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marsipain · 1 year

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Hey I hope this isn't rude but when you reblogged that post about prosthetics, that post was about how more media should have character who Don't use prosthetics since irl they're bulky and most people do t use them except to make the abled people around them feel confortable (:/). But all the characters you tagged it with All use prosthetics besides the last one who has a wheelchair? I get Misako trying them since she had arms b4, but Lloyd was without them. He'd probably be more comfortable without.. even if in the future theyre better than now that doesntmean every disabled person is gonna use them

Hi! Thank you for sending these asks anon! When I reblogged that post with the tags about the cyberpunk AU, I really only used it as an opportunity to list the physically disabled characters, and wasn’t thinking of writing much about the specifics of what contexts each character uses their prosthetics for (for all the ones that use it) and was more noting it down for later, which honestly, is my fault! You’re right, it was very tone deaf of me and very inappropriately placed. I shouldn’t have brought it up on a post specifically about how physically disabled people feel pressured to use prosthetics by abled people and how it’s pushed to be the norm, and at LEAST provided the information on the characters specifically and how it was relevant to physically disabled people using prosthetics and how abled people around them fit into that picture. I did not provide a nuanced description that does the topic justice, so thank you for pointing it out!

I’m going to attempt to write fully into detail about it here, but with that being said, I am (for the most part) an able bodied individual and will not be able to do as well justice to this conversation as it deserves. I have done my fair share of research on the topic and also got @hiddensneker (who is hard of hearing) to read over this for me and give me a few pointers, but it is still nowhere near the experience and knowledge of all physically disabled people, so if you’re a physically disabled person reading this I would love if you corrected and criticized me on whatever I get wrong and add anything to the conversation you feel is important !

I want to start off by pointing out with that, yes since this is a sci-fi esque setting the technology is much more advanced, and stuff like prosthetic limbs are able to be connected directly to the brain through artificial neurons in the prosthetic limb and to the rest of the nervous system. Like you pointed out however; not all people with missing limbs use prosthetics and that STILL very much applies to this universe regardless of its cyberpunk setting and does show in a couple of the characters in this AU, as I’ve attempted to write a range of different physically disabled characters with different relationships to their prosthetics and/or their lack thereof.

I will be going into depth on all of the characters mentioned in the tags of the post and their relationship to their physical disability and/or their prosthetics separately, and then put some final thoughts and reasonings at the end!

First off Misako! Misako lost both arms (right under the elbow for the right arm and above the elbow for the left arm) in a racing accident in her early 20s. For context (because I haven’t spoken much about her publicly yet besides briefly mentioning her here and there) in this AU Misako does professional racing using the alias Lady Iron Dragon, and is considered one of the most skilled racers to ever live (if not the best) and a legend. She had already significantly built her reputation by her early 20s, so the accident really took a hit on her mentally; racing was her passion, would she still be able to race without her arms? She DID eventually recover, for a while she practiced using temporary prosthetics for racing, but after an eventual full recovery a couple years later and permission from her doctors, she got permanent prosthetic arms installed. This was because she’d lived all her life with both arms already and so she feels more comfortable living with them full time. With how advanced the technology is in this universe, it was always clear to her that this was what she wanted, but I want to acknowledge that if this wasn’t set in such a technologically advanced universe, she would not (and probably could not as flawlessly as I described here) install permanent prosthetic arms.

Now for Lloyd! In this au, Misako gave birth to lloyd in her early 30s, which is around 10 years after she herself lost her arms in the racing accident. He was born without his right arm (right below the shoulder and down.) When growing up, Lloyd was mostly kept away (but not forced away) from prosthetics, mainly because both Misako and Garmadon did not want him to think that he needed them to properly function in society (because he doesn’t) (and also that they would love him regardless.) When he grew a bit older he started becoming more and more interested in certain hobbies, starting with ring fighting (but mostly just training with his dad) which he had a prosthetic arm specifically designed for and later racing, which he also got an arm specifically designed for. When he grew a little older he developed a love for music (especially electric guitar and keyboard) and got a prosthetic designed for that! Outside of that he doesn’t use prosthetics very much (if at all.)

Now for Pixal. Pixal was born with a rare heart disease that there were no known cures for. Her father (Cyrus Borg) was distraught and desperate; none of the doctors knew what to do, no medical professional had any idea of how to help his daughter. With nowhere else to turn, he took on the task of helping his daughter himself using cyborg technology (his profession) together with his coworkers (?) He was eventually successful in helping her, and although it doesn’t show much on the outside (unlike her father) she is a cyborg! The purple markings on her face and arms (and perhaps other parts of her body) are simply aesthetic choices; glowing tattoos, if you will (there are a couple other characters with this that aren’t cyborgs, for example Skylor and Cole, as well as any Anacondrai Ring member who have a glowing snake tattoo on their back.) As you can see, while Pixal does not have any prosthetic limbs per se, she does have prosthetic parts inside her. This is not the same as Misako, Echo/Mr. E, Kataru and Lloyd’s situations however, because she cannot live without it.

Zane’s situation is similar but not identical to Pixal’s. He was discovered by his (later adoptive father) Dr. Julien as a young child in critical condition; barely able to move his body due severe chronic pains. This happened due to not having the resources as a homeless person to get treatment for his chronic pains (that were caused by injuries sustained living in the shadier parts of ninjaglow.) Dr Julien helped him by taking him home and altering parts of his body using prosthetics, completely getting rid of his chronic pains (at least for a while, he may have needed updated parts when he got older due to his body growing but his prosthetics not growing, as well as additional fixes and updates from now and then.) As you can see, it was not a choice to get the prosthetic parts; for he would have to either live every day in pain and unable to do basic tasks (for his chronic pain does not have a known medical cure outside of cyborg technology) or simply die due to how extreme his chronic pains had become. I also feel that it is important to note that Zane completely consented to becoming a cyborg, and that he and Dr. Julien had several in-depth conversations about it. (PS. No his face is not a screen built into his face, that is a mask.)

Echo/Mr. E is quite similar to Zane’s story. Dr. Julien found him abandoned in an empty alleyway (age 6-7) with a large slash on his throat. I’m not going to get too carried away with the specifics of his story (mostly because I have content planned around it) but just know that the injury was caused by another person and was not an accident. Dr. Julien took him in (this was a few years after he adopted Zane) and discovered that the slash had severely damaged Echo’s vocal cords, and that he was rendered mute. Echo begged Dr. Julien to help him, to find him a way to speak again because he loved speaking, he loved being vocal and it was a big part of him! Dr. Julien caved and started working on a device for him, and after many years of hard work he finally managed to create a voice box that Echo could strap to his throat that would make him able to speak (he was around 11-13 at this time.) Through the years of not having a voice, Echo used sign language with Zane and Dr. Julien (and everyone for that matter), and discovered that there were other ways to express himself without having a voice (facial expressions, body language, signing etc) and that he would be able to live a fulfilling life whether he ever got the voice box or not. He also continued to use ASL (or NSL? Ninjargon sign language? lmao idk) to communicate even after getting the voice box, and remained even more bodily expressive as a result of his time completely without his voice. It is important to note that this voice box is not a prosthetic (since it isn’t an artificial body part) but an assistive device (proving similar use as a hearing aid for example.) But was still mentioned because being mute (from any cause that isn’t self-afflicted regulation) is a physical disability.

Last but not least we have Kataru. Same as Echo I have yet to talk much about their story before meeting Zane, and that’s because I do have plans to make content surrounding it! So I wont be going into what happened before they met (and were adopted by) Zane. Kataru and Akita were homeless and barely scraping by. Kataru has lumbar spinal stenosis (which is basically a narrowing of the spinal canal, compressing the nerves traveling through the lower back into the legs), and due to being on the streets without treatment for [insert time between 1-2 years] it drastically increased in severity, causing complete paralysis of his legs. Because of this Akita had to act as their provider. They were barely scraping by with what they had, and without any money to treat Kataru’s LSS, things were looking bleak. Eventually they were adopted by Zane after meeting through [redacted], and were then able to treat his LSS. IRL there is no cure for LSS, only treatments, but in this universe you get it cured using mechanical parts (aka becoming a cyborg,) but Kataru chose to not do this, 1. because he doesn’t really mind using a wheelchair as transportation and 2. He doesn’t really fancy becoming a cyborg at all. He’s just fine the way he is (kind of like the star trek character you mentioned in the second ask!)

This AU is very important to me, and it’s also important to me that the characters and concepts I choose to include in it are done well and done justice. I’ve read articles about cyberpunk 2077 (reminder that this au isn’t directly connected to this game, I’m just bringing it up because its very relevant to this topic) and how it handles cyborgs and artificial body parts. I want to make sure that this AU does not follow the same mistakes as cyberpunk 2077 (and its predecessors in the genre) as a fellow cyberpunk themed universe.

Director of cyberpunk 2077, Adam Badowski, made this statement during E3:

“This is cyberpunk, so people augment their body. So the body is no longer sacrum [sacred]; it’s profanum [profane]. Because people modify everything, they are losing their connection to the body, to the meat,”.

In the wonderful and insightful article “Disabled Representation in Video Games and the Cyberpunk 2077 Problem” written by Elizabeth Rogers, she replies to this statement with

“And this is what insults me, as a disabled individual: the implication that we are less than human, that the relationship to our bodies is now profane, because it contains artificial parts. For many of us, the choice to include said plastic and metal bits and bobs is not really a choice at all. PICC lines and portacaths, insulin pumps and feeding tubes. You could argue that choosing to get an artificial arm or leg is a choice, but for many, it’s between not being able to walk and regaining movement and freedom. These are devices that allow us to achieve a degree of normalcy, one that we couldn’t before their implementation.”

This is what I’m trying to do in the Ninjago Cyberpunk AU. I’m attempting to show that these augmentations to the character’s body’s are directly done so that they can live out their lives to the same extent as an abled individual; to follow their passion, to persue their hobbies. And yes, it’s also partially to explore how a more technologically advanced universe would look like, but not for the spectacle like cyberpunk 2077, but to truly show how much it could help people physically disabled people, and to show the nuance in how people would or wouldn’t use that technology to express themselves without directly romanticizing the concept. The body is not profane because one adds “non flesh” to it, and it does not make it less sacred to do so either. While I understand that often in the cyberpunk genre it simply explores how humans in general would implement cyborg technology into their bodies and how that would affect society as we know it, in the Ninjago Cyberpunk AU I am specifically using it to explore how it’s an opportunity for a normal everyday life for physically disabled people, not only through a more advanced technological standpoint, but also in a society more accepting and respecting of the physically disabled people themselves. (And I hope to be able to casually implement that into content I will create surrounding this AU in the future.)

These are all important details I definitively should have mentioned in the tags of where I originally brought all of this up (or better so, made its own post about it in the first place) and it was never my intention to make it sound like I was completely disregarding the contents of the post in which I added the tags in. It was an unfortunate and unintentional misstatement, and I see now how easy it is to interpret the tags of the post as directly offensive. I was never aiming to make it come across that way; I never considered how bad it would look without all the information I held about the characters and their individual relationships to the prosthetics they use, (and while this isn’t an excuse) I was just excited to share with you all these sides of the characters that I had yet to mention, but failed to notice how bad it truly sounded without knowing the full context I guess? I hope that makes sense. I’m trying to create a narrative with multiple physically disabled characters, all ending up with a range of different stories and different connections to their prosthetics or their lack of thereof. It’s now very clear to me that when you read out the list of characters that I tagged in that post, it comes out looking like the complete opposite of that, and that’s completely my fault.

I hope I managed to explain it well enough anon! If you still have criticism, feel free to send in another ask (as many as you wish for that matter) and that also goes for any physically disabled person who has thoughts on this!

#hahabdhvdhdbsh i’m so anxious #i hope this is good enough #ninjago cyberpunk au #long post #marsipain speaks #marsipain asks

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nezukoo-channn · 2 years

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Not Again: A Jeanlisa Oneshot

ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE (PROBABLY CANON DIVERGENCE)

WORD COUNT: 1492 WORDS (Oneshot alone)

PROOFREAD: I guess?

TRIGGER WARNINGS: IMPLIED CHARACTER DEATH AND MENTIONS OF DEATH.

"Jean?"

"Do you need anything in particular, Lisa?"

"If I pass away-"

"Don't say that; you're not going to die under my watch; I'll make sure of it."

***

As the office lights darkened and the night sky glittered in the back, Jean found herself working another long night. As the lights of Mondstadt dimmed and people fell asleep, the acting Grandmaster's job seemed to never end. She looked down at the pile of documents in front of her, which comprised monster reports, difficulties, and letters to send to foreign countries. She exhaled tiredly as she slumped back in her chair. Her hands covered her temples and her fingers stretched across her forehead.

She had to work. She couldn't stop herself.

No, not now.

She continued writing the letter after picking up the dropped pen. She strives for the greatest level of respect and structure in her letters. After she finished the final few lines, the pen slipped from her grip once more. She took a breath, stretched her palm, and sighed. Overusing her hand has caused her to have hand cramps once more. She took a big breath, extended both of her hands, and massaged them to relieve the pain. Sighing with relief, she rose from her chair, straightened herself, and glanced out the window with her cup of coffee in hand.

How long has it been since she slept? Jean was stumped by her own question. She returned to her desk, set the cup of coffee next to her, and went back to work, sometimes checking the time and sipping her coffee.

The time was 3:45.

Jean stood and walked up towards the bookshelf, sighing as she rested her palm on the shelf of books where Lisa stood.

Or, more accurately, where she should have been standing.

Lisa has been dead for weeks. Jean tried to hide her sadness by keeping a straight face. She was the acting Grandmaster. She has Mondstadt to look after and keep an eye on. People were counting on her, but her thoughts kept returning to Lisa.

Lisa Minci, the flirtatious and intelligent librarian from Sumeria Academia, and one of the best witches that ever came out of the Academia, settled herself down in the library of the Knights of Favonius. The green-eyed and brown-haired woman who had purple roses, whose unique color made itself known, but with every rose lied their thorns. Lisa, who made sure Jean could take a breather and rest, took her around in the afternoon to have a sip of tea. Who made her feel at peace, like all the problems that bothered her disappeared in her embrace.

She missed everything about her.

Her gaze was drawn to the metal band that encircled her finger, a modest ring with a single jade that she had exchanged with Lisa before she died. She stumbled back into her chair, resting on the back, her body swaying against the chair, and the world appeared to swirl around her.

“Jean”, she heard someone say, and she sprung to her feet and peered about. The door was shut, and the voice calling out appeared to be nearby.

"Jean," it said once more. Jean's head cocked toward the bookshelves, towards the direction of the speaker. While Jean works, Lisa's favorite place to unwind and read a book.

"Yes, who is it? Make yourself known and clarify your purpose," Jean said as she rose from her seat. Her head whirled, but she managed to keep her balance by grasping the table.

A faint laugh arose from the room once the voice stopped. As she placed her blade in front of her, Jean looked around for it.

"Oh my, my, my, Miss Acting Grandmaster, I think I've forgotten to introduce myself."

"Please tell me who you are and why you are here."

Jean averted her gaze for a minute, but her gaze remained on the source of the voice. She sees a lady in the view. This frightened her. There was no one in the room. She was certain of it, and if someone had knocked, she would have seen and heard it, but she hasn't. Her gaze returned to the location, and there she was. Her hair was wrapped into a low ponytail with a rose and a witch hat for the tall woman with green eyes. She was the one.

Lisa Minci. The woman with whom she was at ease.

"Have you forgotten about me so quickly, darling?" she said, extending out her hand.

"Lisa. I..." Jean was surprised. Lisa is right there with her, so why isn't she moving closer?

"I watched you die! You were slaughtered! You overused your abilities... and I...," Jean shouted, her body trembling. Lisa died in front of her eyes, but why? Why is she still in this place?

"Jean, don't weep. I never enjoyed seeing you cry, beloved."

Jean merely gazed up at her as she sat down to catch her breath and wipe the tears from her eyes.

Lisa reached for a book on the shelf and took it from there. Her gaze remained on the words, then she looked up to see Jean, whose hands were trembling as she attempted to calm herself down.

"Why are you here? You died, yet your spirit is still here," she inquired. Jean had never believed in ghosts, but she was aware that those who had unfinished business with the living might return.

She hadn't planned on it being hers.

"I might be dead, but your thoughts stays on me. Anything you'd want to say?" Lisa barely managed a little laugh before returning to her book.

"No, Lisa," Jean said quietly as she sat there in silence.

Looking up from her book, Lisa simply remarked, "Liar." She knew a lot of things about Jean, but one of them was that she wasn't a liar. Jean gave Lisa a guilty look before quietly replying,

"Yes," She answer, with numerous points to make.

"Tell them I'm here to listen," She respond.

"I wish I could have rescued you."

Lisa's heart broke as she heard those seven words.

"I wish you didn't die. I wish I could have saved you in time," Jean added, tears in her eyes.

Lisa had a sorrowful expression on her face as she gazed at Jean. She wanted to weep, she wanted to put the book down, she wanted to go to her, she wanted to hug her in her arms again (and maybe give her a kiss or two), but she couldn't.

After all, Lisa was no longer alive. Jean, on the other hand, was alive.

All she could do now was stare at her with a sweet sorrowful smile, attempting to keep her emotions in check. Before she closed the book, she realized she didn't enjoy seeing her beloved in suffering.

"You remember what I said before, don't you?" she said, tapping her nails on the hard cover.

"Which one? You've spoken a lot to me."

"Funny, Jean. I see you're just as clever as I recalled. The one where I've stated, "If I die now, I might as well die magnificently," Lisa smiled as she continued to read.

Jean remembered that chat she and Lisa had a few days before her death, a simple time shared between the two ladies as they sat by each other's sides and spoke the night away. Jean wanted she could stay in that state of joy forever.

"I don't want you to leave my side at all; I could've saved you, Lisa. "

"I knew you could, but Jean, you're far more needed here and people still need you here. "

"And, I need you here with me.”

"Jean... I understand that, but I'm not with you anymore; please don't chastise yourself for not having me by your side."

"I'll do all in my ability not to."

Lisa grinned and approached her, and although Jean knows she's simply a ghost or a vision of herself, she feels at ease. Jean missed the slight fragrance of old books and roses that she could detect. That aroma that accompanied Lisa around and calmed Jean throughout those difficult days.

"And Jean," Lisa murmured into her ear, raising the hairs on Jean's spine as she heard her voice.

Even though Lisa is a ghost, her voice still makes Jean happy.

Lisa’s smile has a sorrowful rather than a relief one. "Pay a visit to my grave and bring flowers; you know what I want."

"How can I forget the roses and cecilias?"

Lisa giggled, "Of course you couldn't forget that."

"I would never do that, Lisa; can you please wait for me?"

Thud.

Jean looks up to find the book on the floor and approaches to pick it up and return it to its proper place on the shelf. Her palm squeezed the book against the region where it had previously been placed, bringing her nose close to the spine before pushing it entirely back.

"Lisa?"

A/N: Oh my...This is my longest oneshot here yet (it isnt long much compared to others but, I guess you can consider this a long one). This made me feel sad writing this because I really love them and IT WAS HARD TO WRITE :( Its also my first time writing a majority angst, hurt barely any comfort fic here (or maybe in general) so I hope I did my best and that, I hope I did Jean and Lisa justice. The story is actually inspired by a reel of Jeanlisa I found (I’ll try to find it. I know I still have it...somewhere). Dunno when I’ll post another story again ahhahaha, probably gonna be angst or not. You can leave some feedback so long as its not insulting, I’d love to read it.

#Tw//Death #tw // death #nezukoo-channn #nezukoo channn #nezukoo channn writings #jeanlisa #jean gunnhildr #lisa minci #jean x lisa #genshin impact #genshin impact fanfiction #fanfiction #jeanlisa fic #angst #implied engagement?#i hope this is good enough #hurt with barely any comfort #fanfic #oneshot

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