I’m rereading Po3 and despite its flaws I really enjoyed the introduction to the three. Jaykit isn’t mentioned to be blind in the first few chapters and instead they chose to show how much MORE capable he is compared to his littermates; until at the end of chapter 3, he brings up his blindness on his own. It makes forcing him to be a medicine cat SO much more frustrating because it really feels like they’re setting him up to be a warrior and choose his own fate (note i haven’t finished the reread this is just my first impression)
I like how you seem to take that path in BB regardless! It makes his arc so much more enjoyable
His arc in canon is super frustrating because he's such an independent character who clearly wants to make his own decisions in life, but then he just gets shoved into the medcat den. I LIKE that he ultimately goes there and that he enjoys it; but it was still really fucked up that they stripped away his autonomy in the process.
Re: they are not real, they are writing choices. Taking away the choices a disabled character can make over their own life, forcing them into a celibate nun role, and then going "awwwww dont worry see? he likes it! This was the best thing for him :)" was fucked up.
And imo it didn't have to be that way! You wouldn't have to go the FULL route I did with big changes, he could just be more involved in the descision to stop being a warrior apprentice and it would be fine. Minor change that would make a world of difference.
I do also have to interject to say though... blindness should really not be an extremely severe impairment for a ThunderClan cat.
I'm dead serious.
Whiskers are built-in sensors that tell you the exact position of everything within several inches of your head, ears swerve to pick up sound, and the jacobson's organ provides a sense of smell so keen that I have an entire Clanmew expansion draft because I needed to make WORDS describing the power of this sense that humans do not have. I cannot stress enough how delicate their other senses are, felines do not rely on their sight like primates do
ThunderClan lives in a mixed-oak woodland, where sight is already often obscured by foliage, objects are close together (for whiskers to feel), and nearly every movement makes noise against the leaf litter. RiverClan and (moor-running) WindClan cats would have a harder time with this disability than Thunder or Shadow.
Cat sight SUCKS to begin with. It sucks BADDD. They don't have color vision, they're significantly nearsighted, and they can't track up-and-down movements well. WC doesn't write realistic cats (more like small fuzzy people really) and I also work with more humanesque eyesight, but the only thing Jay should really lose is an ability to rapidly track a small animal swerving fast. Blind cats are often still excellent hunters in spite of that!
So it's an extra big waste that they railroaded him into a position he didn't choose, saying he couldn't be a warrior. This is the perfect disability to write, if you want to explore how ableism can impact the characters in this society who ARE legitimately still capable of nearly full independence, but still need to find accommodations for what they can't do.
In the same arc they're doing the dumb Cinder Reincarnation Plotline, no less!! Where SHE is also feeling like she has no choice over her "destiny," and gets a conflict over a potentially disabling injury
"Oh nooo if cinderpaw breaks her leg she wont be a warrior!"
"What the f-- Im Jaypaw and im reporting live from the scene where a Category 1 Idiot Moment is taking place. Woman breaks leg, suddenly everyone believes she is a horse, more at 11."
One of these days I should really make "herb guides" just covering how various sensory disabilities impact the lives of Clan cats and some tips for writing them as warriors, especially between Clans. Stuff you wouldn't usually consider, like how much noise deaf cats tend to make, how RiverClan would get a ton of sinus infections and lose their sense of smell, being blind in Sky vs Thunder, etc.
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not to count my beagles before they hatch but god i am so happy about welcome home i’m so happy autistic gay puppet horror is a genre now. if i see a single clown try and call this project a clone or “yet another indie horror project” I will commit unspeakable acts of violence. I’d already made up my mind that I’d trudge through a thousand gartens of banban if it gets us one more don’t hug me i’m scared. I will spend ten thousand nights at freddy’s if it gets us more than one. there is infinite potential in the joy and terror of gaining sentience under strict structure. there are a million different bright colors that haven’t been used yet. Greet oversaturation like a neighbor, for it is always better to have an abundance of bad art than a shortage of art.
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in the amelia pond au, amelia’s aunt does still send her to therapy between doctor adventures, but since amelia is now secure in the fact that he’s Definitely Real since both rory and mels have also met him and because she lost a tooth last week from tripping on the stairs of the tardis, she doesn’t bite any therapists this time around. and besides, her therapist is a very funny lady. she reminds amelia of her doctor, with how her voice will flip and jump in volume and accent and tone on a whim, with how she’ll talk to amelia like they’re conspiring together. she keeps the pictures amelia draws of the doctor and their adventures for her, even hangs one or two on the walls. she listens very intently to every detail, which no adults in amelia’s life do save the doctor himself and river song, whenever she’s around. and best of all, whenever she tells amelia’s aunt that amelia is doing just fine, don’t you worry, she’ll grow out of this, she winks at amelia so that amelia will know her therapist is only playing along to wave away her aunt’s suspicion.
it is a little odd, though, that she insists on only being called Missy. but amelia is quite used to odd by now.
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billy accidentally nearly calling steve ‘sir’ during an argument one time
maybe steve’s pissed about something, maybe billy is, either way they’re having an argument
maybe steve backs billy against the wall for a minute, not thinking anything of it because it’s billy and billy can hold his own, can argue back
but then steve asks him a question, yells when he says it
and maybe billy flinches, forgets where he is
and that’s when it happens
you know a little “yes si-” and billy just freezes.. and steve’s staring at billy and trying to work out what billy was going to say and then he’s like oh..
..oh
and maybe he reaches out for billy but billy’s embarrassed so he tells steve to fuck off before getting the hell out of there
because he knows steve’s steve
knows steve would never lay a hand on him
not like that, not now
and billy’s so embarrassed
and he ends up avoiding steve for as long as he can, thinks that steve must think he’s a mess - even more of a mess - thinks that steve won’t get it.. not that billy really gets it either and that’s the problem
maybe billy just wants to forget it ever happened, wants steve to forget but he knows steve won’t because he’s steve.. he’s steve and he’ll want to talk about it
and billy doesn’t, because billy can’t explain it, doesn’t get it, doesn’t want to get it
doesn’t want to dig that deep
and steve’s all “you know i’d never hurt you, bills” “i’m not him” “you get that, don’t you?”
and billy refuses to even meet his eyes, knows it’s hurting them both but he doesn’t want to think about it
doesn’t want to talk about it
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