#world building: disabilities

[raspberrywizard]

Fic Rec: Thaumaturgical Studies by liketolaugh

Things I love about this: Ed being passionate about learning, teaching, and helping. World building I didn't expect. Magic system building that I am so behind. Low stress read with the same high stakes HP has always had.

Major characters: Edward Elric, Alastor | Madeye Moody, Fleur Delacour, Severus Snape, Hermione Granger, Dobby

Author's summary: "Two years after Tom Riddle's diary comes into his possession, Dumbledore is almost certain that it is a horcrux. All he needs is independent confirmation - which is, unfortunately, very difficult to find when dealing with such advanced magic. Luckily, Edward Elric is a genius, an alchemist, and especially, a specialist in human transmutation. His job becomes a lot harder when his automail gives out three steps into Hogwarts' wards."

#The Gate #world building: FMA #world building: house elves #fic rec #Thaumaturgical Studies #liketolaugh #gen fic #world building: disabilities #prosthetics user #wheelchair user #world building: magical medicine #HP book 4 #FMA post-canon #edward elric #mad eye moody #fluer delacour #severus snape #hermione granger #dobby the house elf

[trans-axolotl]

and this is also why i think that any meaningful community building/advocacy/support around madness/neurodivergence/mental illness needs to be founded on principles of liberation and abolition, and that we need to be able to distinguish between people who are allies based on our shared values + goals, and between people who use some of the same language as us, but are fundamentally advocating for separate things.

One example I see a lot of is the idea of "lived experience" professionals, people who have a career in the mental health system and who also have some personal experience with mental illness. These professionals oftentimes will talk about their own negative experiences in the mental health system, and come into their careers with a genuine desire to improve the experience of patients. But their impact is incredibly limited by the system they have chosen to work in: the coercive elements of psychiatry incentivize professionals to buy into the existing power structures instead of disrupting them. And as a whole, many lived experience professionals end up getting exploited and tokenized by their employers and used as an attempt to make carceral psychiatry seem more palatable. Professionals in this dynamic are not working to effectively challenge the structural violence of their profession: they become complicit, even if they do also have good intentions and provide individual support.

(I do know some radical providers who have found innovative ways to fuck up the system and destabilize and shift power in their workplaces, but this is a very small number of providers and is not most of the lived experience providers I've talked with.)

Another example I see a lot in our spaces has to do with the evolution of the neurodiversity paradigm. I feel a very deep connection to the original conceptualization of neurodiversity and neurodivergent as coined by Kassiane Asasumasu, but in recent years I've seen a lot of people using neurodivergent language in a way that feels pretty dramatically different than the foundational principles. This isn't saying that people should stop using ND terminology or that all neurodivergent spaces are like this--rather, I just want to point out some trends I see in certain communities, both online and in my in personal life. Although people will often use neurodivergent language and on the surface, seem allied with concepts of deinstitutionalization, acceptance, etc, the values and structure in these community spaces often rely heavily on ideas of classification based in DSM, and build very prescriptive and rigid models for categorizing different types of neurodivergence in a way that ends up excluding some M/MI/ND people. Certain types of knowledge are valued over other types of knowledge, and certain diagnoses are prioritized as worthy of support over others. There's a lot of value placed on identifying and classifying many types of behaviors, beliefs, thoughts, actions, into specific categories, and a lack of solidarity between different diagnoses or the wider disability community.

Again, this isn't to say that ND terminology is bad or useless--I think it is an incredibly helpful explanatory model/shorthand for finding community and will call myself neurodivergent, and find a lot of value in community identification and sharing of wisdom. I just feel like it's important to realize that not every ND person, organization, or initiative, is actually invested in the project of fighting for our liberation.

when thinking about our activism, as abolitionists, it's important to be very specific about what our goals, values, and tactics are. For example, understanding the concept of non-reformist reforms helps us distinguish what immediate goals are useful, versus what reforms work to increase the carceral power of the psychiatric system. And when building our own value systems and trying to build alternative ways of caring for ourselves and our communities, we need to be able to evaluate what brings us closer to autonomy, freedom, and interdependence. I need people to understand that just because someone is also against psych hospitalization does not mean that they are also allies in the project of letting mad people live free, authentic, meaningful, and supported lives, and that oftentimes people's allyship is conditional on our willingness to conform to their ideas of a "good" mentally ill person.

#personal #psych abolition #mad liberation #surviving psych #antipsych #neurodivergent #also to be clear i'm not saying any of this as a way to say some people are more or less disabled than others #or that becoming a provider makes you no longer neurodivergent or something #but rather this is discussion of activism + strategy + goals + tactics #not a commentary on "who counts as disabled or who deserves support #this is talking about: how do we build the type of world where mad people are liberated and how can we tell who is also working towards tha

[tastesoftamriel]

Are there any accommodations for people with disabilities? For example, accessible entrances for those who require mobility aids? I would assume there would be a lot of injuries from the war or at the very least from wandering monsters.

In terms of physical disabilities, there are a wide range of accommodations for helping the disabled! Accessible entrances to most shops, temples, and homes are just the beginning.

Hearing aids for the partially deaf are in the form of ear trumpets, a rather crude device into which one shouts to be heard. Enchanted pocket ear trumpets magnify the sound further, using soul gem magic to power a Dwemer-inspired... actually, I'm not even going to pretend I know how magic works.

For the fully deaf and mute, sign language is fairly commonplace around Tamriel, albeit with certain regional variations. Thieves and assassins in particular are great with sign language as it allows them to communicate silently and effectively, and the trend of learning sign language across Tamriel started with those who seek to mimic the cool demeanour of a criminal. As such, it's very practical for those hard of hearing when at least one or two people in their community know sign language!

Prosthetic limbs, generally fashioned from wood, have been in popular use for hundreds of years in Tamriel and beyond. Ranging from crude stumps to finely carved realistic or ornate limbs, it is not an uncommon sight on war veterans and victims of violence, or sick amputees. Prothestic limb wearers who are skilled in magic are also able to meld their minds with their wooden parts, making them function just as well, if not better than the real thing.

While glass eyes have always been common for the blind, but aside from realistic replicas, some Tamrielic citizens have begun wearing polished gemstones instead, a trend said to have started in the Summerset Isles. For those with poor eyesight, spectacles are the most common way to correct vision without magic. ~Talviel

PS: Here's an ESO NPC (Amalien in Solitude) who uses a wheelchair!! Which I think is very cool.

#Asks #worldbuilding #World building #TES #The Elder Scrolls #disability #disabled #I finally made a new post are you proud of me

[heart-of-a-rebel16]

the more Star Wars stuff that Disney pumps out the more I am shocked that rebels is as amazing as it is

#Like #no whitewashed clones? #an actual sense of stakes and permanent character death? #an engaging take on the five/six man band? #Impeccable character arcs for SIX CHARACTERS? #SIX WHOLE DAMN CHARACTERS????? #SIX????? #fantastically subtle world building? #No Anakin bootlicking or anti-Jedi sentiments????? #A disabled character treated with the respect he deserves? #It’s a fucking miracle #And yes this is a direct dig at the bad batch and everything Dave Filoni has ever made since then #Rebels isn’t perfect by any means #But its pros far outweigh its cons #which is why rebels will always and forever be the best piece of Star Wars media to ever exist #star wars rebels #swr #sw rebels

[dragofelid]

drawing some disabled cats for my world building.

I wanted to see how different disability aids work with anthro cats and how certain breeds would be accommodated.

#anthro #furry #cats #felines #disabilities #disabled #disability aids #mobility aids #world building #my art

[softness-and-shattering]

So I put on this netflix show, in their tradition of being extremely obvious with names its called Mech Cadets, and its an alien-mecha human-pilot fight-the-giant-bug-aliens story. My first complaint is that the alien mechas are called Robo's. Wow exciting /sarcasm. Anyway thats totally forgiven because 1 the story actually makes choices and puts the characters through consequences instead of like hinting at oh it something bad gonna happen psych we dont have the guts for that. Its a kid/teen show so its not super dark but it follows through and goes the places it needs to.

2, and maybe most importantly, I gotta talk about the disability rep. There's four teens chosen by the alien mechs to be their drift-compatible pilots (I think im using that correctly? Im not super informed on the genre but I know some), and we see straight away that one of the guys has a prosthetic leg from the thigh down, and uses it as an example to tell the main protagonist, hey none of us are perfect we dont have to be perfect we just need to be human. The next episode the mechas are given human-designed weapons to fight with, and the disabled kid gets these flippy sticks I cant quite work out. One of them gets a staff, the other gets this glove for punching, story moves on. Then a bug-alien-antagonist gets into the teens dorm and while fighting it, the alien dismembers the guys prosthetic. He immediately grabs his crutches and goes to town on it with his crutches, and balancing on them to kick with his one good foot*. Then they disconnect the rest of the prosthetic and use its sharp edge to kill the alien. And then he just moves around on his crutches with no comment and Ill cut myself off there so I dont spoil the whole thing.

Except, a couple episodes later, Im watching him in the mech fighting and moving around, and I realise that his giant fuck-off monster attacking weapons ARE A PAIR OF CRUTCHES. Theyre his fucking WEAPONS. Thats cool as fuck!

#is it mech and not mecha and im making a fool of myself? I just cant quite bear to call them Robos im sorry #Mech Cadets #Theres more nice stuff about the disability rep but I want to leave some surprises for y'all when you watch it #The animation is ok theres one character who's face sometimes looks a bit plastic and moves a bit janky imho but otherwise its alright #I also definitely want more about the robos as people because theyre intelligent but theyre also a bit treated like machines #and not sentient beings #but they clearly are sentient #theres definitely themes happening about how alive they are but its not properly dug into yet. if they get a second season I definitely wan #more on them #like why did they just show up to earth to partner with people and fight the bug aliens? where are they from? whats their motivation? #but in a I want more world building way not in a wow this is shit world building way #anyway #mine #disability rep #disability representation #its got some really fun vibes #*his one foot. he doesnt have a good foot and a bad foot he just has a foot. getting him mixed in my head with Kaz Brekker and his cane

[glimblshanks]

The thing about TNG is that the space aliens and moral quandaries are always like, the least insane part of the episode

#star trek tng #star trek #tng #watching Loud As A Whisper right now #because I wanted to know more about sign language in the Star Trek universe #and anyways I'm only 15 minutes in and I have notes #1) Picard saying 'cluck cluck cluck' to Riker was so ??? #broski who talks that way #2) your mission is to pick up and shuttle an incredibly important diplomat #and you're telling me the mission briefing didn't include the fact that he was deaf??? #3) I absolutely don't believe that Riva is some exceptionally talented peace negotiator #because every interaction he has with another person makes me want to punch him in the face #4) His initial interaction with Geordie is like... some abled persons weird fantasy of how disabled people interact with each other #You're telling me this guy is deaf. has deaf parents. and still reacts to other peoples disabilities like they're brand new? #5) The Universal Translator Isn't Universal If It Doesn't Translate Sign Languages #6) Why does Picard act like he's never met a deaf person before??? Do they not have deaf humans in the future?? #anyways I understand that this was probably a pretty progressive episode for it's time #but it ages weird #like the world building seems very poorly thought through

[crippledanarchy]

It is genuinely really funny that Christians love to say they "refuse to live in fear" when that is literally all they do

#you Cannot build your entire world view based on your fear of eternal torture by fire #and then say I'm living in fear for existing as a disabled person who is cool with my limits #go traumatize someone else with your faith 'healings'

[a-little-revolution]

to celebrate open anon!! do you have any kind of wishlist of how you’d personally like to see little people portrayed in media??

Hello!! Goodness, I do indeed!!

I'd love to see a little person fall in love (and have it reciprocated), particularly as a coming of age story - highschool me would have lovvvvved to see representation of a body like mine being healthily romanticized.

A period piece staring a little person would be amazing as well - they could be in an accurate field such as a seamstress, midwife, blacksmith, etc. or detail our history of enslavement. (They could even do it as a spin off of Game of Thrones or The Last Kingdom)

I'd especially love to see little people of multi minority, in interabled relationships. I've been at a point with my media consumption where it isn't enough to simply see a token disabled/little character. They need to have more to them and they need to be in a rich, diverse community. Diversity doesn't live in a bubble, and disabled people attract other disabled people. Along with queer people, trans people, neurodivergent people, etc. Show complex characters in your writing, and build complex communities because we're out there.

And mostly I just want to see more characters with dwarfism across all genres of media - ones that are taken seriously. There's hardly any good representation for little people out there, and it greatly affects the community. I can trace back so many of my struggles in life with people's perception of my disability, which could have been so easily turned on it's head if I had better representation.

Hope this helps, and thank you so much for this ask :) xoxo - elliot (they/them)

#asks #anon #dwarfism #dwarfism awareness #dwarfism in media #disability #disability in media #writing disabled characters #writing prompts #world building #diversity #character writing #disabled characters

[songoftrillium]

I Am Mundus Artis (it/she)

The term is roughly translated to 'Art of the World'. I am a mixed media artist based out of the Pacific Northwest. I write World of Darkness stuff on Storytellers Vault, and occasionally publish short form science fiction on Medium. I paint with watercolors and make many of my own paints using found objects. I also engage in film photography and heavily favor urbex and Chiaroscuro portraiture. I enjoy taking the core elements of a subject and reorganizing them into representational surrealism, also known as biomorphism.

I am an unapologetic lover of nature and especially mushrooms, moss, and especially wolves.

I block most AI image creators and apologists on sight. If I accidentally reblog AI-generated content, please let me know.

I am a disabled, demisexual, transgender butch lesbian elder, and I have opinions. I generally don't consider this blog friendly to minors, and I tend to block on sight, though I mostly keep my lesbian shitposting here (NSFW). I stand with Palestine, but also do not condone antisemitism in any form. I believe Black Lives Matter, and support Landback efforts, along with the ideals of decolonization. Sex Work is Work. This blog holds space for marginalized voices from all walks.

In addition, I am a part of numerous fandoms, and you can expect to see liberal reblogs of Dark Crystal, Good Omens and Our Flag Means Death content.

I am an avid fan of the World of Darkness, especially Werewolf: the Apocalypse and am a Storyteller of over 25 years experience. You'll see frequent posting covering the topic of Werewolves in general on this blog. I'm an aggregator of Useful Shit for Storytellers and My Ask Box Is Open for those seeking world-building advice or ST tips.

In fact:

I believe Werewolf is an Inherently Queer Medium

I am also trying to hold the World of Darkness to higher standards of inclusivity

I'm the project director behind Werewolf: the Essentials, which aims to bring queer inclusivity to the horror tabletop. Book 1: Cliath comes out next Halloween, and you can follow the Official Blog here.

#world of darkness #werewolf: the apocalypse #werewolf the apocalypse #dead mountain #world building #werewolf the essentials #queer artists #queer writer #lesbian writer #demisexual writer #demisexuality #ace spec #demisexual #disabled writer #disabled artist

[autisticsupervillain]

World Building Concepts: What would a wheelchair made for a disabled naga, lamia, or gorgon look like? Like, if a naga got spinal damage or was born unable to properly slither, what would their wheelchair look like? How would they be accommodated?

Because, like, the snake torso would get in the way of an ordinary wheelchair, right? They'd just run over their own tail or have to drag their tail under themselves between the wheels. So a wheelchair built for nagas would need to put the tail somewhere, right? Maybe something like a walker for injured dogs to hold their back half up? Or maybe the wheelchair can just have a very big "foot rest" where the tail curls up?

Come to think of it, how would prosthetics work for Nagas? Or crutches? God, if prosthetics legs are expensive, imagine one for a mile long tail. Not to mention all the other vital organs a Naga's tail likely holds, like extra stomachs or hearts to sustain that immense amount of biomass. Any Naga who gets a permanent injury to their tail could potentially experience permanent damage to their breathing, heartbeat, digestive system, and movement all at once.

So, yeah, more disabled Nagas please. There's fertile ground to be tapped here.

#world building #wheelchair #disabled characters #naga #gorgon #lamia

[cy-cyborg]

So I'm trying to put aside my disability lense for a moment becauae as a wheelchair user, stairs are my mortal enemy lol, but even outside of that, why are games like no man's sky that are set in the far, far fututre, still so obsessed with stairs?

Again, even if you remove disability and accessibility from the equation, surely no one likes walking up 50 flights of pointless stairs? Right? And I say pointless because NMS has teleporters, which are used several times in the game to bypass said massive flight of stairs (the most notable examples are in the freighters, where you can teleport from the docking bay to the command room and back, bypassing 1 coridor and a big flight of stairs).

Like, if that's an option, why are these massive flights of stairs still so common? A few steps up or down from a platform sure, but in a future setting where I can meet and reset computer-God and travel instantly between star systems in different galaxies, who is still wanting to use stairs over a lift or teleporters? You have living robots in your setting, why are they building space stations with stairs? Surely, this is not the most efficient way of doing things? The most efficient option is the one everyone can use, including people carrying big heavy cargo pallets and stuff.

I'm picking on NMS but this is something I see in a lot of high tech, sci-fi settings where there are, in cannon, better options. I get the whole "Keep It Simple" approach to design, but surely in a universe with space travel, someone would have thought of something better than stairs lol

#disability #disabled #writing #writeblr #scifi worldbuilding #world building #worldbuilding #no mans sky #nms

[dragons-homebrew-hoard]

One of my friends and players just brought something up to me that I think is a discussion that should be had and that is:

Should white people make ocs that are poc in ttrpgs

She sent me two ticktocks here and here where two poc talk about how it makes them uncomfortable when white people play as poc in ttrpgs and she was freaking out because her oc from the last 3-4 years in our campaign is mix raced. My friend is also mix raced but white passing and she was afraid she was offending people.

So, I just wanna give my perspective from observing this same discussion in other writing communities - because it is essentially the same discussion of whether or not white people can write poc in novels, video game, movies, etc because it all comes down to aesthetic appropriation.

Now, if any poc would like to add their own thoughts and experiences with this please do, your voices are much more important than mine - a white person - so I'm going to put my thoughts under a cut. I'm basically going to talk about my own observations within the fantasy genre as a whole when it comes to ethnicity and race and the patterns I've seen and how that translates into the ttrpg medium. Cheers :D

So, the main problem I've seen brought up when white people try to be inclusive by adding poc in their stories is that their inclusion stops at aesthetics. A poc is still written with the mindset of a white person. Changing the ethnicity of a character changes nothing about them and - many times - their ethnicity isn't even clear. They are south Asian but of which country? Which region? South Asians are an incredibly diverse ethnic group just like Afrians or Central/South Americans. If you can swap the ethnicity of a character without changing anything about them, then you aren't actually making good representation, you are doing the bare minimum of preventing an all white cast. It's 2023, we should hold ourselves and each other to higher standards.

Now, when it comes to fantasy stories, there is a bit of a problem. The worlds within fantasy settings become so much smaller because humans often share the setting with nonhumans such as elves, dwarves, gnomes, etc. This means humans are often turned into a european monolith - or something very close to it - while other real world ethnicities are shoved onto fantasy lineages (often times still flavors of european).

I dont think I need to point out why this is a problem. Humans continue using the aesthetics of nonwhite ethnicities but completely divorced of their culture and context. This is the definition of appropriation. I can think of dozens of fantasy stories from various mediums where there would be no change if a poc was white because their ethnicity has no impact on their characterization - as seen with various video game characters who's skin becomes lighter and lighter through every installment or has dark skinned concept art and a light skinned final product.

You want your fantasy setting to be a mixing pot of cultures and ethnicities? Ok, look at the US and how all of these different cultures remain intact even after generations. Yes, there is a level of assimilation but even fourth gen Mexican immigrants are still influenced their culture. Mix raced people have their own unique struggles and cultural experiences. Every country in the world has their own unique mixing pot of cultures and ethnicities. No country is a monolith as that would require committing cultural and/or ethnic genocide to everyone who does not fit the predestined mold.

A setting can have a mixing pot of cultures without racism or prejudice. You can have a human civilization that isn't a monolith. Don't be afraid to research different cultures to represent them with respect. Not only will it make your setting feel more immersive, it will give you a deeper understanding and respect for people irl.

It's always boggled my mind when people say irl race doesn't matter in fantasy then immediately turn around with fantasy racism like... seriously? The beauty of humanity is how diverse our cultures are and yet you'd rather dismiss this beauty over using the violence of prejudice and racism as cheap conflict in your story.

If you actually want to be inclusive in your fantasy stories, do research. Talk to poc of the ethnicity you are trying to represent.

If you are a player wanting to make an oc that is a different ethnicity than you - consider why? Does the character's physical appearance actually matter to their story? Are you willing to put in the work to represent this character's culture and respect the irl culture and people you are drawing from? Is this even your story to tell? If your answer to any of these questions is no, then maybe you should rethink some things.

I don't have the answer on whether or not white people should be allowed to make their oc a person of color but I think this question is indicative of a much larger problem within the fantasy genre of aesthetic appropriation and surface level representation of poc. I don't have any answers - other than put more effort into representing different ethnicities and cultures which its whole own can of worms- but its a conversation that should be had.

I would love to hear other people's thoughts and feel free to correct me or add your own experiences with this. I want to learn so I can write better representation in my stories and understand different perspectives better. Cheers :D

#dragon speaks #appropriation #dnd #pathfinder #ttrpg #we live in a society #i think about this often in my own writing #if a characters ethnicity doesn't impact their character at all then you are doing something wrong #either in the world building or characterization of your character #just like gender and disability/ability #you could be dismissive and think it doesnt affect your character #but it DOES #dismissing these elements as unimportant means you'll be using your own personal experience as the base line #which means your own experience biases will be all over your characters and world building #and the audience will be able to tell #long post #all of use have blind spots #being able to recognize this and work to over come these blind spots is important #and helps us grow as creatives and people #idk #when my friend asked me about this it just brought up a lot of what i was already struggling with in my own writing #and my own thoughts on ethnicity and race in the fantasy genre #and how ive been struggling with this idea in my own writing #making a setting feel immersive and alive means investing into the details #even if you are writing a story about a civilization of sentient bees #you need to keep in mind your own cultural biases #in everything #learning more about other peoples experiences and cultures and beliefes will make u a more rounded person in general #idk where im going im just rambling

[danielpowell]

Okay. In the tags of my last post about this game, I mentioned wanting to talk about my favorite line.

It's this:

Transcript

Peppermint :

Might be able to bypass security on that one. It's a rough route, though. Lotta stairs...

I just. I love it so much. I thought it was a brilliant way to segway into a new movement mechanic section while also highlighting the disabled aspect of the characters.

Peppermint WOULD know how rough stairs can be with a leg prosthesis.

But Chai doesn't have one, does he ? He is, however, only hours out of a major surgery and still getting used to the weight and feel of a new limb. At certain points you can even see him teetering off balance in cut scenes where he has to hop up higher levels.

Peppermint absolutely would have noticed this. Or I could be overthinking and she just felt this way from her own experience.

It was such a small line, but it was everything to me.

#mel talks hi fi rush #there's quite a lot in the game that elaborates on disability and all it can entail #especially how the systems in power accommodate and also fail to accommodate #like some logs speaking about older models being unable to traverse the campus due to lacking the tools necessary #and I think that Chai having an old mp3 player is a fucking (chef's kiss) perfect detail #brings it full circle #and also may insinuate his class ? hard to say with the lack of world building in that area #I keep rewatching the intro scene and yes I am very autistic about it !!! shut up !!!!

[codgod]

hey sims question has anyone else installed for rent already and if so are you having trouble opening the game after re-enabling mods because it will legit just not open for me even after i updated or removed all the script mods that i thought might be the issue

#.txt #and i can’t exactly disable mods because i can’t even open the game #i’ve tried restarting my laptop and repairing the game multiple times #i tried dragging the sims 4 folder onto my desktop so i could just start rest #*fresh #and then drag all my saves and mods and such back in #but it wouldn’t let me because it said the game was running when it wasn’t #when i click play just like. nothing happens. it goes back to the ea app #tf do i even do here #i think the pack/update is too new for there to be a real fix found just yet #if this is a common issue #like i know some people were having trouble updating but i got the update fine #like i opened the game after installing the pack #so i could enable mods #agh. the world hates me #i just wanna build sand.ers sides themed townhouses #or apartments or something #on that 50 x 50 lot in willow creek

[crippledanarchy]

"Are walkable cities ableist" is being framed as either a derailing question from trolls or as nitpicky and focusing only on insignificant details instead of the reality, which is, "is ____ ableist in its design" is a question disabled people have to ask and answer on their own multiple times a day.

Like. if we're talking building a new world I would actually like to be able to both enter AND participate. These aren't afterthoughts.

#are leftists ableist? fuck yes. #club of assholes who want to build a better world. but just for them. not for us #who needs ugly laws when you can just have cities that make disabled people unable to participate in public life? #oh wait.... that's already the reality #cripple punk