#mishadra

While it can be hard to find good representation, that doesn’t mean it’s not out there. Tell us about your favorite epilepsy rep, either in original works or fanfiction, or if you’ve never found any, tell us about a character you like to headcanon as having epilepsy or who you relate to because of your epilepsy, even if they’re not epileptic.

I have to admit i rarely seek out media with explicit epilepsy representation. A lot of times this is, because it makes me uncomfortable to read/see people having seizures in fiction, because it just hits too close to home and I get into a very weird headspace, ruminating on my past seizures and what happened all around that time. Those years specifically weren't great in many ways for me, so I try not to dwell on them. It is something I am kind of slowly testing the waters with and having found and being sent various fanfics with good representation has been incredibly pleasant and lovely. I have not found this in published work yet, except for MIS(H)ADRA by IASMIN OMAR ATA. To this day I would do a lot to get my hands on a physical copy and I will make sure to get one once I finally have a part-time position secured.

It's been a long time since I've read it, but it drew me in and it was the first time I had actually found representation in any media. Let alone a comic that talks about epilepsy. I am absolutely headcanoning Fitzroy Maplecourt from TAZ Graduation as epileptic though. I know this might be a bit simple?, but I think the "wild magic" trait in DnD has a very nice flavour to it where it does usually not "go away" like that and even though the random outbursts of magic in the game are linked to the magic superpowers, I think the impact and repercussions of the way the mechanic works, is severe enough to feel properly disruptive.

Especially when you play with a more drastic scale wild-magic table in DnD that is truly life-threatening to your character (or others) at times, it recreates a true sense of risk and caution, that is very familiar.

Anyway, please read Mis(h)adra by Iasmin Omar Ata if you get the chance. The story follows Isaac, an Arab-American in college, as he manages his epilepsy and deals with a lot of related issues such as drinking at parties, repeatedly missing class because of seizures, not having a support system, and trying to get medication refills when you can’t technically prove to your doctor that you have epilepsy.

The book is also just visually stunning and I’ve truly never seen better visual representation for epilepsy. I especially loved the running theme of representing the ongoing threat of auras and seizures as knives constantly hanging around Isaac.

[Image ID: A 3 panel excerpt from Mis(h)arda:

Panel 1: Isaac, a man who is the main figure in all three panels, is sitting at a classroom desk, staring distantly while three knives with eyes circle around him. Three speech bubbles, one for the off-screen teacher and the other two for two off-screen students, are behind him, the teacher’s speech is heavily obscured by the knives. Teacher says, “You all have the study guide already so if you stick to that you’ll be (...) But just so you (...) there will be multiple choice (...) questions.” First student says, “They say he has a drug problem or something and almost failed out.” Second student says, “No way!”

Panel 2: Isaac has an annoyed look on his face and tries to wave away the knives. Teacher and First student are still off-screen, their speech bubbles appear behind Issac with Teacher’s bubble still partially obscured. Teacher says, “There will be a decent amount of questions about the chapter on gender politics in the countries of the (...) so make sure you don’t skip (...) one.” First student says, “Yeah, he might be the only one in our class to not walk at graduation.”

Panel 3: Close-up view of Isaac as he watches the knives disappear. He is visibly sweating and appears frustrated. Second student says (off-screen), “Makes sense. I mean, look at him. He always looks like he’s on something.”

/End ID]