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“I made a wish too,” you say. “A long time ago. I wished someone in the world would care about me.” “That’s a heartbreaking wish.” “I was heartbroken when I made it.”

Ebook preorders are now available for my dark, romantic fantasy HOW TO SURVIVE THIS FAIRYTALE. For fans of T. Kingfisher, Tamsyn Muir, Slay the Princess, and Into the Woods.

Preorder here!

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graduating soon wow

in May I am graduating from grad school 0o0. it's kind of incredible that i have made it this far. there are so many things i want to share and create and i hope this can be one of the places i can do it. collaborations and my own illustrations and comics... all of it. i have a lot of ideas for what the future will look like but i won't really know until i get there. i can't wait (and am a little afraid) to start. The main things I am looking to make are:

illustrations

slice of life comics

fantasy comics

horror comics

character illo

dnd stuffs and illo

things for the gays, theys and tumblr baes

okay thats enough procrastinating... back to the grind.

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winter bubbline

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im obsessed

She

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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!!!

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Some of you might remember a couple of years ago when Scarlett Johansson sued Disney because she was making significantly less money for Black Widow than was guaranteed in her contract because so many more people watched it on streaming than in theaters, how there was a massive misinformation campaign from Disney that a ton of people on this website (and Twitter and other social media) bought into: that she was a greedy bitch who didn't respect people who needed to stay at home during the pandemic (I believe the word "ableist" was thrown around with aplomb) as opposed to someone who just wanted to be paid what she was owed, what Disney had initially guaranteed her when they signed the contract, and whose issue obviously wasn't with streaming itself but with how little streaming was allowed to get away with paying her and other actors.

Anyway we're going to see a lot of that from studios now, especially now that actors have joined the strike and it's easier to sell them as rich and greedy than writers, because of this cultural stereotype we have of all Hollywood actors as celebrities. Don't fall for it. SAG-AFTRA represents people like Tom Cruise and ScarJo but it also represents the kind of people who played a Borg in two episodes of Star Trek: Voyager in 1997 or who had one line in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as an enthusiastic audience member. Most actors are not crazy wealthy, and in fact, if you're a big TV fan (especially older TV and genre TV) that likely includes some actor names that you know, who played supporting roles in your fav shows, or who were even a star in something decades ago but haven't done anything major since. The AFTRA side also represents people like radio broadcasters. But even beside that, all workers deserve to be fairly compensated for the work they do, and the threat of replacing them with AI, or real actors being required to sign contracts to allow their likenesses to be used by AI forever without paying them, is an existential threat to acting as a profession in general. The actors are in the right. The writers are in the right. The studios are in the wrong. The studios have exploited new technology to get away with horrifying labor practices for years and their feet need to be put to the fire. Circulate the articles about how poorly the Orange is the New Black cast was compensated for making one of the defining shows of the early streaming boom, and of the studios saying they want to force writers to starve and lose their homes. Don't get distracted by propaganda aping progressive-sounding language about wealthy celebrities. Focus on the real enemy, the real greedy, rich assholes who care more about money than people and art: the studios.

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the sun mourns in vain for the white-throated rail: a comic about disability and the unwanted able-bodied grief for past selves.

(click below for the image description!)

Keep reading

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The 2023 Gender Census is now open!

[ Link to survey ]

The 10th annual international gender census, collecting information about the language we use to refer to ourselves and each other, is now open until 9th May 2023.

It’s short and easy, about 5 minutes probably.

After the survey is closed I’ll process the results and publish a spreadsheet of the data and a report summarising the main findings. Then anyone can use them for academic or business purposes, self-advocacy, tracking the popularity of language over time, and just feeling like we’re part of a huge and diverse community.

If you think you might have friends and followers who’d be interested, please do reblog this blog post, and share the survey URL by email or at AFK social groups or on other social networks. Every share is extremely helpful - it’s what helped us get 40,000 responses last year.

Survey URL: https://survey.gendercensus.com

The survey is open to anyone anywhere who speaks English and feels that the gender binary doesn’t fully describe their experience of themselves and their gender(s) or lack thereof.

Thank you so much!

[ Link to survey ]

Image credit: Avery at Tradescantia Hub

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Updated my website so folks can share my are on social media! Check it out if you get a chance <3

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Some March Publications...

I’ve been a little slow keeping up with this, but here are some of my pieces that came out March 2023! 

Blank Spaces in Icebreakers Lit, a comic with story by me and art by @izzybleep​

90s nostalgia! the terrified realization that as we get older our memories are warping! what we think is our life is maybe not!

“I don’t remember the snow, dad. I don’t remember the snow.”

They Didn’t Say It Would Hurt So Much, a visual art/poetry piece, text & art by both me and @izzybleep

cw for medical trauma & gaslighting 

“They didn’t say the doctor would tell me I was making it up. They didn’t say the doctor would tell me it was all in my head.”

A Stew for the New Year in Hearth & Coffin 

a melancholy recipe for the end of the year, for all your grief and longing

“This stew feeds one. And it’s not for you.” 

that’s it for March! More coming in April!

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Spooky style

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Portraits for class (quickly done)

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Softer style

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Little Known Biology Facts About D&D Species

Humans: Humans don't exist. The concept comes from misidentified sightings of weasels who have been given adorable people clothes for the purpose of Facebook photos.

Dwarves: Unlike other species who have long lifespans due to divine blessings, Dwarves don't age because their genomes aren't fucking quitters.

Elves: Elves are marsupials. Other species don't notice because instead of storing their young, their pouches are used to store the excess smugness they couldn't fit in their central nervous system.

Goblins/Gnomes: This is actually a single species with extreme sexual dimorphism. If you're wondering which sex is goblins and which is gnomes? Don't worry, so are they.

Halflings: Halflings physically require tea and biscuits once a week or their hair dyes itself edgy colors and they grasp the concept of dubstep. Only large amounts of Enid Blyton books and crumpets can reverse this transformation.

Dragons: Dragons are actually only 15 inches long at full adulthood. It's just that like many lizards they puff up when threatened and you're adventurers so you only meet them when threatening them.

Orcs: In an act often misidentified as raiding, Orcs are the ones putting people clothes on the weasels and sharing the images on facebook. It's part of how they achieve homeostasis.

Kobolds: Basically what they look like TBH. They're funky little lizard guys, what more do you want?

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The infinite demon armies of the abyss but they wuv you.