afrofuturismšŖ
ā one ~ solange hair by darknightt (tsr warning) ā two ~ loretta hair by @simtric ā three ~ bahati braids by @sheabuttyr ā four ~ isonoe hair by octetsica ā five ~ binah braids by @sheabuttyr ā six ~ cornrows & curls hair by @leeleesims1 ā seven ~ indie hair by @sashima ā eight ~ loc petals by @shespeakssimlish ā nine ~ mnemosyne hair by octetsica ā
mini dedication essay to black simmers and ts4 creators below! pls read if you have the chance! <3
this edit is a small homage to afrofuturism and the various unique black hairstyles (and especially the black creators of most of these hairs) that i have downloaded and admired over the years! some of these are old and some of these are new.
to me, afrofuturism means constantly honoring/reclaiming/challenging the past while constantly creating/dreaming of a better society/world/future. a society/world/future that embraces and empowers all of our differences, ingenuity, aspirations, and unique lived/cultural experiences. a society/world/future that does not limit us through the various systems of marginalization and oppression (racism, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, sexism, xenophobia, ableism, classism, colorism, etc.) that often affects how we, as black people, live today.
blackness is so diverse and intricate yet it's always been a struggle to find my culture within a game that's known for being so limiting, bland, and extremely eurocentric when it comes to hairstyles, clothing, food traditions/events, etc. black simmers have always had to figure out how to make this game more inclusive and make it resemble either more like how our ancestors lived, how our current lives are, or how we would want our lives (and even our children's lives) to look like in the future no matter how dystopian the real world look and feel now. fortunately, these hairs and their uniqueness bring a huge sense of culture and style to this game. they have always inspired me and made me feel extremely proud to a part of the lovely african diaspora (and the ever-growing black simmer community).
in a way, being a black simmer and cc creator usually means that we are often digitally creating our own worlds as afrofuturists to varying degrees (whether we know it or not) every time we open our game, make our sims, make houses, and/or make black cultural cc. also, now i know that cc making is not easy to do and is extremely time-consuming so this post is also just me giving all black cc creators especially those who create for free their well-deserved flowers! here are some other black cc creators who created cc that have greatly impacted my game since i first started playing sims 4: @/leeleesims1 @/simtric @/hi-land @/yuyulie @/sims4bradshaw @/ebonixsims @/xmiramira @/sheabuttyr @/qwertysims @/oplerims @/sleepingsims @/shespeakssimlish and so many more im forgetting probably (im too shy rn to tag ppl but i greatly appreciate yāall fr i hope yāall telepathically get this message somehow š).
last but not least, i am hoping that this inspires somebody to keep creating or start creating regardless of what they think their skill level is! somebody will absolutely fall in love with your work and/or your art/work will 100% change someone's game forever <333
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what, like itās hard?, pt. one
āitās just thatā¦ if i want to win a seat in congress by the time iām thirty, i need to find someone whoās serious about my career. not some little elementary school teacher that cares more about his students than what heās wearing on my campaign stops,ā tommy tells steve, as theyāre sitting in quite possibly the fanciest restaurant steveās ever step foot in. the menu hadnāt even included any prices.
ābutā¦ iām seriously in love with you.ā steve feels like his whole world is falling apart. just last week heād been so sure that tommy was getting ready to propose. heād introduced steve to his familyātheyād spent a week out on marthaās vineyard for a family reunion at which steve had met tommyās great-grandmother, hands laden with rings as sheād winked when tommy had asked for a private conversation. steve had been so sure that conversation was about the family ring.
āand i love you too, baby, but look. you donāt want to have to leave your students for half the year to come on the campaign trail with me, do you?ā tommy asks, not even really looking at steve. he continues to just eat his stupid dinner as if heās not ripping steveās heart out at this very moment.
and steve canāt help but think how silly this all is, because itās not like tommyās actually running for anything right now. steve doesnāt even teach yet, beyond the two days a week he does his student teaching. theyāre only 22, they havenāt even graduated northwestern with their bachelors degrees! but tommyās saying these things as if theyāre all real, right now.
āand iām off to harvard next fall. itās not like weāll stay together while iām there and youāre still here, right?ā
and the thing is, steve had actually thought heād be going with tommy to boston. theyāre both set to graduate in the spring, steve with his degree in education and tommy with a dual major in pre-law and political science. they hadnāt really ever talked about it, but theyād been together since the beginning of their sophomore year. so yes, steve had thought theyād still be together when tommy started at harvard law.
but now steveās starting to feel extra stupid.
āsoā¦ what? youāre breaking up with me?ā steve starts to feel his chest tightening, like he might cry. he canāt believe that two hours ago he thought heād been getting ready for a proposal.
ādonāt think of it as a breakup, stevieā¦ think of it as a conscious uncoupling. weāre just moving in two different directions. iāll be at harvard law next semester and youāll beā¦ā tommy gives him a look of slight disdaināsteve has never seen tommy look at him like that. waitstaff? sure. his driver? absolutely. but itās never been directed at steve before. āwell, youāll be teaching snot-nosed six year olds. weāre on different paths.ā
and thatās what truly makes steveās blood boil. his passion for teaching and education is one of his greatest qualities and heād thought that had been part of the reason tommy loved him. he didnāt realize that tommy loved him in spite of that. heās not gonna let some asshole like tommy montgomery hagan iii tell him heās no good.
so he doesnāt respond. he just takes the linen napkin off his lap and throws it on his half-eaten steak dinner and marches out of the restaurant.
tommy doesnāt even follow him out.
~*~
āoh steveā¦ iām sorry,ā robin says to him about an hour later while steve lays his head in her lap on their dingy couch.
āitās not even that he broke up with me,ā he explains through tears. āitās that he basically said i was worthless. like i couldnāt do anything better than teaching. as if teaching isnāt even an admirable profession! where would he be without his teachers, huh? isnāt this all about going to stupid harvard? what does he think the professors there actually do? knit?ā
āis this a bad time to tell you that i always kind of hated him?ā robin says, maybe trying to get him to laugh. but it kind of surprises steve. he sits up, knocking her hands from where theyāve been carding through his hair in the process.
āyou did?! no, you didnāt.ā he searches robinās face for a moment and then sighs. āwhy didnāt you say anything? you couldāve saved me a whole lot of wasted time.ā
ābabe, you were so gooey-eyed for that guy, nothing i said was gonna change that. a crowbar couldnāt have pried you away from him. but you have to know he was an asshole.ā when steve stares at her blankly, she huffs. āsteve, he used to offer to cover the whole tab when we went out. how often did he ever actually pay, even for his own drinks? he made poor jonathan cry the last time we were all here for game night, just because jonathan asked for clarification on the rules for pictionary.ā steve is still staring at her. āhe tried to stiff argyle by offering him a flight on his dadās private jet instead of paying for his weed and we all know he doesnāt even have access to the jet. dude was cheap as fuck and not even nice about it.ā
steve thinks about it. it was kind of true. tommy was a horrible tipperāsteve usually laid down a couple of twenties when they went to dinner together when tommy wasnāt looking. he can remember more than a few times where the guy had sent their food back even though it had looked perfectly wonderful to steve. soā¦ okay, maybe robin had a point.
steve tells her as much, then adds, ābut he was always nice to me.ā
robin snorts. āare you kidding? heās stood you up so many times i canāt even remember all of them. remember that time he said his first impression of you was that you werenāt as hot as your pictures? who says that to the person theyāre dating?ā
steve groans and lays his head back down in her lap.
āokay, so maybe you have a point about that too. but i was gonna marry him, rob. what do i do now?ā he knows heās whining, but he feels just a little bit entitled to it right now.
āi donāt know, babe. get over it, i guess. welcome to the world of us singles. it sucks out here.ā steve can hear the fondness in robinās voice as she says it, but still. it does sting just a little.
they sit there in silence for a while, with robin running her hands through his hair again. itās so soothing that he almost jumps out of his skin when she speaks again.
āhey, you know what would be super funny?ā sheās laughing a little as she says it.
āwhat?ā steve had been dozing just a little and his voice sounds muffled by fatigue.
āif you got into harvard and just showed up on the first day. imagine the look on his face.ā
steve laughs at how ridiculous that sounds. like he could get into harvard. plus, heās got teaching to think about. he doesnāt have a place yet, but he knows heāll get one soon.
but as he sits there with robinās hands stroking through his hair, he begins to daydream about how shocked tommy would be. about how heād have no choice but to eat his words when steve proves himself by getting into one of the most competitive programs in the country. about how good it would feel to prove the bastard wrong.
ārobin?ā she hums in response. āyouāre a goddamn genius.ā
~*~
ādingus, are you sure you want to do this?ā
the spring semester starts in three days. itās their last semester at northwestern and thereās nothing but great big darkness on the horizon of steveās future. he hasnāt slept in two days, busy studying, thick workbooks piled around around him at the kitchen table. he knows what he must look like, over-caffeinated with bruises under his eyes.
āiām sure.ā steve has his lsat exam in one week. āi have to take the exam this week. apps are due by march first.ā
āno, steve, i donāt mean taking the test. i mean applying at all. itās clearly more stress than itās worth. do you even want to go to law school?ā robin sounds concerned and normally steve would think itās very sweet, but currently it does nothing but irritate him.
āi could,ā he responds grumpily.
robin sighs. āi just meanā¦ is this worth it?ā
steve looks up then and sees her biting her lip, clearly worried about him. he puts his pencil down and stops the timer on his phone, giving her his full attention.
āthis isnāt just about tommy.ā robin gives him a skeptical look and itās his turn to sigh. āitās really not. maybe it started out that way, maybe it was just a stupid joke to get revenge on the asshole, but now itās more than that. itās proving that i can do something unexpected of me.ā he swallows. āno one even believed i would get into college. i was just some stupid jock in high school whoād never amount to anything. and then i got in to northwestern and i was so shocked and happy. but i found out that my dad had actually pulled a bunch of strings. so i hadnāt gotten in on my own merits. he didnāt think i could. but nowā¦ā he runs a hand through his hair nervously. heās never said any of this out loud before. āheās not around now. thereās no one to help me. no safety net. if i can do this, itāll prove something to me. something that maybe i donāt really believe yet.ā
he expects robin to say something about external validation being a corrupting force and identity built on academic achievement being solely a losing game, but she doesnāt. instead, she sits down across the table from him and picks up a workbook.
āokay,ā she says. āwhat do we have to do?ā
~*~
āmail here?ā steve calls out when he hears the front door close behind robin.
thereās a moment that feels like a pause. āyeah, itās here.ā
steve practically sprints from his bedroom to his living room. robin holds a single white envelope in her hand. steve all but snatches it from her.
his fingers move to rip it open, but then he hesitates. he thrusts it back towards robin. āi canāt,ā he tells her. āyou do it.ā
her eyebrows shoot up. āyouāre sure?ā steve nods. he watches her rip the envelope open, bouncing on his feet. she scans the page and then sheās smiling.
steve grabs the paper from her. āoh my god?!ā he yells. āoh my god!ā
robin practically jumps into his arms. ā179, baby! harvard law here we come.ā
~*~
even after such a successful run at the lsats, thereās still the little matter of actually getting in to the school. steveās only experience with the academic application process was with undergrad and it appears that applying for anything beyond a bachelors degree is an entirely different ball game. heās so out of his depth that heās forced to turn to grad school message boards for advice and tips of how to get in. it seems like everyone else is applying to a hundred different schools while steveās only applying to one. he learns this is a terrible strategy for planning oneās future, but that doesnāt really matter to steve. for him, itās harvard or nothing.
there are so many different parts of the application that it makes steveās head spin. thereās the statement of purpose and the personal statementāthe difference between those two requires robinās careful and slow explanation about three separate times. then thereās the writing sample and the application and the recommendations and the transcripts and and and
but with robinās help, steve completes each component and successfully sends his materials by the day of the deadline.
steveās never been a patient person. no one on earth would accuse him of that, so even he can tell that heās getting on robinās nerves every day as he practically pounces on her when she returns from collecting the mail.
and then one day, finally, at the end of april, she comes through the front door and clutched in her hand is a big, thick white envelope emblazoned with the words āharvard lawā in bold, beautiful crimson red.
~*~
ālast chance to back out,ā robin says smiling as she swings herself up into the passengers seat of their rented u-haul.
ānah.ā steve returns her smile as he slides his sunglasses from his hair onto his face. āletās get out of this dump.ā
and with that, they leave their first apartment behind, headed to the coast.
[wanted to finish this completely before posting but my benadryls kicking in and i have no self control. eventual steddie, promise! no tag list for this one, sorry!! itās giving me anxiety on the other one lol absolutely not edited, if u see a typo no u donāt. i wrote this on my phone in a feverish frenzy. also, i originally invented someone for the role of warner but then i was like āIDIOT!!!!! why would u not choose tommy?????ā so if thereās a name in here that shouldnāt be, no there isnāt.]
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