#but like. . .rn she has a lot of work to do

[creatingblackcharacters]

Hi, white aspiring author here! I've been tinkering with a story for years (coming up on 10... Eek!) and the main characters have shifted around a lot. Currently the cast is a Black princess and a red-headed witch! I was reading through your hair posts and trying to think about how the princess's class and standing, especially relative to the other kingdoms, would impact what kind of hairstyles she would be most likely to have, and which she may not even have access to. A few context bits I have regarding her story:

- the setting is so post-modern it wraps around back into pre-electricity (so, no one probably has straightened hair unless they have magic...?)

- her kingdom is objectively the most important due to heavy contributions to continental agriculture access

- her kingdom is culturally snubbed due to bias against connections to nature (there was a Humans vs Nature vs Magic war - tentative peace rn but aftermath is still palpable)

- she is loved and trusted by the citizens of her kingdom, and she trusts the people who work in the castle and as her handmaidens

- she is frequently on the go, especially as a child, but in recent years she's had to focus more on royal diplomacy

- her parents are trying to set up an arranged marriage due to the cultural tensions, so she's getting dressed up a lot (unwillingly)

- the plot really starts when she leaves the castle to adventure with the witch

So I'm thinking about like... How her main hairstyle is probably going to change pre-plot versus mid-plot! Before leaving the castle she has the time, wealth, and help for something like microbraids, or even microbraids that make bigger braids. But I'd imagine that'd get very difficult to maintain after a week of hiking around the woods and up and down mountains, much less months of traversing the continent. Another thing I'm wondering about is if it'd be more reasonable to assume she has enough basic practice and skills to maintain her hair with a lower maintenance style on her own after leaving, or if that's something she's starting from near-scratch with, having her hair done by someone else her whole life thus far? As in, would it be more realistic for her to remember her childhood styles and try the twist out, or would she have self-braiding skills as a young adult? She has a great amount of dexterity in general, but I'm not sure if general dexterity translates to braiding dexterity (mostly because I've tried braiding my own hair and suck at it, despite being good with things like knitting). I'd imagine that's the kind of thing where practice goes a long way?

Anyway I apologize for the wall of text but thank you very much for that master post, I'm going to keep reading through it because it's really helping me conceptualize this character a lot more in-depth, and it's helping to give context to minor world building considerations too! Really developing the details like this is my favorite thing to do, because once I have enough everything just kinda clicks and springs to life on its own! So I hope this isn't too long ;;

Hot combs don't require electricity, so people could have straight hair! It's just gonna take longer.

This really depends on your character. If you give her the skill to do her own hair, she'll have it lol. If you're implying that she always had servants who did it, then she won't. So if what you're saying is she's doing it from scratch, then no, she won't know what to do. No one just has good braiding skills lmao, you have to practice on yourself and on others. There's a reason doing hair is such a community experience.

Microbraids is a hell of a style to get stuck with when you don't know how to do your own hair 😅 they'll be fine while having them, but getting them down by herself at some point is gonna be a BITCH. I'd rather cut my shit off fr 😭 but that's why I never got micros, I'm far too impatient. Can the witch do hair lmao? Is the witch trusted enough to help take it down or magic it out? Does she get to come back to the castle every now and then for new styles, or is she just out and about? And for how long? Because if she wants more flexibility, the braids are probably not it.

I think everyone struggling with this sort of question should have their characters practice doing four simple plaits or cornrows on their head 😅 like it's gonna suck the first time, but practice makes perfect.

[nisbanisba]

Got another prompt fic I wrote instead of jobhunting!! I am a functional adult!! (The job I’m a finalist for moves VERY SLOW so who knows what’s going on with it rn. Jobs are ass. Fanfiction is so much better)

Day 12 - This Is Not My Ceiling

Rated G - 673 words

(For the prompt “From Sickie to Medic”)

This isn’t his ceiling.

It’s spinning a little, for one thing, which the ceiling in his bedroom in Owen’s rental house doesn’t usually do. It’s not the ceiling in Carlos’s condo, either. It’s sloped and somehow concave and convex at the same time.

“Where’m I,” TK slurs, his throat swollen and dry. He moves to sit up, but his muscles are all somehow weak and tense at the same time, and he thinks his migraine is setting some sort of headache world record. His queasiness ramps up to full-blown nausea and he moans.

“Yo, don’t do that,” says a familiar voice. Nancy’s face swims into focus as she easily presses him back into what is definitely not his bed.

“Sick,” TK chokes out, and Nancy swiftly drags him into a sitting position and produces an emesis bin from nowhere at all. She holds his limp body as he gags and spits into the bin. Every muscle screams at the exertion, and the pain in his head ratchets up to 11. It’s like his brain has been plunged into a vat of hot oil.

“All done, bud?” Nancy’s voice floats through his cloud of agony eventually.

TK keens softly and whispers, “I think so.” His partner lays him back onto the cot with a gentleness he didn’t know she possessed, and tears spring to his hot, dry eyes. “What happened,” he rasps eventually.

“Got yourself a pretty good case of heat exhaustion,” comes another voice. Tommy rounds his cot, stripping her gloves into a wastebasket before leaning over to run a motherly hand through his hair.

“Oh, my god, what happened?” That’s confusing. TK just said that. Did he say it again without even meaning to?

“Hey, Carlos,” says Tommy. TK flops his head to the side and sees his boyfriend enter the tent, because that’s what’s wrong with the ceiling, he’s in a tent. Carlos is possibly even more beautiful than usual, glowing with perspiration, his uniform sleeves fighting for dear life against his absurd biceps, his curls breaking free of their gelled prison in the heat, spiraling around his head like a halo.

“Hi, baby,” sighs TK.

“Hey,” Carlos whispers, leaning over his cot and brushing a gentle kiss to his forehead, before straightening up and looking back at Tommy. “What happened? Is he okay?”

“Your boy worked a little too long in the heat and didn’t tell anyone he felt bad.” Tommy sounds unimpressed as she gestures outside the tent. The music festival, TK remembers, where they’d been called after a stage collapsed.

“Didn’t mean to. I was helping,” he says miserably. There had been a lot of injuries. “Don’t people still need help? Should you guys be in here with me?”

“There are more units on site, and the collapse is mostly cleaned up now. We’re helping you right now,” says Tommy gently.

TK snuffles. He didn’t mean to put everyone out like this. “I’m sorry.” Outside the tent, the bands are still playing, and it’s like they’re using his brain as a bass drum.

“You don’t have to be sorry. Just be more careful and tell us if you’re not okay next time,” says Tommy.

“Is he going to be okay? Does he need to go to the hospital?” asks Carlos anxiously.

Tommy and Nancy look at each other and Nancy murmurs something, too fast for TK to follow.

“Now that he’s awake, I’d like to see if he can keep some oral fluids down. He’ll rehydrate faster than with just IV fluids.” TK looks at his hands, surprised to see an IV in one. “After that, depending on his temp and BP, we can decide if he should get more treatment at the ER.”

TK groans. He hates the ER, at least as a patient. Carlos takes his hand, sitting in a folding chair that’s materialized by his cot. “You’ll do what they say, right?” Carlos asks, his big eyes worried and pleading.

“I’ll do what they say,” TK agrees reluctantly. “Nance, do we have any blue Gatorade?”

-fin-

For a great tarlos heat exhaustion fic please check out The Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival by @chicgeekgirl89! It’s one of my favorites.

No need to reblog if you don’t want to, I already posted my wip Wednesday, but tagging a few who might be interested!! No worries if not, you can totally just shoot me in the face if you want!!! @eveningstar477 @eclectic-sassycoweyes @henrygrass @mrs-corrections-78 @carlos-in-glasses @sapphic--kiwi @lemonlyman-dotcom @pimento-playing-hopscotch @everlastingday @lightningboltreader @firstprince-history-huh @ladytessa74 @literateowl @bonheur-cafe @heartstringsduet @welcometololaland @the-126-family

[the-stove-is-divorced]

Truly the grief for shows with 20+ eps a season is so indescribable, not everything needs to be 8-10 eps with 45+ min each episode!

And honestly, so true? Agree heavily here. I love the drama of the scene (mostly), Cecil v. Mark, ex. Mark thinking Cecil would outright try to kill him, b/c Mark's prob seeing the Nolan in Cecil, who takes the rejection of obedience into outright violence (presumably?). But still! Lacking! This would hit harder if there was more built up to Mark's trust in Cecil, any mentor-like advice, or paralleled Nolan in Cecil as it did Mark! But, Mark's difficulty in vocalizing his own morality, like you mention, just kinda leaves me a little confused on this whole conflict between them. It retracts from scenes with Oliver, too, it retracts the drama of A LOT, if it just leaves same outright squinting at the screen, 'cause the very foundation, what Mark knows and thinks is right, isn't exactly solid and established.

Like, why doesn't Mark vocalize the importance the HELPING people? Some classic spidey "great power, great responsibility", why is my guy going through the motions, and clearly STILL struggling? I feel like s1 does make some point to highlight Mark does want to help people, or trying to prod at his idea of what helping people means, even if it ends up going terribly wrong. Him failing to rescue a dying woman, him roped into fighting Machine Head, does prod at his ideas of what his job can/doesn't mean, but it feels like they never dive back into that properly? Which is strange, 'cause that's another potential Eve, Mark tie-in, as Eve realizes she can't do everything yet, Mark tries to figure out what he can do. Then they're both learning! Even supporting each other while pushing character growth! But it seems his only goal posts are Don't Be Dad (somehow? vaguely? no sub-goals, here), and Punch Bad Guy...? It's so strange.

Rewatching clips of s1's Mark vs Nolan fight rn, and Mark's weirdly unspecific morality is even weirder? He was trying to save ppl in that battle, desperately, no? I would think post-Nolan fight, he'd want to work real hard in gaining public trust again, and getting real emotional when ANY civilians die. Nolan outright tells him it's his fault ppl died, and Mark, later, learns Nolan is dead ass serious (pun intended lol) about replacing him, why wouldn't that message sink in further? Make him try to saving people first, over fight? Why not show Mark struggling with taking out the bad guy to stop threat, OR saving people whole the threat lingers, unable to choose a higher priority or outright choosing the wrong one, ultimately taking any mistake as proof the s1 fight was his fault.

Truly, some good ol' flashbacks into Guardian dynamics would be so thrilling, because yeah, it seems they were all in good terms! I also just want it so bad. How dare you gimme bootleg Justice League and then don't give me the dynamics. Outright entertainment robbery. YES TEAM DYNAMICS MY BELOVED FOR REAL. The deprivation of small, but so TELLING character moments make me so ill, because it's SO NEEEDED!!! Same brain waves, because the outright visual communication of these characters is NEEDED and would make me so ill in a good way. The budget issue limiting this show will never NOT drive me insane because Amazon HAS THE MONEY FOR SURE, but refuses to make this show something that, even if the writing isn't exactly fantastic, the FIGHTS could be legendary, if not playful. Also WHY did all of them go fr????? That's such a stupid decision? Especially if limiting it down further could have more character moments, even if small visual cues the show lacks!

I feel I violently check out when it comes to romantic focused media to not fully click this trope is so persistent and so ODD? Like HELLO? That's such a backhanded gift at best, inpersonal and one-sided, and outright cruel if I really wanna go there 'cause like you said, you don't know them. Even making a JOKE out of what's supposed to be a meal meaning gift is crazy??? Like this is fiction, a gift is GREAT way to demonstrate intentionally who these characters are and their relationship to each other. Don't remember the episode or if you're there already, but Justice League has an episode where Wonder Woman + Batman get Superman a bday gift before plot happens, (tho it's strange tbh, in the comics WW's gift is actually Batman's? But they switch it for the show if I'm not mistaken???) and GREAT moment!

Kate and Immortal piss me off so bad but we've already discussed why, like this girl isn't a character istg, EXPLORE HER DAMMIT, but seriously! We got a secret identity plotline BRIEFLY before dropping it and then just straight up functioning on how it's not a thing at all like hello????? Can this have any consequences or impact, even if it's people just look the other way? Which is so odd when it's a common staple for the hero genre, too, but I suppose they don't want to explore it? Perhaps too much of a staple to be interesting for them?

AND TRULY i am so tired of mark getting kicked around, bro, what the heck? Do something before the eleventh hour? But characters being genre savvy would be so funny, imagine somebody just pretends to be hurt to get Mark to actually focus lol.

THE ROGUE GALLERY IS SO SAD AND IT MAKES ME SO UPSET. How we get a bootleg JL and no actually good rogue gallery????? CRAZY WORK. Like part of the WHOLE FUN of superhero media is the villains, like, batman villains are crazy interesting or always just entertaining to SOMEONE, poison ivy, harley quin, penguin, etc, which usually reflect back on batman's character in some way if ya wanna dig into it, or just enjoy a good villain! Instead... it's just sad and empty. Currently foaming at the mouth for ANY super villain to be a mark parallel (like a former villain sidekick trying to step out the shadows of their mentor), or straight up used to be Nolan's nemesis and just tries to keep it up with Mark, insisting they're the same for example IDK. Villains are also good at establishing the world!!

ALSO SO TRUE? I don't think it's ever been actually acknowledged??? Ever?? Why doesn't he explore being mixed raced???? My guy is mixed race AND half human, there is SOMETHING to say here. ALSO SO FUCKING TRUE? WHY CAN'T OLIVER AND MARK BOND ABOUT BEING HYBRIDS? ABOUT HOW OLIVER CAN'T PASS AS EASILY?? My guy can't even go to school 'cause he grows up too fast, like can we talk about this??? Can Oliver be a person??? That could put some conflict / added conflict in the relationship?? Can Mark think about what it's like be HALF ALIEN? Can this mf have some unique oddness because of being a hybrid, I BEG. This is why the lack of self introspection in the desert makes me utterly insane. IT WAS RIGHT THERE.

Also you're telling me we got demons, billion dollar teleporters, cursed family lines, aliens, but nothing to instantly make Oliver look human so he can walk around? Easy way for Mark to feel indebted to Cecil, or Oliver trusting Cecil, something???

Cecil is so fucking interesting because he truly must be Like This. Which is even funnier because you'd think he'd be easier to guess with a focus on his, like, trajectory but no???? At least to me. I am squinting, personally. One would think you'd want needed allies close by and endeared to you, control 'em better, but Mark threatens, and he threatens back even harder, like I GET WHY but also DAMN. Instant escalation. Never threaten this mf, he'd take you AND himself out. It's also funny because like Oliver kills and Mark struggles articulating why it's bad, but also Cecil is presumably A-OK with killing (now) but only when he says so (assumingly). Like, don't kill because we could use them, isn't a because it's bad :( argument???

So, I'd imagine if he had to tackle training/mentoring Mark and Oliver it'd be a challenges in the opposite direction. Like No, Oliver you can't kill them ALL. Yes, Mark you DO have to kill sometimes. I'd kill to know what that looks like. Does Oliver get a whole team dedicated to training him, and Cecil check-ins?

But back to his side of things, I just wanna shake him furiously. Like, you point out, you're telling him to stand down WHY inducing pain AND beating him the fuck up like HELLO? You did not make Mark seem dangerous, now YOU look unhinged in dangerous in a desperate power grab/for control. You're basically tazing someone and telling them to calm down LMAO. Which also like did you try calling them off or is this legit an error here? Which yes, yes, characters can make wrong decisions or have flaws and ruin things despite their best intentions, paved roads and all that, but also it so funny if you tilt your head. Cecil why. I get it yes, but also Cecil, no, Cecil no.

Also exactly, when it's TOO vague I just stare the doc. There's no jumping point to push it's anything goes and how hard do I want to overthink it?

While I'm not too familiar with the DCU- your batfam meta posts are intiguing- so in transfering some of the broader strokes from them- I think you tackling a 'Mark isn't Nolan's biological son' fic would be fascinating. Sort of a step to the side of the 'what if Mark never got his powers' fic that sometimes pop up in the fandom

OOOOOO chewing on this currently, hm, the much a distinct flavor of exactly what you’re talking about, but the potential for more family drama depending on WHO knows. Does Mark know?? Is he waiting every day only to be crushed? Does he confused non-Debbie features with Nolan’s? I suppose I’m not the most enthusiastic about non-power AUs, but I think there’s something very fun to explore about Mark having to settle with, if he knows all his life, he will never have powers? I think the trajectory of his dreams will obviously shift, I can see him still having that distinct fatherly idolization, but perhaps embraces being useful to the GDA? Cecil’s number one intern—only intern—curtesy of nepotism, ha! There is something tickling me about Mark taking the Robin Route/Role for the Teen Team in terms of having no powers, just insane skills, BUT there’s something way more delicious about intern Mark when s1e01 happens and Mark tries snooping around to find out the truth about what happened to his Dad.

I wonder if, with Mark having a whole another father, if they’re more or less distant relationship, depending on WHEN Nolan entered Mark’s life? Like if Debbie met Nolan later for this, or just for fun, they dated once, separated (Mark being born during then), then they happened to stumble into each others lives again and Mark’s already been born, anywhere from tween to teenager so there’s a gap in how close they are. I feel like one important aspect of the whole Family Drama is how close they’re supposed to be, a functional, loving family turned upside down? So I wonder what more distance does. I wonder how Nolan copes when his family is entirely human and he can’t project onto Mark.

I love thinking about these, omg.

[deoidesign]

"I'm the dog they put with cheetahs to keep them from going crazy in captivity" x "I'm the cheetah that is threatening to go crazy" 4 ever

(I make a webcomic about them)

[lovesodeepandwideandwell]

Oh gosh the roommates are unloading the dishwasher ... this is an answer to prayer

[emily-mooon]

Here’s a little wip I’ve been working on in between my homework!

Yes I am making a genderbent Jonathan design. I have a vision for her I must get out into the world or else I will (figuratively) explode

[bunnyboy-juice]

awawawawawawa

[ghost-bard]

Love being an arcane warrior in dao i love swinging a giant maul around and being in armour but also casting walking nightmare and horror on my enemies i think swords are cooler but the affect of a maul is funnier than big sword in my opinion. I have like 3 affects (at the minimum) going on at all times and then i do an aoe chug some lyrium just in case and bludgen some guy to death. What.

[faaun]

WHAT DO I DOOO

[al-luviec]

Here is lady pics from when I was MIA

[bmpmp3]

post ankle-twisting clarity

[danielnelsen]

things aren’t going well with peach. while i think my dad’s very right to be concerned that she hasn’t eaten anything in nearly 60 hours (obviously i am too), im becoming increasingly concerned that she hasn’t slept at all in around 36 hours and prior to that she was under anaesthetic, which isn’t exactly restful, so it’s closer to 48 hrs

like dad took her back to the vet today and we’ve got injections for her painkillers now because she’s not eating, and also injections for fluids (because she doesn’t drink; she only gets water from her food), so the not eating is Bad but also kinda under management, but if she doesn’t sleep soon i’m extremely worried. dad was like ‘if she doesn’t eat by tomorrow afternoon we’ll take her back because the injections will run out’ but like. if she doesn’t sleep tonight we have GOT to take her back first thing in the morning so they can sedate her or something

[gingergari]

Ooh for Toad Peach AU how did the first meeting go with the officials of the Beanbean Kingdom? Ohh maybe more on Peach and Peasley's becoming friends. Does he help her feel a little more confident in her true form? Gimme all of the dynamics hehe

idk why i thought i dreamed this ask but i forgot you sent it 😭 here ya go!

the beanbean and mushroom kingdoms have an extremely close relationship that’s rather old, and as such the births of both heirs were highly celebrated by both families.

here, peasley is roughly 1 year older than peach, and the betrothal between the two was set up very early so the two do not remember their first meeting as they were infants at the time. but still, they visited peach many times before her debutante.

peach’s parents died in a horrific incident i still haven’t detailed when she was around 3-4, which did result in queen bean reaching out more often as peach grew older to offer additional guidance and support :]

but back to peasley and peach, they were thick as thieves and peasley introduced her to fencing! toadsworth wasn’t a fan at first but eventually relented (whatever endears her to peasley, plus any experience with a weapon could come in handy if the mushroom kingdom were to ever leave the peacful era). she’s quite adept in both forms, but prefers to fence in human form. it isn’t something she practices often in current day but it’s something she treasures the memories of alongside trying his bean pillow and learning about beanbean allies and his travels :]

though, as they got older, the two became more aware of their betrothal and what would follow, but things weren’t clicking so they decided to experiment a little (read: they kissed and neither of them liked it. sad!) but neither have brought up calling anything off as both are quite fine with something contractual if it came down to it (but peach would call it off if peasley asked)

at peach’s debutante, they danced together first as a show of the kingdom relationship, and when the first attack/kidnapping happens, the beanbean kingdom offered aid and refuge (little fungitown)

re: her appearance and peasley—she initially meets the beanbean family in toad form, but as she got older this became rarer as experience (and her self image) became priority. peasley makes sure to praise her toad form’s beauty when he sees it, and when mario does come into the picture is of the firm opinion alongside daisy that he does not deserve her if he doesn’t like her true form. on most days she agrees with him

as for superstar saga, he still arrives to the mushroom kingdom ahead of time and toadette volunteers to take peach’s place instead of birdo (the effect is later undone before peach arrives in the beanbean kingdom)

post superstar saga, the two meet (peach crownless) to discuss their love interests, and their betrothal is officially called off. consequent meetings with the beanbean kingdom are held in her toad form :]

[nadekofannumber1]

do you think Nadeko has a stance on free will and determinism?

I think Nadeko would not initially know what determinism means, art is Nadeko’s only good class.

But if you explained it I think Nadeko (of now) would probably have an arc abt it and think “I thought like that a few years ago, when I was really miserable in middle school I felt like I couldn’t really change anything and it had to be that way. But now a days I’m doing what I want so I find it hard to think that it’s all predetermined in some way. If so then fate is stranger than I could imagine.”

Nadeko really comes to believe in the human element of their existence over time so it’s probably not gonna b something (modern) Nadeko puts personal stock in

That or the thought would be something like “it’s kinda like shonen manga in a way isn’t it?” And then proceed to think abt the concept of fate in manga

For koi or otori or even before that Nadeko I think she’d go “…that’s interesting.” And then it would haunt her/feed into the complexes for a while, the fatalism of “I have to be this forever.” Is a big part of Nadeko’s whole deal and finding out about determinism would probably blend into the ambiguous concepts of fatalism that exists In Nadeko’s mind (I can see Nadeko easily conflating those)

Decent chance it could make nadeko worse solely bc of Nadeko’s complex on autonomy is just, like that. And adding unregulated words could easily factor into Nadeko’s mental list of excuses and justifications for not trying to self improve (or change anything about how much she hates her own pretty privilege and social dehumanization but is too comfortable in lukewarm misery to get out) or get some sort of help (that isn’t whatever bizzare cope was going on with Koyomi).

Ultimately it depends on which nadeko you ask

Bc like this is a thing that in narrative, changes

[arovalentines]

but i'm not supposed to scratch

[evilmagician430]

college is making me want to shoot myself in the head really bad, which is crazy because i thought i was completely done with feeling suicidal after highschool ended. my life is looking up and i have a lot to look forward to.

but the funny thing is. that beautiful future, which is the reason i don't want to die, is only obtainable through going to college and working very hard and stressing myself out all the time. which, in turn, makes me want to die.