“A Thread of Tips” by Shelby

• #16 is missing but to find out more tips, follow her on twitter; be sure to thank her! 😁

disclaimer: check sites and tips before using at your own discretion.

“What? Like, a disabled protagonist? How would that even work? How could someone with a disability be the hero in an action show?” local anime trash boy wonders while sitting next to his box sets of Full Metal Alchemist, showing no hint of irony or self awareness. 

but is Ed really disabled? sure I get he lost his arm and leg

but he’s still able to move and do things perfectly

He has prosthetics. Having prosthetic limbs (that more than once break amd need repair) doesnt make him not disabled

It should also be noted that Ed:

-had to undergo very painful surgery to get automail

-had to relearn how to write because of his prosthesis (there’s a post going around showing he had to switch hands etc) and his handwriting is likely a lot worse due to that. This means automail isn’t super good for delicate work, unsurprising, considering what it’s made of. 

-experiences phantom limb pain and therefore other associated stuff (this was only really shown in the manga)

-cannot go anywhere too cold without changing his automail or he’ll get really bad frost bite and it will stop working

-cannot go anywhere too hot, period, because the metal attached and under his skin will overheat and he will be badly burned

-Reattachment is painful, but needs to be done frequently if he breaks or outgrows his automail

- it’s HEAVY so much so that the strain has the potential to cause stress on his body, enough that it’s even theorized as possibly stunting his growth.

-it requires regular maintenance or it will break down, as shown when he forgets to do that and it…breaks down

-when it does need to be repaired, it takes time to do that, during which Ed uses regular prosthetics (that usually don’t quite fit him).

-costs a lot of money (not a problem for Ed due to high state alchemist salary/having mechanics as surrogate family, but explicitly noted to being the reason why most people in the fmaverse stick to regular prosthetics along with the painful surgery)

So Ed can’t actually do everything perfectly and experiences a lot of extra hassle, problems and pain people without automail don’t have to deal with!  And any advantages he does have are more suited to fighting than day to day life (being able to incorporate weapons/fake out people who want to blow up his arm). 

Arakawa did her research and thought it through. Automail is by no means a magic cure that solves all problems associated with losing a limb.

I’m kinda sad these two might not count.

Why wouldn’t they? Hiccup is missing a leg

But he doesn’t struggle.

Disability isn’t defined by” struggle” or suffering. Having a useful prosthetic doesn’t make them not disabled. Get the fuck out of here with that. 

DISABILITY ISN’T DEFINED BY SUFFERING OR STRUGGLE

I will also point out (quietly, because that last point was SO important) that choosing not to show it on screen does not necessarily indicate a lack of either adaptation or difficulty.  It might simply be none of our business.

Reblogging for that last comment…it’s really creepy how voyeuristic people act about it sometimes. Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean they’re not struggling…and their apparent struggle or lack thereof isn’t what “grants” them disabled status. It’s the fact of having a disability.

imma say it. “kung fu panda” did more for body positivity and saying that  you can be fat and still be healthy and liked than ANYTHING any beauty companies trying to get your money.

kfp also respects women more than any beauty company too.

It also did “letting go of physical attatchments” MUCH better than certain other franchises did, as @tyrantisterror can clarify.

Well I’m not really an expert on that subject but people have yelled at me about it a lot so I’ll try my best.

Ok so, as many tumblr Buddhists and Star Wars prequel apologists have informed me recently, “letting go of attachments” is supposed to mean that you don’t let your love for others or yourself to become obsessive.  It’s sort of a combination “if you love it set it free” and accepting that bad things can happen without dwelling on them - an acceptance that you can’t be in control of everything, and that the world doesn’t revolve around you.

In Kung Fu Panda 2, Po, compassionate and heroic though he may be, is weighed down by a great deal of anxiety about his life.  He still isn’t sure if he really deserves to be treated as a hero, he discovers he was adopted and is filled with anxiety about his family, and just as he’s finally making friends with his fellow martial artists a threat rises that is trying to kill them all.  Po’s friends, family, and very sense of self are threatened in this story.

His antagonist, Lord Shen, is a perfect foil for him.  Shen was born into a wealthy family that was renowned for making fireworks, but wants to use that technology to make canons and guns - weapons that, in the world of this story, are unthinkably powerful - which he can then use to conquer all of China.  He is warned that if pursues this scheme that a hero of black and white - a panda, he assumes - will rise to kill him.  Rather than pursue a less horrible goal, Shen opts to wipe out all the Pandas in China.  Horrified at what he has done, Shen’s parents exile him from their family home, and later die of grief.

Yet despite being given palpable evidence that his current course is wrong, Shen remains committed to his mad dream.  He refuses to question the morality of his actions, or accept the consequences of it.  He paints his parents as traitors who rebuked his love of him, believing that they were the ones who wronged him by exiling him rather than supporting his ambitions.  After all, wouldn’t his plan have benefited them as well?  Did they not see that he was trying to bring glory to his family, to increase their wealth and status?  Did they not see how special and important and perfect he was?

Shen is defined by his attachments.  He obsesses over what he feels he is owed, what he deserves, and is incapable of seeing any of his own actions as wrong as a result.  He’s incapable of accepting the consequences of his mistakes, even when they cost him things he loves and values.  Every setback he faces can’t be accepted as an accident or a result of his own mistakes - it HAS to be a result of other peoples’ faults, of some monstrous conspiracy to keep him from claiming his rightful place.

He assumes others think like this as well.  When Po finally confronts Shen, Shen assumes Po would be furious and vengeful at him for, y’know, exterminating Po’s race.  The fact that Po is unaware of their personal connection is amusing to him, and being the egotist that he is, Shen can’t help taunting Po about it.

When Po finally presses Shen to tell him what Shen knows about his family, Shen tells a horrible lie.  “ Oh, you want to know so badly? You think knowing will heal you, eh? Fill some… crater in your soul? Well, here’s your answer: your parents didn’t love you.”  Interestingly, this exact lie is what Shen has told himself to justify his actions - he knows how much it hurts to believe your parents hated you, how much of a betrayal that is, how much you suffer when someone you’re attached to does not share the sentiment, and tries to trick Po into suffering the same way.

Of course, we learn that this is false for both Po and Shen - Shen’s parents did love him, and were killed by the grief of what they allowed their son to become.

By Shen’s logic, Po should be consumed with grief and anger over what Shen has taken of him.  Shen expects Po to be just as deranged and vicious as he is - he expects Po to be broken.

Instead, when Po learns the truth, including what Shen has taken from him, Po… let’s go.  He let’s go of the sorrow. of the anger, of the grief.  He let’s go because he knows he was loved and, more importantly, is loved.  He let’s go because he knows that while there are bad times, there are also good times.  He let’s go because he knows he can’t control the past.  He can’t control what happened to his mother or to his people.  He can’t control Shen’s actions.  The past is history - it’s the here and now, the present, that matters.  Po has people he loves and who loves him, and he has the opportunity to act on their behalf now.

Even after learning everything that Shen has taken from him, Po tries to heal and teach Shen during their final battle.  He doesn’t dwell on the grief, he doesn’t succumb to hatred, he simply tries to stop the violence by any means, the ideal way would be to change Shen’s mind rather than to kill him.  Shen ultimately forces Po to fight back, and in the process kills himself.  Shen was the warrior of black and white who spelled his own doom all along.

But Po isn’t the best example of a character letting go of attachments in the Buddhist sense that this series has to offer.  No, the best, most literal example, would be Master Oogway.

In the first Kung Fu Panda movie, Oogway selects what is, essentially, an heir to his role as the ultimate master of Kung Fu.  His choice is Po, which surprises everyone since Po is a big, out-of-shape noodle vender, and has no training in kung fu.  Yet Oogway is confident that Po is the correct choice, even though everyone else, including his greatest student Master Shifu, insists it was an accident.  “There are no accidents,” Oogway says to Shifu, “You must learn to let go of the illusion of control.”

Oogway’s final words to Shifu are to accept that, while we can affect important change in the world, we cannot control everything - that we have to work with what we are given, and accept that things will not go the way we expect or want them to.  His plea for Shifu to believe in Po is also a plea to try and work with the situation as it is, instead of stubbornly trying to force it back into the plan that Shifu had concocted in his head.

And when Shifu agrees to do so, Oogway lets go in the exact way Buddha intended - he leaves the material plane and ascends to a higher existence.

In Kung Fu Panda 3, Po briefly ascends to the same spiritual realm that Oogway currently resides in, and Oogway explains how he knew Po would live up to his legacy - how he saw the past, present, and future of Kung Fu in Po, and knew that the world would be safe in the panda’s hands.  Oogway’s last attachment to the physical world was his concern for its safety in his absence, and since Po could and would ensure its safety, Oogway was finally ready to let go completely.

Completely letting go of attachments does not work for a traditional hero’s narrative, because the concept isn’t about heroism - it’s not meant to be, either.  It’s a philosophy geared towards breaking the cycle of reincarnation, and transcending the problems of a mortal life.  Letting go of attachments is what you do to prepare to die, not what you do to prepare for a fight with the Evil Empire.

But letting go of some attachments can be used in a heroic narrative, which is what the Kung Fu Panda series does.  It applies Buddhist and Taoist philosophies to a heroic story in a way that makes sense and stays true to both, because it was written by people who are much smarter than George Lucas.

bro tf most people are snickering about sniddies here you got a full on heavily sourced essay on this….hello take my post???

Thank you!  I’m just very fond of Kung Fu Panda.

You, mean, and several people I’m close to are all really fond of Kung Fu Panda, so it’s weird how we never seem to talk about it that much?

I really love this post because like. While the lack of tiger tiddies is…nice? Its like all I ever see these movies get appreciation for. And I hardly EVER see appreciation for Kung Fu Panda 2, which Is ABSOLUTELY my favorite of the three, one of my favorite movies in general, and an all around work of art that I wish more people recognized. Shen is a phenomenal villain. Po is a phenomenal protagonist for Shen to try to conquer.  Theres are GENUINE emotions behind the sillyness of the premise of this series. KFP2 made me bawl like a CHILD in MULTIPLE scenes.  I seriously push anyone reading this post to just go watch it. Dont even watch these clips first if you havent already. These scenes are built up so well and they hit like a ten ton sack of bricks.  

It actually bums me out when ive mentioned that I really love kfp2 and people have LAUGHED at me like “they made a SEQUEL?” like its…stupid???? Inherently going to be trash or a cash grab?  Its not. This movie is so worth your time if you just give it an honest chance.  Hell i LOVED kfp1 and i was NOT prepared for 2 to hit me like it did. I watched it several times the first week i finally got around to watching it.  

Its honestly an absolute master class family film.  And if you love art, animation, color, and design? Check it out. It has some of the most spectacular use of color I’ve ever seen. Its absolutely breathtaking. Shens design is amazing and they KNOW how to use it. They take full advantage of Po and Shen being characters that have a lot of white in their design and really dial up the colored lighting.  The 2d sequences are just as refreshing and breathtaking.  

This is a movie I absolutely adore and could talk about for reasons I just…PERSONALLY love it for hours and not get tired.  Its equal parts hilarious, heartbreaking, and uplifting. Po is SUCH a lovable character. Its actually a crime how underappreciated it is. Its so much more than just good female anthro character design. 

a quick grass tutorial

I’ve never really wrote a tutorial before so apologies if this is bad

1. okay first thing I do is pick three colors, a mid, dark, and light. I like to check the colors in greyscale to make sure there’s enough contrast between each one.

I then plop down a blob of whatever my middle tone color is.

2. next, I take my dark color and just sort of randomly place it around. I try to make sure there’s a good amount of both the mid and dark tones spread throughout. I personally like to keep it kinda messy. I also have pen pressure on for both brush size and opacity, so I can have some blending action going on.

3. for the next step I do the exact same thing as before, except with the light color.

4. aight this is where we start adding details. see how you just have a bunch of colors and edges where two colors meet? use the eyedropper and go to an area where two colors meet, eyedrop a color, and then use that color to draw in your grass blades. I do this at every point where colors meet. should note I personally like to use a square brush, but you can really just use anything.

5. you can technically stop at the last step if you’re going for a more simple look, but to add more details I go to the “empty” areas of solid color and just draw in random strokes using a color nearby. it’s just a way to fill up the empty space.

6. basically more of the same idea of eyedropping and drawing. for more variety so things look interesting, I like to add random plant shapes.

7. and so the grass doesn’t look too plain, I add random dots of color and pretend it’s flowers and stuff.

and there you have it, this is how I approach drawing grass.

how to draw arms ? ? 

holy fuck

holy fuck is right… but… does it work with legs???

yes !!

but how much extend

^^^^^^^^^^

I NEARLY CHOKED

ENJFDFNFATFVFDF

finally. i can be accurate

This is too fucking great to not reblog

I give it MASCLES

BIG MACHO

LMAOOOOOO

Okay but for anyone who legit wants to know how to calculate it correctly:

The elbow joint on average rests a couple inches higher than the navel, so if you measure how long the distance is from the middle of the shoulder to that point then you have the length of the upper and fore arms!

So if anyone’s wondering about legs too, the simplest rule of thumb is that the length from the top of the leg to the knee is equal to the distance between the top of the leg and the bottom of the pectorals:

And I wanna stress that when i say “top of the leg” i’m not talking about the crotch (please don’t flag me tumblr it’s an anatomical term) i’m talking about the point where the femur connects to the pelvis, which is higher up on the hips:

It’s easier to see what I’m talking about in this photo of a man squatting: 

So yeah if you use that measurement when using this technique you should get fairly realistically proportioned legs:

But remember! messing with proportions is an important and fun part of character design! Know the rules first so you can then break them however you please!

HOW THE HELL DID I FIND THIS POST OMG

Via GMB Akash

“I never told my children what was my job. I never wanted them to feel shame because of me. When my youngest daughter asked me what I did. I used to tell her hesitantly, I was a labourer. Before I went to home I used to take bathe in public toilet so they did not get any hint of the work I was doing. I wanted my daughters to send to school, to educate them. I wanted them to stand with dignity in front of people. I never wanted anyone look down at them like everyone looked down at me. People always humiliated me. I invested every penny of my earning for my daughters’ education. I never bought a new shirt, used the money instead for buying books for them. Respect, which is all I wanted them to earn for me. I was a cleaner. The day before the last date of my daughter’s college admission, I could not manage to get her admission fees. I could not work that day. I was sitting beside the rubbish, was trying hard to hide my tears. I was unable to work that day. All my coworkers were looking at me but no one came to speak. I was failed, heartbroken and I had no idea how to face my daughter who would ask me about the admission fees once I back to home. I am born poor. Nothing good can happen with a poor person that was my belief. After work all cleaners came to me, sat beside and asked if I considered them as brothers. Before I could answer they handed their one day income in my hand. When I was refusing everyone they confronted by saying, ‘We will starve today if needed but our daughter has to go to college.’ I cannot reply them. That day I did not take shower. That day I went to house like a cleaner. My daughter is going to finish her University very soon. Three of them do not let me to work anymore. She has a part time job and three of them do tuition. But often she took me to my working place. Feed all my coworkers along me. They will laugh and ask her why she feed them so often. My daughter told them, ‘All of you starve for me that day so I can become what I am today, pray for me that I can feed you all, every day.‘ Now a days I do not feel, I am a poor man. Whoever has such children, how he can be poor. ” - Idris

I may be drunk but this is fucking beautfiul and i am crying

I’m in tears

‘Privilege’ cannot ever replace hard work.

I feel like the reason certain dog-lovers insist cats are evil is because they read their body language as if they were dogs. So here’s a very basic guide to common “mean” things cats do that actually aren’t mean at all if you know what they’re thinking.

Rolling and exposing belly- attacks you when touched Does not mean: Give belly rubs! - haha I tricked you!  Actually means: I’m playful! If you reach for my belly I’ll grab your arm and bite it because I think we’re playfighting! 

Lazily exposing belly - still attacks when touched Does not mean: tricked you again! Actually means: I’m showing you my belly because I trust you. Please don’t break that trust by invading my personal space. I might accept a belly rub if I’m not ticklish and I know you well. Snapping at you while being pet Does not mean: I suddenly decided I dislike you! Actually means: You’re petting me in a way that gives me too much restless energy. Please focus on petting my head and shoulders instead of stroking the full length of my back next time.

Is in the same room but makes no attempt to interact Does not mean:  I’m ignoring you Actually means: We’re hanging out! I’m being respectful by giving you space while still enjoying your company. Slapping/scratching your hand when you try to pet them Does not mean: I hate you! Actually means: You’ve failed to establish that we’re not playing, or the way you’re approaching me scares me. Be calmer, speak more gently, make eye-contact and blink slowly at me before you try again.

I love this post omg, thank you so much. As a lifelong cat person, dogs perplex me because they’re so completely different behaviourally.

I love dogs too but, I’ve been trying to tell people, you canNOT treat cats like you treat dogs. They arent the same animals and have very different personalities

P.s.: people often pet cats way too hard. Dogs like a firm pet or a pat on the belly, cats dont have the same bone structure and are more flexible than dogs so what you’re doing probably hurts them

Sitting and staring Does not mean: I am challenging you/plotting your demise/just generally evil and creepy. Actually means: I am a desert-adapted species, so my natural tears are very thick and keep my eyes moist for a nice long time. I do find people interesting and enjoy watching them.  I just don’t need to blink very often!

Staring and blinking slowly Does not mean: I’m smug and think I am smarter than you. Actually means: I like you! But I don’t need to get up in your face to show it.  I can just sit over here and blow kisses at you to show you I am glad you are around!

It’s very frustrating for me when people expect cats to act like dogs, or act like they’re deceitful.  They aren’t!  They just AREN’T DOGS.

Pour les chats 🐈💞

Get ready for “more reasons why I fucking love cats”

CATS 😍😍😍😍

Hey yo so anyone who knows cats uh…. what do if a cat licks me????

lick it back.

But seriously it’s probably cleaning you because it’s your mum now…

The last comment lmao

Good stuff.

This. This is good fiction writing advice. I really appreciate how it was formatted as “this is a common problem, here is a solution to try in your own work” and not “oh god, don’t do that!” without any extra help. And I extra appreciated the “don’t rely on adverbs” bit, because they do have their place but they aren’t the only way actions can be emphasized.

Tips On How to Write Characters with Wings (For both fanfic writers and original content writers)

So I’ve been reading a lot of fics lately where people are either

A) Putting wings onto canon characters

B) Making OCs with wings

So I decided that, with the influx of people who are writing winged characters (and therefore the influx of errors that come with writing winged characters), I’d make a little thing to help you slap a pair of wings onto anyone!

This is also a bit personal, too, because the MC in my upcoming novel has wings!

1. Know that there are a lot of types of wings to choose from

Part of being a writer is the desire to take something (whether it be a pre-existing work or an idea in your head) and make it into your own. So, instead of just going with the classic bird wings, why not spice it up a bit? If your character is an angel, you certainly don’t have to stick to the classic depictions of angel wings. Why not give them butterfly wings or dragonfly wings?

Here’s a small list of different types of wings to choose from:

Note that these wings are for animals who can fly. There are also animals who can “fly” that actually glide, such as sugar gliders and flying squirrels.

Yeah, so the options are pretty limited, but feel free to make up your own kinds of wings that aren’t necessarily based on a pre-existing creature’s wings!

2. Be familiar with the anatomy of your character’s wings and their limits

If your wings are completely unique, draw them out. A diagram or picture is key when it comes to things like description. I’m not gonna tell you what everything does and give you Animal Wing Anatomy 101, that’s for you to research. Know that there are different types of wings and that they have different uses, strengths, and weaknesses.

3. Never use the full extent of your research! 

Surprise, surprise!

“But wait, Maddy!” you cry, writing utensil in hand and poised to stab me. “I thought we were supposed to were supposed to show our research!”

Well, you are. Technically that’s not wrong. But, readers don’t want to know ALL of it. Over-described wings are sometimes worse than under-described wings; what sucks more than not knowing what a character’s wings look like is having to look up wing anatomy in the middle of the chapter!

Only use the most basic of vocabulary when it comes to describing the parts of the wing. Most of the time, you just have to say “bat wing” or “feathery wing” and the readers get the basic idea. (Like seriously, do you think the readers know what a dactylopatagium brevis is????? It’s a part of skin on a bat’s wing btw)

4. Don’t bring your character’s wings up only when they’re needed!!!!

Unless your character’s wings can fade away when they’re not needed, wings are a 100% real, 24/7 thing! It’s bothersome when writers mention the wings in one chapter and then only bring them up when there’s a daring escape that needs to be performed! Most of the time, I forget that the characters even have wings at all!

There is also the fact that wings aren’t all pros and no cons. If they’re functional, they’re probably big, and if they’re muscular, they’re probably bulky. If your character is clumsy, they’ll probably knock things over constantly, and if they’re not clumsy, they’ll still knock things over constantly.

Your wings are two (or four, or five, or six quintillion) extra appendages; they’re a part of your character! You don’t have to spend every second reminding the readers that they’re there, but don’t go long stretches of time without even mentioning them.

5. Your character’s wings can be a good way to indicate their mood or to provide for that little bit of description that you think you make be lacking

Why wouldn’t you want to describe the wings? I mean, you don’t want to describe every minute detail over and over again, but it’ll boost your word count a lot more than you think. They can also be used to convey your character’s feelings without explicitly telling the reader! It’s like a new set of facial expressions!

See? You can tell he’s wary and ready to fight from the movement of his wings! Also he’s crouching next to a dead body but that’s not relevant right now

Here’s a list of wing language (?) that you can incorporate into your story that will not only increase your word count, but will also add to the sustenance of your story!

Nervous

Angry

Happy

During Battle

Problems that may come with having wings

Hope this helped!!!

This could be really helpful for anyone creating species with wings. 

Fafoo (via vgperson)

What to do if you suddenly find yourself homeless

FOOD

SHELTER

HYGIENE

OTHER

Reblog to literally save a life

if there is a Dollar Tree near you, they have entire food aisles

Planet Fitness also has $10 memberships. you can shower and they have free food days! pizza night 1st monday every month, bagel tuesday the 2nd tuesday every month.

Save a life reblog

i am so glad that i renblogged this however so long ago. i saw this post and shared it with others in mind, but now i am the one who really needs this. id like to think of this as good karma i guess

also a good list if anyone ever needs to run away from home for whatever reason.

It's to the point where I'm exhausted to even point it out

Reactions to tragedy

In real life, pretty much everybody reacts to tragedy differently. So why is it that every author has their pet reaction to tragedy that all their characters use? Not only is it unrealistic, but it takes away the chance for the characters’ different reactions to reveal things about themselves.

Possible reactions to tragedy (not an exhaustive list):

Characters can have more than one reaction at the same time, one reaction after another, or different reactions to different tragedies.

art trade with the sweet and awesome @kurokunero! she did the sketches, and I coloured the linearts. since we couldn’t decide which one we will be using for @vrainsweek ’s birthday collage for Ishige Shoya’s upcoming birthday (as well as his reaction! adfg), I let my brother chose who just happened to be in my room once I finished colouring them :D

It was harder to decide on which one to go for after you color as well XD (me n my indecisive brain). I never would have thought to use those two colors for Yusaku’s hoodie (anyone spot the ref, she’s a genius) So thank you BA Bro for stepping in!!

And @breakdawn-avenue you are sweet and awesome too!!! Thank you so so much again for doing an art trade with me! I’m glad we gave Baby Yusaku both Security Dragon and Proxy Dragon (this one still hasn’t appeared in the show yet as of this post).