Work Text:
Thomas has always been a little different. He’s always been extremely passionate about Disney and musical theater his entire life, he loves pizza more than probably any human, and he makes YouTube videos for a living - oh, and he’s deaf.
His parents enrolled him in speech therapy as a child and he was given cochlear implants. They meant well, but he really dislikes his cochlear implants. He feels that they take away from deaf culture and doesn’t like wearing them. He prefers his hearing aids, as they’re more discreet and he can wear them when he needs to talk to people or when he’s making videos.
He’s not completely deaf - he has better hearing in his left ear. He can really only hear low, loud sounds. He loves Broadway, partly because he can hear himself singing on stage and partly because he loves the vibrations in the floor. He loves making videos. He just hates having to hide his deafness.
His fans know that he knows some degree of ASL, given he does weekly interpretations of songs on his Instagram. However, when asked, he told them that he had a deaf relative and learned so he could talk to them.
One day, he meets a fan in public. He isn’t wearing his hearing aids and the person talks really fast. He asks them if they want to take a picture, and they nod. They hesitate a moment before signing, “are you deaf?” Thomas is taken aback, and that’s when they notice the fan’s hearing aids.
He takes a moment before singing, hesitantly, “yes.”
The person grins. “I love your interpretations! I watch them every week with my cousin. She’s deaf too.”
He grins nervously. “I’m glad you like them.”
He thinks it over that night. He talks with Joan and Talyn, and Thomas comes to the realization that he could be helping young deaf people learn to accept themselves. He tells the others that he wanted, more than anything in the world, a popular deaf figure to look up to as a kid and teen. Joan tells him that he could be that influence, and Thomas agrees. Talyn proposes an idea, and the two agree.
There’s a cut to Thomas sitting in front of the computer, ready to post his newest video. His hand is shaking, and he’s on the verge of tears from how nervous he is. Joan steadies his hand by placing their hand onto Thomas’s, and Talyn wraps an arm around his shoulders. He smiles at the both of them before he presses the upload button.
The fanfiction finishes off with a script of the video.
I have something to tell you (Thomas Sanders)
2,032,472 views
Uploaded July 14, 2020
*Thomas signs in American Sign Language as he speaks out loud*
Thomas grins, doing his signature “What is up everybody?”
Thomas fiddles with his hands, running his fingers nervously over one another. He picks up his hands, steadying them, knowing he’s going to cut out this part anyway, and begins to sign.
“So, I may not have been the most truthful with you guys in the past,” he grins awkwardly. His eyes flicker off to the side. Joan flashes a supportive smile, and Talyn gives him an enthusiastic thumbs-up. He huffs out a little laugh and turns his eyes back to the camera.
“I have something very big I wanted to tell you. You may have seen my Instagram videos where I do interpretations of popular songs in ASL. I’ve told you guys in the past that I had a deaf relative growing up, but I… was lying about that.”
Thomas sighs.
“So, that’s the topic of today’s video. I’m gonna keep this really brief here: I’m partially deaf.”
Joan steps forward and hands him his hearing aids. He fastens them in, and sounds from around the house come to life. He can hear the dishwasher faintly in the background, and the noise from the fan from the other room suddenly becomes apparent. He grimaces - he hates wearing his hearing aids. He’d much rather the world be silent.
“I’ve been deaf my entire life. From birth, I had about 50% of my hearing in both ears, and from there it deteriorated. Now I’m about 70% deaf in my right ear and 60% deaf in my left, according to my audiologist.
This doesn’t affect my quality of life at all, don’t worry! I’m capable of living a completely normal life. Actually, I prefer being deaf. I don’t know how anyone can tolerate hearing everything all hours of the day, if I’m being honest-”
Joan snickers. “It’s not that bad, Sanders!” they call from across the room.
Thomas laughs and turns to his friend. “Seriously, how do you deal with it?? Even the dishwasher is annoying to hear. It’s been less than a minute and I already hate it. Here, you can have these-” he takes out his hearing aids and throws them across the room. Sure, they’re expensive pieces of medical equipment, but they’re also medieval torture devices that deserve to burn in the fires of the abyss. That enough, by his logic, is enough to justify their demise.
Talyn catches them. How unfortunate.
“If you’re wondering how I can talk so well, it’s because I got cochlear implants when I was four and went to speech therapy for several years. My parents meant well, I’m sure, but I really don’t like having cochlear implants. I think it takes away from deaf culture and my experiences in it. I’m perfectly happy being deaf. I love my culture and everyone in it! I don’t see a reason anymore to pretend to have perfect hearing. I’m glad they sent me to speech therapy, but I’m still iffy on the implants.
Now, what will this mean for future videos? Fear not, you’ll still get your regular content! I’ll be keeping the same upload schedule as before for all platforms, with a few minor changes. First! I want to incorporate sign into more of my videos. This includes Sanders Sides, Cartoon Therapy, and all of my unscripted content. It’ll be pretty much like what I’m doing right now, talking while signing, so it won’t be too much different.”
Thomas nods at his friends, who, he now notices, are practically vibrating with excitement. “Aaaaand the big reveal I’ve been dying to tell you-”
Joan and Talyn enter the frame.
“We’re starting a new series!!”
Joan starts signing and speaking like Thomas had before them, though their signing is noticeably rustier. “We came up with this not too long ago. We really want to set a good example for younger audiences who may be struggling to accept themselves and their deafness, or who may be struggling to get by in general.”
Talyn takes over. “We’re starting a series where Thomas, myself, and a number of other disabled creators will be talking about our experiences and how we embrace, or struggle with, our disabilities.”
“There’s really so much misinformation and bigotry towards the disabled community, and we’d love to help eliminate some of it if we can,” Thomas explains, “we hope to bring in a lot of other disabled creators and maybe some professionals too.”
Talyn speaks up again. “And we don’t just want to talk about the well-known disabilities like deafness and blindness. We want to talk about other kinds too, not just physical ones, but mental illnesses too.” They stumble a little on the last sentence and repeat themself, looking to Thomas for help. They fingerspell the word “illness,” mouthing the word as they go. Thomas shows them the correct sign, then fingerspells the word back, smiling at them. Talyn laughs, turning back to the camera. “Sorry,” they giggle, hair drooping in front of their face as they duck their head down, “even after a few years it’s easy to forget.”
“Hey, learning a new language is tough,” Joan consoles.
Thomas nods. “Yeah, and I applaud any hearing person who even makes an attempt to learn ASL, or any form of Sign. Seriously, not many people go through the effort, and it’s really helpful when you do.”
Talyn beams, turning back to smile at their friend. Joan clears their throat, reminding them that the camera is still rolling.
“Oh right,” Talyn jumps a little, “anyways! Thomas and I will be hosting together, you guys should really come check it out!”
“Yeah! It’s gonna be a ton of fun, and I think it’ll be a really good thing for us to finally have a place to openly talk about our disabilities in front of an audience.”
“Mhm,” Talyn agrees.
“Anyways, that’s all for today! I’ll see you later, guys, gals, and non-binary pals.”
The three friends exchange glances, grinning wildly at one another. Thomas starts the countdown, fully in Sign.
“Three, two, one-”
“Peace out!”