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You're not obligated to follow back! | Multi-fandom | ā ļødon't follow if you expect a follow backā ļø | I'm not a minor and I'm an old person so please don't follow if that makes you uncomfy. |
You can just call me tofu. They or she pronouns. An adult. Viet-American.
Multifandom blog. What you will mostly see are things I’m really into currently, so if you follow me for a specific fandom, be prepared to see a change in interest! (minor exception with FFXIV due to its nature as an online RPG).
For this reason, I ask that you don’t expect me to follow back. I apologize in advance for my pickiness about who I choose to follow.
The reverse is also true: if I follow, please don’t feel obligated to follow back!
My blog is hidden from the search. The only way for you to find anything is to manually type tofukitten.tumblr.com/tagged/[X]. I do not like being seen in public, either, so all of my personal posts are unrebloggable. This has been a boon for me.
Lately I have been lazy about tagging warnings, even common ones. I apologize.
Quick links:
Scribbles - basically all of my art. i used to have dedicated tags according to medium (miiverse, 3ds, wii u, traditional) but I have stopped.
Palestinians are once again being forcibly displaced from their homes by Israel tonight - this time from Jenin refugee camp. Yes, refugee camp as most residents of Jenin refugee camp come from Haifa and itās surrounding area and were forced to leave in 1948 and never allowed back to their homes.
From 1948 to 2023, the ethnic cleansing of Palestine continues and the world remains silent and complicit. The Nakba has never ended and no one defends or speaks out for Palestinians. They are left to confront a military power that is given $3.2 billion dollars by the USA every year alone and they are told if they resist their ethnic cleansing then they are terrorists. The world actively supports Palestinian deaths and displacement.
i like to measure the magic friendliness of a story on the scale of DS visual novels
phoenix wright is the highest tier : magic exists, fuck you, just live with it. BUT ! the setting isn’t realistic to begin with and there’s plenty of more ridiculous shit so magic isn’t an exception so it’s fine
ghost trick is the middle tier : magic exists, but it has rules. it will always follow the rules, even those you only learn towards the end and can only catch on a second read like ooooh
that’s my favourite level speaking personally
and then there’s layton : magic doesn’t fucking exist you dummy. it’s all part of a british guy’s masterplan to idk steal some dumb shit. did you really believe you were in a magical place ??? no, britain.
there’s a special kind of ableism (perhaps mixed with ageism) that comes from people who are older adults, who lived an largely abled life, who get like. personally offended by the idea that you, a young person, could DARE to also have a shitty body. like they view bad knees and fatigue as a badge of honor you get from living a long life & young disabled people don’t deserve it? because we haven’t suffered enough to… suffer? it’s fucking bonkers. like yes ma'am I also make old person noises when getting up. i don’t know why you feel like I’m taking something from you by being young and crippled.
I had an “aid” who was like this. And like, she even reported me to the company for lying because the day she first started seeing me was a low-pain day and I greeted her by smiling. By smiling. Because apparently her idea of someone who needs an aid was that they were older and too miserably in pain to be polite. Also like, all of the aid companies who work with Medicaid these days have literally zero requirements and the same aid admitted to me that day that she’s only doing this because she’s retired and bored. And yes, there’s that same “why am I wasting my time on you? You’re young, so you’re either faking it or pretending to be disabled specifically to take away a service that is For Me because I’m Old.” It’s ridiculous.
Edit: forgot that I do most of my talking in tags. Oops!
ANYWAY! AliExpress beloved, I felt like on Christmas morning haha. Combined shipping goes brrr. Iāve been really into scrapbooking lately and wanted to give it a go myself. Having tons of fun! My favorite part right now is the wax seals, I wonder how creative I can get with it, hehe. Need more colors tho! I have an abundance of pink and not enough of the others xD but I still need to receive some stuff
Listen I am not going to name anyone specifically, but pattern makers need to talk to one (1) fat person before they can post their patterns online.
I am so sick of finding a cute pattern, getting all the supplies, checking my gage, and starting to knit, only to find that my sleeves are a foot longer than a normal human because the pattern maker just multiplied all their numbers by 10 when they sized it up. I canāt believe I have to say this but, just because my ass is fat does not mean my arms go down to my knees???
If you are a fat knitter, please check out Lydia Morrow on Ravelry!
Her design focus first and foremost on the fit and comfort of plus size people, most offering optional bust AND hip shaping. Sheās a neuro divergent and disabled creator and really relies on the sales of her patterns, which very generously offer a sliding pay scale for people who canāt afford the full price. Her pattern sales have dipped these last few months which is a terrible shame because she is doing so much great work to make accessible patterns for all.
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!
ALT
The biggest recurring problem Iāve 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 itās 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 donāt move out of the way for cane users to access the railing, many stairs donāt 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 youāre alone.
Now we come to a very common mistake I seeā¦ Using fashion canes for medical use!
ALT
(These are 4 broad shapes, but there is INCREDIBLE variation in cane handles. Research heavily what will be best for your characterās specific needs!)
The handle is the contact point for all the weight youāre 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 youāre using it all day, it gets heavy fast! If your character struggles with weakness, then they wonāt want a heavy cane if they can help it!
This is also part of why sword canes arenāt 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.
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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! Youāll 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)
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(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 itās 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 itās often significantly less convenient than 2 hands. But, if you need 2 hands, then itās 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 itās being used for (balance vs pain when walking, for instance!)
Thatās 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!!!
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