Sunday Snippet, et. al.

[clevermanka]

Fanart: Black Cloak Oppa animation. Blinking Shen Wei animation. Kunlun and LGK. Sun dappled.

Yep, would still give this face anything. I sure know where I'd like to be.

If you're curious about the colors of the glowing fungi in Dixing these are what I'm imagining. Dixing at night basically looks like parts of Meow Wolf with a Chinese design aesthetic.

I slept through last night's thunderstorms, which was good for my energy level today but a little disappointing on an "I love thunderstorms" level. Today is still dark and gray, even at 9am, with a projected high of 56F (13C). A perfect Sunday for lazing about in soft clothes and cuddling with someone I can Nail To The God Damn Floor at regular intervals throughout the day.

Last week I learned about hair taping, a 500-year-old hair styling method that doesn't require elastic bands or hairpins. I (very sloppily) tried it yesterday and it stayed all day and didn't give me a headache. INCREDIBLE! I'm not sure how down I am for wearing it on the daily when I'm in an office--it looks a little Heidi/Hippie. If I use a black ribbon it doesn't have quite the Flowery May Queen vibe, at least. I always braid my hair at night for sleeping so instead of undoing the whole thing and rebraiding with elastic bands at the bottom I just looped the braids in half, wrapped them in the ribbon tails, and tied off the ends to make short, chunky braids that didn't come undone at all in the night. When I took my hair down this morning to re-do it was extra wavy and looked so pretty!

I've gotten kind of attached to my COVID hair and when I eventually do venture out for a trim I might ask my stylist to only remove the most damaged bits and see how long I can get it. It's already the longest it's been since my early 20s and I'm curious how long it'll grow if I stop using hair elastics.

Snippet from Redemption:
Zhang Shi rested his hand briefly on Zhu Hong’s shoulder before nodding a farewell to Zhao Yunlan.

“What was that?” Zhao Yunlan asked as soon as his former double was out the door.

“What was what?” she asked back, avoiding his eyes. The corner of her mouth quirked before she bent her head to presumably check something on her phone.

“That,” repeated Zhao Yunlan. “You know what I’m talking about. The hand-shoulder thing. Anyone else you would’ve handed it back to him on one of these sticks.” He gestured at the pile of empty kebab skewers.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, sounding strained.

Narrowing his eyes, he took in her lips, bitten shut to hold back the smile that still tugged the corners. The realization hit him like a bucket of water and he huffed a laugh.

“Really.” he said. “Huh. Bet Da Qing could tell me.”

Comments

[shipperslist]

Meow Wolf was AWESOME! I definitely want to go there again.

[clevermanka]

I've never seen it outside of photos but I have A Great Need. Someday, someday.

[shipperslist]

I went almost six years ago when I flew over to NM to meet a fandom friend. It was absolutely fucking amazing!

[seascribble]

Would hair elastics make a difference to length because of breakage?

[clevermanka]

Yep. I think it's likely that I've reached my max growth length anyway, but it's worth an experiment!

[goss]

hair taping, a 500-year-old hair styling method that doesn't require elastic bands or hairpins

Oh, that's neat! :)

[clevermanka]

It is! I'm really glad I gave the video a try. I've tried a few different long hair vloggers and they generally annoy me too much to make it through a video. (They're all very young. I haven't found any over-40s doing long hair stuff) So finding this one, with a person I found engaging and a useful-to-me technique? *two thumbs up*

[goss]

Speaking of hair! Guess what? One of the prompts for #MerMay, which we're doing at drawesome this month, is to "Mermaidize A Friend". My mind went to you, because I think it would be fun to draw all that long hair you've got! :D

So if you feel like being "mermaidized", send me a selfie and I'll make you some sorta AU fanart. *g* (No pressure either way, of course!)

[clevermanka]

Oh my goodness! 😍 I would love that! I'll take some pictures and get them to you by Monday evening.

[goss]

Awesome! Any time this week would be fine, and I'll work on it over the weekend. :D

I'm thinking of converting it so that it looks like it's a mermaid taking a selfie, so I'll use the exact positioning of whatever you send.

[clevermanka]

Would it be better to leave my hair up, so you can better see shoulders, etc.?

[goss]

Loose will be more fun for me to draw. *g* You can put your hair over one shoulder, or side view, or have it all in front, however you want is fine.

[clevermanka]

👍 I'll do it first thing after taking out the braids so it's all smooth but fluffy.

[galaxysoup]

My hair is in no way long enough for any kind of taping, but boy was that vid fun to watch!! I wish I'd known that technique when I did have long hair, it's great.

[clevermanka]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I should look at some of her other videos because I'd like to see how long her hair is when it's hanging down loose.

[msmitti]

My hair is the longest it's ever been. I actually thought it maxed out at my bra strap, but I'm down to my waist and keeping it because I'm curious. I still wear elastics, but mostly I am single handedly bringing back the plastic clip that is shaped like a bow. I will say my hair is thinner now than when I bought those things (20?) years ago. That was kind of sad making to realize.

I have seen that blogger before. Not sure how I stumbled on her, but it was sewing stuff. I should have realized she'd have some hair tips. She's got a lot of hair.

[clevermanka]

Oh wow! Your hair did get long! *long hair solidarity fistbump*

[naye]

What a neat collection of techniques!

Ahh what is up with Zhu Hong in this snippet? I'm so curious!

[clevermanka]

She's been having a very good time. 😁

[naye]

I'm happy for her!

[trobadora]

Oh, the hair taping is super interesting! My hair is too thin for braids of any kind to look good, but I love the look.

[clevermanka]

I'm fascinated by how people used to do common, personal tasks without the tools we now take for granted.

[nnozomi]

omigod, Zhu Hong, you DIDN'T. That's amazing.
The hair braids/waves sound lovely! Post us some pictures some time if you aren't opposed. (I miss wearing my hair long, even though it was a pain in the ass and didn't suit me anyway. But braids.)

[clevermanka]

Zhu Hong DID! 😁

I'll see if I can get some photos. Black hair really doesn't photograph well, alas.

[write_out]

That was a fun video to watch! Now I want to watch some of her other videos; she looks like she's got some interesting stuff on her channel.

[clevermanka]

Historical re-enactors can be a fun bunch! I dunno if she's SCA, but she definitely reminded me of some of the SCA'ers I used to know.

[khellekson]

Wow to the hair taping! Fascinating video. I imagine the women in the portraits she showed had servants to help, but it's cool to see how she hacked it all. (My hair doesn't grow that long, so all I can do is marvel.) You would look AWESOME in this style, and yes, the black ribbon would definitely make it look less Heidi. That said, instead of putting it over your head, you could turn it into a coiled bun, which might look more professional.

[clevermanka]

I'd have to do it in two buns though--need two sides so the ribbon is anchored to something. Which 1. space buns! but 2. detracts from the ~professional~ look a bit.

It's still Lawrence, though, so everybody's used to old hippies. The look might not stand out as much as I think.

[satsuma]

that hair taping video is interesting! the bun she does at the end is basically my daily hairdo right now so I'll have to give the other styles a shot when I have time

[clevermanka]

I hope you find one that works for you!

[the_lucky_nun]

That hair taping video was so fun to watch, thanks for sharing it! Really went down a rabbit hole afterward, but it was time well spent. I love learning something new.

[clevermanka]

Yay for fun internet rabbit holes!

[islenskr]

My hairpins are still going strong. What a relief.
But I'm thinking about the hair taping thing as your success has inspired me, so I might try it with a bit of string. I had wondered what to do with my hair if I didn't use elastics at night, so your loop braids are also inspiring! And this has also got me re-thinking my plan to chop all my hair off.

[clevermanka]

I like the idea that I'm attracting potential recruits to the The Fuck You Mean Older Women Shouldn't Have Long Hair Brigade.

[islenskr]

OMG yes!

[tinny]

Oi, I watched almost the whole hairtaping video, even though I have very short hair. :D

but she's just so fun to listen to, and the whole idea of making her hair look exactly like in medieval paintings - without it being a pain to create every day! - is just so cool.


Ha, the Redemption snippet is O_O. Really, Zhu Hong? Really?! :D

[clevermanka]

LOL yeah our girl knows what she likes/wants and got tired of waiting around for someone who couldn't give it to her. 😁