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fernshawart · 2 years

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How to write a cane user character

(Written by a cane user)

A few months ago, I wrote a small guide on good disabled characters and why they were good that gathered quite the attention, and I thought that doing another more specific guide this time would be interesting for writers or just people that are curious ! This guide will include general informations, some things to do, some things to avoid and some ideas that might revolve cane users's lives.

Things to know about cane users

Cane users are pretty diverse, and putting us in little boxes usually isn't the best idea if you want to make a character that has substance and isn't just "the disabled one". Here some infos about cane users that might be helpful knowledge !

Canes don't have ages. Most cane users in media are portrayed to be old, but truly, anyone can have the need to wield a cane ! I've been using mine ever since I was 17.

Can users can have a large variety of problems for their canes. Some canes are used to avoid pain from effort. Some canes are used for balance purposes. Some canes are to make walking less exhausting (works the same as walking sticks !) And sometimes, it's multiple problems at once.

Not everyone needs their cane 24/7. Some always need it, some can make small efforts without it but overall often need it, and some people, like me, can spend quite a lot of time without it. I almost never use my cane in my house, and mostly take it outside !

People with canes can run. We're not necessarily slow, I'm even faster than a lot of my friends.

Not using a cane can come with consequences, but not always. Some people might be able to walk without a cane but then suffer horrible consequences, but for others, canes are just a commodity for specific occasions.

Canes don't have to be looked down upon. Look at some characters with canes that look cool as hell ! Arsène Lupin, Roguefort Cookie, Brook ... Their canes serve their style !

We can be pretty healthy. Some people can have canes just because they were born with a bent leg and that's it. Our cane doesn't define our health status.

Canes aren't a curse. Think of them as something positive. It's a tool to make our lives better. You don't see someone sitting on a chair and think "awh, it's sad that they need a chair". It's more something like "hey it's cool that this chair is here so they can sit down"

Things to do

Make them use their cane. And when I mean use, I mean that canes are just funky long sticks usually made out of metal. Have fun with it ! Let them use it as a weapon ! Trust me, one hit in the knees with a cane and you're DOWN. Use it to reach stuff that's too high for everyone ! Have fun. Be creative.

Let them decorate their cane. It's an extension of their body ! You usually put on clothes that you like, don't you ? It's the same for a cane. If they like cutesy stuff, let them paint in it pastel colors ! If they like a more flashy style, add some stickers on it ! If they're a fancy person, give them a beautiful crafted cane with jewels on it !

You can make them a little shy or uneasy about their cane. Some people don't feel worthy of confident enough to wield one. It's not rare to see people think they're "not disabled enough to do so"

But on the other hand, you can do the complete opposite !! Make them proud of that cane ! Make them act like they're feeling pretty and more confident with it ! One thing i like to think about with my own cane is that I look like a cool gentleman. That boosted my confidence immensely.

Things to avoid

Don't make it their whole world. And by that, I do not mean that their cane shouldn't be a defining trait of their personality. Think of Toph from ATLA. She is blind, and you usually can't think of her character without describing her as blind. However, that isn't her entire personality trait. Make cane users have a goal in life, friends who enjoy them for who they are and not just pity them, have fun ... Don't just make them the disabled one.

Don't try to make the character's life just a plain disaster unless it's the focus of your story and you really know what you're talking about. Having a character who's always in pain, who feels bad about relying on their cane and/or who's angry at the entire world for being disabled is a REALLY tricky subject to use if you don't want them to be either a mass of unhappiness and angst for no good reason or some inspirational porn of the character who inside is deeply tortured but outside keeps up a facade because they shouldn't cry to avoid making others uneasy.

Do not, and I repeat, do NOT try to heal them, especially in a magical way. Bad idea. A lot of disabled people's goal isn't to be healed. It's to live a normal life. Making it so the ultimate goal for them is to be healed makes it as if they were worthless as long as they were disabled. Making their situation better physically or mentally is one thing. Curing them completely is really bad. "But some disabled folks want to be cured !" True, true. But if you are able bodied, I'm not sure if you can have the right mind to understand all of the complex details about this situation that leads to someone's life choices and the end result may look like you think the only thing that can make disabled people happy is being freed from their condition. I think it's best to just avoid it altogether. If you need a more nuanced idea, try to give them a solution that still has a few downs ! For exemple, a prosthetic that feels like a real arm, acts like a real arm and basically replaces it perfectly is a full cure. But a prosthetic that takes time to adjust to, needs repairs sometimes and doesn't look 100% like an arm can be a better narrative choice

Smaller thing, but don't make the handle uneasy to wield if you draw the character design. You can decorate most of the cane, but if you have chunky spiky decorations on the place you're supposed to clench your hand over, you're gonna hurt yourself. I've seen quite a lot of jewel handles or sculpted metal handles and usually their not good. If it's detailed metal, your hand will end up cramped in little parts and it can hurt. If it's a jewel, it's so easy for it to slip out of your hand it's unpractical.

List of tropes/ideas of scenes/details about canes to help you write new situations !

If you walk with a cane during winter, you can't put your hand in your jacket to get warm and there's a high chance your hand will get freezing. So after a long walk, you get an excuse for another character to hold their hand and warm them up.

If the handle is metallic, you get the opposite problem during summer. You can burn yourself so easy ! Easy accident if you want someone to help and get closer to the disabled person without it necessarily involving their disability.

Canes are SUPER useful when you're walking upon heights. They make things really easy, just like hiking poles on mountains ! I live on volcanoes and whenever we clim on a harsh slope, I'm always the first to get up there. Good moment for your character to get a boost of confidence if they get all the way up somewhere before their friends !

The first time using your cane feels magical. If you have chronic pains, it makes you feel like your pain disapear. If you can't walk right, it feels like everything is suddenly alright. The moment where a character chooses to wield a cane can be huge for character development. It's a moment of fear because of the impact a cane has on their appearance, but also a moment of confidence and relief.

Canes fall. All the time. And after a while, it becomes fucking comical. Trust me, putting a cane against the wall, seeing it fall and doing it three times again in a row while it doesn't want to stay up makes you embarrassed but also makes you want to laugh because of how stupid it looks.

When you get a cane, you stop being invisible. When you walk outside, generally speaking, people don't look at you. They don't care about you. But when you get a cane, people start to stare at you for no other reasons that you have a cane. Half of them are just curious, especially if you're young. The other half has a very specific look. The "oh, you poor thing" look. Which is, trust me, particularly awful to get, especially when you're just existing and doing nothing special. How does your character react to this ? How do they feel about it ?

I believe that is all I had in mind. I may add some more details in the future if I get other ideas, but this should already be a good start. I would be thrilled to answer questions if you have some, either in my askbox or through DMs.

I will tag this post with characters holding canes that aren't necessarily considered cane users but that some people may be interested in writing as such. Feel free to tell me if you'd like to see tags being added !

Edit : I'm highly encouraging everyone to look at the tag section under this post where a lot of other can users are sharing their experiences !!

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chronicallykiki · 3 days

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FUNDRAISER EVENT Guide Dogs 250 Challenge

From 24th April to 16th May, I'll be taking part in a fundraising campaign for Guide Dogs!

"Every day 250 people in the UK are told they’re losing their sight. It can be devastating. People with a vision impairment are more likely to encounter depression, loneliness, and unemployment. Guide Dogs helps people with sight loss live the life they choose, but we need vital funds to do this. That’s why we need you to be a game changer and take on the 250 Challenge." - Guide Dogs Website

During this time, my Challenge is for streams to be at least 250 minutes long. I also plan to donate an extra £1 for every sub to my channel. And! I've set up a few goals, with incentives to look forward to:

Level 1 Goal £250 : If we hit this, I will sponsor one of the puppies! Level 2 Goal £500 : If we double our 250 goal, I will sponsor two of the puppies!! Level 3 Goal £750 : If we manage to triple our 250 goal, I will sponsor all three puppies!!!

Links: My Twitch Channel My Fundraiser Page Guide Dogs Website 250 Challenge Sponsoring A Puppy

youtube

Streaming for 250 minutes (just over 4 hours) doesn't sound like a challenge for most, but for a spoonie like me, who can't regulate their energy levels, it sure can be!

I'll do my best, but in the event I'm unable to meet the 250 minute minimum, we'll have to think of a fun forfeit or something (be gentle).

Regarding the sponsor puppies, the first will be chosen at random, and the second will be via a poll on my fundraiser page.

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thedisablednaturalist · 4 months

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Guys I get that *some* mental illnesses get worse if you push through symptoms. My post was about the overall mental health movement and because most mental illnesses benefit from exercise/pushing through anxieties and taking care of yourself most people assume that physical disabilities/chronic illnesses all benefit too and that rest is bad for us. That if we can't take care of ourselves we aren't trying hard enough. I am not saying people should push through fucking epilepsy. Every reply on that post is some sort of "um but you're wrong about *specific illness*, not derailing! Just making people aware about mental illness!" And now that post, and my words, are getting turned into positivity and awareness not for physical disabilities, but for mental illness. Even taking my words: Respect our Rest, for autism and adhd. Not that positivity for this is bad, but that the post is becoming co-opted. I didn't want to say anything at first because I did mention mental illness in that post and I always encourage discussion, but this is getting ridiculous. Everyone is now talking about mental illness and not physical disabilities.

#wrenfea.exe #like you can't just derail and then say not derailing #im gonna block anyone who does that from now on #im tempted to make a guide for these people to follow like HOW TO NOT DERAIL AND MAKE A POST ALL ABOUT YOU #chronic disability #chronic pain #spoonie #disability #cripplepunk #chronic illness

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desertwaterwitch · 9 months

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As a medium and clairaudient, I’m highly susceptible to spirits and energy hanging around me. They know me well, the spirit world does. While that’s good, it can also attract some not so great spirits. Which is why I have such a lengthy protection ritual before bed.

I thought I’d share it with you in case you want to try it or even part of it.

Every night (I try) I spray my room with moon water + salt spray. I spray it all around, including my closet. I like to make sure to get my windows because that’s a pretty big area. I always say:

“No negative spirits or energy allowed in here, only good spirits and energy.”

You need to be specific.

Next I get black tourmaline and trace my door with it, repeating that I don’t want any negativity coming in. I trace my window, as well as the light switches and doorknobs.

I try to remember to use the rosemary water spray I made, after. It’s incredibly good for cleansing and protection.

That’s my ritual! Every so often I will reapply the protection oil I made, to my door. It lasts a long time since it’s so potent.

PS: I always feel my grandparents watching me when I do my ritual. I kinda feel dumb lol. 😂

#witch community #witchcraft #witchblr #witches of tumblr #baby witch #beginner witch #witches #broom closet witch #spoonie witch #water witch #protection #protection spell #spellwork #moon water #spirits #spirit guides #ancestors #psychic gifts #psychic

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spoonful116 · 6 months

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Almost forgot to post about this!

Learn how to maximize your appointment times with your healthcare and and make sure you have mentioned everything you needed to!

#spoonie #disability #chronic disability #spoonie life #chronic uti #disabilities #ibs #spoonie guides #spoonie life hacks #life hacks #guides #how to's #organization #note taking

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due4amiracle · 2 years

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Day 406

Listo:

Laundry/cleaning, Reading, Dailies, #TTRPGThings, Watching.

Laundry/cleaning - Picked up some trash, good enough. ✔

Reading things - - No holds no holds NO HOLDS!. 123 for the year, 35 for the month! - How to Live an Undead Lie (The Beginner's Guide to Necromancy #5) by Hailey Edwards 100%! 3🌟Ye that’s good shit! - How to Wake an Undead City (The Beginner's Guide to Necromancy #6) by Hailey Edwards 100%! 3🌟Choo Choo Bitch! - How to Kiss an Undead Bride (The Beginner’s Guide to Necromancy: The Epilogues #1) by Hailey Edwards 1%! We did so good with the shorter titles and then we get HERE! Oh yea, this is actually book 7 technically but it’s more a trio of epilogues, full books sure, but still. Epilogues. - Manhwa: Survive as the Hero’s Wife 2 chapters of this read Nope🚫! UwU♡ ✔✔✔✔🚫

Dailies - - Waifu Did mah dailies! Also, level ?/50 BP now~! AND! Tree lvl 28/50! Also! 24/39 max friendship namecards acquired! New MONTH! new weeklies! Chasm gem thingy is level 7/10! ♡ω♡✔ - Cozy Grove - Doot doot continuing to scout along! Scout rank 17/17! 17/21 besties! More stuff more things! ♡ω♡ ✔

Shells - 95/254 - 37.4% Fish - 94/180 - 52.2% Bugs - 100/199 - 50.3% Flowers - 260/372 - 69.9% Cooking - 64/71 - 90.1% Raw Ingredients - 38/54 - 70.4% Materials - 51/63 - 81% Recipes - 378/3619 - 10.44% ♡ω♡✔

- Pokémon Legends: Arceus - Star 8/10 get! 174 caught, 104 max level research pages~. |Alpha||Catch||MaxR/Total - Area | 49 || 72 || 70/85 - ObsiField | 47 || 66 || 64/75 - CrimMire | 52 || 79 || 78/96 - CobCoast | 49 || 77 || 75/90 - CoroHigh | 35 || 71 || 68/91 - AlabIce ♡ω♡ 🚫

- Coromon - ♡ω♡ 🚫

- Ooblets - 42/131 little frands, because why not track something. ♡ω♡ 🚫

- SWToR - Up to 1d0h43m played time. Started on the next planet, let’s GO! ♡ω♡✔ UwU♡ ✔✔🚫🚫🚫✔

#TTRPGThings - Working on Lots Of Things now whew. Keep on truckin’.✔

Watching things - - Think i narrowed it down to SAO Alicization. TBF i ain’t gonna start shit until steroids are done, so that could totally change. - Misfits and Magic episode 2!

Other things - Daily Diarrhea Diary - Pretty darn good day on this front, only the slightest bit of looseness. So that’s lovely. Migraine, tho. So that’s fun.

Food: A Liquid: A Pain: C Brain: C

Tomorrow: Laundry/cleaning, Reading, Dailies, #TTRPGThings, Watching.

Ever Onwards and Upwards!

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grandmatapati · 11 months

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As soon as I read this article I ordered a copy for myself. I prefer physical books for cookbooks so I am waiting for it to arrive next Monday. (I enjoy flipping through, discovering interesting recipes and seeing the pictures without being online.)

This is the book I've been dying to read, as I told Jules when I found him on twitter. He's very kind and says he looks forward to hearing what I think after I've had a chance to read and use it.

Before this the only thing I found was a guide to baking with brain fog on the King Arthur's flour site. Useful but I needed so much more.

I look forward to more volumes, such as Cripping Your Outdoor Kitchen. I'm guessing this first book will start many conversations and that will lead to a mass sharing of tips and tricks throughout the Disability Universe. We Spoonies already discuss getting calories in on days when it seems impossible. But this makes me think that cooking more often may be doable with a bit of guidance.

#disability #cooking #food #brain fog #chronic fatigue #spoonie #recipes

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chaotic-archaeologist · 2 months

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Tips for finding/writing a research paper? From a spoonie who's gone through 2 pages of suggestions their professor has rejected willing to pick anything at this point even if i'm stuck with it another 8 weeks

The first and best advice I can give you is go to this professor's office hours. What determines a good topic for a research paper is highly dependent on whatever the class is and the professor teaching it. This prof should be willing to work with you to guide you in the right direction.

If they've given you feedback on why your suggestions have been rejected, you need to keep those in mind when proposing something else. The process might not be about coming up with an entirely new idea, but tweaking a preexisting one so that it meets the parameters. Look at the syllabus and any assignment briefs the professor has given you to make sure you're hitting all of the requirements.

Additionally, if your disability is part of what's making this difficult, you might consider bringing that up. You don't have to disclose the exact nature of your disability, but if you can articulate the effect it's having on you (makes it difficult for me to do xyz) it might help this professor support you. A plan for completing this paper can include steps that would help you like accountability check ins or extended deadlines.

All of that being said, a good undergraduate level research paper needs two things: 1) an existing body of literature/source material, and 2) a hypothesis that can be applied to multiple pieces of media from that genre. From there, you need to show you can apply broad theoretical concepts to multiple sources, using analysis to construct an argument based on your hypothesis.

I would advise against just picking a topic to get it over with. Writing about something you're not at least a little bit interested in makes the process much harder. Interest also provides a sense of focus that can be vital for the analysis part of research—you need that focus to hone in on something and come up with ideas.

-Reid

#he speaks #academic advice

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y-rhywbeth2 · 4 months

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Gods & Clergy: Selûne

Link: Disclaimer regarding D&D "canon" & Index [tldr: D&D lore is a giant conflicting mess. Larian's lore is also a conflicting mess. You learn to take what you want and leave the rest]

I should probably compile some lore on gods who aren't evil messes for a change... Then right back into the evil nonsense with Shar.

Worshippers & Clergy: All are equal and personal freedom and tolerance of other ways of life is very important. Also something-something motherhood. Now if you'll excuse me: "o, White Night Lady, guideth mine eye to wherever the hells mine keys that I had literally five seconds ago art?"

Silverstars: You can make an amazing amount of things out of moonlight, really.

Selûne: The Anti-Shar. She's kind of a spoonie.

"Let all on whom Selûne's light falls be welcome if they desire. As the silver moon waxes and wanes, so too does life. Trust in Selûne's radiance, and know that all love alive under her light shall know her blessing. Turn to the moon, and she will be your true guide. Promote acceptance and tolerance. See all other beings as equals. Aid fellow Selûnites as if they were your dearest friends." - Selûne's Dogma.

Selûne's worshippers come from all sorts: people who work the night shift, and other people seeking protection from Shar; travellers and navigators who will be navigating using the night sky; sailors; female mages; diviners and people hoping for a glimpse of the future; and lycanthropes who want to resist the influence of their curse. Selûne is also considered associated with femineity and is something of a mother goddess, and is worshipped by women, particularly mothers and couples trying to conceive.

In every day life one might call on her if they're lost, or to find misplaced objects and such - for example, where the hells have the house keys gone?

Female mages born under a full moon are considered to carry her blessing.

The moon waxes and wanes and may show itself in a vast array of colours and shapes; so is the moon goddess as inherently mercurial. Her faces are many and never the same, and so her follows are many and no two are the same.

There are only a few concrete rules of the faith. All people are equal and should be made welcome and treated with dignity. Shar's predations must be combated wherever you uncover them. One should always give healing freely to those who need it. The lonely and ostracised should be offered friendship and care.

The faith is extremely, proudly diverse, and Selûne places very few demands upon her followers in exchange for her blessings. There is no "right" way to worship the Moonmaiden, individuality and customisation in religious practices in encouraged.

Her clergy promotes acceptance of different ways of life and follows a lose hierarchy with emphasis on personal freedom.

The clergy have no uniform, save their holy symbol (a pair of eyes surrounded by seven stars, in silver), and they dress how they see fit. Moonstones are popular. When dressed for battle they can often be recognised by the iconic weapon known as the moon's hand - a footman's mace with a smooth head.

Even her temples follow no set structure, one may find a temple of the Night White Lady is a massive cathedral, a small roadside shrine, or a circle of standing stones on top of the village hill where her followers go to dance under the moonlight. "Anywhere the full moon shines is a place for [worshipping] Selûne."

Clergy are known collectively as Mooncloaks (informally) and Ladyservants (formally). A variety of titles exist within the church. The loose ranks of experience are as follows: those who are interested in joining but have not yet entered training are Postulants, Novices are referred to as the Called. Runrae (singular: Runra) are fully trained priests.

One of the Called becomes a Runra when they are assigned a simple task in the form of a low-level quest where they're expected to show that they have learnt the lessons of their faith. When successful, Selûne contacts them in their dreams via a vision, and they are a priest.

Ranks ascend into Alrunrae, Tenembrae, Sartembrae, Trintelrae, Aumrae, and finally the Calunalae.

A Calunala is an independent agent who maintains close personal ties with the goddess, essentially serving as her secret agents in the war against Shar.

Priests tend to wander Faerûn, making a living by offering their services as navigators (especially if you're traveling by night) and fortune tellers (there are no diviners more accurate than a Selûnite). There are no restrictions about whatever work they want to do to support themselves, and travelling mooncloaks can be found in part time jobs blacksmithing, weaving, farming, serving tables... They're also prepared to fight against Sharrans and lycanthropes, whenever and wherever they cause harm.

Not infrequently, a mooncloak will receive missions and holy duties - sometimes from higher ranking priests, and often from Selûne herself. Whenever she sets them a task, the Moonmaiden usually grants them temporary spells and abilities to aid them. With their siblings in the faith alway ready to aid them, and their goddess personally lending her aid, Selûne's clergy often give the optimistic opinion that "The Moon waxes and wanes, and fortunes of the holy folk of the Moon rise and fall - but the Moon is ever with us, sailing on no matter how dark the sky."

Selûnites traditionally charge very little for their services, save for a place to sleep for the night and a warm meal, and maybe any few coins you can afford to spare. They have a reputation for kindness, open-mindedness and generosity that makes their faith very popular.

Selûne personally encourages her clergy to be self-reliant, kind and humble, but also wants to see them live lives they're happy in.

As stated, Selûnite rituals are highly customised and tend to be unique to the priest in question. Generally they are performed in the open under the moonlight and involve dancing and meditating. Offerings of milk or wine are poured on Selûnite altars during the full and new moons. If the priest is in the godess' good graces then she will cause the libation to transform into moonfire - an "opalescent, glowing fluid with the consistency of custard." It's described as feeling silk-soft to the touch. The touch of the moonfire as it flows down the altar may enchant objects or bestow powers upon the things and beings it touches, as per the will of Selûne (it can also destroy undead). On ritual nights, her priests cast commune in order to socialise with their goddess and reaffirm their personal connection with her.

There are two holy days: the Mystery of the Night and the Conjuring of the Second Moon.

The Mystery of the Night is performed once a year by every priest (it has no set day, it occurs whenever the priest in question holds it). The priest lies before an altar of the Moonmaiden and slips into a trance. They fly upwards and spiral the moon, communing with Selûne via an exchange of visions. This ritual is extremely taxing, but the priest will quickly recover with rest.

The Conjuring of the Second Moon occurs once every four years during Shieldmeet, and is generally a day when the church goes to war with the church of Shar. To aid them, priests summon Shards to do their beings - celestials who take the form of blue-haired, winged warrior women who serve Selûne (equivalent to planetars in power). At the end of the day, one mortal priestess will leave with them to join their ranks.

Religious orders in service of the Moonmaiden include the Swords of the Lady (also known as "Lunatics" behind their back). They're a fanatical order of warriors dedicated to combating Shar and her worshippers.

The Oracles of the Moon are an organisation of female mages, specialising in divination, who dedicate themselves to Selûne's service.

The Order of the Sun Soul is a monastic order that worships Selûne and Lathander.

Specialty priests are known as Silverstars.

They can see in the dark perfectly for up to 30ft.

They can create blades made of moonlight, wieldable only by the silverstar that made it. The blade causes no visible damage to living beings, but it does sap their life force and disrupt magic, preventing mages from casting. The flesh of undead visibly melts away under its touch.

They can raise or lower the levels of bodies of water, akin to the effects of the tide.

They can fire small meteors (shooting stars) from their hands, in an effect much like fireballs. They explode on impact.

A Silverstar infected with lycanthropy has control over their transformations, and Selûne protects them from being damaged by silver.

They can also shape moonlight into a wall - the wall is intangible, but it illuminates its surroundings, dispelling magical darkness. It will cause harm to any with evil intent, and followers of Shar (or Umberlee), as well as any undead being that passes through it. Magical items on the person of an individual who passes through will glow red, drawing attention to them, and magical potions will explode.

Stairs and bridges can also be crafted from moonlight, which can reach up to 15ft in length. While standing on the bridge, individuals are protected from enchantments, life-draining effects and missiles. It's impossible to knock them off of the bridge.

Finally they can shape the light into a net that protects a specific area. The strands are visible only to the priests, the goddess and those under the spell's protection. Everything else - intruders, weapons and magic - that enters the area is forced back to its point of origin. Attacks will be rebounded.

Selûne is a Chaotic Good deity. Her realm is in the Gates of the Moon, on the plane of Ysgard.

She doesn't care about ritual and dogma or how observant of these practices her followers are, as long as they are able to support themselves, fulfilled in life and will offer kindness to others. The spirit of faith is more important to Our Lady of Silver than the scriptures of religion.

Sometimes she is taken by a joyful, energetic mood. Sometimes she is a quiet, caring and maternal figure, prone to poetic moods. Whichever mood she's in, she carries herself with an underlying sense of grief that seems millennia old. Selûne is slow to anger and prefers to avoid fights, but that changes rapidly when she comes into conflict with her sister, and there she displays a side to herself that is much more warlike. She also opposes Umberlee on behalf of sailors and others who live by the sea. When in conflict with her enemies Selûne is merciless.

Selûne was (apparently) born of the primordial essence of the universe, one half of the Two-Faced Goddess with her twin, Shar. Together they created the planetary bodies of the solar system, including the Earthmother, Chauntea.

When Chauntea begged for warmth to nurture life upon her, the Two-Faced goddess experienced conflicting desire for the first time. Selûne was willing to grant the Earthmother her wish, but for Shar, the very concept was a horrifying antithesis to her very being.

The argument between the two spawned the concepts (and gods) of destruction; such as war, disease and death/murder. Eventually, Selûne reached into the Elemental Plane of Fire and drew a portion of it into Realmspace, and fashioned it into the sun - a process that burned her.

Shar's rage doubled, and she began to snuff out every light she could find in the universe, causing Selûne to tear out a part of her own essence and fashion it into a weapon that she threw at Shar in defence of the newborn life of Realmspace. This portion of Selûne passed through Shar and formed itself into the Weave - the goddess Mystryl (who would one day be called Mystra). Mystryl sided with Selûne, and Shar was forced to concede defeat now that she was utterly outnumbered.

This battle has left Selûne permanently weakened, and her strength waxes and wanes much like the phases of the moon. The two sisters continue their argument - and Shar is boldest when her sister is at her weakest.

The Moonmaiden's avatar takes the form of a human woman, with various appearances, her age generally conforming to one of the maiden, mother, crone concepts. In one of her more matronly, middle-aged forms she enjoys walking the realms, and curiously has decided to open an inn in Waterdeep using this form, unbeknownst to many. Her apparent health depends on the state of the moon, while it wanes she appears sicker and closer to death. Regardless of its phase, she glows faintly with moonlight in the darkness.

Her lesser manifestations include dancing trails of little lights known as "moondust" or "moon motes." She manifests these to people who are lost at night, or traveling over dangerous ground that they can't perceive. She will also provide them for her faithful, when they require a light source to perform an important task but have no way to see.

Her messengers and servants include owls, weredragons and other lycanthropes and shapeshifters, and her Shards.

For a while, prior to the Time of Troubles, she worked under the goddess of love, Sune. She later went her own way and resumed operating as an independent deity, but maintains a close relationship with Sune and Lliira.

#for shadowheart and moon lesbian writing needs #shadowheart #selunite shadowheart #bg3 isobel #bg3 aylin #cleric tav

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queerasaurus-rexx · 2 years

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yall.

a bitch was reading an old home manual online (for stuff like cooking, cleaning, other housekeeping because i've gotten into sewing and fell down a rabbit hole) and there's a chapter called 'diet for invalids' (it should be noted this was published in 1889 and that word wasn't quite as politically loaded as it is now)

it goes into good foods to serve to who are convalescing, have stomach problems or 'weak constitutions' (which was another way of saying 'persistent disabilities' i think?) and i almost choked up a bit when i read this

[ Image ID: 'Another point to be borne in mind is that the food should suit the invalid's taste, be tempting in appearance and daintily served.

Soiled or crumpled napkins should never be placed on the invalid's waiter, and the prettiest china should not be regarded as too good to hold the sufferer's food and drink. :End]

i know it doesn't seem like a lot, but

this was 1889, yall. the humanity with which this book speaks about caring for your disabled loved ones rivals some of the care advice i've seen given today.

also that 'the prettiest china should not be regarded as too good to hold the sufferer's food and drink'?

my heart.

i know we think of pre-2000's disability care as the dark ages but

maybe it wasn't all inhuman.

i don't know. this just really struck me as a spoonie, and whose helped care for other spoonies.

source: The home manual. Everybody's guide in social, domestic, and business life. A treasury of useful information for the million

#spoonies #disabled rights #disability support #humans being humans

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fernshawart · 1 year

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Prompts to develop a cane user character

Hey there ! You may know me for this post, how to write a cane user character :

Over the past year, this post has gathered quite a lot of traction and people seemed to really enjoy it, and I thought I could do more to help all of my writer friends out there ! This time, I decided to give you a bunch of situations a cane user may face to give you some directions to go with your story, and a few exemples to add-on to the idea !

These are overall very focused on young cane users because that's what I am, but I feel like they can mostly be used for characters of all ages.

The character just got their cane. How do they react to it ? The way someone first reacts to getting a cane can say a lot about them. Exemples :

- They don't see it as a big deal, mostly like yet another test to see if something may work. It's kinda like swallowing a pill when you're sick and thinking "here goes nothing". After that, you can also develop on them being very pleasantly surprised that it worked or to stay with the nonchalant style, make them think "oh. It actually worked. Guess I'll be using that from now on"

- They get uncomfortable. They don't want to be seen as weak and look at them using a cane as a kind of failure to be normal. They may even refuse to use it despite clearly needing it out of pride.

- They get extremely excited and immediately try to make it THEIR cane. If it's a metal cane, they play around with the sliding part and move it around a bunch to see how it works. They may try to play with it like a sword to get used to having it in hand (and may even accidentally break stuff with it). If they like colorful outfits, they may doodle on it or add a bunch of stickers/charms to it.

- They take it in front of a mirror and try to pose with it to fully comprehend that this is them now. They can struggle with their vision of themselves because seeing this weird stick always with them now is really weird. But on the other hand, you can also make them try a bunch of poses and have them think "wait ... This is actually really cool. I love how I look now"

See how they react to other people's looks. If a character has a cane, especially when they're young, they're bound to get weird looks. There's always someone looking at you obviously thinking "Why the hell are they using a cane, they probably don't need it" or "Oh no, poor them, they don't deserve to be in so much pain..." What's their reaction to it ? Exemples :

- They get angry. They confront the people staring at them with a "what are you lookin' at, fucker ?!" or just glare at them. They do NOT want to be pitied.

- They get playful and try to act as if these people are only interested in them by their physique. "Oh, I know I'm good looking, but you can stop staring at me darling~" if your character is kind of a classy cane user, it gets really fun to play around it and after a while, their confidence may get a real characteristic of theirs.

- They feel miserable. They don't want to be pitied just because they exist. They're walking outside for five minutes to get groceries and people are pitying them, and that hurts.

- They really don't care. They've seen it all, and don't let the stares affect them anymore. If they did, it would probably drive them mad.

One thing that happens ALL THE TIME with canes is that they fall. And overall, it's really funny to watch. Watching a cane fall down five times in a row is an embarrassing situation and can make some fun interactions ! Exemples :

- The cane user is trying to have very serious talk with someone else. They walk towards them, sits down in a chair, glares at them, puts their cane down against the wall and ... It falls. They put it back. And it falls. They can stay as serious as they want, the other person in front of them is no longer afraid of them.

- The cane user is taking someone on a date at a fun restaurant. They try to sit down on their chair and put their cane away and it falls repeatedly and they start panicking to make it stay up. Their date is very amused by the situation and finds it cute and/or charming.

- The cane user puts their cane against the wall and it falls. Their friend immediately goes to pick it up, but they stop them from doing so by saying something along the lines of "Don't bother. It won't stay up." Or "Heh, it can't fall any lower now."

Oh no, someone is trying to steal your character's cane for some reason ! Maybe it's because they think it was left behind by someone else ? Maybe it has a high market value because it's made of gold ? Any way, they will have to do something about it. Exemples :

- they grab the cane back and just beats the crap out of the thief. You know, it's not rare to see stories where grandpas use their cane to hit people as a joke. But it works ! It's a heavy stick, and often made of metal. You're bound to get some good hits with that.

- They immediately panic and/or cry. Canes can be extremely precious to someone, often because of emotional value. It's something you wear every day, you can easily get attached to it. A lot of people even decorate it, so loosing something you crafted yourself hurts.

- They heavily play the victim to either make the thief regret their action, or people get on their side. It can stem from a genuine emotion, but also from acting if they want to just use the situation to their advantage. Either way, if someone has the audacity to steal from a poor "defenseless" disabled person, the crowd will most likely help them.

- They can just ... Not care much. I mean yeah it was stolen and it sucks but you know, most canes cost what. 12$ ? They're annoyed but they won't make too much of a fuss about it, and running to catch the thief may not be worth it if their legs aren't really healthy.

You know, if your cane user is a little young, some people are bound to think that they are "too young to be disabled". How do they react to that ? Exemples :

- They heavily mock the person who said that. What, just because you think someone is too young to be disabled, they're no longer disabled ? Ha, I wish it could work like that !

- They reply with a good old "If I break your legs, I guess you'll still be able to walk ? Cuz you look too young to be disabled too."

- They get doubts and question if they're really disabled enough to wield a cane. Usually, people only use it when they have big problems or when they're old ... Maybe that person's right ... (No they're not, of course)

- They get extremely serious and explain their situation is nothing to be discussed by people won't don't know them personally.

And that's it for today ! I hope you enjoyed this little guide <3 if this gets a bit of traction as well, I may write more in the future ! Good luck to all of the writers ~

Oh and one more thing ! Feel free to link your stories down below for everyone to look, will it be a Tumblr post, an AO3 link, a google doc ... I love to see your creations, and I think sharing ideas with people is a GREAT way to develop more varied representation.

And if you want to thank me in a way or another, you can always take a look at my art on Twitter (@FernShawArt) !

#cw ableism #writer #writing guide #cane user #disability #disabled #spoonie #actually disabled #prompts #roguefort cookie #brook one piece #Arsène lupin #capn cuttlefish #cap'n cuttlefish #craig cuttlefish

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indecisivewitch · 11 months

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Being a spoonie witch is rough sometimes. I wanna go outside and enjoy some nature and spend time outside with my deities and spirit guide but the allergies, fatigue, and pain haven’t helped with that goal. Hopefully with the weather figuring itself out and not constantly fluctuating, maybe I can go outside soon.

#personal post #I just wanna enjoy the sun with the homies #fresh air would be great if allergies weren’t a thing for me #spoonie life

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grey-sorcery · 2 years

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What is energy?

Energy is the medium that carries the intent for spell work. It is utilized in every spell any practitioner has ever done or will do. I postulate that “Energy” is the equivalent of the multidimensional field of virtual particles (See quantum field). This is to say that energy is the smallest permeable fabric in which the most minute manipulations can take place. However, energy, when worked with consciously and knowingly, can create waves of effects over great distance. A butterfly effect starting with the observation and projection of a singular intent.

What is energy work?

Energy work is the manipulation of energy through use of the subtle body and the psychic mind. By “Psychic mind” I refer mostly to one’s energetic awareness: A practitioner’s ability to know where energy is in space and time, what its properties are, its trajectory & velocity, and its form. With this awareness, a practitioner can use their subtle body to manipulate energies that exist around them and within them. Energy work has significantly more to it than practices like Reiki, and other appropriative New Age practices, will lead you to think.

Why is energy work important?

Energy work is absolutely crucial to all spell work and any sentiment against that grain will hinder your craft. Every magical action you do has an energetic interaction. Without consciously practicing energy work, the energetic process behind it will be reactive instead of proactive. This allows your subconscious to have influence over the spell, which rapidly hinders the accuracy and precision of your casting. When energy work is employed purposely the conscious mind has significantly more influence, which improves the likelihood of the success of your spell.

How should energy work be practiced?

Energy work should be used intentionally in every single working you do as to have further control over the spell process. However, it should be practiced on a regular basis in order to keep up your energetic awareness. At first, energy work will be something that'll take a lot of concentration; however, after a while you’ll be able to practice it while doing tasks as well.

Important & beneficial concepts in energy work

Visualization is a helpful guide when first starting, but that’s all it should be as visualization is not doing actual energy work. If you lean too hard on visualization, you’ll stagnate as well as lose your sense of energetic awareness over time. Energetic awareness is very similar to the sense of touch. While these senses are very different from each other, touch is the closest physical analog to energetic awareness. You have to feel the energy more-so than see it. Visualization should be used to create a 3D mold of the construct you’re trying to make, and nothing more.

Getting started

When setting out to try energy work for the first time I recommend setting aside some time where you can sit in a quiet place for at least 30 minutes. For neurodivergent practitioners, it may be more beneficial to start off while out on a walk with some stimulating non-vocal music. For spoonie witches, It would probably be best to do this while laying down- just remain mindful as to avoid falling asleep.

Improving Energetic Awareness

Begin by closing your eyes and trying to reach your awareness out of your body. Energetic awareness is the same sense that you use to detect that someone is looking at you from behind. It should be less visual and more feeling. Try to trace the energies that exist in your environment.

Releasing Energy

The first step of learning energy work is to be able to release energy. Everyone releases energy from their subtle and physical bodies all the time when they are experiencing emotions. The stronger the emotions, the more energy is released. Whatever emotion is being experienced also modifies the types of energies that are released. Sit and focus on a time when you’ve felt a strong emotion and the energetic sensations that you can recall experiencing during that emotion. Then, if you’re able, try to start using that same path or application in order to start gradually releasing energy. Once you’ve got the hang of it, try to release energy from a single body part only. The goal here is to gain enough control of the release of your energy to a point where you can release energy from a tiny region of your body and be able to control the rate in which that energy is released.

Absorbing Energy

The process of absorbing energy is equal and opposite to releasing energy. The practice for this is also the same but opposite. The main difference is that it is important not to let the energies that are absorbed, are not taken into the subtle body. This is because some environments have energies that aren’t that harmonious with our bodily energies. Be sure to use your practice in releasing energy to redirect what you absorb and let it back out into the environment as you proceed.

Giving Energy Form

This is the point where visualization can be a helpful guide; however, if you lean too hard on it you will likely not be practicing energy work to the extent that would be required to master this step. Visualization can be used as a mental mould for the energy work. Visualizing the energy itself will not yield any progress. Hold the mould in your mind as you use the digits on your right hand to project controlled streams of energy into it. If any energy starts to escape the mould, pull it into your left hand or use the pulling motion to get it back into the shape. This will slowly help you develop the ability to control energies outside of your subtle body but within your fields. Once you can create a basic shape, try to solidify it in space before moving it around. Do so without adding or subtracting the amount of energy that makes it up. You know that you’ve mastered this when you can create a simple construct of any platonic shape, as well as a sphere, and move it around through space with axial rotation without the shape changing size or the amount of energy changing within it- all while maintaining the construct’s integrity.

If you’d like to check out my guide to intermediate energy work, click here!

If you have any questions, content requests, or just want to check out my blog click here.

#Energy work #witchcraft #beginner witch #witchblr #baby witch #informational post #secular witchcraft #grey witch #Gew

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desertwaterwitch · 11 months

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Well I made it through my shower with NO SEIZURES. I had them before, but I pleaded with my grandparents that they could maybe help me.

I sat on a stool for a bit, but had to stand some to wash my hair and legs.

Thank you so much, Grandma and Grandpa. And thank you for letting me vent! I knew you wanted to say some stuff, but instead you listened to what has been on my mind. You are amazing, and I wish you were here in person.

Feel free to lecture me now, though. I’m all ears and my hair is combed! 😂

#witchblr #witchcraft #witch community #witches of tumblr #spoonie witch #witches #spirit guides #ancestors #epileptic witch #chronic illness #epilepsy #seizures

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afledglings-guideto-witchcraft · 2 years

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Welcome to A Fledgling's Guide to Witchcraft!

If you've been looking for a beginner's guide to witchcraft (non-religious based) then this blog (and linked discord) is for you! All posts are written and edited by several non-religious witches from around Tumblr and discord.

Below is a Master List of every post found on this blog ↓↓↓

Appropriation in Witchcraft:

Auras and Chakras

Lilith and Judaism

Magick vs Magic (Aleister Crowley)

Smudging and Spirit Animals (Native American)

Spirit Guides vs. Spirit Animals

People To Avoid While Researching Witchcraft

Astral Realm:

Astral Projection

Astrology:

Astrology Breakdown

Celtic Witchcraft:

Fairies AKA The Fae

Fairies AKA The Fae PT. 2

Fae Gift or Deity?

Death Witchcraft

A Beginner's Guide to Death

Deities and Altars

A Beginners Guide to Altars

The Green Man

"The" Triple Goddess

Working With Deities

Forming relationships with deities

Divination

Forms of Divination

Pendulums

Sticks in Place of Bones

Ouija Boards

Dream Work

Energy Work

Energy Work + Spoonie Tips

Energy Vampires + Veiling

Veil Alternatives

How to Start Veiling

Grounding

Magic Circle

Manifestation

Spellwork

Spellcraft

Spellcasting

Warding

Hexes, Curses, and Jinxes

Baneful Magic

Return to Sender Magic

Tag locks

Programming Items

Sigils + How I Craft Sigils

Runes Vs. Sigils

What to do if your spell backfires

Herb Safety

Safe Herbs to Burn + Deadly Herbs

Mundane Vs Magic

Mundane vs. Magic

Modern Day Witchcraft

Types of Witches

Satanism Vs. Witchcraft

Wicca Vs. Witchcraft

Cults Vs. Covens

Satan Vs. Baphomet

Magical Workings

Magical Weekdays

Magic Waters

Moonphase Magic

Wheel of the Year

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violentviolette · 7 months

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since i started talking about calisthenics and the kind of exercise i do as a spoonie with a lot of chronic pain and bone/joint problems ive gotten a couple questions so i thought it might be helpful to make a post kind of outlining some basics that really helped me get started but that i think often get really overlooked when ppl first start thinking of "working out" and the preconceived notions of what abled society tells us that looks like

so for me its all about engaging ur muscles. this is huge because a lot of us, myself included, arent actually very used to actively engaging our muscles during rest. and what i mean by engaging is literally just having the muscle be active without being clenched up. the more u use a muscle, the more active it learns to be, even when sitting, lying down, or resting. it learns to stay engaged and stay doing its job which is holding ur bones together and ur body in the correct position. but if u arent engaging ur muscles consistently, they get used to being overly relaxed and lose strength and form and then struggle when u want to go and use them. this is often combined with poor posture and a huge problem for those of us whose bones and joints dont like to stay where they are and need extra support, as overly relaxed muscles have a more difficult time maintaining proper form and shape. this also makes everything from traditional exercise to just moving around doing daily tasks much more difficult and dangerous, as its way easier for bad form and posture to cause us injury or pain

but engaging ur muscles is actually a very easy and simple thing, it requires no equipment or special moves and can be done sitting, lying down, or standing up. u can do ur whole body all at once or break it up into different parts throughout the day. there's also variations to make it easier in places as u progress

easiest first step i found to get urself used to this is something called progressive muscle relaxation. which is literally just starting at the top of ur body and tensing and then relaxing each muscle group for a few seconds as u work ur way down. it's usually paired with meditation but u dont have to. i usually do it to music cause i find guided meditations boring. a lot of people like to do it either in the morning or right before bed, as it can often help relieve tension and stress and make it easier to fall asleep. there are basic guides like this one

when ur first starting if u want a little extra help identifying what and where ur muscles are so u know ur tensing the right ones in the right ways. once uve done those enough that things are easy, u can break it down even further and isolate more specific muscles and add those in as well. charts like these

where u look up specific muscle groups (in thise case shoulder/upper body muscle groups) can help u visualize exactly where ur muscles are, what directions they go in and what they're connected to, which can help u in understanding how to move and control them

understanding the muscles in ur body and having good control over each area can help so much more than u think when it comes to everyday things. slow, deliberate movement is really the key to that and once u get used to each muscle group and have identified which ones u want to work on, u can isolate those groups and start doing basic calisthenics.

a great resource for that is a channel like hybrid calisthenics which i really like for learning new exercises with lots of options for variations and low impact. his exercises almost always require no equipment, very little impact, and focus on control and stability which are much more beneficial and friendly for spoonies, chronically ill, and disabled people

but even if u dont want to or cant progress farther, simply engaging those muscles for a few minutes a days every day on its own will still help a lot and can make a big difference for some people

#jack.speaks #calisthenics #progressive muscle relaxation #pmr #hope that was helpful and if u have any other questions or want specific exercises i do and stuff let me know and i can post those too #also obligatory acknowledgement that this is obviously not going to work for everyone and not everyone can do these things #but it helped me a lot and ive gained a much larger range of motion and am in much less daily pain because of it

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