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gs_silvaIt snowed here last night; not the 5-7 inches (13-18 cm) the forecast promised, but enough to trap us in the house due to my mother's snow anxiety. She's never lived anywhere with mild winters, but for all that she remembers any winter coping skills, she may as well be a lifelong Floridian. I'm eager to leave the house, but the guys took the escape rights for the entire day. They're off playing D&D, and are hoping to find a Magic game afterwards, so that'll keep them busy well into the evening.
I'm experiencing fatigue, and my ability to transition from family obligations to art is reduced. Anyway, with my mother around, my life is constant family obligation. She's right here next to me, narrating her crossword puzzle. I keep telling her I don't want to help her solve her crossword puzzle, but every now and then she reads a clue to which I know the answer, so I tell her. But the whole endeavor keeps me grumpy.
I'm still trying to make myself draw, in spite of being stranded in Distractionville with no roads out of town. I scribbled this from a prompt, "the frozen pond":
Character notes: I've had a running gag for years where Jon is teaching Cathy how to rollerblade. It originated from a prompt, and every now and then I see another prompt that helps me build upon the concept. Jon has a more general theme of teaching his friends how to play various sports even when he can't engage in them anymore himself. I amuse myself drawing him in various settings, sitting in his wheelchair and bossing a hapless friend around as if he's an expert in everything.
Somebody in that writer's group got very upset with my portrayal of Jon instructing Cathy on her rollerblades. That woman was an occasional wheelchair user herself, with cerebral palsy, and she was openly obsessed with overcoming her disability (or at least appearing to). Wheelchair use in public was humiliating, a sign of defeat. That attitude is problematic, but it's actually extremely common, and fed by biases in fiction in media over the course of all our lifetimes.
Of course I don't want to feed it any further, so I characterize Jon as having a healthier, more rounded view of his disability. But I also realize that by doing so, I gloss over some of the process of grief and healing. In the graphic novel, I cover it more. He's only 6 months into his disability when he's introduced. Right now, in the timeline of the daily comic, he's 2 years into it. That's still not much time, but by now we've gotten to see Jon's healing process in action, if you read from the beginning.
But I think I can justify Jon's attitude. He's used to being a Man's Man, the kind of person who gets to define masculinity for everyone else. Before the crash, he's on top of the world. He's an athlete, a white man of social and financial privilege, he's intelligent and academically gifted, he drinks, he parties, he's an authority figure in his social circle.
When we meet him, most of that life has slipped away from him. But not all of it! His sister, Ella, is by his side, and her friends gush all over him. His old friends and teammates are scarce, but they come around and visit him after a while. In the meantime, he's alone with his thoughts, and he's about to plunge into the bottomless pool of self-pity that's fed by the waters of disability-related shame such as that one writer's group member demonstrated. That's when Maurice shows up, and Jon is suddenly spending his days with this little tough guy - not a 'tough guy' like he has something to prove, but tough as in, when Maurice sees something that needs doing, he rolls up his sleeves and slaps on a thick skin and does it.
And it triggers Jon's need to be a Man's Man. He can't stand to let this featherweight show him up. A man as small as Maurice is supposed to be pathetic, and at first Jon gets the urge to poke at Maurice's defenses to see where to hurt him. But he can't seem to find any weak spots. Maurice stoically puts up with all of Jon's shit.
Jon doesn't realize that the reason Maurice is so stoic is that Maurice sees something to benefit from their arrangement. Getting a job as a home health aide to a man who's essentially his peer, but more privileged and successful than he is, is still a job to Maurice. And he was raised to value employment. He tackles this job the same way he stocked shelves or butchered venison at his family's store.
To examine Maurice's origins, we'll have to acquaint ourselves with his parents! In some ways, they're typical immigrants, but I've developed them in addition to that. But weren't we talking about how Cathy learned to ice skate? She surely did some ice skating as a child, but was out of practice when she bought the rollerblades. Anyway, it's been fun drawing Cathy falling all over herself, less and less as the story arc progressed. Now I can enjoy her being graceful and confident on skates!
I have other things to do today, but I feel like procrastinating.
I'm experiencing fatigue, and my ability to transition from family obligations to art is reduced. Anyway, with my mother around, my life is constant family obligation. She's right here next to me, narrating her crossword puzzle. I keep telling her I don't want to help her solve her crossword puzzle, but every now and then she reads a clue to which I know the answer, so I tell her. But the whole endeavor keeps me grumpy.
I'm still trying to make myself draw, in spite of being stranded in Distractionville with no roads out of town. I scribbled this from a prompt, "the frozen pond":
Character notes: I've had a running gag for years where Jon is teaching Cathy how to rollerblade. It originated from a prompt, and every now and then I see another prompt that helps me build upon the concept. Jon has a more general theme of teaching his friends how to play various sports even when he can't engage in them anymore himself. I amuse myself drawing him in various settings, sitting in his wheelchair and bossing a hapless friend around as if he's an expert in everything.
Somebody in that writer's group got very upset with my portrayal of Jon instructing Cathy on her rollerblades. That woman was an occasional wheelchair user herself, with cerebral palsy, and she was openly obsessed with overcoming her disability (or at least appearing to). Wheelchair use in public was humiliating, a sign of defeat. That attitude is problematic, but it's actually extremely common, and fed by biases in fiction in media over the course of all our lifetimes.
Of course I don't want to feed it any further, so I characterize Jon as having a healthier, more rounded view of his disability. But I also realize that by doing so, I gloss over some of the process of grief and healing. In the graphic novel, I cover it more. He's only 6 months into his disability when he's introduced. Right now, in the timeline of the daily comic, he's 2 years into it. That's still not much time, but by now we've gotten to see Jon's healing process in action, if you read from the beginning.
But I think I can justify Jon's attitude. He's used to being a Man's Man, the kind of person who gets to define masculinity for everyone else. Before the crash, he's on top of the world. He's an athlete, a white man of social and financial privilege, he's intelligent and academically gifted, he drinks, he parties, he's an authority figure in his social circle.
When we meet him, most of that life has slipped away from him. But not all of it! His sister, Ella, is by his side, and her friends gush all over him. His old friends and teammates are scarce, but they come around and visit him after a while. In the meantime, he's alone with his thoughts, and he's about to plunge into the bottomless pool of self-pity that's fed by the waters of disability-related shame such as that one writer's group member demonstrated. That's when Maurice shows up, and Jon is suddenly spending his days with this little tough guy - not a 'tough guy' like he has something to prove, but tough as in, when Maurice sees something that needs doing, he rolls up his sleeves and slaps on a thick skin and does it.
And it triggers Jon's need to be a Man's Man. He can't stand to let this featherweight show him up. A man as small as Maurice is supposed to be pathetic, and at first Jon gets the urge to poke at Maurice's defenses to see where to hurt him. But he can't seem to find any weak spots. Maurice stoically puts up with all of Jon's shit.
Jon doesn't realize that the reason Maurice is so stoic is that Maurice sees something to benefit from their arrangement. Getting a job as a home health aide to a man who's essentially his peer, but more privileged and successful than he is, is still a job to Maurice. And he was raised to value employment. He tackles this job the same way he stocked shelves or butchered venison at his family's store.
To examine Maurice's origins, we'll have to acquaint ourselves with his parents! In some ways, they're typical immigrants, but I've developed them in addition to that. But weren't we talking about how Cathy learned to ice skate? She surely did some ice skating as a child, but was out of practice when she bought the rollerblades. Anyway, it's been fun drawing Cathy falling all over herself, less and less as the story arc progressed. Now I can enjoy her being graceful and confident on skates!
I have other things to do today, but I feel like procrastinating.
Thoughts
Date: 2025-12-27 07:26 pm (UTC)That sucks. :(
Being a caregiver is hell on body and mind alike. Some areas have a support group or respite care, but most don't. It's worth looking around.
>> I scribbled this from a prompt, "the frozen pond": <<
That is adorable.
Historically, people used to have skate chairs and frames so everyone could play. I haven't seen that type of skate chair revive, but since the last time I ran the search, suddenly the frames are everywhere, now used to teach children how to skate instead of supporting folks who would normally use a cane or crutches. This version looks fairly similar to historic ones made of wood, but in lighter PVC. Makes me wonder if anyone would think of these for Jon -- it only takes seeing an old picture to raise the idea.
>> Jon has a more general theme of teaching his friends how to play various sports even when he can't engage in them anymore himself. <<
*laugh* There's a whole thing in the sports world that teaches people basically "playing sports is temporary, but a sports career can be lifelong if you plan ahead where to switch when your body starts wearing out." It's hammered in to the point that people can get kind of obsessive about those other options -- teaching, choreography, sports writing or announcing, etc. I'm pretty sure this dates back to the 1990s, but I don't know if it goes farther back in various sports.
>> Somebody in that writer's group got very upset with my portrayal of Jon instructing Cathy on her rollerblades. That woman was an occasional wheelchair user herself, with cerebral palsy, and she was openly obsessed with overcoming her disability <<
Yyyyyeah. That happens. There is no pleasing everyone in the disabled community because they don't all agree with each other. I think your portrayal of Jon is reasonable given his sporting background.
>>But I also realize that by doing so, I gloss over some of the process of grief and healing. In the graphic novel, I cover it more. He's only 6 months into his disability when he's introduced.<<
Timing makes a huge difference. That first year is miserable for many people as they try to figure out how to have a life again. Some adapt faster or slower, but a year is about average. I've written characters with lifelong, old, and new disabilities and it really colors how they respond to things.
Personality and opportunities matter too, though. A character who hunts down a course in wheelchair handling or blindskills can pack in a ton of development ahead of those who haven't.
>>That's when Maurice shows up, and Jon is suddenly spending his days with this little tough guy - not a 'tough guy' like he has something to prove, but tough as in, when Maurice sees something that needs doing, he rolls up his sleeves and slaps on a thick skin and does it.<<
That is so awesome.
>> And it triggers Jon's need to be a Man's Man. He can't stand to let this featherweight show him up. A man as small as Maurice is supposed to be pathetic <<
Most small guys are tough because they need it to survive. As I've explained it, "When you're my size, you can choose to be afraid of everything, or choose to be afraid of nothing. Guess which I picked." They tend to split between tiny badasses, or nerds who survive by staying out of reach in libraries. But it's interesting that Maurice wasn't put off by Jon -- most small guys would have experience being picked on by jocks.
>>Getting a job as a home health aide to a man who's essentially his peer, but more privileged and successful than he is, is still a job to Maurice. <<
Now that makes sense. \o/
>>Anyway, it's been fun drawing Cathy falling all over herself, less and less as the story arc progressed. <<
And good art practice drawing someone in ungainly, uncommon poses.
Gosh, a photographer could do well shooting sets of pictures like that for artists to use as inspiration.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2025-12-27 11:31 pm (UTC)I found three. The 'good' one hasn't started meeting yet. The other two are at inconvenient times - evenings or Fridays. I can't do them. I'm also afraid I won't 'vibe' well. I'm bad at commiserating with people who are living the same set of problems that I am. I'd rather commiserate with people who have different problems. I'm sure that makes sense on some level.
>>Makes me wonder if anyone would think of these for Jon -- it only takes seeing an old picture to raise the idea.<<
Maybe! It could happen offscreen, if he's interested. He's still a little shy at this point, and stays away from tightly crowded activities, although that'll change over time. With the rollerblading scenes, Jon is quite content to use his speedy wheelchair (which might be the impetus for Cathy even getting rollerblades - it's a way for them to hang out and both be on wheels so they can operate at the same speed.)
>>But it's interesting that Maurice wasn't put off by Jon -- most small guys would have experience being picked on by jocks.<<
I'll do a whole post on "How Maurice got through an entire childhood without becoming a bullied kid" sometime. He was certainly bullied, but it was more complicated than that. I did everyone's backstory with a generous helping of "Or Maybe..." which is my term for a chaotic method of character development. You take a tired old trope with a very clear "If A, then B" structure, and you say, "Or maybe..." and find alternative endpoints. Keep doing it over and over on a character and it gets interesting quickly!
But a few key elements:
The fact that Maurice grew up in a tiny farming community where brawn is highly valued seems like it would be a singular challenge. But hard work is also valued, so he uses that to his advantage.
His friends help: Sara and Debbie, the local horse girls and 4H princesses, draw him into their clique, and they have a lot of clout. And Ren, a very big kid with anxiety issues - they have a power balance in their friendship that usually has Maurice on top! But Ren's sheer size is useful.
(Ren is currently M&C's roommate, but Sara and Debbie, alas, mostly appear in flashbacks.)
He's quick-witted and kind of a mouthy brat, once he feels comfortable. He makes his friends work hard to keep up with him intellectually. That's easy enough for me to write because it's not me who has to be spontaneous! I have time to think.
>>Gosh, a photographer could do well shooting sets of pictures like that for artists to use as inspiration.>>
There are posers online, and pose collections, and somewhere I have an old CD-ROM set with thousands of poses. Mostly action poses, for action comics, but it's strategic to add a variety of regular life poses to one's collection so it'll sell better than the competitors. I found one that featured one character in a wheelchair a few years ago, but it didn't end up being that useful to me. I used it for some practice sketches, but for the most part, the art that appears in the actual comics are too specific and it takes me too long to peruse the stock photos to find the one I need.