#only queue

[papa-rhys]

The jeans tucked into his boots are still killing me

[toulouserr]

hey man does anyone want to tell me why i have such a need for validation but when i get it i feel unworthy,, asking for a friend,,,,,

[concerningwolves]

what a fine evening to remember that "your job as a critiquer is to help an author, not make them feel so bad they become discouraged" and "as an author you need to learn to take (constructive) criticism without it getting you down every time" are statements that can and should co-exist

[finefeatheredfabler]

Here’s one of my pieces for the Far Cry 5 Fanzine. Big thank you to @littlemiss-nightshade for working with me, and a huge thanks to @unclefungusthegoat for heading the project and getting everyone onboard.

[papa-rhys]

[concerningwolves]

ah yes, December. or as I like to call it: NaNoHanMo (National Novel Hangover Month)

[finefeatheredfabler]

Here’s my other piece from the Far Cry 5 Fanzine. Big thank you to @till-28 for working with me, and a huge thanks to @unclefungusthegoat​ for heading the project and getting everyone onboard.

[concerningwolves]

Hi! I was wondering if you could give me some advice on this: I have a deaf character who uses hearing aids and spoken English, but I'm worried about accidentally abled-washing him, especially given that I don't know much about hearing aids or how it's like using them (I tried looking it up but couldn't find many good sources). Any tips or sources on this would be greatly appreciated!🌸

Hi 😊

A Deaf person who uses HAs and spoken language is still deaf! I’ve lived most of my life in this bracket, and am only now finding out what it’s like to be a deaf person who doesn’t wear hearing aids. 

The use of an aid like a HA or CI doesn’t automatically remove the deaf part of a person’s identity, it just means that their experience with deafness might be different to someone else’s. For example, I’ve noticed that, since no longer wearing hearing aids, conversations sometimes go like this: 

Me: please could you look at me directly and stay on my left side? I’m deaf

Them: Oh, sorry! Of course! [pause] do you... have hearing aids?

Me, slowly, knowing what’s coming: Not with me, no

Them: Wouldn’t they make this easier?

Me: Not for me

(as happened at a recent group meet I attended for local editors)

I know I could just say that I don’t use HAs, but that almost always leads to questions like “But why not?!” and then the conversation goes in circles. It just doesn’t occur to most hearing people that HAs aren’t ~magical fixes~ for everyone. I use them like tools in that they only come out for specific jobs, and spend the rest of the time shut away in a box. Others might use them every day from dawn to dusk, or only for school/college/uni/work and take them out at home. 

When I did wear hearing aids, my interactions with new people tended to go like this: 

[shopping for a new phone]

Attendant: *comes over to where I’m browsing, sees my HAs*

Attendant: [turns to dad instead of me] How can I help you today?

Because, y’know, apparently deaf people can’t speak for themselves. 

I think that the general animosity towards hearing aids and implants from Deaf people can give the sense that these devices somehow negate deafness, but it’s more nuanced than that. There are some mouldy penises people in the Deaf community who act as gatekeepers to anyone using cochlear implants and, while I haven’t heard so much about this re: HA users, that’s not to say it doesn’t happen. But on the whole, the issue with HAs/CIs is less about the devices themselves, and more about abled society using them as “fixes” for deafness. So long as you avoid this in your writing and take into account different deaf experiences, you’ll be fine.

You can also check out my [hearing aids] tag for more on what they’re like to use and related issues :)

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