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Space Whales

@littlestlake

l | any pronouns | don’t expect me to make sense because you will be sorely disappointed

Okay but let's take a second.

Something as monumental as a main character dying isn't something you'd normally reveal in a trailer, because that would ruin the suspense. If they chose to heavily imply LG dies in the trailer that means either 1- he doesn't actually, they're just fucking with us (increasing the suspense before the reveal) or 2- he does, but that's just the heartwrenching setup of the second season, meaning the suspense now lies in how CXS brings him back or otherwise resolves his death. Given how their relationship really was the driving force of the first season, I can't imagine they're going to toss that aside, it would be frankly bad storytelling.

So either way, I think there's hope. There has to be >.>

(There is a secret 3rd option I don't like, which is like the second one in that yes, LG does die and it does set the context/motivations for the rest of the second season, but they pivot SO HARD in terms of what this story is about that LG's death becomes secondary and doesn't need to be resolved. But again... I think that would be questionable storytelling and they would have to do a lot to salvage the emotional impact.)

don’t mind me, just going insane over the fact that in romeo and juliet, written by shakespeare in 1597, romeo chooses to drink poison rather than live in a world without his lover and then in hamlet, written by shakespeare in 1603, horatio tries to drink poison while hamlet is dying so that he won’t have to live without him.

How to write a cane user character

(Written by a cane user)

A few months ago, I wrote a small guide on good disabled characters and why they were good that gathered quite the attention, and I thought that doing another more specific guide this time would be interesting for writers or just people that are curious ! This guide will include general informations, some things to do, some things to avoid and some ideas that might revolve cane users's lives.

Things to know about cane users

Cane users are pretty diverse, and putting us in little boxes usually isn't the best idea if you want to make a character that has substance and isn't just "the disabled one". Here some infos about cane users that might be helpful knowledge !

  • Canes don't have ages. Most cane users in media are portrayed to be old, but truly, anyone can have the need to wield a cane ! I've been using mine ever since I was 17.
  • Can users can have a large variety of problems for their canes. Some canes are used to avoid pain from effort. Some canes are used for balance purposes. Some canes are to make walking less exhausting (works the same as walking sticks !) And sometimes, it's multiple problems at once.
  • Not everyone needs their cane 24/7. Some always need it, some can make small efforts without it but overall often need it, and some people, like me, can spend quite a lot of time without it. I almost never use my cane in my house, and mostly take it outside !
  • People with canes can run. We're not necessarily slow, I'm even faster than a lot of my friends.
  • Not using a cane can come with consequences, but not always. Some people might be able to walk without a cane but then suffer horrible consequences, but for others, canes are just a commodity for specific occasions.
  • Canes don't have to be looked down upon. Look at some characters with canes that look cool as hell ! Arsène Lupin, Roguefort Cookie, Brook ... Their canes serve their style !
  • We can be pretty healthy. Some people can have canes just because they were born with a bent leg and that's it. Our cane doesn't define our health status.
  • Canes aren't a curse. Think of them as something positive. It's a tool to make our lives better. You don't see someone sitting on a chair and think "awh, it's sad that they need a chair". It's more something like "hey it's cool that this chair is here so they can sit down"

Things to do

  • Make them use their cane. And when I mean use, I mean that canes are just funky long sticks usually made out of metal. Have fun with it ! Let them use it as a weapon ! Trust me, one hit in the knees with a cane and you're DOWN. Use it to reach stuff that's too high for everyone ! Have fun. Be creative.
  • Let them decorate their cane. It's an extension of their body ! You usually put on clothes that you like, don't you ? It's the same for a cane. If they like cutesy stuff, let them paint in it pastel colors ! If they like a more flashy style, add some stickers on it ! If they're a fancy person, give them a beautiful crafted cane with jewels on it !
  • You can make them a little shy or uneasy about their cane. Some people don't feel worthy of confident enough to wield one. It's not rare to see people think they're "not disabled enough to do so"
  • But on the other hand, you can do the complete opposite !! Make them proud of that cane ! Make them act like they're feeling pretty and more confident with it ! One thing i like to think about with my own cane is that I look like a cool gentleman. That boosted my confidence immensely.

Things to avoid

  • Don't make it their whole world. And by that, I do not mean that their cane shouldn't be a defining trait of their personality. Think of Toph from ATLA. She is blind, and you usually can't think of her character without describing her as blind. However, that isn't her entire personality trait. Make cane users have a goal in life, friends who enjoy them for who they are and not just pity them, have fun ... Don't just make them the disabled one.
  • Don't try to make the character's life just a plain disaster unless it's the focus of your story and you really know what you're talking about. Having a character who's always in pain, who feels bad about relying on their cane and/or who's angry at the entire world for being disabled is a REALLY tricky subject to use if you don't want them to be either a mass of unhappiness and angst for no good reason or some inspirational porn of the character who inside is deeply tortured but outside keeps up a facade because they shouldn't cry to avoid making others uneasy.
  • Do not, and I repeat, do NOT try to heal them, especially in a magical way. Bad idea. A lot of disabled people's goal isn't to be healed. It's to live a normal life. Making it so the ultimate goal for them is to be healed makes it as if they were worthless as long as they were disabled. Making their situation better physically or mentally is one thing. Curing them completely is really bad. "But some disabled folks want to be cured !" True, true. But if you are able bodied, I'm not sure if you can have the right mind to understand all of the complex details about this situation that leads to someone's life choices and the end result may look like you think the only thing that can make disabled people happy is being freed from their condition. I think it's best to just avoid it altogether. If you need a more nuanced idea, try to give them a solution that still has a few downs ! For exemple, a prosthetic that feels like a real arm, acts like a real arm and basically replaces it perfectly is a full cure. But a prosthetic that takes time to adjust to, needs repairs sometimes and doesn't look 100% like an arm can be a better narrative choice
  • Smaller thing, but don't make the handle uneasy to wield if you draw the character design. You can decorate most of the cane, but if you have chunky spiky decorations on the place you're supposed to clench your hand over, you're gonna hurt yourself. I've seen quite a lot of jewel handles or sculpted metal handles and usually their not good. If it's detailed metal, your hand will end up cramped in little parts and it can hurt. If it's a jewel, it's so easy for it to slip out of your hand it's unpractical.

List of tropes/ideas of scenes/details about canes to help you write new situations !

  • If you walk with a cane during winter, you can't put your hand in your jacket to get warm and there's a high chance your hand will get freezing. So after a long walk, you get an excuse for another character to hold their hand and warm them up.
  • If the handle is metallic, you get the opposite problem during summer. You can burn yourself so easy ! Easy accident if you want someone to help and get closer to the disabled person without it necessarily involving their disability.
  • Canes are SUPER useful when you're walking upon heights. They make things really easy, just like hiking poles on mountains ! I live on volcanoes and whenever we clim on a harsh slope, I'm always the first to get up there. Good moment for your character to get a boost of confidence if they get all the way up somewhere before their friends !
  • The first time using your cane feels magical. If you have chronic pains, it makes you feel like your pain disapear. If you can't walk right, it feels like everything is suddenly alright. The moment where a character chooses to wield a cane can be huge for character development. It's a moment of fear because of the impact a cane has on their appearance, but also a moment of confidence and relief.
  • Canes fall. All the time. And after a while, it becomes fucking comical. Trust me, putting a cane against the wall, seeing it fall and doing it three times again in a row while it doesn't want to stay up makes you embarrassed but also makes you want to laugh because of how stupid it looks.
  • When you get a cane, you stop being invisible. When you walk outside, generally speaking, people don't look at you. They don't care about you. But when you get a cane, people start to stare at you for no other reasons that you have a cane. Half of them are just curious, especially if you're young. The other half has a very specific look. The "oh, you poor thing" look. Which is, trust me, particularly awful to get, especially when you're just existing and doing nothing special. How does your character react to this ? How do they feel about it ?

I believe that is all I had in mind. I may add some more details in the future if I get other ideas, but this should already be a good start. I would be thrilled to answer questions if you have some, either in my askbox or through DMs.

I will tag this post with characters holding canes that aren't necessarily considered cane users but that some people may be interested in writing as such. Feel free to tell me if you'd like to see tags being added !

Edit : I'm highly encouraging everyone to look at the tag section under this post where a lot of other can users are sharing their experiences !!

This post is so good it makes me want to create a character with a cane immediately

love putting my phone on do not disturb. don’t talk to me

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I haven't quite figured out the timeline for Moonlight Chicken – was Beam still alive when Li Ming came to live with Jim?

If he wasn't, it means that while Jim was trying to recover both emotionally and financially, he still agreed to take in his sister's kid and raise him alone, and that is a tough job for sure, but at least he knew what he was in for.

But if Beam was still alive... oof. That means Jim took on the responsibility for Li Ming while he was doing okay both in terms of relationship and money, and then had the rug pulled out from under him. And in the midst of all that grief and turmoil, he must have felt guilty that he couldn't live up to the image of a parental figure he'd set for himself, and wondering if Li Ming would be better off moving again, while at the same time refusing to let this kid get abandoned twice.

And either way, no one could have been prepared for the effect of the pandemic on the restaurant business. (In fact, the reason I started watching this show was a tumblr post that talked about how all the characters are implicitly affected by the pandemic – and indeed they are. Even when it's not mentioned out loud, it's so very visible in their life paths.)

I just... I have a lot of emotions about Jim, okay?

So I've spent way too much time working out timelines for this show. Beam died in 2018, 4ish years ago as of the show's present, and Li Ming mentions not having seen his mother for 5 or 6 years. It's possible he went to some other relatives first, but I think it's most likely he went straight from his mom's house to Jim's. I think Jim has been a very strong presence in Li Ming's life since birth (since Jim and Jam seem to have been each other's main person for a while, and his nickname is the actor from Jim's favorite movie) so it makes the most sense that when things weren't working out at home, he'd go right to his uncle.

So yeah, my sense is that Li Ming had probably been there for a year or two at the time Beam died, and Jim was responsible for a 14-year-old while dealing with all his own grief and confusion and financial disaster. I love what you say about Jim wondering if Li Ming would have been better off going somewhere else, because yeah - he must have thought about that a lot, right?

It makes the thing Li Ming says to him at one point, "I came here and now I work all the time," that much rougher. Jim must be constantly worried and guilty for not being able to give Li Ming the home he expected and deserves, even while knowing that he's still his best option.

I also think Jim put off dealing with a lot of his grief and feelings because he simply didn't have room. You can't fall apart if there's a kid depending on you. Which is why it's so important that Wen gently pushes him into finally digging into some of that and letting it go.

happy ides of march to those who celebrate!! 🥳

[image description: artwork of caesar getting stabbed to death, but I’ve edited in party hats for everyone and some balloons because it’s a celebration. end description.]

I will never stop appreciating how ride or die Wylan is. this man allowed his ribs to be broken so he could embarrass his father. he doesn't necessarily like killing, but he's willing to for the mission. he's willing to do whatever it takes when Inej is kidnapped. and let's not forget how he risked permanently changing his appearance to look like someone else. he didn't know if he'd be able to change back. he didn't even tell Jesper, the man he had a huge crush on, because it might have affected the mission. once he commits to something, he'll pour everything he has into it.