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Am I bad at drawing armor? Yes. Are there places where you can see where I was too rough with the color pencils? Also yes. But I finally finished my drawing of my warden.

This drawing takes place after the end of Origins but before Rafael and Zevran officially adopt my 'canon' Rook(currently age 7). The two of them tend to travel a lot since Rafael's never been outside of the tower before the blight. They slow down temporarily when they adopt Rook. But they eventually end up heading north.

I've decided the two of them eventually with Morrigan in a throuple. It takes forever for the three of to figure it out tho. Like takes until Rook is 13 nearly 14 and Kieran 6-7ish kind of slow burn. Because unfortunately, Rafael is the only with even a shred of emotional competency and the dude was raised in a tower.

Here's an awkward photo of my mage warden Rafael Surana. I'm playing him on ps3 because I can't really play origins on my laptop. He's romancing Zevran.

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Don't quite have the words this but I have a very interesting idea for my elf Rook. Mostly about their birth parents. I want to make one of them look nearly identical to one of Mythal and Elgar'nan's children. Rook's mom or dad wouldn't actually be one of them. Just be kind of a look a like that would make Mythal and Elgar'nan do a double take if Rook's birth parents were still alive. It could be a fun little angst idea.

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*wheeze* I was looking up the johto starters cause I wanted to check them out after the legends za trailer. And I found a very hilarious mistake.

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Y'know while I do appreciate that we got more hair options for qunari, I do wish we got braids and more bangs. Like my Qunari Rook is based on an oc who has a very pretty braid. And his hair in front looks similar to Shathann's. Taash has their hair in a cool ass braid why can't we?

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As a paramedic, Ratchet's alt mode in tfp driving around Jasper is hilarious to me.

We usually know who is on what ambulance unit and where the other ambulances are. They have GPS trackers on them/on the ambulance's phone, so dispatch can see where they are. Jasper is a small town, so their EMS/Fire dept is likely small as fuck. So the first responders all likely know each other and what's going on.

NO ONE can track this weird ass ambulance. Dispatch has no idea where it came from.

The other medics in Jasper being like "what fucking unit is that" or "what THE FUCK." There's no department marking or star of life on Ratchet's alt's exterior, but it has lights and sirens. Which is fucking illegal.

The other first responders talk about the Mysterious Unknown ambulance that is OCCASIONALLY spotted like a fucking cryptid. It becomes an inside joke/urban legend.

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Been playing Veilguard recently and I currently have two Rooks.

My Canon Rook who's an enby elf Veil Jumper. They're the adopted child of my Surana and Zevran. I'm still trying to figure out more of their backstory between getting adopted and the start of the game. All I got so far is that their eye got damaged during the blight and they're 26-28. They're a pretty normal person despite the whole 'adopted by previous protagonist thing'. Trying to decide if Surana, Zevran, and Morrigan platonically co parent Rook and Keiran together or they end up a throuple. This Rook is romancing Lucanis.

Then there's my for fun Mourn Watch Qunari Rook. He's based on an oc so it's been interesting trying to fit his backstory for dragon age. Especially since the oc he's based on is half kaiju. Like the best I got is a cult fucking with the fade via experimentation and his mom getting kidnapped during early pregnancy. His birth dad has no idea he exists. Still deciding if his parents were together or if it was just a one night stand. He is absolutely messing with Lucanis by pretending not to see Spite when he can. Is trans and down bad for one(1) old man and his skeleton son.

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he never misses

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Here's an awkward photo of my mage warden Rafael Surana. I'm playing him on ps3 because I can't really play origins on my laptop. He's romancing Zevran.

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For transformers one, how long do you think it takes for Starscream, Soundwave, and Shockwave to realize how YOUNG Megatron is? Like the three of them are probably closer to whatever the cybertonian version of 40 is. Meanwhile Megs, OP, Elita, and Bee are at max mid 20's. How long does it take them to go OH SHIT over the fact the leader of the decepticons is basically a baby?

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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 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!!!

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Been rewatching some Doctor Who and am on season 3. Kinda wish that we got more of Dalek Sec than the two episodes he was in. It would of been really interesting to see a Dalek that was willing to grow and change beyond what they were created for.

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reminder to worldbuilders: don't get caught up in things that aren't important to the story you're writing, like plot and characters! instead, try to focus on what readers actually care about: detailed plate tectonics

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I totally forgot that SOM is the book where Dionysus gets sad bc he misses Chiron and I hope they show it on the show too

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We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

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*Double Monk plays loudly*

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tired: "reblog for sample size