(1/?) Hey! Anon B here. I am writing a physically disabled character who uses a wheelchair (and occasionally other mobility aids, like a cane). This character is... morally dark grey? One of the leading figures of a benevolent group, but not exactly 'good' himself. He is not my only disabled character in the story. I have two broad questions,,, 1, do you have anything I should NOT lean into when writing him as a villain? Any ableist stereotypes that often occur that I can avoid?
(1/2) Anything that would be nice to see or useful to keep in mind for a villainous disabled character, other than being respectful and making him a /character/, not a stereotype? Second question, since this character is in a wheelchair, are there any movement tags (wheeled instead of walked) that I could use? Some quick notes about things he can and cannot do while using the chair? He can stand up and walk, but it's painful and tiring, and he still needs mobility aids,,,
Hey!
For general don'ts of writing a disabled villain, check out this post. It's good that he's not the only generally disabled character, but it'd be ideal if there were other non-villainous wheelchair users (so you're not in a "good guys are invisibly disabled, villain is visibly disabled" situation).
For words to use for describing a wheelchair user moving, check out this list.
What he can and can't do will depend on a lot of factors, but mostly what his actual disability is. Some people can do basically anything while using their wheelchairs, some need caregivers to help them with ADLs (activities of daily living) - the best idea is to research on your character's exact disability and what kind of wheelchair he uses (I'm presuming manual since you said "wheeled", but there's other kinds). But either way you need to keep in mind accessibility or its lack thereof which may dictate where he can physically go, how high he can reach, etc.
Sorry for the extremely late answer,
mod Sasza
