#(he’s ableist)

[ironunderstands]

The way some of yall mischaracterize Ratio as being stoic in chill when in reality he is 24/7 resisting the urge to rip everyone around him a new one is crazy to me like. He cares so much, so much. It’s unhealthy, he loses the idgaf war every time because Ratio is the least nonchalant person ever like

He was this close to breaking character and throttling Sunday like you cannot tell me he wasn’t planning a murder in this scene. Ratio straight up calls Sunday a crazy bitch but everyone brushed it aside 😭

Honestly his entire conversation with Screwllum is just him tweaking, watch it on YouTube the VAs performance is amazing, you can here just how much He Cares

Genuinely, Aventurine is way better at concealing his true feelings that Ratio. Ratio may be acting for the sake of the plan but the way he truly feels about anything he’s doing always seeps through, it’s why he apologizes to Aventurine in 2.0 in their staged argument scene. It’s why he is as mean to Sunday as he can be. It’s why him pretending that he “hates” Aventurine makes him act so silly. Ratio can’t fully commit to the bit, he can’t force himself to not care or to be someone he isn’t, because fundamentally Ratio CARES and that is something he is incapable of hiding, alabaster bust or not.

The problem is that him expressing his care is often done in a rude and/or blunt manner which people tend to interpret as stoicism or apathy when it’s anything but. Ratio’s vial that he gives to Aventurine is short, sweet and gets straight to the point, because that’s the easiest way for Ratio to express his emotions, even if it’s often detrimental for him and anyone else around him. However Aventurine understands him quite well, and knows that although brief, Ratio telling him to “stay alive, survive this and keep on living” is how he truly feels towards Aventurine, and that’s enough to keep him going.

Underneath Ratios carefully crafted marble facade is a man who cares so much and is so bad at expressing it and I wish the community in general, especially Aventio shippers would acknowledge that more. Ratios true moments of sincerity are brief, but they are anything but stoic. Let the man be soft, it’s in character.

#This turned into a mini essay whoops #I hold Ratios party voiceline for Aven so close to my heart #Not the EN one idk what the translators were on but CN is UGHH it’s so good #Someone else can point out the potentially ableist undertones to how people view Ratio #I’m not gonna do that again because the last time was a disaster #“He’s selfish and cruel and narcissistic” *concerned glance* #Like I know some of it is just hoyo players having the media literacy of rocks #But like theres something wrong there just is it sits so wrong with me #Begging yall to write him correctly in fan content PLEASSEEE #dr ratio #aventurine #aventio #Not necessarily a ship post though

[marisatomay]

i’m so sick of writers who proudly proclaim that they don’t read and directors and actors and other filmmakers who smugly say that they rarely watch movies or any artist who acts like an audience is stupid for connecting with their work like what the fuck is wrong with you that you hold such contempt such derision for the art that you have chosen to make the art that so many people dream of the opportunity to make the art that brings meaning and connection to people’s lives it’s unbelievably disrespectful to both your audience and the art-form and if you can’t muster basic respect for either your art-form or your audience then kindly fuck off and do something else

#i hate how rare it is to have an actor be like ‘yeah i just really love movies and going to the movies it’s the best i love what i do’ #to the point where when an actor or director IS like that people are like ‘wow what a freak…they’re faking it for attention’ like!! no!! #that’s what it’s SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE!! you WANT creators who are obsessed with their medium!!! #and what gets me about the people who don’t feel that way is the clear Pride they feel like they’re Better for not caring #that uk ya author adapting the odyssey and admitting that they’ve never read the odyssey or the iliad #that writer on twitter saying that telling writers to read is ableist #the russo brothers saying that the theatrical experience is elitist and auteurism should bow to the disney/netflix model #christain bale and any number of other actors who proudly announce that they don’t watch movies #sam levinson who talks about tv like it’s a long movie because he can’t hack it as a filmmaker like his dad but he doesn’t actually LIKE tv #like i get not wanting to consume your own work after it’s released unless it’s for research or self reflection purposes #but you do not exist or create in a vacuum and it’s SO disrespectful and arrogant to act like you do

[a-stone-slab]

Hey all, MatPat made a video on TADC, so I think it’s time to give a quick refresher on what a terrible person he is, so it doesn’t turn into his second FNaF-Cashcow for theories.

We all know how scummy of a person he is, with doxxing, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and more.

Not to mention his recent video where he talks about the hate towards his FNaF theories, where he spends the majority of the video explaining how him and his staff are smarter than the majority of the population due to a personality test that his staff has all taken.

He then ends the video by taking around 10 minutes to promote their new merch, and ties the merch plug-in into the main point of the video, trying to guilt the audience into giving him more money.

He’s not some “funny theorist man”, he’s a horrible, bigoted scumbag who doesn’t seem to care that his words have an impact on the world and actual, real life people.

So yeah. This was a post detailing the horrible actions of this man, and I hope it serves as a reminder of what a horrible type of person he is. Do not support his content, especially not now when he’s jumping ship from one fandom that hates him, and going to a new fandom thats getting more mainstream.

#tadc #the amazing digital circus #game theory #matpat #matthew patrick #Do NOT support this man #even if you think the merch plug-ins and issues with crediting people for their content is fine he’s still #extremely homophobic transphobic and ableist #new pinned post #he is NOT getting to abandon a fandom because people hate him only to try and go to a fandom that might not even know about his issues yet

[quarklynx]

remember the headcanon that Alhaitham was wearing hearing aids? we should bring that back i think Bonus:

✨reblog to help ur local artist✨

Alt text under the cut

A short comic, all drawn with a loose style in a warmly tinted grayscale. The first panel depicts Scaramouche from Genshin Impact, he is dressed in the attire he wears as the playable Wanderer character and is angrily gesticulating towards the viewer and looking down at them scornfully. He says, in all capital letters, "are you deaf??". The second panel is a view from behind the Wanderer, showing the viewer that he was yelling at the Genshin Impact character Alhaitham. Alhaitham is significantly taller than the wanderer, even with his hat, and has a neutral expression and stance. The Wanderer has an anime style anger mark above his head, and Alhaitham has a speech bubble that only contains ellipses.

In the first panel of the second image, the Wanderer and Alhaitham still face one another in the same poses, except for Alhaitham's right hand. His hand is moving in the American Sign Language sign for "yes", which is also plainly written out for the viewer in text. The wanderer's anger symbol is no longer present. The middle panel is a simplified silhouette of both characters facing one another, their profiles visible to the viewer. A large ellipses hovers above their heads. The final panel shows the Wanderer turning away from Alhaitham, tugging down his wide-brimmed hat from the front to cover his face. All that can be seen of his expression is a small smile and a bead of sweat. The Wanderer has a speech bubble, which says in lower case lettering: "ah. my mistake". Alhaitham is standing behind the Wanderer, his expression still mostly neutral as he watches the wanderer turn to leave, but he has lines below his eyes that show irritation. His arms are now crossed, and his left hand is holding a book open under the opposite arm.

The bonus image is a grayscale sketch of Lumine and Kaveh from Genshin Impact. To the left, Lumine looks frustrated, with her shoulders drawn up and her left hand pressed to her face while the other rests on her hip. The hand on her face is dragging the lower eyelid on her left eye down. Kaveh is slightly hunched over towards Lumine, and he is laughing so hard he's crying and spitting through pursed lips. He's holding his sides with opposite hands tightly, and looking towards Lumine.

#lynxinks #genshin impact #genshin fanart #genshin wanderer #scaramouche #alhaitham #al haitham #kaveh #genshin impact lumine #lumine #genshin kaveh #genshin al haitham #cw ableist language #scaramouche is not a good person. and to be clear: he is the butt of the joke for being an asshole #he canonically said that in one of the old events. i just took a little creative liberty #Alhaitham is using ASL bc that's what i'm familiar with #added alt text under the cut bc it was too long for the actual alt text function

[lakesbian]

ax animorphs is very funny because he's like. Extremely textually a shitty generic jock boy who says slurs and condescends women. and yet when he's in human morph he's physiologically and psychologically incapable of not looking gay and acting autistic

#animorphs #drawing him and looking at his sweet face and going Ah....He yearns to call people ableist slurs

[shigayokagayama]

adhd reigen not in a “hes so goofy and silly” way but in a “he has a tendency to hyperfixate on things then drop them the moment he gets bored, has trouble forming genuine relationships with people because he’s so dedicated to making himself likable, is terrified of rejection and actively self sabotages to avoid it” kinda way

#all the random ass unrelated skills he has... glances nervously at all the unfinished projects i have #mob psycho characters are so good at being accurate representations of mental illnesses without even trying #maybe one day ill write that 'npd teru' analysis but for now im too scared of getting harassed by ableist weirdos #mp100 #mob psycho 100 #reigen arataka

[sinnashuart]

Zack's ADHD

Zack fair has ADHD. That's something I see tons of people acknowledge that I myself agree with, but a lot of it feels very shallow/surface level? I mostly see people talk about his diffculty paying attention, but never really explore a lot of the other symptoms of ADHD that he very clearly has. In general, ADHD has symptoms that can be put in two categories. These being inattentiveness and Hyperactivity/Impulsive behavior. I'm going to try to go into each symptom I've seen him display. Going through things that fall under inattentiveness since that's what most people focus on first and foremost! Obviously, Zack has a short attention span. The opening of Crisis core has Angeal setting him back on track multiple times, and has to remind him of his mission. That bleeds into another symptom of ADHD, which is having a hard time listening to or following instructions.

Another few symptoms of ADHD under inattentiveness is being disorganized, forgetful, and making careless mistakes. Zack has shown to fit under all of these things in DMW scenes. One in particular features him both losing materia AND forgetting his sword.

Again, we see that he's a messy person when he's talking to Aerith in another DMW scene.

Now I'm going to go into the symptoms that fall under Hyperactivity. Some of the most talked about symptoms he exhibits are a lack of ability to stay still, excessive physical movement, and excessive talking. Noteably too, people with ADHD can have difficulty controlling the volume of their voice, or how fast they speak. For example here, Zack is told right before to calm down by Angeal, and immediately proceeds to talk loudly (giving away their position.)

Circling back to the previously mentioned symptoms, trouble staying still and excessive movement are some of the few things I feel people notice first in correlation to ADHD, but never really think about what it really is in the context of ADHD. Zack tends to do squats when he's excited. It's a repeated motion he does to calm himself down and/or focus. Sound familiar? that's because it's stimming. Interupting conversations lines up with ADHD, and is something Zack does in-game too!

Here he interupts Angeal's speech (and gets a fond smile in turn. I will bring this up later for something else). Zack is impulsive by nature, and tends to rush into things without a clear plan. He has a very absent sense of danger sometimes as well. All of which fall under the Hyperactivity category of ADHD symptoms.

The symptoms I see in Zack that hardly a soul has acknowledged though, is him being easily frustrated or irritated. ADHD makes it hard to regulate emotions, and Zack showcases this a lot throughout Crisis Core. For Zack, this sometimes seems to fall under under Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, which is common in people with ADHD. It's a discomfort and difficulty regulating feelings of failure or rejection. For Zack, this also takes the form of confusion/frustration/annoyance. However, in most instances of him taking criticism, he mostly manages to move past his and take the criticism/corrections to improve himself. Funnily enough, you can see his quick frustration/irritatrion in the very first cutscene when Angeal jumps down to elaborate on the parts of the mission he missed because Zack jumped a bit too soon due to his eagerness (more impulsivity). Zack gets angry due to this interuption to the task he was focused on, and becomes cheerful as soon as he is able to get back to his task. The frustration with interuption and being quickly upset is interesting. There are more instances of this kind of behavior, and it all really feels like it falls under this umbrella of him struggling to regulate his emotions. This also goes hand in hand with his stimming, since it isn't just the frustration/anger he has difficulty managing. His excitement and stress is something we also see him have difficulty managing, and can be tied into a lot of the other aspects of ADHD I have discussed here! Zack gets frustrated again later when Angeal ends the training simulator, and puts an end to the task he had been hyperfocused on.

It's an irrational anger, but it makes more sense when read through this lense. Zack was excited and hyperfocusing on his mission. He charged ahead without hearing or understanding the full objective, and almost got hurt (in the context of the training sim). The sim was ended before Zack felt it was "finished", which resulted in a frustration he expressed outwardly. His hasty behavior and exciteability is a core character trait, but makes far more sense if you read him as a character who lives with ADHD. How he is written and how other characters interact with him is interesting to watch as well! One thing in particular I love a lot is Angeal's treatment of Zack's ADHD tendencies. For being in the military, which is a very unforgiving enviornment, Angeal shows quite a lot of compassion for Zack's ADHD tendencies. Things that would normally get him into trouble are instead corrected rather gently! Angeal consistently repeats instructions to Zack when he needs it, and keeps a firm hand when he guides Zack through missions. He never tells Zack to sit still. He never berrates him for his interjections (Zack going "And? And and and?"). The only time he really scolds Zack is when he's doing something that may endanger them.

For example, here they're on a mission that requires stealth. Zack being loud isn't normally a problem, but here, they need to be relatively quiet in order to achieve their goal. Angeal is compassionate and understanding when Zack is... doing things that are very ADHD coded. As mentioned earlier, Angeal doesn't get upset when Zack interupts him. Instead, he just smiles. It's likely Angeal was the one who taught Zack to do squats to stim, actually. In the Ever Crisis version of Crisis Core, Angeal says this to Zack. Although it's not necessarily canon, it's still entirely plausible and just. Very wholesome.

More of Angeal's tolerance for Zack can be seen here, when Zack's attitude slips after being criticized, and Angeal pays it no mind. (Again, his rejection sensitive dysphoria plays a part in having him react rudely)

Again, you need to keep in mind that despite their closeness, Angeal is still both his mentor and superior. He doesn't have to be as patient with Zack as he is in-game, but he does so anyway because... that's just how he is. Angeal cares a LOT about his loved ones, and Zack is included in this. He shows a lot of love to this little guy! I think it's nice, because I love seeing characters with ADHD being treated with consideration by others. It's something I wish people did more IRL, really. Lots of ableism surrounding aspects of ADHD that aren't as easy to romanticize and considered "annoying", so having Angeal respond to them with understanding makes me incredibly happy. Altogether I just absolutely love Zack as a character. I love reading him with ADHD since I have it myself. I just want people to see the depth to it more though, since there's more to it than just "he's high energy and gets distracted". You get to understand his actions or irrational behavior a lot more when you dive past the surface of his writing. Big, massive, enormous fucking thanks to my bestie @rune-rapier for letting me bounce ideas to and from him!! He helped me get a lot of these scenes in here to analyze, and brought up a LOT of points that made it in this post, and made it a lot easier for me to word.

#this took forever #i started working on this... what? 3 hours now? #have to say. truly outdid myself this time LMAO #big fan of how it became an angeal appreciation post. semi accidental. FDSLKGELKFGJE #i just want people to understand that he isnt. being ableist or anything. #he's doing his job. #tag time!!!! #final fantasy 7 #crisis core #ff7 crisis core #angeal hewley #zack fair #ff7 angeal #ff7 #final fantasy vii #ffvii angeal #zack ff7 #ff7 zack #zack fair has adhd #adhd #rejection sensitive dysphoria

[phoenix-art-official]

I WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND NEIGHBOR I WILL FIND A WAY SOON

#welcome home #wally darling #i love him with my life #no ableist clowning on this hes my goodtime boy #hes only creepy because youre weak and not based like i am (autism) #eyes tw #staring tw

[calware]

i wish that as a character, gamzee was treated more like a person and less like. a hazardous force of nature

#i feel like as soon as murderstuck starts he becomes more and more dehumanized #which i guess can be an interesting way to portray becoming more and more corrupted by cal/LE but at the same time. the fact that he's also #a racist and ableist stereotype makes me feel uneasy about it

[proudfreakmetarusonniku]

like again bc i think it’s important. photomatt directly responded to someone asking about life threatening dangers to photosensitive users in ads by telling them to buy into the ad free thing. he has directly stated that disabled people should have to pay extra to Not Die on this site. like this is not the first time he’s made an absurdly bigoted policy idea and then went but uwu i don’t hate the marginalised group.

#Photomatt #like not to draw away from his transphobia esp transmisogyny #but he’s also ableist as shit #transphobia and ableism are deeply linked i think tbh. so no suprise.

[gayshitanddadjokes]

Okay so the stepsiblings Tim and Cassie again! I want the rest of YJ to figure it out first and just not mention out of politeness, thinking that 'yeah, everyone already knows but you don't just say it out loud'. Like she brings (read: drags kicking and screaming) Tim to meet young justice. Everyone (actually I wanna say everyone but Kon because he's a moron) can immediately tell and they assume that Cassie knows and is just making fun of him for thinking she wouldn't recognize him so they play along.

Next time Kon and Cassie are making a fuss about Robin not telling them his secret ID they get the most incredulous looks in the world.

Kon: I just don't think we can trust him if he doesn't trust us

Cassie: I mean I love him but who knows what he's doing when he's not here

Everyone else:

#slo-bo ends up being the one who outs him bc once he's blind he can't tell the difference #slobo: oh hey tim i didn't know you were visiting #anita: he's wearing the mask mon #slobo: oh sorry rob #tim: it's cool #bart: you could say he's blind as a bat #cissie: that's ableist #kon: whatthefuckareyoutwotalkingabout.jpg #tim drake #tim drake sandsmark au #cassie sandsmark #kon el #bart allen #slo-bo #batman #dc #young just us #young justice #yj98 #young justice 98

[jasontoddssuper]

Idk how people read Pjo and thought Percy Jackson was a soft uwu ray of sunshine boy.He's mean and ruthless as fuck,he's always snarking at people and gets embarrased to show 'mushy' emotions and has anger issues out the ass and manipulated multiple of his enemies and some of the shit he's pulled on the battle field was like something out of a horror movie/novel and even his tastes reflect that since he's canonically a rock music fan.Yeah he's a massive mama's boy and respects women tons and is also a Team Dad but those don't contradict any of it-I mean,just look at Jason Todd

#then again people call jt a softboy too so ig that's yet another thing they have in common #the only good soft!percy is him having kidcore as a special interest.he's not an edgelord but he's got edgy traits y'know? #it would honestly be hella unrealistic if he didn't and that also applies to jason and it feels ableist to erase their trauma responses #that might just be me though #percy jackson #perseo jackson #persephone jackson #jason todd #black percy #latino percy #afrolatino jason supremacy #punk!percy #bigender percy jackson #genderfluid percy jackson #trans jason todd #agender jason todd #and jason is adhd like percy + they're both autistic #pjo #hoo #tods #toa #batfam #ditf #lost days #utrh #rhato #teen titans:damian edition #dead sidekicks force #good times #letters from summer

[bonefall]

I personally like Thunder's prosthetic. Explained it to my friend (who does use a mobility device, a cane and wheelchair, and listens to me rant and infodump about BB) and they agreed, it's important to know that not every person needs what someone wants to give them. It's another example of "bad ableist person does a thing that hurts a disabled person because they are bad and ableist".

Clear Sky got Jagged Peak killed and would have killed Sunlit Frost! He would absolutely force his disabled son to be "normal" and present it like a privilege. "I wouldn't do this for anyone else, it's special, why don't you want to be helped?"

Thunder Storm should toss it in Clear Sky's face. (I would say toss it into the river but we do not pollute waterways in this house)

Thank you for telling me this, and tell your friend I'm thanking them too! If they have anything else to add please forward what they have to say

Since BB!DOTC tackles some of the heaviest topics in the entire series because its canon equivalent is so dark, I think very carefully about what I do here and how I show it. I take feedback on its sensitive aspects very seriously. If I'm understanding the criticism properly, it's that I should avoid stigmatizing prosthetics by making sure Thunder Storm's not the only one with it-- which he's not! And I'll add even more.

I don't want to avoid something only because it's uncomfortable if the topic is important, and my portrayal is respectful. Ableism IS uncomfortable! There are some situations where a prosthetic is not wanted! I think the rejection of this particular one is both a good opportunity to show a type of ableism and ALSO is very fitting for the characters.

In BB!Clear Sky's mind, the villain, he's fixing an old mistake. He can't admit that he got Jagged Peak killed or take REAL accountability for it (though he will, occasionally, apologize insincerely), but deep in his bones, he knows what he did was cruel. He'll never tell anyone this because he doesn't really cognate it himself, but Thunder Storm NEEDS to take his gift.

If Thunder doesn't take it, it blows a hole in his newest story. You see, throwing Jagged Peak out was All That Could Have Been Done back then. It was a Tragedy and he simply Made A Hard Choice. He regrets it very much, But You Have To Understand.

But now? Now? Well, behold. Look at what he's accomplished since the tragic death of his little brother. His cats are well-fed, cared for, and stable enough to make such incredible advancements. If only Jagged Peak had been able to hold on longer, if only he could be here now, I could fix him.

Just like I can (MAKE YOU JUST LIKE ME) fix you.

"Everything I've ever done is for Jagged Peak. For Fluttering Wing. For you." Thunder Sky is SPECIAL, but if he rejects any gift, tries to turn down the "privileges" offered to him, in an instant that becomes ungratefulness and arrogance. He both forces him to be special, and then leverages it against him if it's rejected. "Spoiled brat, doesn't appreciate what I've worked so hard to give him."

It all goes back to him and his own guilt. He can NEVER be wrong. He can't accept his family doesn't have to be "normal" or reflect his own ability. He won't see himself as a bully, let alone a murderer. It was never about his son's comfort or finding out what Thunder Storm wants or needs, it was about his own ego.

...All that said I'm still taking feedback if there's anything else I should keep in mind, or if anyone has a counter point, especially if you also have experience here.

(In the interest of having a link trail for posterity, here's the critique/call for feedback this is in response to)

#ALSO also I will take suggestions on other characters who should have prosthetics #Sunlit makes sense and it will make a really nice character moment later for him to have one built #There's also an amputee in RiverClan few people talk about called Stonestream #I can give him one and bump him up into a bigger character. In BB he is the sibling of Willowshine #BB!DOTC #better bones au #Also just as a side note... I love writing BB!Skystar. My ire for the character comes from his redemption arc so I feel like I get to-- #--write the character I WANTED to see #Same with Bramble in other BB arcs #cw ableism #tw ableism #ableism #They're fascinating in that they always have to see themselves as the victim or the hero #They believe every lie they tell. #If you ever catch them in a contradiction they will still try to find some way to turn it on you and YOUR lack of understanding. #Interestingly both of them are ableist. Sky's is just more obvious because he's LOUDLY bigoted. #But BB!Bramble is *notably* less close to Jay for a very sad and very subtle reason. #Jay just doesn't serve his ego like the others do until much later in his life. #unfortunately most bigotry is like that. #the type you have a hard time calling out because it's a deniable bias. the constant gaslighting of being part of a marginalized group #Maybe I need to address the criticism by adding a character with a prosthetic to THIS arc even earlier #Problem is that like... Thunder's small merc group is already full of disabled characters and their THING is forming in response to ableism #OH maybe I'll put someone in the Forest Cat group which is lead by Slash? #I need to finish that last book and then gather up all the cats for sorting into allegiances

[charon-cries]

malevolent is about a guy who becomes disabled and then starts to fall in love with the ableist devil on his shoulder

#when he made john bonk his head by warning him late and then laughed #when will it be my turn to fall in love with the ableist devil on my shoulder #why isn't it mean to me but like in a romantic way #sad! #echolocating #malevolent podcast #arthur lester #the king in yellow

[yellowocaballero]

Omg hi Ms. Yellow Caballero big fan of your work <3 For real though, I'm really excited that your sharing the Weekenders, it was a joy to read and I'm bongocat-ing now that others also get the privilege to read it as well.

Referencing your tags, would you please elaborate of ableism in fandom and, like you said, how fandom treats characters with unpalatable disabilities?

Hi Ms. Bud Lite I'm a big fan of you <3

TL;DR A fear of writing characters of highly marginalized identities shields you from criticism and discomfort, but it's actively stigmatizing to people of these identities and as a writer you really need to get over yourself and write The Icky People.

I guess I'll come out swinging on this one and say that fandom doesn't like severe mental illness. (As a note, when I say severe mental illness (SMI) I mean illnesses such as psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, substance use disorders, personality disorders, etc)

Obviously, nobody likes people w/SMI. It's just insanely egregious in fandom to me, since fanfic writers absolutely love writing characters or HC characters with depression, anxiety, or a specific variety of PTSD That Isn't Scary. People actively reject any character HCs for a SMI. When people write a character with SMI, they nicely downplay it, ignore it, substitute it for a disorder they like better, or rewrite it. It's completely untolerated, in both headcanons and in fanfiction, and every time I bring it up I always get the most interesting reasons why somebody couldn't possibly acknowledge a character's SMI in their writing. I've heard all of these:

"I don't know enough about the disorder to write it accurately." Do research.

"I'm not X, so I can't really depict it." You probably aren't a cis white man, but you depict those guys just fine.

"It feels insulting to the character." There is no shame in having a SMI.

"I can't understand what it's like, so it's better to be cautious and avoid giving characters stigmatized identities." There are LOTS of experiences that you'll never understand because you've never had them - you just don't want to write anything you're uncomfortable with. People with SMI make you uncomfortable, and you don't want to write anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, or think of a comfort character in an uncomfortable way. SMIs are marginalized differently than solely depression/anxiety/The Nice PTSD, and by refusing to write them you're actively contributing to the stigma.

I think (?) I've spoken in the past about how I believe that the rigorous external and internal policing of writing people of marginalized identities is actively harmful towards efforts to increase diversity of experience and background in fiction. A lot of fanfiction writers are just terrified to write people who they can't directly relate with, because they're worried 'they'll get it wrong' and be Big Cancelled. I think this is negative enough when it prevents people from going outside of their comfort zone, but on a macro level I think this results in people refusing to write characters of marginalized identities as all. It's an insidious thought process, and it's reflected in people's unwillingness to diversity their writing or acknowledge canon diversity.

'Well, I don't understand what it's like to be Black, so I don't want to write Black people'. 'I want to project on this character, so I only want to write them with mental illnesses and identities I have'. 'If I write a marginalized character incorrectly people will yell at me, so I won't write a marginalized character who's marginalized differently than me at all'. Can you imagine writing a lesbian character with a boyfriend because 'you feel uncomfortable writing lesbian experiences'? It's blatantly homophobic. But people do that with disability and race/ethnicity ALL THE TIME.

People with SMI notice that you feel uncomfortable with them. It's obvious. They notice when a character has a SMI + anxiety, and you only write their anxiety. They notice when a character displays symptoms of a SMI in canon, but you write it out. And POC notice when the characters of color are written out. I know we all like to project on the blorbos and relate to them, and in the joys of your own head do whatever, but as a writer if you only stick to identities you're comfortable with you are actively being a worse writer. Which to me is the REAL sin lmfao.

#my asks #thanks for enabling me lizzy if i didn't get this out i would have just vagued for the rest of time #even just beyond all of this on a more subtle lvl. HC people with SMI cowards. just do it. its good for you. #the two times me/a close friend have proposed on a fandom server "hey I read X as having a SUD/being on the schizophrenic spectrum' #there was actual fascinating pushback and rejection #people got MAD. #'blorbo wouldn't be an alcoholic he's not a bad person :(' fuck off #i dont use the word often but its ableism and you can be mentally ill and still ableist #if you dont feel educated enough on something to write it then do research #and while research wont give you everything it's a start #if you feel like you can only write people just like you then frankly? skill issue #i mentioned that the last fic was a bit of a spite fic - well #it was scientifically fascinating how the majority of a fandom wrote/acknowledged a character as depressed and anxious #but actively got incredibly defensive when someone suggested that the psychotic character may have had a psychotic disorder #it was so blatant. very annoying. anyway.

[murdockmeta]

thinking about moon knight having marc call steven the best superpower he's ever had during a really emotional moment and how that show handled DID better than just about any piece of media I've ever seen and. I'm sobbing actually. they equated his neurodivergence with being the greatest part of him after marc had spent so long trying to hide his DID out of shame. and maybe that sounds like bordering on glorification but it really wasn't. because they made it so obvious that what marc meant was that steven kept him ALIVE and that's the most he could ever ask for and anyway. whatever whatever it's fine

#moon knight #an extremely rare not daredevil post from me wowzers #that moment just really meant a lot ESPECIALLY #because i watched that show AS IT WAS COMING OUT #and waiting a WEEK to find out if they were about to make the ending of the episode before that one ableist as FUCK #only to see them do THAT?? #taking the implication that in order for marc to be whole he had to get rid of steven at the end on one ep #and turning it into marc rejecting the field of reeds because he felt like it was impossible to be content without steven in the next ep #and then having him say THAT??? #ill sob #fully sob #anyway #marc spector #steven grant #im aware the way they handled DID wasn't at all perfect. like the bar is LOW for DID rep. but they still did a decent job