disability in fanfic

[were_duck]

Linked from metafandom:

katta writes a great post giving some clues on how not to write deaf characters in fanfic. Some great discussion in comments as well.

Also, katta kindly links to the Disability Fanfic site and the Disability in Fanfiction site, which allows canon disabilities but isn't updated as frequently as the other site. I am about to devote my morning to browsing these.

Thinking back on the disability-related fics I've read, some have had pretty good representations and some not-so-good, but I can't think of any fic in which a character is part of a disability community or is political about it (frex, an AU in which a character is part of the Deaf community, rather than woefully deafened for hurt/comfort purposes in the fic).

Anyone have recs to share for fic in any fandom that features a character with a disability who's written well?

I really enjoyed the Fair Trade series by esteefee, an SGA John/Rodney AU in which John, a war vet with mobility problems after an injury sustained in the war, opens up a fair trade coffeeshop. He meets and slowly falls for Rodney, a brilliant physicist who's hit to bottom rung--designing educational exhibits for schoolchildren. It's a lovely, warm, slow build story, and esteefee does an incredible job with John's chronic pain, portraying him in a way that seems totally realistic and true to the character while still demonstrating the fullness of his character and his life. Really lovely stories. Also, bonus Teyla and Ronon as John's therapist primary care physician and surgeon, respectively! I was worried at first that they'd show up as baristas in his cafe. I also highly recommend wihluta's podfic of the stories--you can download them individually or as a podbook from the audiofic archive!

Comments

[jadelennox]

I've written a fair amount of disability in fic, but the only one that mentions the disability community is CELEBRATE. HOPE GOD WILLING DO FOR US ALSO. (Which ironically does exactly the think Katta warns against, but only in the title.) No characters in the story have disabilities, but the story's about a character with AB privelege reacting to an event in which the particpants were primarily Deaf, and she felt excluded.

[were_duck]

Ooo, thanks for the link!

[rydra_wong]

Anyone have recs to share for fic in any fandom that features a character with a disability who's written well?

Specifically a character who's shown as part of a disability community?

[were_duck]

Sure, if you have any recs that meet that condition, or any recs in general that have what you consider to be a good representation of disability. I made it a fairly open-ended question on purpose because I didn't want to inhibit people from reccing things they like that maybe didn't meet that particular condition.

[rydra_wong]

Thanks for the clarification -- I wasn't sure if recs that didn't meet the specific condition were invited too :).

If so, is it terribly predictable to rec synecdochic's Broken Wings series? (SG-1 AU, Cameron/clone!Jack, in which Cam didn't recover miraculously from his Antarctica crash and is dealing with mobility impairment and chronic pain)? IMHO, it does a marvellous job of depicting disability as part of everyday life without being the sort of "disabilityfic" where it's the entire point of the story.

[were_duck]

Ooo, awesome. I've actually never read that series (I haven't seen enough of later seasons of SG-1 to seek out fic for it). Thanks for the rec. I've certainly loved her other writing (of course).

[rydra_wong]

I haven't seen enough of later seasons of SG-1 to seek out fic for it

IMHO, it actually requires minimal knowledge of SG-1 past the start of season 7 -- as long as you know about clone!Jack and have a vague idea of who Cam is, you're probably fine to dive in.

[cesy]

Mezzanine is also good, and has more disability stuff.

[sasha_feather]

Great post!

Synthesis by thingswithwings, explicit Sheppard/McKay, SGA fandom. This story is about humans turning into cyborgs, first due to injuries, then gradually due to choice, and how that affects their lives in various ways. It is very much about embodiment, and there is the sense of shared experience that unites people who have the protheses.

[sasha_feather]

A Deeper Season by Light Gets In

This is a novel-length fanfic set in the Vorkosigan universe, based on the novels of Lois McMaster Bujold. It takes place after the events in Memory. It's non-explicit Miles/Gregor slash and adventure (there is off-screen sex). It is very much in the style of the novels and extremely well-written. Miles is a character with physical disabilities including short stature, and by the time this fanfic takes place, a seizure disorder. His disabilites are not the primary focus of the story but feature at various times and are an important facet of his character. Highly recommended.

[pseudo_tsuga]

There's a fic by minisinoo that deals with Cedric that wasn't killed by the curse, but received nerve damage. It's called Finding Himself.

[were_duck]

Oh, interesting! Thank you.

[m_nivalis]

Just to let people know, minisinoo's webpage is deleted, and Finding himself can now be found here for download: http://amalthia.mediawood.net/ebooks/viewuser.php?uid=274

[m_nivalis]

It's also up on Fanfiction.net.

[sarkka]

Chaosmanor has written a Viggorli story with Orlando as a paraplegic and a new character Mandy who's deaf. (you got to have her friended but she's very open with friending)

http://chaosmanor.dreamwidth.org/82531.html?#cutid1

I think the series is wonderfully written AND has het on it too ;)

[sasha_feather]

Robots Need Love Too by toft, Gen, MythBusters RPF AU. This story has great neurodiversity content and is also very funny and warm. Highly recommended.

[esteefee]

Hey, a belated thanks for this lovely, lovely rec. I'm really touched.

Tiny correction: Dr. Teyla Emmagan is John's primary care physician. (Teyla refers John to Dr. Dex for his corrective surgery.)

And thanks to you and everyone else for all these excellent links!

[were_duck]

Oh, thank you for the correction! I am sorry I messed that up--it's been like a year since I listened to that story.

And thanks for dropping by!

[the_jack]

"Also, bonus Teyla and Ronon as John's therapist primary care physician and surgeon, respectively! I was worried at first that they'd show up as baristas in his cafe."

Ahahahahaaaaarrrrgh. Yeah, Pretty much, only I was afraid they were going to show up as something like chauffeur and maid. Yay for stories that avoid racefail!