#iowa state wrestling

[thines85]

ISU wrestler riding him hard

[orangeball]

all-american

[tjkl895]

Ben Lee and Julien Broderson (https://camkramerphoto.smugmug.com/College-Wrestling/2019-2020-College-Wrestling/Harold-Nichols-Cyclone-Open-111019/Quarterfinals/184lbs-Julien-Broderson-Iowa-State-fall-Ben-Lee-Grand-View/)

[ronfrazier63]

Crossface Wrestling Podcast 11 30 23

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Jesse Duquette

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

November 2, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Nov 03, 2024

Yesterday, in Time magazine, Eric Cortellessa explained that the electoral strategy of the Trump campaign was to get men who don’t usually vote, particularly young ones, to turn out for Trump. If they could do that, and at the same time hold steady the support of white women, Trump could win the election. So Trump has focused on podcasts followed by young men and on imitating the patterns of professional wrestling performances.

At the same time, he has promised to “protect women…whether the women like it or not,” and lied consistently about crime statistics to keep white suburban women on his side by suggesting that he alone can protect them. Today in Gastonia, North Carolina, for example, Trump told the audience: "They say the suburban women. Well, the suburbs are under attack right now. When you're home in your house alone and you have this monster that got out of prison and he's got, you know, six charges of murdering six different people, I think you'd rather have Trump."

The crime rate has dropped dramatically in the past year.

Rather than keeping women in his camp, Trump’s strategy of reaching out to his base to turn out low-propensity voters, especially young men, has alienated them. That alienation has come on top of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that recognized the constitutional right to abortion. 

Early voting in Pennsylvania showed that women sent in 56% of the early ballots, compared to 43% for men. Seniors—people who remember a time before Roe v. Wade—also showed a significant split. Although the parties had similar numbers of registrants, nearly 59% of those over 65 voting early were Democrats. That pattern holds across all the battleground states: women’s early voting outpaces men’s by about 10 points. While those numbers are certainly not definitive—no one knows how these people voted, and much could change over the next few days—the enthusiasm of those two groups was notable. 

This evening, a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll conducted by the highly respected Selzer & Co. polling firm from October 28 to 31 showed Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris leading Trump in Iowa 47% to 44% among likely voters. That outlying polling result is undoubtedly at least in part a reflection of the fact that Harris’s running mate is the governor of a neighboring state, but that’s not the whole story. While Trump wins the votes of men in Iowa by 52% to 38%, and of evangelicals by 73% to 20%, women, particularly older women, are driving the shift to favor Harris in a previously Republican-dominated state. 

Independent women back Harris by a 28-point margin, while senior women support her by a margin of more than 2 to 1, 63% to 28%. Overall, women back Harris by a margin of about 20 points: 56% to 36%. Seniors as a group including men as well as women are also strongly in Harris’s camp, by 55% to 36%.

A 79-year-old poll respondent said: “I like her policies on reproductive health and having women choosing their own health care, and the fact that I think that she will save our democracy and follow the rule of law…. [I]f the Republicans can decide what you do with your body, what else are they going to do to limit your choice, for women?”

The obvious driver for women and seniors to oppose Trump is the Dobbs decision. The loss of abortion care has put women’s lives at risk. Within days after the Supreme Court handed the decision down, we started hearing stories of raped children forced to give birth or cross state lines for abortions, as well as of women who have suffered or died from a lack of health care after doctors feared intervening in miscarriages would put them in legal jeopardy. 

As X user E. Rosalie noted, Iowa’s abortion ban also has long-term implications for the state. It has forced OBGYNs to leave and has made recruiting more impossible. As people are unable to get medical care to have babies, they will choose to live elsewhere, draining talent out of the state. That, in turn, will weaken Iowa’s economy.

That same process is playing out in all the states that have banned abortion. 

It seems possible that the Dobbs decision ushered in the end of the toxic American individualism on which the Reagan revolution was built. When he ran for president in 1980, Ronald Reagan set out to dismantle the active government that regulated business, provided a basic social safety net, promoted infrastructure, and protected civil rights. Such a government was akin to socialism, he claimed, and he insisted it stifled American individualism. 

In contrast to such a government, Reagan celebrated the mythological American cowboy. In his telling, that cowboy wanted nothing from the government but to be left alone to provide for and to protect his family. Good women in the cowboy myth were wives and mothers, in contrast to the women who wanted equal rights and jobs outside the home in modern America. That traditional image of American women had gotten legs in 1974, when the television show Little House on the Prairie debuted; it would run until 1983. Prairie dresses became the rage.

Reagan’s embrace of women’s role as wives and mothers brought traditionalist white Southern Baptists to his support. Those traditionalists objected to the government’s recognition of women’s equal rights because they believed equality undermined a godly patriarchal family structure. They made ending access to abortion their main issue. 

At the same time that the right wing insisted that women belonged in their homes, it socialized young men to believe in a mythological world based on guns and the domination of women. In 1980 the previously nonpartisan National Rifle Association endorsed Reagan, their first-ever endorsement of a presidential candidate, and the rise of evangelical culture reinforced that dominant men must protect submissive women. 

When federal marshals tried to arrest Randy Weaver at his home in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in August 1992 for failure to show up in court for trial on a firearms charge, right-wing activists and neo-Nazis from a nearby Aryan Nations compound rushed to Ruby Ridge to protest what right-wing media insisted was simply a man protecting his family. 

The next February, when officers stormed the compound of a religious cult in Waco, Texas, whose former members reported that their leader was sexually assaulting children and stockpiling weapons, right-wing talk show hosts—notably Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones—blamed new president Bill Clinton’s attorney general, Janet Reno, for the ensuing gun battle and fire that killed 76 people. Reno was the first female attorney general, and right-wing media made much of the idea that a group of Christians had been killed by a female government official who was unmarried and—as opponents made much of—unfeminine. 

When he ran for office in 2015, Trump appealed to those men socialized into violence and dominance. He embraced the performance of dominance as it is done in professional wrestling, and urged his supporters to beat up protesters at his rallies. The Access Hollywood tape in which he boasted of sexual assault did not hurt his popularity with his base. He promised to end abortion rights and suggested he would impose criminal punishments on women seeking abortions. 

And then, in June 2022, thanks to the votes of the three religious extremists Trump put on it, the Supreme Court handed down the Dobbs decision, stripping women of a constitutional right that the U.S. government had recognized for almost 50 years. 

Justice Samuel Alito suggested that women could change state laws if they saw fit, writing in the decision that “women are not without electoral or political power.” Indeed, since the Dobbs decision, every time abortion rights have been on the ballot, voters have approved them, although right-wing state legislators have worked to prevent the voters’ wishes from taking effect. 

In this moment, though, it is clear that women have electoral and political power over more than abortion rights. 

The 1980 election was the first one in which the proportion of eligible female voters who turned out to vote was higher than the proportion of eligible men. It was also the first one in which there was a partisan gender gap, with a higher proportion of women than men favoring the Democrats. That partisan gap now is the highest it has ever been.

The fear that women can, if they choose, overthrow the patriarchal mythology of cowboy individualism that shaped the modern MAGA Republican Party is likely behind the calls of certain right-wing influencers and evangelical leaders to stop women from voting. For sure, it is behind the right-wing freak-out over the video voiced by actor Julia Roberts that reassures women that they do not have to tell their husbands how they voted. 

The right-wing version of the American cowboy was always a myth. Nothing mattered more for success in the American West than the kinship networks and community support that provided money, labor, and access to trade outlets. When the economic patterns of the American West replicated those of the industrializing East after the Civil War, success during the heyday of the cowboy depended on access to lots of capital, giving rise to western barons and then to popular political movements to regulate businesses and give more power to the people. Far from being the homebound wives of myth, women were central to western life, just as they have always been to American society. 

In Flagstaff, Arizona, today, Democratic presidential candidate and Minnesota governor Tim Walz told a crowd: “I kind of have a feeling that women all across this country, from every walk of life, from either party, are going to send a loud and clear message to Donald Trump next Tuesday, November 5, whether he likes it or not.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[ashbrat488]

Ashbrat488 Fanfic Masterlist

Chris Evans

Ransom Drysdale - State of Grace - Complete

Grace Carson was friends with Ransom Drysdale throughout school. Best friends actually, but only in private, their friendship breaking apart after graduation. She went to college, coming back to Boston to work at Harlan's publishing company as an editor. But when Harlan dies, she's thrown back into Ransom's life at the bequest of Harlan himself. Will they be able to get along well enough to carry out Harlan's wishes or will their differences just be too much, leaving Ransom without his inheritance.

Henry Cavill

Henry Cavill AU - Foul Play - Complete

Millicent "Milly" Bailey loses her mother just before her high school graduation and decides to move to England with her newly found father, Darren, she didn't know about until she turned 16. Now she's an American from a small town in Iowa, thrown into a new country and a new culture at one of the most prestigious colleges in the world. She's quiet and mostly likes to keep to herself until she catches the eye of a handsome rugby player, Henry Cavill. Henry thinks it's funny to tease Milly, bullying her with the help of his friends. That is until his last year of school where he really needs to buckle down and obtain the proper grades if he wants to be scouted for the England Rugby Team. Neither of them are happy when the dean, Milly's father, puts them together in their last year for Milly to help him graduate. Can they learn to see eye to eye and get along or will everything fall apart before graduation?

Captain Syverson - Flower In The Desert - Complete

Violet Becker is the daughter of the Major General, and despite her ranking, she refuses special treatment when she gets sent to the middle east in the midst of war. Constantly underestimated her whole life, she finishes medical school and is itching to put her new skills to work. She is left under the command of Edward Syverson who has sworn to her father to protect her. Can he keep his promise or is having to take care of a woman in the middle of a warzone too much for even him?

August Walker - Candy - Ongoing

August Walker, the CEO of a renowned Security Firm located in the bustling streets of Washington DC. His life is a constant juggling act, burdened by the weight of stressful responsibilities. The strain on his marriage is palpable, with his relationship barely holding itself together. However, he remains tethered to his wife primarily for the sake of their son, whom he adores dearly. To find solace amidst the chaos, August forms a unique bond with an escort who goes by the name "Candy." Their clandestine meetings become a refuge for him, an escape from the pressures of his daily existence. For over nine months, their encounters grow in frequency, and August finds himself becoming increasingly possessive of Candy's time, although he strives to keep their interactions as casual as she desires. However, their relationship takes an unexpected turn when August accidentally discovers Candy's true identity. Intrigued by this revelation, he begins to interfere in her life and even meddles in the affairs of her boyfriend, who coincidentally works for him. As August's feelings deepen, he wrestles with the idea of whether he can make Candy choose him over her current life.

Drabbles

Calahan Skogman (Baseball AU) - Sliding Into Home

Sebastian Stan AU - Hope In Love

Bucky Barnes - Torn Pages

Cole Turner (Chris Evans) - Codename: Turtledove

Ransom Drysdale - Speak Now

Steve Rogers - Happy Birthday Captain

Jake Jensen - Dessert

Ari Levinson/Steve Rogers MFM - Pure Smut

Lloyd Hansen/August Walker MFM - Pure Smut

Sherlock (Henry Cavill) - Sherlock And His Cane

Ewan McGregor - Better Than Revenge

Author's Note: I only write for readers over 18. I write a lot of smut. Please do not engage or read if you are under 18. I *do* take requests... I also have a lot more stories on Wattpad (including a lot of Chris Evans) if you would like to check them out there.

Also, all my female characters are always original. No, I do not write y/n or reader stories. I prefer to create actual characters. Just my preference

[pallanophblargh]

Had a pretty good birthday, for the first time in... a while? I don’t mean for that to sound sad, but it’s what ya do when you’re depressed and aging. (IYKYK)

An old friend from high school days came up from Iowa to celebrate with me, which was very welcome! We had plant themed fun together, and rants, and wrestled traffic together, and had tacos and margaritas. We were therapists for each other. We laughed about dumb shit most of the time and reveled in our shared weirdness. In many ways, it was as if no time had gone by. We were definitely both overdue for this, which is usually the case when you’re in your 30s and living in different states.

The unexpected side effect is realization on my end of how much I’d benefitted from leaving things behind: I’d always known that leaving more or less saved my life, but reminders from my friend who is so much like myself of how things still are there kind of shattered my comparatively pleasant little urban bubble I’d made for myself. And so I began my exercise in gratitude, that, regardless of how flawed this city and state may be, it’s been so good for me to be here, to learn, change, and grow.

And so, I say: I love you, Minnesota. Even if you are that Midwest flavor of banality (so what?) and you reek of that infamous passive aggression, you could be doing a lot worse. After all, progress, not perfection!*

I dunno. I just felt maybe I need to be more deliberate about noticing things I am/should be grateful for. Especially since I’ve spent my entire life focusing on everything that is wrong.

*Plenty of things NEED improvement/change, but considering the neighboring states and the country as a whole... yeaaaaah...

[misfitwashere]

November 2, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

NOV 3

Yesterday, in Time magazine, Eric Cortellessa explained that the electoral strategy of the Trump campaign was to get men who don’t usually vote, particularly young ones, to turn out for Trump. If they could do that, and at the same time hold steady the support of white women, Trump could win the election. So Trump has focused on podcasts followed by young men and on imitating the patterns of professional wrestling performances.

At the same time, he has promised to “protect women…whether the women like it or not,” and lied consistently about crime statistics to keep white suburban women on his side by suggesting that he alone can protect them. Today in Gastonia, North Carolina, for example, Trump told the audience: "They say the suburban women. Well, the suburbs are under attack right now. When you're home in your house alone and you have this monster that got out of prison and he's got, you know, six charges of murdering six different people, I think you'd rather have Trump."

The crime rate has dropped dramatically in the past year.

Rather than keeping women in his camp, Trump’s strategy of reaching out to his base to turn out low-propensity voters, especially young men, has alienated them. That alienation has come on top of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that recognized the constitutional right to abortion. 

Early voting in Pennsylvania showed that women sent in 56% of the early ballots, compared to 43% for men. Seniors—people who remember a time before Roe v. Wade—also showed a significant split. Although the parties had similar numbers of registrants, nearly 59% of those over 65 voting early were Democrats. That pattern holds across all the battleground states: women’s early voting outpaces men’s by about 10 points. While those numbers are certainly not definitive—no one knows how these people voted, and much could change over the next few days—the enthusiasm of those two groups was notable. 

This evening, a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll conducted by the highly respected Selzer & Co. polling firm from October 28 to 31 showed Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris leading Trump in Iowa 47% to 44% among likely voters. That outlying polling result is undoubtedly at least in part a reflection of the fact that Harris’s running mate is the governor of a neighboring state, but that’s not the whole story. While Trump wins the votes of men in Iowa by 52% to 38%, and of evangelicals by 73% to 20%, women, particularly older women, are driving the shift to favor Harris in a previously Republican-dominated state. 

Independent women back Harris by a 28-point margin, while senior women support her by a margin of more than 2 to 1, 63% to 28%. Overall, women back Harris by a margin of about 20 points: 56% to 36%. Seniors as a group including men as well as women are also strongly in Harris’s camp, by 55% to 36%.

A 79-year-old poll respondent said: “I like her policies on reproductive health and having women choosing their own health care, and the fact that I think that she will save our democracy and follow the rule of law…. [I]f the Republicans can decide what you do with your body, what else are they going to do to limit your choice, for women?”

The obvious driver for women and seniors to oppose Trump is the Dobbsdecision. The loss of abortion care has put women’s lives at risk. Within days after the Supreme Court handed the decision down, we started hearing stories of raped children forced to give birth or cross state lines for abortions, as well as of women who have suffered or died from a lack of health care after doctors feared intervening in miscarriages would put them in legal jeopardy. 

As X user E. Rosalie noted, Iowa’s abortion ban also has long-term implications for the state. It has forced OBGYNs to leave and has made recruiting more impossible. As people are unable to get medical care to have babies, they will choose to live elsewhere, draining talent out of the state. That, in turn, will weaken Iowa’s economy.

That same process is playing out in all the states that have banned abortion. 

It seems possible that the Dobbs decision ushered in the end of the toxic American individualism on which the Reagan revolution was built. When he ran for president in 1980, Ronald Reagan set out to dismantle the active government that regulated business, provided a basic social safety net, promoted infrastructure, and protected civil rights. Such a government was akin to socialism, he claimed, and he insisted it stifled American individualism. 

In contrast to such a government, Reagan celebrated the mythological American cowboy. In his telling, that cowboy wanted nothing from the government but to be left alone to provide for and to protect his family. Good women in the cowboy myth were wives and mothers, in contrast to the women who wanted equal rights and jobs outside the home in modern America. That traditional image of American women had gotten legs in 1974, when the television show Little House on the Prairie debuted; it would run until 1983. Prairie dresses became the rage.

Reagan’s embrace of women’s role as wives and mothers brought traditionalist white Southern Baptists to his support. Those traditionalists objected to the government’s recognition of women’s equal rights because they believed equality undermined a godly patriarchal family structure. They made ending access to abortion their main issue. 

At the same time that the right wing insisted that women belonged in their homes, it socialized young men to believe in a mythological world based on guns and the domination of women. In 1980 the previously nonpartisan National Rifle Association endorsed Reagan, their first-ever endorsement of a presidential candidate, and the rise of evangelical culture reinforced that dominant men must protect submissive women. 

When federal marshals tried to arrest Randy Weaver at his home in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in August 1992 for failure to show up in court for trial on a firearms charge, right-wing activists and neo-Nazis from a nearby Aryan Nations compound rushed to Ruby Ridge to protest what right-wing media insisted was simply a man protecting his family. 

The next February, when officers stormed the compound of a religious cult in Waco, Texas, whose former members reported that their leader was sexually assaulting children and stockpiling weapons, right-wing talk show hosts—notably Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones—blamed new president Bill Clinton’s attorney general, Janet Reno, for the ensuing gun battle and fire that killed 76 people. Reno was the first female attorney general, and right-wing media made much of the idea that a group of Christians had been killed by a female government official who was unmarried and—as opponents made much of—unfeminine. 

When he ran for office in 2015, Trump appealed to those men socialized into violence and dominance. He embraced the performance of dominance as it is done in professional wrestling, and urged his supporters to beat up protesters at his rallies. The Access Hollywood tape in which he boasted of sexual assault did not hurt his popularity with his base. He promised to end abortion rights and suggested he would impose criminal punishments on women seeking abortions. 

And then, in June 2022, thanks to the votes of the three religious extremists Trump put on it, the Supreme Court handed down the Dobbs decision, stripping women of a constitutional right that the U.S. government had recognized for almost 50 years. 

Justice Samuel Alito suggested that women could change state laws if they saw fit, writing in the decision that “women are not without electoral or political power.” Indeed, since the Dobbs decision, every time abortion rights have been on the ballot, voters have approved them, although right-wing state legislators have worked to prevent the voters’ wishes from taking effect. 

In this moment, though, it is clear that women have electoral and political power over more than abortion rights. 

The 1980 election was the first one in which the proportion of eligible female voters who turned out to vote was higher than the proportion of eligible men. It was also the first one in which there was a partisan gender gap, with a higher proportion of women than men favoring the Democrats. That partisan gap now is the highest it has ever been.

The fear that women can, if they choose, overthrow the patriarchal mythology of cowboy individualism that shaped the modern MAGA Republican Party is likely behind the calls of certain right-wing influencers and evangelical leaders to stop women from voting. For sure, it is behind the right-wing freak-out over the video voiced by actor Julia Roberts that reassures women that they do not have to tell their husbands how they voted. 

The right-wing version of the American cowboy was always a myth. Nothing mattered more for success in the American West than the kinship networks and community support that provided money, labor, and access to trade outlets. When the economic patterns of the American West replicated those of the industrializing East after the Civil War, success during the heyday of the cowboy depended on access to lots of capital, giving rise to western barons and then to popular political movements to regulate businesses and give more power to the people. Far from being the homebound wives of myth, women were central to western life, just as they have always been to American society. 

In Flagstaff, Arizona, today, Democratic presidential candidate and Minnesota governor Tim Walz told a crowd: “I kind of have a feeling that women all across this country, from every walk of life, from either party, are going to send a loud and clear message to Donald Trump next Tuesday, November 5, whether he likes it or not.”

—

[yourreddancer]

Heather Cox Richardson 11/2/24

Yesterday, in Time magazine, Eric Cortellessa explained that the electoral strategy of the Trump campaign was to get men who don’t usually vote, particularly young ones, to turn out for Trump. If they could do that, and at the same time hold steady the support of white women, Trump could win the election. So Trump has focused on podcasts followed by young men and on imitating the patterns of professional wrestling performances.

At the same time, he has promised to “protect women…whether the women like it or not,” and lied consistently about crime statistics to keep white suburban women on his side by suggesting that he alone can protect them. Today in Gastonia, North Carolina, for example, Trump told the audience: "They say the suburban women. Well, the suburbs are under attack right now. When you're home in your house alone and you have this monster that got out of prison and he's got, you know, six charges of murdering six different people, I think you'd rather have Trump."

The crime rate has dropped dramatically in the past year.

Rather than keeping women in his camp, Trump’s strategy of reaching out to his base to turn out low-propensity voters, especially young men, has alienated them. That alienation has come on top of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that recognized the constitutional right to abortion. 

Early voting in Pennsylvania showed that women sent in 56% of the early ballots, compared to 43% for men. Seniors—people who remember a time before Roe v. Wade—also showed a significant split. Although the parties had similar numbers of registrants, nearly 59% of those over 65 voting early were Democrats.

That pattern holds across all the battleground states: women’s early voting outpaces men’s by about 10 points. While those numbers are certainly not definitive—no one knows how these people voted, and much could change over the next few days—the enthusiasm of those two groups was notable. 

This evening, a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll conducted by the highly respected Selzer & Co. polling firm from October 28 to 31 showed Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris leading Trump in Iowa 47% to 44% among likely voters. That outlying polling result is undoubtedly at least in part a reflection of the fact that Harris’s running mate is the governor of a neighboring state, but that’s not the whole story. While Trump wins the votes of men in Iowa by 52% to 38%, and of evangelicals by 73% to 20%, women, particularly older women, are driving the shift to favor Harris in a previously Republican-dominated state. 

Independent women back Harris by a 28-point margin, while senior women support her by a margin of more than 2 to 1, 63% to 28%. Overall, women back Harris by a margin of about 20 points: 56% to 36%. Seniors as a group including men as well as women are also strongly in Harris’s camp, by 55% to 36%.

A 79-year-old poll respondent said: “I like her policies on reproductive health and having women choosing their own health care, and the fact that I think that she will save our democracy and follow the rule of law…. [I]f the Republicans can decide what you do with your body, what else are they going to do to limit your choice, for women?”

The obvious driver for women and seniors to oppose Trump is the Dobbs decision. The loss of abortion care has put women’s lives at risk. Within days after the Supreme Court handed the decision down, we started hearing stories of raped children forced to give birth or cross state lines for abortions, as well as of women who have suffered or died from a lack of health care after doctors feared intervening in miscarriages would put them in legal jeopardy. 

As X user E. Rosalie noted, Iowa’s abortion ban also has long-term implications for the state. It has forced OBGYNs to leave and has made recruiting more impossible. As people are unable to get medical care to have babies, they will choose to live elsewhere, draining talent out of the state. That, in turn, will weaken Iowa’s economy.

That same process is playing out in all the states that have banned abortion. 

It seems possible that the Dobbs decision ushered in the end of the toxic American individualism on which the Reagan revolution was built. When he ran for president in 1980, Ronald Reagan set out to dismantle the active government that regulated business, provided a basic social safety net, promoted infrastructure, and protected civil rights. Such a government was akin to socialism, he claimed, and he insisted it stifled American individualism. 

In contrast to such a government, Reagan celebrated the mythological American cowboy. In his telling, that cowboy wanted nothing from the government but to be left alone to provide for and to protect his family. Good women in the cowboy myth were wives and mothers, in contrast to the women who wanted equal rights and jobs outside the home in modern America. That traditional image of American women had gotten legs in 1974, when the television show Little House on the Prairie debuted; it would run until 1983. Prairie dresses became the rage.

Reagan’s embrace of women’s role as wives and mothers brought traditionalist white Southern Baptists to his support. Those traditionalists objected to the government’s recognition of women’s equal rights because they believed equality undermined a godly patriarchal family structure. They made ending access to abortion their main issue. 

At the same time that the right wing insisted that women belonged in their homes, it socialized young men to believe in a mythological world based on guns and the domination of women. In 1980 the previously nonpartisan National Rifle Association endorsed Reagan, their first-ever endorsement of a presidential candidate, and the rise of evangelical culture reinforced that dominant men must protect submissive women. 

When federal marshals tried to arrest Randy Weaver at his home in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in August 1992 for failure to show up in court for trial on a firearms charge, right-wing activists and neo-Nazis from a nearby Aryan Nations compound rushed to Ruby Ridge to protest what right-wing media insisted was simply a man protecting his family. 

The next February, when officers stormed the compound of a religious cult in Waco, Texas, whose former members reported that their leader was sexually assaulting children and stockpiling weapons, right-wing talk show hosts—notably Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones—blamed new president Bill Clinton’s attorney general, Janet Reno, for the ensuing gun battle and fire that killed 76 people. Reno was the first female attorney general, and right-wing media made much of the idea that a group of Christians had been killed by a female government official who was unmarried and—as opponents made much of—unfeminine. 

When he ran for office in 2015, Trump appealed to those men socialized into violence and dominance. He embraced the performance of dominance as it is done in professional wrestling, and urged his supporters to beat up protesters at his rallies. The Access Hollywood tape in which he boasted of sexual assault did not hurt his popularity with his base. He promised to end abortion rights and suggested he would impose criminal punishments on women seeking abortions. 

And then, in June 2022, thanks to the votes of the three religious extremists Trump put on it, the Supreme Court handed down the Dobbs decision, stripping women of a constitutional right that the U.S. government had recognized for almost 50 years. 

Justice Samuel Alito suggested that women could change state laws if they saw fit, writing in the decision that “women are not without electoral or political power.” Indeed, since the Dobbs decision, every time abortion rights have been on the ballot, voters have approved them, although right-wing state legislators have worked to prevent the voters’ wishes from taking effect. 

In this moment, though, it is clear that women have electoral and political power over more than abortion rights. 

The 1980 election was the first one in which the proportion of eligible female voters who turned out to vote was higher than the proportion of eligible men. It was also the first one in which there was a partisan gender gap, with a higher proportion of women than men favoring the Democrats. That partisan gap now is the highest it has ever been.

The fear that women can, if they choose, overthrow the patriarchal mythology of cowboy individualism that shaped the modern MAGA Republican Party is likely behind the calls of certain right-wing influencers and evangelical leaders to stop women from voting. For sure, it is behind the right-wing freak-out over the video voiced by actor Julia Roberts that reassures women that they do not have to tell their husbands how they voted. 

The right-wing version of the American cowboy was always a myth. Nothing mattered more for success in the American West than the kinship networks and community support that provided money, labor, and access to trade outlets. When the economic patterns of the American West replicated those of the industrializing East after the Civil War, success during the heyday of the cowboy depended on access to lots of capital, giving rise to western barons and then to popular political movements to regulate businesses and give more power to the people. Far from being the homebound wives of myth, women were central to western life, just as they have always been to American society. 

In Flagstaff, Arizona, today, Democratic presidential candidate and Minnesota governor Tim Walz told a crowd: “I kind of have a feeling that women all across this country, from every walk of life, from either party, are going to send a loud and clear message to Donald Trump next Tuesday, November 5, whether he likes it or not.”

[thines85]

wrestling looks fun

[orangeball]

👑👑👑👑

[wrestlinghistorywithkay]

Hot Rod: Remembering ‘ Rowdy ’ Roddy Piper

Today is the nine year anniversary of the death of WWE Hall of Famer and Wrestling Legend , ‘ Rowdy ’ Roddy Piper. I have mentioned Piper in my article about Scottish wrestlers that I did in June, if you haven’t , please go check that out . I’m doing this article as a tribute to Hot Rod by celebrating his life and career as a wrestler and an actor.

Roddy Piper was born Roderick George Toombs on April 17, 1954 in Saskatoon , Canada . He was of Scottish descent due to his mother, Eileen , being of Scottish- Canadian descent. His father , Stanley , was of Anglo-Canadian descent. He spent his childhood being raised in the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he attended school. He was expelled from school due to having a switchblade knife when he was in middle school. He also left home after having a dispute with his father and decided to stay in a local hostel. For income during this time , Toombs was hired by local professional wrestlers to run errands all while he worked at a few gyms. He also learned to play the bagpipes , however , he has claimed that he didn’t know where he started with them. Thus , he also had a lifelong best friend , Cam Connor , a retired National Hockey League Player ( NHL ).

Toombs was a black belt in the sport of Judo and an amateur wrestler before deciding to train for professional wrestling. He was trained by Gene LeBell , a former Judo instructor, professional wrestler, and stuntman. Therefore , under the guidance of wrestling promoter , Al Tomko , he had his first match in front of an audience with ‘ Midget Wrestlers ’. Therefore , he was earning money to survive by wrestling all while going back to school.

Toombs’ first match in a well known wrestling promotion was against Larry Henning , the father of ‘ Mr. Perfect ’ Curt Henning , and the grandfather of former WWE Superstar, Curtis Axel. The match took place in the American Wrestling Association ( AWA). For his entrance, he had friends play bagpipes for him as he handed out Dandelions to the AWA audience. The announcer of the promotion only knew that his name was Roddy, thus , he came up with the name ‘ Roddy Piper ’. Therefore, Toombs would be known as Roddy Piper. He was an enhancement talent in the same promotion from 1973-1975. This meant that he was paid to wrestle and lose matches against the top wrestlers in the AWA. He did the same for the NWA Central States territory. This territory consisted of Missouri , Iowa, and Nebraska. He also was an enhancement talent in the Maritimes for the Eastern Sports Association. He also was booked in the NWA Houston Wrestling Promotion under Paul Boesch and Big Time Rasslin under Fritz Von Erich. Both promotions were located in Texas.

In late 1975 and going into 1976 , Piper was the top Heel for the NWA Hollywood Wrestling Promotion, which was owned by Gene and Mike LeBell. A Heel is a wrestler who is considered the ‘ villain ’ and hated by wrestling fans. Piper was also booked to work at NWA San Francisco, which was owned by Roy Shire , in 1977 and 1978. He was feuding with Gory Guerrero and Chaco Guerrero Sr, the father and brother of Eddie Guerrero. Their feud included Piper losing his hair in a match and a few loser leaves town matches . This meant that whoever lost , had to leave the wrestling territory. Piper also appeared as The Mask Canadian in the territory as well. He was soon unmasked by Hector Guerrero. Piper also worked in the Pacific Northwest , Georgia, and Mid-Atlantic territories. He made his return to Jim Crockett Promotions in 1983 after wrestling in Puerto Rico. When he returned to Georgia , he became a fan favorite and feuded with top stars such as Ric Flair, Sgt Slaughter , and Greg ‘ The Hammer ’ Valentine.

In 1983, at the first Starrcade show , Piper and Valentine had a Dog Collar match. This type of match is when two wrestlers are strapped together by two dog collars and chains. During the match , Piper suffered from a broken eardrum in his left ear due to Valentine hitting him with the collar of the chain. He lost 50%-75% of his ability to hear due to this . He also made a few early appearances in the WWF in 1979 under Vince McMahon Sr. His first match in the promotion was against an Enhancement Talent named Frankie Williams. Thus, wrestling manager , ‘ Classy ’ Freddie Blassie , decided to place toilet paper in Piper’s bagpipes , therefore , the crowd wouldn’t be able to hear them as he made his way to the ring.

Piper returned to the WWF in 1984 under Vince McMahon Jr., after being advised to finish out his contract with Jim Crockett promotions in 1983. He was in a managerial role when he returned when he was partnered with ‘ Mr. Wonderful ’ Paul Orndorff, and ‘ Dr. D ’ David Schultz. This role ended and he soon became an in ring competitor full time . Nevertheless, with his strong microphone skills, he was given his own little segment called , ‘ Piper’s Pit ’ . The segment took place for three years , ending in 1987. He insulted talent such as Bruno Sammartino, which their storyline ended with Piper losing in a Steel Cage match in 1986. He also insulted Jimmy ‘ Superfly ’ Snuka, which left him being hit in the head with a coconut. His most well known storyline is with Hulk Hogan , Mr. T, and Pop Star , Cyndi Lauper. Hogan and Piper faced off for the WWF on an episode of MTV’s ‘ The War To Settle The Score ’ in 1985. Nevertheless, this storyline and event went on to help set up the first Wrestlemania.

Piper returned as a Babyface in 1986 on ‘ Championship Wrestling ’ for a match against AJ Petrucci. A Babyface is a wrestler who is the hero and is loved by the fans. During the storyline , Piper became upset after finding the ‘ Piper’s Pit ’ segment was now ‘ The Flower Shop ’ , an interview segmented hosted by fellow talent, Adrian Adonis. Adonis also decided to hire ‘ Cowboy ’ Bob Orton , the father of WWE Superstar, Randy Orton , and former bodyguard of Piper, as his own bodyguard. Piper soon destroyed the set with a baseball bat, leaving the two to have a match at Wrestlemania lll, before he retired from wrestling to start an acting career. He returned in 1989 and interviewed Brother Love ( Bruce Pritchard ). He also became a co-host alongside Gorilla Monsoon for the show , ‘ Prime Time Wrestling ’ the same year. He had feuds with major stars such as Bobby Heenan and Rick Rude. Piper would return to the show in 1991.

Piper went on to star in the iconic 1988 sci-fi film , ‘ They Live ’ , which was directed by John Carpenter. Piper’s signature line from the movie was , “ I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass. And I’m all out of bubble gum. ” . This movie made him a ‘ Cult Icon ’ according to Entertainment Weekly magazine.

In 1994, he returned to the WWF again as the guest referee for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship match with Bret hart and Yokozuna at Wrestlemania 10. He soon started a feud with Jerry ‘ The King ’ Lawler. He also began hosting a segment called ‘ The Bottom Line ’ on ‘ All American Wrestling’ . He took a break in 1995 before coming back in 1996 , taking on the role of Interim WWF President. He reinstated The Ultimate Warrior and participated in a “ Hollywood Backlot Brawl ” match against Goldust at Wrestlemania 12. He soon went to WCW and feuded with Hollywood Hogan and the nWo.

On the November 18 episode of ‘ Monday Nitro ’ , Piper revealed that Eric Bischoff was the newest member of the nWo. Thus , this led the faction to attack Piper after doing so. Ric Flair and the 4 Horseman offered to help Piper against Hogan , thus , on the December 9 edition of ‘ Monday Nitro ’, he declined and went on to defeat his long time rival on his own as he declared he would at Starrcade in 1996. In 1997 , Piper joined forces with Flair and the Horseman to battle the nWo. Piper took a hiatus from the promotion , only to return in 1998 as the new Commissioner of WCW. His last WCW appearance was in 2000.

Piper made a few more appearances in WWE and went on to make an appearance in TNA. He continued wrestling on the independent wrestling circuit until his retirement in 2011. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 by Ric Flair. Piper died at the age of 61 from a Heart Attack on July 31 , 2015 in Hollywood , California. Piper is considered to be the Greatest Heel of All Time. Wrestlers such as Drew McIntyre, MJF, and Ronda Rousey were all fans of Piper. He gifted Rousey his nickname ‘ Rowdy ’ and his jacket. She’s wore it to the ring .

My Final Thoughts:

Roddy Piper is my favorite Heel of all time. I love how he didn’t care what you thought about him . He was also pretty cool as well. I wish I could’ve seen him in his prime and met him. Have you met Rowdy Roddy Piper? What is your favorite Roddy Piper match or moment? Let me know!

Love You All,

- Kay

[lboogie1906]

Roger Timothy Craig (born July 10, 1960) is a former football running back in the NFL. He played for the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Raiders, and Minnesota Vikings. He went to four Pro Bowls and won three Super Bowls with the 49ers. He was the first NFL player to have 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season. He works as the VP of Business Development at TIBCO Software.

He graduated Central High School in Davenport, Iowa. His older brother, Curtis Craig played running back. In his Senior year, he rushed for 1,565 yards and 27 touchdowns, earning prep All-America honors. In his final high school game, he rushed for 353 yards and 4 touchdowns.

In his senior year, he rushed for 1,565 yards and 27 touchdowns, earning prep All-America honors. In his final high school game, a playoff loss, he rushed for 353 yards and 4 touchdowns. He was an all-around athlete, also competing in wrestling and track. In wrestling, he was an Iowa State Championships qualifier. On the track, he finished 2nd in the Iowa State Track and Field Championships in both the 110 hurdles and the 400 hurdles as a Senior in 1979. He broke the school record in the 110 hurdles. His time of 14.43 in the 110 hurdles is still listed among the All-Time Bests at the Iowa State Track and Field Championships.

Hespent several years studying Tae Kwon. He is an avid runner and has participated in over 38 marathons and half-marathons. He was the Grand Marshal for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway.

He is the cousin of New York Jets running back Breece Hall. He is married boxer to Vanessa Craig, sister of boxer Michael Nunn. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[rennarita]

chatting with my one friend that doesn't watch wrestling and she asked about what's new and i explained that robbie eagles finished bosj so he won't be back in japan for awhile, but he is doing a united states tour and he and another wrestler hinted at revolver. so i told her that if he gets booked for iowa, that i am so there. which is true but like also... gotta pack a tape measure.

[storiesbyrhi]

Bones and All - Chapter 3: The Shire

Eddie Munson/Reader

Warnings: canon typical violence/gore, cuss words, weird parental relationships, updated each chapter

Synopsis: A Bones and All AU. What do you hunger for?

Chapter Summary: Bacon breakfast and you're on the road. 2785 words.

Eddie had fallen asleep on the couch watching wrestling on the old television set in the cowboy’s living room. When you had emerged and found him like that, peaceful and vulnerable, you felt something stir within you. A hunger unlike the other.

You sat on the floor in front of the sofa, back to Eddie.

Being that close to him made you feel good. You were safe with each other, safe from each other. You ached, somewhere in your ribs. But it was the kind of pain you could learn to live with.

While Eddie snored softly, you pulled your mother’s letter from your bag and carried on with the task.

I blamed myself every time. I shouldn’t have trusted you to take the bus - I should have picked you up and dropped you off. Monitored you more closely. I shouldn’t have taken you to the work party. I shouldn’t have let you get so pretty. So many regrets.

If I had known then what I know now, I would have made your father take you. I didn’t know about him until the day he left. Perhaps he could have done a better job.

Enclosed is half of all the money I have and your birth certificate. I don’t know where your father is, but his parents lived in Iowa, somewhere west of Cedar Rapids.

I will always love you, Y/N. Please don’t come looking for me.

“What’s that?” Eddie’s voice made you jump, the paper in your hands crumpling.

He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning. Mirror neurons fired and you yawned too. You smiled at each other.

“Um. It’s a letter. From my mum,”

“She still in the picture?”

When you hesitated, Eddie looked away and pulled his Reeboks on. “Well, Barry’s been a great host but what do ya say we-”

He froze. You both heard it. A car pulled up outside.

Eddie hit the deck and motioned for you to copy him. You both crawled along the floor until you got to a window, hiding under it so nobody could see you if they looked in.

“Barry! Where’s the check, Barry?!”

A woman yelled for a minute, switching between cuss words and accusations. Apparently, Barry had been a bad cowboy and not paid alimony. After a promise to return with the police, you and Eddie quickly gathered your belongings and headed out the door.

“Fuck… She slashed a tire.”

You looked at it. She sure did. “Seemed justified,” you commented.

Eddie was in the back of the van throwing things out onto the dirt and gravel. “There’s a spare! Kinda surprising, knowing Barry as we do,” Eddie announced, reappearing with a smirk on his face.

“Do you know how to change it?”

“Do I know- Yes, Y/N, I know how to change a tire,” he replied with a roll of his eyes. He fished around in the van some more looking for tools and a jack. When he had all he needed, he got to work. “I can change this in seven minutes flat,”

“Really?”

“Time me,”

“I believe you,” you assured him.

Although you didn’t time him, it seemed like less than seven minutes later you were back on the road.

“We can stop for breakfast, but we better get clear of town first. Can’t have the van recognised, you know?”

You nodded. You couldn’t change a tire but you knew all about fleeing the scene and about disappearing across the state border. About bleach and acid.

“So… I need to go home,”

“Where’s home?” you asked, forgetting his reaction the last time you enquired.

“Small shitty down in Indiana. Hawkins. Where did you say you were headed?”

“Iowa… I’m looking for my dad. He’s somewhere there, west of Cedar Rapids apparently,”

“Are you in a hurry?” Eddie asked.

You had never had a friend. Not really. Sherry would have been the closest thing, if you hadn’t tried to eat her friend alive. What did friendship feel like? Was it the tingle in the tips of your fingers as you sat in the van with Eddie? Was it the warm and terrifying feeling of hope that you were so skilled at keeping under wraps? 

You shook your head.

“I have to go back, even just for a couple hours. Then I can take you where you need to go. It’s a lot of driving, but… I don’t know. I’m up for it, if you are.”

Is this what friendship felt like?

Two hours later you stopped at a roadside diner. Eddie ordered waffles and bacon, and you had pancakes and hashbrown. The waitress was kind, if not a bit of a stereotype. Everyone was though in midwest America. People knew their role and played it well, something you were jealous of.

Eddie gulped coffee like it was water, big mouthfuls going down easy. He chewed on bacon quickly, as if someone was going to come and take his plate away if he didn’t eat fast enough.

“You seemed more intimidating last night,” you mused.

Eddie grinned. “Yeah, well, when you’re a long-haired freak in this part of the country, you gotta have a big attitude.”

It made sense. You thought over what that implied, that the attitude was a shield. It protected the softness of who Eddie really was from the harshness of reality.

“So… How many others have you met?” you asked.

“Just you,”

“Oh… You… you made it sound like you knew others,”

“Did I?” Eddie replied, frowning. “What about you? What was the other one like?”

It shouldn’t have made you feel special that he remembered you saying you’d only just met your first. But, it did.

“He was old… Not old old. Just like, older than our parents old? His name was Sully,” you told him. “He was… nice… He, ah, said he could smell when someone’s about to die,”

“You believed him?”

That’s when you told Eddie about Lydia. Sully’s invitation. How you couldn’t smell it coming, but when it came the air grew heavy and you knew. About sharing her and the carrot cake. About the rope of human hair.

“Jesus… That’s a choice. You don’t have to be like that,”

“I think he was trying to help me. Trying to be kind?”

“I profoundly doubt that,” Eddie said with a scoff. He looked up to see the dismay on your face. “Does it help? To remember their names?”

“What?”

“Lydia Harmon. I bet you remember all their names. Does it help?”

Penny. Luke. Dmitri. Kevin. Marcus. Noble. CJ. Jamie. (Kim almost.) Lydia. (Andy almost.) Penny. Luke. Dmitri. Kevin. Marcus. Noble. CJ. Jamie. Lydia. Penny. Luke. Dmitri. Kevin. Marcus. Noble. CJ. Jamie. Lydia.

How dare he see you.

“Does it help to take their stuff?” you countered.

Eddie had taken the cowboy’s hat. It was still out in the van, but it was there. The floral button up shirt wasn’t Eddie’s. Neither was the heart locker around his neck. There were probably more things in his collection.

Eddie’s face remained steely. He picked up his last piece of bacon and began to chew it.

“Is your dad one of us? That why you’re looking for him?” he asked, a brutal change in subject designed to avoid your question.

“I think so,” you answered. “So, why are you going home?”

“Keeping a promise,” he answered. “There’s this kid, she lives opposite my uncle in the trailer park. Max. She’s a good kid that’s been handed a really fucking shitty hand. She’s going for her driver’s test so I promised I’d take her for a lesson,”

“She’s kind of like a sister?”

“I guess… I just… I promised her.”

You nodded and resisted the urge to call him sweet. “That’s… really nice of you,”

“I am nice,” Eddie replied, sucking the bacon fat off his thumb.

“You seem it,”

“Do I?”

It felt like you were playing a game you didn’t quite know the rules to you. Eddie watched you for a moment before declaring he was going to the bathroom, disappearing quickly.

Back on the road, Eddie mapped out a route to Hawkins that included a brief stop to get a new spare tire. You sat on the bench outside the mechanics listening to Eddie talk to the man in blue canvas overalls.

“Smart… Should always have a spare,” the man said. “Wish my boy was like you.”

Eddie hid a blush and hoped you weren’t in earshot. “Nah, man… You really don’t… I was actually looking for a spare set of something else?”

The man had seen many runaways and outlaws come through his shop. He motioned for Eddie to follow him out the back. They were gone for a little while, and you held your breath when you heard Eddie call out your name.

As he came around the corner, not a drop of red in sight, you exhaled. Eddie caught it and his face dropped.

“I didn’t-” you tried, launching yourself off the bench and towards Eddie.

He held his hands up defensively. “It’s fine… I know I what I am.” There was utter misery in his tone.

“What we are,” you corrected. “Whatever’s… in you… It’s in me too.”

The sadness dissipated and was replaced with a small kind of surprise. Eddie’s head cocked to the side and his eyes grew a little wider than usual.

“Alright. Gimme fifteen,” the man in the overall said, walking back into the shop. “Sorry, there’s not much to do ‘round here,”

“S’fine. Thank you,” Eddie replied to him but didn’t take his eyes off you.

After a few more lingering moments, Eddie nodded to the bench and you both sat down with your sides pressed against each other. Eddie’s hand sat on his thigh, palm up. You knew it was an invitation but were too afraid to just reach out and take it.

It felt like an eternity of waiting. You stared at Eddie’s hand, studied the lines of his palms like you knew how to read them. After only a minute on the bench, you slowly moved your hand to your own leg and copied his position. Bolder than you, Eddie threaded his fingers through yours, killing any doubt and all the tension. Waiting was easier after that.

Hours later, back on the road with a spare and new number plates, Eddie said, “We should probably call it for the day.” The sun was low on the horizon and stars had begun to twinkle against the deep blue. “There’s a state park entrance just up a bit. We can stop there.”

Parked in the shadows, you opened all the doors to the van and did a stocktake of what you had in the way of supplies. Eddie found a plastic bag shoved under one of the seats and it was quickly filled with trash. You still had the can of chickpeas and chocolate bar, and half a bottle of water. Eddie had a lot of beef jerky, an apple, soup mix packets, a bottle of warm iced tea, and the dregs of a bottle of water.

“Not bad,” Eddie said with a shrug.

“Had worse,” you agreed.

In the back of the van there were empty cardboard boxes, a toolset, a very old sleeping bag with a broken zip, and a jug of something that was probably water but neither of you wanted to gamble on. The floor was carpeted, but it was a poorly achieved job. Eddie pulled at the corner until he was ripping it out entirely.

“What are you doing?” you asked, stumbling out of the way. “Won’t it be warmer with that in there?”

“Yeah, but we can flatten these boxes and put ‘em down first. You know, for insulation. Besides, this carpet smells like something died on it. And I should know.”

Quasi-cannibal humour. You laughed.

After vigorously shaking the living shit out of the carpet, Eddie laid it back down on top of the boxes you’d crushed. The sleeping bag, plastic side down - fabric side up, was next.

“No blankets but if we close the doors we might not freeze to death,” Eddie said. It was good enough for you.

Eddie immediately began on the second task, dinner. You watched him open his duffle bag and draw out all sorts of useful things. A torch, a tin pot and two tin mugs, and a tiny propane camp stove. He must have seen the look on your face.

“Once you find yourself alone out here without the things you need, you get practical pretty fast,” he explained, then pulled a Bic lighter out from where you spied a collection of them shoved under clothes in his bag.

After a dinner of soup beefed out with jerky and chickpeas, and you split the chocolate bar in two and moved to settle yourself in the back of the van on the makeshift bed. You thought about re-reading your mother’s letter, but the hum of cicadas and the smell of the forest was too magic to ruin. 

Eddie cleaned up and packed everything away, seemingly happy to have a distraction.

“What do you normally do when you’re out here alone?” you asked.

He glanced at you, a small twist of a smile on his lips.

“That’s not what I meant,” you clarified.

Eddie chuckled. “I, ah, read. Mostly.” He opened his duffle to you and tilted it so you could see the books in there. He must have been stronger than he looked, you thought, carrying that Mary Poppins bag of tricks around.

“We could trade,” you offered, showing him the little library in your backpack.

You looked at each other again. A knowing look, but free from the accusation that came with your mother’s own knowing.

When there were no more tasks for Eddie, he joined you in the van. You both pulled on extra socks and jackets, then laid on your sides facing each other. Duffels and backpacks for pillows, all in all, it wasn’t too bad.

“We’ll get supplies after Hawkins,”

“Probably a good idea,” you agreed. The silence after wasn’t awkward, but you had so many questions that you couldn’t let it linger. Eddie bet you to it though.

“Who was your first?”

“Sully asked me that too… It was my babysitter,” you answered.

“Me too,”

“Really? I guess it makes sense…”

The conversation turned to eating. Sully’s rule – don’t eat an eater. Were there other rules? Were there things not meant to be eaten… like bones and nails? Were there people not meant to be eaten? Mothers? Priests?

“You said you’d never met another… Does that mean there was nobody in your family like you?” you asked.

Eddie chewed his lip, considering his reply. “I don’t know shit about my parents. Dad ran out on us when I was a kid. Mum not long after. Raised by my uncle,”

“Does he know?”

“No… Well, I mean… Not really. He knows… something. He’s a good man. Deserves better than… all this.”

A normal person in a normal conversation would say something like ‘Oh, no, Eddie. I am sure you’re a wonderful nephew! You’re a good person!’ But that would be bullshit and you’d both know it. You just nodded, understanding.

“Do you just wanna read for a bit?” Eddie asked. “We’ve just got… ah, the one torch. But, I, I thought I could read to you. If that’s not, um, super lame?”

“Have you read The Lord of the Rings?”

Eddie smiled wide, took a dramatic breath in, and recited, “Home is behind, the world ahead,

and there are many paths to tread

through shadows to the of night,

until the stars are all alight.”

Your stomach flipped and your nose tingled. “I love Tolkien,” you whispered, sounding stoned or dumb.

“Me too. Don’t get too impressed. I can’t quote the whole thing. I remember the poems okay because they’re almost like lyrics, you know?”

“Lots of them are, in the books. They’re songs,”

“Yeah, exactly. Musician head, you know?” he said, motioning to his general head area.

“You’re a musician?”

“Um. That might have been too generous. I play guitar,” Eddie told you. The tone of his voice made it clear that he missed the instrument.

You tried to picture him playing. You imagined him with an electric guitar first. Metallica and heavy metal and all that. But then, the softness in him did lend itself to an acoustic. He had both, you decided.

Eddie was watching you, trying to figure out what your reaction to him being a guitarist was. When you said nothing, just looked a little lost in thought, he cleared his throat.

“So, to the Shire?”

End Note: She actually reads Tolkien in the novel/film. Honestly. This just writes itself.

Fic Taglist: @harrys-tittie @azydrateanatomy @pussy-drunk @mrsdollardog

All Eddie Taglist: @solomons-finest-rum @ruinedbythehobbit @munsonlives @sweetpeapod @depressooo-expressooo-blog @thorfemmes @corrodedhawkins @grungegrrrl @lilzabob @mymoonisalways-in-scorpio @averagemisfit03 @ches-86 @ilovecupcakesandtea @onehotgreasymechanic @hazydespair @mel-the-fangirl

[female-buckets]

How is it trashing Megan to point out that her early journey in the W was rough? That’s how it goes with bigs, unfortunately. They’re often undersized. And yes she played more when BG was out this year but Phoenix was very bad, and it’s been years since her college hype

Anyone who’s a basketball nerd loves Caitlin because not only is she elite at the game, she also has an elite basketball mind, so the way she talks and sees the fame is very appealing to basketball nerds. So if that’s your strategy, she’s great for that too. Especially since she’ll be in Indiana which is such a basketball state. It’s not like she’s this sparkling personality, people very much like her for her play on the court

I also think Caitlin and the new stars have an advantage over players like CP and DT because the league is growing at the same time they are. The W’s gotten more popularity every year, especially this year with the best teams in big markets, so the fanbase is already growing - and the obsessive Paige/Caitlin/Angel/etc fans can grow with it

I’m not super worried about them having smaller roles on their W teams, because as long as they’re playing, people will be excited. Every Lynx player was a god in Minnesota even if they weren’t all the star. New York fans love Han and Marine and they barely play. Even DT herself said a player like Caitlin is gonna be her team’s point guard playing 40 minutes a game. And in terms of not winning, well, this is where it helps to not be a blue blood. The underdog teams are more familiar with losing, lol

The Iowa fanbase has two pro-level players. But they do not follow Meg's games. Every WNBA player your school produces should get eternal princess treatment. That's the rule. Hawkeye fans should have a whole Meg monologue prepared for whenever anyone says anything slightly critical of her. That's the bare minimum that other schools' fanbases do for their pros. A hoop nerd can make any role player sound like god's gift to basketball. If Iowa fans are real hoop nerds, they should start there.

I'm not doubting that Caitlin will be a WNBA star. I'm just letting you know that 2024 will be the most famous year of her life. The growth of the WNBA parallels WCBB growth. It's two parallel lines like this:

📈

📈

And the WCBB line is above the WNBA line. The WNBA line will never cross or catch up to the WCBB line. Not unless there's a massive shift in American culture.

The big sports media will cover Caitlin's rookie year. They'll have her at the 2024 ESPYs. And then at the end of 2024, the big media train will end. And the train will go back to the station and pick up the next college star and start again. For Caitlin, everything after 2024 is up to her and her agent. If she wants to maintain college fame, only one player has ever done that. BG.

Do you know how famous BG was in high school and college? In high school, she was the first viral amateur basketball star. The video she uploaded of high school dunking highlights was the first amateur basketball video to get 1 million views. And that was only the beginning. She kept growing. Every single thing she did and said between 2008 and 2015 made headlines. She was famous in high school and college. And she stayed exactly as famous through her first three WNBA seasons. Then she grew up a bit and settled down. And then Putin forced her back into the spotlight in 2022. That had to do with a lot of stuff outside her control. But the 2008-2015 fame was in her control.

BG is proof that it is possible to keep America's attention after your rookie WNBA season. Young BG did something no one in women's basketball had tried before. She grabbed American culture by the horns and started wrestling the whole beast. I don't think Caitlin is planning on doing that. But maybe she'll surprise me.