#straight up racist. and fucking shitty. and stupid. and not going to fix anything.

[ahaura]

something something when the facade of western "democracy" continues to crumble, liberals are faced with the choice of either abandoning the systems that facilitate genocide, theft, exploitation, racism, etc. or resort to old habits that do nothing to seriously challenge or dismantle said systems... inevitably many will fall back on focusing on optics/aesthetics and hyper-individualizing their approach to combat their feelings of helplessness etc. and/or to avoid confronting the systems in place that have led to this moment (which they are most comfortable in, because liberalism never truly changes the systems in place)

the problem is not, never has been, and never will be the *tone* or *conduct* of palestinians (in occupied palestine or the diaspora); the obstacles in the way of peace&liberation are not from palestinians or palestinian resistance but the continuation of colonialism, the maintenance of which is inherently violent and oppressive. the people responsible for the genocide going into its 4th month are not palestinians who liberals want to tone police but the u.s. empire and its glorified military base settler colony, whose existence is founded + depends upon the genocide and ethnic cleansing of palestinians.

#in other words. liberals shut UP. #tone policing the ones whose people are being subjected to genocide is just #straight up racist. and fucking shitty. and stupid. and not going to fix anything. #this has already been said but idk it just breaks my brain #liberals w a genuine interest in justice and change may be having their world views shattered right now #but i PROMISE that resorting to tactics typical of liberalism (focusing on optics rather than actual substance and structural change) #is not going to get u anywhere except for needlessly harrassing the ppl suffering the most right now (palestinians).

[thejudgingtrash]

Well. I’ve gotten quite the reactions to my hot takes//unpopular opinions. So here’s part two! For everyone new, here’s part one!

Percy radiates the blandest straight energy. I don’t see why you people think he’s bi

Hazel > Frank > (Leo > Piper) > Jason and that’s that story (Leo and Piper can switch positions)

Everyone giving Percy some heat for not realizing that Annabeth had a crush on him is fucking stupid. Shit is going down, he’s an insecure boy who got a lot of flag in a very short time by everyone in his environment and you think he’s supposed to dive nose deep into some coochie? Damn y’all are some horny bastards

People that still bash on Perachel (and I’m saying that as a hardcore Percabeth shipper) and harass those shippers should just walk out of the fandom

Hazel‘s background story is a gigantic fucking mess and should have been kept in the drafts

All the godships (Caleo, that whole Walt/Sadie/Anubis thing) across all series are trash

Jason’s death in TOA was cheap as fuck. He should’ve died in HOO and not as a side character in another bland sequel

People that don’t realize that Paul magically doesn’t erase/fix the abuse that Percy and Sally have suffered from are... fun. More on my stance on Paul here

Leo was always fucking annoying but pre-MOA Leo is someone we can deal with

Percy is the only dude with a beard and chest hair. Everyone else looks like they’ve glued three pubic hairs into their faces

Making Piper rely on the white man is a huge fucking no

The fact that every important kid/protagonist is a descendant from one of the 12 Olympians and not a kid from a minor god in the follow up series proves that neither the gods nor Rick Riordan have changed. Luke’s funky ass proves that even Riordan’s a douche in that regard

If you think that Percy is going to disrespect Sally in her own house by doing some intricate cooch research with Annabeth you are fucking mistaken

The musical as wonderful as it may be, isn’t canon. It’s another artist‘s interpretation of a work. Riordan giving it a thumbs up doesn’t mean jack. Using the musical as an argument is meh at best

People that ask in 2020 why Riordan‘s works are problematic are the same people that type ’Google‘ into Google

I can’t stress this enough but Annabeth’s favorite song is Red Solo Cup by Toby Keith

Pretty sure Annabeth’s hair equals a rats nest 90% of the time. Princess curls where? Is she hindering missions because she isn’t done with deep conditioning? Bitch is a walking mess!

The fact that both Underworld kids are time travelers that just seem to manage modern times all too fine is fucking stupid

Also people that are forgetting that Nico is Italian, not Italian-American are tiring. The likelihood of him understanding racial issues of Italians in the US are next to none

Also a bunch of people have accents and slang which would’ve made everything funnier

Riordan really loves to make his latinx characters bland and awful, huh?

Too many people lack basic reading skills part II

The fact that people are seriously fighting over the pronunciation of a shipping name/neologism is pathetic to the max. Pronounce it however you want. Who gives a shit? People disagreeing on something doesn’t hinder you in any way

On that note, Percabeth is an awful ship name. Why not choose Seaweed Brain? It was already there. It was a given. It was sweet and easy to digest

The only iconic female performer that Percy willingly listens to is Her Majesty Beyoncé Knowles-Carter

Meg is fucking annoying, more so than Leo

Same goes for Lavinia

Same goes for Alex Fierro from the bits I’ve read

The scavengerhunt plot that Riordan set up to mark Hera as the evil queen is the messiest and dumbest plot device of HOO. Periodt

Cecil Markowitz‘ portrayal is fucking racist

Same goes for Julia Feingold

Same goes for Samirah Al-Abbas

Hades would’ve never had kids outside of his marriage. Sorry team Nico & Bianca

The Trials of Apollo are so forgettable and bland I can’t recollect anything that happened apart from Jason being turned into kebab and missing lesbian rights for Reyna

Classisists coming for Riordan are morons at best. This series is meant for kids. As shitty as the gods are portrayed (and we all agree that the portrayal could’ve been waaaay better) there’s only so much one can do for a middle school audience. Also the gods aren’t the focus of the series. Shouldn’t you be happier about the fact that Riordan gets more kids interested in Greek Mythology?

On that note, Poseidon is a piece of shit and not the cool dad

Hellenistic polytheists have more reasons to be offended as Riordan bashed their views on their religion (sorry guys)

Everyone who is trying to erase Grover as Percy’s best friend deserves to get hit with a deadly chancla

That also goes for everyone that has no issues with applying racist canon to fanart (Piper with feathers, light eyes for poc, giving Annabeth Trump‘s tanning treatment)

Annabeth Chase is white

Percy and Jason aren’t friends. Idgaf.

Realistically speaking Thalia would’ve immediately dipped the hunters after Kronos funky ass got defeated

Pretty sure you would be able to smell a demigod from a mile away. When do these stinky bastards have the time to take a shower?

Annabeth needs some therapy with a focus on managing her aggressive outbursts. That judo flip wasn’t cute. The fuck.

Apart from that I still stan bold, unapologetical asshole Annabeth

Why are all the kids either dead poor or fucking millionaires? Does the middle class not exist? Will the next series in the Riordanverse be about the struggles of capitalism?

The tattoos from Camp Jupiter make absolutely no sense as Romans thought that tattoos are barbaric. And no, saying it’s a modern spin is fucking stupid especially when New Rome is build with the old rules, principles and ways in mind. Slave branding your child soldiers is a fucking no from me

New Rome having fucking child soldiers

The fact that all protagonists basically jump onto the praetor‘s position in little to no time is stupid. Why place the rule that you have to work your way up in the first place when you basically can just toss nickels at passerby’s and get the spot?

The Tower of Nero will be worse than Blood Of Olympus

#toa #pjo #hoo #heroes of olympus #percy jackson and the olympians #percy jackson #annabeth chase #grover underwood #jason grace #piper mclean #hazel levesque #frank zhang #trials of apollo #meg mccaffrey #pjo hot takes #cecil markowitz #camp jupiter #rick riordan #nico di angelo #reyna ramirez arellano

[synodicatalyst]

one of the bad things about the homestuck epilogue to me is that now i have to put up with people talking about how homestuck is inherently awful bc of its 'problematic elements' like yes it has bad shit and hussie is evil but the stuff they talk about isnt like a central part of the comic and a lot of it is pretty easy to miss if you dont play the friendsim or skipped parts of openbound or were an archive reader

 like idk what 2 say about that bc the criticisms are legitimate (yes meenah’s relationship w/ vriska is bad and wrong and yes there are elements that are pedophilic even fi they werent intended that way) but when ppl say anyone who likes it is racist and a pedophile and ableist etc… like. ugh. idk. sorry to vent in your inbox todays just been super shitty

oh yeah, i definitely understand this - yesterday i was linked to a callout post that called homestuck “irredeemable” due to its “lesbophobia/homophobia, misogyny, ableism, racism, anti-Semitism” (etc.) and it’s pretty frustrating! not that calling out these things is bad - but it’s like, as your resident Gay NB Dude of Colour who has LITERALLY written essays and talked on a podcast about the racism in homestuck, and how we should treat it / whether it’s still “okay” to like it even despite the Bad Things, it’s almost… horribly dismissive and condescending seeing people circulate callout posts and tell homestuck fans about how problematic homestuck is as if we aren’t the people who are the most aware of it?

Like, an example of a criticism I saw was that “a character’s lesbianism is treated like a fetish” - in obvious referral to an andrew hussie formspring comment from 2011 (? or 2010 maybe i cant remember) and it’s like……. oh my god… are we just going to ignore the fact that homestuck has a genuinely groundbreaking number of lgbt characters (all of them), develops natural arcs for its characters outside of their identities, provided many people with positive lesbian representation literally absent from like everywhere else, did it ORGANICALLY and NATURALLY somehow despite the fact that andrew hussie is a (probably) straight white cis man - owing to the fact that the development and increase in LGBT representation was specifically in appreciation of the fanbase it gathered? are we ignoring the fact that andrew has fucked up multiple times but current homestuck projects like friendsim, and even the epilogue, are actively including and centering the voices and work of real life wlw, women of colour, trans people, etc. as a SPECIFIC point of the fact that like, andrew KNOWS he’s made these mistakes??? this isn’t me being an andrew hussie apologist because i dont even fucking..trust him or anything. but the lack of context surrounding Why Homestuck Is Bad, Actually is horribly stupid

i literally do not know how to break it to people that actively shaming and calling out a piece of independent media that has been significant to the lives of many lgbt poc and is currently working actively to rectify its mistakes is not like… Specifically Cool and Woke. on a basic level, i can understand the concerns of these people but they show a lack of nuance and understanding of growth and genuine value for the people they’re supposedly Standing Up For. i can’t stop them from doing as such but i sure do find it annoying. especially since posts like these lead to people calling out and harassment of people who are fully aware of the mistakes the work possesses. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE HALF THE SHIT IS PLACED OUT OF CONTEXT OR IS COMPLETELY OUTDATED (LIKE THE KANAYA THING. LIKE, THEY LITERALLY GOT ACTUAL LESBIANS TO WORK ON ELWURD’S ROUTE TO SHOW THAT LESBIAN CULTURE IS A THING ON ALTERNIA)

homestuck is actively antifascist, makes a point of ridiculing homophobia and misogyny especially that of the gross reddit brand (via caliborn), and lots of people - lgbt teens especially - found a home in its narrative, because it both represents them and portrays a growing up narrative that is scarily fitting for the current day. it sure does have its issues but where the fuck else am i going to get my vriska fix. SHOUNEN ANIME?? i think not

sorry for just like, unleashing my Frustrations in response to your ask anon, but i hope this sort of resonated with your own grievances. I’m sad to hear that your day has been bad, so i hope you wake up tomorrow feeling refreshed… here is jade harley

#discourse #not really but this whole post is just a rant huh... #was gonna put under a cut but then i did a drawing so now i cant i guess #scribbles #hexa.txt #anon #asks #do not get on my back about my anime joke!!! anime is great but also like where's vriska #TEXTBOX

[lokloklok256]

CBS News: 14 fired or suspended following Fort Hood investigation into Vanessa Guillén's death

CBS News: 14 fired or suspended following Fort Hood investigation into Vanessa Guillén's death.

i haven't read all of this, and i guess it isn't really very special, but it's just kind of interesting to me because i used to live near Fort Hood, my father used to work there when he was in the military. i'll read more later, it's weird and interesting to read something about a place i've been to so many times since i was little, and it's kind of cool that they're doing something about stuff like this. makes me feel slightly better, i've just kind of felt really shitty lately because a large amount of the people i've met since moving to Montana have been racist and sexist, including my own older brother who takes care of me (though he's the kind that'll insist he's not sexist and then bitch about how shitty women are ["why don't women ever want me?" *sees a woman driving a car* "ugh look a woman god women are so bad at driving fucking dumb bitch" {lol}]), and i turned 19 recently and i'm not fucking doing anything with my life, and i've been trans for a few years and still haven't fucking been able to transition at all, and i get told too often that i shouldn't be trans and i should just submit to the stupid bullshit the people around here think women should do. that fucker (my brother) believes that the only reason i'm trans is because i was sexually harassed as a child, he refuses to call me by my preferred pronouns because he somehow believes that he has the right to call me whatever the fuck he wants (even though he calls me by my preferred name... i don't understand...), he's literally announced to a whole group of people that the reason i want to be a boy is because i was sexually harassed as a child, he literally tells me i should just act like a hoe like some of his annoying female friends (i mean he doesn't use the word "hoe", but i consider that behavior to be kind of "hoeish"). he just says such stupid shit to me and always believes he's right because he thinks he's so fucking smart. i mean, at least my mom eventually started pretending to accept me, even though it was for a stupid reason. i don't exactly know if texas has more non-white, non-straight and trans people in it than montana, but i really hate going to get my hair cut and hearing the lady cutting it ask me if the crime in my old town was caused by a bunch of mexicans (no, there were no fucking mexicans there you dumbass, it was only shitty trashy white people, you weird, head-fucked, DUMB-ass motherfucker) and going to a holiday celebration and hearing everyone talk about such stupid sexist shit and act like a bunch of dumb rednecks. my mom at least tried to help me transition, i mean i know we're poor now but at least she fucking cared and knew that it was a big problem for me. she still bitched at me about how i shouldn't want to be a boy and i should be girly, but at least she fucking helped me try to find some medical help, even though she eventually gave up and started telling me i was pretending to be depressed. she didn't tell me to be a hoe and to be shitty and submissive and that women were all horrible and shitty, but that's probably because she was sexist in the opposite way, telling me that men were stupid and violent and that's why i shouldn't want to be one.

i'm just really fucking pissed lately because i'm fucking 19 and still have tits on my chest, and i've tried to self harm and pussied out and there's nobody around me who would give a single shit, i don't even fucking at least have a binder. i'm 19 and still rely on someone else and still don't know how to do shit by myself and i'm relying on someone who's a shitty sexist who doesn't want me to be trans. there are so many things i want to do in life and here i am, sitting around doing fucking nothing, still dealing with tits on my chest and still having no fucking clue how to do anything, becoming more and more depressed and wanting to harm myself. i fucking hate my life and i'm pissed off and i just want to take my anger out on something but i'm too much of a fucking pussy to even do that.

this turned into a rant and i'm sorry for that but god damn i hate my life right now. anyways yea fort hood used to live near there and go there a lot interesting and cool to see that they're trying to fix stuff

god i'm so fucking pissed off

honestly i'm slightly starting to miss texas and that's kind of weird.

god i want to go live somewhere else by myself and know what the fuck i'm doing

god i really hate ranting and whining about shit

[scriptshrink]

Bad Psychology: Netflix’s “Gypsy” (Part 1)

CW: alcohol, suicide

So Netflix made a show about a “therapist,” starring a woman I forgot the name of who is essentially a Knockoff Nicole Kidman (and thus will hereafter be referred to as “KNK”). In summary, KNK is a therapist who is bored with her marriage and decides she wants to sleep with a client’s ex-girlfriend that she’s heard him describe in therapy.

This show is a garbage fire. It’s so bad. I only managed to watch the first two episodes and I have never in my life regretted wasting as much time as I did on it.

As someone studying to become a clinical psychologist, this show’s portrayal of therapy makes me want to scream and tear my hair out. This show promotes an extremely inaccurate portrayal of therapy that may prevent people from seeking the help they need. It gives therapists a bad name. As such, I feel the need to set the record straight.

[Gif: Picard from Star Trek: “What you’re doing here is unethical. It’s immoral. I’ll fight it.”]

Note - This post has been broken up into two parts: this part deals with my therapy-related critique, and Part 2 will be my general / random thoughts about the show (including the fact that the very title of the show is a racist slur). 

Let’s get started. God help us.

The first time we see her in therapy, KNK is writing nothing but the word “boundaries” over and over in her notes. Very professional. That’s definitely going to help jog your memory when you’re typing up session notes later. /s

Actual dialogue:

Old lady client: I haven't seen [my daughter Rebecca] in two months. She barely answers her phone. So this weekend, when she canceled, I blew up! Why do you think she's avoiding me?

KNK: It's impossible for me to speculate on Rebecca's life. I only have access to you.

Client: I think she's just busy. If she were dating, that would be a good enough reason. I used to hope that she wasn't picking up because she was having sex. [laughs] That would be fine by me, you know?

KNK: I understand your concern, but by giving her space, you might show her that you're respecting her boundaries.

Client: I'm furious... that she won't give her mother any time. Her job is more important. The gym is more important. Even her weekly blow-out every Monday. That she has time for. And I've been to that salon. It’s really not very nice.

KNK: Rebecca loves you, Claire. Just give it some time. Emotions change like the wind.

[Gif: Morello from OITNB resting her head on her hand, smiling and marveling at the stupidity, “Do you hear yourself sometimes? Like, when you speak?”]

KNK, you cannot say that the client’s daughter really loves her. You said yourself that you can’t speculate about her. You have no fucking idea if it’s true.

Just stop.

Different Client: *tells story about having to drop out of school because she was caught stealing money for drugs and how her mom has lung cancer*

KNK: *uncomfortably long blank stare*

Immediately cut to KNK ordering wine at a coffee shop (in the middle of the day, no less) to try to impress the client’s ex-girlfriend she wants to bang.

BECAUSE WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO SHOW ACTUAL THERAPY IN A SHOW ABOUT A THERAPIST

Wait. I think I figured it out. KNK isn’t really a therapist. She’s a fucking voyeur. She doesn’t actually want to help anyone. She is taking lurid pleasure in her clients’ vulnerability and pain.

Oh, and speaking of wine, KNK is drunk or drinking in about half of all the scenes she’s in. She drinks wine at lunch and goes back to see more clients like wtf. 

...Hold on. I take it back, this could actually be a good thing!

[Gif - Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec “Put some alcohol in your mouth to block the words from coming out.”]

Please for the love of god anything to get KNK to stop spewing her unethical nonsense.

Oh, man. The supervision scenes (where KNK meets with other therapists and they discuss their clients and stuff) are fucking hilarious.

KNK: He shouldn't marry her.

Therapist 1: Uh, that's not for us to decide. We're here to address his issues, not make his decisions.

Note - “Uh” here translates roughly to: “what the fuck is wrong with you, did you not pay attention during literally the entirety of your graduate education? We fucking learned this day one and were reminded at least once a month for literal years.”

KNK: I'm sorry. I just feel like we've been hearing about his rampant cheating stories for the past year straight. And now he's getting married.

Therapist 2: Well, behavior change takes a long time. And he's made growth in his commitment to his relationship, so as long as he's showing up for sessions and putting the work in--

KNK: I'm not questioning that we support our patients, but if they keep making poor choices, maybe we need to change tactics. It's just disheartening that sometimes all we can do is help them keep their head above water.

Because respecting your clients’ agency and keeping your clients alive is boring and sad.

Also, KNK could not be more condescending in this scene if she fucking tried. Just fucking look at her:

[Image: KNK looking patronizing as fuck, “I’m not questioning that we support our patients…”]

Therapist 1: Jean, remember, our job is not to do the work for our patients. Sometimes we're just here to listen, to be a sounding board. And realize that you can't fix everyone.

KNK: Yeah, I know. I get it. Trust me, I have tried. But I am just tired of sitting in that office listening to the same old story week after week with no results. It's frustrating.

I dunno, KNK...maybe you could try doing actual therapy, not just sitting in your office twiddling your thumbs while listening to your client?  Like...maybe try CBT or DBT? Teach your client some coping skills?

Oh, right. That would involve a level of competency that KNK clearly does not have.

[Image - KNK at a supervision meeting with other therapists. KNK: “And now she’s questioning the value of therapy, the value of me.”]

Newsflash, KNK - your client is questioning your value because you’re a worthless therapist.

OH SHIT STOP THE PRESSES. She’s actually giving her client homework! Like a real therapist might! I wonder what it is!

Oh. She wants the client to sign an oath not to contact his ex-girlfriend, who KNK is trying to bang.

Seriously, that’s the homework.

Because if he contacts his ex, there’s a chance he’ll find out about KNK trying to bang her.

Fuck you, KNK, you selfish unethical asshole.

Oh, also, a former client of KNK’s is evidently accusing her of something (unspecified as of the end of episode 2). This is KNK’s response.

[Image: KNK: “Yeah, well, she’s borderline. She’ll say anything.”]

Really. REALLY???

Now. It’s an unfortunate fact that some therapists don’t treat their borderline clients well. But what the actual fuck. Do you really want to paint your protagonist as a shitty, awful person?

Oh, wait. Too late.

So a random client shows up and is just sitting in KNK’s office waiting for her, which is potentially a huge breach of the confidentiality of KNK’s other clients.

KNK’s response is to make a snide comment about there being a waiting room, then to proceed to yell at client for being late to the appointment. 

Because wasting a therapist’s time is worse than something that is actually illegal and can result in thousands of dollars in fines. KNK’s clearly got her priorities straight.

KNK then lets that same client fall asleep on the couch in her office. Just in case it wasn’t unethical enough the first time around!

For fuck’s sake.

[Image: A seedy nightclub bathroom. KNK says to her client’s ex who she’s trying to bang: “You’re like a human Rorschach.”]

So she’s outdated, invalid, and meaningless? Sick fucking burn, bro!

Also, Hermann Rorschach, who was in all likelihood human* would like a word. I think the writers meant to say “inkblot.”

Who the fuck is writing this fucking shit.

* Note - the Shrink has no evidence to confirm or deny that Hermann Rorschach was a vampire, werewolf, or other non-human creature.

The absolute worst part comes when KNK’s ‘forbidden’ and ‘dangerous’ relationship with her client’s ex leads to KNK learning something important about her actual client. Namely, that said client has in the past been suicidal after a breakup.

This is slightly important because, you know, said client is currently going through another breakup - and may become suicidal again.

Guess what? KNK NEVER FUCKING BRINGS IT UP IN THERAPY.

She didn’t have to tell him she knows about his past. She could just ask him if he’s having thoughts of suicide - it’s a routine question that therapists ask! A lot! Some therapists will ask it every session!

But no.

KNK legitimately does not fucking care if her client lives or dies.

The only value her client has to her is that she can pump him for information about his ex-girlfriend. She uses her position as a therapist to manipulate her client into serving KNK’s agenda to get laid.

I’m not joking.

Actual transcript:

KNK: You know, I was thinking, Sam, is it possible that you came on too strong with Sidney [his ex that KNK wants to bang]?

Sam: [stammering] What do you mean? Today?

KNK: No, in general. She just seems so independent and free-spirited, from the way you describe her. Maybe she felt claustrophobic.

Sam: I don't understand why you're telling me this.

Me fucking either.

Sam: We were in love, and then she got scared. Decided she needed to experience more shit. More people.

KNK: So she's dating?

Sam: No, she actually told me she’s not interested in any guys.

KNK: So she's interested in women?

Sam: No. What?

KNK: Well, the way you... Anyway, it's very common for young women to dally or try things.

How fucking dare you.

Fuck this show. Fuck everyone involved in producing it. Fuck Netflix for hosting it.

[Gif: John Oliver repeatedly pounding his fists on a table and saying angrily, “Fuck you! Fuck you all forever! You fuck yourself! You go fuck yourself right now!”]

Okay. The Shrink needs to take a break to calm down. Stay tuned for Part 2.

Disclaimer // Support me on patreon. I watch this shit so you don’t have to.

#text #gypsy #netflix #bad psychology #bad therapists #media #suicide #alcohol #this is not psychological or medical advice #this is writing advice #shrink gets mad #misconceptions #ethics in therapy #confidentiality #best of scriptshrink #g slur

[assholemurphy]

Lion’s Teeth

Also on AO3

Stranger Things

Steve/Jonathan

Summary: Steve gets into yet another fight with Billy and gets his ass kicked, but it's okay because Jonathan's there to help fix him up afterwards. They talk and Jonathan tells Steve about Lonnie and some of the abuse he went through. Steve's in love with Jonathan, but Jonathan suspects, they're just both too scared to make a move.

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 4283

Warnings: Homophobia, Slurs, Referenced Child Abuse

“God, you’re so fucking heavy,” Jonathan huffed, half carrying Steve up the staircase.

“That’s because of my muscles,” Steve told him, trying his best to stand up straight. He’d gotten into yet another fight with Billy fucking Hargrove, jackass extraordinaire and he had the wounds to show for it. He’d gotten his ass well and thoroughly handed to him, too, and if it hadn’t been for Jonathan, he’d probably be in the emergency room right now.

Jonathan had been walking by after work at the record store and had come across Steve and Billy in an alley. Jonathan had nearly dropped his camera in his haste to break up the fight. He’d put himself in between them and all but dared Billy to come at him. It had been impressive from what Steve had managed to make out. Apparently, Jonathan had not only threatened to tell Hopper, but he’d threatened to rearrange Billy’s face for him. Billy had laughed and made some comment along the lines of ‘Look at the fucking queer, protecting his faggoty boyfriend. How cute!’ before taking Tommy and Carol and getting the fuck out of there, apparently not willing to call Jonathan’s bluff on getting the cops.

Jonathan had grabbed Steve’s keys and driven them both to Steve’s house and helped him in the house, not worrying about Steve’s parents because it was rare they were ever home. He didn’t let go of Steve until he had him placed on the toilet of the bathroom across the hall from his room. He knew for a fact there were first aid supplies in it, though from the look of Steve’s face, Jonathan wasn’t sure that he could do much to help him.

His eye was swollen and his lip was split in at least two places. He had dark bruises growing on his cheek and jaw, a couple cuts on his face, and a nasty gash on his left cheek where it looked like Billy’s class ring had cut him. “Damn.”

“What?” Steve asked, wide-eyed and scared. “Is it that bad?”

“Worse. You look like you fell head first into a meat grinder.”

“That’s a pretty picture. Guess I can’t be your model anytime soon,” Steve joked.

“Who says you’re model material, anyway?” Jonathan snorted, pulling out supplies from under the cabinet and behind the mirror.

“You know, Billy had better watch himself. That racist fucking bastard had better keep to himself if he knows what’s good for him. How dare he say those things about Lucas? Just cause he’s dating Max doesn’t give him any right to be a little bitch about it. That stupid son of a bitch had better fuck off and leave my kids alone,” Steve ranted, watching Jonathan struggle to find a clean rag.

“Your kids?” He asked as he finally found a couple hidden under the sink. He’d have to make sure Steve did laundry this weekend. He’d had a rough couple of weeks, with two tests and an essay due, so he’d pretty much neglected to take care of himself. Jonathan would have to remind him that, no, the world was not going to end if he didn’t get at least a B on his math test and that, yes, clean clothes were necessary for everyday life.

Steve nodded, “Yeah, they’re my fucking kids. And Billy had better watch out or-”

“Or what? You’ll inconvenience him by bleeding on his shoes?”

“Shut up.” Jonathan was right, but that didn’t mean Steve had to like it.

“You can’t let him get to you.” If Steve would just go into things with a level head, this wouldn’t happen nearly as often.

“He tried to hurt Lucas! Again!” Steve almost shouted. “He threatened to put him in the hospital for being with Max and I just- I just lost it, okay?”

Jonathan paused at that, setting down the bottle of alcohol on the counter. “You need to tell Hopper.”

“And he’ll do what?” Steve had no proof other than word of mouth. He hadn’t actually touched Lucas since that night with the demodogs, but he’d certainly sent Tommy’s younger brother after him and his friends. All Steve could do was give his account of what happened and then Hopper would probably question Max and Lucas and that would only make them more scared and they didn’t need that.

“Scare him off? Keep an eye on him? He’s a cop, Harrington, he’ll be more helpful than you are.”

“Whatever.” Steve hated it when Jonathan used logic. He was right, but that didn’t make him feel any better.

“You can trust Hopper, alright? I do,” Jonathan told him, sincerely. Hopper had always been there for him since his dad – no, since Lonnie had left. Hopper had been more of a dad to him than that bastard had ever been.

“Oh, so because you trust him, I should? Because you’re such a great judge of character.” Which was actually truer than not, Jonathan was great at picking out people to trust. Steve just didn’t want to listen to him right now.

“I’m not the one who hung out with Tommy for so fucking long, now am I?” Jonathan tried not to bring that up much. He knew Steve had changed, it was easy to see, but when Steve got snarky, so did Jonathan.

Steve just huffed and slumped his shoulders, resulting in a loud yelp of pain. He looked at his shoulder in shock. With how bad his face and pride had been hurting, he hadn’t even given any thought to the rest of him, but now that he was safe, he could feel the sharp ache coming from it. “What the fuck?”

“What’s wrong?” Jonathan asked, concern etched on his face.

“My shoulder, it – agh!” Steve yelped again as he poked at it, trying to figure out exactly what was wrong. It wasn’t broken, he didn’t think. Maybe he’d hurt the muscle or tore something?

“Don’t fucking play with it!” Jonathan scolded, batting his hand away. “Let me see.” He leaned in and gently moved the shoulder, apologizing softly when Steve grunted in pain. He sighed and stepped back, “It’s dislocated.”

“Shit. What now?” Dislocated didn’t sound safe. He’d heard about it, but he’d never dislocated anything before, which was lucky, considering how many fights he’d been in.

Jonathan shrugged, “Hospital?” He knew Steve would never go for it, but he had to at least suggest it before they made any irresponsible decisions.

“And have my parents find out I got into another fight? Fuck no! My dad would fucking kill me.” Steve’s dad was a little more than a douchebag, honestly, and Steve didn’t want to have to deal with him finding out he went to a fucking hospital because he wasn’t man enough to hold his own. Like hell.

After a brief pause, Jonathan sighed, “I could pop it back into place for you, but it’ll hurt.”

“More than it does now?”

“A lot worse, but only for a moment.”

“And then no hospital?” If it meant no hospital, then Steve was willing to endure anything.

“Yeah.”

“Then do it.”

Jonathan nodded and moved to take ahold of Steve’s shoulder. “Deep breath, on the count of three. Ready?”

“Yeah,” Steve affirmed, taking a deep breath and letting Jonathan do whatever he needed to. He trusted Jonathan, more than he trusted anybody, actually, and that should have scared him, but he knew Jonathan would never willingly hurt him. Hell, he’d jumped in front of Billy Hargrove for him. If that wasn’t love – er, friendship, then what was it?

Jonathan gripped Steve’s arm tightly, bracing his other hand on Steve’s shoulder, knowing this was going to hurt him. He felt guilty, but he had to get it over with. “One. Two-” Jonathan pooped it back into place with one smooth motion.

“Fuck!” Steve yelled in pain. It was loud enough that Jonathan was sure the neighbors had heard. “I thought you said on three?”

“It hurts less if you don’t tense up like you do when you expect it,” Jonathan explained, slowly letting go of Steve’s arm and retreating to the sink where he ran water over one of the rags.

Steve huffed, gently moving his arm around. Most of the pain was gone, but he had a feeling it was going to ache for a while. “I think it’s fixed.”

“Now for your face.” Jonathan raised the rag but didn’t move forward until Steve nodded at him.

Steve allowed Jonathan to begin cleaning the blood from his face, relishing in the feeling of having Jonathan Byers’s hands on him. It wasn’t like he hadn’t touched him before, but then again, every time he did, Steve got lost in it. Mentally shaking himself from his thoughts, Steve asked, “So, how’d you learn to do that?”

“Do what?” Jonathan asked, scrubbing at Steve’s face, well aware he probably could have done this part on his own, but Jonathan liked taking care of him. He didn’t particularly enjoy examining exactly why he liked doing it, but he did.

“Put a shoulder back in place.” It seemed like a strange skill to have acquired, because as far as Steve knew, Jonathan had no plans of being a doctor.

“Uh,” Jonathan looked away from Steve, a frown on his face. He hadn’t really told many people about his past, but he supposed he could trust Steve. “You’re not the only one with a shitty father.”

“Your dad beat you?” Steve was shocked. It made sense, and explained a lot about how Jonathan acted, especially around adults, but never actually thought that was the case.

“On occasion. Whenever he was too drunk or really pissed off,” Jonathan shrugged, like it wasn’t a big deal. He’d gotten used to the fact a long time ago, and even though he felt incredibly vulnerable telling Steve, he wasn’t going to act like it.

Steve didn’t know what to say, so he just stared at Jonathan. Jonathan, the shy, sweet, gentle boy that he’d come to know the past year. Jonathan who had loved Nancy so fiercely and been so heartbroken when she’d left him, but even then, he’d stayed her friend because he cared more about her not feeling guilty than his own pain. Jonathan who was so protective or his family, so affectionate and kind with his little brother, to the point that it melted Steve’s heart. He’d fallen for Jonathan in the past few months and to learn that someone as wonderful as him had been abused, it wasn’t fair.

“I’m sorry.” He wasn’t sure what he was apologizing for. For what Lonnie did to him, or what Steve and his friends did to him, or for all the fights that Jonathan had to drag his ass out of. He was sorry for all of it, but he didn’t quite know how to voice that, so he simply fell silent rather than fight with his tongue to say the right thing.

“’S’okay. Better me than Will or my mom, you know?” Jonathan shrugged before going silent again, falling into his own thoughts that were going south really quickly.

Steve wasn’t sure what made him do it, if it was the adrenaline still in his system or the shock of learning part of Jonathan’s tragic backstory, which he had never thought he’d be trusted enough to learn, but he reached out for Jonathan’s face, letting his fingers rest on his cheek. He didn’t know what to do, but he wanted to comfort him in some way, to make it a little bit better, but the haze in his head from the fight wasn’t letting the words come out right, so all he could do was touch Jonathan, bring him back out of his head any way he could.

“Steve?” Byers croaked out, his throat dry.

“You deserved better.” It was the truth. Jonathan deserved a father that loved and supported him. Steve had never met anyone who deserved love more than he did. It was a tragedy that he hadn’t been given all the love the world could pour into him since his birth.

“And so do you.” Where Jonathan was concerned, Steve’s father was just as bad. As far as he knew, he never beat Steve, but Steve was plenty afraid of him, enough to make Jonathan want to corner him in his garage and threaten him with a wrench or something to leave him alone. But he wouldn’t, because that wouldn’t solve anything. He knew it wouldn’t, because Hopper had done the same to Lonnie and all that had happened was Hopper being suspended for a week and Jonathan getting beaten for telling someone, even though he had never told Hopper directly. It wasn’t his fault Lonnie wasn’t good at hiding bruises and Hopper was a smart man, at least he was when it counted.

“No,” Steve shook his head. He didn’t, really, he was a pain in the ass, he didn’t even try to tread lightly around his father, but even so, his father didn’t hit him. “I’m sorry.”

“You said that,” Jonathan pointed out, feeling more than a little uncomfortable with how sincere Steve sounded. It wasn’t a bad discomfort, it was just unfamiliar, and Jonathan wasn’t sure what to do with that.

“I don’t know what else to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything.” He didn’t. Just the fact that he listened and didn’t judge Jonathan was enough for him. Not many people cared about him, but Steve did, and it meant the world to him.

Steve wanted to pull him closer, to press his lips against Jonathan’s and kiss him, slow and gentle to show just how much he did care for him. He wanted to bring him closer, to show him just how in love with him he had become, and with the way Jonathan was looking at him, he was sure he wouldn’t be stopped. But he didn’t. He couldn’t. If he did, there’d be no going back, no changing his mind, and he couldn’t. Not yet. He was still hurt over Nancy, still trying to put himself back together, and he wasn’t ready to be that vulnerable again, even if it was with Jonathan. Even if he was sure Jonathan would never hurt him that way.

Jonathan deserved better, anyway, he deserved someone who hadn’t fucked up every interaction they’d had since grade school. He deserved someone put together and gentle, not reckless and blunt like Steve. He deserved romance and love and stability, not Steve. Granted, if Jonathan made the first move, then he’d go with it, but he wasn’t going to be the one to convince him to be his. He didn’t have that level of confidence with guys. Girls, sure, that was easy, but guys were different. Well, not really. Okay, so it wasn’t guys, it was just Jonathan. Jonathan scared him shitless.

Slowly, he let his hand fall from Jonathan’s face, letting his eyes drop to study the smear of blood on his sleeve. No, he couldn’t kiss him, not right now. If he was going to make a move, it had to be perfect. If.

Jonathan cleared his throat and pulled back, an unreadable expression on his face. He wasn’t sure what he wanted Steve to do, but pull away wasn’t it. He grabbed a clean rag from the counter and poured alcohol on it, the smell permeating the room and choking him up. He’d never liked the smell of the disinfectant, it was too strong and burned his nose. “I need to disinfect your face, okay? It’s going to hurt-”

“I can handle it, Byers,” Steve huffed, readjusting himself on the lid of the toilet. “Just get it over with.”

Jonathan just shrugged and moved closer, taking Steve’s face in his hand and stifling a smirk when he felt Steve lean into the touch. He was cute when he thought Jonathan didn’t know about his crush. He knew, he was just waiting for Steve to say something, because of course, there was always the chance that he had it wrong and Steve would stop being his friend if he made a move. He’d lost too many friends when they found out about his sexuality, he couldn’t bear to lose Steve, too.

He pressed the rag against the deepest of Steve’s wounds. Steve winced and grit his teeth, but otherwise handled himself. He hated this part the most. He had to have a rag that smelled disgusting shoved against his face, causing him pain, when he’d much rather be focusing on how it felt to have Jonathan’s hands on him.

After Jonathan was finished he threw the rag in the sink and grabbed for a few bandages while Steve stared at his hands, wondering what it’d be like to have them closed around his own or running across his skin. He shook himself out of it before his thoughts could run away from him. He couldn’t just fantasize about Jonathan with him right there.

Steve swallowed, the silence getting to him. He had to break it. “What are you thinking about?” Oh, that was lame as fuck. Great going, Steve.

Jonathan laid the bandages out in a line on the counter, smallest to largest, staring at them intently as he stalled before finally picking up the biggest one and tearing off the paper from the back. He didn’t speak until he’d pressed the bandage to the worst cut on Steve’s face. Steve marveled at how gentle Jonathan was with him. “I was ten when he first hit me. Up until then he’d been halfway decent. He drank a lot, sure, and got angry and yelled, but he’d never hit me. Not until he found me and Kevin holding hands in my bedroom.”

“Who’s Kevin?” Tactful, and so not the question he should be asking.

“He was my first-” Jonathan paused, biting his lip and looking at Steve, apprehensively. He didn’t want Steve to stop being his friend, but he wanted to tell him. He wanted to know for sure if Steve would leave him, before he got too invested. And it had felt nice having Steve listen to him earlier, he wanted to tell him more, even though every part of him screamed at him to shut up and stop talking.

“Your first boyfriend?” Steve asked, hoping he was right.

Jonathan nodded and took a deep breath. “I’ve always liked boys and girls, and I guess some part of me knew it was wrong, or at least not allowed, but I didn’t think anyone would find out, but he did and…” Jonathan trailed off and shrugged.

“Bastard,” Steve bit out.

Jonathan nodded again. Steve hadn’t rejected him, so that was good. “He never told my mom, but he never looked at me the same. I think that’s why he hit me. And when Will started showing interest in guys, too, he tried going after him, but I wouldn’t let him. He’d get drunk and I’d lock Will in one of our rooms to keep him safe. The day he touched Will, grabbed his arm and shoved him against a wall, that was the day I told my mother the truth, about everything. I was so scared, because he’d told me if she found out then she’d leave him and we’d never be able to get by without his money, but I couldn’t let him hurt Will, so I told her.”

Jonathan closed his eyes for a second before opening them and putting the last bandage on Steve’s face. “He was gone the next day. I got a job the next week, working for Benny at his diner washing dishes. It was hard, but we got by. I think my mom blames herself for what happened, but it wasn’t her fault.”

Steve had listened the whole time Jonathan was speaking, unsure what to say, but very aware of the rage sparking in his chest. He had no idea what to tell someone in that kind of situation. He imagined his father would do something similar should he ever find out about Steve’s bisexuality. “Lonnie’s a fucking prick.”

Jonathan laughed, light and real. “Yeah, he kind of is.”

“Want me to go kick his ass?” Steve offered.

“Like you could kick anyone’s ass.” But Jonathan appreciated the offer. It was sweet of Steve to be angry on his behalf. It made him want to kiss him, and he considered it for a moment, but he decided against it. The moment was a little too heavy for that. “Anyway, I think your face is good now.”

“It does feel better. Thank you,” Steve said, poking at the bandages on his face. Thank God it was the weekend, because he couldn’t fathom the embarrassment of having to pass Billy in the halls with his face covered in band aids.

“Any time. You know, if you ever need help in a fight, you can always ask me, right?” Jonathan would be there for Steve if he needed him. Truthfully, Jonathan would walk through hell for him if he asked, but he figured taking on Billy Hargrove would be close enough.

“You wanna get your ass kicked for me?” Steve asked, touched.

“I’m sorry, but I distinctly remember showing you firsthand how good a fighter I am.” Jonathan regretted the fight, but Steve had said some pretty nasty things, and going after his family or friends was the one thing he couldn’t stand.

“You don’t play fair.”

“Neither did Lonnie,” Jonathan said with a laugh.

“Fair point,” Steve conceded.

“You gonna be okay?” Jonathan asked with sincerity.

“Yeah. Not the first time I’ve had my ass handed to me, won’t be the last.” He got into a lot of fights, and lost almost all of them, but still, he wasn’t about to just let someone shout abuse about his friends. Let them say what they wanted about him, but his kids were off limits.

“What time is it?” Jonathan asked, sure more time had passed than they thought. He needed to get home.

“I don’t know. We’ve been in here a while, it’s probably late,” Steve shrugged.

“Considering it was like, eight when I drug your ass in here? Probably. I should get going.” It was late, and his mom was going to get worried.

“Or you could stay.” Steve didn’t like the idea of Jonathan walking home this late. If he’d had his car, then maybe, but he’d driven Steve’s here, so Steve was pretty sure he was just going to walk. Steve could take him, but he didn’t really want to drive, and it was just easier to have Jonathan stay over.

“What?” It would be the first time Jonathan had stayed the night with Steve, and as much as he liked the idea, he wasn’t sure it was a good idea. He could crash on the couch, but what if Steve’s parents came home in the middle of the night? “What if your parents come home?”

“It’s late, Byers. You can’t just walk home by yourself,” Steve rationalized. “And besides, they won’t. And if they do, it won’t matter because they never check my room.”

Jonathan swallowed. In Steve’s room. That probably meant they’d share a bed, and as much as Jonathan wanted to be close to Steve, he wasn’t sure he could trust himself not to do something stupid. Like kiss him. “I can take care of myself against Billy.”

“It’s not Billy I’m worried about.” Billy was not the scariest thing in Hawkins, not even close.

Steve had a point. With all the shit that happened in Hawkins, it might not be that great of an idea to walk home at night. “Alright, but I have to call my mom.”

Steve quietly sighed in relief, “Good. Now I won’t have to worry.”

“Aw, Harrington, you worry about me?” Jonathan pressed a hand to his chest and smirked at Steve.

“More than you know,” Steve admitted.

Jonathan blushed. And there was that feeling that made Steve wasn’t to pull him close and kiss him, but he shoved it down.

“Wanna watch a movie? My parents aren’t coming back this weekend, so we’ve got free reign.”

“How often are your parents around?” Jonathan wondered aloud.

“I don’t know. Once a week, maybe. Mom’s probably at the bar and Dad’s away on business.” If his business was fucking random women he found at the airport. Steve’s mom only drank to forget, well, everything about her husband, and she’d crash at the hotel if she was too drunk to get home, which was pretty much every night. Steve’s father’s unfaithfulness drove her crazy, and sometimes Steve felt sorry for her, but mostly he felt cold and indifferent, with a strange longing in his chest that intensified every time he saw Joyce dote on her sons.

Jonathan just sighed and opened the door of the bathroom. He felt bad for Steve, because at least he had his mom. He couldn’t imagine being completely alone in the world. Maybe that’s why Steve had been so willing to go along with Tommy’s bullshit. He was just lonely and being with Tommy had eased that feeling a little. Jonathan couldn’t blame him for it, but he could swear to be a better friend to Steve than he’d ever had. “Sure, a movie sounds good.”

Steve smiled, “Popcorn?”

“Yeah,” Jonathan nodded, smiling back at him with that soft, shy smile that melted Steve’s heart.

Maybe he couldn’t have Jonathan as a lover just yet, but at least he could have him as a friend. Maybe they could even form a club. The ‘My Dad’s a Complete Bastard Club.’ Sounded plausible.

#stranger things #stonathan #jonathan byers #steve harrington #steve harrington x jonathan byers #stranger things fanfiction #i like hurting these two #i'm not sorry #angst is fun #my fics #stranger things fic #stonathan fic #child abuse hits home for me #so if you're going to complain about me writing about it #please keep that in mind #every time i write about abuse of any kind #someone always sends me hate #so pls let this be a better fandom than the 100

[shu-of-the-wind]

foster parent au pt iii

pt i   pt ii   pt iii

CW: some implied racist BS, some major assholery, and K telling someone to fuck their mother in Mandarin.

“You are acting strange,” says Kei.

Cassian doesn’t look up from his coffee. Two sugars, milk, and all the essays from his eighth grade world history class, and he still apparently does not have enough of a shield to keep Kei from commenting. Then again, nothing keeps Kei from commenting. It’d be like trying to stop a tsunami with a plastic spork. “I’m tired. It’s been a long week.”

“It’s Wednesday.”

Cassian lifts one shoulder in a shrug, and uncaps his red pen. “Long week.”

Kei scoffs. “That is fallacious.”

He scratches out a misspelled word, and says, “Sure.”

“You are humoring me,” says Kei. “Do you not want to discuss what is making you act so strange?”

“I’m at work,” says Cassian. “So not really at the moment, no.”

“I see.” Kei sips at his tea. “I hope you are aware that no matter how unpalatable I may find hearing about your romantic escapades, if there are issues, I would be obliged to listen.”

Cassian can’t decide if he wants to laugh or choke.  How does one say the one person I never thought I’d see again in my lifetime is apparently the mother of two of my favorite students? “There are no romantic escapades.”

“Of course.” Kei peers down his long straight nose. “You’ll note that I used the word obliged because I have no desire to listen to your romantic escapades—”

“There are no escapades—”

“—I have a duty as your friend to listen to your problems and tell you how to fix them. Out of the two of us, I have more common sense, after all.” He sips his tea, and then adds, “Indubitably.”

“Indubitably,” says Cassian, and writes clunky sentence—rephrase in the margin of the paper he’s working on.

“Hey,” says Lumiya, over by the refrigerator. “Kei, I swear, if you took my lunch again—”

“Why would I ever steal your lunch?” says Kei. “They almost always smell terrible. Besides, even if I did, you avail yourself of my tea without my consent. It would be fair game.”

“That tea’s communal.”

“Cao ni ma,” says Kei, and does not smile. Lumiya huffs, and wanders off.

“Do I want to know what that means?” Cassian flips the page on the essay.

“Is that a rhetorical question? I do not know what you may or may not want, Cassian. You are aware of this.”

“It was rhetorical.” He taps his pen to his mouth. Rose Tico can usually write something much more sophisticated than this. Late night or bad week? “Forget it.”

“I shall not, but if I must change topics.” Kei thieves a fry out of Cassian’s bag of fast food. “Mothma is displeased today.”

“I’m trying to grade, you realize.”

“You are more than capable of listening and grading at once.” He takes another fry. “There was an incident with a parent yesterday morning. Apparently a boy in Lumiya’s homeroom accused one of the foster children of theft.”

Cassian nearly puts his pen through the paper. “Don’t call them that, Kei.”

“It’s a logical descriptor. And I do not have classes with them. Neither of them have any inclination to take Mandarin.” Kei sniffs. “Besides, I do not know their names. I do not bother to remember students I do not teach.”

“Finn and Rey Erso.” Both of them have been absent from school for two days. Tuesday and today. And Jyn had shown up to see Mothma on Tuesday, for some reason. “I haven’t heard anything.”

“Apparently there was a fight. The foster mother spent two hours in Mothma’s office and emerged very displeased. I observed it personally. I had to use the photocopier in the administration office, and I could hear the shouting through the wall.” Kei steals a third fry, and then a fourth, and finally Cassian shoves the bag over to him. He’s not hungry anymore, anyway. “Both of the foster children were involved, as well as Armitage Hux and a handful of ninth graders.”

“I should have been informed. Rey is in my homeroom class.” And she’s bright and sweet and with just enough of a stubborn streak that it….doesn’t surprise him that she threw herself into a fight alongside Finn. “Why didn’t anyone inform me?”

“Is that a rhetorical question?” asks Kei, quite seriously.

Cassian does not answer. He leaves the staff room.

Mon Mothma’s been the principal of Yavin Prep for almost ten years, and from what he’s gleaned from old yearbooks, her office has never changed in all that time. Same books, same globe, same broad windows. Mothma looks the same as she has in every photograph, short red hair and lines around her mouth. She lifts one finger when he comes in, and says, “I’ll call you back,” in to the phone before settling it back in its cradle.

“I was going to call you in during the lunch hour,” she says, before Cassian can open his mouth. “So get off your high horse, if you please.”

He deflates. He can’t help it. People don’t just tell Mon Mothma no. “I only just heard about it. But Rey is in my homeroom, and Finn Erso is in my world history class, I should have been told—”

“It’s complicated,” says Mothma, and rubs at her temples. “Honestly, I assumed you would have heard about it before now. It’s all over the school, and you’re usually the teacher I can trust to have his ear to the ground.”

Cassian opens his mouth, and closes it again. He sits down. “I’ve—been distracted. Lately.”

“Does this have anything to do with why you were late yesterday?”

“Not in the least.” Just—why he hadn’t been able to focus much in class afterwards. “What happened?”  

Mothma sweeps her thumbs over the marks beneath her eyes. “Depends on who you ask.”

“Mon—”

“Apparently a group of high school boys led by Armitage Hux jumped the Ersos on their way home from school on Monday. Ms. Erso claims it was an incident of bullying. Mrs. Hux says that Finn Erso stole her son’s laptop, and he and his friends came to ask Finn to give it back when he and Rey attacked.”

“Bullshit,” says Cassian.

Mothma frowns. “Cassian.”

“I know those kids.” He curls his hands around his kneecaps, digging his nails into his jeans. “The Ersos—they’re good kids. Good students. They’re not thieves, and they’re certainly not stupid enough to pick a fight with high schoolers twice their size.”

“I know that, but you have to admit, Cassian, they’ve not assimilated well. They’re rowdy, they’re disruptive in class, they both come from—fairly unique circumstances—”

“Are you saying that because they’re foster kids--” He stops, before he can add and minority students. He knows Mothma better than that. She might be oblivious sometimes, but she’d never say something that outwardly bigoted. “They’ve been burned by other schools. They have reasons.” 

“But those reasons aren’t helping them at all at the moment. They both have histories of violence, and in a he said she said situation there’s going to be enormous pressure from the board to examine this in a manner that falls in line with what the PTA wants.”

Cassian shifts his hands off his knees.

“Don’t make that face at me, Andor.” Mothma sighs. “There’s going to be a meeting tomorrow with Armitage Hux and his mother and the Ersos. Ten AM. I’d like you to be there.”

“Of course.”

“Thanks.” She rubs at her eyes. “Hopefully this doesn’t end in an expulsion.”

That’s it, apparently. He’s not going to get anything more. Cassian stands, and turns to go.

“If it helps,” says Mothma. “I’m inclined to believe Ms. Erso about the circumstances.”

“Good,” says Cassian. His teeth hurt. “Because those kids need all the support they can get.”

There’s an accident on the main street leading into the school, which means they’re almost—but not quite—late when Jyn finally puts the truck into park and says, “I know this is a good school, but it looks a little like juvie.”

Rey snorts hard through her nose. She’s been quiet all morning, clicking away at her fidget cube instead of talking, the way she does when she’s worried and not wanting to admit it. Finn, between them in the front seat, says, “And you’d know, Black Cat.”

“Don’t test me, monster. I went in once, I can do it again.” She turns off the engine. “Any nasty surprises either of you have forgotten to mention?”

Finn and Rey look at each other. Rey rocks back and forth once, and then says, “No?”

Of course it’s a question. She really doesn’t like that it’s a question. Jyn “Fine. Out of the car. And fix your tie, Finn. If you don’t make a good impression then I’m going to have to punch somebody in the administration to make sure they don’t notice and I already jammed my knuckles in a motor once this week.”

Her pick-up’s old and shitty, and she feels….grimy, in comparison to the other cars around. Yavin Prep might look like a juvenile detention center from the outside, but it’s an expensive school, and all the cars in the lot are pricey. There’s a reason she works two jobs, and it’s to make sure both Finn and Rey can stay here and hopefully get a decent chance at maybe, someday, going to college if they want to.

Bodhi would say she’s being stubborn. Bodhi has said she’s being stubborn, for not accessing the trust her father left her. Jyn would rather light herself on fire than have anything to do with her father, though, so even if she’s being stubborn, she’ll take bone-deep exhaustion and too much coffee over touching Galen Erso’s money before she has no other choice.

The administration office is a step up from all the admin offices she’d had to slink into, during her school years. There are actual paintings on the wall, not prints. A nice carpet. The fax machine isn’t trashed. The chairs aren’t cheap. Jyn can’t sit. She stays standing, and taps at the edge of her phone with a stubby fingernail until Rey nudges the side of her shoe and hisses for her to stop. Which makes it worse, because she should be the one calm, right now, not Rey and Finn. She catches the secretary watching them, and stares at the woman until Mrs. Naberrie (at least, according to her nameplate) has to drop her gaze to the desktop.

“Jyn,” says Finn, and tips his head to the wall. “Chill.”

“I’m chill,” says Jyn.

Finn rolls his eyes, and starts tapping his foot on the floor.

“Mrs. Erso?” It’s Mrs. Naberrie. She’s half on her feet, now, tucking gray, curling hair behind her ear. “If you want, I can take you and Finn in to the office, now.”

“It’s Miss,” says Jyn. She shoves her phone into her jacket pocket. “Thanks.”

Rey tucks her hand into Jyn’s pocket, too, just for a second, and hums.

Mon Mothma must be in her late forties, a small, slim woman with bright red hair and dips around her mouth that seem more like frown lines than dimples. Her handshake’s firm, without ceremony. There’s already a mother and child in the principal’s office (and she never, ever, ever thought she’d be back in a principal’s office again, but that’s how it goes, apparently): a redheaded, freckled woman and a redheaded, freckled boy, both with sour-milk skin and tilted mouths like they’ve smelled something off. There’s a vile dark bruise on Armie’s jaw, and his lip is split, but—and she feels vicious when she thinks this, still cold inside—not nearly so bad as Finn’s injuries. Because Armie Hux hadn’t been attacked by eight boys at once.

Jyn does not offer her hand. Neither does Armie Hux’s mother. Jyn puts her hand on Finn’s shoulder, instead.

She notices Cassian last, somehow. Maybe because he’s lurking near the window, staring out of them with his hands locked behind his back, strict as a soldier. Jyn focuses hard on Mothma, and refuses to pay attention.

“Thank you for coming in, both of you.” Mothma drops back into her seat, and folds her hands on the table. “I understand that the situation is complicated—”

“Nothing is complicated about this,” says Armie’s mother. Her lip curls. “I want that boy expelled for attacking my son.”

Finn does not flinch. He doesn’t look up. It’s only because Jyn has her hand on his shoulder that she can tell he’s shaking, just a little.

“That’s not the purpose of this meeting, Mrs. Hux.” Mothma taps her forefinger to her desk. “The goal here is to come to an understanding. Considering the circumstances—”

“There is no considering of anything, Ms. Mothma.” Mrs. Hux shakes her hair back out of her face, and tucks one leg over the other. “That boy is a thief who attacked my son, and I want him out of this school. Armitage deserves a school where he feels safe to attend class instead of being harassed by some juvie reject—”

“Excuse me,” Jyn says, and Finn goes stiff under her palm. “Don’t you dare—”

“Mrs. Hux, I understand that you’re upset about what happened, but this isn’t helping anybody—”

“Finn,” says Cassian, and Mothma goes abruptly quiet. “Did you take Armitage’s laptop?”

“Of course he did,” says Mrs. Hux. “The boy’s a criminal, from what I’ve heard—”

“You shut your mouth about my son,” says Jyn, low and cold. “Right now.”

“Finn,” says Cassian again. He’s softer, this time, somehow. “Did you take Armitage’s laptop?”

Finn looks at Jyn. Jyn looks at Finn.

“I didn’t,” says Finn, quietly. “Sir.”

“Of course he did,” says Mrs. Hux, “to sell it, most likely—”

“I didn’t.” Finn digs his fingers into her wrist, hard enough to sting. “Me and Rey were just walking home, we didn’t do anything—”

“I saw you take it,” says Armie Hux. He lisps, just a little. “You jimmied my locker open and you took it—”

“I wouldn’t want your stupid laptop, I have one at home—”

“That boy,” says Mrs. Hux, “took my son’s laptop out of spite, and I want him expelled, and I want his mother to compensate the cost of the machine—”

“Like hell,” says Jyn.

“Armitage,” says Cassian, but Mrs. Hux shouts over him.

“That boy is a criminal and a thug and I want him removed from this campus immediately, Miss Mothma—”

“This is an exploratory meeting,” says Mothma. She doesn’t raise her voice at all, but something in it—Jyn’s not sure. Mrs. Hux snaps her jaw shut so fast there’s almost a click. “Nothing is going to be decided here. If you aren’t comfortable with that, Mrs. Hux, you can leave, and we will continue exploring options without you present. Is that understood?”

Mrs. Hux says nothing. She huffs, and crosses her arms over her chest.

“Mr. Andor,” says Mothma. “You had a question, I believe.”

“I wanted to know what time Armitage saw Finn bust open his locker.” Cassian leans back against the windowsill, and does not smile. “That’s all.”

“What does that matter? He saw it, that’s the proof you need—”

“Humor me,” says Mothma, and smiles, thin-lipped. “Armitage?”

Armie Hux looks at his mother, and then at Cassian, and says, “I don’t remember.”

“You were in the hallway, clearly,” says Cassian,. “Your locker’s a few yards down from the chemistry lab, isn’t it? Was it morning? Afternoon?”

Armie looks at his mother again. He shrugs. Jyn curls her hand back around Finn’s shoulder, and holds on.

“I don’t see the point of this,” says Mrs. Hux.

“Armitage,” says Cassian. “You saw Finn taking your laptop out of your locker. Were you on your way to class?”

“I guess.”

“Which class?”

Armie shrugs again.

“Why didn’t you tell a teacher?”

“Dunno.”

“You saw Finn break open your locker and steal your laptop and you didn’t tell a teacher?” Cassian cocks his head. “Seems counter-intuitive to me.”

Mrs. Hux bristles. Color flushes up her throat, like she’s being filled with boiling water. “I don’t like what you’re implying, whoever you are—”

“Mr. Andor is one of our history teachers,” says Mothma. Jyn could swear the woman is preening, just a little. “Like I mentioned before, Mrs. Hux, I requested he attend this meeting on behalf of the student disciplinary committee.”

“Why is Armitage the one being interrogated here? That boy is the criminal—”

“If you don’t mind,” says Cassian, “I’d like him to finish his story. Surely you won’t object to that?”

Mrs. Hux snaps her mouth shut again.

“Art,” says Armie. “Third period. Before lunch.”

“Monday morning, third period. That’s when you saw him take it?”

“Yeah.” Armie shifts, and sniffs. “Yeah.”

“And when did you talk to your friends?”

“I talked to Ben in art class. Told him what happened.” The kid shrugs. “He talked to some guys in the high school division. Y’know. They wanted to make sure I’d be okay. Talking to him.”

“I wouldn’t have done anything,” Finn bursts out, and Jyn digs her nails into his shoulder. “I didn’t go near your stupid locker—”

“You’re sure it was third period,” says Cassian again. “Absolutely sure.”

“Yes,” says Armitage. He looks at his mother, and then at Finn. “He took it out of my locker, third period, on his way to chemistry class or something, I don’t know. Maybe he ditched. I don’t know what kids like him do during school, but it was definitely Finn.”

“Finn was in class with me during third period on Monday,” says Cassian, without inflection. “World history. Third period, Monday morning. We were talking about the Ottoman Empire. Finn turned in a paper on its fall during and after the First World War. I have him marked in my attendance book.”

Armitage Hux says nothing. Mrs. Hux is scarlet. Finn looks like all the holidays in the world have just smashed together into a piñata.

“Thank you, Miss Erso,” says Mothma. The corner of her mouth ticks up. “If you and Finn will wait outside for a few minutes, I’d appreciate it.”

There should be something to say, she thinks. She should hvae something to say. When she stands up, though, there’s nothing. Jyn nods, and in spite of herself her eyes flick to Cassian, where he’s still skulking by the window, his head down, hair kind of draping in front of his eyes. He’s watching her, she thinks. Without blinking. 

Jyn dips her head to him, just once, and pretends her heart isn’t twisting in her chest. 

#rebelcaptain #my writing #foster care au #neither pity nor pragmatism

[shiny-craboo-blog]

@rockformed​ replied to your post : i keep goin away for a long time but theres a good...

what asshole?? 👀👀👀👀👀

WHOOO lemme tell you this is a long one (sorry about any spelling errors i was tryna get this done quickly)

it was actually that guy that we played overwatch with together once.

ive known him since about december, but he was saying lots of homophobic and racist shit, so i was like eh might as well try to make him a better person, but to do that, you gotta get close, and i started liking him (literally @ past me why?????)

so i flirt a little here, giggle a little there, and he falls in love with me. i liked him too, but he liked me to a point where it was obsessive. he was telling me i saved his life and that out of everyone on earth im his favorite. i come out to him as trans one day, and after a lot of thinking, he was like “okay yeah im okay with this” and i was happy

however, like i said, he was really obsessive. he wouldnt let me play games with anyone else unless he was there, and when i tried to watch a show with one of our mutual friends, he gets all upset about it.

eventally, even though he liked me, he started being a real ass. i told him that i didnt really like him anymore and that i wanted to stay friends, and he turned it into this huge fight and ended it with “Forget it... Good night.” - and he used that phrase every (and “goodbye”) every time he wanted a conversation to sound final or like he was going to die if i didnt give him all my attention right then and there.

the fighting continued for a few months, during which he called me a sociopath, narcissistic, not worthy off being called a human being, and all that typa stuff. he started feeling suicidal - even though he felt that way before i met him, he started feeling it stronger because he didnt have me constantly fawning over him to ease it out - and he straight up told me that he blamed me for his feelings.

the fights got reaaalllll bad, and eventually he had a set day and time, and every time i said i was going to call his mom about it, he got really defensive and acted like i was attacking him, saying “dont test me” and shit

he became really emotionally manipulative and just flat out malicious tbh

the day came around and i blocked him because i didnt want to hear about it, and he started yet another fight. he didnt do anything though because half an hour later he came crawling back saying that he needed someone to talk to and that he had this whole change of heart and that he realized what his friends were worth and how he acted really shitty and that he was sorry

but he didnt change his behavior at all lmao

he kept arguing with me, so i started just. not joining as much and not talking to him as often and he got really pissy, asking me if i was talking to other people and accusing me of talking with this guy who he hates (the guy he hates left to make another server with all the people this guy was an asshole to so they could have a place where he wasnt there being a dick and the guy im telling you about acts like the victim whenever he talks about it like?? literally if u were a better friend they wouldnt have felt the need to?) (and i totally was talking to the guy bc the enemy of your enemy is your friend and all that) but he was a real ass about it. 

and saturday!! this saturday!!! he was an ass the moment i joined the call so i left and he got mad saying like “you know how i get upset when you leave the call” and i was like “i just??? dont wanna be there if ur gonna be mean to me the moment i join??” and he said

THIS BITCH

said

“its a guy thing to be mean to your friends. but i guess you wouldn’t know about that ;)”

so i blocked him. he texts me saying that hes been mean because his dads been on his back about college, and i said it wasnt an excuse. a few minutes later, someone from the server messages me sayin that nick said if i dont unblock him hes gonna ban me. so i unblocked him and asked for a reason why i should stay. this bitch. this ass. says “because i thought we were friends” LIKE BIIIIIIITCH PLEAAAAAAASE YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WE AINT

anyway we fought for 3 hours and rather than giving me any good reasons to stay he called me stupid and said i misinterpreted the message like?? how else am i supposed to interpret it????????

so im staying, making him fall in love with me again, then leaving.

bonus: i made a list of the highlights of some of the shit things hes said to me

"Forget it... good night." "i used to trust everyone then the thing happened with my cousin so i stopped sharing myself or exposing myself. then i did over the years with kii then she backstabbed me. then ness and it happened again. i didnt trust anyone and still wasnt ok with sharing myself. then u stepped in and made me feel happy and wanted and like i could trust people. then you said you loved me like you did. i opened up and pursued and got lead on for 15 hours a day for a month up until i got enough courage to try to stand and speak open heartedly and with courage and the next day you lose all interest." "you know what? you obviously dont like me anymore. im over it you win. im done chasing. the goalposts always change. its over." "i cant stop chasing you. you are literally my favorite person on earth." "im doing this once a day from now on. wanna go out" "1 reason i got on ow. *1 reason i got on ow off my psych. guess it doesnt matter to you." “For the record the reason im mad all the time is because im fucking pissed at you but cant take it out for some reason.” “reason im so shit ight now is caught i thought i was at rock bottom and you took me up the mountain just to fling me off. forget it. good night." "youre still online. just gonna pretend im not here?" "hope this doesnt wake you up but sorry for being a cunt." "i still want to die haha. life sucks" "im sorry." me: you purposely did something to make me mad and then get upset when i get mad "im hald zoned in rn im getting killed by bad vibes but im not gonna make you mad ever again." "why did you fool me. i fight with you a lot now and its because of what you did to me and how ive lost my sense of self and all emotions because of you. but then i remember this is just how i usually am and being happy is what people are supposed to be like and im not so this is normal and only my fault so. i forgot where i was going with this but take care friend." "if it was the concept thing then why do i still love you." "i get upset because i have to actively avoid falling for you." "im only angry and mean to you because i dont understand my emotions." "im gonna kill myself saturday at 7:32 pm" (<<<this was two weeks ago hes fine now) "im not gonna do it i just want attention" "to keep it 100 i just said that so you wouldnt call anyone." "dont test me" "eat shit" "if youre trying to make me unfriend you its working" "actual human beings dont pull that bullshit. they suck it up and stick to their word or break the news to the other and dont drag them along." me: every humans a human regardless of whether or not they feel "theyre a human. not an actual human. theyre a human but not worthy of being called one." "in 3 months you managed to fuck with my emotions and make me want to kill myself more than kii did in 3 years." "i think this is the last conversation were gonna have. if you got anything important to say speak now or forever hold your peace. alright youre in overwatch and missed your chance." "have fun with your game hope its worth losing me over."

me: im going to call your mom and tell her right now "and say what? 'im a bad friend and now nick wont talk to me?'"

me: no. 'nicks planning on killing himself.' "and ill just say its someone im amd at trying to get revenge on me" "im not convinced that its not a whole thing made specifically to drive me to suicide." "in queue rather than fixing problems. typical. goodbye, asshole." "what if by trying to stop the outcome u saw you just pushed me away from one of the only people i trusted and now im on a path that ends in my inevitable self destruction." "no thats the depression but i am saying u took away what made me happy." "forget it, ill catch you later. apparently no goodbyes either lol." "bye oats." "the only thing you will ever love besides yourself is overwatch. bye." "are you there i just got back and i really need someone." "beause youre the middle man i guess and it was a test of allegiance i think in my mind." "idk i just feel like not many people actually like me deep down and its a shit thing of me to put that on others." "hows ness doing" "because im done walking on eggshells for you, snowflake. "its a guy thing to be a dick to your friends. guess u wouldnt understand ;)" "sorry for being a jerk. dad has been riding me all week and im mad all the time." "maybe you would get it if your dad ever punched you or woke you up by throwing shit at you." (i know for a fact his dad doesnt do this. there was a whole week where we were in a call 24/7 to see how long we could get one to last and his dad brings him dinner and plays xbox in the same room sometimes. i get that from an outside perspective this may seem mean to overlook, but if you knew this guy, you wouldnt put it past him to lie about shit like this just for attention.) "youre being such a baby over this. its not a big deal, its an argument." "considering you didnt write it id consider it awful stupid of you to think you can interpret it better than the author." "you dont know me"

#babbbles #just like #fuck that guy? #legit thinkin about ruinin his entire life. telling future employers hes racist and stuff.

[oncethrown]

Female Shadowhunters Characters in Order from Most to Least Interesting

(and who are in more than one or two episodes and have more lines than can be counted on one hand)

1. Maryse Lightwood

Maryse used to be a Circle Member, but turned herself and her husband in, betraying her leader and all of her friends in order to save her son. Then she was banished from her home coutnry, but somehow still became a high ranking member of the government she once tried to overthrow, and rebuilt her life around rigidily following that government’s rules, while no one in her family-- the only thing she has and what she gave up everything for-- manages to follow those same rules, affecting her standing in a society she once rebelled against but now mindlessly clings to. She is occasionally summoned to/ imprisoned in that country, while her marriage falls apart and she tries to maintain her relationship with her children, and fucks it up royally, because of both the clave, and the predjudices that brought her into the circle. 

Show taking advantage of this? Meh. Sort of. Introducing Aldertree was fucking pointless when they had Maryse to work with, and condensing her and Alec’s huge amount of baggage and conflict and the actors chemistry into a side plot halfway through the season was an idiotic move. 

2. Lydia Branwell

Ambitious, kind, calculating and tender. Lydia wants to run and Institute an work her way up the Clave ladder. She takes her duty as a shadowhunter very seriously, but is still unsure of the Clave’s methods. She agrees to torture Seelies on Clave orders, but that speaks out againt it in court, in front of a super high ranking official. Her fiance who she was deeply in love with died, and she dove into work, but was prepared to marry Alec in order to get the institute, knowing that he’d never love her, and the relationship would never be real. 

Show taking advantage of this? NO! WHERE IS LYDIA?! I love her and I want her back!

3. Jocelyn Fairchild

Ran away from the circle and her lunatic despot husband to make a new life in the mundane world with her daughter. Stole a super important artifact and still evaded the clave and the circle for two decades. Plays the loving mother perfectly, and still manages to pull the strings of everyone around her, (Magnus, Dot) even those that she loves (Clary, Luke). Just as blinded by duty as Maryse (trying to kill Jace) but coming at it from such a different perspective. 

Show taking advantage of this? Actually they were doing a good job until they killed her off to goose Alec’s plotline, which didn’t need goosing.

4. Maia Roberts

Has gone through mysterious bad shit, but is now relatively healthy and well adjusted (taking into account the very low bar this show sets for that). Has enough standing in the pack that Raphael is willing to listen to her. Takes matters into her own hands. Is willing to do what needs to be done when it’s brutal (kill Clary), and when it’s smart but goes against her feelings (send Simon into Clary’s arms). Willing to do what the security of the pack demands (kill Jace) and stands up for herself (not taking Jace’s shit at the bar), but can also graciously admit when she was wrong (talking to Jace at Magnus’s party) Generally the most well rounded and human-feeling characters on the show.

Show taking advantage of this? Sort of. She’s only been in a few episodes and while she shines in all of her scenes, she also ends up taking a lot more shit from Luke than makes sense, and I have a feeling we aren’t going to get a good coda on how amazingly shitty Luke treated her in the end of 2A. But her scenes with Simon and Jace give the show the breathers it deperately needs-- moments where we get to love the characters instead of just watch them sprint through all the plot hurdles. 

(unrelated thought, I love her 70′s vibe)

5. Season 1 Isabelle Lightwood

Brilliant, sexual, emotionally vulnerable, and not afraid to loudly be all of those things at the same time. Loving to the point that she sacrifices herself for others, but never a doormat. She starts converting herself into her the daughter her mother wanted in order to redirect parental pressure from Alec while he’s going through something, because she loves him more than anyone. She risks seriously fucking everything for Meliorn, and then stands up straight at her trial, proclaming what she thinks is right, while having Magnus Bane represent her, for just that extra dash of “Fuck You”

Show taking advantage of this? (See Season 2 Isabelle Lightwood)

6. Iris Rouse

Several centuries old warlock decides to get proactive about the fact that warlocks can’t reproduce themselves. Very much an echo of Valentine. Lives in a horrifying rape camp that she maintains herself... very caring with her young warlocks, and not just in a “ah yes, you will increase our numbers”  way, but in a taking them to the park and clearly loving them way. Immediately willing to do what it takes to further her own agenda, whether that’s trick Clary, or do valentine’s bidding... but still decides to go all out in a wierdly vicious way just to trick magnus into revealing the location of his spell book. 

Is the show taking advantage of this? I was actually surprised at how well the show used Iris to bump the 2A plot along. I think she’s served her purpose, and is probably gone forever now. 

7. Cleophas Graymark

Always believed in the circle, but hides out as a badass weapons nun, finds out her old leader is out there, murders her way out of the nunnery, joins his team but IMMEDIATELY turns on him when he finally goes a bridge too far, because she truly believes in the glory of heaven. Particularly interesting when you imagine her and Maryse Lightwood (who believed in the glory of Valentine) as compatriots.

Is the show taking advantage of this? Sort of. She was another plot-point only character, just like Iris Rouse... but she was interesting and also opened up the Shadowhunter world a little bit in a show that suffers from outrageously shaky world building. 

8. Rebecca Lewis

Lawyer, recovering alcoholic and widowed mother, who raised and upstanding kid like Simon, and does her best trying to take care of him, and find help for him when he starts acting wierd beyond her understanding. 

Is the show taking advanatage of this? She’s a very solid supporting character who is used well. As far as character meeting plot, Rebecca Lewis may be the most solidly written character on the show. 

9. Season 2 Isabelle Lightwood

Refusal to look weak ends with her unknowingly entrapped by Clave bad guy. With minimal effort, manages to trick the whole institute, and Magnus, into believing that Aldertree has given her a special mission, and then finds an extremely rapey and poorly written way of getting her fix without Aldertree, only to have him try and buy sex from her, with drugs as currency, not knowing that she’s already coercing someone she has an undue amount of power over into drug/sex. 

Is the show taking advantage of this? Nope. Season 2 Isabelle Lightwood is the shows second biggest failure (right after the way the Malec first time was handled). Nothing she does ties into the main plot in any significant way. Even the fight she causes between Alec and Magnus has no lasting repercussions, or emotional weight. It seperates Emeraude Tobia from everyone she plays well against, and traps her in a pointless and racist plot line, which plays into none of Emeraude’s strengths, and makes her look like a worse actress than she really is, which we know from season 1. 

10. Clary Fairchild

Everything that Clary does is caused by her doing something that she was just told not to do. This can be interesting when it’s stuff like “Don’t befriend downworlders, they can’t be trusted”, but it’s way less interesting when it’s something we all know is stupid (don’t try to raise the dead) over and over again. Characters who act as though they don’t have even the vaguest sense of what genre they are in aren’t interesting. She’s also just as manipulative as her mother, but is never called out for it and the writers are failing to give her meaningful relationships and connections. Her and izzy’s plot always feels like izzy comforting her, and clary never noticed anything off about Izzy. She also didn’t tell anyone that Izzy had demon stuff going on after their fucked up purity trial scene. She and Jace just keep looking sad and reminding eachother they can’t fuck. Even she and Simon have a flatness. 

Is the show... she is the main character. She should not be.

Dot Rollins Addendum

I do not know where to put Dot. Her main connection is to Clary, and her interactions with Magnus early in Season 1 make it clear that it’s weird for a warlock to be emotionally attached to Shadowhunters. She accepts torture to protect Madzie and risks her life to help Jace and Clary escape... but so much of what we are supposed to feel about her is related to Clary... and from Clary’s side there is just no relationship. Dot was like a big sister! -- That Clary immediately forgot about and left to be torturned on her evil father’s experiment from hell ship.

#female characters #shadowhunters #oncethrowntalkstoherself

[racingtoaredlight]

What else are you gonna do with your stupid life? College football watch ‘em ups for week 2 (officially) of the 2018 season

I’m all in on the rebirth of the run & shoot and don’t know if I have enough caring in me to write about every game this week. FUCK IT WE’LL DO IT LIVE!

Disclaimers about time zones and other sites and what the fuck ever go here. It doesn’t matter, we rake in like zero ad dollars from these posts.

This week is an oddity due to a lack of off-day games. Just one Friday and no others. I kind of wish every week was like this but I think this is the only one for the year.

Saturday, September 8

Matchup                                                     Time (ET)                 TV/Mobile

Arizona at Houston                                   12:00pm           ABC/ESPN2 (RM

Khalil Tate and Kevin Sumlin might just be a match made in hell. Ed Oliver has personally humiliated some great dual-threat QBs in the past but I don’t know if Tate is actually a threat through the air. Not sure what that means for the all-important stats.

Duke at Northwestern                               12:00pm                    ESPNU

Northwestern sucks. I’ll still root for them but they’re not good.

Eastern Michigan at Purdue                      12:00pm                      BTN

The nation’s leader in all-purpose yards at home against EMU? Hell yes.

Georgia Tech at USF                                   12:00pm              ABC/ESPN2 (RM)

I almost made a national champions joke but USF and UCF are actually different schools. Not by much, mind you. Based on one week against stiffs I have the impression this is a good year for the Ramblin’ Wreck.

Liberty at Army                                            12:00pm                       CBSSN

Army doesn’t even play a cool version of the option. This game is a pox.

Mississippi State at Kansas State              12:00pm                        ESPN

A bunch of guys who will play in the NFL next year are playing against each other for teams that will combine to lose 10+ games this year. This is a headache in a bag. I think I’d take KState +8 and the over of 54.5.

Nevada at Vanderbilt                                    12:00pm                        SECN

Oddly enough, I’d be totally into this one if Vandy were flying West for a 10pm kickoff. This version looks terrible, though.

New Mexico at Wisconsin                            12:00pm                         BTN

Can’t wait for Hornibrook to end up getting a Heisman invite. He’s Wisconsin’s answer to Gino Torretta.

Towson at Wake Forest                                 12:00pm                   ACCNExtra

I’ve always thought of it as “Nextra” but then I saw it written as ACCNE and now there’s no going back.

Western Michigan at Michigan                      12:00pm                        FS1

I know I’m stupid and crazy but I haven’t sold all of my Harbaugh stock just yet. I’ve heard about how he’s not a college coach and he’ll be back in the NFL next year but I can’t shake the feeling that he can still get things to click with just a little more time.

Georgia State at NC State                              12:30pm                       RSN

NC State lost a ton of talent to the pros this year and the next in line from QBU isn’t really as great as his offseason draft hype. Georgia State is absolutely going to beat the spread.

Holy Cross at Boston College                         1:00pm                     ACCNExtra

Somehow this battle for Boston reminded me of somebody explaining in excruciating detail about how BC isn’t in Boston and it just makes me hate that place and its people all over again.

UCLA at Oklahoma                                           1:00pm                        FOX

UCLA generally doesn’t do very well in early games and Oklahoma’s talent level is very obviously higher than the Bruins at every position. I don’t know what point to make here. Hopefully Rodney Anderson gets more than 5 carries this week but he might not need to.

Air Force at Florida Atlantic                             2:00pm       CBSSN / Facebook

FAU got murdered by Oklahoma last week so I’m a little bit intrigued by how Lane bounces back. Vegas really likes the Owls but I’m not really sure why.

Portland State at Oregon                                 2:00pm                    Pac-12N

This is some high quality trash. I won’t watch it due to dumb circumstances but I’d enjoy it if I could.

William & Mary at Virginia Tech                       2:00pm                ACCNExtra

The Hokies looked pretty good against FSU. I forgot all about Josh Jackson since he missed the 2017 season but I think he’s a pretty good college QB.

Kansas at Central Michigan                            3:00pm                  ESPN Plus

What can you say about Kansas football without laughing maniacally?

Arkansas State at Alabama                             3:30pm                    ESPN2

Red Wolves vs. Crimson Tide should be some sort of rivalry. Bama looks every bit as good as expected so this will probably be a bloodbath. In red.

Ball State at Notre Dame                                 3:30pm                     NBC

Notre Dame gets to walk around like a top 10 team for now but a 7-point win over Michigan at home in a game that felt like a blowout doesn’t strike me as a springboard to a CFB Playoff berth. Brian Kelly is still a shitty murderer so fuck him.

Buffalo at Temple                                              3:30pm                    ESPN3

Tyree Jackson threw 6 TDs last week while Temple was losing to Villanova. The result? Temple is favored by 5. That seems wrong. Are there really people betting their hearts in what looks like a classic degenerate’s matchup?

Colorado at Nebraska                                       3:30pm                      ABC

Big 8 rivals square off in the first game (probably!) of the Scott Frost era. Smart money is probably on Colorado.

Georgia at South Carolina                                 3:30pm                     CBS

If Coach Boom is going to make the most of his great roster he needs to spring the upset here. That doesn’t seem crazy to me so look for UGA to win by 40.

Howard at Kent State                                        3:30pm                ESPN Plus

A bunch of 1-AA teams are in the watch ‘em ups for a second time this week but Howard is closest to my heart. Love the Bison to trample the Gun Girls.

Memphis at Navy                                               3:30pm                    CBSSN

This is the only game most years where I cheer against Memphis. I don’t have a great feeling about this Navy team, though, so my advice for you who are wondering is to put the mansion on Memphis to win by more than 6 and for the over to hit some time in the third quarter.

Morgan State at Akron                                      3:30pm                  ESPN Plus

I’ll leave this one to Soused.

North Carolina at East Carolina                       3:30pm                     ESPNU

This game was in the maybe watch column on SB Nation’s grid this week and I can’t comprehend why this is anything but AVOID!!!!! even if they don’t offer that designation.

Rutgers at Ohio State                                        3:30pm                       BTN

Ohio State is out here with a boatload of talent and a scheme that mostly runs itself in games like this. I wish all bad things on the Ohio State football program but they have some really great players that I don’t hate.

Wagner at Syracuse                                           3:30pm                 ACCNExtra

Eric Dungey’s quest for a rushing title continues.

ETSU at Tennessee                                            4:00pm                      SECN

Without looking I think Tennessee is probably favored. By too much.

Lamar at Texas Tech                                          4:00pm                 FSN / FSGo

I make jokes about Lamar being just some dude every year and it’s dumb but I can’t look at Lamar and not think it’s just some dude instead of a team.

Southern Illinois at University of Mississippi    4:00pm                     SECNA

What’s up with fixing the mascot name but not the other super racist allusion in your sports programs? Progress of some sort, I guess. This is a body bag game of the lowest caliber.

Iowa State at Iowa                                              5:00pm                      FOX

Potentially cool game at college football’s most heartwarming stadium. Nothing here not to love.

North Dakota at Washington                              5:00pm                  Pac-12N

Is this the same school that Carson Wentz went to? I’m not looking it up. A lot of you were all in on Auburn trashing UDub last week but that didn’t actually happen. Washington could still win 12 straight and end up back in playoff contention, even without their star LT.

Appalachian State at Charlotte                          6:00pm                ESPN Plus

Wild to think this is 1-A on 1-A.

Maryland at Bowling Green                                 6:00pm               ESPN Plus

It was funny to see Texas lose and all but let’s all remember to hate the fuck out of Maryland’s coaches and program from here to eternity.

Savannah State at Miami (FL)                             6:00pm               ACCNExtra

There is no reason for most people to give a shit about this game but I’m interested to see if the freshman QBs are really bad or if Mark Richt is just being way too conservative with his roster by starting Malik Rosier. My gut says nobody is worse for this team than Rosier. I know Ahmmon Richards, for one, agrees with me.

SC State at UCF                                                   6:00pm                  ESPN3

Here’s the national champs. Not gonna lose the winning streak here.

UMass at Georgia Southern                                6:00pm                 ESPN Plus

Now we’re getting into some good degeneracy. There are too many other games at this same time to really dive into this shitfest but it’s real as hell to me.

Youngstown State at West Virginia                     6:00pm                    ATTSN

I was looking at games on CBS Sports and they didn’t have a channel listed for this game. ATTSN = AT&T Sports Network, guessing a DirecTV exclusive? I love Holgo even if I kinda hate the Air Raid.

Eastern Kentucky at Marshall                             6:30pm                 ESPN Plus

Here’s another great backup game. I don’t know if anybody good is on either team this year.

Baylor at UTSA                                                     7:00pm     CBSSN / Facebook

Ugh. Fucking Baylor. Go the fuck away forever, Baylor.

Clemson at Texas A&M                                        7:00pm                      ESPN

Until about 5 years ago Clemson and aTm were actually the same program. Now Clemson is a legit 5-star program and I fucking hate it. Not enough to root for the Aggies, mind you. Talent watching is pretty good in this one but the idea of Jimbo Fisher falling flat on his face in Aggieland is too good not to dream about.

Florida A&M at Troy                                              7:00pm                  ESPN Plus

Let’s go Rattlers!

Indiana State at Louisville                                   7:00pm                 ACCNExtra

Petrino might be on the verge of sunsetting unless he flukes his way into another megastar. Louisville looks like the most ACC of ACC teams right now even though they have no business being in the conference. This should be an AAC team all the way.

Southeastern La. at LSU                                     7:00pm                    ESPN2

I want to whisper to all of you that LSU really isn’t all that good but I’m typing and you’re maybe reading it instead.

Southern at LA Tech                                            7:00pm                 ESPN Plus

Louisiana Tech is one of my pet stupid programs. I always think they’re one random star recruit away from becoming the next offense lab in college football. This probably isn’t the year, though.

Texas Southern at Texas State                           7:00pm              KNVA/ESPN3

If anybody has more than a gambling interest in this one I am dying to hear about it. Seriously. Explain yourself.

UAB at Coastal Carolina                                      7:00pm                ESPN Plus

Last week I insulted UAB’s football program and they went out and won 52-0, their first shutout victory in 10 years. So let me continue my campaign for them to drop the program again.

ULM at Southern Miss                                          7:00pm                 ESPN3

I don’t think I realized until right now that CUSA is the surviving shell of the old Metro Conference. I thought the Metro just died. Anyway, CUSA football is MACtion for degenerates. Meaning that I like it. This game got a shoutout on the NFL’s season opener so maybe it will draw an audience in the hundreds.

UT Martin at Middle Tennessee                           7:00pm               ESPN Plus

The Tee Martins are back! How does it feel to play football your whole life and go to college for football and then realize that you’re playing for the team that’s being paid to lay down to Middle Tennessee State? Not even like Wake Forest or somebody like that - worse! It still sounds kind of fun but embarrassing at the same time.

Wyoming at Missouri                                             7:00pm                  ESPNU

Drew Lock has some similar physical traits to Wyoming’s QB from last year but I think he’s gotten better coaching. Similar arm talent(!!!) at least. I don’t know about the raw athleticism which, no shit, Josh Allen has tons of. Anyway, Missouri should stomp all over Wyoming.

Samford at Florida State                                       7:20pm              ACCNExtra

The Bobby Bowden Bowl! The immediate reactions to Willie Taggert at FSU were loud and angry but he needs some time to sort through the weird mess that the team devolved into last year. I don’t think he can keep running the offense he had at USF with this roster, though, and he needs to figure that out quickly.

Alabama State at Auburn                                       7:30pm                SECNA

The Littlest Iron Bowl! Auburn is another team that didn’t look great to me in week 1. And they don’t have any obvious path to the playoffs.

Arkansas at Colorado State                                  7:30pm                CBSSN

This might be the farthest an SEC team has traveled for a regular season game this century.

FIU at Old Dominion                                               7:30pm          beIN SPORTS

Keep the faith in Butch Davis. It’ll turn out pretty well in the end. I think.

Fresno State at Minnesota                                     7:30pm                   FS1

I think CSU-Fresno had the highest point total in the country in week 1 but it came against 1-AA Idaho State. Yeah, I just wanted to drop a mention to Idaho State as a (once again) 1-AA team. This game is probably trash but it has the decency to be a dumb night game that nobody will notice unless it gets wild.

Incarnate Word at North Texas                               7:30pm             ESPN Plus

This is truly bottom of the barrel stuff but UNT does have the nation’s leader in passing yards per game!

Kentucky at Florida                                                 7:30pm                  SECN

UF is really heavily favored to win their 32nd straight against Kentucky but why? The line is only 14 but odds are weighted like 88% for the Gators to win. Kentucky sucks but doesn’t Florida?

Maine at WKU                                                          7:30pm             ESPN Plus

A lot of oddball evening games this week. I like it.

Utah at NIU                                                                7:30pm             ESPNews

Northern Illinois got blown out by Iowa last week. Utah looked like hell for the first 30 minutes against Weber State. I don’t have a point. Utah will probably win by 20.

Virginia at Indiana                                                      7:30pm                BTN

UVA and IU are more similar than dissimilar historically speaking. This game makes me annoyed just knowing that it’s going to happen and that it’s on Big Ten Network. Get your shit together, Hoos.

Western Illinois at Illinois                                          7:30pm                BTN

It would be so Lovie Smith to lose this game.

Cincinnati at Miami (Ohio)                                         8:00pm   Raycom / ESPN3

I agree with what Ohio State fans were saying a few years back: Luke Fickell sucks.

New Mexico State at Utah State                              8:00pm           Facebook

Facebook? For this one? Boo hiss. This is prime gambling athletics, nobody should be tracking you as you watch this one.

Nicholls at Tulane                                                      8:00pm              ESPN3

Nicholls! The Nicholls Nickels! Tulane doesn’t get a lot of easy wins but I think we can all agree with some bit of confidence that Tulane may suck loudly but they’re still better than Kansas.

Penn State at Pitt                                                       8:00pm               ABC

I have an unhealthy and unrealistic need for Pitt to win this game.

Sacramento State at San Diego State                     8:00pm             No TV (!!!)

What in the goddamn fucking hell is SDSU doing with no TV coverage in 2018? Christ almighty. This is hilarious.

South Alabama at Oklahoma State                          8:00pm                FSN

I wish South Alabama was good enough to at least put the fear of god in Okie State but they really aren’t. Expect a typical early season massacre from the Cowboys.

Southern Utah at Oregon State                                8:00pm             Pac-12N

What the hell is this?

Tulsa at Texas                                                             8:00pm                 LHN

Tulsa only beat Central Arkansas by 11 last week but Texas lost to Maryland. 23 points might be too much to expect for the Longhorns at this juncture.

USC at Stanford                                                          8:30pm                 FOX

The Pac-12 is known for two things: bad scheduling and bad referees. Also, bad defenses so that makes three things. This is bad scheduling. Why is the most marketable game of your whole conference year happening in week 2 at 8:30pm EST? This is absolutely moronic.

UTEP at UNLV                                                              9:00pm               ATTSN

Ever since it popped into my head last year or the year before I just can’t get over UNLV being confederate-themed. What the hell is that?

California at BYU                                                        10:15pm              ESPN2

This is actually beautiful scheduling which makes me think BYU came up with it themselves. Great uniform matchup even if both teams stink.

UConn at Boise State                                               10:15pm    ESPN2/ESPNU

Haha, UConn. What are you doing? How did this program actually make it to major bowl game in the last 10 years? They’re 31-point underdogs playing past their bedtimes against an OK-at-best Boise State team. This somehow feels earned.

Michigan State at Arizona State                               10:45pm               ESPN

Really not sure how Sparty agreed to this one but if I have one strong conviction from week 1 it’s that Herm Edwards should have stayed a TV talking head and left the coaching game to everybody else.

San Jose State at Washington State                         11:00pm           Pac-12N

Very fine watchin’ ‘em up here. You have to catch them all.

Rice at Hawai’i                                                              11:59pm          Spectrum

Spectrum is a station? Spectrum is a cable company. Anyway, Rice played Ed Oliver last week and now they have to face early RTARLsman frontrunner Cole McDonald. I’m cautiously bandwagoning for Hawai’i.

#football #college football #degenerate football #tv watch em ups #saturday post