SJS Students with Disabilities

Dr1v35haft · Post by **Dr1v35haft** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 12:12 pm

I"m thinking maybe there should be a peer support group for students at SJS with amputations and major prosthetics. Or students who've suffered or are suffering some type of legitimate disability.

I can think of about four off the top of my head: Violin, Driveshaft, Aeon, and James Scherr. Also High Tower if he's still around; dicey chance these days. Perhaps even the NPC, Sam Steinbrenner, the invisible mute psi-speech boy.

It might be a nice chance to get a diverse group of us to have a story together; we're all very different types of characters, it might be fun.

This group would be a little different from the Non-Human group--it would be more mandatory to join. Like, when students are emotionally rehabilitiated or otherwise 'tapped' as being socially ready for group interaction, they are put in the group. In other words, if the student in question still has serious antisocial problems, they won't be put into the group until they are 'ready' to interact with others in a reasonable manner. Some people may resent being in the group, some may feel embarassed, some may actually find what they need there.

I see the group as being possibly contentious, and being moderated by Dr. Conrads or other faculty member, possibly him/herself with a serious disability.

Again, it would be a way to start a subset of people thinking about each other as a smaller community with things in common. Not that we get clannish; more like we, as players, make a point of looking up each others' profiles in the group and assume we know a little bit about each other.

If your character ought to be in this group, please sign up here, listing your character's disability. I'll update as necessary.

Students With Disabilities

Billy McGuffin, aka Dr1v35haft: double-arm amputee.
Aeon Quisling: 65% cyborg with some serious insecurities
Violin: blind
Sam Steinbrenner (NPC): No vocal cords, invisible.

Misericorde · Post by **Misericorde** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 12:25 pm

This group would be a little different from the Non-Human group--it would be more mandatory to join.

I would alter the verbage on this. Having a mandatory "you're disabled" group not only forces an RP scenario on these players, but I can't imagine that an organization like SJS would force kids with prostheses and other percieved "disabilities" into a such a group. The goal of SJS is to mold the students into well-adjusted, moral, functioning members of society, not to degrade them and further isolate them. I imagine the decision to allow SJS students to even register for Hero Cards was a difficult one...minors with police powers can be a scary thing. Especially the ones with alcohol/drug/emotional problems.

Now, if it's more along the line of a physical therapy group, then the player could decide whether or not their character would get involved. A good idea, but the words "mandatory" and "group" don't grok in my mind.

Karakuriya · Post by **Karakuriya** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 2:16 pm

Ditto what Mis said. I'd be fine with a group therapy type thing but only if it was elective (or "strongly encouraged").

How would this be conducted, though? In-game? On the forums? Or would it just be a pool of ideas to pull from when wrestling with man/machine complexes or telekinetic phantom limbs?

Dr1v35haft · Post by **Dr1v35haft** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 2:31 pm

I'm thinking the group would be one of those 'understood RP' things. I'm trying to create connections here between players who seem like they have something big in common, who might not otherwise be thrown together socially.

All I'm really asking is that people who feel their toons fit the bill, who join, READ the profiles of the other toons in the group, and then, when opportunity arises, RP a little with each other, decide if your toons like or despise each other. t's a way to shake-and-bake some friendships or enmities. It's not meant to be starting a new clique. It's just a way to cast a large net and draw together a wide sample of players and characters.

I'm thinking that Billy seriously needs something like this. He's socially awkward and lives at home, not in the dorms. It'd be nice, if I were randomly on, for him to say "hello!" to Aeon or whoever he knows from 'group,' with the understanding that they've met and hung out a little. Nothing more turgid than that, although I suppose there could be group stories involved. I dunno.

Karakuriya · Post by **Karakuriya** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 3:10 pm

Sounds great to me. Consider Aeon volun-told by Valerie Atwood, being a 65% cyborg with some serious insecurities.

Violin · Post by **Violin** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 3:23 pm

I could also go for the "understood RP". It's mainly the ability to have two toon who have not actually met in game to be able to talk to each other or RP in game with a common ice-breaker, such as, "Oh, Hi Billy. Did you like the cookies from the meeting last night?"

Or something like that.

As you all know by now, Violin is blind. She doesn't have supersonic hearing or echolocation or anything like that. Just plain old blind.

She still occasionally uses a white cane but for the most part she is seen around the school with her seeing-eye dog, Bailey.

I welcome anyone to RP with Amy about meeting her in a support meeting. Odds are, she goes to it.