#ties 2019 spring | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

startrekfangirl2233-writes · 10 months

Text

2019, North Island Naval Base - Rooster

Chapter 2 Part 2 of You Are My Soulmate

Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw x Reader

Description:

Bradley loves being able to fly and still come home every night. That's the magic, he's sure, of working at Top Gun as a part of a squadron the Navy trusts with only the most sensitive of missions. Being home, having a home to rest his head, is great. But he can't help feeling like something is missing. Then there is Tinkerbell. He can't get her out of his head. It's like they're magnets, constantly orbiting one another, inexplicably attracted to each other despite it all. It being Hangman, of course.

It all comes to a head during a routine AMDO inspection. Bradley can't figure out why he so desperately wanted to jump to Tinkerbell's rescue when even Hangman didn't look worried. She's not a damsel-in-distress and he's no knight-in-shining-armor, of course.

Disclaimers: Misogynistic speech. Mentioned Homosexual Relationships. Sex Dream. P-in-v sex. Smut.

This content presented in this story is for audiences age 18 and over only. MINORS DNI. I will not be accepting tag-list requests from Blank or Ageless Blogs for this story.

Warnings: Female!Reader

Word Count: 4136

A/N: Hey All! This is officially Rooster's perspective on the events in Chapter 2! He's a very confused man, but hopefully we can see a little bit more of his thought process here. Happy Rooster Day, Everybody!

AO3: Cross-posted Here!

My Masterlist

Previous Part | Series Masterlist | Next Part

It’s officially summer in San Diego. Even at 5 in the morning, Bradley can already feel the heat rising. It’s going to be hellish trapped in a cockpit for hours a day. But San Diego has nothing on the desert. Once you’ve run flight patrols in 110°F heat, San Diego feels like a breezy cool spring day. The new class at Top Gun won’t think so, of course. They’ll be complaining the entire time. The sun will also make them sloppy, easier to take down. An upward climb, put the sun in their eyes, tone lock and that’s it. That’s a Mav trick, but damn is it effective.

Other than the pounding beat of his feet and the sweat prickling on his temples and dripping down his bare back, Bradley feels good, great, in fact, today. When he'd just started flying, he'd never wanted to teach. All he wanted to do was fly, fly until he became the best of the best. A decade of hard work and a considerable amount of skill later and he can say he's officially reached that goal. Taking the position at Top Gun, disseminating the knowledge he’s earned with blood, sweat, and tears? It feels like the perfect next step.

That euphoric feeling is a glowing ember in his chest as he parks the Bronco in his customary spot in the base parking lot and gets out. A few spots down he can see a gorgeous cherry red convertible. The sight of that classic car, obviously lovingly cared for and painstakingly restored is another indicator that today is going to be a great day. At least, that is, until he sees who gets out of it.

It's Tinkerbell. He can see the sun shining off of her thick glossy hair, tied back today into a braided bun. She's in uniform and has on sunglasses and is carrying the biggest cup of coffee he's ever seen. She's normal so cheery and chatty. Not today. A frown mars her pretty face and he can practically see the storm clouds over her head. Maybe she fought with Bagman? Where is he? He's always around her, which makes sense, in a way to Bradley. If Tinkerbell was his soulmate, he'd never let her out of his sight. Come to think of it, for the past few months, Bradley's never seen Hangman and Tinkerbell leave together. Not at all. They come on base separately, they go home separately and even when hanging out at the Hard Deck, there's no displays of affection. No kisses or hugs, nothing to show that they love each other.

It's a conundrum. But really, Bradley can't pretend to know what their relationship is like. Just because his mom and dad were obsessed with each other 24/7, and showed it too, doesn't mean that every soul-pairing has to be. Though he hopes that his soul knows that he's going to adore them every day, unendingly and unceasingly. The first stop he makes is into the male officer’s locker room to change into his flight suit. The rest of the guys are already in the room, and he’s sure Nat and Callie are in the ladies changing room doing the same thing.

When the Daggers walk into the hangar, they find Admirals Simpson, Bates and Mitchell all arrayed at the front of the room. Bradley lines up next to Phoenix and exchanges a questioning glance with Mav. The wink he gets back is no help. Not at all. He notes the new class lining up across the aisle in his peripheral vision. It's all quiet as the assembled twenty-four aviators await their morning briefing. The Admirals don't start, however, until one final person walks in.

It's Tinkerbell, in a mechanics jumpsuit, with a clipboard under her arm and still carrying that colossal to-go cup. The first time he sees her smile today has his mouth going dry. She's smiling and chatting with Hondo, too low to be heard, but still obviously jovial. She even winks at Mav. Bradley's so tuned to her that he barely pays attention to the briefing, snapping to attention only when Cyclone says her name. After a brief introduction, all eyes are on her.

Bradley's captivated immediately, chewing on his lips as he takes in her form. The jumpsuit she's wearing is generally baggy and not the most flattering. But on her? It takes his breath away. Tinkerbell lights up the room without even trying to. Bradley lets her sweet voice fall into the background as he watches her lips move as she introduces herself and what the inspection today involves. He’s immediately thinking of the burgundy shade her lips had been the night he met her. He has no idea how long he’s been staring when she stops talking and takes a sip of coffee. A drop of the liquid stays stuck on her bottom lip and Bradley’s fixated on the way her tongue darts out to sweep the liquid away. He can feel his pulse jump unsteadily beneath his skin and an tightening of his boxers. He’s never been so glad that the flight suits are on the baggy side. She’s listing out aviators and that’s when Bradley tunes back in fully, listening for his name. Tinkerbell doesn’t say it though, and when she dismisses the aviators, he makes a beeline for Maverick and the other admirals.

It’s a few minutes before Maverick can talk to him.

“Hey, kid. Are you worried about an AMDO inspection?” Bradley has missed this. For years, he kept himself from having this, talking to his godfather due to his own stubbornness.

“Nah, Mav. Just wanted to know if you wanted to head to the officer’s lounge and get a cup of coffee?” This is probably skirting the lines of propriety a bit, but after so long, Bradley’s not going to give up any opportunity to reclaim what he lost.

“Can’t, kid. Cyclone and Warlock want me rotating between the two hangars. It’s our AMDO Commander’s first inspection round since her promotion. It’s her first test. They want to see how she does. Frankly, so do I.” Mav’s looking out over the milling aviators.

“Maybe you and the Daggers can do the rounds as well, at least when you’re not taking part in inspections yourselves?”

“You got it, Mav.” Bradley’s quick to salute and leave, briefing the others as they walk into Hangars Three and Four and splitting up into pairs. For some reason, Bradley has ended up partnered with Bagman. As they make rounds of the hangar, Bradley can’t keep from tracking Tinkerbell. He’s unconsciously been following her all day, and when the changeover happens and he ends up in Hangar Three for his own inspection, he spends the entire time intensely aware of her presence. At least, that is, until Hawk begins pitching a fit at the AMDO in charge of the inspection on his plane.

He's not a bad kid, Hawk, that is. He's just got a traditional case of the regular aviator ailment. He's cocky, arrogant and full of himself. Bradley's seen the files. He's like Bagman used to be when they were at Top Gun, always pushing the envelope. The only difference is, while Bagman knows not to talk back to superiors, Hawk clearly hasn’t learned that lesson yet. He’s already moving before he realizes that Tinkerbell is walking right towards the yelling and will reach Hawk before he will. Hawk doesn’t even seem to care that she’s right there. Hawk’s so loud that Bradley can’t even hear what Tinkerbell says to him. Bradley moves in closer, as he keeps laying into the Lieutenant, her surname is Green, if Bradley remembers correctly.

This is some test, if it’s what the admirals were intending. Hawk’s making a scene that’s got nearly everyone in the hangar milling around. But Tinkerbell stays cool under pressure. She pulls out an air horn from her utility belt and gives it one blast. Bradley’s ears are ringing and he’s at least 3 feet away from her. Hawk was next to her when she let the horn blow.

"That is enough." Her voice is louder than he’s ever heard it. "Lieutenant Junior Grade Taylor. If you have a problem with a member of my team, you are to come find me. You DO NOT yell, scream, curse, or berate my AMDOs. Frankly, you do not have the authority to do so."

A handful of words and she’s already commanding the room.

"You have two minutes. Tell me what happened. Plain and to the point. No flowery language, no blame games, just the facts." There’s a growl in her voice now. It sends shivers down Rooster’s back, and arousal simmering through his veins. But before he can lose himself into the new grit and sex inhibiting Tinkerbell’s voice, Hawk picks up a litany again. He spits out some glossily dressed up bullshit about how Lieutenant Green has been miscrewing panels back into place. Tinkerbell stands tall, moving under the jet to examine the offending screws. Of course, just as she wheels around to let him have it, he starts up again.

"I mean, I don't even know why the Navy trusts such important tasks to women." Those words have Bradley’s hands clenching in anger. How dare he? It’s obvious he has no idea what it takes to be an AMDO. But before he can interject and dress the little idiot down himself, there’s an arm around his shoulder. It’s Hangman, jaw clenched but nodding 'No' at him regardless of his own feelings. His eyes say ‘Let Tinkerbell handle this.’

"It's not like any of you know how to even use a screwdriver properly." Hawk’s voice is oily as he gives Tinkerbell a once-over and clearly finds her lacking if the disgust in his eyes says anything. That look doesn’t affect her at all. If anything she stands up even straighter and gets a few steps closer. With a deliberate cool, she pulls out the air horn and blows a burst so loud that everything, even the ambient sounds of the wind seem to fall silent.

"Lieutenant Junior Grade Taylor, enough!" Her voice is like pure sex as she gets into Hawk’s personal space, one finger pointed at his sternum.

"Lieutenant Green's work is immaculate. While you've been ranting and raving like a lunatic over there, I've been reviewing her work. I dare say that your jet is far more aerodynamic than it was before you brought it here for the inspection."

Her chest heaves as she pauses. There’s a fire in her eyes as she glares at Hawk.

"As far as your other comments, I just have one question for you. I've seen your file. You graduated from Flight School. So that means you know everything there is to know in the NATOPS for the F/A-18. Correct?"

"Damn straight!" Bradley already knows that the kid has no idea what an AMDO does.

"Lieutenant Green knows the F-18 NATOPS, too."

He’s confused? At what? Does he not know Lieutenant Green by name?

"You know, the officer you were just calling stupid because she's a woman? She knows the NATOPS for the F-18, F-22, and F-35 forwards and backward in addition to the E-2 Hawkeye and C-130 Hercules. That's four planes in addition to what you know, correct? You clearly have no idea what an AMDO does. We don't just inspect your planes. We inspect the maintenance protocols for them. There's nobody I'd trust more to inspect a plane I'm responsible for than her."

Rather than focus on Tinkerbell, because that is a boner waiting to happen, Bradley focuses on Hawk. He’d feel bad for the kid, but there were so many warnings that it's ludicrous that Hawk hasn’t picked up on anything. His intelligence has to be exaggerated.

"Lieutenant Junior Grade, your conduct is unbecoming when speaking to a superior officer." Hawk's gawking with his mouth open like a fish while she lays into him. "Be assured, I will be speaking at length about your conduct to Admirals Simpson, Bates, and Mitchell. As for your treatment of Lieutenant Green, I'll expect a full written apology across my desk by 10 AM tomorrow. You're to report to Chief Warrant Officer Coleman for 300 push-ups while Lieutenant Green finishes up her work."

Hawk’s staring open jawed at Tinkerbell as she stands at her highest and stares him down.

"ARE WE CLEAR, LIEUTENANT JUNIOR GRADE?!" The hangar is completely silent as Tinkerbell’s voice rings through it.

"Y-yes, ma'am." Just when Bradley thinks he can breathe again, she turns her fiery gaze on everyone else standing around in the hangar.

"Alright, folks, nothing to see here! The US Navy doesn't pay us to engage in scuttlebutt! Back to work unless you want to spend all night here. I'm not all too sure our complement of Admirals would like the thoughts of us in pajamas, braiding each other's hair as we gossip about which plane is the best!”

Bradley’s chuckling despite himself. She’s such a study in contrasts, Tinkerbell. So serious and commanding in one instance but so cheery and joyful in the next. Each facet of her personality makes her more interesting. It’s going to be a delight to have her on North Island. When she’s alone or surrounded by other pilots, she’s not so bad. But of course, as soon as Hangman walks up to her, Bradley’s reminded of exactly why he can’t get close to her. She’s taken. She’s somebody else’s girl. To make matters worse, she’s Hangman’s girl. Hangman’s not the type to let another man get close to his girl.

He's careful for the rest of the time she flits about the hangar, taking time to speak to each pilot, each member of her team, and each member of the flight crew. It's not long at all before the cacophony of power tools and drills resounds through the hangar. About an hour after the scene with Hawk, Bradley looks up and sees her walk out of the hangar. He makes an excuse about running out for a cup of coffee before grabbing a water bottle and following her out as stealthily as he can.

If he's been tracking her correctly, and he has, he knows that Tinkerbell will be making her way over to Hangar Four. He nearly walks by her, in truth. She's scrunched up in the alley between the two hangar buildings. She's leaning against the dusty wall with her head in her hands. He doesn't want to startle her, so he clears his throat as obnoxiously as he can.

“Bradshaw.” Her voice is curt, so cold that if he didn't know any better he'd think an ice storm had enveloped San Diego.

He can't help how gentle his own voice is as he says her callsign. “Tinkerbell.”

Bradley's got every bit of those beautiful doe eyes looking right up at him, and it makes him lose his composure in a way that nothing else ever has.“Was that - um - Was that the first time you’ve had to give a subordinate a dressing down?”

“No.” Her half-smile nearly blinds him, even as Tinkerbell stares up at the sky. Her chuckle is a barely heard puff of breath that turns into words, “I’ve given a lot of those. This is just the first one since my promotion. Each one leaves me feeling terrible after, though. I don’t know what it’s like for men when they have to do something like what I just did, but I know one thing. Taylor’s going to be all over base calling me a bitch, or any other thing which comes to mind. If it were a man telling him the same thing, he’d probably have bitched and moaned for a little bit before ultimately accepting it.”

It's true. That's exactly what Taylor's going to do. He's going to either drag Tinkerbell in front of everyone who asks him what happened or let the rumors about her tank her reputation. Her voice is thin and breathless as she continues, “H-he’s going to be swanning around for the rest of his time at Top Gun glaring at me, and he and I are going to be the center of all of the gossip and rumors floating around because of it. I’ve heard it all before, you know? She’s fucking him, she’s trying to seduce him, etcetera, etcetera.”

As Bradley stands there, just listening as Tinkerbell confides in him, he can't help making a resolution. He resolves then and there that he'll put a stop to it. That he'll keep Taylor from destroying Tinkerbell. Maybe he'll go to Mav, Cyclone and Warlock himself? There is no way Hawk's blatant disregard for authority can stand as it is. It feels so good to just be the force of her attention.

She's a vision illuminated in gold as the late afternoon sunshine halos around her gleaming hair and drips into golden pools on her skin. When her words run out, he proffers the water bottle in his hand to her. Tinkerbell's smile at that one small gesture is enough to have every thought wiped clean from his mind. It takes an embarrassingly long time for Bradley to lead her back towards Hangar Four, trying, and probably failing to make conversation about AMDO inspections with her.

By the time he walks back to Hangar Three, a paper cup full of the Navy's finest brew in hand, Bradley's smiling from ear to ear. He’s almost too light-hearted for the rest of the day. Everytime he sees Tinkerbell out of the corner of his eye, a ridiculously giddy grin curls across his mouth. When he stops at the base gym afterwards, he plugs in his headphones and loses himself to the music. He’s jamming out so hard that he barely notices the time passing.

It’s late when he finally staggers into the locker room showers. His muscles twinge with every move he makes and the base’s trickling stream of hot water barely does the job. He throws on a pair of board shorts and a tank top and heads out the door. All he wants right now is a beer and something to eat. As luck would have it, though, just as he walks towards the Bronco, he sees Tinkerbell, scrunched down in the driver’s seat of her convertible. It looks like she’s waiting for someone? Probably Hangman, the nasty voice in his head decides to pipe in. What if he comes out and kisses her? Bradley’s not sure he can take it.

What would it be like to have her as his soul? To see that beautiful smile waiting for him in the passenger’s seat of the Bronco? To be able to kiss her until she’s breathless for him? Breathless because of him? Before he can dwell on it, he drives away, giving her a half wave. The entire time he can see the base parking lot out of the rearview mirror, he’s keeping his eyes peeled for the sight of that red car. He manages to put her out of his mind for the rest of the night, but then he dreams.

Most of his dreams are about his mom and dad and Mav. He asks them what it’s like to have a soulmate, what it means to love them, and how to be a good soulmate. Most of the time, he wakes up from those dreams feeling like he’s just been wrapped in one of his mom’s bear hugs.

Tonight, when he dreams, it starts like no other dream he’s ever had. For one, he doesn't see anybody he recognizes in the room, if it even is one. Everything is foggy and he can feel the wet slap of it against his face, arms and calves as he trudges through it. The only other place where he has felt fog like this was in San Francisco, on the one trip he remembers taking to visit his Aunt Sarah, Pop's sister, right after his mom had died.

Out of the fog an island festooned in string lights comes up. There's a car there, his Bronco, he realizes as he walks closer to it. The doors are all closed, but there are clearly people inside. The windows are fogged and as he walks closer he can hear a bitten off gasp as a hand presses up against the window, leaving a mark on the misty surface. The closer he gets, the more he hears. He can hear himself, calling someone his beautiful, gorgeous, and lovely girl. He can also hear a voice that's immediately familiar to him.

"Bradley!" Her voice is high pitched and strung out. He is instantly captivated by those breathy moans. Bradley can feel himself grow hard as he tries to see who this pretty girl is. On the other side of the car there's an open window, and Bradley can't believe who he sees. Between one breath and the other, he finds himself in the car.

It's Tinkerbell, of course it is. She's bare, every supple inch of skin on full display as she writhes in his dream-self's lap. He's got his mouth on the soft swell of her tits and his hand buried in the wet warmth at the apex of her thighs. When he blinks, he's hit with all of the sensations, of her release soaking his hand as he fucks three fingers into her, the pinching tug of her hands in his hair, the feeling of her hard nipple against his tongue.

When she cums again, her hips stuttering in their steady pace, he pulls away from her. She's smiling down at him, tenderly and sweet. When she laughs, it sounds like bells chiming in the distance, maybe wedding bells? He can't resist tugging her smiling mouth down to his own, kissing the sensual curve over and over again until her laughter has once again transformed into moans.

This time, when he trails his fingers through her wet folds, he's met with soft hands over his aching length. She's so gentle as she frees him from his boxers and trails his length through her soaked folds. She feels like sin as she carefully sinks down lower and lower. Her eyes go glassy and wet as her chest heaves and she struggles to take him to the hilt.

"B, baby I can't. You're so big and thick." Her voice is a barely audible coo. Bradley can't resist reeling her in for a kiss, feeling her soft skin pressed up against his own. She's so tight wrapped around his length, like she was made for him. He can't resist scratching at her scalp, freeing the glossy strands of her hair from her braid. She smells like citrus blossoms in bloom and tastes like berries.

Bradley's so gone for this beautiful, gorgeous thing in his arms. He can't resist telling her that as well, as she adjusts, the cool breeze peaking her nipples as they graze his pecs. There's a tattoo against her ribs, something delicate and beautiful that suits her to perfection. He can't tell what it is, a flower, maybe? Whatever it is, he wants to trail his tongue over the stark black ink, to taste every inch of her skin.

Just as he's about to coax her onto her back in the backseat so he can do just that, she's moving her hips. Each undulating swell has her rising and sinking faster and deeper until she's taking Bradley's length from tip to root every time. Her tits bounce with each movement, and he can't resist tracing a bead of sweat as it trails between the pretty globes. Her mewls as he suckles on her nipples has him ready to explode. But he doesn’t, not yet. Each thrust has Tinkerbell falling apart in his lap a bit more. Already her hips are stuttering in their steady pace and she's babbling at him.

When he thumbs at her clit, Tinkerbell cums on his length with a scream. The combination of her heat and how she looks bouncing on his dick have Bradley spilling into her within just a few thrusts after her. Bradley wakes up seconds later.

It's the dead of night. His clock blinks the time in neon green, 2:40. His skin is coated in sweat and there's a damp patch in his boxers from where he'd cum in his pants like a teenager after a wet dream. But even after he's cleaned up, he can't bring himself to go back to sleep again. Tinkerbell's face as she cums is tattooed in his brain. How is he ever going to face her again? Seeing her command a room is enough to give him blue balls. Now? It'll take superhuman control to keep his composure on base.

I DO NOT CONSENT TO HAVE MY WORK POSTED, TRANSLATED, OR PUBLISHED ON ANY SITES OTHER THAN HERE OR ON AO3 BY ME. IF YOU SEE MY WORKS ANYWHERE OTHER THAN HERE OR AO3, THEN THEY HAVE BEEN POSTED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION AND I WILL BE WORKING TO TAKE THEM DOWN.

Taglist:

🛩️ @roosters-girl 🛩️ @infamous-reindeer 🛩️ @caitsymichelle13 🛩️ @mattyskies 🛩️ @cosmic-psychickitty 🛩️ @mygyn 🛩️ @julesclues 🛩️ @greenbaby12 🛩️ @bubblegumbeautyqueen 🛩️ @briseisgone 🛩️ @soulmates8 🛩️ @adoringsebstan 🛩️ @meganlpie 🛩️ @daphne-turner 🛩️ @captain-fandomwriter58 🛩️ @caidi-paris 🛩️@mazzbarnes 🛩️@devylindisguise 🛩️@super-btstrash-posts 🛩️@eli2447 🛩️@chaoticassidy 🛩️ @kmc1989 🛩️

68 notes · View notes

ukrfeminism · 1 month

Text

Though British farming is arguably at the most precarious point in its long history – thanks to changes caused by Brexit and food industry subsidies, lack of clear food production policies and increased concern over environmental issues – more women than ever are choosing a career in agriculture and, more importantly, moving into leadership roles.

Back in the 1970s, Holly Collins was studying for her A-levels in Sussex. While her friends sent off their university applications, she wrote to the Royal Agricultural College asking for an entry form, hoping to follow her dream of becoming a farmer.

“They wrote back with the following answer: ‘Dear Miss Collins, we do not admit women.’”

Undeterred, she worked on a farm the following summer: “A lot of the tasks then were manual labour, so I’d just turn up at the farm gate and ask for a job. I was paid much less than the male students I worked with because I was female. The farmer’s father told him that, because I was the hardest worker, he should pay me the same as them – but he didn’t.”

Things, says the 64-year-old who now has her own upland farm, Hollin Bank, at the head of Coniston Water in the Lake District, have improved a lot for women in agriculture since then.

Minette Batters, the first ever female president of the National Farmers’ Union of England and Wales (NFU), may have stepped down this spring after six years in office, but women are still well represented in the union, with Rachel Hallos, a South Pennines farmer, installed as NFU vice-president and Abi Reader as deputy president for NFU Cymru. The Great Yorkshire Show has just got its first female show director in its 186-year history – dairy farmer Rachel Coates takes over after this year’s show in July. In the field of specialist skills, the UK has also just appointed its first female wool grader. Amy-Jo Barton, 22, is based at British Wool (formerly the British Wool Marketing Board) in Bradford where she sorts wool by hand based on style and characteristics; a job she finds “very therapeutic”.

While women comprised 17% of farmers in 2019, data from the Office for National Statistics for 2023 shows that of the 104,700 registered farmers, 22% are female. In the broader category of managers in agricultural services, women make up 32% of the workforce. According to recent figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, 64% of agricultural students are women. For an industry that historically relies on father-to-son succession to pass on land and which used to exclude women from many of its educational establishments, farming has come a long way.

Coates, incoming director of the Great Yorkshire Show, says: “Women have always been the backbone of a farm. Now they’re no longer in the kitchen tied to the Aga, they’re at the forefront of the industry. It’s good to see this take-up of leadership roles.”

Louisa Dines, principal lecturer in agronomy at Harper Adams University in Shropshire, thinks farming has lagged behind in terms of gender diversity but is finally catching up with other industries.

“Farmers’ wives and daughters were always important – farms are typically family businesses and intertwined with home life – but women used to operate below the radar,” she says. “Historically local meetings were in the pub or village hall. Wives often weren’t invited or had to look after the children. Even if they did go, it can be intimidating walking into a room full of men, but new communication platforms – such as social media and video conferencing – have made it easier for women to take part.”

There are more than 14,000 members of the Facebook group Ladies Who Lamb and farmers such as the Yorkshire Shepherdess and the Red Shepherdess have huge followings on TikTok and Instagram. Dines says she recently attended an agritech conference to promote links between women in farming in Poland, Ukraine and England. Previously these women had worked in isolation but not had a sense of community. “It was so interesting to see how far we’ve come.”

Traditions need to change more, though. The average age of a British farmer is 59 and the business is still typically passed down the male side of the family. A 2022 survey in Northern Ireland found that inheritance was the second biggest challenge faced by women in farming. The biggest was male dominance.

Molly Lewis, whose family have farmed sheep on 250 acres of pasture in Powys, Wales, for 350 years, says this attitude is starting to shift. The 20-year-old plans to take over when her father and his brother retire. She splits her time between working in the family business and the local agricultural market.

“In the past, sometimes men felt pressured to take on the farm even if their heart wasn’t in it, but now it goes to whoever is interested. I’ve noticed a lot more women happily getting involved. It feels natural, especially here. We have an open hill farm in the Elan Valley, and do a lot of community work with all our neighbours. You see women and girls on the hills doing the same jobs as the men and no one thinks anything of it.”

Lewis also talks of the community’s fury at the Welsh government’s sustainable farming scheme – the post-Brexit plan for funding the industry which includes ensuring 10% of farmland is under tree cover.

Collins’s farm has low densities of mixed livestock and a nice sideline in educational courses teaching traditional farming skills such as dry stone walling and coppicing. It’s currently host to two masters students researching finance and birdlife. She brought in two women – Megan Jones and Katherine Andrews – to manage Hollin Bank alongside her.

She says she has had difficulties with “a lack of respect” from male farmers. “But I am learning at a late age and from the wonderful young women who work with me that you don’t have to instil fear in others to succeed in this very male world. We try to be warm and encouraging of anyone who is interested. I’m not sure this is a ‘female’ attitude to farming but I suspect it might be.”

None of the three at Hollin Bank grew up in agricultural families, bucking the tradition of succession. While Collins had a “striking ambition” to farm her whole life, her colleagues originally worked in conservation and nature restoration.

“As 70% of the UK is farmland, I wanted to understand how conservation and agriculture intertwine,” says Andrews. “I also believe we need to localise the food economy to save food miles, create jobs and deepen our connection to the land.”

If farming is in crisis it may be this new generation who look to change the status quo who will be able to find a resolution. All of them seem keen to evolve. Coates’s big ambition for the Yorkshire Agricultural Society is to engage young people because “we need to make farming relevant – there are going to be changes in agriculture over the next few years and we need to adapt”.

Dines points to the increased importance of marketing and communication – from farm shops and crafts to environmentally friendly farming practice – “all the public-facing activities at which women excel”.

Jones, who worked in restoration before joining Hollin Bank two years ago, also points to the need for communication within the indusry as well as with the public.

“We need to strengthen food systems that value farmers’ extensive knowledge of the landscapes they work in,” she says. “I think we need to listen to farmers and figure out what works financially and ecologically. How can we build resilient ecosystems?”

The reason so many more women have moved into farming is perhaps best explained when Jones talks about what she enjoys most about her work.

“My favourite thing about working on a farm is the daily and seasonal rhythms. Each day you adapt and respond to the environment and the animals. Days when we move the sheep or cows are always good days, walking with them is like a moving meditation. For someone who spent very little time doing practical work growing up, I find working with my hands very rewarding and empowering – especially as a woman.”

#articles #finance

13 notes · View notes

grits-galraisedinthesouth · 1 year

Text

Over the past 5 months I have been writing and saving LONG rants about the now infamous Captain Save a Hoe, soon to be markled, Mr Thirsty Tyler Perry.

Leilani of Barbados did an excellent job mocking him for his absurd megflix statements about his godfather role to a Lili white Invisibet.

Unfortunately Leilani did not inform her viewers that Mr Perry also labeled the British royals as Meghan & Harry's "ABUSERS." Perry stated that Meghan COULD have said more damaging things about the BRF but she didn't because she's too "Klassy." What a SIMP🧢 and a deceived Captain Save a Hoe

Calling EVIL good and Good evil is an unfortunate sign of the times.¹

Perry haughtily admits that he possesses "THE corner on God" and the Church of England is beneath him. Meaning he's right and the Church of England is weird and wrong.

Based on what Harry & Meghan told Perry about christenings by the Arch Bishop of Canterbury, Perry views those traditions as beneath him. He is too holy to set foot in some ancient building, with weird people who may or may not be praying to HIS prosperity god.²

The irony is that just a few years ago, Tyler was angling to get an invitation to sit with his bff NOprah in The Queen of England's "stinky" chapel, Saint James' Palace (which Meghan was unqualified for as a divorcee) to witness a white woman (w/a half black mother) marry a white man.

Meghan Markle's latest mark, Captain Save Hoe (Thirsty Tyler), truly is dim. The two (2) people Perry thinks God's Holy Spirit allows him to see clearly were walking around his property talking to DEAD ⚰ people. Necromamcy is forbidden for the Christian.³

Thirsty Tyler can 1st remove that jumbo jet plane size BEAM in his own eye before shooting off at the mouth about people he's never taken the time to study or visit but chose to haughtily blast them via megflix about a speck of dirt.⁴

The least Thirsty Tyler could do is respect that the people he has misjudged are members of Harry's family. Much to the chagrin of Thirsty Tyler, Gail & NOprah's racist worldview, the BRF is a force for good around the world.

Thirsty Tyler is Captain Save a Hoe who recently rescued 2 infamous z-list fraudsters w/suspicious ties to major political backers: Jussie Smollett & Meghan Markle.

Was Thirsty Tyler told to become Harry's new handler? Meghan Markle will never accept that none of this is about her. She was a mere pawn used to gain control of Harry's mind and now It sucks to be her.⁵

"Paging Amber Heard, Thirsty Tyler has a mansion for you!!"

youtube

First (1st) LIE: Tyler Perry told (pre-megflix via "black" media) his reasons for writing meghan a thirsty pre-wedding letter: "they were giving her hell because of her race."

Second (2nd) LIE Tyler Perry told about his decision to write meghan a thirsty pre-wedding letter: "I saw what her father did in the press..."

Timeline of Thirsty Tyler & The Meghan's Transactional Relationship:

1-Spring 2018-TP, as per NOprah, sent mm a letter before the wedding. mm wrote him back without enclosing an invitation to the wedding.

2-Fall 2019 Thirsty Tyler sent a tweet of public support when no one asked if mm was ok.

3-Fall 2019 Thirsty Tyler spoke to a media source about mm not being ok. "I felt that"

4-Spring 2020 mm telephoned Thirsty Tyler (known for sending his aircraft and cash to rescue celebrities) CRYING bc the border was closing and she feared for her SECURITY.

5-Spring 2020 Thirsty Tyler flew Dorito to Vancouver Island and relocated the The Meghan's and all their belongings, pets etc into one of his LA homes.

6-Summer 2020 The Meghan's lived in TP's mansion for 3+ mo (according to Harry). Harry got a taste of "lifestyles of the rich and famous."

7-Spring 2021 The Meghan's told NOprah about their savior Thirsty Tyler. Harry, (the Strut teenager from Bat out of Hell who never grows up) was visibly pleased with himself because "my family didn't even know where I lived!!" Idiot.

8-Thirsty Tyler shared The Stench via socials

9-Meghan showed the Cut her grand piano Thirsty Tyler purchased for their 16 bathrooms

10-The Meghan's filmed themselves speaking to Thirsty Tyler (phone) on set at Ysidro Ranch

11-Thirsty Tyler hurled unsubstantiated accusations at Mr Markle & the BRF (megflix)

12-Thirsty Tyler revealed for megflix that he is godfather to Lili White Invisibet.

13-March 2023 Thirsty Tyler allegedly flew a choir of black singers to Montecito for a lavish backyard gathering in honor of princess Lili White Invisibet Diana.

14-Thirsty Tyler & Sunshine Sucks released a propaganda filled press release to "black" media:

youtube

Streamed in January 2023, biracial comedian Axe laughs at Harry, Meghan & Captain Save a Hoe, Thirsty Tyler Perry. He uses salty language so be prepared to enter your YouTube password to watch my 60 second hilarious clips or watch on Rumble, Axe's website etc.

¹Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness to light and light to darkness, who replace bitter with sweet and sweet with bitter. (Isaiah 5:20)

²False Preacher & False gospels

youtube

³Necromamcy Forbidden “Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 18:9-12ESV//CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Necromancynewadvent.org› The Mosaic Law forbids necromancy (Leviticus 19:31; 20:6), declares that to seek the truth from the dead is abhorred by God (Deuteronomy 18:11, 12), and even makes it punishable by death (Leviticus 20:27; cf. 1 Samuel 28:9).

⁴You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye (Matthew 7:5)

⁵They dont want Meghan, they want Harry

55 notes · View notes

incorrectonceandfuturenerd · 7 months

Text

Happy Ten Year Anniversary @onceandfuturenerd! A few of us over on the discord server put together an audio compilation of us talking about how much we love the podcast and what it means to us. There's a transcript below the cut that also has the names of who's speaking in each clip.

Thank you so much for making this wonderful podcast, and congratulations on ten years!

Kat: I love most things about The Once and Future Nerd. The characters, the setting, the genre awareness, the humor. It’s my favourite podcast for a reason, and that’s saying something as I’ve listened to over a hundred. I remember listening to the show for the first time in late 2016, it was... Christmas concert season and I was walking back and forth pretty much exclusively between my dorm, rehearsal, class, and the dining hall. Um. But somehow, despite that very limited time, I managed to listen to all of The Once and Future Nerd over the course of approximately two days, and fell in love with it pretty much immediately. Um, at the time, all of book one was out, which was, uh, less than there is now, but still a significant amount of podcast to listen to over the course of 48 hours. Um. Aside from how wonderful I continue to find the podcast, The Once and Future Nerd has also allowed me to have access to a community I never would have had otherwise. After creating the discord to talk more about the show with a few other folks, I met some of my closest friends. As of sending this message, I have sent-- and I checked right before- before I did this-- in the server alone, 28,638 messages. That is not including direct messages to my friends, that is just directly in the server. Um, the server has also had a long-running Dungeons and Dragons game that’s been going since spring of 2019, and has had multiple bl- book clubs, including one that meets weekly has consistently since spring of 2020. It’s been one of the most fulfilling community experiences of my life, and it all ties back to The Once and Future Nerd. Creating stupid inside jokes like Gy’y Fy’ryy and Elves Have Fur and Antonin being the sexiest the character no matter what any polls say, he better win this last one, I swear... um, it’s been one of the great joys of my life over the last five years. Thank you so much for all the love and joy, humor, tears, and so much more that The Once and Future Nerd has brought to my life and to the lives of many others. The story’s been wonderful, y’all are wonderful, and I hope you continue for many years to come. Happy ten year anniversary.

Nicole: What do I love about The Once and Future Nerd? This is going to sound weird, but I love how specific it is. The Once and Future Nerd is such a peculiar blend of genre and humor and social commentary, that it’s a near perfect filter for finding like-minded people. I’ve met some of my best friends through this podcast and I’m so grateful I found it back in 2016. At the time, it was so hard to find fantasy audio dramas, so I was immediately drawn to The Once and Future Nerd for that alone, uh, when I was trying to search for some. I really liked the concept, enough to make me listen until Monsters, because that’s the chapter that hooked me. I devoured the rest of book one after that, only pausing to sleep and attend lectures... and sometimes listening to it during lectures. Sorry, not sorry to my stats prof. If I had to pick a favourite moment, I would have to say Yllowyyn’s confrontation with Ry’y lo-Th’yyt in Bridges. I think that one is burned into my brain because I was a crowded train trying not to freak out at the time. This podcast means a lot to me as a source of connection with others and it’s just a plain fun story. Thank you, Zach and Christian and everyone who works so hard on it. It’s been going for ten years, and I don’t care if it takes ten more.

RJ: I found The Once and Future Nerd in February of 2017 as a depressed 18-year-old in my first year of university, and I think I listened to everything that had been released at that point in about a week? I love it because of the genre subversion and genre awareness, I love the characters, I love the way it challenges expectations and engages with complex topics with care... I really, really like listening to this podcast, but more than that, I like talking about this podcast. The main thing that makes me keep coming back to The Once and Future Nerd, keep listening, and that makes it important to me, is the community I’ve found in listening to it. I joined the discord server two days after it was created, and that remains the only fandom space where I’ve successfully made actually close online friends. To the point where the friendship has expanded beyond just our shared enjoyment of the podcast into just... being friends. It’s really great to get to know these people, to plan things like this anniversary event with them, to have things like a weekly book club, or collaborations on projects, or just conversations about silly and serious things related to the podcast, and unrelated to the podcast. And none of that would have happened without The Once and Future Nerd so, thank you. Thank you for being the reason that I know these people, thank you for being the reason that I have been inspired to make creative things, from fanart to videos to what have you, uh... I love your show so much, congratulations on ten years, and I can’t wait to hear what comes next.

Dirk: Hey, this is Dirk. Uh, I don’t remember when I started listening to this podcast, it was years ago-- but I do remember being immediately drawn in by the brief and tragic tale of Mr. Fluffy Toes. The mix of humor and sass and sincerity, it immediately struck me. As the story went on, I delighted in Nelson being shockingly genre-savvy about this fantasy world and, honestly? I really enjoyed the fact that the world at large ignored the kids at first. That’s not something you often get in portal fantasies. Uh, I’ve also always deeply enjoyed the queer representation and tongue-in-cheek political commentary... As if that wasn’t enough, you all gave me a chance to write for your podcast. I had so much fun with the Bailey sisters short, and with making up a whole-ass holiday! It was so much fun. And even though I had to recuse myself from the later plotline, I’m still here to listen to how it goes. My inability to write for it has absolutely no bearing on your grace and kindness to me, and even though I dread how it will make me feel because of my own personal issues, I know that I can trust whatever it turns out to be. Like so many pod- things in this podcast, it’s gonna be sensitive, sometimes funny, sometimes deeply tragic, or terrifying, and it will never punch down. Because that’s the kind of podcast you have made. Happy ten year anniversary, thank you so much for all that you’ve given us. And I hope you can continue making whatcha love for as long as you want to be making it. And like... Let’s be real. As long as you’re making this, we’re gonna be here for it, so... Thank you.

Oriana: I had the podcast recommended to me by a friend who was very active on the reddit at the time. I love that The Once and Future Nerd is not afraid to look long and hard at The Implications of a lot of fantasy tropes. I kept listening because I wanted to know what new ideas would be explored next. One of my favorite moments is the speech that Traft gives about how the Princes of Iorden do alchemy. The Once and Future Nerd is the first thing that I got to write for that has an established audience and... that was very cool. Thank you for everything.

Aja: Hey guys my name is Aja, and I just wanted to say congrats on ten years of a fantastic podcast. I started listening to The Once and Future Nerd back in 2017, 2016, not long after I’d gotten my bachelor’s degree from college and right as I was starting to realize that I wanted to go back to school to get my teaching degree. So it- it came at a really special time in my life. What kept me coming back over all these years is the fantastic character development, especially for the kids, uh, in the story, but also for everybody else, and I’ve also just really appreciated the, uh, subversion, I guess, of fantasy tropes. I think it’s kept the story really interesting and really relevant, and it’s- it’s so real, despite being a fantasy story, so. Thank you so much for all of your hard work, and I look forward to listening for... as long as you keep making this podcast. Thanks guys.

Aster: The Once and Future Nerd is one on an ever-growing list of podcasts that I deeply love despite being upwards of a year behind on, and every time I am able to get back to listening to it, I am in awe of the incredible world that it shows. And a special thanks to the podcast for finally, really, dragging me down into the incredible world of audio drama fandoms.

Teddy: Well, first of all congrats on ten years, that is a tremendously long time to work on a project, and it’s an excellent project to have been worked on. I’ve loved the podcast for... a while. I’m not quite as into it as I used to be, but I still listen to the episodes whenever they come out. Uh... I first listened to the podcast all the way back in, I believe 2016? Uh, when I was in college. One of my friends was listening to it at a DnD session and I heard just one clip of it-- I think it was the scene where Regan had a threesome with the barkeep and his partner? I don’t remember exactly what happened in that scene but, uh... [laughs] it was interesting enough to draw my attention, and I talked to my friend about what the podcast was about, and I decided to go ahead listen to it, and so I listened to it. It hit all the right notes for me. I really loved the emphasis on diversity, and the science that went into it. I thought the science... um, the way science and magic integrated in the show was really fantastic and clever. You know, I really loved the characters. I think I listened to the entire podcast, up until the beginning of covid, about... three or four times through, and then since the pandemic when everything’s slowed down I’ve only listened to it another couple times since then. But, even though it’s no longer quite my main fandom or anything... But I think that I’m going to continue listening to it for as long as it comes out. Even if it’s never my big passion, it’s gonna be one of those quiet, comfortable, familiar things that will be a thread woven throughout the path of the rest of my life. Or not the rest of my life, but, you know, a good portion of it. However long- however much longer it goes, um. But, yeah, uh, congrats again on ten years of The Once and Future Nerd, and thank you for creating it. It’s really fantastic, I love it so much.

Rachel: So I found The Once and Future Nerd shortly after the pandemic started. A friend reached out to me who, um, I had met in college, and she asked to connect and we started calling every week, and we eventually started listening to this podcast together because she was already a fan, and she thought I would love it-- she was totally right. Um [small laugh], and we listened to this for almost a year, almost like a book club. Um, and we talked about it, and we got deep into the themes which was really enriching for me, that’s one of my passions, I got a degree in it. Uh, in, um, literature, so just picking apart stories and I-I was- I’ve always been impressed by how crunchy it is. How the characters feel fleshed out and stood apart from each other, and how so many tropes you think you understand and then you guys subverted them. Um. And then, while I don’t listen to The Once and Future Nerd right now, I have other podcasts that I do listen to, and before listening to The Once and Future Nerd with Kat I was not a podcast person. So, because of this podcast I actually have maintained a friendship, and I’ve gained a whole new ways to access stories, and it’s been pretty marvellous. And I’ve loved that a lot. So I’d like to thank the creators for those two sparks of joy in my life.

Kellie: Congrats on ten years! Um. I have not been listening to The Once and Future Nerd for ten years, I’ve been listening more like the past, like, one and half or so years, um, and I am so glad that I started listening. This podcast means a lot to me, it is one of my favourites, and not only is it just individually enjoyable for me, it’s also brought me closer to a lot of people, um, the existence of the podcast itself has brought me into a community that I value so deeply, and brought me close to so many people who I just love and adore. So, I mean, you know, obviously you’re doing something really right if, uh, you’re bringing people close together for lifetime friendships, uh, by making, you know, content. And that’s amazing in and of itself. But also, just, the podcast itself is so good. I mean, first of all, it’s great quality, it’s, you know, these... these wonderful little stories that are so, so gay. [laughs] And that analyze interesting topics in a really nuanced way. I can’t express the appreciation that I have for the way that y’all talk about these topics cause they’re always- they’re handled so well. Um. So, instead... [laughs] so instead of trying to express that, um, I will instead express that I just love how... I love when Arlene and Gwen are gay. Like, that’s just great. You know? It’s fantastic. And they’re so, so gay, and it’s so, so wonderful every single time. [sighs] And also Regan is just so hot. You know? Like. Uh, I... [sighs] Good for her, you know? Good for her. And good for y’all for- for having this podcast be- be going on for so long and still going strong. It’s- it’s so much fun and I’m so excited to keep listening to it. I’m not all the way caught up! But I’m working on it and I’m r- just enjoying every moment along the way. Thank you for what you do, cause what you do is so great. It’s incredible. Thank you.

Drak: The Once and Future Nerd. Um. What it means to me. So I had really bad migraines a couple years ago. Uh, to the point of, I had to blindfold myself for days and weeks at a time, uh, in order to avoid a debilitating migraine. And, um, so I found myself suddenly having to navigate the world without being able to see. The worst part of it was the boredom because I couldn’t read fanfiction, I couldn’t, uh, do most of my crafting hobbies, I couldn’t play video games. Um, obviously there are, you know, ways that people can do those things while blind, but I did not have any of those accommodations at the time. And so I started listening to podcasts, and I found The Once and Future Nerd and while listening to it, sitting in my room, by myself, uh, blind and in pain, The Once and Future Nerd took me away from my loneliness and my boredom and my pain and, you know, kind of, uh, saved my life. Uh, because I had something to help me get through a difficult period of my life, and, um. On top of that, you know, I-I love how much care and thought the crew and the cast and everyone involved puts into the story, um, in terms of being, like, sensitive about topics and as well as, like, trying to, um, provide good representation for, uh, marginalized voices, and um. I just. God, I love this podcast so much. Thank you, thank you so much for everything y’all do. The Once and Future Nerd is... I-I recommend it to everyone I know, even if they don’t like podcasts because I-I really think it’s that good. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Sen: I love this podcast for its tapestry of fantasy tropes, the funny takes, and the moments of awesome. For multifaceted, diverse characters that I hadn’t encountered in other mediums before, and [sighs] well, for a gorgeous sound design that brings it all together. I found this podcast back in the middle of 2018. I was in a really, really bad place then, I was failing my classes, um, due to depression and anxiety for which I had begun taking medications too, which was not easy to adjust to. I just- I couldn’t concentrate on anything at all. So, I ended up searching for, uh, podcasts, and specifically what I would do back then is I would read the scripts and then I’d decide to listen to the whole thing later, you know. I read the first two episodes, then I just decided fuck it. I’m gonna listen. This podcast, and a few others, they were what got me through a really difficult time, but, you know, what made me keep listening then after that was just that it keeps on getting better. Personally, my favourite moment in TOaFN is, uh, episode three of I’ve Been Working on the Whale Road. Because, okay, yes, there are the pilot- uh, pirates, and there is Maddy Groves, but then there is also Bryce’s death. An ignoble death, nobly done. I get emotional thinking about it, but I think the way that Bryce died, it touches you, I think. And I think that... that balance between the humor and the silliness and the sincerity, and the love, I think, uh, it’s always- it touches you. I love this show for its emphasis on storytelling, the words “people are the stories they tell, power is who gets to tell those stories” th-they’re ingrained in my mind at this point. I resonate with the philosophy so much, and I’m so grateful to this show for getting me through tough times and for teaching me things about storytelling, about myself. And for the people that I have met through this show. In the discord server, the long-running DnD game, um, those people that, like, I got close to, and the book club folks, er, that I get to chat with on occasion. They make me laugh and they make me smile and I can confide in them, they’re always there and... I just- I- Thank you so much, for giving me all of that.

CJ: Congrats on ten years!

#toafn #the once and future nerd #the once and future nerd is a period piece #toafnperiodpiece

17 notes · View notes

lcdrarry · 11 months

Text

LCDrarry 2023 Round-Up Post | Week 5

As always, here are all the works posted in the past week in LCDrarry, so you can catch up on and hopefully leave lovely comments for our creators.

Happy reading, commenting and sharing! ;)

~Your LCDrarry Mods

PS: Please have a look at the author notes and tags on AO3 for additional information. Thank you!

PPS: Please share far and wide! ;)

***

Art

***

To Infinity With You

Prompt: “SK8 the Infinity”, 2021, TV Series Artist: Anonymous Art Medium: Digital Rating: General Audiences Warnings: None

Summary: Summary: Just a couple of sk8er bois in love.

View it now on AO3.

***

Fic & Art

***

The Flame Between Us

Prompt: “Lady Chatterley’s Lover”, 2022, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre Author: Anonymous Artist: Anonymous Word Count: 33,060 words Art Medium: Water colours Rating: Explicit Warnings: marriage of convenience, open marriage, consensual infidelity, D/s undertones, terminal illness, blood curse, implied mpreg, canonical character death, angst with a happy ending

Summary: The rumoured engagement of one Mister Draco Lucius Malfoy and Lady Astoria Sofia Greengrass has been the talk of Wizarding Society. My dear reader, this author can confirm that the rumours are true.

Read and view it now on AO3.

***

This Life Now

Prompt: "Sweet Home Alabama", 2002, Andy Tennant Author: Anonymous Artist: Anonymous Word Count: 38,295 words Art Medium: Digital Rating: Mature Warnings: Explicit Sexual Content, Mentions of Divorce, Alcohol, Minor Draco Malfoy/Blaise Zabini, Minor Pansy Parkinson/Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter & OMC Friendship, Draco is involved with/engaged to Blaise while separated from but still legally married to Harry

Summary: This close up, Draco can see the differences that have occurred over the years. Harry's hair is longer, although it's as unruly as ever; his forearms are well-muscled and decorated with ink; and there are small lines by his eyes that look like they would crinkle if he were smiling. Which, at this moment, he most definitely is not. He looks like he's worn the same clothes for three days and just rolled out of bed, yet Harry's so unfairly gorgeous it makes Draco's heart ache. "What do you want, Draco?" Harry asks, his voice resigned. The question snaps Draco out of his reverie. "A divorce," he proclaims as he opens his bag.

Read and view it now on AO3.

***

Fic

***

The Decision

Prompt: “Fleabag”, 2019, TV Series Author: Anonymous Word Count: 5,369 words Rating: Mature Warnings: transphobic slur but don't worry she gets revenge, miscarriage, general horrible person

Summary: Love is awful. Draco Malfoy is dreading helping Pansy Parkinson plan her wedding. That's something horrible people dread, and perhaps that makes her a horrible person. She's determined to behave, until old connections and an increasingly surreal and intolerable dinner party get the better of her.

Read it now on AO3.

***

The Dying of the Light

Prompt: “Dead Like Me”, 2003, TV Series Author: Anonymous Word Count: 20,078 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: Death themes, Implied Infidelity (not between Harry/Draco), Angst, Hurt/Comfort

Notes: “Life sucks, and then you die… And then it still sucks.” – Georgia Lass, Dead Like Me. The biggest thank you to our fabulous Mods for LCDrarry 2023! This community has been an absolute joy to be a part of and I couldn’t recommend it enough to others. And to my beta (R) who (once again) aided my whale call for assistance in the very final stages of submission. This fic would be a mess without you. You're the absolute best. x

Summary: Everyone dies. That’s just the way it is. And then there are the unfortunate few who get promoted.

Read it now on AO3.

***

Palm Springs

Prompt: "Palm Springs", 2020, Max Barbakow Author: Anonymous Word Count: 20,137 words Rating: Mature Warnings: Major Character Death, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Time Loop, Angst with a Happy Ending

Summary: Harry collapsed into the chair next to him. “What is happening?” “One of those infinite time loop situations.” “What?!” “You know. Yesterday is today. Today is today, tomorrow is today.” “But how do I stop it? I don’t want tomorrow to be today. I want tomorrow to be tomorrow!” “Yeah, that’s understandable.” Malfoy said calmly. “Do you like tacos?”

Read it now on AO3.

***

Double Trouble

Prompt: "Alias", 2001-2006, TV Series Author: Anonymous Word Count: 57,440 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: possible tw for torture (non-graphic incarcerous)

Summary: Four years after the War, Draco is stuck in a dead-end job, paper-pushing his life away. Until one day, after a security breach in the Ministry, he receives an offer he can’t refuse. Thrown back into a world he thought he’d left behind, Draco must wrestle with his Death Eater past as well as his inconvenient — and forbidden — feelings for an annoyingly level-headed Harry Potter. Will he manage to come out unscathed like he has most of his life, or will it all come crashing down?

Read it now on AO3.

***

Please help promote the fest by sharing your favourite submissions, so more people can enjoy all the amazing new Drarry works of LCDrarry. Thank you!

Creator reveals are on 15 June.

22 notes · View notes

synergysilhouette · 7 months

Text

An alternate take on "Frozen II" (2019)

I'm back! I wasn't expecting to do a rewrite for this, but considering how polarized the feedback for this film is, I wanted to give my own spin on it--but keep in mind, this takes into account my rewrite for "Frozen," so read that first! You have NO IDEA how hard this was to rewrite, especially since I had to alter a lot. Hope you enjoy this, and be sure to check out my rewrites for other revival-era films!

Again: make use of the concept art! Unlike part 1, it doesn't really look historically/culturally accurate to medieval Scandinavia, but at least it looks amazing! Maybe the silhouettes could be changed to make it more accurate. Keep the color schemes, though; I love the oranges and reds used for Anna rather than her black look used in the final product--and yes, I know the last picture is from her Arendelle festival dress at the beginning of the film; I'd like it to be formatted to her travel dress (I like the silvery-grey coat though), as well as using the blues and greens for Elsa.

2. Stay in Arendelle a little bit longer. If you recall my "Frozen" remake, it's a larger kingdom, and I'd like to see it a bit more during "Some Things Never Change" and before we relax in the castle. Considering my other changes, it works out fine; they could be perusing the town when Elsa hears the magical voice. And Liutenant Mattias and his group are never trapped in Northuldra; they remain in Arendelle and didn't have a large role in part 1 due to Agnarr's advice to the staff to keep an emotional distance from the royals.

3. Hans is Anna's main love interest, being a genuine good guy here, and joins the team on their adventure. Given the events of the first film, they actually have been engaged for a while, as Anna is working on her relationship with Elsa and Hans is trying to bond with (some of) his brothers. He's also earned bonus sister points from Elsa because he serves as a confidant to her. Despite being engaged, Kristoff hoped Anna's feelings would've changed, but despite caring for him, she chose Hans.

4. Explore Northuldra culture more, and make Arendelle ancestors (a separate culture from the Northuldra) Sami-inspired. I find it a waste that the Northuldra simply existed to give Elsa a hint to the voice and serve as the victims of a colonial story. In my opinion, they don't live THAT far from Arendelle; they just stay a little ways away, enough to keep their cultural distance while still keeping in touch with current events. Plus they're not stuck in one area. In my version, their mythology would have a BIG impact on the story.

5. Remove Iduna's Northuldra origins. Maybe it's just me, but I do think Iduna doesn't look Northuldran. In my version, she was from a tribal group, racially similar to the people of Arendelle and hidden thanks to the trolls (and I'd also make Kristoff related to them as well). Or if we wanna utilize more of the Nordic mythology, she can be descended from elves, who are said to live in Ahtohallan, where Elsa ventures to find out the origins of the voice.

8. What were different elements in the film now embody seasons: Bruni (summer), Nokk (spring), Gale (fall), and Elsa (winter), which can be spiritual or in corporeal form, usually the former. The nokk (as per mythology) can also shapeshift. I'm removing the rock giants, since they don't really serve a purpose in my rewrite.

9. "I Can't Lose You" is included. After finding out the REAL reason their parents died, Elsa feels awful for how she blamed their deaths on Anna, and Anna attempts to prevent Elsa from shutting her out again, but Elsa is realizing that she's now at a point where Anna may not be able to understand (or survive) Elsa's destiny.

10. After Elsa sends away Hans, Olaf, and Anna, a new trio forms: Elsa, Honeymaron (who joins the team to help uncover the secrets of the voice), and the spirit of a previous winter incarnation named Cajetan. Elsa is able to summon him thanks to her own abilities tied to memory (it's mentioned the nokk can do so as well). A Northuldran from decades ago, he silently guides Elsa throughout he journey to find the voice, with Honeymaron bridging certain gaps in unspoken communication that may be lost on someone not from Northuldra. Can't decide whether or not Cajetan is like a little brother to Elsa or a hinted-at love interest (like I'd make Honeymaron). Regardless, Elsa does have higher priorities here than romance, but the seeds can be sew. The other trios are Anna/Hans/Olaf and Kristoff/Ryder/Sven. It's also revealed the previous embodiment of winter killed Kristoff's parents, as well as many of the ethnic group that lived with the trolls. Elsa suffers a lot of guilt for this, and thus involves Kristoff less in their journey, not wanting to hurt him, especially given that he's still reeling about Anna and Hans' upcoming wedding.

11. "Lost in the Woods" is about Kristoff letting go of his feelings for Anna as she decides to marry Hans, with possible hinting at him being attracted to Ryder, as well as reeling from the reason his family was taken from him.

12. We get a physical, PRESENT, villain. Sound exciting right? Well, my idea for the villain might lose a few people. Diving into the world's religion a bit more, I do like the idea that the Northuldrans (as well as the Arendelle people's cousins) spoke of an embodiment of destruction and chaos, a being that made seasons violent and dangerous, and prevents them from coinciding. Their goal is chaos, hoping to rebirth the world and crafting the wretched mirror that Arendelle royalty eventually gained possession of. Failing to convince Elsa to freeze Arendelle (and eventually the world), they turned their attention to the other spirits, who, due to lacking a human form, were easier to manipulate and control, using them to corrupt Elsa, who could also be the most destructive force if they to control her. The nokk attempts to flood Arendelle, Bruni burns up the Northuldra forest (causing them to relocate to Arendelle for a period) and Gale killing off other forms of life by taking their breath away until there isn't even a breeze in the air. Perhaps I've played too many video games, but I love the idea that he oversees much of the heroes like a deity would, similar to Eris from "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas."

13. Change Elsa's origins. When Runeard dies in a frost, Iduna prays for the spirit of winter to be born as someone to bring Arendelle out of it's dark age, resulting in Elsa. "Love," as to be expected, is an honorary 5th element, and it's revealed that humans can only embody the seasons if true love is involved. It also explains why Agnarr abhors magic and attempts to put on a tough front. All of this is shown at Ahtohollan thanks to the magical elves who imbue wisdom to her. She spends a bit more time there before leaving, with "Show Yourself" being sung once she's there, and they're able to show her other memories of her family and show how much her parents loved her. Perhaps the "You are the one you've been waiting for" line is sung by the benevolent primordial entity. And Elsa is able to let go of the past discretions of the frost that killed her grandfather and Kristoff's parents.

14. The ending is a bit more open-ended. The chaotic deity is defeated, though it's noted that such things cannot be defeated, simply diminished or banished, similar to what Elsa does by working with the other seasons to defeat the deity. Elsa realizes that unlocking her full potential has made her a target for the deity's wrath, but she believes as long as she has those she cares about, then she can get through anything (it's cheesy, but it's true!) However, she does decide that she wants to learn more about the seasons and the magical world, and asks Anna to be a regent in her stead. Anna (and Hans) accept, with a bittersweet goodbye. The film ends with Anna and Hans kissing (and Olaf watches) while Kristoff, Sven, Elsa, and her seasonal contemporaries make for Northuldra, where Ryder, Honeymaron, and Cajetan await them.

One again, I've got A LOT going on with this remake. Maybe it needs to be a 2 hour movie. PLEASE let me know your thoughts and if you have any questions! I may tweak this later.

Update: I've also made a post about my own take if I was in charge of a Disney movie about the Snow Queen. This adaptation is independent of my Frozen remakes.

#frozen #disney #disney animation #elsa #anna #frozen 2 #hans #olaf #jack frost #show yourself #into the unknown #kristoff

10 notes · View notes

silkdamask-blog · 9 months

Text

A late edition of #FootcandyFriday: The Massachusetts Historical Society has some lovely wedding shoes & dancing slippers in their collection & I was fortunate to work with them as guest curator for ‘Fashioning the New England Family’ in 2018-2019. Here, a detail of a fine ivory wool #weddingshoe with faded blue satin #silk rosette & ankle ties, straight- lasted with spring heel, c.1859. #fashioningthenewenglandfamily

#dancing slippers #19th century fashion #wedding shoes #straight last #ivory wool #Massachusetts Historical Society

12 notes · View notes

lecpenni · 10 months

Text

LEC RETROSPECTIVE: ASTRALIS

Man, this one's just sad.

So Astralis have had a very unfortunate history in LEC so far. Rebranding Origen, which wasn't the most successful after 2016, qualifying to worlds in 2015 and making it to semifinals with that early Niels/Mithy botlane, before losing it to G2 and floundering around the bottom of the table until being demoted in 2017, and then being accepted as a partner org for LEC franchising.

After 2019's "superteam" lost in spring finals to the G2 actual Superteam, 2020's "superteam" (also featuring Upset, natch) performed basically ok then went 10th in summer, and rebranded to Astralis heading into 2021. Signing an all new roster going into 2021, they floundered around the bottom of the table, going 9th, tied 7th, then 9th and 10th in 2022. But the rosters always had flashes of brilliance with endearing players like Zanzarah, WhiteKnight who had arguably a top 3 lee sin in the world during that cursed Lane Sin period, and Kobbe who was a reliable rock looking for a team to finally step out of the shadow of his prior glories on Misfits and Splyce and his 2020 on TSM which was a disaaaaster. Well going into 2023, Astralis actually kept a surprisingly consistent core of Dajor in Mid, Kobbe in Bot, and Korean support Jeonghoon, previously known as Execute, who made a strong impression early in 2022 on Pyke and Bard, despite being on bottom CL rosters beforehand. In addition, they retained the same coaching staff, which while not the top tier of LEC coaches, you could do a WHOLE lot worse. The new additions were Finn in top lane, who had a... odd history prior to this. Debuting in 2019 Summer as a sub for Rogue, who had a fairly weak roster at that point, before making Worlds with a similar roster in 2020, and utterly flopping as the EU 3rd seed, moving to NA and joining CLG during their worst years ever, then coming back to EU and joining Excel during their most successful year, and missing out on worlds by getting reverse swept by a Fnatic who had a fair amount of promise. And in the Jungle, 113. I think most people would say he's probably one of the worse jungle prospects in the ERLs, and he certainly didn't impress while on KCorp, often dragging his team down. But, with a good coach and team around him, he could maybe impress. Early on, not many hopes were had for Astralis, who were often placed bottom 2 or 3 alongside SK in tier lists and power rankings, due to the slightly underwhelming pickups of 113 and Finn, Dajor's mostly amateurish gameplay and Kobbe and Jeonghoon probably being elo helled again due to this topside.

But against all odds, Astralis managed to not completely shit the bed in Winter! Overall they went 3-6 in winter, which did qualify them for Groups, barely. Losses to a new G2 and Yike on a carry jungler, vs Heretics with a brave ass Fiora pick, Vitality who actually did well in Winter overall, and BDS left them very unoptimistic going into week 3, but grabbing a win over Excel meant they were at least guaranteed a chance for top 8, with an incredibly dominant Lucian/Nami, and on Week 3, a clutch Gangplank from Finn snatched victory from the jaws of defeat dropping absolute gorgeous barrels that completely annihilated an MVP level Exakick on Lucian, and then the game that would decide if Astralis could make it to groups, vs a slumped Fnatic that would end up missing playoffs for the first time in their history. Astralis, against almost all odds made it to groups. You could argue it was off the back of Excel looking completely lifeless and horrendous, and Fnatic having a ridiculously poor season in a meta that hated them, but nonetheless, Astralis overcame them and a rising SK to make it to groups. Let's Goooo!!!! And in groups they shit it goddamn it. A 2-1 loss to MAD Lions, who ended up being Astralis' bane this season, with a genuinely unique and surprisingly strong Cassio/Twitch botlane (it lost anyways), and a monster performance from Dajor and the Botlane in Game 2, followed by getting a win over BDS who hadn't come into their winning ways just yet, anchored by a Kled from Finn, his previous one-trick, and a really damn good Varus from Kobbe, carrying them through to one last try at Playoffs. Who's their opponent MAD fucking lions goddamn it all.

A quick 2-0 from MAD, focusing a Dajor who floundered all series, and a fairly disastrous performance from 113, despite Kobbe's best effort on Lucian left Astralis in a maybe not respectable, but certainly surprising 5th place. They scrapped and fought their way up and punched up for most of their victories, demonstrating a style that maybe wasn't unlike some Asian teams, with a toplaner transitioned around the map to generate pressure, a roaming mid-jungle and a strongside botlane who made sure they were the stars. But most of all, they showed 0 fear on engaging and taking every little fight they could, to generate any kind of advantage. That made Astralis genuinely exciting to watch, but there was an obvious weak link on the roster, and that was Mid lane. Going into Spring, Dajor was out, and the rumoured Mid was none other than LIDER, a player who was often considered a dark horse for most inflexible player ever. The narrative was always that the man would and could only ever play assassins, an unusual thing in high level play, as most midlaners since 2016ish stuck to control mages, with occasional assasin picks or poke mages as niche counterpicks. But honestly? That was never true. LIDER did play mages as and when needed, the man just preferred assassins in the game, and he was still capable of your Ryzes, (with the meta changes) your Annies, your Aurelion Sols, even an Azir from time to time. Yes, assassins were his specialty, and mostly what he played, but the narrative that his assassins were his only successful picks? Just untrue. Spring began with a rough first week. FOR ASTRALIS' OPPONENTS, THAT IS. Taking games over KOI, who made playoffs last season, and the Champions G2, with a LIDER Irelia, and dropping a game to SK, with a... unique botlane of Veigar/Pyke that did NOT pay off. Week 2 went rougher, losing to MAD (i told you) and BDS, who came in with a clear gameplan and a perfect plan on how to execute every comp, and then taking a game off of Vitality thanks to a strong LIDER Asol, and a fairly bad game from Bo on the inverse. Week 3 began with a new look again, as LIDER got his Zed, and used it to utterly dominate midlane and carry Astralis through, basically securing playoffs for the team. A win over Excel, thanks to a LIDER Irelia, and a win over Fnatic with another LIDER Zed, a JeongHoon Blitzcrank secured Astralis their first 3-0 week, and a shot at the top couple spots of the season, placing 2nd overall. A damn good finish, if i've ever seen one. LIDER brought so much to the team, and they looked incredibly strong going into the next round. Some things hadn't changed, like 113's ability to be exploited, but overall this roster look shockingly strong, and their playstyle had been solidified, and bright eyes looked forward to groups. We begin the group stage against the one and only Fnatic, a genuinely shockingly close series for what should've been 2nd place vs 8th place, but an odd choice with Illaoi from Finn lost game 2, alongside a misguided Zed pick from LIDER, and a game 3 that hinged on the success of another LIDER Irelia, which managed to finally pull out the win after a half hour slugfest. Astralis, to be frank, were bleeding. They didn't look anywhere as scrappy or exciting as in the regular season, and their next series vs Vitality, to qualify for playoffs, well... Remember yesterday when I said this series was the one that showed the Bo That Was Promised, an insane mechanical hypercarry player who could demolish a team and turn them into a chinese tiktok montage? Yeah, Astralis was on the recieving end of that. 113 and LIDER got absolutely FARMED by a wukong, followed by a Lee Sin, and that was a deathblow for Astralis' mental it felt like. They had beat Vitality already once, like, what was this? Their next series, since they had already won the one vs Fnatic, was vs... MAD FUCKING LIONS. I told you they were their kryptonite this season.

And despite a Cassio and Talon (?) from LIDER, 113 got hard exposed and dominated by the mid jungle of MAD, ending their season, once again, early. This was a sad moment. Astralis had finally begun to reach the heights of the roster that was promised to them, but other teams started reaching their heights much faster than they did, and simply outclassed them. Over the break for MSI, Astralis was one of few roster to make no changes. They had a winning formula, the 2nd place in spring proved that, and the formula and strategy was locked down, scrap everywhere, fight everything, get lane dominant picks and move Finn around to every sidelane to make sure you couldn't do anything without worrying about where he was.

Well... Summer came. And this is where their story goes from hopeful rise of a plucky young adventurer, to a tragedy that ends with the adventurer getting beheaded by the mighty warlord at the end. Summer didn't go well. At all. Week 1 began with a game vs Fnatic, the team that they beat in Spring Groups, however now sporting a fashionable new Botlane of Noah and Trymbi, who proceeded to utterly shitstomp them. A game vs Heretics with a shiny new Vetheo and Flakked, who proceeded to utterly dismantle a LIDER Neeko, but ending the week on a positive note with one of the absolute worst earlygames i've ever had the pleasure of watching in pro league of legends, vs BDS. Nuc simply walks into LIDER for about 10 seconds letting him fully stack Lethal Tempo and nearly 1v2 Adam and Nuc. Please watch it, it's so absolutely pathetic and tragic for how the rest of the game now goes. Finn also helps by RPing Peak Shanji (the OMG toplaner known for his AP tops like Rumble) in the toplane vs Adam, and you know what. It's not the worst. It was a fun fucking game, but the fact that Astralis only won because BDS managed to completely annihilate their ENTIRE early game by doing that wasn't a good sign. Week 2 came by, Astralis were sitting tied with 5 other teams at 1-2, so not that well off, but they could be much worse. Right now they could be Excel still sitting at 0-3! First game, vs MAD lions oh for fuck sake why did they give Nisqy Gragas. That's like rule number 1 vs MAD since winter playoffs, don't give Nisqy Gragas. Well that's lost. Game 2, Vitality well this should be better, vitality look lost and helpless in almost every game now! And Astralis do it! Another Yasuo, with a Gragas for Finn in top handily sweeps the floundering Vitality, and Game 3 of the week pits them vs G2 aaaand yeah it goes about as well as you might think. The game's an absolute snoozer with 10 kills in almost 30 minutes, but demonstrates something amazing about G2 and something really bad about Astralis. Unless they're running the pace of the game, Astralis generally flounder. And G2 are professionals at running the game at the exact pace they desire. Week 3 comes by, and Astralis are a bit worse off. Now they're only tied with 3 other teams, and they could still make it to groups, but few people have high hopes for them. Some of the people they're tied against, they face this week, and BDS they've already beaten. This should be easy, right? Well they beat SK, thanks almost exclusively to a LIDER Azir, giving them one step up on the competition for 8th, now all they need is:

Beat KOI

SK Lose another game

Well, next game vs an Excel who got their first 3-0 week and look decently strong, they lose. No biggie. Would've been nice to win, but all they need now is SK lose (they didn't, they beat MAD) and to beat KOI. That KOI game was an absolute shitshow. Comp pulls out an off-meta Sivir and reminds the world why Sivir was the menace it was just after the rework, with a disasterclass from JeongHoon on Nautilus. Well, their season isn't over just yet! If SK lose to Fnatic, the First place team with a dominant insane botlane, an MVP jungler and one of the strongest toplaners right now, then Astralis qualify! Well they get a tiebreaker. But they've beaten SK before, it's doable again! That SK-Fnatic game was a nailbiter start to finish. From a surprisingly Humanoid Xerath, one of the most terrifying 4/4 Jaxes i've ever seen, and a ridiculous carry performance from Mr Sertussy, it was an end to Astralis' season. 9th place. Where most predicted they'd end in Winter and Spring. Afterwards, it's announced that due to Championship points, it's impossible to Astralis to qualify for Season finals, meaning for Finn, 113, LIDER, Kobbe and JeongHoon, that's it. Their season is completely over. Unlike Vitality who finished last, they're done for now. Following this was some truly heartbreaking posts, especially from Finn, which I'll show here in its entirety:

Finn spent most of the year playing at a high level, being massively underrated on Astralis' roster, and even arguably on Excel, and to lose like this is really heartbreaking. As he says, At the end of the day 2 teams have to miss out, this summer split it just ended up being us. Astralis' future is unknown. Even before the split, rumours were abound that the org was planning on collaborating with KCorp and making the LEC spot a joint-ownership between Astralis and KCorp, but that deal fell through. Most of these players deserve more shots, but most teams won't be shopping around for new players in the offseason until worlds in October/November. I do hope the best comes for this team and these players. APPENDED: I finished this post at around 3:30PM on Friday, and a report has just come out about an hour ago from blix.gg (read here on this link) that Astralis are considering selling their spot again, and negotiations got pretty far with Saudi Org, Falcons, who operate a french CSGO (now CS2 i guess) starring KennyS. Riot apparently blocked the sale, not wanting a Saudi investment firm to get in. Blix also says that some ERL teams are competing for the spot, and if it does end like this, man that's sad. Yeah Astralis weren't the best team but they had heart and their players were likeable as fuck, with genuinely cool plays and players across their history, even in the most dire days of their history.

#lol esports #lec #astralis #ast lider #ast finn #ast kobbe #esports #league of legends

14 notes · View notes

omegaremix · 2 months

Text

Rough Trade, 2021.

The pandemic has been a hellacious dice roll. Since last spring, all of our favorite businesses, diners, take-outs, arcades, specialty shops, record-stores, and venues had all shuttered with no telling other than the governor’s word when they’d re-open - if they’d re-open. I’ve been fortunate to see that all of my -stores on the island have survived with few hiccups. The last time I shopped at one? Summer of 2018 at Mineola’s Mr. Cheapo’s which capped off what was an unprecedented post-surgery record-store victory tour. It was so vitalizing that I promised myself I’d do it again.

For the record, I almost never done any city music shopping, save for when I purchased Sonic Youth’s Sister, Skinny Puppy’s Rabies, and Ministry’s Just Another Fix during a post-senior year city excursion. For one New Year’s Day at Times Square, my friends and I visit another record store and I passed up a chance to buy Anal Cunt’s Morbid Florist. Since then, it was nothing but mail-orders and island stores until now. I always owed it to myself to visit Rough Trade, New York City’s greatest record store for the longest time. Anxiety, scheduling, poor timing, and other personal insecurities kept me from going. New York State’s various business-closing mandates didn’t help either and I know the pandemic era has not been nice to anyone at all. Even my aunt Laura warned me not to take the train. At least, not yet.

And then a wake-up call: they’re closing down their Williamsburg store to re-locate to as-yet undisclosed digs. They announced their target date: March 21st, the final day before shutting their doors until this summer. So when a record store advertises 25% off CD’s, books, and other merchandise to say good-bye, you fucking go. I had bad luck being scheduled off of work on Mondays and Tuesdays, the two days they were closed during the week. Enough was enough. I spoke up and I finally won a Wednesday off at a price of working six-straight opening-and-closing shifts. Now, it’s on. This visit to Rough Trade is the prologue of my second-ever Record Store Victory Tour, which I’m still waiting to bank to make happen.

With a pending return to New York City / Brooklyn in the springtime, so did reminders of a certain someone from Brooklyn whose eclectic music and cultural tastes aligned with mine and a little more; someone I had a distinct connection with. She was on my mind intensely as it’s springtime in the boroughs. I had cut all ties with her not long ago because she slit me deeply and it’s a shame. It’s that time and place that holds her significance, and later visits made me wish I still had someone of her calibre to come join me.

The luxuries of living near the Long Island Expressway / Rt. 495 meant no time wasted getting there. Fifty minutes later with little traffic and only eight blocks remaining, I’m here. Driving through any part of New York City is signing your death wish, whether it’s rolling down the asphalt pothole fields of Junction Ave., or the start-and-stop traffic of 3rd Ave. during rush hour. This time it was the expressway, and driving over the new Kościuszko Bridge which I never seen before. No question that its presence would forever mark this perfect March day. Jumping off the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway / Rt. 278 and driving down the narrow 8th St. was not a harrowing experience as long as you slow it. I park it near Marsha P. Johnson State Park, and walk two blocks southeast to finally scratch Rough Trade off my bucket list. I had up until 7PM with a $160.00 head-start burning in my pocket since Christmas 2019. No time to waste…and go.

I walk in and I feel it. I look around, and right away I could tell we don’t have this on Long Island. Rough Trade was the kicker: everything I couldn’t find in other stores I found here. You wouldn’t find Garcia Peoples, Horse Lords, or Sweeping Promises in any too-kind indie store or mall that would rather worship The Beatles, Phish, Jimi Hendrix, "The Dead", "Floyd" or “Zep” as you call them, you fucking Bruce Villanch-Mason Reese cross-breeds. Think Pitchfork, Alt Citizen, Gold Flake Paint, Brooklyn Vegan, and Post Trash. Not to say I never found gold at my local stores, but Rough Trade had that special something-else because us islanders don’t have the same vibe the city stores does. Oh, much better. Even I hoped to see specific titles because this location was city-centric, and at times my wishes almost came true.

First up: the cassettes section. A small selection ensures that I’d already have four in my hand in the first three minutes digging. You sure wouldn’t find Birthing Hips’ Urge To Merge anywhere else but here, right? Clipping’s Visions Of Bodies Being Burned? Nope. What a relief to find Hesitation Wounds’ Chicanery as I blast half of those songs at the gym. To my amazement: finding Kedr Livanskiy’s Ariadne. Too bad it wasn’t the disc version because that would’ve also had January Sun, one of my favorite releases of the Tens, but at least I have her now.

Next up, the used vinyl section; a small tidy amount of it that’s reasonably priced mixed with rock, pop, jazz, blues, reggae, and Latin jazz. On the overheads played various selections of Nancy Sinatra (“These Boots Are Made for Walking”) and with Lee Hazelwood (“Sand”) as I looked for more wins there. Don Patterson’s Movin’ Up!, a summer memory, was finally scratched off the list. Marcio Montarroyos’ Magic Moment was something I wasn’t expecting to find. It featured “Pedro Bonita”, a springtime memory of walking through Central Park, so I took it. The expedition got better when I acquired Dual Action’s “Babe Beer Car Bar” compilation on clear red vinyl (!). That’s one of two Hospital Productions’ releases I took home with me.

On to their 7” section where it started to sting. A good number of these platters were priced at an average of $7.00 and up, even higher. I would’ve loved to take Martin Rev’s “Gutter Rock” home but at $17.00 for only two songs? No dice. Same with the Idles / Heavy Lungs split. But I got my hands on Gong Gong Gong’s “Siren” b/w “Something’s Happening”, another small victory and one of two I found of Wharf Cat Records. At least there’s some Raincoats and Pylon up for grabs, and if anyone wants Brandy’s “Clown Pain” b/w “Rent Quest”, it’s still there. The only normal piece I took home with me was a promotional copy of Maria Muldaur’s “Midnight At The Oasis”. Just the single because it’s all I ever need of hers.

Rough Trade had plenty of new vinyl with many titles going for $25.00-$30.00 each. That was the only section I stayed away from, personally. I wasn’t so much into The Body yet that I didn’t pick up I’ve Seen All I Needed To See, for example, or the many PJ Harvey records they had on display. But some good titles in my eyes were found such as Wharf Cat Records’ ACLU Benefit Compilation. To my surprise: Alan Parker & Madeline Bell’s The Voice of Soul from Themes International. It’s the very first time I’d ever seen a [TV / film / radio] library record; the stuff hip-hop producers look for.

But as mentioned before, all discs were 25% off. Aside from the Christmas money by my generous aunt and uncle from the Brooklyn-youth era, the discounted discs would at least cushion the blow to my wallet.

I started with the used hip-hop section. I immediately grabbed Madvilliany which was the soundtrack to my most vital days at Stony Brook. More Madlib to be had when I grabbed Bandana and Pinata with new favorite Freddie Gibbs. Then, how about two legends with Slick Rick’s The Great Adventures Of… and Eric B & Rakim’s Paid In Full? Saw a copy of A Tribe Called Quest’s We Got It From Here… and that was a must-grab. I found Death Grips’ The Money Store (featured on the very first Omega WUSB show) and I had to have it. The only time I saw Death Grips up for the taking was when West Sayville’s Vinyl Paradise (r.i.p.) stocked several of their titles but gave them up because I felt I spent too much. It’s a start. My final jazz acquisitions were two from Herbie Hancock: Headhunters and The Best Of…. I had a opportunity to grab Headhunters at West Babylon’s Looney Tunes and also Sunlight at Amityville’s High Fidelity but wasn’t too keen on Hancock back then. On a separate note: Lee Moses’ Time And Place caught my eye. It’s one you see everywhere posted on obscure samplist groups and forums. That’s when I realized the mood of the overheads changed from Sinatra / Hazelwood to children’s educational TV theme songs; going from Sesame Street to Reading Rainbow. That was a cringe moment and the staff felt it, too. So they switched it up to something better: Hailu Mergia. Speaking of Awesome Tapes From Africa, I paused to pull the trigger on Nahawa Doumbia. The music is from 1980, but I couldn’t make the judgment here not knowing her music beforehand.

I continued searching through the used disc section, and these next finds I felt not only defined this store but the entire experience as well. I kept going and spotted titles I didn’t expect. Know of Council Estate Electronics? You wouldn’t if you also didn’t know Mr. Godflesh himself (Justin Broadrick). Since I did, Arktika was in the bank. Profligate’s Somewhere Else, the final of two Wharf Cat finds, was nice to see. Then, I see Boy Harsher’s Lesser Man (Extended) in the corner of my eye and immediately I snatched it up. (I noticed that of three copies, two were priced at $21.99 and one for $13.99. Why would I not want the $13.99 copy?) I was happy to get Silent Servant’s Shadows Of Death And Desire but wished it was Negative Fascination instead. But any Silent Servant is better than nothing, and beggars can’t be choosers.

As I was still reeling from the Boy Harsher grab: two from Pharmakon (Bestial Burden and Devour) and two from Uniform (The Long Walk and Shame) all in the same gasp. I almost went into cardiac arrest and died from seeing them in stock. Would Rough Trade’s staffers cut from labeling their stock to find me lying on the floor and call for an ambulance to Maimonides Hospital is up for debate. One final round in searching still continued in the used disc section. Zola Jesus had her own divider and saw what they offered. Okovi featuring “Veka” was in my possession and that’s five Sacred Bones titles I’d purchased. In fact, I attempted to order from them online a few months ago but money issues made it a bad idea. Those five made up half of that order. Rough Trade’s shelves were littered with -Bones stuff and they're both from Brooklyn, so they’re really riding that golden stallion out towards the sunset, are they?

Other wild cards I knew enough to buy started with Mr. Elevator’s Goodbye Blue Sky, a personal favorite from last year’s pandemic blues. Here’s two titles rather to be found in city stores and not on the island: Lithics’ Tower Of Age and Deeper’s 2018 self-titled album (the latter for $1.75). Idles’ Joy As An Act Of Resistance was plentiful and a lauded release, so I found a copy that included a bonus disc of their live performance at the store. And as a general rule, you can’t pick up Idles without also getting the conflicting Sleaford Mods’ 2018 e.p. Plus, I loved Tame Impala’s Currents, so I got it to spite everyone who thought their psych-rock era was better.

More? Sure. Soundgarden’s expanded Ultramega OK (including the same-titled e.p.) was in my hands. During the new-vinyl round I was thrilled to find some Akitsa records but passed them up, so I got some black metal diet with Darkthrone’s A Blaze In The Northern Sky. Finally (or so I thought), I nabbed the Electric Dress album from Merzbow, Carlos Giffoni, and Jim O’ Rourke also for $1.50. Peak hipster era. I thought to myself that I may have gotten it with my previous RRRecords mail-orders, but thankfully I was wrong. As I thumbed through that side of the bins, there it was staring at me, literally: Tops’ I Feel Alive. Jane Penny’s green-eyed look of disbelief on her face was looking at me because I passed up on the cassette, and now she’s waited for me again at the disc bins. “I Feel Alive” was a great pandemic-blues tune for me, but I didn’t know them enough to go for it. Our apologies, Jane.

Rough Trade had a few other sections as well. “Cheap Thrills!” their shelves said. That was their lower-priced new vinyl section mixed in with other used vinyl singles. One quick peek and I found Long Island white-label heroes Q-Ball & Curt Cazal. It wasn’t “Makin’ Moves”, but I wish it was. To my right is their rarities box. That’s where the big money copies are. It was where I saw a copy of Albert King’s Born Under A Bad Sign for a painful $110.00. Another copy found in-store cuts the pain away by another $50.00 less. Also on that side of their store, you’d find their bar / cafe disused indefinitely. Their live space has been cordoned off and so has most of their listening rooms. What wasn’t lost, however, was another flight of steel steps leading up to their book section; the shelves spread evenly of well-categorized books about music history, art, New York City, gender / sexuality, The 33 1/3 Series, and no shortage of copies of Cosey Fanni Tutti’s Art, Sex, Music or Kim Gordon’s No Icon to go around. The most ironic thing printed on paper? Kara Simsek’s So You Think You’re a Hipster?; of course of all places in a Williamsburg / Bushwick record store. En route upstairs are where the box sets and staff picks are. With two weeks to go, get those licks in at their operational photo booth and then see the pics- posted of how much fun the best of Brooklyn are having...assuming they’re not dying inside by rising rent prices).

By then, I was spent. I felt like there was nothing else to comb over. So I packed it in and gave my stack to purple-haired Janie, dressed in a pink long-sleeve and purple felt pants. As she counted everything up, I had second thoughts. I knew it was now or never, so I decided to give two titles I originally passed up a second chance. I ran to grab J Dilla’s Donuts and Discharge’s Protest And Survive: The Anthology. And that was that. She said I qualified for a free tote. (Are you offering a credit check for a bank loan, too?) and dashed one more time for a shirt. That was also 25%, too. I wasn’t leaving here without a fucking t-shirt.

She thanked me for my purchase, and I thanked her for her kindness. I left Rough Trade feeling -$417.00 happier. That’s what music-shopping therapy does to you. This venture had made me forget all of the recent depressing ills and anxious troubles I’ve had because it’s self-maintenance, healing, and power unto yourself. The return to Brooklyn was a much-needed reprieve outside of the daily toxicity experienced on the island that offers nothing that I really want that the city has. That, my friends and allies, is what you call happiness. New people, new experiences, opportunities, and fun. That’s what brings me it. I never felt it in such a long time.

Not since last March was when I set foot in Central Park and immediately turned back because sundown approached. Two weeks later, most of the world shut down flat and I didn’t return until now. I wasn’t the only one affected by cautionary stay-at-home mandates and city-wide closures, but things are much better now than last year when people died everywhere left and right. People and businesses are slowly out and open again with more information, confidence, and vigilance to live their lives and keep the damage to a minimum. The time was right to take precautionaries, to breathe again, and get back into it. I know I’ll get back into Rough Trade when they re-open, likely as my city go-to for everything I practiced and preached on Omega WUSB. They were on a whole new level, a level I wished other island stores would follow. It might arguably top my final visit at Tower Records before their closure.

I drive home through the tight Brooklyn streets and start the nerve-wrenching path home starting at the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. The movement panned to a cripple getting on Rt. 278, but seeing the colors change on the Kościuszko Bridge showed its’ new second life at night; a sight to behold. A chilly, mid-Forties coldness dominated the ride home as I said ‘goodbye’ to the New York City skyline of clear pitch-black skies and ‘hello’ to the wide-open L.I.E. roads.

I finally arrive home with the trace of lucky green transparent on my fresh cotton threads; the new notes that'll define the next couple of years. I unpack my goods and let everyone know how my day was as I wait for the flattery from my friends and allies at WUSB. Spring is finally here. It’s a chance for renewal. The vaccines are coming and so’s the money. I’m here to win it all. Place your bets.

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib: Pinata

Uniform: The Long Walk

Herbie Hancock: Headhunters

Slick Rick: The Great Adventures Of…

Idles: Joy As An Act Of Resistance / Live at Rough Trade

Sleaford Mods: self-titled e.p.

Death Grips: The Money Store

Discharge: Protest And Survive: The Anthology

Silent Servant: Shadows Of Death And Desire

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib: Bandana

Eric B & Rakim: Paid In Full

Pharmakon: Bestial Burden

Boy Harsher: Lesser Man

Lithics: Tower Of Age

Uniform: Shame

Soundgarden: Ultramega OK

Profligate: Somewhere Else

Madvillain: Madvillainy

Herbie Hancock: The Best Of…

Mr. Elevator: Goodbye Blue Sky

Zola Jesus: Okovi

Deeper: self-titled

Tame Impala: Currents

Lee Moses: Time And Place

Darkthrone: A Blaze In The Northern Sky

Council Estate Electronics: Arktika

A Tribe Called Quest: We Got It From Here…Thank You For Your Service

Pharmakon: Devour

Merzbow & Carlos Giffoni & Jim O’Rourke: Electric Dress

Hesitation Wounds: Chicanery (CS)

Kedr Livanskiy: Ariadne (CS)

clipping.: Visions Of Bodies Being Burned (CS)

J Dilla: Donuts (CS)

Birthing Hips: Urge To Merge (CS)

Marcio Montarroyos: Magic Moment (LP)

Don Patterson: Movin’ Up! (LP”)

Dual Action: Babe Beer Bar Car (double LP)

Gong Gong Gong: “Siren b/w “Something’s Happening” (7”)

Maria Muldaur: “Midnight At The Oasis” (7”)

Q-Ball & Curt Cazal: “Repertoire” (12”)

5 notes · View notes

duc-kie · 1 year

Note

heeey, can I ask for a george x fem!reader fic based on that laurie x amy scene from little women (2019) ?

I honestly really enjoyed writing this which is rare cuz I usually prefer really quick one shots lmao. I also never watched little woman before sooo… I tried my best. but I might just go and watch it cuz it looks really fun haha.

george weasley x afab!reader angst?

———————————————————————

you and George were having a picnic. you were sitting on the soft grass eating the delicious food, talking and playing with butterflies. you were wearing a beautiful flower crown and you were making a matching one for George because he asked for it.

your fingers gently braided the flowers. George laid down in the grass and observed the blue sky above him. you just looked at him and smiled. you soon joined him and laid down yourself. you closed your eyes and deeply inhaled the fresh spring air. you turned your head and met George’s eyes. you both smiled to each other. “is the crown finished yet?” he asked. “almost. let me measure your head” you answered and gently wrapped the crown around his head. it fit perfectly so you tied it together and put it on his head. you both smiled.

your cute moment was soon interrupted by a notification on George’s phone. it was a text from Heather, George’s fiancé. the smile on your face immediately disappeared. George reached for his phone but you stopped him. “don’t marry her.” you blurted out. “what?” he asked. “don’t marry her.” you repeated looking him in the eyes. “why not?” he asked looking very confused. “you know why.” you answered. it took him only a second before he understood what you meant. “no” he said looking at you in disbelief. “yes” you looked back at him with hopeful eyes. “no, y/n” he answered. “what?” you took a step forward but he stopped you. “stop it. you’re being mean” he said. “how am I being mean?” you asked. “I have been second to Fred my whole life, in everything and I will not be the person you settle for just because you cannot have him. I won’t do it. not when i’ve spent my entire life loving you” he answered with slightly watery eyes.

you couldn’t find any words to say anything back so you just stood there looking at him with your heart slowly breaking into pieces. he wiped a tear and walked away without saying another word. you were still standing there completely frozen. you then quietly walked to your dorm and locked the door behind you. you sat down by the fireplace and just thought about what you’ve just done. a part of you was sad and angry at George but a part understood him and felt bad for him.

a few months passed and it was George’s and Heather’s wedding day.

you were surprised when the envelope with an invite to the wedding arrived at your door. at fist you didn’t wanna go but you made yourself get up, put some makeup on and get dressed. you put on the nicest dress you owned, cuz if you were gonna watch the love of your life get married you’ll at least look good doing it.

when you arrived at the scene almost everyone was already there. from the corner of your eye you could see Fred approaching you. “hi y/n” he said smiling at you. you sighed and turned to him saying “please leave me alone Fred I’m not in the mood to talk”. he looked sad but he walked away without saying another word. you found yourself a free seat and sat down.

George peaked his head from behind the front door and signalled you to follow him. even though you didn’t want to you got up and walked over to him. “I need you to help me with something. please.” he said. you couldn’t say no so you followed him. he opened a door to the room where you were supposed to help him with rings but instead of them he found his fiancé kissing Fred (I didn’t know what to write here so pls bear with me). his face went completely white and his expression was blank. “are you fucking kidding me Heather?” he asked. his voice was breaking like he was about to cry. Heather and Fred quickly turned their head towards the door where you were standing. heather pushed Fred away and ran towards George, apologising. “and on our wedding day as well” he said angrily before taking your hand and slamming the door in her face.

he took off running and pulling you behind him. “please slow down I can’t run that fast George” you said panting. he didn’t say anything back he just slowed down a little. “where are we going?” you asked and yet again he stayed silent. he didn’t stop until you reached the top of a hill. he then sat down and dipped his head between his legs. you sat down next to him and put an arm around his shoulders, trying to comfort him. he sighed throwing his head back and closing his eyes. “I should’ve listened to you.” he said looking at the sky. you didn’t know how to reply so you just leaned your head against his shoulder. you stayed in that position for quite a while. you even watched the sunset together.

“you know I still love you right?” he all of a sudden said. you were shocked but happy to hear his words. “I tried so hard to move on I even got engaged but I just couldn’t forget you” he said looking at you. “I love you too George. so much.” you answered smiling at him. he brushed a finger on your cheek and leaned in. you closed your eyes and leaned in as well. you kissed. finally. after years of loving each other you finally got your happy ever after.

#harry potter #hp fanfic #light angst #george weasley #weasley twins #fred weasley #hp fluff #hp angst #george weasley angst

31 notes · View notes

dollyprescriptions · 9 months

Text

It’s @lolsurprise “Movie Magic” day! & with the release of the film and soundtrack, it’s going to be a fierce day.

Ms.Direct, is perfect for Halloween season aswell. When breaking down both ensembles, I wanted to think about what went with what.

-Outfit 1. For her fabulous comic/newsprint vest/suit jacket, I went with @jeremyscott F/w 2019 RTW.

The boulder hat is giving @hermes F/w 2010.

The Skirt is giving @dolcegabbana S/s 1991. The cape is also giving, @ralphlauren spring 2019.

Her knee high boots even though I think that’s just fabric over regular heels. I went with @themarcjacobs F/w 2016 Rtw.

Her adorable. . Bow tie gave is a collaboration between “Antonio Patruno Randolfi, who with

Luigi Arbore and Massimo Mazzilli

creates wearable ceramic bow ties.”

- Outfit 2. This is the fun “Wonder Woman/Supergirl” ensemble and it’s perfect with the lighting bolts it’s giving @jeremyscott F/w 2011 Rtw.

-The purple jumpsuit gives @chiarabonilapetiterobe F/w 2019 and her suit also gives, @balmain F/w 2011 Rtw.

-The adorable belt is F/w 2013 Rtw.

-Nothing tops of the look quite like @timberland heel boots.

#style #fashion #model #cute #photooftheday #fashionweek #fashionblogger #fashionista #instagood #fashionable #lol surprise #lol omg #fashion dolls #dollyx dolly prescriptions #dolly prescriptions

5 notes · View notes

dailyegl · 10 months

Text

Fleur Cat JSK

Angelic Pretty | 2019

Measurements:

Bust

about 90～100cm

Length

about 94cm

Waist

about 71～80cm

Oh! Kittens! Flowers! Stripes! Bows! This dress really has a lot going for it!

The print of this dress is obviously for cat lovers, first and foremost. We have the adorable and slightly, how shall I put it, creepy looking little kittens adorning the hem, their wide eyed stare peering straight into your soul. For me, that's a plus! It's like they've caught you doing something naughty and boy are they here for it!

The kittens are accompanied by some really sweet motifs- flowers, bows, stripes and pearls. This dress has a real elegant cuteness to it. Although the print is somewhat simple, the combination of the daisies and the cats is very charming. The bows and daisies raining down the print make me think of a spring celebration!

The themes are reflected in the details throughout the dress too! On the straps and waist ties we can see cute little daisy buttons with a pearlescent finish on them. The daisy theme is carried through to the lace, which we can see around the neckline of the dress. The lace details here are particularly adorable to me. The little sweetheart neckline and thin straps are really accentuated by the ruffled lace, giving it a delicate and sweet feel. It's certainly simple, but I think for this dress it works. The lace around the hem is nothing to scoff at either, featuring cute little bows with Angelic Pretty's monogram. To further tie in the bow theme, the bodice of this dress has two bows- a smaller polkadot ribbon bow at the top, and a nice big daisy adorned bow at the bottom. The bodice is kept relatively plain other than the bows, however I think this was a good design choice given how busy stripes can be.

Although the design of this is overall somewhat simple, one of the most interesting features is the colourway. The pink and mint are pretty expected, but the lemon yellow and blue seem a bit unusual to me! It's not like yellow is completely unseen in lolita, heck, AP has plenty of yellow dresses, but the combination to me is quite unique and bold, and maybe even a bit unexpected for a dress featuring fancy, flower adorned kittens. It reminds me of lemonade in the best way possible. In saying that, my personal favourite colour would be the mint, but that's because I'm a sucker for mint, lavender and pink. Who can blame me?

Overall, I like this dress a lot. The simple design is made up for by the print and cute details throughout. Would I die for this dress? Maybe not, but I would die for those creepy little kittens!

Print: A

The motifs are cute so this one is getting an A!

Dress design: B

Cute but a little simple, could have had some more interesting design points.

Overall ranking: B+

Disagree with my ranking? Think what I've said is spot on? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

If you love this dress and simply have to have it, the yellow colourway is currently for sale on closetchild!

https://www.closetchildonlineshop.com/phone/product/587907

All info and pictures taken from lolibrary.

https://lolibrary.org/items/ap-fleur-cat-jsk

#egl fashion #egl #egl community #angelic pretty #fleur cat #lolita fashion #sweet lolita

5 notes · View notes

mariacallous · 1 year

Text

“I don’t forget where I come from,” Senator Catherine Cortez Masto declared early on Sunday morning, flanked by union workers at the Carpenters International Training Center, in Las Vegas. Dressed in a navy suit with her hair in a sleek bob, the fifty-eight-year-old Democratic senator spoke from a makeshift podium hours after winning reëlection. She invoked her immigrant roots: her paternal grandfather, a veteran of the Second World War who had immigrated to the U.S. from the northern state of Chihuahua, Mexico, and her father, who, in his youth, had parked cars at the Dunes Hotel and went on to lead the local government body that oversees the Strip. “It’s the story of so many Latino families across our state,” Cortez Masto said. “When far-right Republicans said they knew better, I knew we would prove them wrong.” Her words drew chants of “Sí se pudo”—Yes we could.

Cortez Masto’s defeated opponent, Adam Laxalt, who is forty-four, had also campaigned on an appealing origin story—and a familiar last name. After spending five years in the Navy, during which he deployed to Iraq, Laxalt chose a political path, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, who were both Republican senators. (From 2015 to 2019, he served as Nevada’s attorney general.) In the weeks leading up to the election, Laxalt and Cortez Masto were virtually tied in the polls. The ballot-counting process, which stretched on for days, initially favored Laxalt, who performed strongly across the state’s rural counties. But, after those results were in, his lead narrowed; mail-in ballots from the counties of Clark and Washoe—Nevada’s largest—broke for Cortez Masto by a margin of two to one. Until Saturday evening, when the Senate race was called, a looming question was whether her support among Latinos would exceed sixty per cent, a requisite in the eyes of many of the state’s Democratic operatives.

“You just can’t win Nevada without Latinos,” Mari Urbina, a senior adviser to the late Senator Harry Reid, told me. Judging by the exit polls, Cortez Masto’s support among Latinos seems to have reached sixty-four per cent. “If these numbers hold once the voter files are updated, Cortez Masto will have outperformed President Biden’s numbers in Nevada with Latinos,” Urbina said.

Cortez Masto is a protégée of Reid, and has followed his example in placing Latinos at the center of her campaign—a tactic that helped Reid clinch his last reëlection, in 2010. Reid was known to spend many Christmas Eves visiting Latino families, but he courted the community year-round. When people questioned his approach, arguing that Latinos were low-turnout voters, he usually responded, “Just you wait.” In 2015, when Reid announced his intention to retire, he anointed Cortez Masto as his successor. The following year, Cortez Masto narrowly won, becoming the first Latina senator in U.S. history. She was dubbed la Senadora at home.

Nevada has more than four hundred thousand eligible Latino voters, almost twenty per cent of the electorate. Over the years, the vast majority of these voters have sided with Democrats, but that support has eroded in recent elections. In 2020, Biden earned roughly sixty-one per cent of the Latino vote, less than Hillary Clinton’s margin four years earlier, as Latinos in Las Vegas surged toward Donald Trump.

Early on in his campaign, Laxalt tried to exploit this trend by zeroing in on Latinos. In the spring of 2020, when the pandemic shut down the Strip and the streets of Las Vegas emptied, the state’s unemployment rate surpassed twenty-eight per cent. In the days before the election, according to AP VoteCast polling, ninety-five per cent of likely Latino voters cited inflation as an important factor; eighty per cent cited crime. Laxalt ran on these twin issues, casting Democrats as responsible for both. He blamed Cortez Masto and Steve Sisolak, Nevada’s Democratic governor, for the economic hit, arguing that the state’s current problems—among them record-high gas prices—could be traced back to their poor decisions.

But Cortez Masto, with the aid of unions she has worked with for years, was able to counter that argument. “The question of who fought for us during the pandemic really matters to us,” Ted Pappageorge, the secretary-treasurer of Nevada’s Culinary Union, told me. Pappageorge represents sixty thousand hospitality workers, mostly Latinos, employed by hotels and casinos in and around Las Vegas. In 2020, ninety-eight per cent of the union’s members lost their jobs. (About a fifth are still unemployed.) Pappageorge told me that Cortez Masto made it a priority for them to receive unemployment benefits, mortgage forbearance, and health care. “She’s been a leader that has been behind us,” he said. “The idea that you’re in the worst health crisis in the last century, which became an economic crisis, but wouldn’t provide health care for folks is just crazy. That’s where a lot of the Republicans were, and the senator was a champion for us on that issue.”

Ultimately, Cortez Masto’s support among the union and the broader Latino community proved to be two of her most powerful political assets. According to Equis, a Latino research firm, Democrats spent more than ten million dollars on Spanish-language ads in Nevada. (Republicans spent three million.) The message that Cortez Masto managed to convey was that she would continue to be a champion for working-class families—a message that resonated with Latinos and helped propel her to unexpected victory. “She was the most vulnerable incumbent, and the entire national G.O.P. apparatus was out to unseat her,” Jon Ralston, a political analyst in Nevada, told me. “She was helped by the Democratic machine built by Harry Reid and by facing a flawed candidate with a much inferior campaign team.”

Last week, I spoke with dozens of Latino voters—few could name any of Laxalt’s accomplishments or concrete proposals. The vast majority identified him simply as the “election denier.” He campaigned alongside Trump and repeatedly raised the spectre of voter fraud—to many, a reminder of Laxalt’s effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Nevada. (On Tuesday, Laxalt conceded, blaming “massive ballot harvesting and votes dropped off at dropboxes.”) His affinity for Trump was a rallying cry for Nevada’s immigrant community, which numbers in the hundreds of thousands. Elizabeth, a native of Guatemala, left her home country in 2018 and was separated from her children at the U.S. border. Now in her forties, she works as a cleaner, and told me that she knocked on hundreds of doors ahead of the election, as part of the group Make the Road Action. Elizabeth shared her story with voters, spoke of the sense of fear that continued to haunt her three children, and made a plea to them. “Remember the day when you came to this country,” she told them. “The day when you, too, were an immigrant. Think about those of us who came after you, and please make your voice heard.”

For Latinos, Laxalt came to represent a return to the past. As attorney general, he vehemently opposed the expansion of DACA, and, more recently, called the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade a “historic victory.” Across the country, Latinos cited abortion as the second most important issue in this year’s midterms. In Nevada, eighty-six per cent of likely Latino voters surveyed by the Associated Press said that it had factored into their decision to vote. Among those voters, sixty-one per cent cast their ballots for Cortez Masto and thirty-six per cent did so for Laxalt. “It feels like our rights are being jeopardized,” Jesús Vargas, a twenty-five-year-old who also canvassed for Cortez Masto, told me. Over and over, voters told Vargas that they feared the country was caught between extremes. “A lot of people are genuinely scared,” he said. “They worry that we’re regressing as a nation.”

Until precinct-level vote data become available, the extent to which Latinos can be credited for Cortez Masto’s win remains unclear. When her victory speech drew to a close, the crowd dispersed and people in the audience got on with their day. For Diana Valles, the president of the Culinary Union, that meant driving back to her neighborhood to cure ballots—insuring that her community’s votes were duly counted. Valles, who had stood next to Cortez Masto onstage, told me that she could identify with her family’s story. A native of Chihuahua, Valles had moved to Las Vegas in the late eighties and found a job as a guest-room attendant at the Stardust Casino. She raised her children by herself, built a strong reputation as an organizer, and rose through the union’s ranks. She had helped steer the union through the pandemic, and felt that Cortez Masto’s policies saved lives. “She stood up and said, ‘I’m here with you,’ ” Valles said. “That’s one of the things that people never forget: the people who are with you in the hardest times of your life. She’s been with us. She has always been one of us.” ♦

13 notes · View notes