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.