really right here #jaya likes the person who she became and she doesn't find her existence particularly grief filled #(hell before the war was probably more grief filled for her due to the orphaning) #nevertheless the way she became disabled was traumatic both to her and the people around her #and astra was the person who patched Jaya up over and over again #and therefore has some hang-ups #my writing #library of babel #creative writing #unedited #original characters #my ocs #jayaverse #tw ableism #i think? #disabled character #not a disabled artist #(and to be clear I am trying my best but I might trip over my own internalized bullshit)