Imagine Loki experiencing something that sets off the traumatic memories of Thanos (his PTSD). He tries to leave to his room, ignoring any comments (supportive or disparaging) thrown his way. Only you follow him, making it to his room as he’s finally breaking down. You comfort him.
all i will say for today is that people who make a big deal out of how “nice” they are are never, in fact, nice and the sooner you figure that out the more at peace you will be!
What able bodied authors think I, an amputee and a wheelchair user, would want in a scifi setting:
Tech that can regenerate my old meat legs.
Robot legs that work just like meat legs and are functionally just meat legs but robot
Literally anything that would mean I don’t have to use a wheelchair.
If I do need to use a wheelchair, make it fly or able to “walk me” upstairs
What I actually want:
Prosthetic covers that can change colour because I’m too indecisive to pick one colour/pattern for the next 5+ years.
A leg that I can turn off (seriously, my above knee prosthetic has no off switch… just… why?)
A leg that won’t have to get refitted every time I gain or loose weight.
A wheelchair that I can teleport to me and legs I can teleport away when I’m too tierd to keep walking. And vice versa.
In that same vein, legs I can teleport on instead of having to fiddle around with the sockets for half an hour.
Prosthetic feet that don’t require me to wear shoes. F*ck shoes.
Actually accessible architecture, which means when I do want to use my wheelchair, it’s not an issue.
Prosthetic legs with dragon-claw feet instead of boring human feet or just digigrade prosthetics that are just as functional as normal human-shaped ones.
A manual wheelchair with the option to lift my seat up like those scissor-lift things so I’m not eye-level with everyone’s butt on public transport/so I can reach the top shelf by myself.
A prosthetic foot that lights up when it hits the ground like those children’s shoes.
Ambulatory wheelchair user + chronic pain additions:
Temperature controlled seat
Android that brings my chair to me and is such a bro
Hovers smoothly over bumpy road and stairs and makes a woooowooooowoooo sound when it does
Chair wheels that light up when spun and charge my chair so it can be driven via joystick after a while of manual use
Alerts on my phone if the chair is being moved without my knowledge
Integrated GPS and the ability to dial emergency numbers
And autopilot to take me home if I get tipsy <3
A few more things to possibly tack on! (Ambulatory aid user here, I use a wheelchair, canes, crutches)
For wheelchairs:
An auto-balancer for doing wheelies when I go up/down a big bump. (hypothetically you could even go down stairs if you had enough balance like that, but ay yikes I would be Nervous, haha)
BETTER POWER ASSISTS OH MY LORD. the current ones I know of are super heavy and have a bunch of tech issues
A seat you can adjust yourself without having to get out of the chair, for if you’re doing something more active versus just chilling/relaxing (the best body positioning for really active movement vs just sitting is different, at least in my experience)
Literally, some sort of alarm system that discourages people from trying to push me without asking, or like… push handles that only manifest when I want them to.
Variable shock absorption - if I could make it super shock-absorby over rough terrain, but then “harden” it somehow on smoother terrain, that would be really efficient!
How about wheel gearing? Like on a bicycle. Add in a push-motion-reverser thingy (look up Rowheels to see what I’m talking about) and I’d love that.
For crutches/canes:
SHOCK ABSORPTION. Crutches and canes are hard!!
On that note, multi-terrain tips!!
A magnetic crutch cuff that can detach from the crutch if needed so I can reach across a counter and not accidentally kneecap someone with the stick.
Better collapsibility.
Have fun with the scifi aspect. Have your character tinker and add a load of gadgetry into their aids (and that goes for wheelchairs and crutches/canes). I don’t know. Stick a grappling hook function into it. Have them be usable as defense weaponry. Have a cloaking device built into the crutches/canes themselves for stealth. I dunno. Use your imagination!!
And finally, if you’ve got a cool idea, feel free to run it by someone who actually uses whatever aid you’re writing about to get an opinion! (With permission, please, don’t just barge into a random person’s inbox. I myself am totally open to questions like that, and I know @cripplecharacters is a good resource!)
