emo about lichens again
How my three windowsill sundew bogs are doing
ah yes the animated series that has healthy sibling relationships that comforts me from the reality of my brothers being ausent and not caring about our family at all
it's fun to draw them at least! but i have a lot to improve
— Biology: evolution, diversity, and the environment by Sylvia S Mader, 1985
HATE THE AM HATE THE PM
a small collection of platonic sentences used in casual interactions between friends, or those who need a moment of platonic sweetness. some are goofy, some are serious, some are just sweet and domestic.
“ you’ve got something there… let me remove it for you! ”
“ lean on me if you’re tired, i’ll keep an eye on the movie… ”
“ you look really good today! ”
“ your hair is really soft, what kind of braid did you want again? ”
“ i love this. just you, me, an ungodly amount of blankets and netflix. ”
“ if you want it i’ll get it for you, don’t worry! ”
“ you really make my days, you know that? ”
“ nothing makes me happier than being here with you ”
“ hey hey hey, if you wanna share fries you could ask first! ”
“ okay, i’ll give you half of my burger for half of your sundae, okay? ”
“ uh huh? you’re gonna take me? you and what wrestling army? ”
“ oh ? really ? me ? weak ? have you Seen my muscles ? ”
“ can you stroke my back for a moment? i just want some cuddles. ”
“ i just really want a hug today. ”
“ you look like you could use a hug today ”
“ that outfit looks really good on you, by the way ”
“ okay but, taste this, i made this but i can’t tell if it’s tasty — ”
“ come here — let’s sort this out ”
“ if i squish your cheeks together you look like a pufferfish ”
“ oh my god, your hand is MASSIVE compared to mine ”
“ are you serious? is your hand this tiny? let me compare to mine — ”
“ yes please, keep stroking my hair. i need that today. ”
“ you. me. junk food. today was crap and i need Us time. ”
“ is that the perfume i recommended to you? it smells really good on you!”
“ you’re hogging the blankets, stop it! ”
“ if i just flop over on your lap, will you let me sleep in peace? ”
“ scoot — over — i need to lie down ”
“ give me your feet and i’ll rub them ”
“ hey now, it’s okay? i’m here for you ”
“ we make a good team though, don’t we? ”
“ hey ( name ) wanna catch a movie later today? ”
“ here you go, your favorite snack — picked up a few on my way over ”
“ well d u h, of course i know your favorite snack. friends do this stuff. ”
“ oh, so you really think i don’t know you? mhm? test me! ”
“ you think you know me? really? okay, what’s my favorite … ( thing )? ”
“ i can’t believe my clothes look better on you. that should be illegal. ”
“ well if this meme isn’t us then i don’t know — ” sends meme.
“ your shoulders are really tense, can you try to sit still? ”
“ i’ll buy you dinner if you rub my back right now ”
registro dos sketches e ideias pra meu persona, ê maior gênero
péssimo dia pra ser brasileiro
Disclaimer: Though I have been using a cane for 6 years, I am not a doctor, nor am I by any means an expert. This guide is true to my experience, but there are as many ways to use a cane as there are cane users!
This guide will not include: White canes for blindness, crutches, walkers, or wheelchairs as I have no personal experience with these.
This is meant to be a general guide to get you started and avoid some common mishaps/misconceptions, but you absolutely should continue to do your own research outside of this guide!
The biggest recurring problem I've seen is using the cane on the wrong side. The cane goes on the opposite side of the pain! If your character has even-sided pain or needs it for balance/weakness, then use the cane in the non-dominant hand to keep the dominant hand free. Some cane users also switch sides to give their arm a rest!
A cane takes about 20% of your weight off the opposite leg. It should fit within your natural gait and become something of an extension of your body. If you need more weight off than 20%, then crutches, a walker, or a wheelchair is needed.
Putting more pressure on the cane, using it on the wrong side, or having it at the wrong height will make it less effective, and can cause long term damage to your body from improper pressure and posture. (Hugh Laurie genuinely hurt his body from years of using a cane wrong on House!)
(an animated GIF of a cane matching the natural walking gait. It turns red when pressure is placed on it.)
When going up and down stairs, there is an ideal standard: You want to use the handrail and the cane at the same time, or prioritize the handrail if it's only on one side. When going up stairs you lead with your good leg and follow with the cane and hurt leg together. When going down stairs you lead with the cane, then the good leg, and THEN the leg that needs help.
Realistically though, many people don't move out of the way for cane users to access the railing, many stairs don't have railings, and many are wet, rusty, or generally not ideal to grip.
In these cases, if you have a friend nearby, holding on to them is a good idea. Or, take it one step at a time carefully if you're alone.
Now we come to a very common mistake I see... Using fashion canes for medical use!
(These are 4 broad shapes, but there is INCREDIBLE variation in cane handles. Research heavily what will be best for your character's specific needs!)
The handle is the contact point for all the weight you're putting on your cane, and that pressure is being put onto your hand, wrist, and shoulder. So the shape is very important for long term use!
Knob handles (and very decorative handles) are not used for medical use for this reason. It adds extra stress to the body and can damage your hand to put constant pressure onto these painful shapes.
The weight of a cane is also incredibly important, as a heavier cane will cause wear on your body much faster. When you're using it all day, it gets heavy fast! If your character struggles with weakness, then they won't want a heavy cane if they can help it!
This is also part of why sword canes aren't usually very viable for medical use (along with them usually being knob handles) is that swords are extra weight!
However, a small knife or perhaps a retractable blade hidden within the base might be viable even for weak characters.
Bases have a lot of variability as well, and the modern standard is generally adjustable bases. Adjustable canes are very handy if your character regularly changes shoe height, for instance (gotta keep the height at your hip!)
Canes help on most terrain with their standard base and structure. But for some terrain, you might want a different base, or to forego the cane entirely! This article covers it pretty well.
Many cane users decorate their canes! Stickers are incredibly common, and painting canes is relatively common as well! You'll also see people replacing the standard wrist strap with a personalized one, or even adding a small charm to the ring the strap connects to. (nothing too large, or it gets annoying as the cane is swinging around everywhere)
(my canes, for reference)
If your character uses a cane full time, then they might also have multiple canes that look different aesthetically to match their outfits!
When it comes to practical things outside of the cane, you reasonably only have one hand available while it's being used. Many people will hook their cane onto their arm or let it dangle on the strap (if they have one) while using their cane arm, but it's often significantly less convenient than 2 hands. But, if you need 2 hands, then it's either setting the cane down or letting it hang!
For this reason, optimizing one handed use is ideal! Keeping bags/items on the side of your free hand helps keep your items accessible.
When sitting, the cane either leans against a wall or table, goes under the chair, or hooks onto the back of the chair. (It often falls when hanging off of a chair, in my experience)
When getting up, the user will either use their cane to help them balance/support as they stand, or get up and then grab their cane. This depends on what it's being used for (balance vs pain when walking, for instance!)
That's everything I can think of for now. Thank you for reading my long-but-absolutely-not-comprehensive list of things to keep in mind when writing or drawing a cane user!
Happy disability pride month! Go forth and make more characters use canes!!!
Together again <3
in case you couldn't tell, yes, i'm brasileirx 🇧🇷 || trash dump acc || any pronouns || 19
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