#and that's fine!

[chuplayswithfire]

Nuance is something that can be soooo hard for online spaces to hold onto. Hell, offline spaces too, for that matter. Today I'm thinking about kink and the concept of kinkshaming, when I think about nuance: that people should be allowed to enjoy and engage with kink, especially in fictional and fandom spaces where even bad kink etiquette can't actually harm anyone should be a given. Personally, as long as someone is tagging correctly and creating with self awareness, anything goes in a fictional space, you do you, your content deserves to exist online. I have personally created a variety of kinky works, both publicly available and not, and would really not have a leg to stand on trying to declare otherwise. In a time where people are cracking down heavily on kink and trying to decry it as deviance that shouldn't exist, being kink positive can be a very important, good thing.

At the same time though, the people have squicks, and when it comes to kink and a good culture towards sex in general, people have to be allowed to have squicks. If anyone's hearing the term for the first time, a squick is essentially a concept that just grosses you right out, you do not want to see it, you do not want to learn more, maybe it even distresses you to see it, but not to the extent that you would consider ot triggering content. A couple of common tend to bodily excrement: piss and shit, alongside guro (extensive bodily mutilation combined with sexual imagery). A squick doesn't have to be extreme, it doesn't have to be unusual, it's just something that grosses an individual out, and they don't want to see it. (And because this is tumblr and it must be said: no, racism is not a squick.)

Sometimes, we lean so heavily into the negative that we refuse to allow positivity. Sometimes, we get so into positivity, that we refuse to acknowledge negatives. People are allowed to talk about their squicks. If people see something that grosses them out, they don't have to shut up about it just because it's someone else's kink. Kinkshaming, the idea that someone would go up to someone else and tell them they're gross for their kink, is something people shouldn't do in general. But expressing disgust and distaste for a kink in general isn't kinkshaming - that's just talking about your squick.

Your Kink Is Not My Kink And That's Okay is about not hating on other people or demanding their works not exist because you hate the kink, not pretending that you find every kink, fetish, or sexual concept totally wonderful and would never react with disgust towards one. This idea in fandom that if you don't like something you should never say anything publicly because what if someone does like that thing, and is upset that you publicly don't like that thing, is ridiculous, and it has been for a while. Negative emotions have a place in fandom, especially in regard to sexual content. You shouldn't harass people who share a kink (especially when their content is tagged this is why everyone should read the tags) - but you also shouldn't go around saying people aren't allowed to use their own online space to process their disgust.

I've been seeing a lot of people lately saying anyone discussing how much they dislike a kink concept is just a kinkshamer, an anti, the purity police, and it's getting beyond ridiculous. We have the right to engage in kink, to write about kink, to make kinky art, create audio for it, and to in general delight in all kinds of kinky works. We also have the responsibility to make sure we're tagging correctly. Others have the right to dislike kink, including our own kinks, and to talk about how much they dislike those kinks. They have the responsibility to make sure they're curating correctly, that they're reading the tags and warnings on a work, and that they work out their negative responses in their own space.

Multiple things can be true: kink is a great way to explore sexuality and desire and a wide range of topics. people deserve to share their interest in kink without harassment or being belittled. one person's joy can be another person's squick. people deserve to share their squick without harassment or being belittled.

[set-wingedwarrior]

I need to talk about Adam Taurus and James Ironwood, and why they are good characters deserving of apreciation.

You see, as much as it's true that a lot of fans of their are crazy stans who see them as men who did no wrong, I don't think it's fair to get mad and attack all the people who enjoy their characters. I do enjoy them for example.

Yes, they are terrible people, but that's what makes them good characters! I love them for playing their role well, not because I condone their actions or think they are in the right!

Let's take Adam for example. I hate him as a person, while watching the show i wanted to beat the shit out of him, and that's precisely why I love his character! He gave me emotions, and played his villain role in Blake and Yang's story arcs masterfully! It's partially thanks to him and the way he played his role that their relationship got to shine this way! He is part of why I love bumbleby so much, and I can't just ignore that.

He's the victim that turned into a monster (even if we find out specifically about that very far in his story), the wronged person who took that in the worst possible way (the fact that you got influcted pain doesn't give you the right to inflict it to others). A boy who had no control over his life that decided to get revenge and control everybody else instead. It's tragic when you think about it this way, and I love that!

Or, even more clearly, Ironwood. From the beginning we see good intentions and terrible actions, that later on, under so much stress and pressure and ptsd, just made him go down. All of his faults come from a place of untrust toward others and the idea that only he could know the best course of actions, never taking into account other people and ideas. This obsession and hero complex is what leads to his and Atlas' fall and, again, even if I really wanted to bash his head for all the stupid things he did (or wanted to do), I still loved watching him play this part and fall deeper down every episode. Again, it's sad and tragic and I love it!

This isn't meant to be a full blown analysis of the characters, but I just wanted to point out that it's unfair to be authomatically hostile towards anyone who likes their characters. I understand that so many of them are people defending their actions, and it is very frustrating (and sometimes worrying) when very clear evil actions get misinterpreted or justified by someone, but it's not like everyone is like this.

They are characters, vessels to tell a story, and people aren't just allowed to enjoy a well played part, but it's actually good being able to apreciate the executions and characterization of villains! Both understanding their roles on a "technical" level, but also understanding their characterization and why they do what they do.

I love when it makes all sense, when I completely see how a character is reasoning and it's consistent with everything else around them! It's part of what I enjoy in stories, and the fact that I do have a good time watching, analyzing and understanding them, doesn't mean I am condoning their actions. Understanding and justifying are two very different things.

So, take this post as a little show of love and apreciation for Adam Taurus and James Ironwood: you are two assholes, but you are so good at that, entertaining and you played your roles well; thank you for your service in the story!

[bananasfosterparent]

Tell me "he doesn't love Tav" one mo'gain and I will yeet Through The Fire by Chaka Khan into their playlist too.

[morathicain]

My writing workshop has its perks and downsides. Perks are being actual advice and giving new perspectives and help to find new ways to describe and perceive and see other examples of how to write and overall enjoy more stories.

Downsides? When someone else has very clearly a different taste or way to write and criticises another writing as if there's only one way. Sorry but our genres are so different, I may be biased but I think it's okay to let readers think a little for themselves sometimes, I do enjoy that while reading myself.

[inflammatoryfandomblog]

honestly now that i’ve finished rewatching monster remembering all the “JOHAN IS THE SMARTEST AND GREATEST VILLAIN OF ALL TIME HE HAS 1000 IQ” takes that i usually see surrounding the show are hilarious. sorry no. johan is not a particularly realistic or even 3-dimentional character; in fact, he is basically un-realer than anyone else, mostly because he deliberately curates himself that way. all his le epic stunts (which are very clearly him reading the script at times) are informed traits for a reason. if the series was ever building up to some world-ending catastrophe it would have been bad writing.

johan is someone who (thinks he) lacks identity and constantly just replays scenes from earlier in his life over and over again, trying to sever his identity, but he really can’t. he keeps going to be the ‘foster son’ of families well after the age of adulthood. he can’t “rule the world” because every time he gains power (when he gained control of a bank at 15????) he tries to reconstruct the 511 kinderheim massacre. he tells orphans to go take lowtiergod’s advice partially to reinforce his own ideas, partially because he sees them as empty vessels, like himself.

in fact that’s sort of how he ‘manipulates’ people. when we see him do that, he does very little. mostly he just reflects back whatever they want to see--and he can do this because he is “nameless,” a “person who doesn’t exist,” “without a self.” all of his followers simply project what they want to see on him.

like, that quality is why he’s a “monster,” right? the two people who most try to emulate him (who are from kinderheim as well--that’s one of johan’s only real connections that he can’t get rid of for whatever reason; he saves grimmer.) are roberto and his “apprentice.” at certain points in the story, they try manipulating people by pressing on their sore spots and reflecting back what they like least about themselves, just like johan does; the only difference is that they’re always a bit clumsy about it, since they have an “identity,” while johan, who “doesn’t have one,” does it to perfection. that’s what they admire about him. not necessarily that he’s uniquely immoral or even "has guts” or whatever.

johan’s bland emptiness is the entire point of his character--and even then, he can’t help but not be completely bland or completely empty. after all, the only reason tenma struggled with him was because he saw him as human (the ending, in fact, echoes the side story with the terrorist--where tenma gives the same justification for saving the guy’s life. these character vignettes are at the heart of monster, not the “main story,” which is honestly kind of thin.)

the OMG SO BADASS SO NIHILISTIC VILLAIN OMG WOW is really funny to see when you’re like. fresh off done with the story. i don’t know how people look at johan and think “wow what a chessmaster” 

[theforestknowsmydreams]

one thing i've dreamt of for years is a dedicated penpal website

like you'd make a profile and when people want to write you, it all goes through the penpal organization so you don't need to share any info with individual people

and you could not only send anonymous letters, but also random ones where you don't know who will end up receiving them

[blujayonthewing]

manual labor and similar work pays exorbitantly well in gnomish societies to entice people to do them (so they still have plenty of time and money to pursue something interesting as a hobby) to prevent an oversaturation in the working population of Impassioned Niche Specialists without anyone to, like, pick up trash

[alldayeveryday-candycandycandy]

"I don't like people depicting this character in a way that contradicts canon or my personal head canon" baby welcome to the fuckin club

[wretched-mog]

i have recently been coming to accept that no matter how i try to have a personal style/attitude that is like, refined and ~elegant~ or w/e, i will always kinda look like a twink that’s been hit by a bus

[puzzling-angel]

so huh

that new nintendo direct huh

how are we feeling gang,,????

[riddle-me-ri]

Heyo everybody! HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

I have another wee update before the start of the new year! (and I have to pass out in order to be up and at work at 7 am rip)

First off, I just wanted to thank you guys so much for your support and for getting me out of a tough spot this last couple of weeks. A lot of stuff was going on and getting into my head. I'm getting better at it, slowly but surely…and taking it day by day.

However, there's something I kinda wanna get off my chest, in hopes that maybe it can alleviate some of my other anxieties of posting and creating content...

I've been mulling over how to make this post for a hot minute. And I think I'm ready to finally put it out there, especially in time for the new year where I have no doubt more requests will be rolling in.

I won't highlight or detail any specific requests in my inbox I have now, but I will just say I have unfortunately had to delete several requests in my inbox that I feel I wasn't able to get to or I feel like I wasn't able to fulfill properly. 

I know some of you wonder if it may or may not be yours, I don’t really wanna share the ones I didn’t do because I don’t wanna put anyone on blast (even if its anon, I don’t want anyone to feel discouraged) plus they’ve already been deleted so I couldn’t go back and find them if I tried. 

However, here’s some…I guess hints? To what type of requests may have gotten deleted? Or like what to avoid requesting me in the future? I dunno the best way to put it rip

I do ask you guys to refrain from things involving parenthood, pregnancy, or children. 

Pregnancy scares the shit out of me. I know to many it’s a beautiful natural thing, but all I can think about is the movie Alien and having some being sucking the life force out of me. I can get the appeal in some ways, but not enough to where I feel comfortable writing about it. 

I deal with kids on a fairly regular basis (I work at a pet store that some people use as a free day care) so it's hard for me to like...get in the mindset for them. I just can’t stand kids that have had zero discipline and coming home from work to try and work on a request with kids is just really difficult for me rip

I know I wrote one thing with the Riddler's being dads, and I had fun with the dialogue and the hilarious scenario, but that's as far as I want it to go.

Another type of request I’ve been struggling with, is requests dealing with mental health. I’ve gotten a couple requests for an autistic reader and I’ve tried doing research and asking around, but I’m worried that no matter how much research I do…I won’t ever be able to fully grasp it in terms of a character that has it. I can write about anxiety and depression cause I suffer from it, but I don’t wanna risk the chance of offending someone or being way off! I’d highly advise that you guys reach out to authors that are autistic and can write your neat ideas to full proper fruition! I have no doubt they’d appreciate the opportunity!  

One more thing, please when requesting, give me everything you can think of. The more suggestions, ideas, prompts, etc. you guys give me the more I can work with. 

It doesn't have to be anything crazy specific but something other than "*insert character trope* reader and riddler" would be gratefully appreciated. 

I do appreciate the creative freedom, but it’s also really easy to feel like I’m just a content engine meant to just pump something out from the bare minimum. 

I hope this helps!

 I just wanna apologize in advance to all the people who sent me a request that got deleted. The number was just getting too much for me and I wanna make room for newer requests in the future and alleviate some of the pressure of not being able to fulfill a certain idea or prompt.

Thank you guys so much for understanding, I hope you know that I still appreciate the fact so many of you trust me with your ideas but some of them I just couldn't find the inspiration for or couldn't get in a proper headspace for and just hope you guys can understand!

I love you all! Here’s to a happy new year! See you guys soon!

[aparticularbandit]

You know, for everyone saying that this current phase of the MCU sucks and for all of the burnout I had regarding the MCU the past few years, the stuff I've seen in this phase is the stuff I'm most likely to (and already have) see again! The stuff I've actually enjoyed seeing!

Like - I'm on my third time through WandaVision in under six months, I saw DSMOM twice in theaters (and want to see it again), I actually want to see TLAT and Hawkeye again - like I have ENJOYED the MCU this phase on more than just a "see it once for the hype and now don't care about seeing it again" and like?

The examples are mostly ones where they decided to do something different. WandaVision is WandaVision, like, duh. DSMOM pulled in Raimi and tried to play with horror. TLAT did stupid comedy. (Also DSMOM and TLAT played into some of my personal favorite narrative tropes; I've mentioned how both have a very similar narrative structure in terms of their tragic villain corrupted by evil McGuffin playing on the vulnerability of losing a child where the goal is less kill the villain and more remind them something intrinsic about themselves (and also get rid of the MC's current love interest but that's another thing).) Hawkeye just. was FUN.

There have been some hits and misses this phase, and I'm not saying that the stuff I like is actually GOOD but it's FUN, and I want my movies and shows to be FUN.

Idk, this might actually be my favorite MCU phase. Which probably sounds weird. But it's true!

[bookwyrminspiration]

Hi! I'm startingto do eyeliner on my eyes, and I've seen a couple of your pictures. Your eyeliner always looks amazing! Could I please have some eyeloner tips? Thank you!

Hello! Thanks for the compliments, you're very sweet <3. Eyeliner can be super fun, so I'd love to help anyway I can as you get started. I've found a few things that work for me, so maybe some of those will be useful tips! I'll kinda just share what I know/do, including technique, products, and mindset

A few of the photos I've included as reference are a little blurry because they're zoomed in, but all the IDs are in alt text. If you've ever wanted to see several up close photos of my eyeballs you're in luck!

to save everyone's dash space because this got kinda long (like always), everything is under the cut :)

Importantly, don't expect it to look good at first. The first dozen or so times you try, odds are you're going to be washing it off immediately after. That's okay! That's expected! It takes a level of practice to figure out what you're doing enough so that you're satisfied enough to wear it out. Experiment when you've got free-time and aren't going anywhere and don't worry about whether or not it's good. It's more for practice and getting comfortable with your tools

Also, as a beginner, I recommend you use an eyeliner marker/pen with a brush tip. Those are what I've found are more friendly to learning, and brush tips in general just wear down less. Felt ones are fine, but they can kinda degrade. Brushes can have brustles sticking out as they wear down, but that won't impact your pen as much. As for using a pen, I find them easier to work with when you're learning/experimenting because you don't have to dip to refill or deal with the consistency of dip eyeliner. There can be some upsides to them, but for your purposes I think a marker is fine. I personally like the Nyx Epic Ink Liner in black.

Waterproof doesn't mean it's better. In fact, because you're practicing, I advise against something waterproof! You hear people praising waterproof eyeliners all the time, and they can be useful, but what that also means is that it's harder to take off and you'll probably need another product. And just because a liner says it's waterproof doesn't necessarily mean it is--like the Nyx one I use. it says it's waterproof, but with a bit of rubbing it'll come off with water, which is great! I don't need any specific makeup remover to take it off, I just need to wash my face. if you're experimenting, it's super helpful for your liner to be easy to remove

Sometimes you won't be super thorough and get every inch of skin. In a lot of the photos, you can see slivers of skin close to my eyelashes, or some are patchy in color. The slivers are because when I'm looking straight on, and looking around, you can't tell, so I don't always bother to fill that part in. They're more visible in these photos because I'm looking slightly down, but in real life it's unnoticable. Then the patchy coloring is because my liner is old and more dried out, making it less even when I fill it in. Also could be a bit of wear after a few hours, it happens with some liners.

Your eyeliner will not match. You can get pretty close! But identical liner is both very difficult and not that important. Instead, you want them to be passable as similar. Mostly the same shape, mostly the same angle, mostly the same thickness. People aren't going to be analyzing whether or not your liner matches, they'll just get a general impression of your face and fill in the gaps. So take a step back to gauge if they're passable; they don't have to be perfect. Sometimes they're a little off and shaped slightly different, and that's still passable and good enough!

Play around with different shape eyeliners to find your shape. If you look at all the eyeliner pictures I have of myself below, you can kinda see that they're almost all based on one original shape. That's because that's the style of eyeliner I like the look of on me! I'm not a huge fan of the cat-eye shape, so I go for more of a straight out shape. I got good at that shape so I could manipulate it into other, more complicated looking (but actually easy) designs. Try different things to see what appeals to you!

If you want to try this style, here's how I approach it. It's essentially a triangle on the corner of your eye, so I draw a horizontal line from the corner of my eye, then two lines originating from that to connect back to my eye, then fill that in. A tip for that is to not start the second lines from the very end of the first one you drew, that way it keeps the sharp tip. Here's a graphic:

Keep your eyes relaxed as you do this, that way the line looks closer to what it will naturally look like when you're looking around. If you have your eyes super open when drawing the shape but your eyes generally are more closed, then it won't match, which can be annoying

Only stretch the skin for details/clean up. The skin of your eyes can feel annoyingly pliant, which makes you want to hold it down and pull it taut while you draw the shape to make it easier. This will instead make things look weird, same as keeping your eyes super open. If there are parts you need to fill in or you want to smooth out lines you've already drawn, that's when pulling the skin for easier drawing will help!

Brace your arm!! Set your elbow on something when you're doing your eyeliner, it give you way more control. I personally have mine set on the bathroom counter as I lean over it to get closer to the mirror.

Be close to the mirror. You don't need to shove your whole face right up next to it, but if you're closer you can see better and that helps you be precise. I'm typically around six inches away from the mirror and angle my head slightly to either side to see my eyes better

Another eyeliner-ish thing you could try if you're experimenting and not confident on your linework is eyeshadow in the shape of eyeliner! It doesn't require crisp lines, so there can be less stress over getting things right and it's quicker. This does require a brush and an eyeshadow though (and primer if you want it to last better), which are different products. You take the same approach as when you're using eyeliner, drawing the same lines, just filling it in with eyeshadow instead. This way you can familiarize yourself with the shape and play around! Here's an example:

See how this is kinda smudgy? That way there's no worrying about details. It's a lot quicker because of that, but it also doesn't last as long. If you use a primer (any primer just on the eye area) it'll last longer than just shadow on skin, but it's definitely not as long lasting as eyeliner. I personally love it for quick outings or when I'm short on time. The white bottom lashes and colorful inner corner are optional :)

That's my approach to basic shapes, but it's not much different when it comes to doing things a little bit fancier. If you want to do something like spikes like I do, then it's the same technique but just starting from a different point. Like these:

For both typical and more unique liner, find natural lines or spots on your eye that you can recognize and use as a guide. This makes it easier to replicate on the other eye and day to day. For example, for these kinds of spikes I follow the natural line of my eye (the pink), because that's easy to find. For the basic eyeliner, it's the corner of my eye. I always start there, so there's always something common and I have a better sense of what I'm doing

The same three line approach won't work if you're going for an outline because it'll have a line down the middle, but if you get comfortable with the three line shape, you can more confidently do just two without the first pink line. I only use this when I am doing something outlined, as the three lines is very reliable for me. But that could look something like this:

These are more curved because I felt like it that day, but the same logic applies for the straight lines!

Finally, once you've gotten that base down and are comfortable doing something more, you really don't need to do anything complex to add a little something! Here's a few examples of things you can do in a matter of seconds to add extra detail and make you feel amazing about your abilities!!

Colorful inner corners, a colorful shadow under your liner, little mini spikes coming off the bottom to mimic lashes:

I like to match it to my hair and depending on where I'm going/who I'll be with, I'll change how heavily I apply.

Extra shapes--can be in the same eyeliner color or different!

White bottom lashes or lining your water line in white! Which you can also see in the above picture. For the lashes I use a white eyeliner, which is a liquid dip, and used the brush to paint it over the lashes. I have the Nyx Epic Wear liner in white, but there are others you can find. This can feel pretty weird and also get on your upper lashes as it dries and be difficult to remove, but it's also fun! For the waterline I use any stick liner--do not use liquid liner anywhere but skin! I currently have a gel liner from nyx in white, not any one specifically.

(you can also do this with other colors!! I just don't have those or photos of those right now)

But yeah! That's what I do for my liner and a few reminders to help you get started. This is just my technique and approach, so it won't work or appeal to everyone. There are plenty of others online who like different styles and have different experience than can also be of assistance.

The last thing I'll say is once you know what you're doing, give yourself break days. Eyeliner can make you feel great, but if you're wearing it consistently don't forget to have days where you don't wear it so you don't forget what your face looks like. Just helps to touch base and ground yourself because the eyeliner is an accessory, not who you are. When school is in session and I'm wearing eyeliner every day of the week, for me the break days are the weekends, that way I see myself in mirrors without eyeliner for a few days and don't lose touch.

Hopefully some of that was helpful! If you have more specific questions, just let me know and I'll do my best to answer them! Really a lot of it just comes down to practice and finding what you like, so I wish you luck <33

[metamelonisle]

i'm gonna be honest and say a take that idk if people are ready for

characters do not need to display traits masculinity to justify their existence or "have a personality" or be enjoyable

characters can be as feminine as they want and that's perfectly fine.

[owolau]

i reblog a Thing and tumblr immediately be like "your tastes guide us!!!!!" and shows me another post abt exactly that thing

[statcmcnt-bcgins]

// gentle reminder that if you aren't part of an rp I'd appreciate it if ppl didn't reblog my rp posts, thanks! //