I’m bored. Silly would you rather #2

[Deleted]

bluefox
I know this is not pertaining to the OP but I feel that sometimes disabilities that can trigger the dev core are actually evolving for some devs. I have come to realize that some other things can trigger my dev buttons besides my initial preferred disability, paraplegia. I just haven't spent enough time to think about how other disabilities affect me as a dev and then I don't know enough about it. I think it ties a bit into the fact that sometimes non disability related situations can also trigger dev feelings for some people. I think muteness sounds very interesting and I can see the dev appeal.

[bluefox]

So, after a long hiatus - I'm still alive and have now gathered the patience with proboards to try to answer again xD

devogirl
I'm definitely open to discussion :3 I've definitely noticed that muteness seems to rarely be a main devo turn-on - over my ~3 years of lurking I've done a few forum searches for it and only really found connected terms in metaphores. :/ i find that to be a big problem when searching for devvy fiction in that area in general - that's also a reason why I sadly have nothing to recommend to you in terms of books or films. :s I've mainly been using literate role play and certain abstract fanfictions as an outlet in highs up until now. ^^"

I thank you for the link to that story - I haven't taken a look yet so I'm trying to keep my expectations in check, but once I get a high again ( *cough* which will hopefully be soon, I'm in a low right now *cough*) I'll probably devour the story in a matter of days

I'm unsure currently whether I'm into other speech impediments as well - I kind of have a character creator's equivalent of writers block at the moment and that used to be how I found such things out - I have actually never consciously had contact with anyone with any of my preferred disabilities who was in any way my type - and I'm very picky not just as a devo. In order to push my dev buttons, the guy in question would have to be what I consider higher average to handsome, otherwise it just doesn't really do anything. :^/ Wondering if others can relate? Either way, back to the topic - I think most speech impediments would at least have a good bit of dev appeal to me, but the effect on me is far from that of muteness. I can say though that stuttering seems to cut it to some extent. Sign language alone doesn't do anything, but in the context of it being necessary, as far as I can tell without actual real life experience, it absolutely does.
I'm not much of a deafness devo, but in my last devness high, it's gone from a turn off to a slight turn on which doesn't always work, though.

Why is it that knowing it's rather rare lessens its devo appeal to you? o:

Pardon my writing so much and kinda weirdly, I haven't really talked to anyone the past weeks since a lot was happening, so I kind of seem to subconsciously compensate for that xd

[devogirl]

hey bluefox thanks for the long answer! Good to hear from you. It is hard to find devvy content with mute characters. Do check out Ximena's story In/Exhale. I also highly recommend another story on the same site, "Lobster with a Straw" by Lovis. It's about a quad CP guy who also can't talk clearly. A bit different from being mute but I found it super devvy. I've been reading a free webtoon m-m romance called #muted about a guy with selective mutism following a psychological breakdown.

So you asked why knowing that true aphonia is rare lessens the appeal for me...well of course in fantasy everything is possible, but in general I prefer my dev fantasies to have some basis in real life conditions. But more than that, I think part of the reason it's rare to find fiction with a mute hero is because the condition is rare in real life. A lot of what is out there is about people who either have a brain injury or choose not to speak for psychological reasons, which I don't find devvy. I was initially hesitant about the webtoon #muted for that reason, although it is cute enough to hold my interest. However, the focus is more on emotional healing rather than adapting to a disability, and I'm pretty sure it will end with him cured.

On the other hand there is In/Exhale, where Ximena made up a medical condition to get around this problem. There's a YA romance novel called What I Didn't Say about a high school boy who loses the ability to speak after a car accident. I found it sweet and mildly devvy, although I felt like the author really had to tie herself in knots to invent a plausible injury that would damage his vocal chords but not kill him. I also didn't like her negative attitude towards ASL.

When I was a teenager I tried to write a SF novel with a mute character who was from another planet, but that was so long ago, I will never finish it. I can relate to being picky, in terms of what I like to read, I'm very picky. But in terms of real life, I learned long ago that my ideal PWD almost certainly does not exist, or if he does, he already has a partner, or is the wrong age, or whatever. Like Dan Savage says, there isn't anyone who is a perfect 100% match, you have to find someone at 70 or 80% and round up.