Bone! Bone!
I have questions/need for clarifications on a few things around wildfur and briarlight's mobility aids, especially in what things are considered improvements
First, why is Briarlight's sled smaller than wildfur's? Wouldn't the sides help in protecting them from dirt, nasty plants who can cut them or give them problems when touched?
Second, the blankie. Is there any use for it going up to where she can feel things or is that just because the blanket is attached there??
For context, I'm a paraplegic and decided to redesign one of the protags of my xenomoggy whom is also paralyzed from a fall and promptly realized that I should throw hammers on past me for making it so they don't use disability aids (which, unlike another paralyzed character who doesn't use ones bc she's primarily in the water, doesn't make sense and is dangerous).
I decided to take info from your briar's aid but literally yesterday when working on them remembered my foot sack and thought how a leg sack with a sled might be even better than the blankie, causing a discussion with my mom (victim of all my warriors infodumps) where we realized that a burlap sack would be the best for this but have to get the thought process between these two choices before removing the blanket and making the sled big like the wildfur design
Thank you so much!
I'm replying to you sneakily from under my desk at work (I have barely had a free second since my last post!) and sure! I'll explain the thought process;
Purpose of the Blanket
The inclusion of a blanket is a HUUUUGE leap foward for safety.
Because Wildfur didn't have a protective blanket, it was not uncommon for sticks and thorns to get lodged in his taboggen, right up against his skin in places he couldn't feel it. Thankfully, he lived most of his life in marshy, wet areas without a ton of splinters and rocks.
For Briarlight, living her whole life in a stony forest, that Version 1.0 build had much more risk. There's much more to get stuck on where she's going. So, the blanket connects high up, kind of like a shield against anything that might hit her chest and roll under her belly.
Branch with twigs, thorny bramble vine, dirt or sand, leaves, biting insects, etc. I keep in mind that a paraplegic cat would be moving much more laterally through the world than a human would; our upright posture makes us much more perpendicular, if that makes sense. Your head is above your shoulders more than in front of them.
The neck also just makes a good anchor point. The Clans have a taboo about collars, but Jessy and Briarlight were not particularly concerned about it-- being able to easily slip the ring on and off without help was much more important to Brili than that.
A leg bundle could be a good way to do it, too!
Sled Size: Wildfur vs Briarlight
It's true that Wilf's is larger than Brili's, and I had two reasons behind that.
Firstly, the blanket is making up for that extra protection that a larger sled would provide. Wildfur had the first iteration without a comfort shield, so the taller sides were very useful to him.
Secondly, Briarlight's device better fits her lifestyle and environment.
ShadowClan's wetlands are soupy, but often much softer. Wildfur could run over a LOT of the ferns and mosses with some brute force, and the distribution of weight over a wider area made his long, round roll of bark good for not getting stuck in the mud.
Briarlight, buff as she is, can't flatten a fat sapling. She needs more ability to swerve, and a lighter load on her backside to make that easy. Schmoovement
(THOUGH I do need to make a better schematic of her device. It should still completely cover her legs, and any surface in contact with the ground... maybe I'll take a big stab at it again and make it more of a "side saddle" design. Hmm...)
Anyway,
If the character you're tackling lives in a grassland or other open terrain, I'd say you should make their device long so they can get some SPEED up when they hit a stride down a hill. The more uneven the terrain, the more they'd probably value keeping the wood component small and agile.
For a semi-aquatic warrior, I think the challenge would be making a device that can easily swap between land and water. But, I'd have to sit down and do research on it first and think out some sketches.
Good luck!