Hi! I'm in the (very) early stages of plotting a story with one of the characters having zero light perception. A little bit more backstory: it's a high fantasy setting and she is the political leader of her nation. My problem is that I don't know what to do with her in scenes where fighting is involved. I don't want her to be completely helpless, but I also want be realistic with her combat abilities. Do you have any advice about blind characters in non superpowered combat situations?
Because she's a political leader (which awesome!! btw) she will have a team of guards protecting her at all times. This isn't because she's blind but because she's a powerful political figure whose death would potentially start wars, launch coups, etc. Even a very capable warrior-made-monarch with years of experience in battle would find themselves saddled with guards for protection.
And there are lots of political leaders today and in the past who had no battle experience. It's not ableism, it's just that many people in the world don't undergo the intense training to become a fighter.
If she were suddenly attacked, her guards would swoop in to defend her and remove her from the conflict.
How do you tell the audience that this is just a standard for political leaders and not ableism?
-Start with establishing that it's normal for a political leader or someone who is wealthy to be protected by at least a guard or two. If she meets other political leaders, that is a good time to show that her having guards is not a marker of helplessness but of her importance to the political climate.
-Let her develop a high quality relationship with her guards. They must be respectful of her and her abilities. She needs to feel comfortable pointing out moments of ableism and communicating how they can avoid that mistake, and know that the guards will carry her advice to the letter. You don't necessarily need to invent a big moment of ableism, but the confidence she has in her guards should be obvious.
-Body language. Her body language. My go to "don't even think about messing with me" pose is back straight, shoulders back, chin up, walking with long strides and matching my cane to the pace of my stride. Her tone of voice should be confident and command authority. In public she always looks like she's in control of the moment, she's the one making decisions and handing out directions/orders.
-Give her some basic self defense. Nothing flashy, But she can slip out of someone's arms if they grab her. Maybe she practiced specific defenses with her guards, from practicing formation of the team, to how they would approach and lead her away from danger, to exiting specific venues quickly if there is an emergency.
I get a lot of asks about combat with blind characters, but I think the above is a much better way to prove how capable a blind person is. Your average blind person would love seeing themselves in a strong position where they are respected by many and treated with dignity. Fighters who subvert expectations are great, but we have a lot of those already and variety is everything
Thank you for asking anon! You gave me a lot to think about and I think your character idea is amazing
