I am guilty of being the dumb kid that used a rubber band on my unsleeved cards back in the day. No sock, though, just rawdoggin’ it in my backpack next to my binder and my bagged lunch.
One of my first purchases at a real LGS was a deckbox and some clear sleeves.
Making the conscious choice to draw them as generic humanoids rather than as a cute fox and bunny for this specific comic is peak sibling behavior.