Sometimes Being An Artist Is Feeling Like A Baker Seeing A Chemist Making The Deadliest Liquid In The

you should allow yourself to compassionately examine the thoughts and feelings you are ashamed of having

why?

okay, bear with me here. say you get uncomfortable around drag queens. you don't know why--you don't want to be. you're afraid that if you open a dialogue with that feeling, you will become a Bad Person, so you shove it down and try to be cool.

but unfelt feelings don't just go away. they stay in your body as tension and pressure, and if they aren't processed naturally, your brain will find ways to justify releasing them through other outlets. ("I just don't like that person in particular, I just don't like Loud People, it's just what my religion tells me.")

but you're not going to get to the actual reason unless you can actually examine that initial discomfort with grace and curiosity.

so you think people should validate their own internalized homophobia or whatever?

I think they should validate the feelings their prejudices stem from, as a starting point. when you feel safe expressing your feelings (to yourself) you will have an easier time working through them (with yourself (or a trusted, impartial friend)).

if part of you is a kid who's still clinging to regressive talking points because it helped them survive growing up, and you're the only person available to teach and nurture that kid, are you really going to smack them around and tell them to just shut up, because you said so, that's why?

to validate a feeling isn't to give yourself a carte blanche to act on it. it's merely the act of understanding. like, "hey kid, given the way you were raised, it makes perfect sense that you get nervous around acts of fearless self-expression." and then you follow that up with: "can you try and believe just a little that it's okay for these people to live their lives as their happiest selves? that it's safe for us to do that too?"

but prejudice is bad! I would never offer that kind of compassion to someone else having those thoughts!

right now we're not talking about other people. the important thing is that you are the person best situated to give yourself this understanding, so that your brain can learn new, appropriate safety protocols.

that said, prejudice is a universal human experience, like fear of the unknown and desire for stability--feelings which can also foster intolerance and hate. you and everyone you know are going to experience these things, and it's no use pretending we can eliminate them if we just ignore them real hard.

thoughts and feelings are neutral entities. a thought is not a transitive action, nor a reflection of your moral character--regardless of how uncomfortable you feel. it's okay to be uncomfortable.

however, denying the existence of an emotion, as discussed above, can end with it coming out in unexpected, sometimes harmful ways.

but if people have shameful feelings without confessing them and apologizing, that makes them deceitful lying liars!!!

who are you, the catholic church?

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Beachcomber dies, TFcon.

Posting so other TFA fans find it on Tumblr.

Voice acting performed by @knighttimevo for Beachcomber and Shockwave for the panel in this cut scene.

this is their whole relationship

me at any given time: can we just buckle down and focus on the task at hand please???

my brain:

my brain: ……….ranibow sprimkle……………

A general cane guide for writers and artists (from a cane user, writer, and artist!)

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!!!

A magnificent Shire horse and his little donkey buddy (Source: https://ift.tt/2RLIbER)

Never getting enough of ceramic tiles

"I never thought of this ship before but I see it now :0" heh...

"hm I dont usually like this ship but-" mmn.

Boar and boar babies

Chimera

Acrylic on canvas, August 2024