#i just think ed prefers oppenheimer

[meep-meep-richie]

1 ticket for 2 tickets for

Oppenheimer Barbie

please 💣 please 💖

[caesariawritesstuff]

I think the detective and Ed should have a movie night and she should force him to watch Barbie (followed up by Oppenheimer to make him feel better)

Movie Night

Summary: You finally talk Edward into having a movie night.

Word Count: 1.4k

Content Warning: Tooth-rotting fluff?

A/N: Fic is not canon to the official Cat&Mouse!Verse, but I think the idea of them having a normal movie night routine is cute.

You’d begged. You’d pleaded. You’d even bartered. But getting Edward Nigma to agree to a movie night with you had felt like pulling teeth. He certainly was not the kind of man to sit and watch a movie, and he’d made that quite clear, no matter how many times you asked. He claimed movies were “dull” and “intellectually stifling” and “full of shiny distractions to dull the mind”. Frankly, you couldn’t care less about how mind numbing a movie would be, because that was sort of the point? To lose yourself into the storytelling and effects and brilliant acting? Why Edward didn’t see that, you weren’t sure, but you’d almost given up asking, deciding instead that you would invite Dawn over for a movie night instead, when Edward strolled over to your desk, arms crossed, a grumpy look on his face.

You’d gazed up at him, brows raised. “Can I help you, Mr. Nigma?” you asked.

A muscle feathered in his jaw, and he shifted back and forth on his feet. You recognized the uncomfortable look in his eyes, like he was going to say something he didn’t want to. Clearing his throat, he straightened his shoulders back and said, “I’ve given your request for a “movie night” a fair amount of thought, and after careful consideration, I’ve decided to agree to your silly little request. We shall have what the simpletons call a “movie night”, and we shall do it tonight.”

You almost squealed in delight, but it took all of your restraint to keep your face a calm, cooled mask. To appear as though him giving in wasn’t causing your heart to swell and almost burst out of your chest. Instead, you laced your fingers together and rested your chin atop your hand, staring up at him with forced indifference.

“Can we have popcorn?” you asked.

“Yes, yes,” he said with a wave of his hand.

“Candy?”

“Yes, that too,” Edward said, but you saw another muscle feather in his jaw.

“All right then,” you said. “I’ll see you at my place. Tonight at seven?”

He smirked, that arrogant smile spreading across his face. “I’ll be there. Don’t disappoint me with your movie choice now, detective,” he said, before turning on his heels and heading back to his office, shutting the door behind him.

You couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face the rest of the day. After your shift, you quickly hurried to the drugstore and picked up some popcorn and candy – probably way too much, but you didn’t know what Edward preferred – but anything was cheaper than going to the actual movie theatre, anyways. When you had all the goods in hand, you returned home, quickly setting everything up in your living room, creating a nice spread of candy and chocolate for you and him to snack on. Heart thundering against your ribcage, you took a long look at your movie-night feast and checked the time. It was just approaching seven o’clock, and knowing Edward, he would be here right on time. Next, you pulled up your local streaming service and picked out the movie – a movie which you’d been dying to see for months now, but hadn’t had a chance to watch yet. A pink and blue glow filled your apartment as you rented the movie, and it immediately began to play. You paused it, turning back to the door, waiting for Edward’s arrival. And just as you thought – there was a knock on the door right at seven.

Smiling, and heart pounding furiously, you hurried to the door and opened it, to find Edward standing there with his hands in his pockets. An arrogant smile spread across his face as you opened the door further and let him inside.

“Well,” he said with a heavy sigh, his gaze sliding to the living room. “I see you’ve made yourself quite busy, detective.”

“Do you have a problem with that, Mr. Nigma?” you asked, raising a brow.

“Not at all,” he replied. “I’m curious to see which intellectually stifling movie you’ve chosen to torture me with.”

A sound of amusement left your lips, and you smacked at his shoulders playfully. “Stop that. I don’t want to hear you complain during this movie, okay? No comments, no shitting on it. Just enjoy the movie and have a good time.”

He shot you a look like he had no idea what you were even asking him to do. When was the last time Edward had sat back and done something fun like enjoying a movie? The question hung on your tongue, but you decided not to ask. The look he gave you was answer enough.

“And since you’re asking,” you continued. “We’re watching Barbie.”

“Barbie.” He repeated it, but it wasn’t a question, it was a clear statement, as if he couldn’t register what you were saying. His brows furrowed and a look of confusion crossed his face. “You…want me to watch a movie about dolls?”

“Yes, and you’re going enjoy it,” you said. “Now come sit down.”

A heavy sigh escaped his lips, but you ignored him and settled onto the couch, tucking your knees up. He sat down beside you, inches away, but you could tell by the look on his expression that he was trying very hard not to let out some little arrogant quip, which must be taking all of his self-control. Smirking, you gestured for him to help himself to the array of snacks, and turned on the movie – which soon filled your apartment with bright colors, party music, and a story which brought tears to your eyes at the very end. You found yourself completely drawn into the story and what it represented for women everywhere, unable to peel your eyes away. Edward said nothing the entire time, though he did reach for a few pieces of chocolate, the only movement that made you know he was still even awake.

And as the credits began to roll, you went back to the main menu and turned to gauge his reaction, wondering if he was going to smother you for making him watch something so…well, you liked it. But you certainly didn’t think he would. Though, you couldn’t help but feeling a small sense of satisfaction at knowing you’d managed to make him give in.

“What’d you think?” you asked.

His gaze slid to you, and you could tell by the look in his eyes that he wanted to say something arrogant and asshole-ish, but he must’ve been keeping it to himself because instead he said, “Well…it’s not the movie I would have chosen. It certainly was an…interesting choice.”

“You don’t have to love it,” you said. “I’m just happy you watched it with me.”

That seemed to make his eyes sparkle for a moment. “I only aim to please, detective.”

You smiled, trying to ignore the thunderous beating of your heart. Well, you’d have to give him some credit for putting up with your movie requests. And that’s why you’d decided to appease him in another way.

“Now that we’ve watched what I wanted to watch,” you said. “We can watch what you want to watch. I caught you looking at the Oppenheimer trailer.”

A look of surprise passed along his face. “I’m certain my movie choice will be much more educational than yours.”

You barked out a laugh. “But didn’t you love learning about the history of Barbie?”

He shot you a look, but the edges of his lips turned upward. “For you, detective? I suppose I shall submit myself to whatever intellectually stifling entertainment that manages to get the wheels in your brain moving.”

“Edward!” you cried, laughing. As annoying and insulting as he could be, it only served to stir to life the desires and excitement in your heart.

He laughed lightly, but you reached for the remote and quickly rented Oppenheimer next, a movie which you had no interest in watching, but for him…you would do it for him. Just like he’d done for you. Smiling, you scooted a little closer to him and rested your head against his shoulder. You felt him stiffen beside you, as if uncertain about your movement, but after a moment, his hand wrapped around your waist, settling there, his fingers tracing circles against your skin. And as the movie began to play, you couldn’t help but hope movie night would become a regular thing.

[theconservativebrief]

2018 has seen a record number of women run for elected office, the majority of them Democrats. But two Republican women in Tennessee — Reps. Marsha Blackburn and Diane Black — are poised to become nominees for statewide office if they advance in this Thursday’s primary. If either of them win the general election this fall, it would be a historic step for the state, which has yet to send a woman to the Senate or the governor’s mansion.

But neither Blackburn nor Black seems particularly interested in focusing on gender.

”I don’t put my focus on being the first. I think it’s important to put the focus on why people should elect me, and on the record of accomplishment and the background that I bring to be of service,” Blackburn, who is running for Senate, said in an interview with RealClearPolitics. Black, too, has hewed to a similar message.

“I was the first female caucus chairman here in the state Senate. I’m the first female to have served as a budget chair for our country. But that’s not when I’m running as. I’m running on my credentials,” Black, who is running for Tennessee governor, told NPR.

Both lawmakers have emphasized gender neutrality so much that they like to be referred to as “congressman” and “chairman” — not “congresswoman.” This broader approach might be a personal preference. But political experts also note that it’s a conscientious calculus aimed at steering clear of even the vaguest whiff of “identity politics.”

“A lot of Republicans are very turned off by identity politics and female candidates on the Republican side are pretty disciplined and avoid something that might be perceived as identity politics,” said Kent Syler, a political science professor at Middle Tennessee State University.

Both women have given a nod to gender in their campaign ads with Blackburn mentioning it in her announcement and Black describing her groundbreaking leadership of the House Budget Committee in hers as well. But overall, it appears like they’d really rather not put the emphasis on this part of their candidacy.

A Blackburn spokesperson disagreed with this characterization — pointing to both the announcement and her work on sexual harassment as two areas where the lawmaker has put the spotlight on gender. A Black campaign spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“I think that Democratic candidates get hung up on identity politics like, ‘I’m this, I’m that.; Obviously, Marsha is a woman,” said Candice Dawkins, the communications director for the Tennessee Republican Party, of Blackburn’s candidacy. “She’s not going to the Senate to be a woman, she’s going to represent Tennessee.”

For Blackburn and Black, this strategy is likely aimed at appealing to as many Republican voters as possible. “A lot of the Republican Party thinks Democrats talk too much about people of color, women voters,” Syler said. “When the Democratic Party is talking about solving problems of those groups, they aren’t trying to solve problems to white voters is the perception. There’s a limited pie mentality.”

Nationwide, nearly half of the Democratic nominees in states that have held primaries have been women (excluding incumbents), according to an editor for Cook Political Report.

Republican women, meanwhile, make up just 17 percent of nominees in primaries that have already occurred this cycle. And even as Democratic women are expected to see a major spike in House membership this fall, Republican women may actually see a dip in their ranks due to the number of candidates who are leaving to pursue higher office or retire.

Tennessee is an exception. Blackburn and Black are both seen as leading contenders for their statewide races. (Blackburn is by far favored to win the Republican primary for Senate, while Black faces a much closer race with former state economic development chief Randy Boyd, entrepreneur Bill Lee, and state House Speaker Beth Harwell.) Both women have ascended the ranks of Tennessee politics. Because Republicans dominate the state government, the women who have gotten ahead in politics have tended to be Republican, Syler noted.

“I think it’s situational, I don’t think it’s anything systematic,” Vanderbilt University public policy professor Bruce Oppenheimer said of Black and Blackburn’s rise. “They were both very visible members of the state legislature, and hard-line conservatives on a range of issues.”

Blackburn has been active in local politics since the 1970s, and was the first woman to become chair of the Williamson County GOP in 1989. She was elected to the state Senate in 1998 and became the first woman in the state elected to a House seat without taking over one vacated by her husband. Black also has a long career in Tennessee politics, getting elected to the state legislature in 1998 and to Congress in 2010.

Both candidates have not shied away from describing gender discrimination they’ve overcome. In an interview with Yahoo News, Blackburn recalled approaching an older male mentor when she decided to run for state legislature, who unequivocally shut her down. “You’re wasting your time, you’re wasting my time, you’re wasting money,” she said he told her. “I don’t see how you would ever win.” Blackburn eventually did just that — and went on to count him among her campaign donors.

Black has also described her own experiences with sexual harassment and the “good ol’ boy” culture of the Tennessee legislature. She and Blackburn have sponsored legislation that would tackle the issue in Congress. “There is no place in the public or private sector for sexual harassment or assault. Period,” she wrote in a Townhall op-ed.

Black and Blackburn’s own stories are rife with a host of milestones. But they aren’t necessarily getting the spotlight on the campaign trail. Being seen as different still might not play well with many Republican voters.

“Gender issues are not issues that resonate with primary voters,” Oppenheimer said.

“We don’t need to highlight our otherness,” Dawkins said. “We have a lot of folks from various backgrounds. We’re really focused on pushing out a unified a message. The Republican Party has a track record, and that’s what we’re running on.”

Republican women across the country have had to navigate a tricky relationship with Donald Trump’s presidency — backing his policies while speaking out against his alleged misconduct when it seems politically savvy to do so. Candidates have been forced to align themselves with Trump given his strong popularity with the party’s base, while still appearing to hold him accountable when he makes denigrating remarks about women.

“Female candidates — they’ve got to be careful in how they deal with Donald Trump. If they let things completely go, they appear weak,” Syler said. “If they come on too strongly, then it can backfire on them. They’ve got to walk a fine line.”

Alabama Rep. Martha Roby is often cited as a key example of this dynamic: She was among the earliest to withdraw her support for Trump in the wake of the notorious Access Hollywood video tape, and this year, she was forced into a runoff. Blackburn and Black also criticized Trump following the release of the tape, but both stood by his candidacy.

Blackburn and Black are also among the candidates seemingly looking to sidestep concerns about Trump’s history with women by focusing on the economy, betting that if people are seeing strong jobs growth and wages they’ll overlook the rest.

“Women know that their economic security, their national security is in better shape … and they are grateful for that — and that is primarily what they’re talking about right now,” Blackburn has said, per NPR. Black told Politico that she tells women about her positive experiences working alongside the president.

“As far as economic prosperity, Marsha has been a supporter of the president’s agenda and tax reform to allow our economy to grow,” Dawkins said.

It’s a message that Blackburn, Black, and the broader Republican Party have been championing for a long time. While they served alongside one another in the state legislature, the two lawmakers were even part of a trio with former state Sen. Mae Beavers that became known as the Killer Bs — after they effectively blocked the implementation of a state income tax.

The idea that economic gains are enough to discount Trump’s treatment of women can be a tough argument to make. “If you don’t like Donald Trump, you certainly see it as contradictory,” Syler said. “If you’re someone who supports Donald Trump, you probably get it.”

Thus far, Blackburn and Black have used such messages as a place to weave in mentions of gender.

Black has highlighted her time as a nurse and single mom, with one campaign ad detailing how her efforts on tax reform would help other women juggling these responsibilities. “I’ll never stop fighting for her,” she said. Blackburn, similarly, briefly mentioned the issue during her campaign announcement, noting, “Courage comes in both genders.”

That seems to be as far as they’re willing to go — for now.

Original Source -> Republican women sidestep gender as they try to make history in Tennessee

via The Conservative Brief