#dolly jean

[softspt]

Yes, this is a request for a group of gossiping hairdressers based off of regency romance novel heroine archetypes, what about it? 

All of these characters work at Canyon Hair Studio, Miriam’s Well’s premier (and only) spot for haircuts, colors, and really any salon service that you might need. The ladies who work there are a tight knit group who are always in each other’s business, but in a mostly loving way? There’s been a fair share of drama throughout the years but at the end of the day, they all love each other very dearly. This is really so open LMFAO I just wanted to throw up a request and combine my two greatest loves .. romance novels and gossiping women! 

Ages are open, as are faces and literally everything about them! I’d love to explore and develop the like interpersonal dynamics between them, so I’m not going to put too much detail about their relationships with each other, but rather just give a quick rundown of what the archetype would entail! Ok thank u take one xx 

The Waif (Reserved for Emmy) 

The “innocent” one of the group. Gentle and kind, sort of like Bambi, in that you want to sort of make sure that she’s okay.

Naive, pure-hearted, and emotional. Vulnerable to any sort of meddling and probably doesn’t pick up on sarcasm all that well. 

Tenderhearted, runs away from confrontation at any given moment. Not someone that people tend to think of as much of a fighter, though that’s not to say she’s not principled. She’s just quietly..principled.. 

A touch more passive than the rest, but very willing to go with the flow and make sure that everyone’s having a good time. 

The Wallflower (reserved for Maddy)

Overlooked by most people, but smarter and more observant than people give her credit for. She’s on the shyer side of things — though not nearly as naive and demure as the waif. Headstrong, but sticks to social convention. 

Sharp and witty! Romantic, but practical and straightforward. There are no rose-colored glasses for this heroine: she sees the world as it is, and remains unafraid of it. 

Very You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful / That’s What Makes You Beautiful vibes here .. 

The Widow

As the name suggests, she’s a widow! Married young, was widowed before she turned 25, and now she’s trying to figure out what to do with the rest of her life. A little bit burdened by this newfound freedom and not a single lick of an idea of what to do with it. 

Might have been married to the owner of the salon/maybe owns it now? Up to you! 

Very cutting and to the point, unafraid and bold! She’s a whirlwind, a bad bitch, the one that all the rest go to for good (and sometimes uncomfortably honest) advice. 

The Oddball (Reserved for Emily) 

She’s weird. Have you ever seen her without this fucking hat? It’s weird. 

The Bluestocking - Dolly Jean Divine, Played by Nina

YEEEEEEEE HAWWWWWW ECOTERRORISMMMMMMMMMMMMM (principled and annoying about it) 

The Seductress

A Vixen! Wears low cut tops and flirts with all the married men that come through, just for the hell of it. She’s fun and bright and vibrant, and probably lives up to the reputation that she’s got for herself. Doesn’t care much about what other people think/social convention. 

Devil-may-care attitude, secretly a big softie (but very, very deep down). She’s the least judgmental of them all, with a big heart and a lot of experience to give advice from. If you want rational advice, go to the widow, but if you want advice to follow your heart? Come to the seductress.

Comfortable with confrontation, and doesn’t mind sticking up for the other girls (especially the wallflower and the waif). 

Has a long list of admirers who come in every other day for a haircut that they don’t need. She’s the reason the salon always has fresh flowers, no matter what. 

The Social Climber - Tatum Brady, played by Celine

Calculated, but not necessarily in a bad way. She’s very quick to notice things and can sometimes keep them to herself — without a doubt, she’s the least gossipy of them all. 

Intent on improving herself/her family’s reputation about town, and is intense about keeping up appearances. 

A little standoffish at first, but she warms up once you get to know her. A touch judgmental, but lovingly.. Sort of.. 

[softspt]

The Divine women are made of stronger stuff than most. Here is their legacy: four generations of women bearing daughters and chasing off their husbands. Four generations of peace and quiet with their house that sits right off the Chattahoochee without a single goddamn man to ruin it for them. This is how the Divine women raise their daughters, too. Ever since Janice Divine ran off Great-Grandpa Thomas in 1948, the Divine house has been a haven for their women. 

At least it was, until 2000 and something, when Henry Divine crashed the party, and Dolly-Jean’s never gotten over it a day in her life. See, here’s the thing: the Divine property’s something special. All divine feminine, a haven for women, and then here comes this little gutter punk to ruin it all? You’d lose it too. It’s a special place, right on the banks of the river, with trees hanging heavy over the water, and goats and chickens running amok in their yard. The Divines have a rather large plot of land too, which brings them almost right up against the hotel development. This, naturally, has caused some issues for them: Dolly’s about to go eco-terr*rist and take some drastic measures to protect her home and the fragile ecosystem, and both her mother, Barbara Mae, commonly referred to as Barbie, and her aunt, Nell, are trying to sort through their own (complicated) feelings on this.

The third Divine sister, CeCe, is Henry’s mother and she’s… off doing something, somewhere. Basically, she’s gone, disappeared into the wind except for the biannual text she sends people saying Happy Birthday four months after it’s passed.

This is basically just a request for Barbara Mae and Nell, both intense and passionate women in their own rights! While Barb is definitely the Divine matriarch, Nell is the Cool one, with lovers in fifty different countries and a new story every time you talk to her. Age-wise, Barbara is 45+ probably, and Nell is at least 38, but I’m not very picky with age! 

It’s all fairly open-ended, really! I just want the dynamic of the Divine women because I think it’ll be super fun!! Ok thank u kiss kiss take them !!! 

Barbara Mae “Barbie” Divine, 45+, Bad Bitch/Matriarch

The eldest of the three Divine sisters of her generation, and the only one who’s never really left Miriam’s Well. She’s never had a reason to, not with the animals to take care of, and her business to run, and mouths to feed, and it’s never worn against her – until recently. She’s coming up onto her midlife crisis, and it’s hitting her that she’s never seen anywhere past Panama Beach in Florida, and even that was for three days in 2002. 

As the hotel goes up, she’s thinking of doing the unforgivable: selling the Divine house and running off to see the world. Now that Dolly’s grown, and Henry is.. Henry, there’s nothing really holding her here. Her sister, Nell, is the only one to know of her plan and Nell is unhappy with it, to say the least.

Sidenote: no one knows who Dolly’s dad is, except for Barbie! Go wild if you want to explore this area. Maybe it was a one night stand with a traveler passing through town, maybe it’s a Mamma Mia situation, maybe it’s just too tragic to delve into. Let your imagination guide you here! 

DJ and Barbie are very close, especially after DJ’s divorce, but there’s been some rising tension between them recently. No one can quite put their finger on why, but it’s there, ready to blossom and explode into something much bigger.

Resents Cece for being the selfish one who got out of Miriam and didn’t look back until she needed her sisters (unlike Nell, who did it the “Right Way”), and it definitely made things tense with Henry in the beginning (it didn’t help that he was and is a smart-ass, much like his mother). Barb’s sort of always exasperated and/or sighing at Henry because well….he can be A Lot, but there’s the tiniest bit of pity? sympathy?  when it comes to him because she recognizes her sister could’ve and should’ve been a better mother so she did her best to take care of him when Cece would disappear for months at a time. Still threatens him with hot sauce if he runs his mouth.

Eleanor “Nell” Divine, 38+, Cool Aunt™ (Reserved for Celine)

Nell has seen the world, done it all, and come right back to roost in Miriam’s Well. She’s more of a free spirit than her older sister, though that’s arguably because Barbie held down the fort and allowed her to be. 

Now that she’s growing older, she’s more intent on spending time here on the property and sticking around town. Her wild oats have been sown, and now she’s interested in settling down. For the majority of DJ’s childhood, Nell drifted in and out, spending six months away and six months here, but has been consistently around for the past ten or so years. 

More like an older sister to DJ, truthfully. They’re quite close, but have more of a friendship than Barb and Dolly do. 

Nell’s never been afraid to put Henry in his place or Keep it Real with him, and somehow she’s always approached it in a less-parental/antagonistic way than Barb so Henry actually listened. She might honestly be the only person in Henry’s life that he listens to and trusts 100%

Barb and Nell are truly the best of friends, close as can be, but things are fraying at the edges now that Barbie’s considering jetting off to Europe. Sure, she could give the property to Nell, but she needs the money to fund her worldwide tour, and it’s all just a mess. Nell isn’t the type to give up without a fight, though, so I’m sure this’ll all blow up eventually!! 

[softspt]

DOLORES JEAN DIVINE — 27, HAIRDRESSER 

D.J. Divine was born in a house on the outskirts of town, and has lived there for most of her little life. She's a Divine, very in tune with the earth, very crunchy granola, etc. An environmentalist from birth, basically.

Grew up with her mom and her aunt, and then her cousin showed up one day when she was fourteen, and it's all, ew? There's a man in my house now? And not just any man... an ANNOYING lil gutter punk... like who did she wrong in a past life to deserve this...

Spent her entire childhood thinking that the little divine feminine commune.. of sorts.. she grew up on was the peak of existence, and then she fell in love and it was like Interesting™ of the world outside of this to exist.

Worked as a waitress at the UFO-themed shitty diner for years while she was getting her hairdresser's license. Can never look at a platter of chili cheese fries again without wanting to vom.

Got hitched at nineteen and divorced at twenty-four, and no, she doesn't want to talk about it. Got her heart broken into thirty million little pieces, and she's still in love with her ex (who hates her) so it's .. complicated ..

Is currently a hair stylist at Canyon Hair Salon! She loves it, loves her girls, etc. When that's not happening, she's an active member of the Lake Defense Coalition, but kind of the branch that thinks they should bomb the hotel... haha jk.. unless.. ?

Sweet as cherry pie, really! Has a big heart and will die for you, if you ask, but once she hits her limits? Phew. She's out, faster than you can blink.

Very aware of her self-worth (and her view of it might be a little inflated), but she's self-assured no matter the situation. It's very hard for her to feel Small, but rest assured, it HAS happened! Rarely, but it literally takes her like weeks to recover. She's just off!

Relentless, when she has a goal and will do literally anything to get there! Right now, that's saving the ecosystem and her house. A bit of a one track mind at all times.

PLOT HOOKS —

Pls pls pls make the other Canyon Hair Salon stylists! They're a tightknit group and it'll be fun and lots of ladies just hanging out ... livin life... gals being pals... etc!

Also members of the Lake Defense Coalition! They don't all have to be quite as radical as Dolly (she's definitely on the fringes), but they're all passionate about the environment and also Dolly's strawberry tarts that she makes for meetings.

DJ's a born and raised Miriam's Well native, so there's no shortage of connections for her to have!! Friends, enemies, weird acquaintances, saw each other at a party once, etc. whatever!! works!!! She's fairly outgoing and talkative, so hit me w whatever.

Anyone shady.. she probably knows.. unfortunately her type is criminal.. and her cousin is a lil criminal too and she hung out w his friends for a while so.. u know..

Please don't make me think literally anything else!!! Hit me I'm just so excited 🥺

[longwindedandtrivial-blog]

I feed what comes to the door.

Great Aunt [Dolly] Jean's theory on hospitality. 6/4/11