#FOR THE LOVE OF GOD they're free to watch on youtube and then you'll actually be supporting indie animation instead of whatever this is 😭😭

[br1ghtestlight]

WHO KEEPS ADDING OBJECT SHOW EPISODES TO PIRATING SITES????? AND WHAT IS THE COVER IMAGE ON BOTO??? why does marshmallow inanimate insanity have a gun

[ultfreakme]

Hi, Riki..Do you know what anime you'll watch this season?

My top 3 fav for this season are :

- Tadaima, Okaeri (wholesome BL, also one of my comfort read)

- -Black Butler : Public School Arc (yes the ship is problematic but you cannot deny the shipper when you watch it. I'm not shipping SebasCiel but I'm not anti too. Their canon relationship is complicated but great story)

- - Wind Breaker (bucchigiri but way better and loveable mc)

Hope you'll like them.....

Hey anon!!! This season, I'm watching Kaiju No. 8! In my heart, I'm always a shonen-seinen girlie and the first two episodes look very promising! It's what I've been looking for in anime for a while- protagonists that are actual adults who still get to go on adventures. Also there's a badass female lead whose entrance was her with a giant gun blowing up a kaiju accompanied by a badass white tiger. All it really takes for me to watch or read a thing is women who can or will try to beat up god.

I'm on the last episode of Bang Brave Bang Bravern, it has everything I love; giant mechs, punching, weird plot, homoerotic tension (it's not even tension, they admit they love each other romantically and have a beach date). So I'm watching that!

I've read the manga for "Tadaima, Okaeri" like, years ago, and I think my BL phase is winding down now so I don't think I'll be checking it out but I do remember really enjoying the manga, I think I re-read it twice! Very cute.

I used to catch up on Black Butler like when I was a teenager and really enjoyed it. I'm used to anime fandoms atp. If someone wants to ship SebaCiel, go ahead, live free! They're lines on a page and as long as the content is tagged right, people can curate their experience. Idk if I will be watching, though the animation looks GORGEOUS. Sebastian and Ciel's relationship is very interesting just, as it is,even without the romance and shipping (and I vaguely recall that I started shipping Sebastian with this other guy who was friend of Ciel's dad. It was a flashback arc, god I wish I remembered the guy's name ugh).

I think I might check out Wind Breaker???? I heard it's about a bunch of school kids fighting.....and that's it. I wasn't really that intrigued because the plot seemed non-existent, but now I'm wondering if the characters can carry the show with just their dynamics. Is this like a sports-anime in terms of plot structure? I'm interested.

Ah yeah, I heard that Bucchigiri turned out to be a complete disappointment on KrisPNatz's youtube channel. Unfortunate af. But Wind Breaker still exists so yay!

Thanks for sharing this with me anon!! Hope you have a fun anime viewing season!

[luminecho]

tell us about the wolf game wolfie

[aggressive table slam stimming] OK SO THE WOLF GAME YEA YEA YEA? prepare to get infodumped on because you just unlocked my Backstory

wolfquest was a fuckin like,,, it was very different. back in Ye Olde Days of 2015. WQ 2.7 was brand new. I had seen the game floating around before and had watched some videos on it but never really got into it. Until,,, idk, suddenly I did? I think a specific YouTuber was who got me into it but. WQ may as well have been one of my first fandoms. and for a damn wildlife simulator game it,, really did have a fandom! I don't know how much of that fandom is still around anymore cause I've kinda lost touch with it (as far as I know it was mostly deviantart, amino, and on forums). but like.

god it's just so special to me. i have felt extremely close to wolves my whole life (i know now it's bc im kin lol) and you know wolves are like. a specific Niche of content. so I took what I could get. I played every wolf simulator I could get my hands on. I did a ton of roleplay.

and here comes WolfQuest. a game set in YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL FUCKING PARK aka That National Park That I Knew From All Those Wolf Documentaries I Watched Religiously. where you could! play as a wolf!! and CUSTOMIZE said wolf!! and raise PUPPIES!!! and people had full-on wolf pack LEGACIES where they'd play as a wolf and then play as that wolf's puppy and then play as THAT wolf's puppy and then just KEEP GOING. and that sounded SO FUN so i was like I NEED THIS GAME

so i got the mobile version on my phone and i played the demo and i was like. hmm. i wonder what i should name my wolf. and I debated between a few names, I think some were Eclipse (a long-term favorite of mine) and Whisper. but the one I ended up going with was Echo.

and I FELL IN LOVE with the game. because you know what the best thing about it was? it was a wilderness simulator that was EASY and had a PATTERN. once you master the game that's IT. you're SET. i could recite to you the exact steps you need to take and the exact order of all of the game's episodes/stages/events/etc. it got so easy that playing on the highest difficulty wasn't much of a challenge anymore once you remembered all the steps and patterns. trial and error throughout generations. i LOVED it. my autistic brain was ALL over that.

I'm going back to my notes (which I still have), and I played through TWELVE GENERATIONS of wolves. that's nothing compared to other people but it's still like. a lot. jhfwfkh. and there came a point where i grew kind of sick of the repetitiveness of singleplayer so i devoted my time to roleplaying in multiplayer instead

but like. i have this distinct memory. of just. sitting in front of a movie theatre and playing this game on my phone. whenever i had free time i would play wolfquest

and like,,,, i joined the wolfquest amino around the same time I joined the warrior cats one. back when amino was new. idek if people still use amino but. i joined it. and i met some FANTASTIC people, one of which i'm still in touch with!! but before I joined that community i didn't really have a set name I went by online. I just went by whatever my current username was. and I wasn't sure what to put as my username for that amino so I just went with the name that i called my wolf pack in the game. which was. the Echoing Sound pack.

you'll never guess what people started calling me

so i guess from then on Echoing Sound was just. my branding??? idk.

but yeah in like 2016 the WQ devs were like "we have a HOT NEW UPDATE coming in 2017 and it's gonna be Tower Fall! the next episode of the game!" and we were like "WWWOOUUWWHH" and we were so excited.

and then WQ was like "hey we have to delay this because we decided to actually uuuhhhh REMAKE THE ENTIRE GAME FROM THE GROUND UP"

and we went "holy fuck! ok! still excited tho!!!"

and now it's 2022 and the WQ only just recently finished the remake (anniversary edition) of the second episode and NOW, FINALLY, they're getting to work on Tower Fall.

and like,,,,,,,,,, I've been tracking this game's progress for as long as i've been ONLINE. so in a way it feels like i'm growing up with it??? in a way that i haven't experienced with many other games

idk idk idk i just. i just love it so much man. it's. it's a really pretty game. the graphics are fucking off the charts i mean LOOK AT IT. my poor laptop can barely run it JHSFHJGHEJK. AE isn't even out on mobile. you wanna know what the first thing i did when i got a computer was??? i bought wolfquest.

just. just. just. just. i love it.

and. and it's not the same as it used to be. ofc it's not. it's WAY WAY WAY harder and it's not as structured or formulaic and it gives you more freedom and it's,, admittedly a lottt more stressful so yeah i dont really play it much and i still haven't gotten very far in it and i probably never will because it's just. not my kind of game. anymore. but i love and adore and cherish it so much that i will always ALWAYS continue to just run around and play around with customization and just play as a wolf because it makes me so so sososososo happy. so. so happy.

uuuhhhh this infodump isnt organized at all cause im literally just. like. talking. and im not gonna edit this in the slightest but. yeah. yeah. i love it a lot ;-;

and i'm tacking this on at the end here but i was looking through the wolfquest tumblr tags and saw a couple posts tagged as wolfkin/therian and it just makes me happy to see that other ppl like me are finding the same kind of,, euphoria?? through playing this game. like. hsjfdwkjf. it really replicates something that you can't really find through anything else

and i could spout some poetic bullshit about how the game kinda represents the small joys of life as well as the tremendous hardships and like. it IS that but also tbh it really is just my gay little wolf game from my phone. Lobo From My Games if you will.... like it can be profound if you want it to be but it's just kinda special in that it doesn't really. have a plot. the plot is you're a wolf and you're living as a wolf and look!! you're going through life. you're experiencing life. as a wolf. as realistic as the devs can possibly make it whilst still being fun. haven't you always wanted that.

man.

(wolf.)

[turkisherlockian]

The Hat - Request [Benedict Cumberbatch x Reader AU]

Summary: Y/N is a young director who worked with and has a crush on Benedict Cumberbatch. He finds out that she used to write fanfictons about Sherlock and decides to give her a gift.

Word count: 1941

A/N: Happy birthday @shackleschains 🎂🎉❤️ I hope you like it! 😸

-----

''You never worked with Y/N before, have you?''

Benedict smiled and turned to Y/N. They developed a great friendship while working together, Y/N got on well with everyone and they all had so much fun.

''Yeah,'' Benedict said, ''I wish I met her earlier, though. She's a great director, she's energetic, magnetic, amazing...''

''Tell them something they don't know, Ben!'' Y/N nudged him and they all laughed, ''I'm just kidding...''

''No, seriously, that's what everyone thinks about you.'' He smiled.

''Aww... Thank you.''

''Alright, love birds...'' This made them both chuckle, ''So, Benedict, what was it like working with Y/N?''

''I had so much fun, it was great. She was great. She might be young,'' He grinned, teasing Y/N, ''But she has a brilliant mind and she's going to prove that in the film. Not that she needs to.''

The interviewer smiled as Y/N blushed, he turned to her, ''What was it like to work with Benedict?''

''You know, I'm known for my short films and this is my very first time directing a film, so I was really anxious because... Well, he is Benedict Cumberbatch!'' Benedict smiled as she continued, ''He's been very helpful, understanding... He's very clever! Just amazing. It was an honour to work with him, and I hope we can work together in the future, as well.''

''I hope that too, young lady.''

''I'm not that young!''

Benedict grinned, ''Yes you are, and that's great. You're a genius.'' He hugged her with his left arm, pulling her closer as she blushed.

''Well, turned into a complienting competition...'' Y/N grinned, ''Thank you so much. You're so kind.''

Benedict nodded with a smile, then turned to the interviewer who asked a question to Y/N again. ''We've been told that you're a Sherlock Holmes fan and you used to write fanfictions... Is that true?''

Y/N facepalmed as Benedict turned to her with a frown, ''Why didn't I know this?''

She pulled back, her cheeks burning. ''It's embarrassing!''

''No it's not!'' Benedict chuckled, ''It's adorable.''

Y/N rolled her eyes playfully, ''Alright... I was a huge fan. I wrote and read a lot, just like any teenager would do.''

''That's why it's not embarrassing, darling.''

''So...'' The interviewer interrupted them with a smile, ''You started filming things at a very young age, didn't you?''

''Yeah... I started with small things, really. I filmed my toys, my pets, making short clips, you know. Then I started filming nature and went to courses as I couldn't get accepted to a film academy. However, my short films got thousands of views overnight - which was crazy, and now here I am. And I'm so happy to be here.'' She smiled and turned to Benedict, which he replied with a comforting touch on her back.

The interviewer turned to Benedict, ''How would you describe your character, Benedict?''

Y/N couldn't focus on what he said as she watched him, he was beautiful. She could study his features as they were still so close to each other. His lips, eyes, eyelashes, beautiful skin and every single detail on it. She wanted touch him terribly.

''Y/N?''

''Huh? Sorry, I got distracted...''

''You must have been tired... Thank you for the interview, Y/N, Benedict, it's been fun!''

They shook hands as they got escorted outside, a car waiting for them.

Benedict got into the car after her and sighed, ''You're exhausted, aren't you?'' he asked with a smile.

''I am... How about you?''

''I'm shattered... As I'm old...''

Y/N chuckled, ''You're not old!''

Benedict shook his head with a grin, then turned to her. ''You'll get used to it. Interviews, fame, fans... Papparazzi and their cameras that follow you anywhere you go. But I need you to know that, Y/N, you're really good at your job. I didn't get the chance to say it properly earlier, but I really enjoyed working with you. I hope we do it again.''

She teared up quickly, feeling honoured. ''Thank you so much,'' she smiled, ''I feel the same way.''

Benedict nodded and smiled, squeezing her hand gently, ''I didn't say it to make you cry...''

''I know,'' She nodded and wiped her tears with her shirt's sleeves as the car got closer to the hotel. ''So... Are you free tomorrow?''

''Yeah. What for? I mean, doesn't matter why you asked, I just...''

He chuckled as the car stopped and he opened the door before getting out and giving her his hand. She took it with a smile as she sniffled, then got out of the car as well. ''Would you like to... Have dinner with me? In my room?'' He blushed, ''I mean, I have something to show you...''

Y/N nodded and smiled, ''I'd love that...''

They walked into the hotel together and got into the elevator. ''What time should I come?'' Y/N asked.

''I'll be back at around seven. How about seven thirty?''

''Sounds good...''

Silence filled the cabin as Y/N bit her lip, then it stopped and Benedict followed her outside. ''I'll see you tomorrow, then.'' He said with a smile.

''See you... Sleep well.'' Y/N smiled too and nodded, unlocking her room's door.

Y/N couldn't sleep, not at all. She kept thinking of what he was going to show her, what could it be? Also, she tried to avoid the embarrassment of the fact that she did write fanfictions and smut. People still knew even though she deactivated her account. And Benedict found out. He found out!

She was just a teenager, she had no idea that she could meet him one day, let alone work with him!

However, her eyes were aching and she was really tired, so she drifted off to sleel quickly.

-----

Y/N woke up to the sound of her phone, it was vibrating violently.

She sat up in horror and took it, unlocking it quickly. Y/N checked WhatsApp first to see what's going on.

Her friends texted her asking if Benedict and her were dating, the interview was posted on YouTube - that was surprisingly fast, and a photo of her looking at Benedict in love, was everywhere.

Y/N took a deep breath, everyone thought they were dating! Did Benedict know about it? If he did, how did he react? Would he be angry at her? No - she's done nothing wrong. Except for having a crush on him and looking at him like that...

She bit her lip and replied to her friends' messages, but didn't post anything online. She didn't know what to do, she didn't even have an agent or someone she could ask what to do. Maybe I could ask Benedict, she thought, but she was too embarrassed by the way she looked at him. What would he think? Did she ruin his reputation? Did he have a partner already? Y/N sighed and got out of the bed.

She put her phone away and turned it off.

Y/N had the whole day for herself until dinner if Benedict wasn't going to cancel it. She knew he wouldn't do such rude thing, but... She felt exposed. It was embarrassing. However, she wanted to look nice for him, so she spent an hour deciding on what she was going to wear. Y/N did her best to spend time, but there were still a few hours until dinner, so she turned her phone on and started reading what people think.

''I'll kill myself if they're not dating!!!''

''He's too good for her.''

''She looks so in love! I mean, who wouldn't?''

There were a few memes too, she was grinning and sending them to her friends before an unknown number called her. With hesitation, she picked up.

It was Benedict's PR team, asking her to not make a comment about the situation yet.

If his team knew, Benedict would know it too.

Thankfully, it was 6 PM and she could start getting ready. Y/N chose a white, puff sleeve and square neck summer dress and combined it with a chain necklace. She put on some makeup after getting her hair done, then checked her phone to see what time it was.

7 PM.

Time passed quickly as she tidied her room, and she put on her perfume before leaving her room right at 7:30.

Taking a deep breath, Y/N knocked on his door and smiled when he opened it.

Benedict couldn't take his eyes off her for a while, ''Hi, umm... Come in...''

''You look lovely...'' He said as he gestured her to take a seat.

''Thank you... So do you... Handsome, I mean. You look handsome. Not just right now, you always do, Oh God, please never compliment me again...'' Y/N blushed and covered her face with her hands as she sat down. Benedict chuckled, ''Thank you darling.'' He sat down in front of her, ''What would you like for dinner?''

Y/N hummed and shrugged, ''I don't know... You decide.''

''How about pizza? You love pizza.''

This made her smile. ''Sounds great.''

He got up to call for room service, then ordered her favourite. Y/N was fiddling with her fingers as Benedict came back, ''What's wrong?''

''Nothing... I mean, you heard about the rumors, didn't you?''

Benedict smiled, ''Do you really care about them? People always make assumptions.''

Y/N smiled too, Assumptions, she thought, but I do like you.

She sighed as he offered his hand. Y/N looked up at him in confusion. ''I'll show you something.'' Benedict said with a smile, then led her to the bedroom when she held his hand.

Y/N's heart was beating fast as she saw a gift box on the bed. Benedict picked it up and turned to her, ''This is for you.''

She was surprised, ''I... Why? I mean, it's not my birthday...'' Y/N chuckled mervously. ''You receive gifts only on your birthday? What a shame. Well, it'll change, darling. Now, open it.'' He said excitedly.

Y/N smiled and bit her lip, opening it. She looked up at him in shock, ''No.''

''Yes.''

She chuckled, can't believe her eyes. It was a deerstalker. The deerstalker that Benedict used, actually.

Tears welled up in Y/N's eyes as she put the box on the bed and took the famous hat out of it, touching it. She couldn't help but smiled as he spoke, ''I wanted to keep it after filming the last season.''

''This is the best gift I have ever received! Thank you!'' Y/N exclaimed as she hugged his neck on tiptoes, earning a chuckle from him and a warm hug back. ''You're welcome, sweetheart. I'm glad you liked it.''

Y/N pulled back but her arms were still on his shoulders, and she felt her cheeks burn as he looked into her eyes and then, at her lips. Y/N closed her eyes as she felt his soft lips on hers, feeling like she ran out of oxygen in a second. Benedict pulled back quickly for her liking, so she kissed him lovingly. ''I like you.'' she whispered, and then regretted it immediately. What if he told her he did not? It would break her heart.

However, Benedict grinned. ''I like you too.''

They kissed again and Y/N pulled back as someone knocked on the door. He let out a low groan, which made her wet, and then pecked her lips. ''It must be room service.''

Y/N nodded with a smile and followed him, the hat still in her hands. Benedict turned around with the tray to see her wearing it with a grin.

-----

After dinner, Y/N posted a selfie of them, her wearing the hat. Then they started reading comments together.

"He made her wear the hat!'' Someone commented, making a reference to Janine's words in the newspaper.

And in the end of the night, he did make her wear the hat.

---

Feedbacks are always appreciated! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. ❤️😸 And you can turn on notifications if you want to know when I post a fic!

[badgalkatzha]

YOUTUBE : Morphe Fluidity Collection Review + Wear Test by BadgalKatzha

Katherine : Hey my beautiful perfecthoodnation welcome back to my channel and another Kiki review. If you are new Hey? What's good? My name is BadgalKatzha but my alpha gang and perfecthoodnation calls me Kiki. I'm a makeup artist who loves makeup at 100. My channel is about makeup such as reviews of products, first impressions, full face of brands, challenges, transformations and more. So if you want to join the alpha gang you just have to hit that subscribe button and the bell to get notified when i upload a new video. You can also follow me in my Simstagram where i do mini makeup tutorials thanks to the IGTV feature witch mines is KikisglamTV. In this review we are doing a 8 hours wear test. So without any further do let's get started y'all.

Katherine : I don't know where to start with this video to be honest, but here i go. So in case you're not aware, makeup brand Morphe Brushes that sells very affordable products released 60 shades of foundations, 31 concealers and 15 setting powders. Their is a lot of drama with this product's cuz of the formula and the undertones. Witch i'll get there later on in the video. As you see in the screen this is the shades they have available for y'all in the website. Their customer service sucks i email them about my orders cuz they were delayed and nobody answer back. So when i got this in my mail i was migraine free. I bought all the items i'll be using for today's video nothing is PR from the brand. A full face of Morphe cost me 119.00 without shipping with shipping is like around 130.

Katherine : I give you Morphe Fluidity Foundation. For me the packaging is cheap is not something luxurious or a packaging that can make the product last as it should be. This little men cost 18.00 dollars. This is a matte formula base. Witch if you have dry skin i don't recommend you to buy this. Unless you prep your skin to the gods. Mind you even if you prep your skin. Theres always a probability of creasing or caking. So what's the tea with this foundation? The undertones and the formula itself. We have green, gray and orange undertones in this foundations. What do i mean with the greens, grays and oranges tones? Well when you blend this to your skin and set it for the day you might notice that the color of the foundation changes to this colors. But taking the time to learn how to identify your undertones can seriously help you in the makeup world from  properly choosing a foundation to knowing how to correct discoloration and enhance any hue to achieve a more even, flawless complexion. It's not so much about covering up, but more about color balance. The closest shade to my skin tone is F3.80 in the tan level with a slightly red undertone. I use foundations that haves red, pink or peach undertones cuz they're close to my skin tone. But theres a trick with this product. You can see the shade of the foundation right? Guess what? that's not the shade inside of the container so be aware to match yourself in stores.

Katherine : I prime my face with the Morphe Equalizer that cost 12.00 dollars. My skin feels very smooth right of the back. Morphe said in their website this primer blurs and softens imperfections witch i hope it does. As i blend the foundation i can totally tell you is full coverage. Allegedly this is sweatproof, transfer-resistant and water-resistant. Will see about that thru the day. They give you 2 ways to use this foundation witch is dew and matte. If you want dewy skin just use a damp of the foundation but if you go matte go full coverage. For my matte everyday look of mines i'll go full coverage. If you guys want a full video about the undertone topic just let me know down below my alpha gang. My skin is oily and not dry so will see how this foundation settles in oily skin type.

Katherine : This is the Morphe Fluidity concealer in shade C3.65 (COOL) the Morphe concealer haves 31 shades available. This product costs 9.00 dollars. I already had one side of my under eyes blended with the concealer and it feels very heavy as for the foundation it feels very light weight. So maybe when you use this just use a little amount. I like to cover my days of no sleeping with concealer so that's why i go hard on it. It does feels creamy and was easy to blend. However you need to blend this fast otherwise it will dry quickly. Listen if the foundation is already drying and doesn't have that nice blurry effect you'll definitely need to set the foundation.

Katherine : Off camera i started to blend the Morphe Filter Effect Finishing Powder in Filter #8 the brush i used was a Morphe M570 Tapered Powder Brush for blending. The powders only comes in 15 shades. The price of this powder is 12.00 dollars. I used the powder in my cheeks, forehead and chin. I can tell you this powder makes the foundation look more matte then what was before. However i'm starting to look orange-ish or peachy so i'll be using another clean brush to set into my skin more deeper the powder.

Katherine : Alright so i finish using the entire Fluidity Collection items. Now to set the look i used the Morphe setting spray witch cost me 15.00 dollars. I did my eyes, contour and highlight off camera cuz we are doing wear test y'all i don't want to make this so long. So far i think everything is holding out great. So far i haven't experience any caking or creasing witch is amazing. However that's the face for now. I would love to see later on how does the entire Morphe Fluidity Collection meshes with my fav products such as contour and highlighter. Cuz sometimes the foundation won't mesh well with other makeup products. That's totally normal is like a way to find out how good or bad is the formula or undertone. Would the foundation & concealer crease? Cake? Separate? Crack? Only the wear test will answer that. This is when the check-ins starts!!! I need to straight my hair since it looks messy as hell. That takes me about 2 hours. I have to visit my manager have a couple of meetings and for last go to Sephora to buy makeup for my next video. So I'm gonna go about my day do the check-ins and i'll see y'all back in the studio after i finish the 8 hour wear test. To let you know my final thoughts.

Katherine : Hey guys!! Just doing the first check-in!!! I'm in Rodeo Drive my manager was a total ass and cancel today's meeting. So me and the girls we are going to grab some Taco Bell. Zamn i miss my Bell Grande a lot. But y'all are not here to know what i eat ahahaha. So far the foundation hasn't cake or crease. But the concealer is creasing just a little bit. My face still feels i have makeup on but haves gone down a little. I have a suspicion is the concealer that mess the look. I have to leave you guys now BUT don't go anywhere Kikis review is not done yet their is another Kiki-Check-In coming up.

Katherine : Hey loves!!! Is 8:00 PM and this is the final check-in for the wear test. I was in my normal habitat called Sephora. I was buying new makeup and restocking some i run off. I think the foundation stills looks nice and it did mesh nicely with the contour and highlighter i used. It just feels very drying i think is the best way to explained it. But i'll expose more when i get back to my beauty studio.

Katherine : Okay guys!!! I'm back in my beauty studio to spill my final thoughts. I have the entire Morphe Fluidity Collection on my face for 8 hours and i did the check-ins for you guys to see how the products are in natural lighting outside of the beauty lights. Like i normally do thru out my day i always do touch ups but this time i didn't just for you guys. This is me sitting down after literally have 8 hours of wearing this. I think the actual foundation itself haves a soft blurring effect. However it is extremely drying. I notice as well i have small patchiness in some areas of my face including the cakey nose. I don't know if the camera is able to pick it up but off camera i can see it. As far as longwearing aspect of it their is foundation coming off around my eyebrows. The concealer girl!!! I wasn't a huge fan number one it feels heavy and cakey and it also like you need to work faster and am not a person that likes to work fast doing any type of makeup look. I want to be able to sit down do it and blended out as i please. If you have dry skin and you want to use this product first prep and hydrate your skin as much as possible. If you have oily skin like myself just do a basic prep or your everyday prep before doing your makeup. To close this chapter. I didn't like much the concealer but the foundation i give a 6 outta 10. The setting powder didn't do much it did blur a little but nothing i will say is SICKENING or mind blowing. I think this collection is okay and if you want to try this keep in my your skin type and undertones. Thank you guys for watching my Morphe Fluidity Collection review!!! I hope y'all enjoy the check-ins and hang out with me today. I'll see you guys in my next video 🐺

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morphe Makeup Accessories By Me

Sephora Makeup Bag By @coatisims ty for letting me do this an accessorie for my post. If you want the Deco Verzion you can grab it HERE

[citylightsbooks]

Writing from Fierce Love: Mira Sethi in Conversation

This is an excerpt of a free event for our virtual events series, City Lights LIVE. This event features Mira Sethi in conversation with Miranda Popkey, celebrating Sethi’s new short fiction collection Are You Enjoying? published by Knopf. This event was originally broadcast live via Zoom and hosted by our events coordinator Peter Maravelis. You can listen to the entire event on our podcast. You can watch it in full as well on our YouTube channel.

Miranda Popkey: I wanted to ask you about your protagonist at the end of that story ["Tomboy"]. And I won't spoil the twists and turns that the story takes, but she has a moment with her husband, where she's remarking on a mutual friend. And [the protagonist] describes her as “brave.” And I think that “brave” is a word that's overused when describing works of literature, but I'm curious what it means for her, for your character, but also for you, to be publishing work that is quite daring and that is really trying to paint a picture of different pockets, different communities, in Pakistan that we ignorant Americans may not be familiar with.

Mira Sethi: Miranda, thank you so much for asking that. And I'm not just saying this because I'm in conversation with you, but this has to the most thoughtful question I've been asked about my book, because a lot of the questions I've been asked so far have been about Pakistan and politics, and we’ll get to that. That's also very important. But thank you for asking that.

As far as my protagonist--without giving too much away--she calls the other lady “brave,” because that other lady is living life on her own terms. And it's not easy to live life on your own terms in a country like Pakistan, even if you have a lot of privilege, because of issues around sexuality and the often burdensome imperatives of family and your clan or your tribe and your parents. And then the larger superstructure above that, which is the state and the things that trickle down from the state. So my character says [the other woman] is brave because she, herself, is living this dual life and she hasn't yet been able to come to terms with what it is that she wants. Although this, I imagine, is a turning point for her.

And for me, yes, I did think a lot about what the repercussions might be for writing about queer lives in Pakistan. But, you know, I'm in my thirties now, and I believe very strongly in a certain set of principles. I'm an outspoken feminist in Pakistan. That sometimes gets me into trouble. And I am going to write the things that I know and I love deeply. This book actually comes from a place of fierce love, and trauma and heartache and comedy, but mostly it comes from a place of love. And buttressing my fear is my love for people who are struggling to live life on their own terms. And so I wrote this hoping that if there are--I know I have so many queer friends in and out of Pakistan--I'm hoping that maybe if they read this, they can glimpse their lives and feel seen, because fiction is ultimately the desire to write, the desire to be seen fully.

Miranda Popkey: Absolutely. I completely agree that it's hard to imagine a life that you have not seen represented. And I think that's the experience that your protagonist is having. In that moment, she's seeing the life that she wishes she could live. Instead, as you say, she's living sort of a double life where she's married, but she does have queer desires.

Mira Sethi: Absolutely. And I didn't just struggle with this. I was kind of petrified while writing some of these, and not just "Tomboy" but also the title story, "Are You Enjoying?" because it's about infidelity, a love affair, an illicit relationship, a taboo relationship.

So I'm writing about sex, you know? Yes, I worried a lot about that. I'm worried about if somebody screenshots a really vivid passage and then says, “Look at her. She's spreading vulgarity.” I mean, this is something I deal with in my life as an actress as well. But yes, at the level of the sentence, it's definitely something I think about, but I didn't ever let that stop me from saying what I wanted. And in many ways, Miranda, I think it actually makes you more creative. I am not wishing censorship upon anyone. God knows, when there was censorship in Russia, people still wrote. There is a ton of censorship in Pakistan, and we still manage to tell stories. And it's not great, but it does force your most creative instincts out of you in a way that when you can say things very openly and very clearly, the mind isn't concentrated. It leads to a certain concentration of the mind when you're forced to say things in code. And I did for "Tomboy" a little bit.

Miranda Popkey: I think just from the craft perspective, it's also interesting that the story that is most explicit in its treatment of queer themes, and most affirming and its treatment of queer themes, is also the only first-person story. I think that's an exciting, exceptional choice.

Mira Sethi: May I tell you a cute little story? So I wrote this story, which had a very different shape and form, literally three weeks before I submitted it to my editor. And I showed it to a friend who was queer. And she said to me, very politely, she said, “You know, Mira, I love you, and you're a great writer, but you're not queer. And you're writing this queer story from the point of view of queer desire.” My protagonist in the early drafts would look at women in a certain way. And she said to me, “You’re great, but this is not working. You don't know what queer desire is like, so don't try and enter that consciousness. But you do know about patriarchy. So why don't you reframe this story from the point of view of patriarchy.”

And man, that was such a hallelujah moment, because I was really struggling with the story in the early drafts. And then as soon as she said that, I was like, “Oh my god, yes.” This was actually reading as comic writing, because I don't know about queer desire. And then I reframed the whole story. And it was a real breakthrough moment for me, because then the story just ran when I started reframing it from the point of view of patriarchy.

Miranda Popkey: Well, I'm glad that your friend gave you this wonderful piece of advice.

Can you talk about your editing and revision process?

Mira Sethi: Oh my god. The most false thing about becoming a writer is that you have a book and you get to show off your book, and nobody talks about how much real writing went into it. I mean, I'm practically tripping over my words right now because I rewrote the shit out of all of these stories. And the writing takes you to places that you hadn't anticipated.

I often say that I think in order to write. The writing is what tells me what it is that I think. So after I’ve written the thing, I know what it is that I think. So the editing process works like this: I write something. It's very raw. I'm actually not self-conscious when I start writing, because I know it's vomit. And I know there's nothing to be done with the vomit, you just do it. And then later on, you can go and clean it, but it gives you something to work with. And so I write, and then I clean it up, and then I think around draft fifteen, I show it to my editor. It takes at least fifteen drafts. And then they say “Okay, you've got a scaffolding, but where is this going?” So I've worked on these seven stories for five years. That's a long time for seven stories. It's almost a story a year. Writing is really quite grueling.

Miranda Popkey: I agree. My joke about my first novel, my only novel, is that I had to think about it for twenty years before I could write any of it.

Mira Sethi: And you said that in your acknowledgments as well, which I actually really appreciate.

Miranda Popkey: Are you the kind of writer who plans it all in advance or are you one of those who need to surprise themselves and somehow, through the writing itself, the ideas emerge?

Mira Sethi: It's the latter. It's exactly what you said. I don't think, in order to write, I write so that I may know what it is that I'm thinking. And I don't plan in advance. And honestly, this is not a critique of writers who plan in advance. I can't relate to it at all, because so much of the beauty of me writing fiction is discovering things that I didn't know. For instance, my take on identity politics. Yes, of course, I'm progressive, and I have a take. But it was only after writing this book that I really understood what I felt about the world. And I think that is one of the most beautiful things about writing fiction. There is a kind of slow dredging up of your subconscious. And then you're like, “Oh, this is what I think about this issue.” It's really quite amazing.

Miranda Popkey: I completely agree. I write in large part to figure out what it is that I think and when I get the words on the page, I know if they're right, and I know if they're wrong, and if it's just a thought it's much vaguer.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

Mira Sethi: If it consumes you, you'll probably end up doing it. Because I find that is the case with most writers.

And have a community around you! Something that I don't have in Karachi is a community of writers. And I miss it. I have a community of actors, but I don't have a community of writers.

And workshop your work with people you respect and admire and keep going. And, you're not going to get it right the first time or the tenth time or the twentieth time, but you might get it right the fiftieth time, and you'll have to be in it for the long haul. It's actually quite painful.

Because you don't get it right. And then one day you get it right.

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Purchase Are You Enjoying? from City Lights Bookstore.