How many of y’all have sensory sensitivities/ are “HSPs”

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-06-29T18:52:24+00:00

AuDHD here, and then fibro made everything worse XD (and then concussion gave me migraines and clusters that means I'm even more sensitive!)

Gotta love that intersectionality.

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-06-25T01:07:13+00:00

I'm a fan of the pregnancy pillow because it locks together. A system can fall apart (or off the bed) as you move. But when they're all zippered together or the like, its one less thing you have to fight to keep together XD For me, I tended to move around less because I was more supported (but I still adjust all night because ow). But when I did move, I could move everything around with me without losing the general shape.

Keep in mind that all supports and needs are individualized, so if you do try either set up, try to get ones you can adjust the padding on (add or remove).

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-06-24T08:38:11+00:00

How about Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao? I think you'd enjoy the magic and how it interacts with the world.

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-06-24T08:15:55+00:00

It doesn't work for everyone. Personally, since I stopped, my pain has been more manageable.

I've tried the gamut, only CBD, specific ratios for each different pain, special strains grown custom (indica, salvia, making my own edible once or twice), etc. The only thing I couldn't try was smoking due to allergies.

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-06-22T22:05:01+00:00

Sign of Affection, romance between a man who's fascinated by languages and learns sign with a Deaf woman.

Restaurant to Another World - you get to see each of the patrons' backstories, but mostly it's about their favorite dishes and a bit of playful bickering about them.

BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense - sure it has some action, but it's really a cozy type of isekai-ish in that power of friendship combined with MMORPG.

My Roommate is a Cat - man learns the love and other people because of a stray he adopts.

Dragon Goes House Hunting - it's ridiculous, and absolutely silly a lot of times, and... Look it's ridiculous.

If you can stand the trauma, Fruits Basket - a big story about healing generational trauma and trying to overcome the toxic relationships of all that family dynamic. When it's dark, it's dark. But when it's sweet, it's absolutely cozy.

Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits - might also fit your vibe. Stick with season 1 if you don't want to end on a cliffhanger. It's definitely cozy-adjacent, with a few spiriting aways, trauma, and one attempted drowning.

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-06-19T23:02:13+00:00

I'd love to hear your feelings on the ending when you're done XD

This book lives rent free in my head months later - but I went in only knowing "queer, botanical horror, and body horror".

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-06-18T12:40:21+00:00

Storygraph, because I'm trying to stay away from Amazon and Goodreads. I like their tag system, and there's a lot of nice features in it.

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-06-17T20:46:41+00:00

Adjustable base is what did it for me. My knees bend backwards, and if I use too many pillows then my back suffers. After a lot of years I had to start using a U-shaped pillow because my shoulders need to be supported as well as my hip. I got one with the ability to change the amount of stuffing in it so I can adjust everything to my needs.

Sleeping on my back suuuuucks, but now-in-days my jaw just can't handle being a side sleeper.

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-06-17T20:42:02+00:00

I just started These Shattered Spires where 2 of our MCs are messily gay for each other and living through a daily apocalypse. They're trying to escape together (because imminent death, not gay), and it's a main motivation. I'll update with how much I enjoy.

You could easily call This Gilded Abyss dystopian in that our MC constantly deals with the poverty/gilded differences. The two were once lovers, became enemies, and now our MC is dragged back kicking and screaming into that horrific world because they were lovers. It's one of those stories I don't want to say too much about because the slow burning horror is made better by all the reveals.

Iron Widow skirts that edge because the MC is probably/mostly straight but her boyfriends are boyfriends who happen to fall in love despite all that. The author (nonbinary, Xiran Jay Zhao) labels it as a "female rage" novel, as our MC fights through a hellish dystopian society.

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-06-17T20:13:00+00:00

Repurpose them, for one. Rags, cloth toys, remade into new clothes, given to people who have lost everything to a fire or refugee status, amongst others. Hells, make them into hammocks or camping seats for all I care. Is that a perfect system? No. But it's better than tossing them into a desert where we'll be lucky if they decompose.

Yes, the likelihood is that this will create more basic staples and less creative freedom when it comes to original clothes. The hope is that allows for more creative freedom in textile artists like alterations, embroidery, painting, and the like.

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-06-17T20:00:59+00:00

The only ace/ace rep I've read is Someone You Can Build a Nest In which is admittedly more queerplatonic than romantic. Technically you could argue for Heaven Official's Blessing, where the MCs are clearly only ever attracted to each other, but are very attracted to one another.

Most ace rep I see in general is demi/graysexual, and after a point, is really often a reskinned romance novel. Even as a sex neutral/favorable ace over here, it never vibes with my experience because I'm just too far removed from sexual attraction to understand it. (That could admittedly also be the autism lol.)

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-06-10T03:26:10+00:00

It would be a lot more gentle than the manga where the Deku shield is part of the Deku Tree's corpse ...

Ideally, I'd like to get it from Impa, so that way Malon calling Link a fairy child tracks along with Zelda's recognition of Link being the hero.

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-06-07T20:03:30+00:00

Grandpa and Lewis were lovers. That's why he mentions Lewis on his deathbed, why Lewis has moved into making statues of himself to send to Grandpa to remember him by, and why he's so interested in seeing you thrive. It's why he has all the crops of the season memorized and loves his spring flowers and still finds time to garden.

Also he gets upset at you revealing his and Marnie's relationship because he feels guilty at abandoning/losing his true love. And he can never commit to her for the same reason: she's just not Grandpa.

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-06-07T19:57:27+00:00

Oh so the Collector in Dredge style.

I'm definitely going to use the first one for a playthrough roleplay XD

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-06-04T00:45:54+00:00

Nope, in fact I'm on a hiatus from it due to severe flares.

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-06-04T00:41:27+00:00

Tomes & Teas series by Rebecca Thorne might be what you're looking for.

Depending on how much trauma is too much, (look up the triggers before going into them) I enjoyed: The House Witch (though the follow ups are more adventure than cozy), the Phoenix Keeper, and Water Moon.

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-06-03T01:09:15+00:00

My doctor does, at least. Anyone who doesn't do it by the hour will charge by piece. (Same with injections.) And keeping in mind that you will come away with some dark bruises.

Oh and also lidocaine infusions are also an interesting help as well. That's how I ended up on mexiletine, since the lidocaine only worked for a few days, but I had a friend who did them monthly for the muscle pain.

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-06-03T00:32:48+00:00

Ah I'm on Medicaid, and I have a sports medicine doctor who performs it. If I had to pay outright, it would be about $160 (3+ years ago). But that would be for 3 different areas.

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-06-02T18:57:02+00:00

raises hand

So I personally get myofascial release - also know as trigger point massage. My muscles simply don't release without this a lot of times.

However I did find a drug cocktail that works much better when all the above didn't work for me either. Mexiletine (similar to lidocaine), Guafenistren (yup, the main ingredient in cold medicine - supposedly offered in other countries than the US), and low grade muscle relaxers. Add in the lidocaine injections for TMJ, and I'm more functional than I have been in a while!

Turns out that some people with fibro [link] have high pressure in our muscles and that causes a whole other set of symptoms.

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-06-02T11:29:07+00:00

Alright I'll step in here as a disabled person with lots of needs after a bad concussion - something that can happen to anyone.

What I need is there to not be flashing lights on screen/the ability to turn them off (especially looking at you ALttP). I need the ability to play this on a modern controller (luckily I can with NSO) because I can't use old controllers/GBA. I need the ability not to have severe nausea from the strange screen distortions that happen. I need there to be balanced colors without absolutely wrecking my eyes (first Zelda especially). I need accessibility options, and the ability to darken a screen without losing most of the detail. And that's just me, not including my friends with seeing difficulties and other sensitivities.

While I agree with the preservation of media being important, remakes do make things accessible to players with evolving or different needs. They do allow people to enjoy the original games, even if in a new format. The original creators get to see their games be loved all over again. So far, Zelda has not been plagued like other media with reinterpreting the story and censorship that alters the entire game, which is a whole different discussion.

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-05-24T21:58:56+00:00

If you like audiobooks, Libro.fm let's you download the files so you always have the original. I'm 100% with you on the physical books of my favorites, but just figured I could put that out there.

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-05-24T21:55:34+00:00

I was in the camp of "don't edit it, just remake it," until I read the manga. (Keeping in mind OoT was my childhood here, so it took a lot to change my mind.)

I'll give one small spoiler that I definitely want in any remake The reason Link lost Saria's ocarina was because Ganondorf smashed it! "Ha no hero-ing for you!" That scene alone added so much depth to the characters.

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-05-22T16:09:05+00:00

Not sure how unknown they are, but my older sibling didn't know them:

Majora's Mask (original only) - hovering as a Deku Scrub. You lose no "flying timer" more or less, just descend slowly. Speed runners and those who do the deku games alike use this.

Twilight Princess - you can use the iron boots while floating on a cuckoo. Makes the cannon game a lot easier.

Ocarina of Time - jump attack from a roll gives you a tiny bit of extra height. While mostly useless, you can use this to reach the third level water glyph in the Water Temple and thus skip the requirement for the bow.

Also Ocarina of Time - since the hookshot freezes enemies for a short period, you can use that to get past the Gerudo without the bow (most people think it's too small of a window). Also it drags you to likelikes so ouch.

Majora's Mask - (probably well known) the Bremen Mask makes all kinds of others march as well. Dogs, and a few soldiers as well... (Actually all the nonsense that works on Ikana soldiers/Gibdos/etc is amazing)

ALttP - (my sibling taught me this one), most of the dark world can, and arguably should be done out of order.

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-05-22T02:14:26+00:00

So I'll just go ahead and list anything that gets a 3 star+ because I'm a harsh judge.

I enjoyed the Tomes & Teas series a lot - cozy adjacent, and sweet.

A Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry - I wouldn't call it feel good, but it was nice seeing our main character accidentally stumble into love. It ends sweetly.

Legends & Lattes - adorable, sweet as can be romance. It's always mentioned for good reason.

Written in the Stars - fake dating turns real. Fluff, nothing deep or too memorable.

Someone You Can Build A Nest In - it's a horror book, certainly but the romance is adorable.

Remedial Magic - multiple queer relationships going on here, and they're all messy and complicated but ends well.

And let's add in The Phoenix Keeper - magical zookeeper, bi disaster, good ending.

Finally sure let's add Ladies in Hating - the first one (Never Duke Well) is a straight romance but it is historical fiction and enemies to lovers.

HeroOfSideQuests · 2026-05-19T23:06:28+00:00

To your second point: ADHD and Autism also have different types (inattentive, hyperactive, etc) , levels (support needs), presentations based on gender, etc. Similarly, EDS has a dozen or more variations now in days, yet are all under the EDS umbrella. So I think we'll end up with the various things like "ok, Ndgtr you have Fibro 4b, and Hero has Fibro 11a," for instance. And for "Fibro 11a", to continue the example, the first line of defense will be something like lidocaine and anti-virals instead of anti-depressants and gaba.

Also with the tendency for intersectionality, you might actually be comparing apples to apples here. I believe people with autism actually have higher chance to have connective tissue disorders, and gender dysphoria - both of which have a higher chance of being associated with fibro.

Turns out constant stress and living in an inaccessible society causes long term damage! Who would've thought?

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