Working closely on a campaign meant days of door knocking. Emerald knew what she had signed up for, when she took the job. The days were long and arduous, and not everyone was nice, but she really believed in Keyla’s mission. It was all worth it, in the end. She walked door to door, knocking and handing out pamphlets. But as she walked along 3rd Avenue, a runner came up, knocking her just a touch. She stumbled back, and her pamphlets flew up, flying everywhere. “Shit!” She immediately ducked down, trying to shuffle them into her canvas bag.
Ro’s face burned so badly, they felt like if they were any more uncomfortable, their cheeks would straight up light on fire. They grew up in New York, but somehow they weren’t used to all the creeps that inhabited the city. On their walk home, some guy seemed to be following them, somehow always being casually behind them at every corner. Usually, Ro was pretty unshakable, but they were freaked out. They didn’t feel up to finishing their walk home alone. So the first friendly face they saw, they stopped beside. “Hey - sorry, I’m really s-sorry to bug you. This guy is kind of freaking me out, so I was - sorry.” They were flustered, refusing to make eye contact as they spoke in a low, rushed voice. “W-would you mind walking me the rest of the way home? There’s a coffee shop right by my place, I can buy you a drink or a scone or something to say thank you.” @codstarters
It was a long day at the office. Life was ramping up, what with the election coming up so soon, and Emmy Lou felt lucky that she was getting home so early, all things considered. The wind picked up, and she wrapped her scarf just a little tighter around herself, as she slipped one earbud in. She always kept one out, just so she could pay attention to the world around her. You never knew what was happening this late, even so. Nina Simone’s voice crooned to her, and she almost got lost in it, before she saw someone yearning to talk to her. She stopped short, pulling her earphone out, a smile on her lips. Her face easily turned into one of concern, nodding rapidly. “Oh my gosh, of course! New York’s the best, but it’s not always so easy, getting home. Let’s go together, and we can split a scone.”
It had been an off-peak hour at the cafe, leaving Freya to find other means of busying herself; dishwashing, window cleaning, dusting, and now, rearranging the display cabinet of sweets and other baked goods for the fifth time that day. Thank God for the overhead bell signalling the entrance of another into the building. She was beginning to go crazy with the lack of human interaction. Ceasing the task she had been occupied with, the blonde peeked over the half-arranged display cabinet of sweets and other baked goods to greet a potential customer. She was pleasantly surprised to be met with a familiar face. “Hey! I didn’t think I would get to see you today,” she commented, noting their later than usual appearance. / @codstarters
Emerald loved her job. She really did! She was working closely with a really incredible woman, who was a strong contender for one of New York City’s most important congressional seats. She was a woman of color, and a progressive to boot. She was smart and driven and charming; all of the best qualities in a politician. However, sometimes, Emmy was seen as a glorified assistant. And while she was happy running some errands here and there, they did have interns for that. Yet, everyday, she found herself stopping by this very cafe, picking up the office coffee orders. And she knew that this was just part of the process, and she had to trust it. Still, it was a touch frustrating, at the very least. Normally she showed up at 7:45am on the dot, but there were a few urgent meetings, back to back. She walked in at 2pm, looking a bit exhausted, but smiling, nonetheless. “Hey! Yeah... crazy morning. No elaborate coffee order today. Just one ice latte with oat milk.”
“Whoever designed heels was a sadistic fuck,” Yazmina grumbled to the person beside her. She’d tried her best to look nice for the night, she’d even reasoned with herself to give her fanciest shoes a try. However, by two hours in it had become extremely apparent that fanciest did not necessarily mean comfortable. Finally giving up on maintaining appearances, she looked around and handed her glass to the person beside her. “Hold this,” she instructed as she bent down, slipped off both her heels and handed them over, “hold these, too.” With her feet now bare she reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of beaten up sneakers, slipping them onto her feet. While they clashed greatly with the sleek dress she was wearing, Yaz smiled brightly and struck a pose, “how do I look?”
@codstarters
Fancy events made Emmy nervous. Well, most things made Emmy nervous. Still, events made for the richer members of society made Emmy feel inferior. Like an ugly duckling, of sorts. She was used to wearing oversized sweaters and frumpy suits. But in a place like this? Full on class was to be expected. She was here, as part of the campaign team, and she didn’t know many people, which lead her to want to crawl away and hide. She didn’t know how to feel, standing in a form-fitting, sapphire blue number. Instead, she looked over at Yaz; beautiful and wild Yaz, before holding her glass and then subsequently her heels. “You look stunning, Yaz. But you know that. You could wear a paper bag, and that wouldn’t change.”
( KAITLYN DEVER + CISFEMALE ) — Have you seen EMERALD STEWART ? This TWENTY FOUR year old is a/an SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER FOR CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN who resides in BROOKLYN. SHE has/have been living in NYC for TWO YEARS, and is/are known to be ASTUTEand SWEET, but can also be ANXIOUSand IMPULSIVE, if you cross them. People tend to associate them with CABLE-KNIT SWEATERS and WHITE CONVERSE
TLDR: Here is my extremely neurotic, hippie dippie, politically active disaster bisexual. Basically me. Alright.
TW: Anxiety, Hospitalization, Mental Breakdown
Emmy Stewart was born on a foggy day up in the Bay. Her parents had met at Vietnam protests, and from there, a love was born unlike anything Emerald could comprehend. She was born into a hippy-dippy progressive wonderland. She was alone much of the time, but she wouldn’t have traded it for anything.
At four, a little brother named Ash appeared. Together they made the best of friends. Emmy was always very extroverted, but with her quirks and eccentric lifestyle, she wasn’t always in the same place as her peers. Growing up, much of her time was spent creating new worlds in her mind, and taking Ash along for the ride. This was just fine with Emmy. Especially once Faye, (her ragdoll kitten), was added into the mix. She could be a pirate captain, or an astronaut, or a popstar, any time she wanted to be.
It’s not that Emmy was bullied at school. She decided to mostly keep to herself, losing herself in the learning and staying out of people’s way. But she found her core group of people in her middle school debate. Debate was a ragtag group of misfits, and this is where Emmy found peace. She surrounded herself with her new friends; people who simply didn’t care who she was or why, and accepted her anyway.
At the age of 14, the panic attacks started. She couldn’t figure out why, and her parents had little clue what to do. She’d find herself not able to breath, thoughts racing, life spinning. Even with friends, everyone expected Emmy to constantly have a smile on her face, but there were days where she couldn’t pretend. She found help with Ms. Duffy, her school’s guidance counselor. Therapy and medication became a constant for her, in an effort to keep herself afloat.
High school had its highs and lows, but she still loved her debate friends dearly. She still had her moments, but she embraced her time and situation with as much light as possible. She was smart as anything, and tried maybe a little bit too hard. But she wasn’t one to shy away from her goals.
She attended Harvard - she started out as a History major. It was the first proper time away from her family. She tried to keep up appearances as long as she could, but her second semester, she hit her tipping point, and had somewhat of a mental breakdown. Part of it was homesickness, part of it was stress from school. She wasn’t taking care of herself, and isolating herself in her own mind. Her time spent in the hospital wasn’t fun, but it was completely necessary.
After a semester off, and a bit of breathing room, she went back, better than ever. She realized her truest love laid with politics, and so the natural progression to switching her major to poli-sci simply made sense. She loved her classes, and worked herself to the bone.
It was at this time that Emmy also found herself looking at some of her girl friends the way everyone had always told her to look at guys. It’s not as though she didn’t find men to be attractive too… she liked them quite a bit. But there was always something that lingered, when it came to women.
She graduated, and though she missed her family on the west coast, New York City was calling her name. Soon after her move, fresh with a Magna Cum Laude stamped diploma, she showed up, bright eyed and bushy tailed. It was then that Keyla Moore, a new congressional candidate, contacted her. She’s been working closely with Keyla ever since, now working social media on her campaign.
Life has consistently been overwhelming for Em, but she’s starting to find her footing.
