#creating guide animals

[blindbeta]

hi! i'm currently writing a blind character in a futuristic sci-fi setting (think fifth element). some backstory just so there's additional context: she's orphaned as a baby, and while very young, contracts a virus that leaves her with minimal light and shadow perception. she later gets adopted, and her father acts as her guide until she's 12. when she turns 12, she's gifted a droid who acts as her mobility aid (visually, her droid is similar in design/size of r2-d2 from star wars). i thought this fit the futuristic setting. here's my question. originally, i had her (let's call her C) commission a special pair of glasses that connect to her droid so it can see what she sees and better help it guide her in public spaces, especially if it's too loud for her to hear it or if they get separated somehow, because the glasses have an auditory link for them to communicate with each other. after doing more research, i've learned that the "blind character covering their eyes" trope is super common and kind of looked down upon in the blind community. i'm really worried now, as someone sighted, that i've fallen for it by designing C's mobility aid this way. have i? and if i have, what is some advice or tips for ways i could alter this to where it doesn't come across as trope-y? should i get rid of the glasses, scrap the droid idea completely, etc?

Guide Droid And Character Covering Her Eyes With Glasses

The glasses remind me a bit of the OrCam My Eye, which is a pair glasses and an ear piece. You have an already-existing precedent for this. Additionally, my main concern with covering eyes, which I discuss here, [link], is that there is often no thought or explanation behind why a character’s eyes must be covered. Narratives often twist themselves into knots simply to cover a blind person’s eyes with something like sunglasses or a blindfold, which the character never removes.

Regular glasses are, however, a different story. Regular glasses are transparent. They are usually for protection of the eyes. They may also make objects slightly clearer, which can reduce eye strain. Not that your character will need to worry about that.

The glasses are not able to correct vision. They serve a purpose, and one that isn’t covering the person’s eyes.

My suggestion is to provide an explanation for the glasses and make sure they are see-through. They shouldn’t be sunglasses unless she has transition lenses, which can protect her from damaging UV rays.

The key is not to cover up your character’s eyes. Especially for no particular reason.

However, if you are worried about the glasses, you can also simply have bone-conducting ear piece that sits on top of her ear. Avoid implants or anything that might disrupt her hearing or other senses.

The Guide Droid

Speaking of senses, having a droid as her guide means she will miss out on a lot of tactile information provided by a cane and, to a lesser extent, a guide dog. For example, a handler can feel elevation.

Walking behind a droid is not going to provide that same information.

Yes, there is a step down, but where? Is it an even step or does it curve? Are the steps the same width?

I suggest giving her a cane, as they can be used with sighted guide and to a lesser degree, service animals. Her using a cane won’t interfere with a droid the same way it might with a guide dog or horse.

Alternatively, you can also find a way to connect them so she can get tactile information. Another, cuter option might be a droid service animal with a more futuristic harness.

About Using Sighted Guide Until She is 12

Something about this bothers me.

Sighted guide is a legitimate form of O&M and can increase independence in a way only blind folks can relate to. I also know that sighted guide may be more encouraged in some cultures that value interdependence. Sighted guide is a great and should be used more in fiction. I personally prefer it in unfamiliar areas and at night time.

However, it also feels off to me that she so happens to use a human guide all her life and not a cane. It may be because I am imagining times where her father may not be able to accompany her. Or perhaps I am sensitive to the lack of mobility aids in fiction that feature blind characters.

Lastly, cane skills are a part of O&M, which is needed before being able to work properly with a guide animal. I think she should have at least some cane skills and some navigation techniques even if she prefers to have her father guide her. This also gives her more agency to experiment and choose what is comfortable for her.

Here is a post I made about mobility aids that might help.

I hope this helps.

[fortokeep]

stickers found for @webkinzcat (via this post) [now with fixed cats!]

1, 2, 3

[computerhugs]

Hello and hi! I made a post about a month ago discussing the idea of making a mod for Pizza Tower which gives Peppino a crop top and I'm happy to say that that mod is a quarter finished! I've edited a bit over 800 sprites so far and as my schedule has recently freed up progress will be speeding up by a TON. I'm feeling optimistic and energized, so expect a finished mod in a little over a month perhaps. Here's a little look at what's been finished so far.

I probably won't be making a lot of progress update posts after this point, but if you want to know how much of the mod is complete then I'll be updating my blog theme's HP bar to show how much is done.

Thanks for reading :], I hope once this is finished you'll get to enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed working on it hehe

[harmcityherald]

I've found a wayward bishop who needs our love and attention. I'm thinking to leave him black but with blood red trim. he will look positively lurid.

[fogaminghub]

🌟 Ready for MLB The Show 25? Set to launch on March 18, 2025, this edition brings exciting new features like ShowTech animations and Diamond Quest mode! ⚾️🎮

Check out our step-by-step guide to creating your MLBTS account and linking your console or third-party accounts. Get prepared for an unforgettable gaming experience! 🌟

[jaxyscreams]

istg I used to not want kids but then my cousin had a kid, I start T and then I worked with kids for a bit and just

Whilst working with those kids I got hit with the “Oh! Oh I do want kids”

like it was one of the teenagers (shy queer kid who together w their sister named a kitten after me) & the one “trouble maker” (adhd boy who just needed attention & is absolutely brilliantly creative) that made me realise

And now every now & then I just get hit with the big big big feelings of wanting to be a parent & thinking of my future kid(s) and just Cry Real Easy

fjdjdjdjjd??? they’re just so good and there’s so much love in being around them and watching and helping them grow and I just oh man

Big feelings

[sidewalkchemistry]

Animals live such uncomplicated lives in comparison to us. You see how the butterflies spend so much time fluttering, transporting pollen from flower to flower, drinking sweet nectar. The simplicity seems almost like a fairytale fantasy with all of the beauty it contains. It recalls to us that the same is actually true in our lives. When we infuse the same amounts of purpose and wonderment and carefree spirit, we will step into our more angelic likenesses.

-All About Butterfly Spirit Guides (by @sidewalkchemistry on Patreon)

[kianamaiart]

Forgot I had these! These are redlines I did for Mathieu Hains (who animated the beautiful color segment). This was from his first blocking pass

Was a very good lesson in "why turnarounds and expression sheets are important" and "your boards will not always be interpreted by an animator the way you see it in your head"! All Mathieu had to go off of was my boards and the original character sheets (VERY limited reference haha) but he's also a great artist so he created a very solid foundation and my redlines were just to help guide the drawings to what I imagined

[lionheartlr]

Discover Bolivia: Your Ultimate Travel Guide

A Glimpse into Bolivia’s Rich History Bolivia, a landlocked country in South America, boasts a diverse and rich history. It was originally inhabited by ancient civilizations, including the Tiwanaku and the Inca Empire. Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 16th century, leading to centuries of colonial rule. Bolivia gained independence in 1825 but has since experienced a turbulent political…

[aria0fgold]

I got Halcyon and Felicity in the brain which is a rarity for me cuz my brain mainly has Alec and Ray when it comes to OCs so I'm now taking this chance to develop them a lil more.

[inthecarpets]

The real reason why i feel like the media literacy gotten slightly up instead of declined is bc stuff like Dan Schneider.

Back in the day young people would watch his shows and simply think "Love it! That's fun!"

And idk, maybe i'm wrong but i got this feeling that nowadays young people watching his shows would rather more often be like: "Uhh. That's a lot of feet fetish out there for kids shows."

And i think of it because, after all, isn't reading the subtext part of media literacy?

[blindbeta]

hi, this is like, a REALLY oddly specific question, but i wanted to ask. would it be seen as wrong if i were to have my character's guide dog be in some way magical?

for more context on the specific situation, my characters are in a world where basically nothing is without some level of magic to it. my character has a guide dog, but i felt like it didn't fit the theme to have just. a normal dog? because i wouldn't put a normal dog somewhere else. the dog isn't like, telepathic or able to fix her blindness, (ive made it VERY clear to myself that at no point will i do that) i was mostly thinking something like the dog having some sort of elemental component to it, which would be a pretty common power in this world.

I just wanted to make sure it fit in with the rest of the characters in its world, instead of sticking out as just kinda being shoved in with no worldbuilding around it. there wouldn't really be 'normal' animals normally, so it feels like underdeveloped worldbuilding if i don't.

I'm worried though, that this is going to be wrong in the way that it'd seem... glamorizing? that's not what i intend, but I don't want it to come off as something in that vein. if that makes sense.

i hope this is like. sensible to ask about and not wasting your time. thank you so much, and thank you in general for running this blog, i think it's a really great resource.

I think having a magical guide dog is fine. You aren’t using the magic to erase the handler’s disability, as you mentioned. As long as you are actively working on that, it seems fine to me.

As long as the animal can make a good guide, be trained from infancy, and can navigate well, it doesn’t matter if they are a magical creature.

I list some qualities a guide should have in this post if it helps.

@moth-time created an excellent addition to this post in the notes:

i reread the guide linked by OP and now I'm thinking some kind of earth elemental or otherwise particularly magically heavy/stocky dog could be neat, bc it provides more stability than a regular dog (so more like a miniature horse). it could have a rocky/armored back that is easier to lean on than slippy dog skin, for example. Much like irl certain dog breeds are favored as guide dogs bc of breed specs, a magical universe could favor "earth elemental dogs" for same reason

you could have some magical component of the dog be helpful to the guided person, though i am struggling to come up with a good one for a blind guide dog. But for example a fire elemental therapy dog that can regulate it's body to be toasty warm and offer deep pressure and temperature therapy would be neat. It doesn't negate or "fix" the disability, but it's a little different/more magical while still recognizable

BlindBeta’s thoughts:

So I love this. An earth type dog would add excellent stabilization, orientation, and be additionally good at avoiding obstacles such as uneven ground. They could be great for balance and probably deep pressure therapy as well. Maybe they are favored as guide dogs because they are dependable, while also good at selective disobedience to keep a blind person safe, such as refusing to cross the street when it is dangerous (due to quiet cars or such). I could also see water or air type dogs being good alert dogs, perhaps.

Also not sure how common this is, but on this page about seizure alert dogs from the epilepsy foundation, it says some dogs are trained to put their body between the handler and the floor to cushion falls. Air type dogs might good at this because they are probably softer and could gently cushion a falling person without them hitting the floor.

I also had an idea that wood types might be more flexible and good assistance dogs for older adults, wheelchair users, etc. Like dog breeds, they have certain qualities that make them good at assistance, such as being depended on to retrieve any number of items, pull door handles, etc.

This is fun. I would love to see ideas from anyone else.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

commonly confused words

accept: to receive except: with the exclusion of

advice: recommendation (noun) advise: to recommend (verb)

adverse: unfavorable averse: opposed to

affect: to influence (verb); emotional response (noun) effect: result (noun); to cause (verb)

aisle: space between rows isle: island

allude: to make indirect reference to elude: to avoid

allusion: indirect reference illusion: false idea, misleading appearance

already: by this time all ready: fully prepared

altar: sacred platform or place alter: to change

altogether: thoroughly all together: everyone/everything in one place

a lot: a quantity; many of something allot: to divide or portion out

angel: supernatural being, good person angle: shape made by joining two straight lines

are: plural form of "to be" our: plural form of "my"

accent: pronunciation common to a region ascent: the act of rising or climbing assent: consent, agreement

assistance: help assistants: helpers

bare: nude, unadorned bear: to carry; an animal

beside: close to; next to besides: except for; in addition

boar: a wild male pig bore: to drill a hole through

board: piece of wood bored: uninterested

born: brought into life borne: past participle of "to bear" (carry)

breath: air taken in (noun) breathe: to take in air (verb)

brake: device for stopping break: destroy; make into pieces

buy: to purchase by: next to; through the agency of

canvas: heavy cloth canvass: to take a survey; a survey

capital: major city capitol: government building

choose: to pick chose: past tense of "to choose"

clothes: garments close: to shut; near cloths: pieces of fabric

coarse: rough course: path; series of lectures

complement: something that completes compliment: praise, flattery

conscience: sense of morality conscious: awake, aware

corps: regulated group corpse: dead body

council: governing body counsel: advice; to give advice

dairy: place where milk products are processed diary: personal journal

descent: downward movement dissent: disagreement

dessert: final, sweet course in a meal desert: to abandon; dry, sandy area

device: a plan; a tool or utensil devise: to create

discreet: modest, prudent behavior discrete: a separate thing, distinct

do: a verb indicating performance or execution of a task dew: water droplets condensed from air due: as a result of

dominant: commanding, controlling dominate: to control

die: to lose life; one of a pair of dice dye: to change or add color

dyeing: changing or adding color dying: losing life

elicit: to draw out illicit: illegal, forbidden

eminent: prominent imminent: about to happen

envelop: to surround (verb) envelope: container for a letter (noun)

everyday: routine, commonplace, ordinary (adj.) every day: each day, succession (adj. + noun)

fair: just, honest; a carnival; light skinned fare: money for transportation; food

farther: at a greater (measurable) distance further: in greater (non-measurable) depth

formally: conventionally, with ceremony formerly: previously

forth: forward fourth: number four in a list

gorilla: animal in ape family guerrilla: soldier specializing in surprise attacks

hear: to sense sound by ear here: in this place

heard: past tense of "to hear" herd: group of animals

hoard: a hidden fund or supply, a cache horde: a large group or crowd, swarm

hole: opening whole: complete; an entire thing

human: relating to the species homo sapiens humane: compassionate

its: possessive form of "it" it's: contraction for "it is"

knew: past tense of "know" new: fresh, not yet old

know: to comprehend no: negative

later: after a time latter: second one of two things

lead: heavy metal substance; to guide led: past tense of "to lead"

lessen: to decrease lesson: something learned and/or taught

lightning: storm-related electricity lightening: making lighter

loose: unbound, not tightly fastened lose: to misplace

maybe: perhaps (adv.) may be: might be (verb)

meat: animal flesh meet: to encounter mete: to measure; to distribute

medal: a flat disk stamped with a design meddle: to interfere, intrude metal: a hard organic substance mettle: courage, spirit, energy

miner: a worker in a mine minor: underage person (noun); less important (adj.)

moral: distinguishing right from wrong; lesson of a fable or story morale: attitude or outlook usually of a group

passed: past tense of "to pass" past: at a previous time

patience: putting up with annoyances patients: people under medical care

peace: absence of war piece: part of a whole; musical arrangement

peak: point, pinnacle, maximum peek: to peer through or look furtively pique: fit of resentment, feeling of wounded vanity

pedal: the foot lever of a bicycle or car petal: a flower segment peddle: to sell

personal: intimate; owned by a person personnel: employees

plain: simple, unadorned plane: to shave wood; aircraft (noun)

precede: to come before proceed: to continue

presence: attendance; being at hand presents: gifts

principal: foremost (adj.); administrator of a school (noun) principle: moral conviction, basic truth

quiet: silent, calm quite: very

rain: water drops falling; to fall like rain reign: to rule rein: strap to control an animal (noun); to guide or control (verb)

raise: to lift up raze: to tear down

rational: having reason or understanding rationale: principles of opinion, beliefs

respectfully: with respect respectively: in that order

reverend: title given to clergy; deserving respect reverent: worshipful

right: correct; opposite of left rite: ritual or ceremony write: to put words on paper

road: path rode: past tense of "to ride"

scene: place of an action; segment of a play seen: viewed; past participle of "to see"

sense: perception, understanding since: measurement of past time; because

sight: scene, view, picture site: place, location cite: to document or quote (verb)

stationary: standing still stationery: writing paper

straight: unbending strait: narrow or confining; a waterway

taught: past tense of "to teach" taut: tight

than: used to introduce second element; compared to then: at that time; next

their: possessive form of "they" there: in that place they’re: contraction for "they are"

through: finished; into and out of threw: past tense of "to throw" thorough: complete

to: toward too: also; very (used to show emphasis) two: number following one

track: course, road tract: pamphlet; plot of ground

waist: midsection of the body waste: discarded material; to squander

waive: forgo, renounce wave: flutter, move back and forth

weak: not strong week: seven days

weather: climatic condition whether: if wether: a neutered male sheep

where: in which place were: past tense of "to be"

which: one of a group witch: female sorcerer

whose: possessive for "of who" who’s: contraction for "who is"

your: possessive for "of you" you’re: contraction for "you are" yore: time long past

commonly confused words part 2 ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[insertdisc5]

📚 A List Of Useful Websites When Making An RPG 📚

My timeloop RPG In Stars and Time is done! Which means I can clear all my ISAT gamedev related bookmarks. But I figured I would show them here, in case they can be useful to someone. These range from "useful to write a story/characters/world" to "these are SUPER rpgmaker focused and will help with the terrible math that comes with making a game".

This is what I used to make my RPG game, but it could be useful for writers, game devs of all genres, DMs, artists, what have you. YIPPEE

Writing (Names)

Behind The Name - Why don't you have this bookmarked already. Search for names and their meanings from all over the world!

Medieval Names Archive - Medieval names. Useful. For ME

City and Town Name Generator - Create "fake" names for cities, generated from datasets from any country you desire! I used those for the couple city names in ISAT. I say "fake" in quotes because some of them do end up being actual city names, especially for french generated ones. Don't forget to double check you're not 1. just taking a real city name or 2. using a word that's like, Very Bad, especially if you don't know the country you're taking inspiration from! Don't want to end up with Poopaville, USA

Writing (Words)

Onym - A website full of websites that are full of words. And by that I mean dictionaries, thesauruses, translators, glossaries, ways to mix up words, and way more. HIGHLY recommend checking this website out!!!

Moby Thesaurus - My thesaurus of choice!

Rhyme Zone - Find words that rhyme with others. Perfect for poets, lyricists, punmasters.

In Different Languages - Search for a word, have it translated in MANY different languages in one page.

ASSETS

In general, I will say: just look up what you want on itch.io. There are SO MANY assets for you to buy on itch.io. You want a font? You want a background? You want a sound effect? You want a plugin? A pixel base? An attack animation? A cool UI?!?!?! JUST GO ON ITCH.IO!!!!!!

Visual Assets (General)

Creative Market - Shop for all kinds of assets, from fonts to mockups to templates to brushes to WHATEVER YOU WANT

Velvetyne - Cool and weird fonts

Chevy Ray's Pixel Fonts - They're good fonts.

Contrast Checker - Stop making your text white when your background is lime green no one can read that shit babe!!!!!!

Visual Assets (Game Focused)

Interface In Game - Screenshots of UI (User Interfaces) from SO MANY GAMES. Shows you everything and you can just look at what every single menu in a game looks like. You can also sort them by game genre! GREAT reference!

Game UI Database - Same as above!

Sound Assets

Zapsplat, Freesound - There are many sound effect websites out there but those are the ones I saved. Royalty free!

Shapeforms - Paid packs for music and sounds and stuff.

Other

CloudConvert - Convert files into other files. MAKE THAT .AVI A .MOV

EZGifs - Make those gifs bigger. Smaller. Optimize them. Take a video and make it a gif. The Sky Is The Limit

Marketing

Press Kitty - Did not end up needing this- this will help with creating a press kit! Useful for ANY indie dev. Yes, even if you're making a tiny game, you should have a press kit. You never know!!!

presskit() - Same as above, but a different one.

Itch.io Page Image Guide and Templates - Make your project pages on itch.io look nice.

MOOMANiBE's IGF post - If you're making indie games, you might wanna try and submit your game to the Independent Game Festival at some point. Here are some tips on how, and why you should.

Game Design (General)

An insightful thread where game developers discuss hidden mechanics designed to make games feel more interesting - Title says it all. Check those comments too.

Game Design (RPGs)

Yanfly "Let's Make a Game" Comics - INCREDIBLY useful tips on how to make RPGs, going from dungeons to towns to enemy stats!!!!

Attack Patterns - A nice post on enemy attack patterns, and what attacks you should give your enemies to make them challenging (but not TOO challenging!) A very good starting point.

How To Balance An RPG - Twitter thread on how to balance player stats VS enemy stats.

Nobody Cares About It But It’s The Only Thing That Matters: Pacing And Level Design In JRPGs - a Good Post.

Game Design (Visual Novels)

Feniks Renpy Tutorials - They're good tutorials.

I played over 100 visual novels in one month and here’s my advice to devs. - General VN advice. Also highly recommend this whole blog for help on marketing your games.

I hope that was useful! If it was. Maybe. You'd like to buy me a coffee. Or maybe you could check out my comics and games. Or just my new critically acclaimed game In Stars and Time. If you want. Ok bye

[fogaminghub]

🎮✨ Get ready to explore Palworld like never before! Our latest blog post covers everything you need for Palworld Character Creation. From customizing your appearance to choosing exciting skills, we’ve got you covered! 

Hit the link and start your adventure! 🌟