I have a character who uses a combination of mobility aids for what is essentially fantasy Ehler Danlos- he uses leg braces and crutches for short days, and a wheelchair for long days or low spoon days. I’m looking for specific words to describe the way he walks/moves that add a little flavor, like ‘trudges’ or ‘slinks’, etc, mostly for the wheelchair use. I’m also sick of the word ‘rolls’, as in ‘he rolls toward the desk’. Any ideas for verbs/adjectives to describe his mobility?
When it comes to descriptors with moving around, you honestly don’t need to get super fancy. This is more technical writing advice than disabled writing advice, but you honestly don’t need to use excessively fancy words when describing how a character moves. I know certain words can get repetitive, but if the character walks somewhere, then that can just be the best way to put it.
If you really want to use some variety, just try to be more simple with it. You could say stuff like “he moved toward the desk”, “he pushed himself toward the desk”, “he maneuvered towards the desk”, that sort of stuff. You don’t need to include wheelchair-specific descriptions in everything he does. As long as the description makes sense for a wheelchair, like just moving or getting over to, then it doesn’t matter too much what words you use.
Day 13: Mistletoe. York Hangs mistletoe all over his and North’s apartment and forces North to kiss him anytime they’re under it.
York grins as he hangs the last sprig of fake mistletoe, checking the timer for their breakfast in the oven. He pads his way down the hall, turning the corner into the master bedroom. “North, babe, wake up.” Placing his hand gently on his lover’s shoulder, shaking it slightly until he stirs, eyes popping open. “Breakfast is almost ready.”
“What?”
“I got up early to make breakfast for us.”
“It’s not my birthday and it’s not our anniversary, so what’s the occasion?”
“Can’t I just do something nice for my boyfriend?”
“For most people, I would say yes, but you?”
“Oh stop being so suspicious. There goes the timer, I made the french toast bake, so get up.” The dark-haired man turns out of the room, heading to the kitchen to turn the oven off and pull the food out, setting it on the stove to cool enough to eat.
“Come on, babe, it’ll get too cold.” York wanders into their room again, grinning when he hears the water running from the bathroom sink, moving to stand at the doorway.
“Coming, hold on, be patient,” the blond replies, drying his hands before turning to walk out, coming chest to chest with his lover. “Gunna move so I can go have some of that breakfast you’ve been nagging me about?” The shorter man grins, pushing himself up onto his tiptoes to kiss the other briefly before moving out of the way, grabbing his hand to pull him out to the kitchen, stopping once in the hallway and in the doorway leading into the kitchen to kiss him again, deciding to see how long it takes the other to notice the mistletoe.
“Do you want orange juice or milk?”
“Milk, please. Okay seriously, York, what is all this for? Today is nothing special, so why all of this?”
“You don’t like it?” The shorter man pouts, dark eye twinkling in humor, alerting his boyfriend that his feelings aren’t really hurt.
“Of course I love it,” he replies softly, wrapping his arms around him and kissing the top of his head. “Just curious. I shouldn’t take this as a bad sign should I?” He chuckles, York feeling the vibrations deep in his chest.
“No, no bad signs. I just know we’ve both been really busy lately between work trips, and getting settled in living together, and having Theta adjusting to it all, too, but you’ve still been doing so much, so I wanted to do something for you. I figured this would be a good start to the day since we’re going to be pulling the decorations from the attic in a bit before we go get Theta.”
“Thank you, York, I love it. And I love you, too.” York turns in his arms, pushing up to kiss him again, knowing that he put mistletoe about the fridge since they frequently end up standing there together.
“I love you. Let’s eat before it gets too cold.”
“I agree. It smells amazing.” The pair sit at the small table in their kitchen and dining room, enjoying the silence between them, knowing that the house is about to get incredibly loud when Theta comes later.
After breakfast, the two put on old clothes, get decorations from the attic and set to work, York stopping to kiss his boyfriend anytime they’re under mistletoe, once in the living room, once again in their bathroom doorway, once at the attic door, once where they’re putting the tree up, along with various other places. “Alright, not that I don’t love it, because I do, but what is it with all the kisses today? Are you trying to get them in before Theta gets here or something?”
“Partly.” York grins, and without meaning to his eyes flick upward.
“You little shit, you put mistletoe all over.” North looks around the living room, grinning, spotting at least seven different sprigs from where he’s standing. “How early did you wake up to do this without waking me?”
“Like six.” The taller of the two laughs, tugging him closer to him, wrapping him in his arms.
Hi everyone! I’m Becca, also known as @kirishimas-headband, and I’m happy to be included as one of the mods running this event for you guys!
First of all, thanks everyone for your support on our project so far! It’s been really awesome to see how quickly this idea of ours has become something bigger, and hopefully it is something you will love as much as we do!
I have no experience being a mod for a project before, but I have so much trust in this team and the amazing work they have done so far. I am really looking forward to bringing you as much new Kiribaku content as we possibly can, and sharing the love that we all have for these two beautiful boys!
Some info about me:
I’m 21 years old!
I’m a writer, mostly for Kiribaku (when I can actually get something done!)
I’m Canadian.
I really love tattoos and I only have one so far but I have SO many plans for more.
BNHA has quickly taken over my life since I started watching it, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Some other anime’s that I adore are: Haikyuu!, Psycho-Pass, and Ouran High School Host Club (please feel free to yell with me about any of them!!)
I love snakes and Australian Shepherds (though I really love all dogs) and will probably have at least one of each in the future.
That’s about all for me! Now you’ve met all three of the mods for this project, and we can keep moving forward to creating some wonderful Kiribaku content together! Thank you again for all of the amazing support you’ve been giving us!
You fool. You buffoon. It’s ALWAYS Kanaya time. Look at the timepiece on the wall, what time is it? Half past Kanaya. Glance at your phone, what’s it say? Oop, it’s Kanaya! What’s that on your watch? ITS KANAY’OCLOCK, BINCH
hey, i wanted to know, what are common mistakes regarding "split personality" characters and how to avoid ableist stereotypes when writing them?
I think the most common mistakes are the language used to describe it. The actual diagnosis used is Dissociative Identity Disorder. It hasn’t been called “split personality” or “multiple personality disorder” since the 90s, and that’s not the diagnosis in the DSM-5. I suggest doing a lot of research into it since it’s a highly stigmatised disorder with a lot of misinformation. There are a lot of systems who run great youtube channels, I would recommend DissociaDID’s Debunking DID Playlist for information about the common misconceptions.
As for avoiding ableist stereotypes, I think the biggest one to avoid is that people with DID are “violent” or that they have “evil alters” with “superpowers” and all of that ridiculousness. It’s nothing that fantastical and is a trauma-born disorder, in which a young child experiences repeated trauma, causing them to dissociate heavily to the point of creating amnesia walls and separate “personalities” to handle the trauma. All of the information I know is second hand, and if you want to write a significant character with the disorder, I highly recommend checking out advice and information from people with the disorder because it’s a very complex disorder.
