Give me Eddie, falling head over heels simply because out of all the medical providers he deals with now, he knows Steve is the most empathetic and caring physiotherapist on the planet because he's seen some shit and been beaten up. Give me Steve, shocked at how much his clients love him, shocked he's good at something where he gets to help people. Give me Eddie, furious that anyone, ever, made it hard for Steve to believe in himself.

in fact, there are quite a lot of them! often this is precisely the consequence of the first death for sinners (I did this specifically to emphasize the consequences of punishment), but not always

I had to do a list again, ouch

Asileverse!AU: disabilities

Vega lost an eye; an interesting point is that she lost it right BEFORE her first death and was healed in Eden, but after the exile she became one-eyed again (Vega often holds her head slightly turned)

Alastor has anisometropia, i.e. farsightedness in right eye and normal vision in left: this is a congenital problem, Alastor has been wearing a monocle since the age of eighteen (he thinks that this is a hereditary problems on his mother's side), and occasionally he has unfocused vision

Angel Dust has leukoma (a consequence of injury), but Angel isn't experiencing any particular difficulties, given that he still has three healthy eyes

Niffty has both eyes, but one is faceted (she gets a headache if she looks with both eyes at the same time)

Cherri Bomb lost right eye, nasal cartilage and several teeth as a result of explosion, which is why she has a distorted angle of vision and a rather specific manner of speaking (lisps a little and doesn't always pronounce nasal sounds in a right way)

sir Pentious is legless and has more developed shoulder girdle (after being reborn in Eden, he cannot walk without help and has to learn it all over AGAIN)

Sera is actually sterilized: before the Deluge she had well-functioning reproductive organs

one of Adam's eldest daughters, Awan, is also the owner of an injured eye (she refused to heal it when she was taken to Eden)

Vox limps on left leg, left arm also doesn't always function normally, so he implanted electrodes in hand himself (a consequence of a stroke)

Valentino is completely blind, guided by smells, sounds and vibrations (his other senses are so acute that blindness doesn't heavily limit him, but makes him perceive the world differently)

Fizzarolli also limps from time to time (once broke a femur); due to the specifics of his origin (incarnate legionnaire spirit) he's genuinely ANGRY at his own leg when it starts to hurt

Tom Trench is mute and communicates in sign language; his respiratory system is so mutilated (the effects of CWA poisoning) that he can only breathe through an apparatus embedded into his throat

Katie Killjoy has broken cervical vertebrae: if she turns her neck in a wrong way, her entire body actually shuts down and she becomes helpless

I must clarify Tom and Katie's lore in more detail! they cooperate due to their injuries (Tom protects Katie and carries her in his arms if she's paralyzed, Katie "deciphers" his gestures)

Katie is Vox's most famous preacher; Tom is her bodyguard

she's a woman with catching appearance, not afraid of crowds, knows how to talk with people (although she's pretty straightforward and can be rude), and her injuries are proof that overlord Vox takes everyone under protection

another important point that Tom and Katie are one of Vox's longest-standing and most loyal followers due to the fact that he actually saved them from death by Extermination

before meeting Vox, Tom and Katie were members of Adam the All-Father and Blessed Death sect (Katie lost the will to live and wanted to die by Adam's hand voluntarily, but Vox convinced her that she could be useful and inspiring)

it happened in 1977! there was the loudest riot in the sect in the last century

Vox managed to win over more than half of Salvatore's sinners and take them to another place to start a life without relying on demons / angels and preserving former human identity and technologies as much as possible

Tom literally dragged Katie on his arms

they are not in a romantic relationship, their bond is more like a kinship: Tom takes care of Katie when she cannot walk and helps her get dressed

dear all fat disabled folks who've been shamed because being fat means all of this must be grotesque and your fault, I see you, I hear you, and it is not your fault, you're allowed to be you, to take up space and live a life with the same love and beauty as a thin person would

dear all young disabled folks, I see you, I hear you, and you arent being dramatic, people can and will love you, not despite it all but with it all, you are valid and worthy of the care and love any other folk would have

dear all disabled folks, no matter what, no matter how you got here, you are worthy, you are lovely, and you deserve every bit of goodness/happiness/love an abled person would have

dont give up, you're not alone, we're all here, disability should not be something you have to be ashamed of, theres community and whatever way you live and feel there will always always always be people like you, there will always always always be folks who support you and care about you

Sometimes, it's nature, plants more specifically.

The Moshae knew that the only way Vehn Terev could ever find himself again is by making him tend Aya's gardens. And her reasoning: He spent too long surrounded by death. He needs to reconnect with life.

Meanwhile, Cora and Sam are learning about botany together. Cora tells Ryder this after talking about grief.

She quotes Sarissa: 'Grief and fear cannot rule you.'

Image from the wiki:

And there is Drack, which to me is probably the most devastating, because Drack talks about being in pain all the time:

There's something so truthful about what he is saying here, so linked to chronic pain and disability, that the scene just really moved me. Because he's right, surviving is not the same thing as living. Being in pain all the time is NOT a good way to live.

So Drack talked about falling into a pit until a shaman dropped 'the tiniest little baby girl' in his lap.

The shaman told him Kesh was dying, that she was not "worth the trouble". Useless. And we know this is how Drack feels, that it's like an echo of what he believes about himself. But suddenly it was not just about Drack anymore:

And the trilogy did this with Jack as well: she learned to take care of herself mostly by taking care of her students. One could argue Miranda broke free of her father because she was not the only one, she had to take care of Oriana. It goes on and on.

And in a way, I do think this makes for a good story. Tending a garden or taking care of someone, learning to let go of the anger, the pain, that's good. And clearly, people need people.

And humans do this all the time. A lot of people end up surviving and eventually living because one day the cat distribution system did a thing and there was a small creature to take care of. And because they needed the creature to live in a good place, they needed to make some changes for the better.

And as Drack says, it's not a one-sided thing: if you take care of something or someone, even without expecting a reward, you can get something in return. Something beautiful and precious.

But still, sometimes I wish the story was not about giving a thing or a someone to make things better. Because if Kesh hadn't been given to Drack, what would have happened? Would he have found a way to take care of himself? Are we to conclude he would still be in a pit?

The end to the previous comic ( @respectablecapers , @lilhiroo and anyone else feel free to continue the song)). @nordicfiord is a bit of a Mimzy here /positive. Not a fan of the reference, but still:

But soon after, we encounter another problem: Fighter must have inherited my inborn poor spatial awareness. And is panicky about it.

No hitting. Just defence pose is all. No harm anywhere. Just intense stress and/from the confusion. (Longread - ltr - down). You guys may be unaware of this ref, but it's real... I'll explain in the comms if anyone asks.

Thankfully, we have @flikk64 interfere on time. Sorry I mucked up your design even when tracing🤦‍♂️.

yes, in the crazy ass boys gang and crazy ass girls gang posts i absolutely do!

this might as well be the post i say it on because i've just been generally trying to figure out how/when to say it, but i have been diagnosed this month with fibromyalgia. the body pain, exhaustion, and worst of all—brain fog, are very severe in my case. if you've noticed less full on fics it's because (up until now) i've just been in agony amounts of pain while the doctors kind of wince at me and then don't help.

a lot of doctor appointments got made rapid fire for me next month so i can be put on medications that will help with all my symptoms. at which point, i hope to be back making some longer stories again.

also, exciting bonus, because of the patreon i was able to afford a hospital bed desk and ergonomic mouse which makes writing a LOT less painful.

Tw childbirth, labor, pregnancy

Azure had rushed Jing to the ER in the car (yes he can drive) with Nezha, the others soon behind. The other au’s were very concerned but were focused more on the cubs, who were absolutely freaking out and crying/screaming.

Jing does eventually regain consciousness as he’s being wheeled in, and while he is disorientated he is also having a MAJOR panic attack. He’s a) in pain from labor, b) Freaking out over of the baby is ok, c) desperate to know where his other kids are, and d) continuing his earlier freakout from finding out who his dad really is.

Azure… well he’s just trying to make sense of the glibbetish coming out of his loves mouth, trying to comfort both him and Nezha, while also trying not to freak over jing going into early labor.

Nezha is a mess, but a more controlled one. He’s phoned jinzha and Muzha to let them know, and attempting to keep himself calm after watching his father litterally have a meltdown so bad he went into labor not an hour earlier.

After the others arrive at the hospital, they and the Zha brothers had to wait 7 hours until they could see Jing again. All while listening to the screams of pain, rage, and sadness coming from the delivery room.

All the hubbub is very uncomfortable for the au’s, since nothing like this has really happened to their jing before. F!Wukong is much more level headed, bc they’ve done this song and dance before, but Jing’s sudden burst at the house had him seriously rattled.

The baby is born premature, though quite healthy. In the end the baby, a healthy little boy by the name of 姜 (Jiāng) aka Ginger, because of the patches of soft orange-red fur on that he has. However, Jing’s distress on top of being born early caused a few complications during the labor. Of which impacted Gingers hearing, making him deaf.