Blind Character - Tumblr Posts
When writing a blind character, what are some things to avoid?
Ah! So this is definitely a bit of a broad question, but I can give a few basics:
Blind people don’t actually give a shit about touching faces, so please, please stear clear of that. The only exceptions may be the same way sighted lovers may caress each other’s faces and parents may hold a child’s face in an emotional moment, but it’s just like a sighted lover or parent would, nothing more.
Please avoid giving your character a cure. One of the most crushing things as a disabled reader is to finally have a disabled character, but for them to end up with a fantastic magic cure half-way through. It rarely makes for a good story, and often a much better story is that person’s journey in understanding themselves as equal and learning that they aren’t broken and useless and can do whatever they want, overcoming internalized ableism rather than “overcoming the disability.”
Few blind people actually wear sunglasses or eye coverings, so your character probably won’t either if the likelyhood says anything. Chances are they will not be part of that minority, so probably better not to do that.
Something similar can be said for characters with white or cloudy eyes. The vast majority of blind people will not have very abnormal-looking eyes, so chances are your character will not be part of that minority.
Another very similar thing should be noted about the level of vision they will have. Somewhere between 80 and 90% of blind people have some level of remaining vision, weather it be little more than light perception or enough that they were forced to use their eyes a lot growing up and weren’t taught braille or to use a cane because they could get by well enough not to die most of the time.
So these are just the first several things I can think of at the moment, but definitely feel free to ask about more things!
I would definitely read the full story.
The result of my second livestream c: !! Thank you a lot for joining! This picture was based on an old prompt from @umakoo I found in the depth of my likes.
He’d been watching this man for a few hours already but it still didn’t look like he was going anywhere. The blood on his face was dried already and a lot of the dirt had been washed away by the snow. Now, Loki saw that he really couldn’t open his eyes - he was not faking it. Now, this man did look like he was in real pain.
So after another few moments of thinking about it, Loki decided to get closer. Without saying a word, he sat down next to the crouching man and just watched him. “Who– who is there?!” The man called and even if he probably wanted to sound confident, Loki could figure out the slight panic. “I’m not going to hurt you.” Loki replied quietly. “I want to help.”
Shady Royalty
< Previous chapter
Chapter 2
An attempt was made
▪︎▪︎▪︎ Samantha's POV ▪︎▪︎▪︎
[Writer's note: This chapter was so fun to write! Writing a chapter from the perspective of a bling person has been such a fun challenge! I will definitely be writing chapters from Samantha's perspective again.]
Samantha quickly packs up some spare clothes, some toiletries, a map and some other things. She changes out of her maid attire and puts on a simple T-Shirt and some shorts. She rushes to the kitchen and hastily makes two sandwiches for the trip. After she's done packing, she goes to the princess's room.
"Are you done packing princess?", Samantha asks.
"Yup!", she answers, "Let's get going!"
Samantha suppresses a smile after hearing the young girl's enthusiasm. The princess has always been an adventurous girl. She's never afraid of trying new things. Which is why this field trip didn't come as much of a surprise. Though it can't be a coincidence that she planned this trip to the Light kingdom right after Samantha tried begging Stephanie to take over for her for the fifth time this week. Samantha decides to just shrug it off. She won't accuse the princess of snooping into her business. She's grateful to have this opportunity to begin with.
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The two of them make their way towards the Light kingdom in silence for some time. The fresh air is filled with the sound of birds chirping and leaves rustling. There's a bit of a breeze and the sound of people talking slowly fades away the closer they get to the border. After some time, the silence is broken by the princess.
"Are we lost?", she asks.
"Of course we are. You let the blind person have the map", Samantha says calmly.
"Well don't blame me for that! You're the one that grabbed it out of my hands!", the princess says in self defense.
"You were going to tear it up while making a paper plane out of it", Samantha explains matter of fact-ly.
"Don't bring my paper planes into this! Besides, I got bored", the princess says innocently.
Samantha sighs. Why did I agree to this again? she thinks to herself. Suddenly, she senses a drop of water fall on her, followed by many others.
"Great. Now it's raining", the princess says in annoyance.
"I know. I may be blind, but I can still tell when it's raining", Samantha comments calmly.
"Go find us some shelter", she instructs the princess as she carefully places the map back into her bag.
After zipping up her bag, she feels a small hand grab her arm.
"I'm not leaving you alone. I'll guide you", the princess says firmly, leaving no room for discussion.
Samatha lets herself get dragged by the princess. The two of them walk in silence for a while, until they promptly come to a stop.
"There's a cave on the other side of this river. There's no bridge nearby, but it looks narrow enough for us to jump to the other side... Will you manage?", the princess explains hesitantly.
"Go ahead. Let me know when you've reached the other side", Samantha instructs.
"Alright", the princess responds with no further questions.
Samantha soon hearsa thud as the princess lands on the other side of the river.
"Your turn", the princess says while facing Samantha. Her voice is filled with concern. Based on how far away the princess's voice it, Samantha makes a quick estimate of how wide the river is and proceeds to jump.
Samatha barely made it on the other side and is about to lose her balance when she feels a small hand hold her arm tightly.
"Samatha!", the princess yells in distress. Just then, Samatha feels another hand grabbing her ankle. This hand is larger than the one trying to keep her from falling. It's ice cold and wet. Before Samantha can form another thought, both her and the princess are quickly overpowered and fall into the river. Samantha grabs the princess's hand and immediately tries to make it back to where she thinks the surface is, when she's suddenly hit on the head by something ice cold. It doesn't take long before she loses her consciousness.
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Samatha opens her eyes slowly. Not that it makes a difference. She groans as she rubs the back of her head where she had been hit. She then notices that she seems to be floating. There's a muffled sound of water.
"Are we dead yet?", she asks to no one in particular.
"Don't worry Samantha, we're still alive", the princess's voice answers her.
"I wasn't worried. I was told that I'd get my eyesight back in heaven", Samantha comments.
"Anyway... You have ten seconds to explain what you are doing in my kingdom", another voice commands.
So, we're in someone else's kingdom. Considering that we were pulled into the water before being knocked out, we must be in the Water kingdom, ruled by queen Marie.
"I'm so sorry! We were going to the Light kingdom to warn the king!", the princess explains frantically.
Samantha raises an eyebrow curiously. Warn the king? I knew that this couldn't be a coincidence!
"We just got a little lost, that's all", the princess continues explaining.
"Warn the king? About what?", the queen asks curiously.
"Princess Annie?", Samantha asks expectantly.
"I know... I'm sorry for eavesdropping on your conversation", the princess says sheepishly.
"I should have known that you wouldn't let it slide. The past is in the past, we have more important things to worry about. Queen Marie, we are terribly sorry for trespassing in your kingdom. As the princess already. Said, we just got lost. I assure you that I will never trust her with the map again", Samantha explains in her usual calm voice.
"Hey!", the princess yells in offense, "At least I helped you get this far!"
"Since we are in the Water kingdom, we have been going in the opposite direction of the Light kingdom", Samantha explains.
"Oh...my bad", the princess says meekly.
"How are you so sure that the king is in danger?", the queen asks.
"You tend to have above average hearing when you're blind", Samantha explains nonchalantly.
"Who is after the king anyway?", the princess asks curiously.
"I'm not sure. It's not like I could see who was talking about the plans to go after the king. I would definitely be able to recognize them if I were to hear their voice again", Samantha explains.
"Alright. You're free to go", the queen says.
"Thanks!", the princess says cheerfully.
"Your majesty?", a male voice appears out of nowhere.
"Yes?", the queen says curiously.
"I think that someone is- ", the male voice is abruptly interrupted by seemingly nothing. Some grunts of effort are suddenly heard. After some time it stops.
"Sorry about that your majesty", the same male voice says. The voice sounds distorted. While the original male voice is dominant, there is another underlying voice.
"And sorry about this as well", the same distorted voice says while the sound of multiple bubbles being produced fills the air. Or rather the water. A splash sound can be heard shortly after.
"Impressive", the distorted voice comments in a playful way.
"Who are you and what have you done to my guard?", the queen demands.
"Who am I? Stick around to find out", the voice says playfully.
"Alright", the queen accepts the challenge. As she says so, Samantha suddenly feels herself being moved upwards. Not to long afterward, she finds herself on solid ground.
"What's going on?", Samatha asks, assuming that the princess is somewhere nearby.
"I-I...I don't know... I have to save the queen", the princess says. Her voice shakes as she speaks. She's clearly distressed, but also determined. Before Samantha can say anything, she hears the princess grunting in effort, clearly trying to use her powers. Samantha gets closer to the princess, knowing that she'll probably end up passing out from using her powers.
"You...you saved me...", the queen's voice suddenly says.
"O-Of course I did", the princess says weakly, though still with the same kindness and compassion that she has towards others.
"I-I couldn't just let him k-kill you...", the princess says, sounding weaker by the second.
"Let me help you...with...your.... injuries...", the princess tries to offer before she inevitably passes out. Samantha catches her before she hits the ground.
"I-Is she okay?", the queen asks, her anxiousness piercing through her usually calm tone.
"She'll be fine. She just doesn't have much control over her powers and ends up passing out whenever she uses them", Samantha explains calmly.
"Oh...", the queen says, her voice now sounding calmer.
"Come on, we should find somewhere to rest until the princess wakes up. She mentioned something about injuries before passing out. I don't have healing powers, but I should have some bandages in my bag", Samantha decides while gently carrying the princess.
"Sound good to me", the queen says.
"Uhh...how can I lead you?", the queen asks.
"There aren't any people around here, so I'll be able to hear your footsteps", Samantha explains.
"Oh. Okay", the queen says awkwardly.
Samantha stays still until she hears the queen get up. She then follows her to who knows where.
——————————————————
"This looks like a good place as any to rest", the queen says as they come to a stop. Samantha gently puts down the princess. She takes off her bag and fishes out the bandages.
"I should have brought a first aid kit with me", she comments out loud.
"It's fine. Some bandages are all I need", the queen saus quietly.
"Doesn't sound like it", Samantha remarks.
"Well, you're just going to have to take my word for it", the queen declares.
Samantha reaches out her hand containing the bandages to the direction of the queen's voice. She feels the queen's fingertips as she takes the bandages.
"We should set up a campfire", Samantha suggests.
"Yeah", the queens .
"In what direction are the trees?", Samantha asks.
"That way", the queen answers.
Samantha raises an eyebrow. She decides to wait until the queen notices herself.
"Oh! Uhh... to your right", the queen says full of embarrassment, "I-I'm not sorry. I wasn't paying attention."
"It's fine. You've only known me for a few minutes", Samantha replies, trying her best to hide her amusement.
Samantha makes her way to where the queen said the trees would be. It takes a long time, but eventually she finds enough wood to make a campfire.
She returns to the direction she came from.
"Your majesty?", she asks after nearing the direction she remembers leaving the queen and the princess.
"Over here", the queen's voice replies.
Samantha moves towards the direction of the queen's voice. She kneels down and starts setting up the sticks. She then finds her bad and takes out the packet of matches. Not even a minute later, she can feel the warmth of the campfire burning. Being satisfied with the result, she makes her way back to the princess. She gently lifts up the princess's head and let her rest of her lap. She waits patiently for the princess to wake up.
"The guard...when he spoke it was almost as if he had two voices...", the queen notes.
Samantha raises her eyebrow, slightly confused by the sudden realization from the queen.
"Yes. Although the voice underlying your guard's own was suppressed, I still recognize it as the same voice of the one I overheard talking about the plan", Samantha calmly explains.
"Why didn't you say anything about it until now?", the queen asks. Her suppressed rage can be heared in her voice.
"I'm sorry. I had more important things in my mind", Samantha simply replies.
The queen scoffs lightly but leaves it at that.
Silence fills the air. The only thing keeping it from being completely silent is the crackling sound of the campfire. After another few minutes, Samantha hears someone groaning. Soon after, the head laying on her lap gets up.
"How are you feeling princess?", Samantha asks.
"Fine", the princess answers while groaning from pain, "Wh-Where's the Water queen?"
"I'm right behind you", the queen says calmly.
"Hi!", the princess exclaims. Her voice has traveled in the queen's direction in an instance.
I hope she didn't use her ability to teleport. She just woke up from passing out due to using her powers. She souldn't be teleporting around right now.
"I don't think that I've introduced myself yet", the princess continues talking.
"My name is Annie and I'm the princess of the Nature kingdom!", the princess introduces herself enthusiastically, "I'm 18 and I love painting!"
"My name is Marie and I'm the queen of th Water kingdom", the queen follows suit, but in a much calmer way, "I'm 18 and I enjoy reading books."
"Huh? You're 18? Howcome you've been a queen for so long?", the princess asks curiously, "Also, how do you know what books are? Don't they get wet underwater?"
Samantha cringes at the princess's question. How does not know about what happened with the previous rulers of the Water kingdom? And how does she not know that part of the water kingdom is on the icy land?
"That doesn't matter. If the guard that was attacking me is free from the mind he was under, then he probably thinks that I've been abducted. The royal advisors will have no problem taking over in the meantime and keeping things in order for my kingdom. Since it seems that this misterious person is targeting those who are currently on the throne, I think it's best that I join you on your mission to warn the king. We must find out who's behind all of this and put an end to it, before our kingdoms fall apart. Your maid said that she recognized the voice of whoever was mind controlling my guard. It would be best if we team up and work together to find this person, considering that I couldn't defeat him on my own, and you...don't seem to have control over your powers", the queen explains.
"Considering the capabilities of this person that we are aware of thus far, we'll need even more help", Samantha remarks.
"Where are we going to get more help from?", the princess asks.
"There's someone in particular that I have in mind...", Samantha says in a bit of an ominous way.
"Come on. If we start going now, we should be able to arrive before the sun sets", Samantha says.
"Aww. More walking?", the princess whines.
"Where are we headed?", the queen asks.
"The Fire kingdom", Samantha answers.
Disabled Characters in my book
hi all, hope you’re ok <3
I have a character in my WIP who was once seeing but during the story he goes blind. I’m asking because I want to know how to properly write him without using any offensive language and actually representing blind folks properly. this is the same for my characters with dyslexia and autism. I do have autism but I really don’t feel like I’m educated enough. can anyone give me advice, tips or suggestions? It’d be much appreciated, thanks <3
TLDR: needing genuine advice on how to write physically/mentally disabled characters in my book
An avocado in progress... 🥑....