Tired-ass beings

Chimera

Recently had to talk to someone who had perfection paralysis (or, in the words of Adam Savage, hamstrung by possibilities).

I've been doing artistic work for myself and others for nearly two decades now so here's my advice.

Not only does he compare himself constantly to Optimus and to the general concept of being a Prime and what that “should be” and how Primes are “supposed to be”, everyone else compares him to Optimus, too. They were both Primes, and nobody ever thinks beyond that one, dazzling, blinding point of similarity.

Rodimus is constantly dismissed, ignored, called out for doing questionable or overly-flashy or loud things, for making mistakes-- For distorting the popular image of what a Prime, or ex-Prime, is supposed to be like. 

So he’s up against actual legend and folklore, social expectations, and direct comparison to someone who has centuries more experience and is a completely different type of person, who has lived under completely different circumstances, who has had actual formal mentors and guidance...

But nobody cares that the comparison between Rodimus and Optimus is totally fundamentally impossible and unfair to make, because again, the Prime title means so many things to so many people, the idea of a Prime and what that should be and how that should work, is so legendary that it’s impossible to reconcile. 

And Optimus is a living Prime, fresh in the minds of everyone, so much the image of wartime leader and a near religious figure to their entire faction. When it got handed off to Rodimus, there was no way he could possibly live up to that.

He was more valued as Hot Rod than as a Prime by most if not everyone he regularly interacts with.  

When he was Hot Rod, it was fine for him to be playful and goofy and touch-focused and loud and make brash decisions. It’s just how he is, he’s high energy as a person all around to the point that his actual frame is designed for motion and speed, and for the most part he never actually messes something up beyond saving even when the decision wasn’t really the best one to make. He makes mistakes, and he goes and tries his best to fix them. He’s not perfect the way Optimus seems to be, to Rodimus himself or to anyone else.

So when he suddenly becomes a Prime, he tries to fix the situation. By picking up the pieces, trying to be the best leader he can be, when he never received any of the preparation or training, had zero notice, had zero actual support from anyone-- He still tried. 

Rodimus has excellent traits for leadership, foremost being perseverance. 

He doesn’t give up, even when he screws up monumentally, or when shit has really gone wrong, or when odds look insurmountable, or when hard decisions have to be made, or when he wants to give up. He doesn’t. 

And when we see him as Captain of the Lost Light, it’s almost as if he’s willingly being a half-assed Captain, because he’s surrounded his command with notoriously experienced and competent people (Ultra Magnus and Drift), and experience and competence were the two things he was always raked over the coals by everyone else about. He was questioned so much that he questions himself, but actually, instead of questioning himself, he seems to just try to Rodimus-proof his own mission.

Which of course, leads to mistakes anyway. 

When he takes the advice of others because he doubts himself too much? It’s bad advice. Listening to Prowl was a mistake.

He’s hurt when he finds out there was a mutiny plot against him, but he wasn’t surprised. 

He hates being called Hot Rod, likely because it reminds him of all the friendliness that disappeared from his casual interactions with others once he became a Prime, and he is a friendly person. It hurts when your friends who used to mess with you are now genuinely questioning and grilling you and above anything else, doubting you... And then afterwards? Everyone just ignores him. It never went back to friendliness, those relationships were nearly all lost.

Rodimus doesn’t like himself, and the way others treat him feeds into that constantly. He is always dismissed, ignored, pushed aside, or sometimes even outright belittled. His experience, comments, and ideas are, generally, not respected even when he is in a significant role of involvement. 

He hates himself so much that he’s almost obsessed with himself; The Rod Pod and the Rodimus Stars in MTMTE are great examples. Other people just see it as being self-absorbed for the sake of being self-absorbed, but I feel like Rodimus does that kind of stuff because he wants to reassure others and pretend like he’s fine, like he’s confident in a way that he’s not, and it works. It works way too well. 

Nobody values him for his strengths and they overly focus on his flaws or errors; Even in MTMTE, I think he’s complimented maybe twice on his people skills/friendliness and his desire to genuinely do good for other people. One of those times, it is a begrudgingly given compliment. 

And that’s it. 

People look at him and think he’s just a loud dumbass who acts before he thinks and makes for an incompetent Prime. 

Optimus got people through a war, sure. And that’s not insignificant. 

Optimus is a great at managing wartime. Strategy, tactics, battle plans, the classic beloved romanticised leader. A cult of personality, a figure to his bots. 

And Rodimus isn’t the kind of bot who does that particular type of leadership very well.

But Rodimus is better for dealing with the actual effect of that war on people; He saw people hurting while he himself was hurting, and made the rash decision to say fuck it and follow a legendary story into deep space with a bunch of fellow disillusioned, messed up people, and by the end of it, those people felt better.

Rodimus is a good leader, he’s just been expected to be a kind of leader that he’s not. But when he goes off and does his own thing? The road is long and winding, but he will get to the finish line one way or another, even if it’s not the way he was expected to do it, even if nobody else would have done it that way. 

Wartime leaders and peacetime leaders require very different approaches and personalities. 

Some people say Roddy didn’t deserve the Matrix. I think he just got the Matrix a little too early in the timeline of events.  

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Styrofoam

Banana peel (outside)

Banana peel (inside)

Teabag

Eraser

Hard candy

X button on offbrand controller

Glass seed bead

Packing foam

Jam jar lid

Bird scissors

Paper napkin

Quartz crystal

Receipt

Bread

Tshirt

Plastic bag

Imagine Starscream confronting Optimus after he sees devasted Bumble Prime, walking out of the quarters, after a heated argument about killing Black Arachnia. SS is just: "This rotten piece of work killed BB's son, her army killed his little sister (talking about Sari) and you STILL have the audacity to cover for her?! Mf, I'm gouging your optics and reaping your spark out rn, just like BB's spark was reaped out on the battlefield, while I craddled his broken shell, comforting him in his agony, while YOU, asshole, were nowhere to be found in his most desperate moments"

And Optimus is just hearing this mouth agape, because BP simply didn't have the heart to tell to his former best friend what kind of atrocities his former love committed...

Why?! Why did I imagined this?! Crying, wheezing, throwing up, rn...

Anyways, thank you for creating this astonishing AU — your artwork is amazing and I love it to bits!

C'mere c'mere *places you on my shoulder, and holding a bucket for that vomit of yours*

I fucking love the effort you put in this scenario right now, it's the right flavours for me

Well this "Blackarachnia killing Rubble" path is not the main one I want to focus on, I like your creative continuation of that route

Disclaimer: Though I have been using a cane for 6 years, I am not a doctor, nor am I by any means an expert. This guide is true to my experience, but there are as many ways to use a cane as there are cane users!

This guide will not include: White canes for blindness, crutches, walkers, or wheelchairs as I have no personal experience with these.

This is meant to be a general guide to get you started and avoid some common mishaps/misconceptions, but you absolutely should continue to do your own research outside of this guide!

The biggest recurring problem I've seen is using the cane on the wrong side. The cane goes on the opposite side of the pain! If your character has even-sided pain or needs it for balance/weakness, then use the cane in the non-dominant hand to keep the dominant hand free. Some cane users also switch sides to give their arm a rest!

A cane takes about 20% of your weight off the opposite leg. It should fit within your natural gait and become something of an extension of your body. If you need more weight off than 20%, then crutches, a walker, or a wheelchair is needed.

Putting more pressure on the cane, using it on the wrong side, or having it at the wrong height will make it less effective, and can cause long term damage to your body from improper pressure and posture. (Hugh Laurie genuinely hurt his body from years of using a cane wrong on House!)

(an animated GIF of a cane matching the natural walking gait. It turns red when pressure is placed on it.)

When going up and down stairs, there is an ideal standard: You want to use the handrail and the cane at the same time, or prioritize the handrail if it's only on one side. When going up stairs you lead with your good leg and follow with the cane and hurt leg together. When going down stairs you lead with the cane, then the good leg, and THEN the leg that needs help.

Realistically though, many people don't move out of the way for cane users to access the railing, many stairs don't have railings, and many are wet, rusty, or generally not ideal to grip.

In these cases, if you have a friend nearby, holding on to them is a good idea. Or, take it one step at a time carefully if you're alone.

Now we come to a very common mistake I see... Using fashion canes for medical use!

(These are 4 broad shapes, but there is INCREDIBLE variation in cane handles. Research heavily what will be best for your character's specific needs!)

The handle is the contact point for all the weight you're putting on your cane, and that pressure is being put onto your hand, wrist, and shoulder. So the shape is very important for long term use!

Knob handles (and very decorative handles) are not used for medical use for this reason. It adds extra stress to the body and can damage your hand to put constant pressure onto these painful shapes.

The weight of a cane is also incredibly important, as a heavier cane will cause wear on your body much faster. When you're using it all day, it gets heavy fast! If your character struggles with weakness, then they won't want a heavy cane if they can help it!

This is also part of why sword canes aren't usually very viable for medical use (along with them usually being knob handles) is that swords are extra weight!

However, a small knife or perhaps a retractable blade hidden within the base might be viable even for weak characters.

Bases have a lot of variability as well, and the modern standard is generally adjustable bases. Adjustable canes are very handy if your character regularly changes shoe height, for instance (gotta keep the height at your hip!)

Canes help on most terrain with their standard base and structure. But for some terrain, you might want a different base, or to forego the cane entirely! This article covers it pretty well.

Many cane users decorate their canes! Stickers are incredibly common, and painting canes is relatively common as well! You'll also see people replacing the standard wrist strap with a personalized one, or even adding a small charm to the ring the strap connects to. (nothing too large, or it gets annoying as the cane is swinging around everywhere)

(my canes, for reference)

If your character uses a cane full time, then they might also have multiple canes that look different aesthetically to match their outfits!

When it comes to practical things outside of the cane, you reasonably only have one hand available while it's being used. Many people will hook their cane onto their arm or let it dangle on the strap (if they have one) while using their cane arm, but it's often significantly less convenient than 2 hands. But, if you need 2 hands, then it's either setting the cane down or letting it hang!

For this reason, optimizing one handed use is ideal! Keeping bags/items on the side of your free hand helps keep your items accessible.

When sitting, the cane either leans against a wall or table, goes under the chair, or hooks onto the back of the chair. (It often falls when hanging off of a chair, in my experience)

When getting up, the user will either use their cane to help them balance/support as they stand, or get up and then grab their cane. This depends on what it's being used for (balance vs pain when walking, for instance!)

That's everything I can think of for now. Thank you for reading my long-but-absolutely-not-comprehensive list of things to keep in mind when writing or drawing a cane user!