Guild Wars 2

I just read a lil love note for Taimi from Christina I believe her name was, she was saying how she felt about the lil Asura being disabled herself. Well Arena you got another fan/player feeling the same way so I thought I would voice it if its ok.

I am disabled as well, not in the way Taimi or the forum poster was but I do have conditions. Not to go into massive detail but as of last year I finally discovered I have a rare mito chondrial disease which essentially means most of my cells do not work right, they do not produce the same amount of energy normal cells do. I also have discovered a menagrie of eye problems Ptosis or drooping eye, double vision in just that eye, opthalmoplegia which means my eyes are losing the ability to move so I tend to move my whole head to look at things like an owl and finally retinitis pigmentosa which is a gradual shrinking of your perpheral vision often leading to complete or near blindness. I am in my early 30’s right now so feeling like I am in my early 60’s is strange enough and the eye issues make it so I use a mobility cane. I am sure I get nasty or confused looks tho luckily I literally cannot see them as I do have good central vision in one eye hence me writing this, but I am sure it confuses people when u can and cannot see.
I was enjoying the Living Story but when this adorable pipsqueak showed up and then revealed she was disabled with a degenrative condition she does not know how severe it will become well I fell in lurve for life. I’m not the smallest of guys and can look a bit intimidating so for me I almost feel like I want to be Scruffy to lil Taimi and pairing her so well with big ol’ Brahame really cements the deal. The factt here are so many non cliche female characters in GW2 and then Taimi being to my mind the first disabled main character certainly in an MMO has been mind blowing.

Prior to my discovery of all my disabilities in the last few years I worked like a work horse for over a decade to secure a career in a different country I love more than any other to have it all ripped away and basically fail at it and have to live in the area of my country I like least. Just climate wise its landlocked, horribly dry and one of the brightest/sunniest places and when u are visually impaired it becomes a big nuissance as often I have found myself not walking on the sidewalk butt he busy road or up hills. Its great I know my conditions now as before I literally walked into objects, people crashed into me constantly looking at me like I’m a kitten or stepping on dogs and even small childern.

I have started up a new GW2 video podcast with a super uber fan of the game and its helped out a lot of the anxiey and depression I have had to deal with. So Taimi very much encapsulates a lease on looking at a life I never expected or planned for, and I want to thank the writers beyond words for that spunky lil girl…now if you can just let me play as a Tengu I will be the happiest legally blind player out there!

Akasaurus Rex.

Not to turn this into a sharing session, but…

It’s great to see the love for Taimi is everywhere. I don’t think she just stands out because she’s disabled, but because she’s such a curious and witty girl that takes action and finds sollutions. I really hope she’ll play a big part in the upcoming Living Stories, obviously not in the big fights, she’s so young still, but more as a brain of the operation. I’d love that. That and Braham and Taimi have one of the most funny and interesting relationship I’ve seen for a while in MMO’s. When I figured out she was disabled I felt as if someone kicked me in the heart. I’m so afraid they’ll focus too much on her disability and not on everything else she has to offer. It too easily makes me worry about myself whilst I game to find a distraction.

I’ve been disabled since I was 7, at first I simply had limited mobility and minor pain but it’s gotten worse every single year due to bad threatment up to a point I can barely walk, nor can I comfortably sit, which is a rather poor combination. I can’t say I know what you feel, since no-one can, but I do dare to say I’m familiar with the effects it can have on someone. Reading your post made me feel so worried for you, I really hope you can find more strenghts to focus on the here and now and not worry as much about the future. I’ve been trying for 15 years and I’ve yet to find a way to do it properly myself, but I have seen that any scenerio I thought possible 5, maybe 10 years ago, none of it came true because of so many unexpected oppertunities arrise.

I personally related a bit more with Tybalt. Unlike Taimi his disability affected him a lot, which I sadly have to say, is the case with me aswell. As selfish as this might sound, sometimes it’s nice to see that I’m not the only one who lets her life be shaped by her disability.

I wish you the best of luck with everything, may the dreams you worked so hard to achieve stay true!

~Esmee

PS: For those who are curious about my disability.
As a child I got a form of Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease, this caused a disruption in the bloodflow towards the femoral head of my right hip, causing the bone to die (and thus stop growing and it slowly deformed.) My disease never got the the stage where the necrotic bone gets restored. As result I have a similar issues as people with Osteoarthritis. Due to multiple surgeries at a young age it’s suspected my muscles got damaged aswell, along with the bone being in such a poor state it’s too risky to attempt a hip-replacement.

Gee, never thought how much disabled people where into mmo’s. I myself see games as an escape from RL and I just stutter a little, but for ye must be such an inspiration or a place to free yer mind.
Kudos to all of ye and spread the love for Taimi!
I want to cuddle and hug her sooooo much.

Reading this made me happy and moved (as did the thread from Christina). I adore Taimi as well and I’m glad she’s part of the Living Story / “Destiny’s Children” now and I also think the Braham / Taimi pairing is so sweet. He’s like her big teddy bear who will protect her.
I wish you all the best!

yuri.2765:

Gee, never thought how much disabled people where into mmo’s. I myself see games as an escape from RL and I just stutter a little, but for ye must be such an inspiration or a place to free yer mind.
Kudos to all of ye and spread the love for Taimi!
I want to cuddle and hug her sooooo much.

Bit of a slow reply, but for quite a few disabilities gaming is a very logical way to spend your time. It makes a great distraction for me because it goes on even when I zoned out a little from my pain (ok, this is chronic pain-patients only.) Or to still be a bit social without having to rely on other people or need special support just to be able to attend. It helped me a lot when I went from reasonably healthy to obviously disabled, my friends weren’t too understanding, being young and having better things to do than adjust, in games it has never been a problem for me, or those I spend time with. It’s got me through my teenage years relatively well. I recently came back from rehabilitation, in which my activity therapy group completely fell in love with gaming aswell, especially the less creative types. It warmed my heart since it does me so well when older people are open-minded and begin to enjoy something completely alien to them, shame there’s an evident language barrier, but some were going to ask their grandchildren to play together with them! My therapists sadly weren’t as open-minded.

Games have been more than just an escape for me. The people I’ve met in them showed me there’s a lot more to me than just my disability, something even my friends couldn’t do. Or me, for that matter. Hence I find it an absolute gem they didn’t let the players know about Taimi’s disability until Edge of the Mist, Braham’s reaction was very fitting, yet sweet.

PS: Anyone have a Taimi printscreen from April Fools? I know it’s unlike, forgot to get one myself.