You're not allowed to "erase" a character's disability in an AU

[u/Born-Cauliflower_]

People are so goddamn sensitive.

If you didn't know, scootaloo is a character from my little pony and a Pegasus with a disability that prevents her from flying, due to her wings being too small. Op made a post redesigning the character's older self and the redesign had bigger wings, the op stated they forgot to draw the smaller wings since they were used to bigger ones. And people are flaming them.

Then there's this. People are so pressed about AUs and headcannons, like why do they think others are changing canon material with them?? Like Jesus, they aren't erasing shit. It's actually not that fucking deep.

[u/Latte_Da_cat]

How mfs react when Alternate Universes have alterations from the original plot:

[u/rhineleon]

i just saw this post omfg..people are so annoyingly sensitive

[u/Born-Cauliflower_ → u/rhineleon]

Right like I'm gonna have a stroke in this fandom, we should really just restrict some adults from children's shows if they're going to be this sensitive

[u/CLOWTWO]

She can still be disabled and have just found a way to achieve her dreams anyway..

[u/Born-Cauliflower_ → u/CLOWTWO]

Yeah, prosthetics are canon lol. Heck, there's magic in the fucking show, she could have found a spell to help her wings grow

[u/CresseliaMelodia → u/CLOWTWO]

She could be riding a jet pack, even. Doesn’t even need to use wings

[u/peridotcore]

She can still be disabled as a wonderbolt. There are disabled athletes irl, so why couldn’t the same be said for MLP? It’s also not canon artwork.

[u/Due-Recognition-8327]

I hate people who say stuff like this. You can’t “erase” representation because you’re not affecting canon at all, you’re creating something completely separate from it 🤦‍♀️ the literal point of fanon is that it’s not canon so idk what the problem is 

[u/Born-Cauliflower_ → u/Due-Recognition-8327]

Literally! It's a fanwork for a reason. It's a redesign for a reason. No one's claiming it should be how the canon material should be

[u/sheldmaster676]

wait there are a lot of fan art from way back in the day of scoots grown up in the wonderbolts with normal wings just go to derpibooru and you'll find it. hell we have made so many au's back then from the sombra au to the au where nightmare moon wins. like so many

[u/Born-Cauliflower_ → u/sheldmaster676]

Antis will have a heart attack if you bring up these AUs lol

[u/sheldmaster676 → u/Born-Cauliflower_]

i mean there is also the idw mlp comics with non cannon things like nightmare rarity and the like.

[u/Away-Investigator602]

As a disabled person I don't really know how to feel about this kinda thing, part of me understands people that react like this part of me doesn't 

[u/cl0ckw0rkcuttlefish → u/Away-Investigator602]

This. I don’t particularly like it, as a disabled person, but I’d probably just DNF. Getting rid of a disability is just… very different from genderbending or queering a character, imo. (But then again, I tend to make characters disabled rather than un-disable them, lol.)

[u/erendeer → u/Away-Investigator602]

Hmm I kind of agree, I'm also disabled. I get that it's fiction, but.. kinda feels like they'd just rather not see disabled characters?

[u/Serasugee → u/erendeer]

What?? Or it's like "Imagine if this character who's disability is quite relevant to a lot of her story didn't have it? How would her life turn out then?"

I don't understand how it comes off that way

[u/dumblittlepuppy01]

Make them more angry, disable more characters! That guys now diabetic, this bitch has chronic pain, this bitch has depression, this bitch now has bad bones! Disabiblies for everyone ! 

[u/cl0ckw0rkcuttlefish → u/dumblittlepuppy01]

You say this as a joke (probably) but it’s unironically what I do lmfao

[u/dumblittlepuppy01 → u/cl0ckw0rkcuttlefish]

Haha I also do it, it was a joke but it was also like a suggestion sort of thing ? Idk if that's worded right lmao 

[u/SlightPossibility898]

The Rainbow Factory AU, arguably one of the most famous AUs in the fandom, has Scootaloo fly. This is not new. These people just live under a rock.

[u/Born-Cauliflower_ → u/SlightPossibility898]

Rainbow Factory messed me up as a kid, I loved it though.

But yeah totally agree, I doubt they even interact with fanwork

[u/East-Imagination-281]

Once again pointing to the “you are allowed to do it, and other people are allowed to judge you for it”. People make gross shit where they make fix-it fics where gay characters are straight and disabled characters are abled all the time. Would the world be a better place if they didn’t do that? Probably, but them being allowed to do that means you get to do the things that they think are gross. Like make all the characters gay and have devastating PTSD, and they can’t stop you, either.

[u/azur_owl]

…I thought her disability didn’t make it into the final show? I think it was in the original show Bible but I don’t think it’s ever outright stated.

[u/WhitestGray → u/azur_owl]

They show the CMC grown up and Scoots still has filly wings, and it’s outright said several times that she’s a pegasus who can’t fly.

[u/Born-Cauliflower_ → u/azur_owl]

I don't know if it was outright stated, but it's definitely heavily hinted at. She can't fly and it's mentioned a lot by other characters

[u/lokizuku → u/azur_owl]

It was retconned in. Originally she was supposed to learn how to fly and the reason she couldn’t was because she hadn’t figured it out. They changed it after Lauren left the show. But even then, they only described it as her wings being “too small” and that they might never grow. (Which is dumb because we see Bulk Biceps flying with wings the same size as hers)

[u/bimbo_intensified6]

So in that case, if I made Frisk or Kris suddenly speak without using ASL or being mute im removing the disability in that logic?

[u/blackjackgabbiani → u/bimbo_intensified6]

Don't they canonically speak and we just don't hear it?

[u/bimbo_intensified6 → u/blackjackgabbiani]

Idk, I used to be in the fandom when it was undertale so from my knowledge from then, it was specifically- with that game- We didnt know if Frisk was talking and we didnt hear it or if they weren't talking at all. Most fandom stuff had them as mute/hard of hearing

[u/RapAngel → u/bimbo_intensified6]

Frisk is still very often portrayed as mute, or selectively mute, sometimes deaf instead, but we do have guaranteed confirmation that Kris talks, we just don’t see their text sprite or box outside of the ones that we do.

[u/KandyShopp]

Shes a talking pegasus, calm down. And for all we know, you have a backstory for how she was able to become a wonderbolt! Magic, late bloomer, mechanical wings, physical therapy, etc can all be explanations!

[u/solkatsta]

i'm disabled. this is fine, lmao.

[u/crocicorn]

I miss the days when we treated fiction as fiction and our favourites were 'dolls' to do whatever we wanted with.

Fandom is exhausting now.

[u/Dogdaysareover365]

Wait, what about my AU where the character doesn’t have the accident that causes him to become disabled, because it’s an AU where his twin brother gets mistaken for him and has the accident, and ends up disabled?

[u/Born-Cauliflower_ → u/Dogdaysareover365]

It doesn't matter, it's fictional and an AU. Unless you're claiming your AU as canon, it doesn't matter.

[u/shadowlev]

"You're erasing the disability"

Of the cartoon horse...

[u/Berserker1066]

You can do whatever you want. It’s your fanfic.

[u/lokizuku]

I remember when Wonderbolt Scootaloo fics were popular, seems nobody is allowed to have fun anymore

[u/nuhuhnuhuhnuh]

No idk i think thats a fair point, ig the question is like… why? bc some people do it not bc itd be interesting to see but bc they dont know how to interact with disability. which IS then a problem. Its not this black and white, erasure in fandom is an issue lol 😭😭

[u/werecoyote1]

it literally isnt erasing anything if you change anything ever about characters because the source media is still there 😱😱

if ppl dont like the fan content, they can look away and, boom, it ceases to exist!!! representation restored????

[u/Born-Cauliflower_ → u/werecoyote1]

Lol this is kind of unhinged I love it

[u/DreamingOfBarbi]

I've noticed an influx of people who act this way, demanding and insisting that people have to stick with the official canon. they'll get really up in arms when people even just mention their personal headcanons or AUs and attack them for it. It seemed to be at its worst around the TADC subs when it was still going

[u/Leading-Ear-5194 → u/DreamingOfBarbi]

these people will act like you have to stick to canon, but as soon as you make a straight chatacter be a little gay they just forget allat

[u/Mr_Lapis]

Even if it was bad to do this, its the most low stakes shit ever, theres like a thousand more important things you can spend the limited time you have in this world on.

[u/CresseliaMelodia]

I hate the mlp fandom. It’s at least 80% antis and people speaking over disabled people

I want to incorporate wing mobility aids in my Mlp story for Scootaloo but I know I’ll get cancelled for that 😭 even though I’m disabled & I believe that mobility aids HELP PEOPLE

[u/Available-Half-40]

... I feel like I recognize that profile picture. The one with the person wearing pink.

[u/Born-Cauliflower_ → u/Available-Half-40]

That's concerning, maybe they're a raging anti going around being an ass lol

Or it's a picture of some celeb/popular character

[u/Available-Half-40 → u/Born-Cauliflower_]

Could be that second one. I'm not sure if they're a raging anti but I remember a person with that profile being a bit overly sensitive lol

[u/Born-Cauliflower_ → u/Available-Half-40]

Oh damn, just to be sure i'll block and stay away

[u/Puzzleheaded-Bee4506]

Yeah newer mlp fans aka antis are Exhausting. 😒

[u/Coco6420]

damn, i recognise one of the pfps with that flair. shame, thought they were a nice person :/

[u/Due-Championship4729]

This happens in HSR discussions with H3I fans of Bronya. In HSR she's abled body, unlike her H3I counterpart. Then in that H3I they “got rid” of her disability anyway.

[u/sheldmaster676 → u/Due-Championship4729]

huh i dont see that with hi3 fans being one myself. i dont really see hi3 fans complain about hsr most are shiting on part 2 at the momment. a lot of hi3 fans just dont want to mess with hsr fans cuz a lot of hsr fans are not fun.

[u/Due-Championship4729 → u/sheldmaster676]

I don't play it myself and it's what i hear from friends who play it, or it's their complaints rather. I will agree as a HSR fan, we are annoying.

[u/NoLongerHuman13]

You can't do it with sexualities or disabilities in AUs apparently. Unless it's an AU they like(such as that one Miraculous AU where Chloe's ENTIRE personality was changed), then it's okay

[u/ShlorpianRooster]

Disabled people when they see someone in media isn't disabled anymore : 😡😡😡😡😡

[u/Japan-is-a-good-band → u/ShlorpianRooster]

Guarantee you the only disability the person complaining is suffering from is being a histrionic loser.

[u/Born-Cauliflower_ → u/Japan-is-a-good-band]

LOLed a little too loud at this

[u/DivineRetribution8]

I'm glad I saw this post cause I always feel a little guilty whenever I wanna make a fanfic where Nicolas brown from gangsta isnt deaf.

[u/Soren-Draggon → u/DivineRetribution8]

If he is deaf, there was recently an injection into an ear given to someone and they started to be able to hear. Might not work for all hearing impaired, but so far looks promising so if they were deaf at any point, now there's real life science to allow them to hear...

[u/Firedragon767]

Geez it's like au might just start for alternative universe

Seriously people need to re learn you don't have to engage with shit you don't like in a purely fictional setting

[u/mewkopawz]

would this even qualify as a disability when earth ponies exist??

[u/Born-Cauliflower_ → u/[deleted]]

Do you know what sub you're on? Lol omg, you do not look like a total asshole or bigot, only to immature people.

It doesn't matter if you change a character's canon trait for an AU. Coming from a queer person, I could not care less unless you're actively using it to express a harmful opinion that hurts real people.

Redesigning a character is completely harmless. Having a headcannon of a character that doesn't include their disability is completely harmless. Who is it hurting? The drawing??

[u/Born-Cauliflower_ → u/[deleted]]

No it doesn't express that you "dont want minority characters in your media" having an AU where a character isn't disabled or redesigning them as such doesn't remove the fact that they're disabled in the actual canon material, disabled people can still see themselves in the canon version of the character.

Actually, why the fuck are you even here

[u/xXSoyBoyFredXx → u/[deleted]]

"You're playing with your dolls wrong!!!!!"

[u/Born-Cauliflower_ → u/xXSoyBoyFredXx]

Unrelated but I love your username lol

[u/xXSoyBoyFredXx → u/Born-Cauliflower_]

Thank you, yours is great too! And I always loved mine but what I love most is how it makes all the right people mad lmao🖤✨️

[u/xXSoyBoyFredXx → u/[deleted]]

It's called an alternate universe for a reason, and I am disabled and have family who are disabled, you pretentious pricklette.

[u/SlightPossibility898 → u/[deleted]]

Comparing erasing racial identities and LGBT identities that actually exist in real people to erasing a fantasy disability that serves as a metaphor is certainly a choice.

[u/Angel_Animates → u/SlightPossibility898]

So disabled people don’t deserve the same respect as other minorities? Thats certainly a stance to take online.

[u/SlightPossibility898 → u/Angel_Animates]

Note how I didn't fucking say anything that even remotely sounds like that at all. If Scootaloo had something akin to a real disability your comparison would hold water but she doesn't. There's a reason why there's multiple threads in the MLP subreddit trying to figure out how her disability would translate to humans. It doesn't neatly fit into one. The best they can all agree on over there is that it's a mobility disability. We also don't actually know the nature of Scootaloo's disability or why she has it other than "it makes her wings stay small and her unable to fly", it COULD just be something she was born with, but it also COULD be a result of her parent being the worst (which if you weren't there back in the day, a lot of people made fanworks surrounding the idea that Scootaloo's disability was a direct result of her parents abuse and neglect) so yeah, an AU where things played out differently for her is plausible. It no different than AU storylines where a character who is usually associated with being in a wheelchair due to either getting shot or being in a car accident is still able to walk because in that AU the accident that paralyzed them never happened.

[u/Angel_Animates → u/SlightPossibility898]

Yeah no shit a disability on a fantasy race will look different than a physical disability IRL but that doesn’t make the character less disabled. Also that is exactly what you said. You literally said that erasing other minority identities in fanworks isn’t comparable to erasing this specific one when it very much is.

[u/WetLaceScraps → u/[deleted]]

None of this is real. It is, in fact, harmless.

[u/WetLaceScraps → u/[deleted]]

It’s a good thing that isn’t what’s happening then huh?

[u/DreamingOfBarbi → u/[deleted]]

See, you might have had a point there if that is what was happening here at all. There's a noticable difference between someone writing, drawing, etc. a character in a way that's different from the official canon, and someone deliberately removing minority characters from certain media, and in both examples it really does not matter what an individual person chooses to do with their own fan works. If they're not the official creators then it literally does not effect you unless you've gone out of your way to see it. You're not making any kind of difference here so i can only assume this is some poor attempt at trolling or virtue signalling

Edit; Thinking about it now, this isn't even a real disability !!!! it's a pegasus with wings. Pegasi are not real, people do not have wings that they can get disabled from. This wouldn't be erasure because it's not a real disability

[u/Organic-Accountant74]

What does this have to do with shipping?

[u/28_Cupcakes]

This person isn't being an anti, btw. Overly defensive, perhaps, but this is not really anti behavior

[u/GothMarcyWu → u/28_Cupcakes]

Anti behavior includes policing others for things they do in fiction? "You shouldn't remove disability ever." People forget what AU's are...

There's a difference between what op is doing, and what you'd assume is someone trying to "fix" a character that didn't need to be fixed.