u/xsnowpeltx

So.Weird question but Im a weird person.

I'm going to a 1920s themed event in January and have heard the venue varies a lot in temperature depending on where you are in it. 3 days long. (its a live action roleplay). And I'm currently in the expected mental debate between comfort and style. Maybe y'all can help me out.

First, me. Im diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Possibly hypermobile (a massage therapist said my joint range of motion is bigger than standard, but im waiting until my appointment to get assessed by a doctor). I've got Raynaud's, primarily in my toes. Feet are rigid and can really flare up in wet conditions. Used to be flat footed until I had a surgery correct that.

What I'd want ideally, not considering pain or cost: Silk thigh high stockings rolled down below the knee and maybe held with a roll garter.

I'm planning to find some comfortable low or no heel Mary janes

I'm doubting thatll actually work well for me. Some thoughts that I'm having: wool stockings instead of silk, still rolled down. Or possibly compression stockings though I worry that rolling those down will not be good for circulation. Final idea would be to skip the Mary Janes and wear calf high boots with whatever stockings and an extra pair of warm socks on top.

Do any of these ideas seem decent or completely horrible? I really wanna roll my stockings down if I can. (it was a thing flappers did that I think is neat). But Im willing to not do that if I need to in order to keep my body in good shape. I'll mostly be standing around or maybe dancing a bit I think in these.

Hi yall!

uhhhh bad brain state has led to me being bad at being concise here so the main point is asking for advice on how to recover in the day(s) after a meltdown

basic info on me: late 20s, nonbinary, on disability payments because I can't work. I also have chronic illness (fibromyalgia and maybe something else) that makes my pre existing AuDHD struggles worse.

im in a community theater production thats been very stressful. I am compromising with myself (and my audhd urge to overexplain vs yalls audhd urges to not read walls of text lol) and will give other details about that in a comment but probably its not actually important here.

yesterday evening's rehearsal overloaded me. with over an hour til end of rehearsal, I got v close to meltdown levels but managed to push it down for the rest of rehearsal so I was visibly anxious and got far more snappy than is ever normal for me but didnt start sobbing until after rehearsal in the parking lot.

some of it was just sensory overwhelm I think (weve got about 60 people in the cast and most of them are teens i dont know). but some of it is very real frustration with the people in charge. idk if its really relevant...

and for me, meltdown mostly looks like sobbing

thankfully, id already set today as a day to do nothing until rehearsal tonight because im really really tired today. its been a very long time I think since my last full meltdown. ive been trying to stay hydrated and rest. got myself some delivery food I like.

(unfortunately I think my delivery food has tipped things over to cause my chronic pain to flare up...)

and luckily due to weather rehearsal tonight has been canceled so I have longer to rest and I can talk to my therapist tomorrow which will be helpful. shes also audhd and has given some v good advice

but mostly, do yall have advice on recovering from meltdowns? things im missing? maybe recommendations for soothing voice youtube videos to have on in the background. (Im lowkey worried because tech week starts soon and tech week is always the most stressful part of a rehearsal process and I dont know if I can handle it this time... something to talk to my therapist about ig.)

So I just saw my primary doctor and brought up that I want to be assessed for hypermobility. (I saw a massage therapist who is certain I'm hypermobile, but I equivocated a bit with my doctor, just saying someone noticed it about me but theyre not a doctor so I came to the doctor). He set me up for some blood tests for markers for autoimmune things (ANA and something else, I forget), both to look for what hypermobile disorders show up that way and look at other possibilities, which I'm happy to get done.

(I have a fibro diagnosis but the doctor who diagnosed me didnt really do the proper due diligence thats supposed to be done)

However, he was not familiar with the Beighton Scale. Does that mean I should be searching out a specialist who can assess me that way? Or does it just make more sense to just get the blood test and go from there?

TLDR because I typed too much: Im looking for advice on doing a fairly accurate 1920s makeup look that isn't just based off what the movie stars wore, with added complications because I want to add sharp contouring.

So hello lovely folk! I do not wear makeup day to day, only for some specific events. Generally stage makeup for theater productions, where I'm usually playing a guy so its more limited, or when I'm doing a larp and either want to get a certain effect and/or think the character would wear makeup.

Im nonbinary and play characters of many genders, and its been a while since I'm wanting to go more feminine.

(Quick physical details that are maybe relevant: pale skin with uhhhh i think either cool or neutral undertones. Brown hair, brown eyes, round face. I wear glasses, current pair are in a pale gold color. I do not know my skin type and do not do skincare. Skin is generally pretty smooth regardless, except that occasionally I'll get a zit. yes i know i should just get a basic moisturizer but i have some other factors making it so thats not happening any time soon. can go in more detail on those factors if its actually relevant here)

I'm trying to figure out how to learn the skills I will need for a certain character thats like 6 months away. Maybe yall can help.

So I'm playing a young woman in a larp set in 1923 who is a flapper but not a movie star. Most youtube tutorials I've found are far more based on movie star looks of the time than what your average flapper might use, especially with the eye makeup.

https://vintagedancer.com/1920s/authentic-1920s-makeup-tutorial/ This site ive found very reliable, and this page tutorial is based on a 1927 booklet. So I feel like I can get most of the info i need there, but some parts of it I'd like to see someone do. Especially the eye makeup because I'm never confident about that. I also want to see someone do the lipstick, because I do not understand quite what this means: "If you leave your upper lip free of red in the very center and arch the color on the curve of the lip on both sides of the center, you make your mouth look most temptingly soft and child-like. There is no means of counting the myriads of women who have practiced that trick since the world began.”

(the quote is directly from the 1927 booklet, to explain some of the uh word choices)

im pretty sure I have appropriate makeup for all parts of that tutorial. Could probably do with better quality eyeliner than my drug store covergirl eyeliner or the black eyeliner pot i got from shein. Also will likely use my tower 27 tinted sunscreen for foundation not a powder, but not certain on that, will discuss why later in the post. I need to get lip liner, and I have some Studded Kiss lipstick in A-Go-Go that I'm still debating with myself if its the right shade. Also currently planning to use the same lipstick for lips, blush, and to rouge my knees. (Gonna apply the lipstick to a wet cotton ball then use that for cheeks and knees. I would probably want a touch of matte brown or black eyeshadow but havent quite gone looking for what I have and whether I need to buy that. Too early in the 20s for mascara. I use setting powder and spray from ben nye.

Theres also some elements I want to add that would, in fiction, not be the result of makeup but more me using makeup to represent how the person naturally looks. She's a supernatural creature/being. The aesthetic guidelines for the larp say her type of creature is "inhumanly beautiful, but in a predatory way. Think sharp contouring, white teeth, and vibrantly colored eyes."

I am not being like... required to do my makeup in a certain way for any of this save one part. Once again from the aesthetics document: "If your character is described as “inhumanly beautiful,” please incorporate some shimmer makeup along your cheekbones, throat, and tips of your ears." So I will be adding some shimmer to those places at the end of the makeup look, but thats simple enough.

the teeth and eyes are less relevant to this post but I am planning to get some sfx makeup intended to make teeth very white. My eyes are staying brown because I can't wear contacts.

The relevant part for the makeup look is the sharp contouring.

Which is very much not in style for the 20s. The ideal look was cherubic and girlish. I am fairly confident in my contouring abilities on their own, since I often do masculine contouring for theater stuff, and feminine contouring is same concept but different map of where to highlight and contour. (I also need to get some better quality contouring makeup but I digress...) But I'm not fully sure how to fit that in with the 20s look and the blush. Or like... what order to do it in. Some of that I think depends on what kind of contouring stuff I end up getting when I finally get some better quality stuff? Like if it's powder vs cream or whatever. My gut says contouring on bottom, or possible light layer of foundation, contour, light layer on top? Since the character is wearing makeup but the contouring is just her face. And I have a vague sense that like... it might be better to have the form of the contour stuff match foundation (powder with powder, cream with cream, liquid with liquid, etc) but thats entirely gut feeling and no clue how important it is. This is the part where I'm uncertain on using my tinted sunscreen. If I can use what I already have, great, but I don't want it to cause me grief with the rest of the look

Honestly I'm half considering trying to figure out if I can like... go to a makeup artist who does 1 on 1 lessons and get help crafting the look that way, or getting my makeup done how I want it once and see what they do. (Can't get makeup done for the event. it's several days long so I have to reapply myself.)

I'm probably overthinking this. While I'm far from the most confident with makeup, I should be able to get by with just the text tutorial and my own contouring experience. My least confidence is with applying my eyeliner well but since its smudged I dont have to be super precise.

Still, if anyone has any advice, I would greatly appreciate it. Does this sound doable? I especially appreciate any advice on how to add in sharp contouring to the look. I half expect sharp contouring with the rest of the look to look very unsettling tbh. And if it looks unsettling I'm fine with that. Honestly, it might even be the ideal. If anyone has advice on the combination of foundation and contour and like which ones should be powders or cream or whatever, (or what the benefits to the different ones would be) I'd also appreciate that.

Hey yall. So this is a bit of an odd question I guess.

I am doing a LARP soon that is set during a play party and I'm trying to figure out how I want to costume for it.

I have been to play parties before and am fine figuring out what to wear for that. And I know one option is just wear "normal clothes" but I want to consider my options.

The one restriction is the outfit must be street legal. The baseline assumption for the larp is any kink or sex will be simulated through some mechanics. Its possible, if everyone involved negotiates and agrees, to do kink things non simulated, within the limits we've all set.

In the larp, we are all characters who've been meeting up for play parties and other things for a long time. were all experienced and all know each other. My character is a sub/bottom and very much a bear. Likes bondage and impact play, especially punches. I'm trying to get some fashion vibes in that regard since I am not a bear. (We will all pretend really hard that my 5'2 ass is 6'6, and im gonna use make up and hair pieces to look hairier). Currently leaning towards, if I dont go for just his every day clothes, maybe booty shorts and a t shirt with something cute? or maybe a vest thats a lil too tight.

Any advice? (Also if anyone has advice on where to look for clothes online, thatd be welcome. Planning to go to a thrift store soon but thats a toss up on what ill find. Amazon has felt harder and harder to find things i want on, and besides if I can get it not from amazon, thats better. only got like 2-3 weeks til I need it tho so nothing shipping very far from eastern US)

Hello! So I found out just today that in less than 3 weeks time I will be playing a half-sasquatch character (at a larp. just got casting). Ideally id love to get myself a decent fake beard for this but im under so many limitations. I dont think I have the time or patience to make a hair piece with crepe hair and lace backing before the deadline. Definitely don't feel comfortable with the amount of time id have to apply crepe hair directly with pros aide (id prob have about an hour). more high end pieces are more expensive than im willing to spend, and may not even arrive on time. and trying to find something on amazon was both frustrating and not v helpful because I want something at least somewhat unkempt but I dont want a wizard beard.

is there an option Im missing here? or should I give up on a full beard and just stipple brush my way to beard stubble?

(im AFAB and cannot grow any facial hair myself also)

Hey yall.

So im in a weird spot where im looking to make some level of battle jacket for a larp character. (Id probably have made my own by now but my brother made his first and we already get confused for each other enough lol. Plus too many buttons is too heavy for my cripplepunk ass.)

I was planning to pin on a bunch of buttons/pins to a thrifted jacket that I rip the sleeves off of. maybe bleach it or distress it more. mostly queer and political vibes plus some sillier stuff or art stuff, not so much music stuff. (though next time I manage to actually get to a concert with a pit ill likely use the vest im planning now. the character is close enough to me that ill just need to swap out pronoun pins, maybe add some more for just me.)

Unfortunately I have realized im gonna have a very blank back, and I only realized it now, less than 3 weeks til when I need it usable. Looked through the distro page and didnt see anything was interested in that would def ship in time for back patches. I might have 1 or 2 random ass patches laying around but nearly anything cool would have been claimed by my brother.

current thought is I make a back patch with some fabric paint and an old t shirt or something. Should work fine, at least for the character, and could get something sturdier once im done with the larp if it isnt holding up. Is that a decent idea, or are there better options im not thinking of?

So I've had pain since like 2013. Got a fibromyalgia diagnosis based purely on tender spots. (Also had posterior tibialis tendon dysfunction but that was resolved surgically a couple years ago). I never considered i might be hypermobile, especially since ive always thought of myself as inflexible (I have since learned those aren't mutually exclusive since often the muscled tense up to stabilize the joints).

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but on wednesday I saw someone who does medical massage and has a special focus on singers to see if she could help with my stiff jaw that was impacting my singing. She's not qualified to diagnose anything and was the first to say that, but she pointed out a lot of hypermobile things I could do and strongly suggested I get evaluated. She said I def would meet criteria for some sort of hypermobile disorder, though whatever specific one would depend on stuff like genetic testing.

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Im still holding onto a tiny bit of skepticism until I actually get evaluated, just in case she was actually completely wrong, but I doubt it.

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(she also has noticed hypermobility in my mom, though thats mostly nonsymptomatic. She sings in a choir with my mom which is how I found her.)

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Im mostly feeling like "huh, interesting" about the whole thing. ive had chronic pain for a long time at this point so this is mostly just a bit exciting as a new avenue for treatment.

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From what ive looked into so far, it def seems quite possible. My moms side is ashkenazi, and its common in that population it seems. my dad's side is mostly mixed European ancestry, but part of that is Irish and those genes are def strong in how they impact our appearance at least. Dad's passed, but my mom says he had a number of weird body thing that, looking at it now, might be hypermobility. Im autistic and have a few other common comorbidities (i get head rushes a lot, the fibro, my proprioception sucks, etc). And reading some of the wiki links, I def had the common thing from nonsymptomatic to symptomatic triggered by stress.

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like ive always had flat feet and a rigid jaw. but only in 2013 after something traumatic did they start to hurt.

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so yeah hi yall. lemme know if im completely off base in any of my info here.

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(also the medical massage was fantastic. she unstuck nerves and muscles that were stuck together and it had like immediate increase in my range of motion. we both agree, me and the massage person, that we went a lil too far too fast so im flaring a bit as my body complains about the change, but she helped soothe some of it the next day for free and admitted that she'd gone a bit too fast for my body to accept because she was trying to get as much done in one session as she could because im unemployed and on disability lol. the flares mostly gone now and my singing feels freer)

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So, since I'm in a community theater production of Anastasia, I've been thinking about it more and I keep getting more confused about why it is the way it is.

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I understand they wanted to add more historical realism than the Don Bluth movie, but I don't really understand why or what purpose its serving beyond a general desire to a. not just photocopy the movie and b. make it more "mature". Or maybe thinking that going into more accurate history is more respectful? I can't figure out what sort of message/themes its trying to focus on (and how the more historically grounded stuff is supposed to help that).

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Like my best guess so far is its still mostly going with the movie themes of self discovery and hope and determination with I guess the more historical stuff serving to further complicate things? There's some sort of foil thing going on with Gleb and Dmitry and Anya and their relationships with their dead fathers but I can't figure out what its supposed to be.

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Am I missing something? I just want to understand what its trying to do. I keep vascillating between thinking they just thought it was "more mature" and therefore better for it to be more realistic and didnt consider how that would conflict with the themes, or thinking theres something theyre trying that I either dont get because they didn't execute it well or because its using a perspective that I really don't get

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(the thing that keeps catching me up is the weird vibe of how... simply they treat the romanovs and escaping nobility as victims and nothing else. Gleb has a line in his final confrontation about the romanovs being given everything and giving nothing back and its... just kind of ignored. Dmitry has a few hints of scorn for the rich, and Land of Yesterday is maybe supposed to be poking fun at the ex nobility whining about not being quite as stupid rich but I cant tell)

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(Learning that the script and score were done by the same team who did Ragtime has only confused me more.)

Edit: thanks yall for all the perspectives! I am now no longer in a place where my brain keeps short circuiting lol. And it means I can more enjoy the wonderful music. (Regardless of any issues I have with the story and themes, I deeply love how the music doesn't baby the vocal parts. The tenors are tenors, the sopranos are sopranos, it even has stuff for the basses sometimes!)

So when I go out, I bring a bag with me. one im using lately is a big tote-like bag with one strap. Rehearsals are starting up for community theater show im in. I need to be able to fit: a binder of music, my water bottle, my jazz shoes, and I prefer bringing my current knitting project. My brother, who drives me to rehearsals and is also in the show, generally wants me to put his water bottle and music binder in my bag too. With my water bottle and the binder, its pretty heavy. adding my brothers water bottle and binder, its worse. And the one strap digs into a shoulder which hurts (plus then the tension in my shoulder makes the tension in the back of my neck and my jaw worse which makes it harder to sing well).

anyone have advice on how I can better carry this stuff? even if I make my brother put his stuff in a bag he carries, just my own stuff still is too heavy and digs in. I know backpack straps could distribute the weight better but it also might make both shoulders hurt.

Hey yall! I'm currently creating an ashkenazi character for a tabletop role-playing game (I myself am also ashki jewish but havent ever taken the plunge to learn Yiddish). I'm naming her מירעלע after her great grandmother. trying to figure out exactly how to pronounce it. I've seen MEER-eh-leh and MEER-leh and meer-EH-leh. are any of those more right than others?

Also trying to choose the romanization. I think the usual one is Mirele, but are there others?

A groisen dank!

I've slept extremely poorly since Friday. I go see one of my doctors tomorrow and hoping he'll be able to help out but not sure. I've just struggled to get to sleep, not getting my usual sleepy signals. and its making everything worse obviously.

most annoying part for me is theres so many things that could be causing it.

I had surgery the monday before. it was fairly uninvasive, done laproscopically, but it still happened.

as part of that my hormonal iud was removed (I was sterilized so wont need it anymore) so thatll change things.

one of my doctors suggested I try these TCM teapills to help with sleep and ive been out of them for like 2 weeks. since starting them I hadnt had any nights I couldn't sleep through. im hoping its this because its the easiest to fix and im seeing him tomorrow (gonna get 2 bottles of the pills so I will have a backup).

In addition, said doctor does acupuncture and cupping and I havent seen him for like a month when I was supposed to go 2 weeks ago (I had a cold) so that could be part.

on Friday morning I had a scare happen. I think what happened was, I had taken a laxative the day before to help with post surgery/anesthesia constipation, and when I woke up that morning I was more dehydrated than usual. I went to my bathroom to put my mouth guard in its case and had a headrush so bad I fell down. I dont think I particularly hit anything when I fell, but I kept struggling and failing to get back up so I could just put the damn mouth guard in its case, and in my tiny cramped bathroom I managed to smack several part of myself on like the toilet and the sink and so on. I smacked the back of my neck, both hands, one foot, possibly other places. the scare of that could be flaring me up.

eventually I gave up on trying to put the mouth guard away and im not sure what I did with it after that because I havent been able to find it since. so havent been able to sleep with my mouth guard either and that may be contributing.

im so tired, and sore. im supposed to go to voice lessons today and I had to cancel because I feel so shitty

im trying to figure out when electric spinning wheels were first made/popularized. i found plenty of good info on other kinds of spinning wheels (plus spindles) but I cant find anything specific on e spinners

Flair is the best option I could think of.

I'm knitting a dress in the round. (Specifically White Karin by Lacelegance, though the specifics aren't very important).

It's pretty much all lacework. I'm knitting with lace weight 100% silk. I'm running low on my first skein of yarn which makes me think about how I want to join in new yarn. Can't go at beginning of a row since it's knit in the round. AFAIK silk is not feltable. I often tend towards overlap join but I feel like that will be more obvious with such thin yarn and all the lacework (though I might be able to use it in a section without YOs. I still worry it'll be very obvious. Plus maybe the silk is a lil too slippery).

The yarn is 2ply (Knitpicks Luminance). Would russian join work here? is there another method thatll work better?