Oh, the hell with it (The PWD Being Awesome fest)

[terajk]

You know how when you're really craving, say, pizza, but you're trying not to eat pizza (for whatever reason), so you eat other things but then still end up eating pizza anyway? Yeah, so that happened to me today. Because even though I plan this for Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, and even though KNOW three_weeks_for_dw  is a month away, I REALLY want characters with disabilities doing awesome things today.

Welcome to the People with Disabilities (PWD) Being Awesome Commentwork Fest!

How it works:

This is a multi-fandom fest celebrating characters with disabilities doing awesome things! Prompts can be from any fandom, and can feature canonically, non-canonically or supernaturally disabled characters. (Are Remus Lupin and Sookie Stackhouse awesome PWD? You betcha!) You can interpret an undiagnosed character as a PWD, or reimagine someone as one. Don't let the fest's name throw you. All disabled characters can come play, even if they aren't people. Also, no restrictions on rating!

But what do you mean by "being awesome?"

I mean a lot of things: Saving the world, going on adventures, facing off against ableism, hanging out with friends, struggling with changes in identity. A prompt/story doesn't have to be happy to be awesome.

What fanworks are welcome?

 Fic, art, podfic, fanmixes, poetry, vids...anything you can think of!

Prompting:

Prompts should have the following format:

Fandom, character/paring, prompt.

For crossovers: Fandom 1/Fandom 2, character/pairing, prompt.

You can leave as many prompts as you like. Also, please use respectful language in your prompt.

Filling Prompts:

If you fill a prompt, either post your story as a reply to the prompt-comment, or post a link to your story as a reply to the prompt if it's hosted elsewhere (say, your journal). Also, prompts may be filled more than once. You may also fill your own prompts, if you wish.

Warnings:

You may use "Choose Not to Warn" or "No Warnings Apply," or use warnings/content notes for any triggering material.

If you'd like to bait your host...

Prompts in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Ranma 1/2 and Soul Eater are the best way to do this. Just sayin'.

Questions?:

Feel free to ask!

Comments

Questions?

[terajk]

Ask 'em here!

[feathercircle]

I think I may actually be able to contribute now.. except that the prompt which is tugging at me is from the previous round, rather than something requested here.

If I get it written, should I post it there or here?

[terajk]

Ouran High School Host Club, Kyouya, low blood-pressure is a lot more than being cranky in the morning. But, as with everything, he only tells the hosts what he wants them to know.

[terajk]

Soul Eater, Ms. Marie or Stein (or both), teaching class full of non-neurotypical...beings.

[terajk]

Soul Eater, Death the Kid + any, "I think it's time for another party."

[jjhunter]

A:tLA/The Legend of Korra, Toph, aging.

[sqbr]

There was a loud thump, and the irritated mutter of "Who put that table there?"

"You did," said Toph, "About ten years ago."

"I'm sure I'd remember a...are those lychee nuts in your hair?"

Toph was baffled for a moment before realising what he was talking about. "Yes," said Toph. "They're lychee nuts, in case I get hungry waiting for you to come sit down."

"I wouldn't put it past you," said Sokka, finally reaching the table and sitting down next to Toph with a grunt of relief. She pushed a glass of water towards him and he drank it gratefully, catching his breath for a minute or two.

"Sorry I haven't had a chance to come visit for a while," he said. "How's your foot? I notice you didn't come meet me at the door, but knowing you it was probably just rudeness."

Toph turned sideways to lift her swollen left foot up off the cushion she was resting it on to show it to Sokka. "Look at that purple," she said. "Bet your feet don't look that interesting."

Sokka looked down towards his own feet, happily ensconced in nice warm boots. "No," he said, "They're the same old boring feet. You doing ok though? I can send one of the grandkids to come help you out, I know Lin's busy hunting down evil jaywalkers or whatever it is she does these days."

Toph gave a short laugh. "Something like that," she said. "How did I manage to give birth to such a sensible kid? She certainly didn't get it from her father. Anyway, I'm fine Sokka, but thanks for asking. What about you?"

"What about me? I'm fit as a fiddle! Healthier now than I was when I was sixty!"

"Then how many fingers am I holding up?" she asked.

"That's cheating," said Sokka. "Watch out or I'll poke you in the foot."

Toph laughed. "Whatever you say, Sokka. But let me know when you need to leave and I'll bend a few things out of the way so you don't hurt yourself."

He stuck his tongue out at her, and then sighed and said "Thanks."

She gave him a pat on the back. "You'll get used to it," she said.

"Not everyone is a bender, you know," he said.

"Not everywhere is made of rock, or metal" she replied.

Sokka nodded, thoughtfully. "You should ask Lin to make wooden floors illegal," he said. "I bet she'd do it."

Toph laughed. "Nah, she never lets me declare anything illegal these days. Not even those annoying advertisements they play on the wireless."

"I hate those!"

"Me too! Remember when you could avoid annoying hawkers by just walking away?"

"It's a strange world we live in my friend. Still at least we have lychee nuts..."

Toph laughed and coughed and shifted her head before he could try to remove and eat her hair decorations.

"Hey! I'm saving those!" she said.

"Fine," said Sokka. "Well then, at least we still have friends."

"Exactly," said Toph.

[terajk]

Soul Eater, any combination of Black Star, Crona & Kid, their neurotypes clash now and then (except when they don't), but they're still friends anyway.

Fill: Distractions

[telm_393]

Black*Star breaks the plate and shrugs while Kid shrieks and shrieks and clutches at his hair. "How could you? I told you to be careful! I told you! You don't just break plates, Black*Star! The asymmetry!"

Black*Star barely registers that his friend's upset, too wrapped up in his own greatness. Who cares that he got distracted and forgot there was a plate in his hands (he was helping Kid dry them off, because Tsubaki said it would be a big thing to do. She regrets that now) while he recounted one of his great exploits? It's not a big deal. He knows Kid has some kind of problem, Tsubaki had told him and it's not like he figured it out on that first day they met anyway, but really. It's not a big deal.

He's stopped telling his story by now, though, because no one's listening, too busy trying to get Kid to calm down, and for a moment Black*Star resents him for taking everybody's attention, but he reluctantly guesses Kid can have it for now, since he's on the floor and has stopped forming words.

Kid really needs to relax sometimes.

+

Kid and Black*Star are friends, very good ones, in fact, at least...that's the idea. Sometimes both of them wonder why.

+

Black*Star is boundlessly enthusiastic. Kid, at times, finds it irritating. At times he finds it invigorating. Sometimes Black*Star's bravado and enormous smile is infectious, even though Kid himself rarely smiles and almost never laughs.

Kid has never had many friends. Liz and Patty were his first ones, and he's grateful to them in a way he can't quite voice.

Now that he has found himself with friends, it's very jarring.

Black*Star is one of the most jarring parts of all.

+

Black*Star gets distracted all the time thinking about his greatness, or looking at some weird thing he saw outside, or just wondering about what Tsubaki's gonna make for dinner. It bothers people a lot, but Black*Star doesn't mind all the annoyed looks and stuff. He can just beat them in a fight, after all, and then they won't question him!

Black*Star guesses that his awesomeness just can't be contained in his brain, no matter how amazing it is, which is why his thoughts go so fast and get jumbled up all the time, and why he sometimes spaces out and forgets what he was gonna say, and then breaks into one of his famous speeches no matter the occasion (because any occasion is good for reminding people what a big guy he is) because he always remembers those.

He explains this to Tsubaki, once, and she nods and says, "Of course. I understand, Black*Star."

And that's why Tsubaki is the only person ever who he's ever given his spotlight over to, because she deserves it, because she gets him.

But then, the only other person he's explained that to is Death the Kid, while they were sitting together on the bench in the park where everyone always plays basketball, but it was just the two of them because they were waiting for Liz, Patty, and Tsubaki to get back from some shopping trip. Kid had nodded his head and said, "I see." And the funny thing was that it was like he really did see.

That's probably because Kid gets distracted sometimes too, Black*Star's noticed that, even if he doesn't notice stuff all that often. Sometimes the whole group will be together, and Kid will start talking in incomplete sentences until he totally spaces out and then says something about symmetry, usually about how hideous something that looks okay to Black*Star is, and then he'll probably try to fix whatever's hideous, because it's usually a painting or something. Sometimes it won't even be about something everyone else can see too. Sometimes Kid will just get sucked into his own head and he'll talk to people in words and mumbles, but everyone will know he's not actually there.

Black*Star kinda likes Kid for that, because most of the other people in the group don't do that as much as they do, get distracted. Black*Star knows it happens in different ways, but he guesses he gets Kid more than he thought he would in the beginning, even if he doesn't get his whole weird symmetry thing even a little bit, and he doesn't concern himself with that. If the great Black*Star doesn't get something, he guesses he doesn't have to.

+

Kid gets lost in his head, at times, and it's generally rather problematic. He has terrible thoughts about how he's a bad partner, a bad son, a bad shinigami, about how he's weak and useless and pathetic.

About how he should just die.

Symmetry helps, the perfection comforts him and helps keep the thoughts at bay, but it causes different terrible thoughts sometimes too, born of his love for symmetry, thoughts about how he must have left that painting tilted just a bit to the left, thoughts about how if he could just go back and fix the shoddy braid of that girl he passed just a minute ago, everything would be better.

Everything needs to be perfect.

He needs to be perfect.

Sometimes Kid wonders if perfection is unattainable, and the thought makes his head swim and his breath come fast and shallow.

Symmetry makes him feel safe, it makes him feel better. People don't understand how important it is, and Kid mourns over that. Everybody thinks he's a freak, even those who accept him, and he's terribly aware of that.

He knows the thoughts are a hindrance.

He is worthless.

He is broken.

He is an abomination.

His own self-hatred is probably the reason that Black*Star fascinates him so, because he doesn't think Black*Star's ever really hated himself like Kid hates himself, and he wonders how that can be.

It's probably the reason Black*Star irritates him so as well. Their personalities clash, because Black*Star is generally aggressive and confrontational, hot-headed, and Kid is cold.

Sometimes they can get along, though, and Black*Star puts up with most of Kid's neuroses with a shrug, even though it's clear he doesn't get them at all.

Black*Star has the attention span of a goldfish, naturally, and sometimes Kid finds himself watching him when they cross the street together, because he's pulled Black*Star back from walking into incoming traffic more times than he can count. Kid almost likes that, the worry, the caution he exercises at those moments, because those are worries founded in reality.

Kid always pulls Black*Star onto the sidewalk by the back of his shirt and rolls his eyes. "For goodness sakes, you're going to get yourself killed."

Black*Star just laughs as if he didn't just almost get run over by a truck, and says, "Kid, I owe you one!"

+

Black*Star's not that good with looking both ways before he crosses the street, but he's never done something like what Kid's doing right now, as in, he's never stopped in the middle of the street and gotten distracted by something. It looks like the yellow lines painted on the street, or something about all the cars around is what's got Kid this time, and Black*Star scowls and tells him to move, because everyone's probably started playing basketball without them. They were supposed to be taking a short break for lunch anyway, but it ended up going way longer because he and Kid kept arguing about where to go and also symmetry.

Symmetry, symmetry, symmetry. Black*Star's totally sick of symmetry, but he knows he talks about the same stuff a lot too, and some dumb people don't think how great he is is important, and he guesses that's how it is with Kid and his symmetry.

"Hurry!" He yells. "Don't wanna keep the great Black*Star waiting!"

But Kid won't move, he just looks like he's stuck there in the middle of the street, like he can't even move even though he really should because the light's going to be green again.

A lot of honking interrupts Black*Star's thoughts, and he guesses the light is green again, and suddenly he's actually afraid--he knows, he knows, he was surprised too!--that Kid's going to get, like, run over, and turn into flat roadkill on the street. Cars are starting to move forward a little, too, and that's when Black*Star decides that Kid's not going to do anything and sprints back out into the middle of the street, ignoring the honking because, hah! Who would think such little sounds would have any effect on someone as big as him?, and grabs Kid around the middle and hauls him back onto the sidewalk. It's good that Kid's so tiny--well, he's Black*Star's size, but he's really skinny--because Black*Star has no problem lifting him up.

The cars start to go again, and Kid looks upset, like he still wants to be out there on the street doing whatever he was doing. "Asymmetrical garbage..." he mumbles to himself, "such an abomination does not deserve to taint this city..."

Black*Star has no clue what he's talking about, so he grabs Kid's shoulders and shakes, because that actually kind of freaked him out. "What the hell?" Black*Star is sure that he could stop the cars on the street with just a wave of his hands, but that doesn't mean he's going to try while the light's green or anything.

Kid's distracted again, but Black*Star's loud voice makes him come back. "What? Oh. Oh, I'm terribly sorry, there was...I just looked around and noticed all the atrocities on the street, the asymmetrical bumper stickers, the cars dented on only one side..." He shivers. "I simply couldn't move."

"You freaked me out!"

Kid actually looks kind of ashamed. "I apologize."

Black*Star finally just shrugs and smiles wide. "Hey, who cares? It's not like anyone got squished anyway. Besides, I owed you one."

+

In the end, they understand each other more than they think. Yeah, they're actually pretty good together.

[terajk]

Ouran High School Host Club, Haruhi, hosting during a thunderstorm.

[terajk]

AtLA/Legend of Korra, Toph & Lin, She was the Avatar's sifu, but teaching bending is somehow harder when it's your own kid.

[terajk]

AtLA/Legend of Korra, Toph, pro-bending tournaments are somehow her fault doing

[terajk]

AtLA, Teo, for science!

[terajk]

Hyperdimension Neptunia (mk2?), Cave, saving the day while faceblind.

[terajk]

AtLA, Toph & or /Azula, This is YOUR fault!

[primeideal]

Harry Potter, any plausible light sider, he/she was disabled during the Battle of Hogwarts

[primeideal]

Animorphs, Loren, volunteer work

[gloss]

Homestuck, Terezi Pyrope, collaboration on the planning & drawing of New Can Town

[gloss]

Homestuck/Marvel comics, Vriska Serket & Bucky Barnes or Misty Knight, roboarm showdown

[anonymous_sibyl]

The West Wing, Jed Bartlet, dealing with the day-to-day of MS

[anonymous_sibyl]

The West Wing, Jed Bartlet, the big decision to not disclose his illness

[anonymous_sibyl]

Title: Owl Scream and Crickets Cry
Author: anonymous_sibyl
Completed: April 8, 2012
Fandom(s) & Character(s): The West Wing, Abbey Bartlet, Jed Bartlet
Summary: "The decision to disclose personal medical information in the workplace is a complex one, requiring careful thought and planning." National Multiple Sclerosis Society
Rating: G
Notes: Pre-series. Title is from Macbeth.
Disclaimer: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. None of the media or characters written about in my fanfiction belong to me and I make no profit from these works.

Read Owl Scream and Crickets Cry on AO3

[executrix]

Friday Night Lights, Jason Street, bronze medal

[executrix]

Breaking Bad, Walt Jr., college fund

[helens78]

X-Men, Charles Xavier, weightlifting

[helens78]

X-Men, Charles Xavier, coming to the rescue

[helens78]

X-Men, Charles Xavier, adopting a cat

Legwarmer

[slightweasel]

"Cats are traditionally legwarmers," Charles informs Raven, each and every time she starts in on him about how he needs something to keep him company. "The purpose of a cat is to sit on one's lap so that one may pet it. In this situation, the cat would be rewarded for doing something that is of no use to me. I would have to feed it and water it and clean its litterbox, all for nothing."

He should have known that Raven would find a way around this absolutely bulletproof logic. Yet still he's surprised the day Raven walks in with a long-haired orange cat with a facial expression that suggests that a. it is about to yark up a hairball, b. the hairball consists entirely of the hairs Charles picks off his pillowcase in greater numbers each morning that goes by, and that c. Charles' hair is not at all appetizing.

"Raven, really," Charles says, as she plops the cat into his lap. "I don't know what you expect to -"

As Charles speaks, the cat wiggles its hiney, jumps atop the back of his wheelchair, then drapes itself across shoulder.

"- accomplish."

The cat makes a 'prrp?' sound, and begins to purr, then to knead the space above Charles' collarbone with its paws.

"I think I hate you," Charles says, which is not at all what he meant to say, which was 'Your little scheme isn't working, now get this horrid fluffy thing off of me.'

Raven does not look at all ashamed of herself; rather the opposite.

Charles means to wait to scritch the cat's neck until Raven leaves, but when she screeches an unholy cat-sound of protest into his ear he isn't given much of an option.

[helens78]

X-Men, Charles Xavier, hiring a new personal assistant

[(Anonymous)]

First reactions say a lot.

That's always true, but no less so right now. How people react to Charles -- and more to the point, to his wheelchair -- says a lot about who they are. And about how they'll react to mutants.

Okay, yes, he's a telepath; he could muck around in their heads if he wanted to. It would be criminally easy to find someone with basic skills and then push and pull and mold their minds so that they react exactly the way Charles tells them to.

Easy, but frightfully boring. He wants someone who can think, and react, and, well, someone he can trust.

--

"Oh," says one woman, eyes wide, "you didn't mention," and she cuts herself off quickly enough, but it doesn't take telepathy to see that she's reconsidering her opinion of Charles and of the students. Children with special needs, he'd phrased it, deliberately ambiguous; two-thirds of the people he meets with think see his wheelchair and think they understand. This woman is one of them.

Charles smiles politely and wraps up the interview.

--

One candidate seems promising, and conducts himself professionally enough, except there are undertones of smug, self-congratulatory pity. Look at how awesome I am for helping the poor little cripples. Charles isn't sure how much of that is what he's picking up telepathically, and how much is just intuition, but it makes his skin crawl.

After that's over, he has a nice stiff drink, and allows himself a moment of wishing he could have Erik back, or Raven.

--

He finally finds who he's looking for: someone who is intelligent without being arrogant, who notices the wheelchair (and doesn't pretend not to) but files it away as just another fact about Charles, along with hair color and eye color and skin color and accent, part of who he is without being all of who he is.

When it turns out she's a mutant too, that's an added bonus, but he's already decided to offer her the job.

[jadelennox]

The Queen's Thief, Eugenides and his kids, cat's cradle