#long post for mobile

[deoidesign]

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 in your writing, but you absolutely should continue to do your own research outside of this guide!

This is NOT a medical resource!!! And never tell a real person you think they're using a cane wrong!

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 can 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!)

(some people elect to use a cane wrong for their personal situation despite this, everyone is different!)

(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 and the bad leg and follow with the good leg!

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!!!

[therapardalis]

..

soulmemes​:

sexual tension prompts.

i deleted my old blog by mistake, so i’m revamping these!! if you want to reverse them, add a +, like so: [ PIN ] + and the roles will switch! these prompts are inspired by THIS MEME! they’re designed for all muses, regardless of whether they’ve interacted before or not!

[ PIN ] : sender pins receiver against a wall. [ HANDS ] : our muses’ hands touch. (anything from grazing past or the hand holding content we all deserve.) [ GAZE ] : sender watches receiver from across a crowded room. [ GUIDE ] : in order to guide the receiver, sender presses a hand against the small of their back. [ INVITE ] : sender asks receiver into a private room with nobody else present. [ TOUCH ] : our muses touching one another discreetly but intimately in a public setting. [ LICK ] : sender licks something from their thumb or lips in front of receiver. [ SLEEVES ] : sender rolls up their sleeves to reveal their forearms. [ SMIRK ] : while interacting with receiver, sender can’t resist a smirk. [ NECKLACE ] : sender fastens a necklace around receiver’s neck, leaning in close to do so. [ CLOSE ] : our muses are in a position which leads to the sender stepping intimately closer to the receiver. [ UNBUTTON ] : due to heat or stress or other reasons, sender unbuttons the top of their shirt to reveal their neckline. [ DANCE ] : our muses dance together in close quarters. [ DEFEND ] : sender physically intervenes between receiver and a source of unwanted attention. [ TEXT ] : sender texts intimate content to receiver. [ PHONE ] : while on the phone with receiver, sender flirts teasingly during the call. [ BEHIND ] : unexpectedly, sender arrives close to receiver from behind, taking them by surprise. [ WET ] : our muses find one another in a torrential downpour of rain, both soaking wet. [ LEAN ] : sender leans tantalisingly close to receiver to retrieve something or catch their attention. [ LOOK ] : sender initiates intense eye contact with receiver. [ ALONE ] : our muses find one another alone in an isolated setting. [ ASK ] : sender asks receiver if they’re single. [ WHISPER ] : sender leans close to receiver’s ear in order to whisper something to them. [ BRUSH ] : sender reaches forward to brush a strand of receiver’s hair from their eyes. [ STEADY ] : sender steadies receiver by placing their hands on their waist when the receiver almost falls against them. [ SMILE ] : sender begins to grin at something the receiver is saying, like a big unstoppable grin. [ PULL ] : sender pulls receiver into their side as they’re walking together. [ STRADDLE ] : while sparring, sender gains the upper hand and pins the receiver in place, straddling their waist in the process. [ BLADE ] : sender, having been enemies with the receiver, places a knife to their throat, but does nothing else. [ STARE ] : while the receiver is speaking, the sender’s gaze drifts to their lips. [ UNDERCOVER ] : while pretending to be a couple for the sake of a mission or other purpose, sender and receiver find themselves giving a Remarkably Convincing performance that leaves them questioning how platonic they really are. [ AFTER ] : sender has just impulsively and passionately kissed the receiver without any warning nor apparent reason. how does the receiver respond? [ REMARK ] : after someone passes a remark on what a cute couple the seemingly platonic sender and receiver are, the sender casts a meaningful glance at the receiver, expecting them to say something about it first. [ PHOTOGRAPH ] : as someone volunteers to take a picture of them on a day out, sender instinctively wraps an arm around the receiver to steady them, holding them close for a photo that turns out to be more romantic than they were expecting. [ CHALLENGE ] : after the receiver teasingly suggests that the sender is a terrible kisser, sender immediately and fervently proves them wrong with a long, passionate kiss that leaves the receiver taking back what they said. [ LANGUAGE ] : sender begins to speak seductively and fluently with the receiver in another language. [ CONSTANT ] : after days/weeks/months/years of endless flirting back and forth, sender finally dares the receiver to go beyond flirting and break the tensions between them properly.

[kensatou]

he's like if a baby cow wandered into a zoom interview

[theredviper]

MAKE ME CHOOSE:

— @perotovar asked: spawn astarion or ascended astarion

[messiahzzz]

it’s been almost a year now… is the bg3 fandom finally ready to talk about how gale’s “hubris” is the sole product of actively feeding his insecurities further and straight up denying him help & guidance when he was at his lowest and needed it most. it’s not one of his core traits and never was. he isn’t some closeted power hungry monster that is just waiting to be enabled. what he wants is admiration, recognition and acceptance. which is also what he sought from mystra before the orb disaster happened. he had no desire whatsoever to become a god himself or challenge her rule, he simply wanted to be seen as sufficient in her eyes (“to serve her better”). to be as equal as he could possibly be in a relationship with a literal deity. he has a deep passion for magic and knowledge that affects almost all areas of his life and enjoys the display thereof. he wants to be the smartest person in the room and enjoys when his work is recognized. he may be perceived as arrogant when it comes to his skill, but he IS NOT hubristic. it truly takes so little for him to be wholly content.

[therapardalis]

The birds had been startled by a noise. That was all she could get out of them before they fluttered off into the night, and it really didn't mean much at all. Cranes, forklifts, foghorns of cargo ships making port after dark ... might have been anything, and for want of clearer information her best option was to get indoors and out of immediate sight.

This was also not her first foray into the warehouses here, both officially and not - though she tried to make the second kind as sparing as she could - and they were all built to the same basic design, making it easy to find her way down to the mezzanine above the main space.

Where she paused, waiting for the forklift to leave again and the roller-door to come down. Trying as she did to puzzle out the faint prickling sensation coming to roost at the back of her neck. It was telling her ... that she might not be alone, though she couldn't figure out how that could be. She'd seen no-one on her way down, there was no-one on the mezzanine with her ...

But the feeling just got worse the closer the edge of the descending main door got to the ground. So what the actual ... ?

'A-hem.'

Thera spun on her heel, hands warming as energy rushed to them in preparation for fire ... only to balk right after, eyes widening in surprise. The lighting wasn't the best, but it was more than enough to see the costume, and with a bit of a squint, the webline as well. Which led to the inevitable question; what the fuck was Spider-Man doing here?

Regardless, he had her bang to rights, and she could only hope that he wasn't moonlighting as security, and had no more permission to be there than she did.

"Visitors are supposed to report to reception," She chipped back, English accent plain, "I bet you didn't do that either!"

The roof access hatch came loose with a little super effort and the small matter of a broken lock, the hinges swinging opening with a loud creak. Peter gritted his teeth at the noise, fearing it was too loud, but when the only disturbance was a flock of nearby birds scattering, he exhaled and went back to the task at hand. He went headfirst through the opening, clinging to the underside of the metal roof, perching there for a moment to let his eyes adjust. Slowly he began to crawl across, keeping his head on a swivel as he nimbly navigated the supports, trying to keep the noise and movement to a minimum. For such an old section of the yards, a lot of this interior looked new. Pete thought he could almost smell the cheap paint and fresh timber, but that could have been his imagination. He hung from one bar upside down, still watching and waiting. The forklift driver had gotten the roller door open, and was back in the seat to ferry the crate indoors. Peter kept his focus on that, waiting to see where it would go in the warehouse. Maybe once the guy left he could take a peek and see what all the fuss was-- There was movement, in the shadows, over by the newly constructed office. Peter froze, completely still. He didn't exactly have enhanced vision you would think with spiders having so many eyes, but he was almost sure there was a figure skulking around back there. A figure all in black. His mind went to a few options of who it could be, but if this score was supposed to be as valued as he had heard, there was really only one person it could be. Not exactly Felicia's usual targets, but maybe she's keeping a lower profile these days... Looking between the forklift and the shadowy figure, Peter made a choice. He headed towards the office, hoping to get the drop on them before they could do the same to the crate. He crawled a little faster, sticking to the darker parts to hide his costume, until he was almost directly overhead. It was certainly a feminine figure, dressed head to toe in black, but now that he was closer he was starting to doubt his ID. Peter attached a line of webbing to the metal scaffold, slowly lowering himself down, until he was behind the figure. Quietly he cleared his throat. "Y'know," he whispered. "If you're gonna work in a warehouse after dark, you should really wear your PPE. Safety's important."

[destiel-wings]

Dean Winchester & hug dynamic analysis

I was thinking about how whenever Dean hugs someone he's almost always the one hugging the other and how this links to his psychological trauma of always being the caretaker of people, making himself bigger to protect them.

Because that's how Dean sees himself, as a shield for others, and then I thought about how Cas actually is the shield, and he's HIS SHIELD, specifically, the only one who's really there to protect HIM, which is why it hits so much when we see this:

The way Cas wraps his arms around him, trying to protect him with his whole body--that he'd use as a shield and give up in a second if he could spare him from any pain and save him.

(for context: Dean was about to go use the soul bomb on Amara there, it was a suicide mission)

Bobby is another one that hits, he hugs him as the big hugger because he's his father, he loves him and he's actually here to protect him (and Dean LETS him -barely, but he lets him *and Cas* - in a way that he doesn't let Sam)

I watched a compilation of Sam & Dean hugs to check if i was right about it, but it's almost always Dean the big hugger with Sam, except when he's about to die or Sam sees him alive again after losing him.

Even then, Dean mostly tries to hug Sam as the big hugger anyway, with at least one arm, like a way to comfort him, making him feel protected, like his body language is saying "I'm here, I'm okay, I'm still strong, i can still protect you" (because their real father failed and Dean thinks it's his job).

He rarely lets himself be the little one hugged with Sam, unless he's barely conscious. Which is why it kills me so much more now that in this moment (s14, when Dean was going to lock himself in the Ma'lak box cause he was possessed by Michael) and Sam has a desperate breakdown and punches him (to stop him) he forcefully hugs him as the little hugger, the way Dean always kept him, like a way of saying "I still need you to protect me, please don't do this to yourself".

In the scene below he gives Sam his blessing to do a dangerous (possibly suicidal) mission, and one of his arms is down, but the other one tries to stay up--he's forcing himself to do it and he struggles because he still wants to protect him, but (as the seasons progress) he slowly becomes more prone to let go.

So in this view the hug dynamic becomes an indicator of how Dean sees Sam (and himself) and his protector role, how adult and self sufficient he considers Sam, and how much he lets people around him take care of him, lowering his walls and letting himself be hugged.

This is also why i think hugs from characters like Garth or Charlie are so special, because they're just like us: they see Dean and they just know that he needs to be hugged a lot, and that he's not used to it, so they just go for it-- and it's so normal and kind and spontaneous that Dean's just not used to it-- he doesn't know how to respond (especially with Garth, at the beginning, but as the seasons progress, he learns to, and he even initiates the hug eventually).

I love the hugs where they're 50/50 (one arm up, one arm down both), feels like they're equals, both taking care of each other. I feel like with Sam and Dean, this indicates a healthier dynamic, because Dean lets go a little of the role that was imposed to him and manages to see Sam as the strong individual that he is. But the same applies to 50/50 hugs with other characters, like with Cas, where I feel like it testifies how equals they feel in terms of being fighters, there's a show of respect of each other's strength that transpires by the gesture (which is even more astounding considering that Cas is literally a powerful angel).

And just to end on a destiel note, I'd like to note the possessiveness and protectiveness of Dean (rightfully so) whenever he finds Cas after he thought he had lost him, and how that translates into his body/hug language:

[rainbow-banana-slug]

eye strain warning

gummy 🌈🐬

[plain text: gummy 🌈rainbow emoji🐬dolphin emoji]

(^ shark emoji not blue enough)

[id: dark skinned black person with williams syndrome in decora kei fashion walk with posterior walker. person have pink hair with rainbow bangs n all sorts hair clips in hair & stickers on cheek. have many rainbow necklace include one with double yoke egg. wear blue sweater with white cloud where one sleeve is yellow horse with pink leash thing. there many pins on sweater include gummies (gummy shark, peach ring, gummy worm, gummy bear) & green crayons & others. she wear cross body green dino plushie (bag?). rainbow vertical stripe pants with rainbow n star chain. one shoe red one shoe blue. posterior walker made of different color crayons. there text around character describe her which be functionally described below. end id]

🌈🐬.

girl (complicated gender) with williams syndrome n love decora kei fashion & bright colors (she call them happy colors/excited colors)!! she has lotssss of bows n head pieces n hair clips n necklaces n bracelets n other decoration & big wardrobe with bright colored clothing! she love wear different outfits but it consistently decora kei.

she love gummy candy & named herself after them >:) blue/red gummy worm & blue gummy shark her favorites (blue gummy shark also my favorite. to look at.)

williams syndrome (also known as williams-beuren syndrome) is genetic developmental disorder micro-deletion of some of chromosome 7. for gummy, WS lead her have moderate intellectual disability (ID) & global developmental delay, level 2 autism, ADHD-c; congenital heart defects (CHD); hypotonia (low muscle tone), & loose joints.

like many people with WS, gummy very friendly & social! she love hugs & talking to people & talk lot & very physical in show affection! but also often struggle tell when other people not want be social / be social with her, be called “a lot” & “too much,” which lead her have trouble make n keep friends n make her sad—even tho WS make her extra outgoing, she also still get sad n mad n not hide it. she also struggle with danger awareness & often treat strangers like would with friend, n it been something that her support team very focused on work with her entire life because this lead her be very easily taken advantage of n be put in danger.

also like many ppl with williams syndrome, language & verbal abilities her strong suit—tho it’s relative to her moderate ID, so one shouldn’t expect she write speak communicate like average person without struggle. her words more simple, n still need many help for communication, including various form of AAC & aide person.

she has aides that pretty much 24/7 present because WS & moderate ID but working on skills so can be more independent! it something she been work very hard on entire life n she quite proud of progress.

she has many classic facial features associate with williams syndrome, like epicanthal folds at eye, upturned nose, wide mouth & small teeth, small jaw, full cheeks (badly drawn), n large ears.

70% or more people with WS have some sort cardiovascular problem, n so do gummy. she has supravalvar aortic stenosis (narrowing of aorta) which form of congenital heart defect (CHD). hers not very severe n be closely monitored.

she also have hypotonia & loose joints due to WS & uses posterior walker full time to get around. she really like her posterior walker, it shaped like many crayons :D also wear SMOs but forgot write it so oops

art fight character profile

[reblog welcome but please no repost]

[cy-cyborg]

Tips for wring amputees: its ok if your amputee can't repair their own prosthetics

There's a trope in fiction for amputees to always be these mechanical geniuses who can make and repair their own prosthetics, endlessly tinkering away and improving them. This isn't a particularly trope, and i dont think its harmful or anything, but in reality, prosthetics are REALLY, REALLY complicated, and a lot of amputees cant do their own repairs. And thats ok. Like, prosthetic creation and repair is way, way harder than I think people expect. Well outside the skillset of your standard mechanic, handy man or craftsperson.

People who make and repair prosthetics are called prosthetists. To become a prosthetist, most countries around the world today require you to have completed a bachelor's degree in specifically in prosthetics and orthotics, which covers not only how to make a prosthetics (and orthodics) but a great deal of medical knowledge, physics, how different forces impact "non-standard" bodies, the additional biological wear-and-tear that comes with being an amputee and so much more. This will qualify you to do the job of fitting/making the prosthetic socket (the part that attaches to your body) and putting premade components together to make a functioning device. On top of this, many prosthetists are also expected to have artistic skills, sewing skills, good physical strength and dexterity, IT skills, and more recently, knowledge of 3D modelling and printing.

You want to make all the high-tech components the prosthetists put together to make the full prosthetic? The requirements for that vary country to country, but most will require at least some level study in the field of engineering and/or medicine, on top of what was already required for the prosthetics course.

The reason for all this is because even "basic" prosthetics are extremely finicky, and messing up one thing will have a domino effect on the rest of the body, especially in more complicated prosthetics. It can also result in people getting severally injured if anything is even slightly off. many leg amputees for example end up with spinal issues due to extremely minor issues with their prosthetic that weren't caught until years later, and by then the damage had been done.

Some amputees do learn to do basic repairs. This is most common in places like the US, where a visit to the prosthetist can cost hundred to thousands of dollars (depending on your insurance), but it's also quite common in rural parts of countries like Australia, where cost isn't an issue but access is due to vast distances between major cities. I was personally in this category; as a kid, my nearest prosthetist was 6 hours away. My prosthetist was able to teach my dad, who later taught me, how to do some of the simple repairs, but we still needed to go in every few weeks for the more complex stuff (Kids prosthetic need more adjusting than adults because they're still growing. Also I was rough on my prosthetics and broke them a lot lol).

But even after being taught how to do repairs and having my prosthetics for 20+ years, I only ever did these sorts of repairs to my below-knee prosthetic. I will not do any repairs of any kind to my above knee leg, which is much more technologically complex. Every time I tried, I made it worse to the point where the leg was unusable. I just leave those repairs to the guy who went to university to learn how to do it, and sometimes even he needs to send it off to someone with even more specialist knowledge when it's really badly messed up lol. Last time that happened Australia post lost the package. Not really relevant to this post, I just find the idea of it being sent to the wrong place by accident hilarious, it was one of my more realistic legs too so someone probably had a heart attack when they opened that package lmao.

Anyway, back on track lol.

This isn't even touching on the fact that on some more advanced prosthetics, many features are actually locked behind a security barrier only prosthetists can access. My prosthetic knee has an app on my phone I can pair it to, that allows me to change certain settings and swap between certain modes for different activities that tell the leg to change its behaviour depending on what I'm doing (e.g. a mode for running, a mode for cycling etc). but most of the more in-depth settings I can't access, only my prosthetist can, and he can only gain access to those settings with a security key given to him by the manufacturing company that requires him to provide proof of his credentials to receive it. I don't really agree with this btw, something about being locked out of my own leg's settings makes me feel a bit of an ick, but it's set up like this because people used to be able to access these settings and they would mess with things to the point their leg was virtually unusable. Because altering one setting had a domino effect on all the others, and a lot of folks weren't really paying attention to what they were messing with, all their prosthetists could do was factory reset the whole leg, which causes some issues too. Prosthetic arms are often similarly complex, as I understand it and have similar security barriers in place for more advanced arms. I don't know for sure though, so take that with a grain of salt.

All this to say these are incredibly delicate, finicky and complex pieces of equipment. There's nothing wrong with having a techy amputee character who can do their own repairs, but in reality, that is pretty rare, and its ok to have your character need to see a prosthetist or someone more knowledgeable than them. It's a part of the amputee experience I don't see reflected very often in media. In fact, the only examples I can think of in fiction (meaning not stories based on real people) where this is reflected are Full metal alchemist.

technically I think Subnautica Below Zero also mentions prosthetists are a thing in that world, but its a very "blink and you'll miss it" kind of thing...in fact I did miss it until my last playthrough lol.

[therapardalis]

archersbadrpmemes

☾Moonlight Aesthetic Starters☽

⋆Feel free to send more than one!

⋆To reverse, send ‘+✨’

[Cut for length]

⋆Indoors

(🌙) My muse comes over to your muse’s house/room to spend the night.

(💤)My muse finds your muse sleeping in bed with them.

(💭) My muse wakes your muse after having a dream/nightmare.

(📓) My muse stays up studying till midnight.

(📖) My muse reads a book/bedtime story for your muse.

(👁) My muse wakes your muse up because they can’t sleep.

(🍵) My muse cares for your sick muse in the middle of the night.

(🎐) My muse finds yours outside their house when they are suppose to be in bed.

(🧳) My muse is getting ready for work but your muse stops mine.

(☀️) Our muses watch the sunset and moon arise.

(🌅) Our muses stay up till sunrise.

(🎮) Our muses stay up playing video games.

(🥪) Our muses make a midnight snack.

(📺) Our muses watch tv together.

(📼) Our muses watch a movie/vhs tape together.

(🛌) Our muses make a pillow fort.

(🛋) Our muses are hanging out in the living room.

(🛁) Our muses take a nighttime bath together. (With rose petals and candles included.)

(🌧) Our muses watch the rain outside their window.

(💥) Our muses get a power outage.

(⚫️) Our muses are in a pitch black room.

(🕯) Our muses light some candles.

⋆Outdoors

(☕️) My muse finds your muse at a coffee shop, alone.

(🍳) My muse finds your muse at a diner.

(🥃) My muse finds your muse in a bar, late at night.

(⛪️) My muse finds yours at a church.

(🌃) My muse meets yours in the nighttime city.

(🚎) My muse finds yours in a public bus.

(🚊) My muse finds yours taking the same subway train.

(🚂) My muse finds your muse on the same train as them, still awake.

(🚗) My muse drives your muse at night.

(🏍) My muse drives in the middle of the night on their motorcycle with your muse holding on to mine.

(🌲) My muse finds your muse in the forest in the middle of the night.

(🌊) My muse finds your muse at the beach in the middle of the night.

(🛡) My muse saves your muse from getting beaten up by a gang.

(🎉) My muse meets yours at a party. (House party, club, etc.)

(🔭) Our muses go stargazing.

(☄️) Our muses watch a meteor shower.

(🎆) Our muses watch a firework show.

(🎇) Our muses bought their own fireworks! Let’s light ‘em up!

(🎑) Our muses go to a night festival together.

(🛒) Our muses go shopping together for groceries or other things.

(🛍) Our muses go to the mall.

(🏬) Our muses go to a restaurant.

(🎞) Our muses go to the movie theatre.

(🔥) Our muses go camping together.

(🎸) Our muses go to a concert.

(🎧) Our muses go to the club.

(🏚) Our muses entered an abandoned area. (House, construction site, town, etc.)

(🚫) Our muses go to places they shouldn’t.

(🚔) The cops are after our muses.

(🚕) Our muses take a taxi home.

(🗺) Our muses get lost. (In the forest, mountains, city, etc.)

(☔️) Our muses get stuck in the rain.

⋆Misc

(🕛) My muse points out that it’s midnight for your muse.

(🎵) My muse sings your muse a lullaby.

(🌠) My muse points out a shooting star and wants yours to make a wish! Quick!

(🌱) My muse catches yours watering a potted plant/garden.

(💧) My muse cries in front of yours.

(🚬) My muse catches your muse doing late night smoking.

(⛓) My muse rubs their fingers against your muse’s scars.

(💔) My muse help washes blood off your muse.

(🐾) My muse accidentally reveals a secret that they have been hiding from your muse. (Being a werewolf, vampire, demon, etc.)

(📻) Our muses listens to the radio.

(👻) Our muses tell ghost stories.

(🌷) Our muses walk around a garden.

(🎤) Our muses do karaoke.

(🐺) Our muses hear howling in the distance.

(📷) Our muses take pictures of each other in the moonlight.

(👄) Our muses whisper secrets and promises to each other.

(🤝) Our muses hold hands in the moonlight.

(🍽) Our muses have a dinner date.

(💃) Our muses dance in the moonlight.

(💋) Our muses kiss under the moonlight.

(💍) My muse asks to marry yours in the moonlight.

⋆Quotes

“I can see the moon and stars in your eyes.”

“Your the prettiest star I have ever seen..”

“Wow.. the moon looks so pretty..”

“I’m a little sleepy..”

“I wish I could jump over the moon!”

“Nah, I don’t feel like sleeping!”

“C’mon!! Let’s dance!”

“The moonlight is our spotlight! The stars is our audience!”

“Look! A shooting star!”

“I wish for..”

“Shh! Don’t say your wish out loud or it won’t come true!”

“I’m not really a.. *yawn*..night owl..”

“D-Did you hear that?”

“I can hear a cricket chirping.”

“I can hear an owl.”

“I think we’re lost..”

“Ahhh!! A wolf!!”

“Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“The moon/night is my ally!”

“Darkness will consume you!”

“What time is it?”

“It’s 12AM already?!”

“You can sleep in my bed if you want.”

“Your sleeping on the couch!”

“Come back to bed..”

“Don’t shine that light in my eyes!”

“It’s so dark out..”

“Look at those pretty fireworks!”

“Spooky ghooost~”

“Boo!”

“Ah!”

“You trying to be scary?”

“I’m actually a little hungry.”

“Are they open this late?”

“Hey! [Name]! Over here!”

“That movie sucked!”

“Let’s.. not go that way.”

“This place is like a ghost town!”

“Ouch!”

“Stay still! If you keep moving, it will hurt more!”

“It’s not what it looks like..”

[cripplecharacters]

What might be a good way to design a wheelchair in a medieval fantasy setting? The issues being that it seems to generally be a no-no to make a walking chair with legs as a wheelchair replacement, and the fact that terrain in that kinda setting is not all that friendly to wheelchairs, with dirt/mud paths, cobblestones, etc.

Hello, thank you for your ask! Please note I’m not a historian, just someone who’s done a lot of research. If anyone on Tumblr wants to add anything they know about the subject that I didn’t cover, feel free!

I’m going to start with the terrain before I get into the wheelchairs, and to start, a wheelchair can definently get over dirt and cobblestone. Even back before paved roads people needed smooth roads in order to transport carts, and even Rome had very well maintained cobbled roads in 300 A.D. to make transport as efficient as possible. There are, of course, uneaven or poorly maintained cobblestone paths, and those would certainly be an issue. If your story takes place in an area with uneaven stone roads, I’d recommend looking into manual hiking wheelchairs for design inspiration. Dirt paths shouldn’t pose as much of an issue either, unless they’re like covered in roots, plants, mounds, etc, but a well traveled dirt path should be packed well enough to not be an issue. Mud can pose an issue, but even dirt roads with hard-packed dirt from heavy foot traffic should have much more shallow puddles and less loose mud than regular loose dirt would. If your character likes in a particularly wet/rainy area I’d recommend looking into beach wheelchairs and manual all-terrain wheelchairs. Otherwise, your character should be fine on ancient roads! Now, onto ancient chairs.

The medieval ages span quite a long time, from the 5th century A.D. to the 14th century, and wheelchairs have been being created for that entire time. While many other disability aids were also being used during that time, I’m going to focus on wheelchairs and wheeled aids so I don’t make this too long, and because that’s what was asked. A quick note is that the first self propelled wheelchair was made by a watchmaker named Stephan Farffler in 1655 [pictured below], so if you want your character(s) to be able to propel themselves you’re going to have to take some creative liberties. [Note: Stephan’s chair was probably very useful for getting over uneaven terrain, with its three wheels and low center of gravity making it harder to tip.]

Records show that Greece was one of the first countries to develop wheeled-aids. The first instance of the Greeks using something similar can be found on a vase from 530 B.C. depicting a child on a bed with wheels being taken outside. Now there isn’t much surviving evidence of ancient Greek mobility aids, but there have been Greek temples found with both stairs and ramps, which imply people were being wheeled into temples fairly often [source]. There have also been vases imagining Triptolemus on a wheeled chair since 400 B.C., though it seems like imaginative work rather than something accessible to the public considering the chair doesn’t look like it could stand upright? But then again I’m not a historian and it’s possible a wealthy disabled person at the time took inspiration for what their chair would look like, or vise versa.

The first record of a wheelchair in China is found on a stone carving from 525 A.D. showing a wealthy man in a custom chair. For those with less money, records show they had been using wheelbarrows to transport disabled people since 200 A.D., and this form was definently more common for the average person who didn’t have money for a custom chair. [I unfortunately couldn’t find artwork depicting someone being carried in a wheelbarrow during this time, every picture I found was from the 1900’s and sooner, but feel free to look them up for inspiration.]

Wheelbarrows were then brought from China to Europe in the 12th century and were also used to transport people, as well as having the design changed.

In 1595 King Phillip II of Spain received the first clearly recorded wheelchair after becoming bedridden with gout. Unlike the other chairs it had the ability to have a reclining headrest and adjustable footrest. This chair was definently designed more for confort than practicality, as the king probably wouldn't need to travel any unkept roads like a poor person would.

Wheelchairs developed way more during the 18-19th centuries, and you can always look there for ideas if you want your character to be more independent.

I hope this was all helpful!

Mod Rot

[noodledevourer]

The sully kids as incorrect quotes

[themathomhouse]

this disability pride month, stop making jokes about people in wheelchairs standing up or walking.

can I stand and walk? sure, for a short while and with pain. the consequences for trying to be out all day without a wheelchair are that I'll be in bed for the rest of the week, too tired and in too much pain to move.

but the government won't give me my own wheelchair because they have the same attitude as these jokes - I can stand up, so I don't need one. exercise is good for you, you should walk!

it keeps me trapped in the house, unable to do anything more than short stints anywhere without borrowing or hiring a wheelchair - one that causes me pain to sit in and relies on someone to push me (usually with difficulty), because they're not going to have a high-end chair for that sort of thing.

it's not a miracle that a wheelchair user can stand or walk. it's something we should aspire to see more often.

[therapardalis]

She noticed a faint look of surprise on the shop clerk's face, wondered briefly at the cause; surely a woman interested in archaeology couldn't be such an unusual thing. Granted it was something of a niche in amongst the hundreds of different subjects lining the shelves, but in a store that advertised rare and antique she would have thought it to be a bit more common.

The man coughed, as if seeing the expression on her face in turn, and pointed her toward the rear of the building. "Right to the back, to your left. Uh ..." A small hesitation, and a shade of a frown, "Begging your pardon, Miss, but was it you who called earlier?"

Thera paused in the process of turning to head back and to her left, looked toward him with a shake of her head. "No, not me ... I just got a brochure in the mail." Curiosity and small-talk suggested pursuing it, asking about that call, but she let it go - it explained that puzzled look, at the very least.

As did the quick blink of her own as she slipped between the rows as directed, only to find someone else already there. A casual browser, perhaps - or this section was unusually popular today. If he looked up she'd offer him the sort of brief, closed-lips smile that stood in for 'hello, don't mind me' before ... well she went to the shelves, but she was also distracted (like a magpie) by the shiny book in his hands.

"Is that the one with the bird on the cover?" She kept her voice low, with another quick smile that apologised for sticking her nose in - half-turning to peruse the other titles herself, "It's really good."

Fingers running reverently over the tightly packed shelves, Steven muttered the titles and author's surnames under his breath with each book, trying to mentally go through which copies he had at home and what he could have been missing. At this point the 'library' in his flat was more impressive than most of the bookstores in the greater London area, probably thanks in no part to the fact he would make his monthly rounds to many of them. Some almost weekly, especially if he knew they tended to get new stock in more often. In fact, most of his paycheque would go towards new acquisitions for his collection. If his London flat hadn't already been paid for in full, Steven would have spent the rent money on books more than once. The man was obsessed. But he wouldn't go as far as to say it was a problem, per se... Marc would. Steven's alter had tried in vain to wean him off of buying books so often. Telling him over and over that no one needed this many books on Egypt and the ancient world, and rightfully pointing out that, now that Steven was unemployed, they didn't have the money to blow on more books that would just add to the clutter and collect copious amounts of dust. Dust that Marc cleaned away, more than Steven ever had. Steven would wave it off, promise that he was just going to duck in, browse a little, only wanting to see if there was anything new on the shelf. And if he happened to pick up a small book, or two (or three), it wasn't the end of the world. Which is exactly what was happening today. It had been a little while since Steven had visited this particular bookstore, nestled between the two businesses that had been shuttered for as long as he could recall. They were bound to have something new in by now, and he only wanted a quick peek to check. See if maybe there was something that would catch his eye... He barely registered the ring of the bell as another customer came in, hidden in the far back corner, practically in his own little bubble. The shop wasn't that big, however, and his ears did perk up when he heard a woman's voice ask about the Archaeology section. The section he was currently entrenched in. Steven blinked, tearing his eyes away from the books to glance around the shelves, more curious than anything. Nobody usually came around looking for something similar to what he was-- That's when he saw it. Out of the corner of his eye, a glint reflecting the singular overhead light, dulled but still (artificially) golden. Distracted from the previous distraction Steven reached for the shimmering book, pulling it out carefully. His brows furrowed when he first saw the cover, then something in the back of his mind clicked. Something deep, long forgotten, and he gave a soft gasp under his breath... He'd seen this one before.

[aquapolis]

dumping every zenigata here all at once

[lordsmaf]