Niche Interests

 Herself speaks.

Sometimes, the only thing to do after a long day of work, is to disassociate while scrolling through TikTok. (I know there are more fruitful things that could be done. But right now, I am allowing myself leeway to just... not think for a little while, when needed. And TikTok helps.) 

It's interesting, the way the algorithm picks what it thinks it should show next. I haven't quite figured it out yet. Most of it is predictable and in keeping with my interests and inclinations; my feed most often provides videos relating to animal rescue/LGBTQ+-support/science content/autism information/recreational vehicle tours. I also get a certain amount of Harry Potter content, although that is much less likely, now that I do not "like" or interact with those videos as often (I do not support the author, who has taken on her own Voldemort-like status, she-who-must-not-be-named, for her TERF attitudes and generally hostile and snarky social media content.)

Given my love of our favorite masked country singer Orville Peck, though, and a passing interest in the group Sleep Token (who have a song that is being heavily featured along with clips of Death Eaters at the Harry Potter Experience, and who are also masked), it seems inevitable that TikTok should drop me into what is apparently known as #MaskTok. 

MaskTok probably goes a lot farther (and more... MORE) than I've ended up -- like #BookTok, there are sections of TikTok that are much more R-Rated, feral and explicit and beyond what this unimaginative middle-aged woman can conjure. The corner that I have found is primarily a set of cosplayers from Call of Duty (COD), who make short videos in their cosplay costumes, occasionally hold live TikTok sessions in which they sit and banter with one another, and so forth.  

So now I've learned about Call of Duty. A game which I've never played. It's a weird topic for a person like me. But truth be told, I am so glad that I am interested in something, rather than absolutely nothing as I was for so long, that I'm allowing myself to sit and learn a little bit. 

The COD cosplay community on TikTok is surprisingly sweet. They all seem very supportive of one another; they've built a little community based on their love of cosplay, and post kind and thoughtful words back and forth to one another. Like all online communities, there does appear to be a bit of Drama here and there (though I haven't seen much), but overall, it's nice to witness. Like being in a room full of cheerful, supportive friends. I'll never be one of them, but I get to sit in the atmosphere of the room, and that's good enough for me. 

Most of the creators in the community require age-checks for interaction (MDNI - Minors Do Not Interact), which is wise since there's a certain amount of adult flirtation and Language.  For me, though, that is the moment when it's frankly horrifying to be such an Old Person online. I'm sure my presence/commentary is questionable at first, particularly because my TikTok name is gender neutral (though my gender is listed in my profile) -- who wants a 57-year old who-knows-what lurking with the youngsters in cosplay? I don't say or do much besides post an occasional supportive statement or 'like'; until I'm proven to be harmless, I don't want to come across as a creepy creeper. 

A side note: approximately 80% of the COD cosplayers I am currently following on TikTok, are women cosplaying as male COD characters. Nice. I really admire that, for reasons I can't quite parse. It seems like something I would do, though, if I were younger and a physical shape that could pull off a male cosplay. In my next lifetime, perhaps. 

And also, there's the masks. We know I like masked singers. We're extending that to masked people in general now. I find the fact that most of the videos focus on the creators' eye expressions, to be SO HELPFUL.  Learning what eyes say, and being able to look at eyes safely, is really an unexpected bonus of this corner TikTok. 

(This is a point when I wonder whether there's overlap between autism TikTok and MaskTok, because Great Learning Tools in both places. Things to Think About.)

At any rate, so that's where we are now. We'll see how long and how far it goes. I'm just glad that for now, something has captured my interest a tiny bit. Perhaps that's a sign that things are just a little bit better.

I'll take it.