Happy winter solstice! The light begins to return tomorrow!!
Happy summer solstice! The dark begins to return tomorrow!!
This post is applicable in both hemispheres on both solstices!
If you struggle to apply the post correctly try rotating it upside down.
¡sdlǝɥ ʎllɐǝɹ sᴉɥʇ 'sʞuɐɥ┴
It’s that time of the year again :)
Lol this made me laugh so much. I want it on repeat this Christmas.
It isn’t a proper holiday season until you hear this.
Perfectly Comfy
cozy little imodnas inspired by the fic It Was Only a Mount by lorrxrai on ao3
who would've thought that a ff14 au fic would be so good huh. That was very unexpected but I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!
When you're chilling in the tiki bar and the idiots you're gonna send to the moon gives the nightmare-cautionary-children's-tale a nuke.
2023 is coming to an end so this is my annual I love my online friends so fucking much you wouldn't believe me if I told you post.
the thing about "Chetney and FCG couldn't control their actions, Imogen is influenced by Predathos, Laudna has her abuser in her head, it's not comparable to what Ashton did!" is that you can split hairs and build a decent case for why what Ashton did is uniquely terrible, and how no amount of trauma and desperation can compare to a biological imperative or an outside malevolent influence, if you think they specifically deserve punishment. if you think he alone is unworthy of sympathy. but that's missing the point, which is: these conditions are essentially fantasy representations of the same types of real things that drove Ashton to take the shard. the Hells' monstrosities and wisdom saving throws don't separate them from their humanity but underline it, and the people who don't have the exact number of stress points they can take before they have a violent meltdown written on a sheet, or whose voice in their head telling them everyone they love will betray them isn't actually attached to an evil wizard.
the point of the Hells is not that there is a clear delineation between when someone is in control of their actions and when they aren’t but that there isn't, and that everything we do is buried beneath the weight of our desires and our histories and our bodies, and ultimately our responsibility. the point is that they’re all 'ticking time bombs' because of the lot they've drawn in life and the lessons it has taught them, and the point is that they're gonna fucking make it work anyways. the point is when Ashton tells Chetney that the next time he fucks up massively they'll be there for him and help him pick up the pieces, and that that's what the Hells are doing for Ashton right now. it's Chetney telling Fearne that both she and Ashton fucked up, and finding a way for her to get her anger out that isn't hurting either of them. it's Laudna knowing she can't control herself around Ashton and the shard and running away until she's calmed down. and it's the rest of the Hells welcoming her back with open arms in the morning, giving her patience and not judgement. the point is that these people who have been rejected and punished for their fuck ups their whole lives can try to be the best versions of themselves for each other, and be loved and forgiven even when they fail.
this is why Fearne decided to take the shard btw. it's why Imogen held Laudna in her arms to stave off Delilah, which is why Laudna was able to help Fearne take the shard she and her shadow so desperately wanted. it's why they let FCG go murderbot mode healing Fearne. it's why Orym has a plan to neutralize all of them, and prefaces that with the equally vital truth that he loves and has faith in all of them. it's why Imogen tells Ashton she's sorry that they felt they couldn't share their plan with the Hells, and why his response to her considering giving in to Ruidis is "fuck yeah, dive into that lava." Because if she needs it any of them would dive in after her.
it's what Ashton meant by his "it could've been any of us" speech: the Hells are all fuck-ups, and while it can certainly help, no amount of time off at Nana Morri's can truly fix that while that red moon is hanging so low in the sky. So maybe instead of putting all of their energy into avoiding the loss of control they can focus on holding each other down, pulling each other back when shit gets bad. It's deeply imperfect and a little fucked, but when you and everyone you love is this broken, when things are so out of control with no end in sight, you do what you can.
..i've had this semi-finished in my drafts since october, but i cant procrastinate anymore- they have beautiful new outfits i want to draw <3 i need to catch up 🙇🏻♀️
reminder to:
I just would like to thank everyone who ever reblogs this so that it somehow ends up back on my dash because I usually need the reminder (especially the drinking water one)
Of all posts to see with a million notes, I’m glad it’s this one.
the problem with griddlehark is that Gideon desperately wants to be a well used chewtoy but Harrow has carefully put her up on the shelf like she is a limited edition funko pop still in the box
kind of reminds me of how john likes to keep his limited edition barbie in the box as well
I call upon the fan fic writing gods to bless you with the perseverance to finish one of your unfinished drafts.
May your fingers dance along the letters upon your device with ease, may the devil of distraction stay far from you, and may your work not need much editing.
I pass this blessing upon every fan fic writer out there.
As it came to me I give it to you.
Minthara - Lolth Sworn Paladin of Vengeance
would you?
Usually i stick to my cowboy mog but this was too much i love them
Not a mermaid or a merman but a secret third thing (mermusician)
(Cambridge UL MS Add. 4085)
Whgskl. Okay.
PSA to all you fantasy writers because I have just had a truly frustrating twenty minutes talking to someone about this: it’s okay to put mobility aids in your novel and have them just be ordinary.
Like. Super okay.
I don’t give a shit if it’s high fantasy, low fantasy or somewhere between the lovechild of Tolkein meets My Immortal. It’s okay to use mobility devices in your narrative. It’s okay to use the word “wheelchair”. You don’t have to remake the fucking wheel. It’s already been done for you.
And no, it doesn’t detract from the “realism” of your fictional universe in which you get to set the standard for realism. Please don’t try to use that as a reason for not using these things.
There is no reason to lock the disabled people in your narrative into towers because “that’s the way it was”, least of all in your novel about dragons and mermaids and other made up creatures. There is no historical realism here. You are in charge. You get to decide what that means.
Also:
“Depiction of Chinese philosopher Confucius in a wheelchair, dating to ca. 1680. The artist may have been thinking of methods of transport common in his own day.”
“The earliest records of wheeled furniture are an inscription found on a stone slate in China and a child’s bed depicted in a frieze on a Greek vase, both dating between the 6th and 5th century BCE.[2][3][4][5]The first records of wheeled seats being used for transporting disabled people date to three centuries later in China; the Chinese used early wheelbarrows to move people as well as heavy objects. A distinction between the two functions was not made for another several hundred years, around 525 CE, when images of wheeled chairs made specifically to carry people begin to occur in Chinese art.[5]”
“In 1655, Stephan Farffler, a 22 year old paraplegic watchmaker, built the world’s first self-propelling chair on a three-wheel chassis using a system of cranks and cogwheels.[6][3] However, the device had an appearance of a hand bike more than a wheelchair since the design included hand cranks mounted at the front wheel.[2]
The invalid carriage or Bath chair brought the technology into more common use from around 1760.[7]
In 1887, wheelchairs (“rolling chairs”) were introduced to Atlantic City so invalid tourists could rent them to enjoy the Boardwalk. Soon, many healthy tourists also rented the decorated “rolling chairs” and servants to push them as a show of decadence and treatment they could never experience at home.[8]
In 1933 Harry C. Jennings, Sr. and his disabled friend Herbert Everest, both mechanical engineers, invented the first lightweight, steel, folding, portable wheelchair.[9] Everest had previously broken his back in a mining accident. Everest and Jennings saw the business potential of the invention and went on to become the first mass-market manufacturers of wheelchairs. Their “X-brace” design is still in common use, albeit with updated materials and other improvements. The X-brace idea came to Harry from the men’s folding “camp chairs / stools”, rotated 90 degrees, that Harry and Herbert used in the outdoors and at the mines.[citation needed]
“But Joy, how do I describe this contraption in a fantasy setting that wont make it seem out of place?”
“It was a chair on wheels, which Prince FancyPants McElferson propelled forwards using his arms to direct the motion of the chair.”
“It was a chair on wheels, which Prince EvenFancierPants McElferson used to get about, pushed along by one of his companions or one of his many attending servants.”
“But it’s a high realm magical fantas—”
“It was a floating chair, the hum of magical energy keeping it off the ground casting a faint glow against the cobblestones as {CHARACTER} guided it round with expert ease, gliding back and forth.”
“But it’s a stempunk nov—”
“Unlike other wheelchairs he’d seen before, this one appeared to be self propelling, powered by the gasket of steam at the back, and directed by the use of a rudder like toggle in the front.”
Give. Disabled. Characters. In. Fantasy. Novels. Mobility. Aids.
If you can spend 60 pages telling me the history of your world in innate detail down to the formation of how magical rocks were formed, you can god damn write three lines in passing about a wheelchair.
Signed, your editor who doesn’t have time for this ableist fantasy realm shit.
Some options for other disabilities and aids:
“Jack had an unusual pair of sticks, unlike anything Jill had seen before; they were much like canes, but rather than ending in a knot or handle they continued up into a pair of bracelets, held together round his wrists by a cunning slide mechanism. They kept him, she noted, quite sure of foot even on the steep ground.” (wrist braces; cerebral palsy)
“Fandir wore a ring around her ear. It looked something like a fancy collar, its edges tipped outward as though forming a funnel, and when she was spoken to she turned it in the direction of the speaker.” (hearing aid, based off antique “hearing trumpets”)
“Victor’s left arm was a marvel of the modern age–held together with a thousand miniscule steel plates and ten thousand tiny gears, wearing a small brazier, much like a jacket cuff, to fire the steam that moved its mechanical fingers.” (prosthetic arm, steampunk)
“Sasha carried one of the most unusual canes Mara had ever seen: it was longer than might be considered useful to someone her size, and hollow, its walls so thin it surely couldn’t hold her weight. Mara watched as Sasha swept the cane ahead of her. At first she thought Sasha was merely clearing a path, but then the cane struck a large rock, and Sasha neatly sidestepped it having never been told it was there. Ah, that solved the mystery, Mara thought: the hollow stick vibrated in Sasha’s hands when it struck, and its sound told her what danger she might face.” (white cane, blindness)
“Sibatyn clapped his hands over his eyes. ‘Here,’ said Yanit, ‘put your scarf over your eyes and take my arm. I can lead you until the lightning is over.’“ (avoiding flashing lights, photosensitive epilepsy)
“‘She grows quite ill on bread, even Rosie’s best,’ Sam lamented. ‘Can’t keep a bit of weight on her. It isn’t proper, for a hobbit.’ Gandalf nodded. ‘Have you considered, perhaps, feeding her on Elf-bread? She may take well to grains not often found in the Shire.’“ (special diet, Celiac disease, food allergies)
I literally had to think harder about what disabilities I wanted to represent here than I did about how to represent them. It isn’t hard. You have no excuse.
OP is spot on. Also, thank you @prismatic-bell for including the food intolerances/allergies one – that’s pretty much exactly how I handled it in my series. As with all of these, and indeed with many other forms of representation that sometimes get pushback in SFF, it’s just a matter of wording it in genre-friendly terms. Sometimes I get the feeling some people forget that’s an option, or it doesn’t occur to them. But obviously there is also often ablism and assumptions at play.
(I heard Gandalf’s lines in Sir Ian’s voice so that was fun :P )
trains will announce you're stopping in places you never knew existed
and when it gets dark & you're a little disorientated they like to slip in a couple that didn't exist before
Can’t believe I had never drawn the canon griddlehark coffee shop au please forgive me
