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bnha-headcanonss · 19 days

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Today got so, so much weirder

Bakugo one-shot. Super light. Hopefully sweet? Idk I don’t write this type of stuff. Apologies for any typos or confusing bits. It’s 4 am. I have not slept.

Slight swearing (expected)

Word count: 1875

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I woke up, sun shining into my eyes first thing. Basically blinded as soon as I wake up, on top of that, I’m going to be late, lovely start to the day!

I get up, get dressed in my uniform, and leave for school.

“Honey what about breakfast??” Mom calls out after me.

“I’m going to be late if I stay any longer! I’ll pick something up on the way, love you!” I yelled while speeding out the door.

I hear a faint “I love you too!” As I slam the door shut and make my way down the street.

“Stop walking so fast will you?!”

Bakugo and I haven’t always been close, he’s got an explosive personality, quite the temper on him. After both of us getting into UA and finding out we were in the same class, we grew closer. Originally it was banter back and forth and absolutely kicking each others ass in matches. Basically wiping the floor with each other.

He’s got this explosion quirk which goes hand-in-hand with his personality and I have a time shift quirk. I use it a lot to dodge others attacks and find way to make their attacks blow up in their own face, in his case, literally. And he hates it.

After our back and forth harsh banter that went on for months, it turned more playful. Eventually we just became each others closest friend. And I’d hate to admit it, it’s been kind of nice. Over time I developed a small crush for him. Nothing too major. But just underneath all the anger and aggression, and ego, he’s not half bad.

“My apologies your highness.” I did a stupid little curtsy and he attempted to push me down. I grabbed onto his arm so his attempt failed. Still funny though.

“What’re you doing out here so late? Usually you’re early.” I questioned. Being late or barely on time was my thing, not so much his.

“Somebody kept me up all night.” He gave me a dirty look.

“You were the one who didn’t want to go to sleep until you got a win. You just got to get better at the game.”

“I’ll blow your fucking face up, shut your mouth.” I burst out laughing. Bakugo sucks big time at Mortal Kombat. He wasn’t much for video games in general but he saw me watching an execution clip online and got interested, typical.

We reach the school and go on with our day. We don’t talk much in class, we sat and did our work. Lunch came and we ate together.

“Hey try this.” He proceeds to dump some green sauce on my food.

“What is it?” I questioned. Bakugo loves his spicy food, pretty on brand but I can’t stand it. I do not have the tastebuds strong enough for that like he does.

“It’s nothing too bad, it’s really good, I made it myself. Try it.” He demanded.

“If I burn myself, it’s on you.”

“Nah you’ll be fine. Go on.” He sits back. I already know how this is going to go, but he made it himself and I can’t say no to that.

As expected, it burned.

“Holy shit Bakugo, this burns so bad.” I’m up and looking for anything to drink but I finished my water a while ago and don’t have anything else. Meanwhile Bakugo is practically dying of laughter in his seat. I swear he’s got tears of joy forming and I’ve got tears related to death streaming down my face. Everything feels like it’s on fire.

“Here here, you’re causing a scene.” He hands me his water bottle and I start chugging.

“I don’t care.. if I cause anything.. that shit BURNS!” I manage between chugs of water. He breaks out into even more laughter.

He was right though, I am causing a scene. I sit back down and try to gain my composure.

“What is that stuff?”

He pulls out the unlabeled bottle and holds it up like an advertisement.

“Lord Explosion Murder hot sauce, available near you.” He’s got a giant grin on his face. You don’t see him smile much, even if it is artificial, it ties my stomach in a knot, that could also be the hot sauce.

“Oh my god you’re such a nerd.” I say with a stupid smile on my face, compensated by an eye roll.

“You find it funny so clearly you love this nerd. Wait- nevermind that sounded weird.”

“Yeah right, cool it hot shot.” I laugh and brush it off, I wouldn’t say love, but I think I definitely like that nerd? I have no idea.

He looked oddly vacant when I brushed it off though. There was no emotion, just stone faced. Completely changed the tone. Luckily the bell rang, we cleaned up and continued the rest of our school day.

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“Roof?” I approach his desk as the final bell for the day rings.

“Yeah let’s go.” He packs away his things and we make our way to the roof.

We’ve been coming up here a couple times a week since becoming friends, just to talk, watch the sun go down, watch a movie or something. It’s like a moment of peace for me. I think this is originally where I started developing feelings for him. It’s just us, there’s no playing an act or anything. We learned to be ourselves and I really like who he actually is.

“What’s it gonna be today?” He questions, pulling out his laptop and turning on his Apple TV application.

“Hmm. What’s on the list?”

We made a list of all the movies we think about but can’t watch at the moment.

“So far there’s 27 dresses, uh 13 going on 30, 10 things I hate about you, god what is up with all the romcoms? All girly shit.”

“You realize who you’re talking to dimwit? 10 things I hate about you.”

“Yeah yeah.” He rolls his eyes, turns on the movie and positions the laptop in front of us both. It’s a nice day. Not cold, no breeze, just nice, warm air. Quiet.

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I must’ve been more tired than I thought because I felt my eyes getting heavier and I’ve had to catch myself from falling forward once or twice. The movies only about half way done.

“Fucking loser.” He says.

“What?”

“You’re falling asleep.” Pointing out the obvious.

“No I’m not, I’m watching the movie.” Uh-huh..

“Right.” He pulls me towards him until my head hits his shoulder. This is different, Bakugo grew some balls or something. I don’t remember much else from there though.

I must’ve been really exhausted.

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I open my eyes to the night sky and Baby Driver playing on the laptop. I barely made it through 10 things I hate about you I guess. I’m still laying on his shoulder but I feel pressure on my head, it feels like his head. And I feel a hand on my waist. Is he asleep too?

“Hm.” I test.

“Finally, fucking nerd. You fell asleep.” He’s got that softer, sleepy voice. Maybe he was falling asleep. He lifts his head and moves his hand from my waist.

“Sorry, I guess today was not my day.” I laugh it off.

“Movie was good. Liked it. I put this on right after though and it’s almost over.”

“Baby Driver?”

“Yeah.” One of the first movies we watched up here. Only because he didn’t give me much of a choice, at all. It was good though, I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, I thought it was just a car movie at first.

“Let’s finish it then.” I offer.

“That was the plan. At least until you woke up.”

“Yeah yeah. Shut up and watch.”

“You’re one to talk.”

As the movie continued I could feel his arm snake around my waist again, right back to where it was before. We haven’t moved otherwise. I’m still really close to him, I can feel the heat radiating off of him, and it’s a lot. I can’t necessarily complain though. Realistically, who would?

The movie finished and we pack up to go home. It started getting colder as the time passed and neither of us had a jacket. The school issued skirt for my uniform was killing me at this point.

I let him rant on about the movie I picked the whole way home. It sounds like he liked it. He really liked the main character because she wasn’t like all the other main characters who are all boy crazy.

“She kind of reminds me of you.” He says. I take that as an absolute win. I love Kat so much. She’s the main reason I watched the movie in the first place.

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Despite the fact that I’ve never fallen asleep on him like that before, nothing was weird. Nothing felt weird. Today was a weird day, don’t get me wrong but that was the most normal feeling part, and it was the most not-normal. I’m confusing myself.

We reach my apartment complex which is a couple streets away from his house and we make our way up the stairs.

“Again tomorrow?” He suggests. Or demands? No clue at this point.

“Tomorrow? Theres no school tomorrow?”

“You come over to my place. We’ll rewatch your movie so you can finish it this time and we can pick another one from the stupid list. Yeah?”

Me go over to his place? Today got so much weirder in just 30 seconds.

“You know, that sounds nice. See you around 1?”

“Yup. Don’t be Late.”

“I’ll try not to,” I start to walk towards my door.

“I’ll kill you if you are!” He’s still just standing there, you can practically hear his smile. You know how you sound different when your lips are upturned, yeah, that.

“You won’t do shit.” I laugh and pull out my keys.

I feel a tug on my arm and I’m met face to face with Bakugo. He grabs my face with his hands and suddenly his lips meet mine.

His hands lay either side of my jaw, thumbs on my cheek, holding my head up towards him. His lips are soft, he’s gentle. I practically melt into the kiss.

He pulls away, we lock eyes for just a couple seconds before he turns around to leave. His face was red. I feel red. I feel hot, and confused. My stomach did flips.

He did shit- not the shit I was referring to, but holy shit, he did shit. What.

“1 pm, don’t, be late,” he emphasized the don’t.

“I won’t.” I say, in utter disbelief. I see a small smile creep up on his lips before he’s out of sight.

What the fuck just happened?

Today got so, so much weirder.

#katsuki bakugo x reader #mha bakugou #bakugo #bakugou katsuki #bakugou x reader #10 things i hate about you #kat stratford #romcom #bakugo is a softie #baby driver

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all-the-things-2020 · 3 months

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Late Night Talking - Chapter Nine

Summary: Things don’t go as well when Em takes her turn at Dieter’s new game, and angst ensues.

Rating: R (reference to sexual acts and several f-bombs)

Word Count: 6500

My own attempt at the game was not as successful as Dieter’s. The massage portion went well. It was magical being able to run my hands over Dieter’s body and he truly seemed to appreciate my limited skills as a masseuse. And the second half of the game started out nicely — until I worked my way below his waistline.

”I’m so sorry,” I apologized for the hundredth time.

Dieter caressed my face. “It’s fine, babe,” he said. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

”It’s just … I used to always gag when the doctor used a tongue depressor on me. I have to be careful brushing my back teeth.” I was absolutely mortified.

Dieter kissed my forehead. “I get it. I understand. We’ll just put that on the list of ‘not gonna happens’. No biggie.”

It felt like a biggie. I’d tried it once before, years ago, with similar results. The guy in question had made a federal case out of it. We’d broken up not long afterward.

“I just … wanted to make you happy,” I mumbled.

”I am happy,” he said. “Any time I spend with you makes me happy. And there are still a lot of ways you can make me extra happy.”

****************************************************************************

It didn’t help that Dieter left on a press junket for his latest movie that Monday. The cast was doing group interviews as well as single interviews, taking turns appearing on various talk shows, and recording promo spots for local entertainment news programs. They were spending most of their time in New York, but would fly to Chicago and a few other cities for media blitzes. It would end in Los Angeles, where they would do the rounds of the West Coast based talk shows and attend the premiere, but that wasn’t for almost three weeks.

He managed to call me most evenings, but we didn’t always get to talk for long. Sometimes he was in between interviews and only had a few minutes to spare; other times, he was back in his hotel room but exhausted from the day and not really in the mood to talk much. I understood, but I missed him.

About a week into the junket, my phone pinged. I picked it up and saw a text from an acquaintance.

Have you seen this?

I tapped on the link and opened a video on YouTube. It was an interview for a New York news outlet, with Dieter and one of his co-stars, a very attractive young woman named Erica, who played his character’s lover in the movie. They were somewhat minor characters, and of course, his character ended up dead by the end, killed by her jealous husband. Dieter was still working his way back to the leading man role.

The video started off innocently enough, with the interviewer asking them a few generic questions about the film. Then they cut to a clip, a steamy love scene between the two of them, which I hadn’t seen before. The interviewer asked if it was hard to shoot scenes like that. Erica giggled and shook her head. “Not with him,” she said. Dieter put his arm around her and laughed.

I clicked the pause button. I’d seen enough. This particular “friend” liked to stir up trouble, so I wasn’t surprised that she’d sent me this video.

I put the phone down, then picked it back up. I Googled Dieter’s and Erica’s names as well as the name of the movie and found several more video interviews online. Two were of just the two of them, and while one was innocent enough, in the second, Dieter laid his head on her shoulder while laughing over something the interviewer has said. The rest of the interviews featured the entire cast, and in all of them, he was seated right next to Erica. He had his hand on her knee in one, laid his hand on her arm in another, and leaned against her in a third.

I closed the browser and put the phone down again. Less than a minute later, I picked it back up again, and pulled up the first video again, the one my co-worker had sent me. I copied the URL and sent a text to Dieter:

explain this?

I had no idea when he’d have a chance to answer. He was terrible about texting, and most likely wouldn’t get back to me until he had a chance to call. It was just after 5:00, which meant it was just after 8:00 in New York, and he’d been getting back to his hotel closer to 10:00 most nights. Or at least, that’s what he’d been telling me when he called me.

Calm down, I told myself. Wait until he has a chance to explain himself. It was hard, though. It had been over two weeks since I’d seen him in person, and things had ended on a slightly sour note, at least for me . I missed him, and he said he missed me, but …

I tried to watch a movie but couldn’t pay attention. I read the same paragraph a dozen times before giving up and putting my book down. In the end, I just sat and stared at my phone, willing it to ring but simultaneously dreading it.

Finally, just before 7:00, it rang. It was a FaceTime call and I took a deep breath before I accepted.

“Hey,” he said when the app opened. “What did that text mean?” He looked tired, but that day I had no sympathy for him.

“It meant what it said,” I told him.

He frowned. “It’s an interview,” he said.

“With Erica,” I said.

“Um, yeah, she’s in the movie, too,” he said. “So what?”

“Oh, please,” I shot back. “Just tell me, are you sleeping with her?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he said, “where is this coming from?” He really did look surprised, but I was tired and had been fretting over this for hours and I had the bit between my teeth.

“I’m not blind,” I said. “You’re all over her, and not just in that interview. And I’ve seen the film clips.”

“First of all, I am not ‘all over her’ …”

I cut him off. “I don’t think there’s one interview where you aren’t touching her,” I said.

“I touch everyone,” he protested. “You know that. Hell, I’m touching Rick in half those interviews. Do you think I’m sleeping with him, too?”

“You aren’t kissing Rick in the movie,” I said.

“Okay, back up,” he said. He was starting to get angry now. “We shot that movie before I ever even met you, so you can’t be jealous about that. And there were probably thirteen people in the room when we shot those scenes, so there was absolutely nothing erotic about it, trust me. Besides, you knew I was an actor, you’ve seen some of my previous work, this can’t come as a surprise to you. It’s my fucking job.”

“Yeah, okay, so you didn’t know me when you shot those scenes,” I shot back, “but you know me now and people are sending me these videos showing you flirting with another woman …”

“I am not flirting with her,” he shouted. “For fuck’s sake, she’s married. I’ve met her husband; in fact, he was here last weekend and he was sitting just off camera for half those interviews. They’ve got two kids.”

“Then why are you acting like that?”

“Because I’m bored as hell with these fucking interviews? Because she’s my friend? Because I miss you?”

I snorted. “Oh, yeah, right, you miss me.”

“I do,” he insisted. “Well, maybe not right at this moment …”

“Fuck you,” I said.

“Hey …”

“Just stop pretending, okay? We both know you can do way better than me, so why do you even bother?”

I hung up before I started crying. I had always known in the back of my mind that this wouldn’t last long. Our lives were too different, and I was nowhere near good enough for someone like him. Our last weekend together had proved that.

My phone rang but I ignored it. After it rang five more times, I turned it off. It wasn’t even 8:00 yet, but I went to bed and cried myself to sleep.

****************************

I avoided my co-workers the next morning, and the day dragged on and on. My eyes were still puffy from crying when I woke up, and no amount of makeup could completely disguise it. Finally, the day ended and I headed home, wanting nothing more than to take a huge dose of ibuprofen for my headache and eat a pint of ice cream, the traditional cure for a breakup.

I had known going in that things with Dieter wouldn’t last. How could it work? He was an A list actor (well, currently B list but working his way back up to the top tier) and I was a nobody. Our lives were too different. Still, there had been moments when I truly thought we could do it, that we could exist in a bubble where he was just Deet and I was Em and Dieter Fucking Bravo was a character he played sometimes.

When I got home, there was a strange car in front of my house, but I figured the neighbors had company and didn’t think anything of it, until I unlocked the door and stepped inside. There was a bouquet of roses in a vase on my coffee table and the kitchen light was on.

“Hello?” I called out tentatively, my phone in my hand, ready to call 9-1-1.

Dieter stepped out of the kitchen. “Hey,” he said softly.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. “I thought you were in New York.”

“I flew home,” he said.

“What about the press junket?” I knew those things were usually written into the contract when an actor signed on for a movie, and were nearly impossible to get out of.

“Told them I had a family emergency,” he said. “And I’m flying back on the red eye, so I’ll only miss one day of interview hell.”

I shook my head. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re here.” He had a key to my place; maybe he wanted to return it in person and get my key to his place.

“Well, you wouldn’t answer my phone calls, so I figured this was the only way to get you to talk,” he said. “And we definitely need to talk.” He took my hand and led me to the couch.

“I think we said everything last night,” I said, pulling my hand away from him.

“No, you said everything last night,” he said, grabbing my hand back. “You didn’t want to listen to me.”

“There’s not much to say,” I said. “It’s pretty clear it’s over.” My voice caught a little in my throat but I managed to keep myself from crying.

“Why do you say that?,” he asked sadly.

I sighed. “Because it’s true,” I said. “I saw the videos.”

“And I told you she’s married,” he said. “And we’re just friends. I hadn’t seen any of them since we wrapped. These press junkets are stressful and we’re all thrown together for hours and hours day after day.” He took my hand and started stroking my palm. “You know I’m pretty touchy-feely, especially with people I know. That’s just how I am. It doesn’t mean anything.” He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it softly.

“I wish I could believe you,” I said.

“Why not?”

“Because,” I said.

“Because why?”

I guessed I’d have to spell it out for him. “Because look at me! I’m not like Erica. I’m not a size two, I don’t have perky boobs, I don’t look like I stepped off the cover of Vogue.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” He frowned. “I don’t give a shit about any of that. I don’t want Erica, or some fake-ass model. I want you.”

“Yeah, right,” I said. “I can’t even give you a blow job.”

He grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me. “Listen to me,” he said. “Look at me.” He hooked a finger under my chin, lifting my face so I was looking him in the eye. “I. Love. You. You understand?”

I wanted to believe him. I really did. I said so.

He pressed his forehead against mine. “Sweetheart,” he whispered. “You can believe me. You have to believe me. I love you. I love you so much.”

”But …”

”No buts.” I knew he was being serious because he didn’t make a butt joke. “Sex is great. I enjoy it a lot. But I’d rather be celibate with you than have a fucking orgy with anyone else in the world. Got it?”

“What did I do to deserve you?” I whispered back.

“Hell if I know,” he replied. “I’m still trying to figure out what I did to deserve you.” He chuckled and slid his arms around me. “I missed you so much,” he said in my ear. “These press tours suck. I wish you could go with me, baby.”

“Stupid job,” I said.

“Yours or mine?,” he asked. I laughed.

“Both,” I replied.

“My flight doesn’t leave until 1:00 am,” he said. “What do you want to do until then?”

“Oh, you think you can say you love me and I’ll tumble into bed with you?” I teased.

“Pretty much,” he said, winking. “But you haven’t said it back yet, so maybe I don’t want to.”

I grabbed his chin and held his face still. “I. Love. You,” I said, punctuating each word with a kiss.

“Now was that so hard?,” he asked.

”That’s what she said,” I teased. He laughed so hard he started wheezing.

“That’s my smart ass girl,” he said once he could breathe again. “Anyone could suck me off, but only you can make me laugh like that.” He kissed me, hard. “Now, how about some dinner? I haven’t had anything to eat since last night. My stomach has been in knots since you hung up on me.”

”Would some In-n-Out be a sufficient apology?”

“You know I’d do anything for In-n-Out, baby.”

”So would I,” I admitted.

“But I won’t do that,” we both sang, off-key.

************************************************************************

The day after our reconciliation, I was dragging at work. A student commented that I looked tired, and I wouldn’t have said anything, except Eileen was standing right there.

“Yeah,” I said, “I didn’t get much sleep last night. My boyfriend’s been out of town on business and he flew back yesterday to surprise me. But he had to fly back to New York on a red-eye, so by the time he left for the airport and I got to bed, it was well after midnight.”

I turned to Eileen. “By the way, that reminds me,” I said casually. “I’ll be taking a couple days off the week after next.”

“Oh?,” she asked. Even though she wasn’t technically part of the library team, she was very interested in our comings and goings. I think she even kept a spreadsheet of how often the textbook clerk and I were out so she could complain about our doors being locked.

“Yeah, Dieter’s movie premieres that Thursday, so I’ll need that day off to get ready for the red carpet, and then there’s at least one after party that night, so we’ll probably spend Friday sleeping.” I smiled at her and then turned away to help another student. Take that, you gossipy bitch.

Before he’d gotten into his rental car to drive back to Ontario Airport, Dieter had asked me if I’d accompany him on the red carpet. It wasn’t something we’d planned on doing, but he said that he wanted to prove to me — and the rest of the world — that he was officially off the market. “Taken. No longer in circulation. Unavailable. End of story,” had been his exact words, each one accompanied by a kiss on the tip of my nose. How could I say no?

**********************************

Dieter had gotten back in town Sunday night. The cast had spent every day since doing interviews in L.A. and I hadn’t had a chance to see him, but after work on Wednesday, I drove to his house. He wasn’t home yet when I got there, but I let myself in and rummaged around in the kitchen to see if there was anything worth cooking for dinner. It looked like he hadn’t had time to go shopping since he’d gotten back, though.

I texted him to ask what time he thought he’d be home so I could arrange for food delivery. Surprisingly, he texted right back.

Maybe 7, not sure. If too late I’ll call you. Eat when u want, save me leftovers. Love u.

I opened up GrubHub and browsed through the restaurants that were available. I decided on Chinese food, since that was easily reheated or could even be eaten cold. I placed an order to be delivered at 7:30. If Dieter wasn’t home by then, I’d go ahead and eat if I was hungry.

I flopped on the couch and turned on the TV. He had cable and subscribed to almost every streaming service there was. I opened up Disney+ and started a binge of my favorite old school animated Disney movies. I’d made it to Robin Hood when I heard a key in the door.

“Hey,” Dieter said, his face lighting up. “What are we watching?”

I paused the TV and crossed the room to hug him. “Old Disney movies,” I said. “Dinner should be here in about twenty minutes. Golden Pagoda.”

He kissed me. “Good, I’m starved. Did you remember to get those cream cheese wontons? I love those things.”

“Yes, I did,” I replied. “And egg rolls, and that horribly spicy chicken you love.”

We settled on the couch and he unpaused the TV. “Oh, man, I remember this one,” he said.

“It was my favorite when I was little,” I said. “I had the hat and everything.”

“You aren’t one of those girls who had a crush on the fox, were you?”

I shrugged. “Guilty,” I admitted.

He shook his head. “What is it with that fox? Is it because he doesn’t wear pants?”

“Half the classic Disney animal characters don’t wear pants,” I pointed out. “Nobody’s crushing on Donald Duck or Winne the Pooh, though. I think it might be the accent. And the hat.”

“I’m gonna get me a hat,” he said.

It felt good to just be together, watching a movie, being silly, and waiting for our food to arrive.

“I’m glad you’re home,” I murmured in his ear.

“Me, too,” he said, pulling me a bit closer. He kissed my cheek. “And I’m glad we’re good.”

I laid my head on his shoulder. I’d done a lot of thinking since our fight and reconciliation. “I’m sorry. I was an idiot.”

“Nah, you were just being human,” he said. “Love makes people crazy sometimes. I’ll probably do some dumb shit at some point, and then we’ll be even.”

We snuggled and watched the movie until the doorbell rang. Dieter fetched the food while I got some plates out of the kitchen and we covered the coffee table with takeout containers. We ate until we were full and there was still a ton of food left.

“This’ll last us the whole weekend,” he said as we packed everything back up and shoved it into the fridge. “Which is good, because after the premiere, I just want to crash for a few days.” He yawned and stretched his back.

I glanced at the clock; it was only 8:35. “What time do you have to be up in the morning?,” I asked.

“We have an interview at ten, so I need to be out of here by nine, so … 8:45?”

“Let’s make it eight,” I said. “I’m not sending you out into the world without a shower and a decent breakfast.”

“But I don’t wanna get up that early,” he whined.

“I’ve got to get up early, too,” I said. “I have an appointment at the spa at ten for a mani/pedi, facial, and something called a seaweed wrap?” I checked the calendar on my phone. “Then home to change, makeup at one, hair at three, and we have to be there at what, five?”

He nodded. “Have you decided which dress to wear?”

I’d spent the previous weekend with a stylist who had overwhelmed me with designer dresses in a million colors and styles. We’d narrowed it down to three choices, which I’d taken photos of and sent to Dieter for his vote. Annoyingly, he’d said he liked them all and to pick the one I liked best.

“Yeah, the green one,” I said. I stepped into the bedroom and took the dress, in its garment bag, off the back of the door where I’d hung it when I got in. I unzipped the bag and pulled the dress out. It was a deep hunter green satin, sleeveless, with a fitted waist and a deep slit in the skirt. The back of the skirt trailed on the floor in a short train, and there were two drapes of material hanging from the shoulders. It was elegant and simple but the color and the satin made it look horribly expensive, which it was. I’d about fainted when I saw the price tag, but the stylist had assured me we were only renting the dress and anyway the designer was giving us a break on that just to get her name out there.

“I even got you a little something,” I said. The stylist had rummaged around in her closets and found a silk tie that almost exactly matched the color of the dress. I pulled it off the hanger and handed it to Dieter.

“I love it!,” he said. “It’ll go great with my brown suit.” He disappeared into the bedroom and I heard him digging around in the closet. He reappeared with a gorgeous chocolate brown suit that I hadn’t seen before.

“Where have you been hiding this?” I asked.

“In the closet, duh,” he replied. I smacked him and fingered the fine wool cloth. “I bought it in New York. Bespoke splurge. We are going to look so good tomorrow,” he said.

************************************

I had been poked and prodded and pampered until I wanted to scream. At first it had been fun, lounging in a chair while three different aestheticians worked on my hands, feet, and face, but then I’d had to go lie in a hot room with slimy layers of seaweed wrapped around my body to “reduce puffiness and draw out the toxins.” I was sweaty and gross by the time the spa attendant came back for me and shoved me into a freezing cold shower “to shock the system and kickstart the metabolism.”

I barely had time for lunch — a salad with no dressing and cucumber water; spa cuisine sucks — before heading back to Dieter’s place to get dressed. He’d arranged a driver so I didn’t have to worry about traffic, at least. I struggled into the Spanx and uncomfortable push up bra the stylist had made me buy, then gingerly put the dress on, afraid of tearing it. It had been altered to fit me and while that made it look much better, it meant there wasn’t much leeway. I’d just gotten into it when the doorbell rang and I shuffled to the door, holding up the long skirt that dragged on the floor when I was barefoot.

It was the makeup artist. She schlepped in several tackle boxes of supplies and a fancy lighted mirror. She set up a workstation in the kitchen, spreading her things out all over the island.

“Okay, sit down, relax, and let me do my magic,” she said with a grin. She swathed me in a sheet and clipped my hair back away from my face. The kitchen chair wasn’t the most comfortable seat in the house but every time I squirmed, she gave me a look and I did my best to sit still while she powdered and painted and blended and smudged and plucked away at my face. Every once in a while, she’d frown a little and get out the makeup remover and start over.

Finally, she nodded. “Voila,” she said, turning the mirror so I could see what she’d done.

Holy shit, I thought. That can’t be me. I looked like I’d stepped off the cover of a magazine.

She laughed. “Yeah, the magic of makeup,” she said. “You wouldn’t recognize half the women in Hollywood if you saw them without professional makeup. The photographers are going to eat you up.”

She was still packing up her things when the doorbell rang again. She motioned for me to stay seated while she answered it. The hair stylist bustled in, hauling her own array of equipment.

She moved me to the kitchen stool, which was taller than the chair, and draped me in a tie-dyed cape. She spritzed my hair with water, and started to blow it dry, working it with a round brush. She paused, worked in some mousse and went back to work with the hair dryer. Next came the curling iron, then the hair dryer again, then the curling iron yet again. She sprayed me with hairspray until I sneezed, then kept fussing and teasing and pinning and curling until I was ready to scream. Finally, she seemed satisfied and gave me a hand mirror.

My hair fell in soft, sexy ringlets around my face. The sides were swept up just a bit and held with glittery bobby pins. I had insisted we not do any color or add extensions, but it was amazing what she’d been able to do with my hair. My gray streaks looked like fancy highlights and my hair had a bounce to it instead of just hanging there like it usually did.

“You like it?”

“I love it,” I said.

She packed up and left, just as Dieter was coming home from his last round of interviews.

“Wow, you clean up good,” he said when he saw me.

“Shut up and get dressed,” I told him. “We have to leave in forty minutes.”

He laughed and disappeared into the bedroom. He’d had his hair done that morning before the interviews, but I’d probably have to fix it before we left, since he had a bad habit of running his hand through it and messing it up.

Twenty minutes later he reappeared in the brown suit, with a tan shirt and that vibrant green tie. He hated wearing a tie, and I knew that by the end of the evening it would be in his pocket and he’d have the top few buttons of his shirt undone, but for now he looked like a proper grownup.

I slipped on my shoes (beautiful strappy heels that were incredibly painful after five minutes) and found my purse. It was a tiny clutch that barely held my eyeglasses but I knew that if I didn’t take them with me I’d have a headache by the end of the movie. I could see without them, but I very rarely took them off. Walking the red carpet without them, and in brand new heels, was going to be an adventure.

“Ready?” Dieter offered me his arm and I took it.

“As I’ll ever be,” I said.

***************************************

“You look amazing,” he said softly when we were tucked into the back of the town car. The partition was closed, so the driver couldn’t see us as Dieter kissed my neck.

“Stop it,” I chided him. “You’ll mess up my makeup.”

“That’s why I’m kissing your neck,” he said, trailing little kisses down from my ear to my collarbone. “I’ll mess up your makeup later.”

“This isn’t fair,” I complained. “I can’t kiss you back because I’ll smear my lipstick.”

“Mmm,” he hummed, face buried in my throat. When he was done, he lifted his head and said, “Life’s not fair, get used to it.”

“I hate you,” I said with a laugh.

“No, you don’t,” he said. “You love me. You said it and you can’t take it back.”

“You’re in a good mood,” I said, fixing the stray strands of hair that were falling into his face.

“It’s almost over,” he explained. “These promo tours and premieres are a pain in the ass. We do the red carpet, watch the movie, go to the party for a while and then we’re done.” He threw his head back and laughed. “We can just relax for a while. I’m turning my phone off this weekend, it’s just you and me and all that Chinese food.”

I laid my head on his shoulder, careful not to disturb my hair too much. “That sounds wonderful,” I said. My feet already hurt and I was counting the minutes until I could get out of those damnable Spanx.

We arrived at the theatre. The studio had gone all out, booking the Chinese Theatre (formerly known as Grauman’s; we were both old enough to think of it as that) in Hollywood. Our car pulled up to the curb and a smartly dressed young man opened the door for us. I slid out as gracefully as I could and waited for Dieter to climb out after me. There were hundreds of people lining the walkway to the theatre, which was actually covered with a red carpet, albeit one that had seen some use. There were a few threadbare spots and stains scattered over it but it was still nice.

“Dieter!!” Fans were screaming his name as he emerged from the car.

“Show time,” he whispered to me before turning to the crowd with a brilliant smile and starting to wave at the fans. “Just follow my lead,” he said out the side of his mouth.

We walked slowly along the red carpet, as fans shouted and cheered. Some had signs, others waved autograph books or photos or Cliff Beast action figures at him, begging for a signature. I watched him as he graciously acknowledged everyone he could, signing things, asking how to spell names so he didn’t make a mistake. I just stood beside him, my hand tucked into the crook of his elbow, mostly ignored by the crowd.

When a young woman asked for a selfie, he obliged, even though it meant I had to let go of him. She giggled and kissed his cheek while they took the picture. He looked up at me and winked. I rolled my eyes and he laughed. “Get in here,” he said, pulling me into the next selfie, his arm tight around my shoulders. After that, he declined any more selfies, except for a young boy with a Cliff Beasts t-shirt and the hairless head of a cancer patient. We stopped and chatted with him, took several pictures, and I asked his mom for their address, which I typed into my phone while Dieter was moving down the line.

“I’ll make sure he gets something really cool,” I promised the boy’s mom, who had tears in her eyes. Then I hurried to catch up with Dieter; we were almost to the wall of cameras, as he’d called it.

There was a huge backdrop covered with the logo of the movie, the name of the studio and several sponsors. Opposite it was a horde of photographers, all jockeying for position to get the best shots of the arrivals. “Here we go,” Dieter said as we stepped into the line of fire.

Photographers were shouting his name, all trying to get him to look directly at their camera. Others were calling out directions. “Turn to the left! Look up!” An assistant gently guided us to the first of several marks on the carpet, predetermined places where the photographers could get good shots. I’d been practicing poses in the mirror, trying to keep my chin up so my neck looked longer, turning my body slightly so they would get a three-quarter angle, smiling until my cheeks ached.

“Look at me!,” one photographer shouted.

“Look at her!,” another demanded.

“Look at him!”

“Look at each other!”

I was confused and Dieter laughed. “Just do whatever the hell you want, they’ll figure it out,” he said. He ducked his head down and kissed me, very lightly so as not to mess up my lipstick too much, and I heard a barrage of shutter clicks. “That’ll make ‘em happy,” he said.

We finally made our way past the gantlet of photographers and into the lobby of the theatre, where everyone was gathering to wait for the doors to the auditorium to open. Dieter dragged me over to meet the director, and one of the producers. “Always talk to the big shots first,” he’d told me earlier. “You have to do a fair amount of sucking up in this business, even with people who don’t like suck ups.”

We exchanged pleasantries, Dieter’s arm comfortably around my waist. I knew I was just there for decoration. This was part of his job, and my job was to smile and nod and shake hands and make him look good.

Then we walked over to Erica and her husband. Erica was wearing a gorgeous beaded dress that skimmed over her curves and shimmered when she moved. Her husband was in a navy blue suit with a spotless white shirt and a navy tie.

“Hey!” Dieter said, hugging Erica and shaking hands with her husband. He introduced me and I shook hands with both of them. It was a bit awkward for a moment, but then Erica took over.

“It is so good to finally meet you,” she said to me. “He would literally not stop talking about you the entire press tour.” She tucked her arm through the crook of my elbow and leaned in. “I’m sorry about the interviews,” she whispered.

“It’s okay,” I told her. “I overreacted. I’m new to all this.”

“You’ll get used to it,” she said. “He really is crazy about you, you know. You have nothing to worry about.”

She let me go and Dieter and I moved on to chat with some of the other cast members. Finally the auditorium doors opened and we were ushered inside to our seats, then the rest of the audience was let in. Friends and family and others with sometimes extremely vague connections to the studio and the cast filled out the audience. Dieter and I both put on our glasses as the lights dimmed and he pulled my hand into his lap, playing with my fingers as the movie started.

I really couldn’t pay attention to the film, between my aching feet, the Spanx that made it difficult to take a deep breath, and Dieter doing things to my hand that made me look forward to the weekend.

After the movie ended, Dieter and the other cast members had to go up on the stage, while the director, producers, and several studio execs gave speeches. Finally, we were free to go, but only to drive a few blocks down the street to the party venue. As I predicted, once we were in the car, Dieter undid his tie and unbuttoned the top three buttons on his shirt.

“Not fair,” I said. “I don’t have anything to undo.” I squirmed as my Spanx started to ride up and give me a wedgie.

“We could skip the party and go home,” he said.

“You know we can’t,” I said. There would be more photographers at the party and more people to schmooze with.

He sighed. “Yeah, I know, but we don’t have to stay too long, I promise.”

The party was loud and without my glasses on, I quickly developed a headache, but I gallantly followed Dieter around and smiled at everyone while I sipped on a weak drink. I couldn’t blame them for watering down the drinks, because these people were hard drinkers. I watched one studio exec down seven drinks in the space of an hour.

Finally, Dieter whispered, “Ready to go?”

“I’ve been ready,” I whispered back. He smiled, and pulled out his phone to text our driver. We slipped out and dodged a few die-hard photographers before piling into the back seat of the town car for the ride home. The car had barely pulled away from the curb before Dieter was shrugging out of his suit coat and I had my shoes off.

“Oh, that helps,” I said, rubbing at the blisters and pressure spots on my feet. Dieter pulled my feet into his lap and started massaging them. It was sweet but also an excuse to slide my dress up so he could run his hand up my thigh. It didn’t take long before I was in his lap and half my lipstick was on his face and throat.

When the car pulled up in his driveway, we stumbled out and into the house.

“Get me out of these Spanx,” I said, throwing my shoes into a corner. I never wanted to wear them again. Dieter obliged, helping me carefully take off the dress. I wrestled myself out of the shape wear and unfastened my bra. They joined the shoes in the corner of shame.

We left a trail of discarded clothing from the front door to the bedroom until we finally collapsed onto the bed. “Can we just run around naked for a few days?,” I asked, as I stretched, exhilarating in the freedom to just breathe and move without the constriction of foundation garments.

“Sounds good to me,” Dieter said. He started to pull me close but I shook my head.

“I’ve got to get this makeup off before we go to bed or I’m going to ruin your pillowcases and my face will be a mess,” I said. I staggered into the bathroom and scrubbed at my face with cotton pads and makeup remover. By the time I got back to the bedroom, Dieter was asleep, sprawled on top of the comforter.

I pulled the pins out of my hair, laid them on the nightstand, and crawled into the bed. I tugged at the covers and shoved Dieter around until I had him under the covers as best I could. I didn’t want him to get cold during the night. It was still warm during the day but the nights were starting to get chilly this close to the ocean. Finally, I gave up when he was mostly covered up and let my own head drop onto the pillow. There would be plenty of time to fool around during the next three days. Right now, what we both needed most was sleep.

#dieter bravo #dieter bravo fic #dieter bravo fanfiction #dieter bravo x ofc #the bubble fanfiction #late night talking

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miss0atae · 4 months

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Random thoughts about Playboyy the series ep 8:

▪️Nont had a really hard time after watching the video of his brother. He was ready to give up everything until Prom suggested that it may not be true. However, it seems this investigation has really taken a toll on Nont's mental health. He seemed to be exhausted and felt like he didn't know his brother very well. In addition, the group of Nant's friends are not really his friend, Prom was Nant's lover first and he can't seem to find his place in between all of this. I felt a bit sad for him.

▪️I don't know what's the deal anymore between Captain and Keen. At first, it seemed like Captain was toying with Keen's affection (the parody of an advertisement about how sex gives you what you desire was a bit silly but funny anyway). I also find it disturbing how he still films them without telling him and also selling the clips online. I can't believe Keen is that foolish. He has more secrets and Captain better be safe because it could earn him a lot more problems (we all saw the mask 🧐...).

▪️First and Soong got a small scene together with role play and foot licking (not sure if it's the right way of describing it). They always had their own kinks. I prefer to concentrate on the fact that First recognized that he has feelings for Soong.

▪️Zouey and Teena are still in bliss. Nothing else to say about them. I'm glad they are happy. They can be lovey-dovey. I don't mind at all.

▪️Obviously I'm glad Phop is alive and well. I may find his relationship with Nuth not really healthy but they seem to be in a better place. I really liked their conversation about how it is hard to find love as a queer person when you're in your mi-thirties. I felt really touched by what Nuth said.

▪️Aob and Puen... What can I say?! Their story feels like it doesn't belong to this series. It was funny, at first, how they were rivals but also lovers, but now I couldn't care less about them.

▪️I was more sad for Porsche because Jump doesn't really care for him and has been annoyed by him for a long time. They may have done it last episode, but Jump prefers to find someone else. Porsche's sugar daddy is coming back and I want to know what change it will create in Jump and Porsche's relationship.

▪️By the way, I was taken aback by Prom's admission that he doesn't have a real brother. Porsche isn't his brother, as we know now, but what exactly is their relationship? I wish we had more backstory about how they really became "close" and what's their relationship with the sugar daddy. I feel like there are too many missing points.

Well, this episode wasn't my favorite. I hope next week, it will be more interesting for me.

#my thoughts #thai series #thai bl #bl drama #bl series #drama #random thoughts #playboyy the series #What about Porsche and Prom?#Keen is so suspicious now #Poor Nont always feeling like he is left in the dark #Prom did you really love Nant? I thought it wasn't true? What about Nont?#I still want Jump to have feelings for Porsche #What about that last part after the ending?!

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annonniiiiieeeee · 1 year

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hey, would it be ok/possible to give writing tips cus i recently started a fanfic and i want it to be as good as yours. Any suggestions?

I am super flatter. I’m I also have no clue what to say.

Guess some basics.

Keep your words varied.

Instead of “he said” “she said”

Try “he asked” “she responded”

It helps the writing run smoothly and also gives you more characterization as you can describe both the mood of conversation and the attitude of characters

Apply this overall. Not just for conversations but fight scenes and movement as well.

Merriam-webster site is great for this. Put it on thesaurus mode and it will give you a bunch of synonyms. They also help with characterization as well.

Words have power and the ones you pick are important. Some words carry different emotions with them. If you want to describe some one as caring you can used the words compassionate or the word benevolent. While both mean caring they symbolize a difference in character. (Again the thesaurus is super helpful for this.

Next conversation

Read back through your conversations. Not the actions or movement but just the quotations. See if the conversation actually flows.

Add movement to the conversation. What are the characters doing while they talk. Are the pacing are hug what is it.

Fight sequences.

These are hard to write. Know that going in. It’s okay to struggle here.

I use YouTube a lot here. There are experts there that break down fighting moves in video games, movies, shows ext. use it.

I watch one three second clip over and over until I write down the movements of the body, weapon, whatever it is.

Research.

This is really important. If you are using something that isn’t from your personal background research.

We have a vibrant community here and people love to share.

I have made plenty of mistakes. But people have been kind enough to point them out and help me fix them. I don’t know Spanish and I accidentally misspelled several words and many people reach out and helped me fix them.

Be open to positive feedback. There are a tone of creative minds here. I encourage people to theorize in my comments and then if I see a really good idea I will sometimes work it into the plot.

Set your characters

I knew my ending from the beginning. This allowed me to know where I wanted my characters to be at the end and create plot points that got them there.

Set some character traits and stick to them.

When in doubt go back to the original material. Donnie has a unique way of speaking he replaces common words with scientific all the time ie phalange sandwich instead of knuckle sandwich. Use that characterization to your advantage.

The video below is a great example of how to write a character and set their character traits. Yes it’s specifically about the scooby dip gang but you can take the criticism given and apply it to all modern media. It breaks down the characters to their core and describes what makes a good character of that archetype and how they fit together as a team. There’s also a good couple segment when he talks about Fred and Daphne. (This came out before Velma and it defiantly highlights how those writes fail without even trying)

youtube

Really great resource if you want to write a group together

Conflict

It’s okay to have simple conflicts or more then one. And it is okay to make a character grow. No character should be perfect.

Usagi had a mini arch. He is a protective person. When Leo was healing he was protecting him and saw him as someone who needed protection. He had a whole little fantasy about how they could live at the Tenshu with Leo’s family. I remember people being a little upset with him because he didn’t understand that Leo was a warrior to. But that was the point. He didn’t know. As soon as he did he could grow and change as well.

It’s okay to have little conflicts like that. But be carful how you handle miscommunication conflicts. If the problem can be solved by the characters sitting down and talking it probably shouldn’t be the main conflict. They are great for side conflicts but can be frustrating if it’s the main conflict of a long fic (short fics are fine)

Remember this is for fun. At the end of the day your here because you enjoy it. This is a creative outlet for people who enjoy creating. Don’t lose sight of that in the pursuit of perfection.

If I think of anything else I will add it here.

#asks #writing tips #writing #a world of samurais and ninjas

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the-good-old-reaper · 9 months

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I have never watch avatar the last airbender, just wasn't part of my childhood never ended up finding it.

Naturally I eventually learned about it as I become more of a presence online but still I have never watched it, people called it peak and all but still nothing in me said "we gotta watch this shit" until tonight.

I don't cry often hadn't for years in fact, just don't tend to have the reaction to cry or find anything perticularly heart wrenching but tonight after many years I cried.

What do these two things have to do with each other, I know everyone in the tags I'm gonna give this post have seen uncle iroh sing to his deceased son I'd heard it was sad but of course I'd never seen it or truly believed it was gonna be all that bad.

Everyone says stuff like that sometimes and usually it leads to much of the moments impact being lost so when I saw the scene appear on my tiktok feed as a clip I thought "probably won't be that bad".

It was, I cried I sat in my room for a solid few minutes listening to leaves from the vine, hearing that genuine heart breaking emotion given by Mako (RIP) and just started crying, I don't know what it is about that scene maybe its me resonating with it as I have experienced loss of close family like Iroh or perhaps it's the genuine sounds of sadness and tears from a man who knew his days were numbered and he would never again be able to play this character or be with those he loved, but that scene, with no context, no experience with the show, hell no connection to the character of Iroh whatsoever had me tearing up like I hadn't done in what feels like 5 years or so.

That right there tells me I gotta watch the show, there's something in there I have been missing and I just gotta get it now.

#avatar the last airbender #atla #uncle iroh #animation #sadnees

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bewarethecircles · 2 years

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I keep seeing people being confused by the inconsistency in Goncharov, and asking why different blogs seem to be contradicting each other, so here's my two cents.

When you look into the history of this movie, there have actually been quite a few different Goncharovs. Like, if you want to be nitpicky about it you can say that the version shown at the premier is the only "real" Goncharov, but that doesn't negate the fact that way more people saw the director's cut instead. And that's not even going into the 40-ish years where people pretty much pretended it had never existed (personally I think the reason it was so ignored was cause of all the queer subtext, but I digress). There aren't a lot of copies or records of the original cause of that, so when it started being rediscovered people kind of strung together whatever they could find. So if you watched it online, esp on a shady website, it's probably someone piecing the movie together through whatever clips they could find.

"Ice Pick Joe died in the church scene" "No Ice Pick Joe was killed by Valery" "No he died off-screen and we didn't even find out until the funeral"… Y'all, none of you are necessarily wrong. Like, the original film was intended to be confusing, for timelines to not always match up (like when Goncharov remembered a meeting with Andrey that hadn't happened), and at this point with all the deleted scenes and stuff floating around, of course we aren't going to agree on what happened. No one version of the film is more true than another. People need to do their research before they start complaining on Tumblr about innacuracy.

#goncharov #unreality #unreality tw #martin scorsese #this is literally the first post ive made so it will get no notes but thats fine i just needed to put this somewhere #ice pick joe #katya goncharov #andrey daddano #gonchposting

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myshipshipsitself · 1 year

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Initial thoughts on Between Us Ep 9 (Spoilers ahead)

Look, I’m trying to enjoy Bee and Prince. I really am. Bee is precious. And I’m always a sucker for the side ships. But I literally do not give a single fuck, and I’m sorry. I feel like I’ve failed my fellow side-ship-lovers. But I just cannot care. I thought their first kiss was awkward and weird, (LOOK, kissing someone is one of the few instances that does NOT fall under the “Ask forgiveness, not permission” category. If you feel the need to immediately apologize after kissing someone, you shouldn’t have kissed them! Take a page outta Win’s book, Bee.)

Waan and Tul are sweet and I love them, but Tul is a dumbass. Sir, you are a very bad liar. Like, it’s actually giving me secondhand embarrassment to watch. That said, I am curious to see how Waan finally finds out, and if those two work out. I do like them together a lot. I like how they built a friendship online before ever meeting, and I love Tul’s reaction the first time he met Waan in person, and I fucking ADORE how Win seems to be shipping it? Like I don’t think he even realizes what’s going on, but he’s just constantly like, putting them together and then just fucking off somewhere else. I love how that happens, and I want at least one more scene of that happening before the end of the series, please. Boy just saw how his friend, Tul acted the first time he met Waan, like a lovesick puppy who was trying and failing desperately to figure out how Flirting works, and Win was just like, ‘Uh. Ok, you’re hopeless, let me wingman for you.’

OK Now into the meat of the episode. My loves, my boys, my precious.

Team being nervous before the competition was so--I just wanted to hug him. I love that Dean was the one that noticed and told Win to go take care of his boy. I love that when they came out to the pool and gathered around Team after the competition, Dean was the one that reached out to Team first. He is President of the club, and also dating Team’s best friend. I want them to be friends. I want them to find that whatever weird sort-of-friendship level that comes with dating each other’s best friend, and caring about each other. And this felt like that, and it was nice.

Win seeing Team off before he left to go see his parents was so sweet! He was just so concerned, and caring, and wanted to spend every possible second he could with Team before he left, and that was sweet.

Team’s parents are nice, I think they’d be ok with Team coming out to them. Idk, I hope they would be. The questions about a girlfriend were very pointed, and definitely made it clear that Team is not out to them, which is sad. But also barely even questioning, and letting Team sleep with them was sweet. (I was lowkey expecting one of them to tease him about how he slept alone at school, and for Team to just get super uncomfortable and like, insert flashbacks of him cuddling up to Win. I think that would’ve been a great addition).

Wiew teasing Win is such a little brother move, but also he loves his future brother-in-law already and wants Team to be around, ok. Win, how could you deprive him of that?! But then how he immediately changes when he hears Team crying over the phone. Protect Mode.

Until we got the teaser clip with Team crying and telling Win that Ton died cause of him, I had been very worried the episode would end with Win driving his bike in the rain, and Team sobbing at the grave. I’m glad it didn’t end there. SO GLAD.

Can I even say enough how wonderful and supportive Win is? But Oh God the look in his eyes when Team said it would’ve been better if he’d been the one that died?! And how he just looks towards the grave like, ‘Who are you?’ It’s clear that Win has no idea what’s going on at that point, but that he is NOT OK with wherever this logic train is headed. He just must protect his love, and that is his only priority, and this is why we love him.

I am curious about the phone call with Team and his mom. The way he said, “He happens to be in town, so we met up.” Who did he tell his mom that he’s with? A senior from his club? A friend? Why would he not bring him home in that case? Why is it then important for Team to bring him home for breakfast to meet them the next morning? Did Team come out to his mom over the phone? But he’s still not certain what to call Win, or what their relationship is (I mean, come on, seriously? You can’t honestly think he’s not head over heels in love with you after all this, right?) so who did he tell his mom that he’s with?!

At first I wondered why Win didn’t take Team home to his parents’ house, but it makes sense, I think. Win probably would’ve asked him where his parents’ house is so he could take him home, but Team didn’t want to go home. That’s pretty clear when they’re at the grave and Win says he’s going to take him home. But at some point, Team decided he didn’t want to go home. He needed comfort. He needed to be held and loved by the guy he’s in love with, and not have to worry about his parents finding out. He doesn’t want to worry about being too obvious, or his parents making Win sleep in the guest room when Team really just needs to fall asleep in his arms, or worried about his parents trying to make conversation and asking too many questions that Team isn’t ready to answer.

In summary: If we don’t get that breakfast scene next week with Win, Team and Team’s parents, I’m gonna cry. I want it SO BAD. Please!!

#this episode hurt #between us #WinTeam #I lvoe them #But this hurt me #damn #Team needs lots of hugs and love #Win also needs love and hugs #I hope Win gets that soon #I want Team to comfort him sometimes #Love him cause he needs sit and deserves it #waantul #They are sweet and I want them to be happy #Not tagging the other side ship cause I wasn't nice to them #Sorry

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petersaysthings · 1 year

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Gays Against Groomers, their association with the Proud Boys, and the rise of fascism.

I’ll be making a more detailed blog post soon on the group Gays Against Groomers, their association with the Proud Boys and QAnon, and the dangerous surge of fascism that's now accepted and promoted as free speech in many online circles. For now, I wanted to give a little rundown.

I don't think I've ever been this disturbed by a group and its members gaining so much traction.

A large portion of their followers are either far-right or even alt-right themselves, or they're willing to turn a blind eye to the organization's harmful tactics, particularly if it removes a target from their own back. After all, no one wants to be called a 'groomer', because that association alone--regardless of any evidence--can and has destroyed lives. It's akin to when homosexuality was placed in the same bracket as pedophilia in the 1950's, weaponizing social fears.

Because the LGBTQ community struggled for decades to attain equal rights and standing to the rest of society, there's now a pervasive sense of fear among some that those rights will be taken away because of a misguided few. They reason it's better to call out the few and rub shoulders with the right to avoid that. But let's be clear--the right has never been the best allies with LGBTQ people to begin with, and the few were never much of a problem in this equation until the far right began amplifying the actions of a small minority, making them seem like a huge societal problem. Now, it would seem there’s little other choice but to fall in line and purge all instances of flamboyance.

So one has to wonder if that's what's fueling these attacks in the first place, because who started the rampant vilifying? They and their associated grifters (such as Blaire White, Arielle Scarcella and others) are lumping in potential actual groomers with people they merely suspect of being groomers, and often that’s enough to cause instances of stochastic terrorism and threats of domestic terrorism.

This is extremely concerning to me, especially considering GAG's (gotta love that acronym) association with the Proud Boys, a neo-fascist organization known for their political violence, particularly the Jan. 6th attacks on the Capitol. I recently stumbled across a Tweet from Gays Against Groomers in which they flat-out said:

(According to what I've seen of their posts, 'sexualization, indoctrination, and mutilation' can refer to anything from a 300-page book with one out-of-context graphic scene, to their unsubstantiated claims that hospitals 'offer hysterectomies to minors'. I even saw one in which they tried to frame that teaching kids consent would somehow be grooming...make of that what you will.)

Which begs the question, given their questionable associations, as to whether or not their Tweet is a veiled threat, lest you fall in line with their standards and steer clear of their arbitrary definitions of what qualifies as a ‘groomer’. Now I don't like comparing things to Nazism for a long list of reasons. It's lazy at best and trivializing the past at worst. But there's definitely something sinister in this about forcing compliance through fear that likens it to a burning of the Reichstag. There's also their branding (appropriating a logo design), their posting of doctored video clips in association with far-right media organizations (such as Project Veritas, Arsenal Media, X Strategies) with the goal of twisting narratives, their separatist language, encouraging members of the LGBTQ community to call out suspected 'grooming' to avoid targets on themselves.

It gives the impression if you don't keep your head down in compliance, you will be dealt with by their Proud Boy jackboot thugs.

And if you speak out on Gays Against Grooming in any way--if you present fact-based arguments on how gender-affirming care is important to the mental health of a small minority of people struggling with gender dysphoria, defend library books they want to ban, point out how they overlook important parts of legislation they protest that will negatively affect LGBTQ youth--you're automatically labeled a 'groomer of children' and harassed by their many followers, if not the organization itself.

Critical thinking and rationality is on the decline, propaganda and misinformation is on the rise (largely thanks to Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter), and between Gays Against Groomers and Libs of TikTok, it's only a matter of time before some unhinged person enacts real violence or makes threats of domestic terrorism. We saw it in PizzaGate with QAnon when someone shot up a pizza parlor. The association between when Tweets are posted, the measureable rise in hateful rhetoric, and the resulting action has a direct causal link.

And then what do they do? Plausible deniability.

It's also interesting to me how they can constantly call out people based on suspicion alone (Jeffrey Marsh is a huge favorite for this), but any suspicions leveled against them are unacceptable. The harassing actions of Gays Against Groomers and their followers are not beyond questioning or criticism, and to insist they are--whether they say so or their followers say it--is flat out authoritarianism and manipulation. The ‘with us or against us’ rhetoric that does not allow for critical thinking or pointing out of harmful practices is incredibly dangerous.

In summation, I want them taken down before they grow much larger, because they're fighting important legislation and vying for a political foothold. And as a far-right fascist organization, it's not something I want for wider society, and as a gay person, it's certainly not the kind of group I want having a voice for the LGBTQ community.

This goes beyond protecting kids, which of course is something we all want. And there are occasional valid instances and behavior harmful to kids we should be calling out, I will not deny that. But I'm not convinced, as with pro-life stances, that Gays Against Groomers is about protecting kids or ‘giving them a voice’ at all. On the contrary, it’s about removing the voices of LGBTQ youth and gaining political power through divide.

I'm not certain what their ultimate endgame is with all this, but I don't imagine it's going to bode well for the majority of LGBTQ people in a few years.

#lgbtq #lgbtq community #gays against groomers #fascism #twitter #groomer #groomers #grooming #libs of tiktok #proud boys #far right #alt right #politics #ok groomer #fascist #news #qanon #pizzagate

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mysmorgasbordoffantabulosa · 2 years

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Jk's video did have a flirty mood to it. Dont know what the anon means by, "he was just being sexy". Everything he did in the clip was intentional, he doesn't come online every other day and sigh loudly, lick lips, run his fingers through his hair while eye fucking the camera and whisper words. Being Taekookers doesn't mean we need to act blind to everything except Taekook.

And the comment that "he posted it for millions to see so it's not intimate", yeah okay. Same us were gushing when Tae posted the sparing video also for millions to see. Or when Taekook posted selcas for millions to see. We gush over all taekook concert moments, even though it's done for millions to see. Are we going to say it wasn't intimate too?

Whatever runs through Jk's mind only he knows. He could have simply posted a message like others and gone but no, he made a whole min video.

Let's admit, if Jk had to posted that for Tae's birthday, would we have still dismissed it the same way?

Though I ship Taekook, I keep an open mind and observe everything they do. My views are not biased.

Regarding flirting, personal I don't see it, JK came across like he was acting out a scene from a movie more than anything else. Yes, it was intentional, and I think that's way it definitely felt staged possibly rehearsed like it was out of a film.

Regarding the gushing over or videos, I think there was a slight difference, we gushed over the boxing video (or a least I did) because it was cute, and we finally got the "sparring" video from them after months of expectation. We didn't (or at least from what I saw online anyway), get loads of Taekookers basically calling it a fourplay video. In contrast that anon was claiming it was a thirst trap for Jimin by JK, which it clearly wasn't. That's why the comparison is wrong.

I do agree we can't truly know what's going on in the members minds, but body language and verbal cues can give us a direction and that's why I don't interpret the video they way some others do.

Regarding where we'd be the same if JK had posted a video for Tae, I think there is a small example of this and that's the tweet JK did for Tae's birthday, the one where he call Tae bro...

Yes we gushed about the tweet, but it was mostly about the play on words which was cute, but we didn't call it flirting or thirst-trap-like. It wasn't until Tae responded and made us all speculate that there was more to the photo (that was later confirmed by Tae), that we obsessed over it.

But I do agree we need to keep an open mind on Taekook (and the other members for that matter), because as I've said before we only see a small part of the their lives.

#my asks #taekook

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anotheruserwithnoname · 2 years

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Jenna Coleman on DVD/Blu-ray in North America (June 2022 edition)

Once in a while for the benefit of my fellow Jenna Coleman fans in North America, I’ll do a quick rundown of what TV shows or movies featuring our favourite actress are available in DVDs and Blu-rays - and what are not. In reverse chronological order (drama productions only). Spoiler break to respect timelines:

The Serpent (2021): Has been out on DVD in the UK for a while, but sadly it seems to be an example of a Netflix series that isn’t getting a physical release over here. Doesn’t bode well for her upcoming series, The Sandman though its predecessor American Gods was released to home media, so who knows. (The upcoming film Klokkenluider? Not even going to try and guess that one. The War Rooms hasn’t even started filming yet as far as we know.)

A Separate Peace (2020): This was an online play by Tom Stoppard Jenna did via Zoom mid-lockdown. A one-time shot, it’s unlikely to get any sort of re-release. I saw a copy of it kicking around Youtube for a while but no longer. A review with clips from it can be found here.

Inside No. 9 (2020): There’s been DVD release of Season 5 (including Jenna’s guest appearance) in the UK, but in North America the show isn’t well known so no release here as yet. When the recently announced American remake comes out, will it spark a Region 1 DVD or Blu-ray of the original?

Corporate Monster (2019): Filmed way back around 2010, but held for nearly a decade, it’s only been made available on Youtube. Sometimes short indie films turn up on DVD, though, especially if the director goes on to bigger and better things, so you never know.

All My Sons (2019): The live stream of Jenna’s West End debut play (see above, with thanks to gifmaker @oswincoleman) was delayed until early 2020 for North American fans and unexpectedly got a streaming rebroadcast during lockdown. But National Theatre Live doesn’t tend to do DVD or Blu-ray releases, so don’t hold your breath to see this in any formal release.

Victoria (2016-19): All 3 seasons are available on DVD in North America (I’ve seen box sets of the combined seasons), but there’s no Blu-ray of S3 over here as far as I know. All are also available in the UK. The PBS edits (which include extra scenes in most regular episodes) have never been released, but may still be viewable online in the US on PBS’s website (which can’t be accessed from Canada so I can’t check).

The Cry (2018): DVD release in NA and the UK. Not overly common, but available. No Blu-ray though.

Thunderbirds Are Go (2017): Jenna did a guest voice for the first episode of Series 2 of the CGI remake series. It’s on DVD in the UK, but so far it’s only available on streaming here.

Me Before You (2016): Widely available in DVD and Blu-ray here. Sadly, I tend to see it in Wal-Mart $5 special bins these days.

Doctor Who (2012-2015; 2017): Widely available on DVD and Blu-ray. Twice Upon a Time was released on its own if you want her cameo. If you want her extra scenes as Clara (things like the Doctor Who Ultimate Guide minisode and her cameo in The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, you may need to invest in the Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi box sets. Good luck finding her DW audio story “The Time Machine” on CD, but I think you can still order a download of it from places like Big Finish (her only other known audio book, The Secret Garden, is also a rarity on CD but I think Audible has it, along with a 2018 audio drama of A Christmas Carol in which she plays a role; it’s not on CD.

Death Comes to Pemberly (2013): Widely available on DVD and Blu-ray over here, though I think as with Victoria it’s the UK edit that we got in North America, not the PBS version which may or may note have extra scenes (I’ve never been able to verify).

Dancing on the Edge (2013): Again, widely available on DVD and Blu-ray here.

Room at the Top (2012): I won’t rehash the rights issues that delayed its broadcast for a year and make it unlikely to ever get a DVD or Blu-ray release anywhere, but you can stream it on both sides of the Atlantic.

Titanic (2012): Widely available on DVD and Blu-ray. Just don’t mistake it for that little home movie James Cameron made back in the 90s.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011): It’s a Marvel movie - you can likely get it in 4K too (possibly the only Jenna release in that format). Just remember - she’s in two scenes but you might need the 4K version to see her in the second one.

Waterloo Road (2009): Jenna was a cast member for Series 5, which is on DVD in the UK. North American fans are able to watch her season on officially sanctioned YouTube uploads (still available but with the series revival I’d search for “Series 5″ specifically to skip recent uploads). DVD release has begun in North America by Acorn, but looks like only Series 1 so far.

Emmerdale (2005-09): Not a chance. You can find clips on Youtube but Jenna appeared in more than 400 episodes of the soap and the only soap opera I know of to be released in entirety on DVD was Dark Shadows.

#jenna coleman #our queen

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denimbex1986 · 1 month

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'Whether or not you’re chronically online – and aren’t we all? – there’s a good chance you’ve come across one of two things: Fleabag’s Hot Priest (possibly clipped of him saying kneel) or Paul Mescal grinning at Daisy Edgar-Jones at the 2022 Met Gala (IYKYK).

Suffice it to say, both are our Roman Empires. And if you’re poised to agree then you’ve most certainly heard of the fact that Andrew Scott (AKA Hot Priest) and Paul Mescal are starring in a new steamy new romance together.

Titled All of Us Strangers, the film features both Andrew and Paul as the two love interests — which is enough to have us already hooked — as they find each other amid themes of grief, memory and even ghosts.

Earlier this year, the pair hit the media circuit to chat all things chemistry and starring together in this hotly anticipated film.

So, if you’re ready to watch your internet crush (or crushes) in this new film, then read on for everything you need to know about it, including where to watch in Australia.

Do Paul Mescal & Andrew Scott Have On-Screen Chemistry?

Sitting down with interview Evan Ross Katz, the two Irish actors shared how they achieved their onscreen chemistry.

“I find chemistry so fascinating,” Andrew Scott began.

“It definitely helps if you get on with someone initially because you skip all the precursory stuff. And you do feel really vulnerable because you’re sitting there with no clothes on, it’s 6:30 in the morning, there are lots of people…” he trails off. “Bangin’ around!” Mescal interjects, and the pair laugh (oh, sweet laughter).

To reiterate:

* Chemistry * Vulnerability * No clothes

Sign us up!

Scott added the “real work” in the film was in finding how their characters would “be with each other and touch each other and communicate”, but the two had no idea if their chemistry successfully came across until they saw the film themselves.

“On the surface, you might think sex scenes are obvious markers, but there were little moments in [the film] — stuff that I have no recollection of doing — like, how we looked at each other in those moments that are true markers of the work that we put into Harry and Adam’s chemistry,” Paul said. “It’s quite frightening watching the film from [our] perspective because I have no recollection of looking at [Andrew] like I wanted to rip the clothes off him!”

In the words of Andrew Scott: “There’s so much physical touch in it”.

Scott summarised the film as “tender and tactile”, noting that “there’s so much physical touch in it”.

“The smell and taste and feeling of it is very alive,” he shared.

Cue: mass hysteria from certain corners of the internet.

Where To Watch ‘All of Us Strangers’ In Australia

All of Us Strangers opened in Australian cinemas on January 18, 2024. But if you missed it, we have good news as it’s finally available on streaming.

The film is available to stream on Disney+ from April 24...'

#All of Us Strangers #Andrew Scott #Hot Priest #Fleabag #“Kneel”#Paul Mescal #Daisy Edgar-Jones #Disney+

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ziggyonlinepresence · 3 months

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5th March (week 1) - Conceptual… CONTINUED.

Idea 2, War Games (working title).

This is my most recent conceptual idea for a project and the one I'm most interested in perusing.

Concept/narrative:

When I was in primary school we used to love playing war games. Running around and shooting our friends with sticks posing as imaginary guns. But the principle of our school banned the games, she tried to help us understand the reality of what we found so entertaining. I'm not sure if it's true but, she told us about her brother who had been shot through the leg at war and was now unable to walk. But this story did little to sway us, we would just wait until the weekend to play the same games at a friends house.

We were just children after all, the realities of war are hard to grasp and explosions look so cool.

War is really in Vogue right now. It's seemingly unavoidable online. We're in an unprecedented time for war voyeurism, consensually or not you can witness war truely second hand through the lens of it's victims phone's. A stark difference to previous documentation.

So with gruesome war footage finding common place on main stream online media sources (previously these kinds of videos were hidden online, LiveLeak ect...) you would assume a glorification of this violence would be a difficult mental leap to make. I couldn't imagine playing the war games I used to as a child.

But, there are adults that do still play war games, or as they call them Mil Sims. So that's where the concept is, exploring this social niche of adults who take joy in simulating war, even now when the realities of it are so hard to miss.

I also think the idea of such realistic simulations of war (they wear very modern war kit, with very realistic guns) taking place in Aotearoa is quite interesting. Does our (geographical) distance from conflict play a roll in their comfort in playing war?

Intent/What would the work look like:

So this idea is purely conceptual at this point, I haven't made any work to support it.

I could see the work taking shape in a number of ways. I had the idea to contact a local mil sim group and ask to take pictures at some of their events. These pictures could be shot in two ways, the first being documentary style, the second a more surreal style. The latter would work best in my opinion.

The main issue I could see with this would be the mil sim group taking offence from my project. My intention would not be to make a mockery of these people so I would need to really get that across to them.

The other visual direction I could see for the work would be to use found imagery of war related stuff. Not necessarily war clips, but screen shots from youtube videos of war related content. ( I saw this video once posted by the Korean military of weapons test, but the video had been shot and edited in a very stylish way, it was easy to forget everything in the video was built to kill people.)

Well, that's the idea for now. Will write more about it in the future and see where it goes.

Found photo, Auckland based Milsim/Airsoft group.

These kind of scenes are so interesting to me. Seeing the Punga in the background, juxtaposed with these guys in military get up, it's so alien.

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ericmhe · 1 year

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Godzilla Series Rewatch: Godzilla vs SpaceGodzilla

Man am I glad this movie never got made. Ah, just a gag about “A Space Godzilla” that's all, but the franchise has had some fortuitous near misses.

This is definitely the simplest movie since 1985/Returns and that does let it dwell on scenes more than most of the rest of the Heisei movies but I'm not sure if it makes the best use of it. I do appreciate that it doesn't jump about much but the final battle is a bit long.

Lots of the effects in this movie have me wondering if Toho was slashing budgets or if they saved all the budget for the final battle. A lot of them aren't good even for the time, with the space battle between SpaceGodzilla and Moguera being a particularly ragged on example.

I probably shouldn't harp on the weird continuity snarl caused by Godzilla vs King Ghidorah, but one of the main characters wants revenge on Godzilla for killing his brother in Returns/1985, the events of which would normally have been removed from the timeline since Godzilla wasn't mutated into a giant monster yet. Also Biollante tissue supposedly making it to space.

Isn't it weird that Mothra sends a message three times in this movie and two times the mini-Mothra turns into the Cosmos to talk but the middle time it stays a mini-Mothra? Not a big deal, but odd.

Supposedly SpaceGodzilla is showing up to kill Godzilla and take over the earth and this is all well and good, certainly the plan in a lot of older Godzilla movies, but has Heisei Godzilla ever taken up a role of protector outside of the baby Godzilla? He remains antagonistic enough it doesn't seem crazy that the plan could just as easily be slip in while Mothra's away and MechaGodzilla is down and team up to destroy mankind.

Moguera is a decent robot if a little gimmicky with its early take on multi-vector assault mode, but it's weird to try and pitch it as an upgrade on MechaGodzilla especially when you've heard about the plan to have it be Godzilla and MechaGodzilla teaming up until they decided that would be either one-sided or SpaceGodzilla would have to be insanely powerful to be a threat. I've seen just enough shonen battle anime to be surprised that Japanese creatives can have restraint on that matter – I am exaggerating a bit, people are individuals and not cultural monoliths blah blah blah. The movie might have better novelty if it was a pile up of Godzillas though, the mainstay, the young one, the robot doppelganger and the mutated variant.

I could have sworn SpaceGodzilla abducted Little Godzilla and had him hostage for some reason, I forgot that he was just dumped in a hole and fate left ambiguous until the very end of the movie. I know some of the first battle between Godzilla and angrier bluer Godzilla was online as a clip I saw and downloaded back in the day (dial up modem days) well before I ever got to actually watch any of the Heisei movies.

How slow a flier is Moguera? On the way to rematch SpaceGodzilla it cuts between the mecha and Godzilla wading through cities, and it's apparently not closing the distance much faster than Godzilla is.

Miki showed some hesitation in helping G-Force do the brain attack but didn't fight them that hard when ordered to help paralyze him, but she's a lot more firm here. Guess that's character development, and generally I'm all for the 'other living things should be respected' angle but Heisei Godzilla is a steeper case to make than some other incarnations. Is it just me or is the subplot where she gets kidnapped and gets to develop telekinesis feel like padding on the run time for the most part?

I may not be the biggest fan of SpaceGodzilla but I am entertained by just how much he runs on video game mechanics. Destroy the crystals to lower his power, take down the tower to start doing damage, and then blow up the giant crystal weak points before taking out the rest of his HP. Also, the fact Godzilla works almost all of this out before the human protagonists is an interesting detail.

It might not sound like it, but I don't actually dislike the movie or anything, the Heisei movies are generally in the 'fine' category but I kind of like King Ghidorah best because of how nutty it is.

#Godzilla #Spacegodzilla #Godzilla vs spacegodzilla

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creatiview · 1 year

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[ad_1] I don’t remember the first time I saw one of Jeff Jackson’s TikTok videos, but I definitely remember the one that turned me into a follower. The new Republican majority in the House of Representatives was in chaos. I was on the West Coast with my non-politically obsessed family and a friend, watching Republicans fail to elect Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House 14 times over the course of four days. We weren’t just watching a historic fail unfold (the kind of embarrassment Congress hadn’t seen in a century). We were also seeing a confounding stalemate preventing the country from having a fully functioning government. Part of my job as a political reporter during this tumultuous week was to understand why this was happening and explain it to the world (my Vox colleagues on Capitol Hill took the lead on this). But Jeff Jackson, a Democrat and incoming first-term representative from North Carolina, was a step ahead of me. “I told you that the next time you heard from me I would be an official member of Congress, and then something very strange happened, and I’m still not,” he said in a TikTok posted to his 300,000 followers on the penultimate day of the GOP’s speaker fight. Wearing a burgundy tie loosely around his neck, Jackson looked directly into my eyes and told me about the Freedom Caucus, the group of hardline conservatives who held up McCarthy’s speaker bid. “Right now, there is no Plan B. Either these 20 folks cave, which they’ve sworn they won’t do, or the 200 other members of the majority party put up someone else as speaker, which they’ve sworn they won’t do. And nothing happens until this happens, including swearing us in.” The whole scene felt very intimate, impressive, and quite informative. The 3 million people who watched this particular video must have felt some of this. And Jackson mentioned his other TikToks. Would they be any different from those of the scores of amateurish news recappers, college students, and aspiring Joe Rogans on political TikTok? I, along with 2 million other people, had already watched that 87-second clip (in it, Jackson describes the “weird process” by which new members of Congress pick offices through a raffle pulled from a “mahogany box that is a century old”). And as I clicked onto his page and kept scrolling, I realized something. Jackson was accomplishing something very different from most politicians: He was not just using TikTok to chronicle his journey from candidate to officeholder; he was actually connecting with people. Given the toxic nature of political discourse online, it’s the kind of engagement the average politician can only dream of having. “I’m big on reaching people directly,” Jackson told me during a recent interview. “We’re already saturated with people who want to give us the daily talking points or the daily outrage. I don’t need to add to that.” Now that he’s officially in Congress, Jackson is a rarity: an elected official posting directly on a Chinese-owned social media app that’s facing the prospect of a national ban and growing security concerns, and that has already been banished from official devices in Congress. TikTok has quickly become a convenient bipartisan punching bag for politicians who call it “China’s backdoor into Americans’ lives.” It wasn’t always this way. Just a few years ago, TikTok was hailed as a potentially huge disruptor in politics, advocacy, and communications, but now Jackson is one of a small group of politicians using TikTok in an official or campaign capacity, and, in another rarity, has mastered the art of the political TikTok. It’s happening at a strange moment for American politics and for TikTok. The short video app has never faced as much scrutiny as it has endured during the last year — for its collection, storage, and usage of user data, alleged spying on journalists, and Chinese ownership. The app’s future operation in the US remains in jeopardy, and though a straight ban seems unlikely, a bipartisan consensus

is forming in Washington and state capitals that the app poses a national security threat and requires major reform. Its CEO will testify before a House committee in March. It’s no surprise, then, that the landscape of political TikTok is fraught. In reporting this story, I reached out to political strategists and about a dozen national elected officials, their campaigns, and their staff. Many, like the White House and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, didn’t reply, while even some of the most well-known Democratic figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders didn’t want to talk about the app. Wariness of the platform can mean missing out on a powerful tool. “Especially for Democrats, understand that the bad actors who push misinformation and inflate conspiracy theories are overrunning social media with their content,” Kurt Bardella, a Democratic strategist and former Republican congressional adviser, told me. “If we aren’t on those channels flooding the zone with an alternative, we are essentially surrendering that playing field to the bad guys.” A spokesperson for California Senate candidate Katie Porter, who has almost 500,000 followers between her two official accounts, was positive about the app’s purpose: “Congresswoman Porter has used TikTok to reach thousands of people who may not be on other platforms. She’s called out Big Oil for fueling climate change, exposed Wall Street for hiking prices to earn record-high profits, and showed Californians how to vote by mail.” Still, for some politicians, the nebulous specter of a national security risk isn’t enough of a reason to stay off the platform or shun the communities that use the app. Well over 130 million Americans use the platform every month, including about two-thirds of young people, who tend to use it multiple times per day. That has created a potentially huge audience for those elected officials who invest time and energy into building a presence. The preferred social media app of an entire generation has been mostly unexplored by elected officials — even as some of them try to shut it down. The birth of political TikTok and the simultaneous risks it posed Like any social media platform, TikTok always had the potential to become a gold mine for communicators and politicians who learned how to fit into its culture and use it. Even before the platform took off in 2020 as pandemic shutdowns closed schools and businesses and brought society to a standstill, the app offered virality and social media fame to whoever accepted the lightheartedness and silliness at its core. Since its launch in 2018, comms and PR professionals lauded the app as a “sleeping social media giant,” while some younger journalists and media professionals who had a hunch just how influential the platform would become urged politicians and legacy news organizations to use the app. “I feel it’s my duty to act as a liaison between [Gen Z] and the generations who came before us. So here goes: Old politicians, you need to get on TikTok,” one opinion writer wrote for USA Today in November 2019. It was around that time that the Washington Post’s TikTok account became what my colleague Rebecca Jennings called an “unofficial 2020 campaign stop” for Democratic presidential candidates, who until then had resisted using the platform. “Like all social media apps, TikTok has its own vernacular, and any transgressions of that shared language and sensibility stick out like, well, septuagenarian politicians on a social media app meant for teens. The fear of coming off as insincere or being flooded with ‘ok boomer’ comments is a real one,” she wrote at the time. And for those who did try, the early days were rough. Only one candidate, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro, had an official account on TikTok in the early days of the Democratic primary in 2020. At its peak, the account only had about 500 followers, and it rarely featured the candidate himself. Other candidates, like Minnesota Sen.

Amy Klobuchar, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, and Andrew Yang, simply opted for the Washington Post route: using a middleman to bring themselves to the app. That was also safer politically, avoiding the charge of inauthenticity (Gen Z can sniff out a poser better than a hog finding truffles), or “cringe” (essentially, trying too hard). But concerns over misinformation and disinformation came hand in hand with the rise of the platform. As early as 2019, researchers and journalists were warning about the potential for the platform to facilitate the spread of disinformation or election interference, and for moderators to censor content, as TikTok was alleged to be doing for videos related to pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. TikTok’s design is often cited as part of the problem: Viral audio can spread easily without necessarily being tied to the original creator, and the algorithmically driven For You feed that functions as a homepage for a user isn’t transparent. The result is an endless stream of videos that feeds off your interests and curiosities without necessarily telling you how it knows what you want, and eventually traps you in an “algorithmic content hell.” (TikTok also recently confirmed that its moderators can artificially boost videos to make sure they show up in your feed — an open secret that many creators have long suspected and a tactic that other platforms have been alleged to use, like Facebook’s inflated video view counts.) Then came the pandemic, and with it, the golden age of TikTok. That first pandemic summer, the app had been downloaded 2 billion times around the world and had about 50 million daily active users in the US, who overwhelmingly tended to be members of Gen Z. That number has grown steadily since, to the estimated 80 million monthly active users of today. It was around this time that Christina Haswood, who lives in Lawrence, Kansas, decided she would start using her TikTok account to jump-start her local state House race. The 28-year-old Navajo public health researcher was finishing up a master’s degree at the nearby University of Kansas Medical Center and was the frontrunner in the Democratic primary, and she felt pressure to reach more voters, fund her campaign, and make her Native heritage better known. “It was first kind of a joke. The best thing to pass time with and relieve stress was TikTok,” Haswood told me recently. Then she and her campaign manager began to wonder if they could use the app to educate voters about her election. Her first videos pulled in a few thousand views and were primarily informational, like checking your voter registration, requesting a ballot, and preventing the spread of Covid-19. But when she joined a Taylor Swift challenge (how do I explain this? TikTokers would strut toward or dance at a phone camera that they pushed away in time with the beat) and she peppered in short lines of text introducing herself, her personal beliefs, and her policy positions, virality took off. That video got over 600,000 views and sprouted a loyal following of young people who were intrigued by a progressive, queer, and Indigenous young woman promising to fight for Medicaid expansion and a cut to the food sales tax. She kept building a following in 2020 (and she won the race in her solidly Democratic district). She transitioned the account from what was mostly a campaign tool to what now is more of a behind-the-scenes journal of a young millennial who happens to be a state legislator and progressive advocate with 150,000 followers. “I feel like trying to explain issues through trends and humor can be a lot more digestible than reading an article or legislative summaries or minutes or watching YouTube livestreams,” Haswood told me. Since the 2020 TikTok boom, a small group of (almost entirely Democratic) federal, state, and local politicians and candidates have found similar success on the platform — even if they haven’t won their elections.

Matt Little, a former Democratic-Farmer-Labor state senator in Minnesota, and socialist Washington congressional candidate Joshua Collins, for example, built large followings of about 100,000 on the app as well, but both lost their races in 2020. Statewide hopefuls like former Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, whose gangly figure and deep voice contrasted with the memes and trends he used to make fun of his Republican opponent J.D. Vance, and social media darling former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke built big followings through official campaign accounts during the 2022 midterms, though both lost. Two notable exceptions? Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, who was lauded for using the app to build a cushion of national and state support in Massachusetts to beat back a primary challenge from former Rep. Joe Kennedy III in 2020. Though Sanders still uses the app to post videos shared to other social platforms, Markey’s account has stopped posting since the midterm elections concluded. TikTok’s algorithm, data collection practices, and Chinese ownership have long plagued it TikTok didn’t seem ready to handle the influx of political content that would come with the 2020 presidential election, or with a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. After the 2020 election and in response to concerns about election interference and political influence, TikTok banned political advertising before the 2022 midterms and limited political accounts’ ability to fundraise through the app. But while many of these problems have plagued social media giants before, those companies and platforms aren’t owned by a Chinese company. Establishment politicians have long viewed the app with caution because of this, and for the past three years, TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has been in negotiations with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a group of government agencies that reviews foreign corporate transactions for national security risks, for the best way for the company to operate in the US. Recent reporting of misuse of American personal data by the company hasn’t helped TikTok’s case for proving its independence from the Chinese government, or its trustworthiness in light of alleged spying on American journalists. But most federal lawmakers default to saying they are awaiting the Committee’s final recommendation. That hasn’t stopped more ham-fisted attempts to try to shut down the app. In 2020, Donald Trump tried to ban TikTok by executive order, sending shockwaves through TikTok communities worried about losing access to the platform. That ban never went into effect, and targeted, mostly symbolic bans have since popped up in individual states, the halls of Congress, and the executive branch. A growing anti-China consensus has also developed into a general aversion by politicians in both political parties to defending the app, and as my colleague Sara Morrison has written, it seems like a matter of time before some major change happens to TikTok. Markey from Massachusetts, for example, has been a more measured voice among Senate Democrats concerned with TikTok’s access to personal data and its effect on young Americans. When I asked his office about his thoughts on the platform’s future in the US, a spokesperson responded with an acknowledgment of the trade-offs the app poses: “They are the best of technologies, and they are the worst of technologies. They can enable and ennoble, or they can degrade and debase. But he still believes in their ability to enable and ennoble — for example bringing young people together online around the Green New Deal climate justice movement.” Markey also supports more stringent legislation to protect children’s and teens’ user data, like his Children and Teens’ Online Privacy and Protection Act to implement a computer code of conduct, ban targeted ads to children, raise the age of consent for collecting user data to under 17, and empower the Federal Trade Commission to monitor privacy concerns for youth.

That’s a very different position from that of most Republican members of Congress, who support either a complete ban on the app operating in the US or a sale of the app to an American company. The trade-offs might be worth it Jackson, the first-term North Carolina representative, fully accepts the validity of the national security concerns that his colleagues in the House and Senate have raised. “The security concerns are real. I’ve read what FBI Director [Christopher] Wray thinks about it, and I take his assessment seriously. I agree with not allowing TikTok on government phones,” Jackson told me, referencing Congress’s rules on installing or having the app on any government-issued device or public internet network. Apart from his personal and government-issued phones, he uses a third phone as a TikTok burner, with TikTok the only app installed on it. While he shoots and edits his own videos using Adobe Premiere, he doesn’t use the app at work. And he thinks the reasons to remain on the app — like building trust — outweigh the reasons to leave. Declining trust in institutions is one of the major paradoxes of modern American politics. Few established news organizations, branches of government, federal agencies, and politicians inspire the same confidence or carry the same authority as they once did. Looking at surveys, the problem of trust gets worse as you ask younger generations. Jackson thinks that part of the problem has been an unwillingness by elected leaders and candidates to meet people where they are. That doesn’t mean he’s posting through every controversy of the day. As a candidate, his videos tended to be more like daily journal entries, highlighting interactions with voters at community events. Some of his posts even feel delightfully mundane: what it’s like to be a new member of Congress looking for an office, or a committee assignment, or, most recently, how his personal finances work. Jackson told me that the biggest subject his constituents and his TikTok audience tend to ask about is political corruption and stock trading by members of Congress. Allegations that prominent federal officials potentially used privileged information to make financial decisions during the early days of the pandemic renewed calls in the past year to ban members of Congress from trading stocks. After seeing this demand in his comments, Jackson felt an obligation to film a TikTok walking his audience through his family’s finances. That video showed me a lot of the still-untapped potential of political TikTok even as its future remains in doubt. Here we have a rather standard-issue member of Congress dryly listing out facts of his financial life — “I have a 2017 Ford Fusion, which I bought used,” Jackson says to the camera — not a revolutionary line of political communication or anything resembling social media fodder. But the video still went viral. It’s been watched over 1 million times in just under two weeks. Yes, I'll give $120/year Yes, I'll give $120/year We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via [ad_2] Source link

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