zemenipearls

[zemenipearls]

I love your username!!

Thank you so much! 💕

[zemenipearls]

Better late than never for #lgbtgrishaverseweek

End of Rule of Wolves! Using only one brush (eh...not again )

Characters in my head vs amazing actors!

[zemenipearls]

I'm a Tidemaker and wrote Darkolai for the reverse mini bang 🤷🏾‍♀️

Hello! I'm interested in signing up for the mini-Bang this year, but are all pairings welcome? I really like Darklina, but I'm worried what other participants might think

Thanks for asking! We don't explicitly ban any ships, we have had darklina fics before, but it is worth noting that many of our participants are uncomfortable with that ship, and we will obviously not mandate people to work with a ship they are not comfortable with, which could potentially cause some issues with finding artists to work on a darklina fic and or limit the number of artists. We are also very particular about darklina content because of the amount of minors that participate. We take their safety very seriously so any fics that romanticize anything like abuse, grooming or minor/adult content are not acceptable and could be grounds for someone to be rejected from participating.

Also, in an unrelated note and correct me if I read your ask wrong, but the mini-bang is only for participants of the main event, so you cannot sign up JUST for the minibang without intending on participating in the main event.

[zemenipearls]

he looked at her like she was his sun ☀️

a present for the amazing @zemenipearls, whose bday was a couple days past, done by @phy-be and myself 💕 Julia provided the truly GORGEOUS pencil work and the initial colors and was total pleasure to work with all the way thru 🥰

[zemenipearls]

another year, another @grishaversebigbang

this time i had the honor to work with @zemenipearls who wrote this amazing fic “The Ferryman and the Queen” and @jusdorangeart who did some amazing art for it as well!!

go check them out ❤️

[zemenipearls]

Greetings Grisha,

The Grishaverse Big Bang has returned. Pack your bags, because signups are now open.

What is it?

The Grishaverse Big Bang is a fan-run event where writers, artists, and edit makers work together to bring the Grishaverse to life! We’re looking for creators that are willing to invest their time into this project and are able to collaborate with others to create a successful project. Gangs will consist of one writer, a beta reader (if desired), and at least two artists and/or edit makers.

Who can participate?

Anyone! Creators of all levels of experience can participate. Even if you aren’t a content creator (writer, artist, or edit maker) you can still sign up to be a beta reader.

Where can I find more info about GVBB?

The Heist (more info and schedule)

FAQ (frequently asked questions)

Tidemakers (mod team)

Where can I sign up?

HERE

Deadline for applications if you want to participate in the Mini Bang (see Heist) is May 1. Deadline for all applications is June 1st at 11:59 pm pst

Thank you for your interest. Reblogs and shares are greatly appreciated.

As always,

No Mourners, No Funerals

[zemenipearls]

The Grape-Vine Swing, 1895

unknown photographer

#if jesper and leoni grew up together

[zemenipearls]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Colm Fahey/Aditi Hilli Characters: Colm Fahey, Aditi Hilli Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - College/University, Ficlet, Alternate Universe - 1980s Summary:

Just some flowy thoughts I had about a modern Colm and Aditi meeting.

[zemenipearls]

Assa Baradji at Marc Jacobs SS 20

#leoni vibes

[zemenipearls]

To all the ppl in my inbox, yes I started the show and yes I saw Novyi Zem and yes I'm a cackling goblin because how I envisioned it and wrote zemenis is similar to the way they took it in the show.

#i know i didnt influnce fandom as a whole w my zemeni extended universe but id like to think i had a small ripple effect #on how we could portray it #anyway ill get to my inbox

[zemenipearls]

Fahey family portrait for a gift exchange for the wonderful @zemenipearls! I always wanted to do a fully colored piece of them all and this was the perfect chance.

#*breathing heavily* they're so beautiful corvus #fahey family #jesper fahey #colm fahey #aditi hilli

[zemenipearls]

The weight of a hand fell on his shoulder, but Nikolai could not see anyone. “Oh Nikolai,” rumbled the voice. “You finally understand.”

AND HERE WE ARE, entry number two for this round of the @grishaversebigbang Reverse Mini Bang, this time joined by the illustrious @zemenipearls who came along with me on this bleak and dangerous ride. You can read her gorgeous piece right over here: Darker than Midnight The flex here: a beautiful delivery of delicious and complex royal intrigue.

For my part, I went with something super simple, a captured moment rather than the telling of a life. I’m obsessed with the Darkling as a haunting and a ghost of power hanging over an older Nikolai for the rest of his life – the demon that haunts him lives in his scars and in his mind.

#km is fucking amazingggggggg

[zemenipearls]

Fandom: Shadow and Bone (TV), The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Nikolai Lantsov/Zoya Nazyalensky, The Darkling | Aleksander Morozova/Nikolai Lantsov

Nikolai is weighed down by everything. From decades of gravity causing his back to stoop, and the crown he no longer wears. Zoya is as passionate and strong as ever. And so, so young. Whispers in the dark from an old enemy prey on Nikolai's mind and enshroud him in dark thoughts he kept at bay for so long

Written for the @grishaversebigbang reverse mini bang 2022. Please check out the incredible artwork by @kavinskysdick [HERE].

#darkolai #nikolai lantsov #the darkling #me popping up from the grave to post a ship i have never once talked about and likely never will again #bc sometimes i like to write characters i can't stand #grishaverse #shadow and bone #aleksander morozova #my writing #gvbbmrb22 #see u guys next month when s2 drops

[zemenipearls]

“I have lived for eons,” Elizaveta intoned gravely. “And I will live for eons more. I have seen empires rise and fall. I have seen hundreds of Grisha martyred. I have seen everything there is and everything there will be. You are nothing special.“

Folks, it’s that time of year again… IT’S THE GRISHAVERSE (mini reverse) BANG!! and I’m here to try so hard once more. Here is my magnum opus, my "I have worked too many hours on this and so no longer know what time is” piece, my love letter to immortality, and the premiere of my Juris headcanon… sort of.

Accompanied by the fic of the absolute madman who came along for the ride, tysm to @wafflesandkruge for this gorgeous piece of saintly negotiation and malcontent, I love it SO much: two gods before there was a world

ty as always to the tides and co. at @grishaversebigbang who put with me every season, xoxo and STAY TUNED FOR… ANOTHER!

[zemenipearls]

Representing African-American Woman, Biracial, “fierce and strong” and hair questions

Anonymous asked:

I’m changing a character in a novel I’m editing to be a fierce, strong African American woman living with an anthropologist father and lawyer mother (I picture the mom like Jessica in suites). I also feel like being bi-racial in the south makes her a little conflicted. She sometimes wants to just “be white” to make things easier, but is so very proud to be African-American and bi-racial. She is also lesbian and a future love interest of the other main character However, I am white- so I have questions!! Here are 3 scenes I need help with:

1. Leigh is putting conditioner in her hair and hears the doorbell. She puts her hair in a silk hairwrap (is that ok to call it that?) after the other characters leave, she works on the computer and falls asleep. When she wakes up its 2:30. I was going to have her undo her hairwrap and run her fingers through her hair… but I know African American hair can’t be brushed, would running her fingers through it (even damp) ruin her hair? 

2. her and the other lesbian “anne” are getting ready at a hotel for an important event and Leigh comes out of the bathroom in a beautiful dress and an “afro blow out” (I have the photo of hair names saved from this group- just not looking at it as I type and will use the correct hair name in novel). When she comes out of the bathroom Anne sees her and is taken completely aback by her beauty. Her reaction makes Leigh uncomfortable and she asks if she should {straighten/presss} her hair. Which action is the correct word there? …to which Anne tells her no, she loves her natural hair because it’s who she is.

3. Later in the book, they are going to be heading to an archeological dig in the desert and I thought about giving Leigh “braids” with “coloured extensions/weave” .. is “tightly woven braids with (haven’t chosen colour yet)” appropriate? What should I say instead? This will also prompt a convo between the two main characters where Anne asks Leigh why she changes her hair so much. Leighs response will be “{As an African American} my hair is a large expression of who I am. Much like the clothes we wear for different moods or events, I change my hair to reflect what I am feeling or just as an outward expression of who I am” .. should I put the African American part in? I feel that hair is an expression to most people, but I know it is a huge part of African American culture and I want to get it right

Thanks in advance for advice!! This is a book I have always wanted to write, but it also became a book about “underdogs”. I really wanted to make a book with queer representation. I also realized I wanted to have an African American as there isn’t much representation for them either. I really want to show her as a fierce, smart woman (who of course struggles with the brevity of being “mixed race”) that isn’t a gangster, rapper, or the typical things we see in the media. I really want queer and/or African American young women to read my novel (eventually) and feel like it describes them well. Not in a stereotypical way they usually are portrayed. Anyways.. Sorry for the ramble, but thanks in advance for all the help!!

First of all, I want to address your use of “Strong.” It is not the compliment you may think it is and Black women do not always accept it well, particularly from non-Black people. Being forced to be strong, aka the Strong Black Woman, is not an ideal condition. So portraying Black women as such without nuance is not welcome representation.  

“I also feel like being bi-racial in the south makes her a little conflicted. She sometimes wants to just ‘be white’ to make things easier, but is so very proud to be African-American and bi-racial.”

Be aware that not every mixed race person has an identity struggle. But in a world where she faces racism, it could be realistic, a desire to “just be white.” As a visibly Black woman, though, she’ll always be seen as Black, and never just white, even if she’s mixed race or even lighter-complexioned. It’s part of the whole “one drop” perspective.

Now, to your specific questions.

Black hair questions - are these the right terms?

Leigh is putting conditioner in her hair and hears the doorbell. She puts her hair in a silk hairwrap (is that ok to call it that?) 

1.)

It’s hard to answer if this sounds realistic without knowing what products Leigh is using in this situation.

Is Leigh using a leave in conditioner or a conditioner hair masque? The former is what you’d use to style and add moisture to hair. It’s fine to leave that in and go about your day. The latter is something you would wash out after use. 

Also, I wonder if you’re referring to a silk hair bonnet or scarf in your description of a silk wrap? She likely wouldn’t put on a bonnet or silk scarf if she had a mask in that she was going to wash out. If she did, she’d need to clean it to get the product off of it. 

For comparison, imagine you put a hat onto your head when you still had shampoo in it. Wouldn’t that be strange and messy? 

Now, there are hair wraps and shower caps used for conditioning hair. The material is made for being washed out or disposed of after use.

“I was going to have her undo her hairwrap and run her fingers through her hair… but I know African American hair can’t be brushed, would running her fingers through it (even damp) ruin her hair?”

Yikes. Who said our hair cannot be brushed? One has to be more careful and curly/coily hair may not use the same brushes as straight-haired folks, but we can and still do brush and comb our hair. Popular brushes are boar brushes (although I find these too “rough” on my fine coils) and detangling brushes.

And there is no one shared “African American hair type.” Please look into the range of hair styles belonging to Black women, mixed or no. From thick and course, fine and soft, straight and/or straightened. 

And, again I’m not sure what kind of conditioner was left in her hair. If this was a wash-out hair conditioner, and her hair was fully covered, it’ll likely still be damp. Some leave those on for hours, although the directions usually say 20-30 minutes is enough.

Long story short, her hair isn’t going to just be destroyed from running her hands through them, even if it’s really curly or coily. Hands don’t ease through certain curls in the same way it does straight, but you can roll over or around curls to avoid tangling and snagging, particularly if you carefully follow the flow of the curl itself. I am idly finger-combing a coil of my hair as I write this!

See also Black Hair Couple Interactions: Boyfriend Playing with his Black Girlfriend’s Hair

2.)

“Leigh comes out of the bathroom in a beautiful dress and an ‘afro blow out’" …her reaction makes Leigh uncomfortable and she asks if she should {straighten/presss} her hair. Which action is the correct word there?”   

You seem to be using the right terms. Blow out (you wouldn’t need to add “Afro”) and straightened are fine to use. I wouldn’t imagine her saying “should I press it?” To a white woman, though. 

I don’t have your photo references, but Google should’ve produced the correct results. Blow outs add volume to afro hair. Depending on how its done, heat level, etc. it can make hair look like a bigger fro, or make it straighter and stretched out. The more heat and time devoted to styling, generally the straighter you can get the hair.

3. 

“Is ‘tightly woven braids with (haven’t chosen colour yet)’ appropriate? … ;{As an African American} my hair is a large expression of who I am.; should I put the African American part in?”

While I’d leave out referring to the hair as extensions or weave, saying "tightly woven braids” is a fine description! 

And honestly, I’d suggest leaving out the As an African American portion. Coming from a non-Black voice, it may be taken as speaking for Black people. Also, not all Black people may agree with that statement. Hair has important cultural aspects for many, absolutely! So i’m not saying it’s wrong, but its best to Keep her statement individual, her own perspective, not a statement about the whole race. Again, coming from a non-Black voice, especially.

Characterization

“I really want to show her as a fierce, smart woman (who of course struggles with the brevity of being ”“mixed race”“) that isn’t a gangster, rapper, or the typical things we see in the media. I really want queer and/or African American young women to read my novel (eventually) and feel like it describes them well. Not in a stereotypical way they usually are portrayed. Anyways.. Sorry for the ramble, but thanks in advance for all the help!!”

I do think you need to do a lot more research on Black women, stereotypes, hair, and being a mixed race Black woman before writing this story. Our blog is a general resource, though just the start.

I appreciate your efforts to tell a story that isn’t built on stereotypes or the typical portrayals of Black people. Now, mind that some people may fit “stereotypes” but they are not stereotypes - they’re people.

Another thing - her being mixed race. While it’s fine to portray a mixed race character, and your intentions seem good, some writers choose this route because it’s “easier” and anchoring the Black character to whiteness (or even anyone other than Black) makes them more palatable. I only ask, if you had the intentions of representing Black women, why not write a non-Mixed race Black woman?

After evaluating your characters and the language used, you would benefit from a beta-reader, Black + queer or otherwise, reading your story before publication. They’ll be able to help you “get it right” and note any areas that cause pause or need correction.

I hope this was helpful!

~Mod Colette

#i want to believe this is a troll so badly #but this is how most of the grishaverse fandom writes jesper so idkidk

[zemenipearls]

I'll let y'all fanfic readers in on a little secret: if you find a writer who portrays your favs or that specific trope just right and you want to get more of it, the trick is reblogging or even just commenting and/or going wild in the tags, and you'll probably get more

listen, I am but a simple duck, if you feed me I'll just FEAST on those crumbs and you can bet your ass I'll come back to that pond for some additional bread crumb feasting

[zemenipearls]

Fahey-Hilli family design doodles

#jesper's hair is looking kinda... [redacted] #kinda like the ends of aditi's twists #but i think that's more of not understanding black hair #i love jesper's facial features tho