#tw: hate crime

[porternash]

we are out here burying babies because of the same motherfuckers who scream at the top of their lungs “I’m just trying to protect children”

i do not want to fucking hear that ever again from the transphobia crowd because you’re fucking not. you are murdering us.

Nex Benedict. Jacob Williamson.

it’s been 26 years since Matthew Shepard was beaten and left to die tied up to a fence post, and the only thing that’s changed is cis queer people have turned their fucking backs on us.

it’s been 10 years since Leelah Alcorn took her own life.

we cannot keep failing them.

#transphobia #tw: hate crime #tw: death #news #jacob williamson #nex benedict #we fucking failed you #i’m so sorry #i’m so fucking sorry you were both just babies and you should still be here #i will never forget #you’re going to live forever because i will not let your memories die #and i know im not alone in that at least

[princessbubblegumandjustice]

“This Is A Hate Crime”: Kansas City Black Family Demanding Justice After A White Man Shoots Black Boy, Ralph Yarl, In The Head Twice For Ringing Doorbell Of The Wrong Home, White Man Released By Police Hours Later

Ralph Yarl, a 16 year old Black boy, was shot twice by a white man in North Kansas City after accidentally ringing the doorbell of the wrong home while attempting to pick up his sibling. The white man reportedly shot Ralph in the head through the glass door, then when Yarl was already bleeding out on the ground, shot him again. The family has described it as a hate crime, and community members are calling for justice for the young victim.

The cops called it an “error.”

An error is when a webpage won’t load. It is not when you shoot a kid on your porch.

#hate crime #shooting #gun violence #tw: hate crime #tw: racism #*original

[dominimoonbeam]

Once again, I'm thinking about Fear Street 1666 and that moment when Sarah and Hannah were tied up under a hanging tree with that townful of idiots screaming at them to confess to witchery and Sarah looked at Hannah and said she confessed... because she wasn't confessing to being a witch. She was confessing to loving that girl and that was the real reason they were going to kill her.

#fear street #i'm not sure i'll ever stop thinking about this moment #these movies were so good but this moment.. #tw: homophobia #tw: horror #tw: hate crime

[schrijverr]

I Found Myself a Cheerleader 20

Chapter 20 out of 28

Bumped to the lowest step on the social ladder after his fight with Billy, Steve gets roped in with the cheer team. What starts as a favor to help them out when one member breaks her leg in turn for protection from the brunt of the bullying, sets the universe on a different path.

In this chapter, seeing Chrissy attacked has them all on edge, which isn’t helped when they return to the cabin and find it completely ransacked. Eddie missing from the scene. The search for him only sets them on the path to more danger.

On AO3.

Ships: steddie & buckingham

Warnings: general season 4 shenanigans, child abuse mention, hate-crime, homophobia, f-slur, bullying mention

~~~~

Chapter 20: The Escape

Steve screams Chrissy’s name loudly and shakes her, despite the fact he knows it won’t do anything to save her.

Behind him, the others get there and see what has happened. Max is rushing forward, already pulling off her own headphones to give to Chrissy, but she is stopped by Lucas, who yells: “Are you insane? Vecna is looking for a target right now.”

“Do you expect me to let her die for me?” Max screams back, an again going unspoken. “She needs music.”

A part of Steve wishes Lucas hadn’t stopped Max, but he knows that wouldn’t have solved anything. Right now Chrissy needs music and Steve knows how to get it. He quickly scoops Chrissy up, hating how light she feels as he yells: “Get out of the fucking way!”

The party scrambles to let him pass as he carries Chrissy down the stairs, relieved she isn’t floating yet. Robin is at his side, Nancy at his back. Nancy asks: “Where are you going?”

“She needs music, I’m bringing her to music,” Steve replies.

“You’ll never make it to the car,” Nancy argues. “It’s too far.”

“We don’t have to make it to the car,” Steve tells her.

“The piano,” Robin exclaims, picking up on what Steve is saying as they hustle down the stairs to the now abandoned piano where once a happy family sang.

Right as he crosses the threshold, Chrissy floats out of his arms, hanging there in that horrid, ominous way. She always loved flying, but not like this. Steve wants to pull her back to earth, but knows music is more important to get right now.

So he lets Robin tug helplessly on Chrissy’s shoe as he takes place at the piano. Steve is the only one who gets to make Chrissy fly, not this Venca creep, and he is the one that knows how to get her down safely. Always there to catch her.

It’s been almost half a year since Hopper’s funeral, when they broke into his house to steal a suit to wear. However, the song still comes to him, having been burned into his memory. He thanks god for the strict French nurse, who had taught him.

Everything around him disappears as he starts to play. Hands gliding over the keys as the notes of We’ll Meet Again float through the air. The piano is a little out of tune, but it adds to the charm, well, Steve hopes so at least.

He doesn’t know all the words, but he knows the chorus, so he sings: “We’ll meet again. Don’t know where. Don’t know when. But I know we’ll meet again some sunny day.”

After that Robin takes over. She’s a decent singer and Steve wonders when she learned this song or if she has always known it. However, as long as she keeps singing Steve doesn’t care. The two of them keep on creating the music, hoping that Chrissy will come back to them, instead of leaving them behind.

The room is filled with the haunting piano and Robin’s surprisingly nice voice.

It seems to take a life time.

It only takes a minute.

Steve thinks it will never end.

The moment never really begins.

Then Chrissy is collapsing down to the ground, limp for a second, but seemingly still breathing. Of course Steve gets up immediately to check on her, right behind Robin. However, he is pushed back to the piano by Max, who demands: “Keep playing! He’s still here.”

Naturally, Steve plops back down on the bench without question as he starts up the notes again. It is harder this time, because he keeps trying to look back to where Chrissy is gasping, trying to come down from her encounter with Vecna.

He hears Robin ramble in that concerned comforting way of her and when he glances back Max is next to Chrissy too. The only one, who can know what she might have gone through.

Dustin, however, has disappeared outside with Lucas, but soon returns with a recording device, so they can tape Steve’s playing. It has proven effective, so it’s their best shot for Chrissy. Especially since the other tape is broken. Robin singing again just in case that’s important.

Once they get the tape, they put it in the backup walkman Steve brought and by god is he relieved as they hand it to Chrissy, meaning Steve can leave his bench.

Steve doesn’t waste a second, sliding out of the piano bench and running to where Chrissy is clinging to Robin. Though she lets go in favor of falling into Steve’s arms when he drops to the floor next to her.

“Oh god, Stevie, she- she was there,” Chrissy sobs and Steve holds her closer, knowing she is talking about her mother.

“You’re okay, you’re okay,” he assures her, as he strokes her hair, not wanting to give too much of her private details away to the party around them. “She’s not there. You’re not with her. You here with me and Robs and the others. You’re safe. You’re alive. I got you. I always got you.” He kisses the top of her head.

Chrissy cries a little more, hiding into Steve’s chest as Robin rubs her back, obviously unsure about what else to do.

When they have all come down from the crazy experience, they go to the Wheeler house. All of them collapse on the couches, not having been spotted by Karen or Ted. The exhaustion after the adrenaline drops makes that all of them forget about anything but sleep.

The next morning, they go by the grocery store. They’re all stuffed into Nancy’s car, probably looking a little insane as they pick a six-pack and some snacks and stuff to make dinner. If they need to hide Eddie for a little longer, Steve can cook for him. A good home cooked meal can do wonders for the soul.

But as they get to the cabin, Nancy gasps and hits the break in a way that tosses them all around in the car.

Steve is about to make a comment to her about safe driving, when he notices what made her react like that. The door to the cabin is open, the glass broken and on the walls is smeared in red spray paint the word FAG next to it is MURDERER.

His blood runs cold as he stumbles out of the car, aware of the kids behind him, who now see what has been done to his cabin. There has always been the sense that the cabin still belongs to Hopper in a way, his presence felt in location, security measures and room. However, looking at it now, Steve has never felt more like he owns it.

His cabin is his home. His safe space. He loves living there, finally having a place of his own that he can exist in without judgment or prying eyes, only letting in those that he wants there. And now that has been violated.

In his horror, he hasn’t even realized what that could mean for Eddie, who had been hidden there, until Dustin is running past him, calling out: “Eddie? Eddie!”

Without thinking, he snaps his arm up and grabs the back of Dustin’s sweater. Dustin looks back, frowning and looking offended as he exclaims: “What the hell, dude! Eddie might be in there. We need to find him.”

“I know,” Steve replies. “But maybe there is someone else in there too.”

That gets everyone’s attention as they look from Steve to the cabin, its open door now looking like a gaping maw instead of a welcoming entrance beckoning.

So far no one has commented on what is painted on the cabin, but Steve feels the words’ judgment as he takes the lead. When there is danger, Steve knows what to do. When they might get hurt, Steve is in the front.

Inside, the whole cabin is overturned. His couches are shoved to the side and blankets are strewn around. In the kitchen all the cabinets are open. Looking into the bathroom, he sees the shower curtains have been pulled down.

The doors to his own room and Hopper’s room are cracked open. His own room is better for hiding, so he pushes the one open first. His heart beats in his chest and he hates that he does not have a weapon as he waits for someone to jump him. The door creaking slightly.

Empty.

His closet is open, clothes tossed around. His bed is a mess and the window is open. But the room is abandoned, no one is there.

Hopper’s room has met the same fate and Steve curses whoever has done this. How dare they invade Hopper’s place. El’s last memory of her dad. Her one wish for this cabin in which she found kindness and love. He vows to clean up everything to how it had been when all this is behind them, so El can still come home properly.

“It’s abandoned,” he calls out. The words a relief as well as a mystery, a terrible mystery. The cabin might not have a threat, but Eddie has disappeared to and none of them know where he might be and what might have happened to him.

“Where is Eddie?” Dustin asks, sounding scared. Steve immediately hates how he sounds. Hates how he doesn’t have an answer. Hates how he is focusing on keeping himself from panicking so he can’t focus on finding an answer.

“I can’t see his clothes anywhere,” Nancy says. “Maybe he took them and ran.”

“Why would they even come here?” Robin asks.

“Who came here?”

“The basketball team,” Lucas speak up and they all look at him. He explains: “It must have been them. They’re on a war path. They think Eddie killed one of their own. They want his blood.”

“But Eddie didn’t do it,” Dustin points out.

“Well they don’t know that, do they?” Lucas snaps. “All they know Patrick died in his trailer with only him there. They hate his guts, Dustin. Just like they hate yours and now mine and Steve’s and everyone who has ever dared to not be cool and popular.”

It’s quiet, Dustin looks as if he’s been slapped in the face, staring at Lucas as they both breathe heavily.

Lucas then looks away and says: “And I wanted to be part of them, just so I wouldn’t be hated by them. They’re hunting us right now. I’m- I’m sorry, I should have listen to you and Mike. I was just so tired of the bullying.”

Steve readies himself to step in if Dustin makes a wrong move. He knows how Lucas has been struggling and he doesn’t want Dustin to ruin this. But he is pleasantly surprised when Dustin replies: “Hey, I get it. If I had more hand eye coordination I might try your method too.”

That gets a huffed laugh out of Lucas and he holds out his hand that Dustin shakes, before pulling Lucas into a hug.

Right when they let go, the radio that has been left by the party so Eddie could contact them, which has now been abandoned on the table, crackles to life. Eddie’s voice says: “Dustin, can you hear me? Stevie? Wheeler?”

Dustin fumbles for the radio, clicking it on with a breathless: “Eddie! Holy shit. Are you okay? Over.”

“Nah, man. Pretty- Pretty goddamn far from okay,” Eddie replies. He sounds rough, shaken up, but not hurt. Steve hates that he is relieved by the emotional devoid tone, because it at least means that Eddie is safe.

“Where is he?” Nancy asks.

“Where are you? Over,” Dustin repeats.

“Skull Rock,” Eddie answers. “Do you know it?”

They do know where that is, so they tell Eddie they’re coming. Steve slips on a comforting sweater, needing something soothing right now. He also grabs his nail bat from under his bed. Something made Eddie flee, it cannot be good and he wants his bat with him.

The walk is silent at the start. Steve keeps thinking back of his cabin, on how they knew to look there, knew to target him. That the kids saw what had been spray painted on the front.

Robin must feel his gloomy mood, because she slides up next to him and takes his hand. She squeezes it and he squeezes back. A gesture of silent support. She knows what is going through his head, she gets his fear and she is here for him every step of the way.

Chrissy also catches up with them, bumping her shoulder against his as she takes off one of the headphones. She quietly asks: “Are you okay?”

He looks at her, concerned eyes looking back. Chrissy has always been too kind for her own good honestly. So caring. He smiles at her and says: “I will be. This isn’t the worst that happened this week.”

“I know, but you can still be upset,” Chrissy tells him.

Steve hadn’t fully considered that. Sure, he is upset, but they have to move on. The town is getting worse and Vecna is still on the loose. They have to stop him and clear Eddie’s name without anyone getting hurt, so they don’t have time for Steve to mope. Chrissy makes it sound easy though, like of course he is allowed to be upset.

“Thanks,” he nods. Then is quiet for a beat, before he says: “I just don’t get why they always have to come back when I think I’ve gotten rid of them. I haven’t even done anything.”

“Well, you did house Eddie, you know. I think they don’t care about anything else you might have done,” Robin pipes up, then winces. “Bad comment.”

“It’s okay, Robs,” Steve laughs. He doesn’t mind her off the cuff comments. They can be quite funny and are a quirk of her. He doesn’t get annoyed, he only snaps if he feels under stress or hurt and she often knows when not to push.

“I also don’t think it would have mattered,” Chrissy adds. “I know those guys, if they’re convinced of something, they won’t stop chasing it. You’re just collateral.”

And Steve has been part of that crowd for years, witnessed them from Chrissy’s perspective for half a year and has been their target for a while now. He knows how they can be. How they don’t need evidence that it’s true, just the knowledge that it hurts. He sighs: “I know.”

“It’s gonna be okay, dingus,” Robin assures him with a soft grin.

“Yeah, I’m sure they won’t do anything with that weapon on you,” Chrissy says, nodding the nail bat he has been swinging absentmindedly.

He looks down at it and laughs, a bit surprised, he had forgotten he is carrying it and that is registers as scary. The nail bat for him is protection, not something to be afraid of. He smiles: “Yeah, I can take them.”

“Like that Russian guard,” Robin pipes up and Chrissy raises her brow at them when Steve nods in agreement.

“But I don’t want to kill anyone,” Steve amends. The bat is for non-human monsters, the kind that don’t stay down after a hit. Steve doesn’t think if he can stomach it if he’s responsible for someone seriously getting hurt, or worse.

“Yeah, yeah,” Robin waves him away. “At some point you gotta stop pulling punches, dingus. I am not capable of saving you if you throw yourself in danger like a dumbass. Look at these arms,” she shakes her arm in his face, “noodles! Incapable of fighting a grown man.”

Steve starts to laugh at Robin. Then Chrissy comments: “I think you could fight someone. You’re pretty strong, Robs.”

The look on Robin’s face is incredible. She turns entirely red and splutters a bit. Steve is now fully laughing at her and she shoves him away with a loud: “Shut up, dingus.”

“Okay, okay,” Steve laughs, putting his hands up as backs away. He wants to laugh a little bit at Robin’s expense, not out her.

He realizes that with them there, he has forgotten a little about why he was in a mood and now he can pay more attention to where they are. He calls out to Dustin: “Hey, we’re going in the wrong way.”

“No we’re not,” Dustin stubbornly replied.

“Dude, I’m telling you, you’re taking us the wrong way,” Steve says, walking a bit faster to catch up with Dustin.

“It’s North. I’m positive. I checked the map,” Dustin tells him in that way that tells Steve Dustin thinks he knows best.

A little annoyed, Steve points out: “You do realize Skull Rock is a super popular make out spot?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Yeah, well, it wasn’t popular, until I made it popular, alright? I practically invented it,” Steve informs him. “We’re heading in the wrong direction.”

He starts walking in the right direction, Dustin might be smart, but Steve knows he’s right here, so he doesn’t listen as Dustin complains: “Steve. Where are you going? Steve!”

“Stop whining,” he just tells Dustin as he waves everyone to come with him. “Let’s go. Trust me.”

Reluctantly Dustin follows as do the others as Steve leads them through a familiar forest. He turned Skull Rock into a make out spot when he was still King Steve, before Nancy he kissed many girls there, wondering why it never really felt like the movies.

Dustin is now walking next to him, looking a little sulkily down at his compass. Steve knows he’ll get over it if he gives him a moment, so he lets him stew as they walk side by side.

Sporadically he turns back to check on everyone. Lucas and Max are seemingly having a good conversation, Chrissy and Robin are joking around as well and Nancy is diligently watching the rear. He makes eye contact with her and she sends him a smile, he smiles back before looking ahead again, wondering why that made him uneasy.

Before he can think too much about it, Dustin suddenly says: “Was Lucas right? You know, when he said the basketball team hates you for not being cool and popular? That doesn’t make sense. You are cool.”

Steve’s heart constricts at that. He knows that Dustin has always looked up to him and he loves the blind faith the boy puts in him. It’s one of the few things he has never wanted to take from any of the kids; their trust in him.

“I’m glad you think so, dude,” Steve says as he scrambles for what else to say.

Dustin shoots him an annoyed look and complains: “Steveee,” obviously realizing how Steve is deflecting.

“Henderson,” Steve counters snappily, before taking a breath. He doesn’t want to fight with Dustin right now, he is too worried about Eddie and being a target himself, so he amends: “It wasn’t the worst, I just lost a fight against Billy and the results were very publicly visible. There isn’t really a social recovery from that.”

“But you’re Steve,” Dustin says, like that means anything. And to Dustin, it probably does.

“I am,” Steve smiles, unable to help the sadness that clings to his voice.

“You are like the coolest guy, I remember Mike yammering on about it when you and Nancy got together,” Dustin replies. “And Billy should have left you alone after Max’s threat.”

“He did, he did,” Steve lies. “Rumors just fly and I was loosing popularity long before that. It just happens sometimes, no big deal. Didn’t you say yourself that popularity is just a construct for high schoolers.”

“I mean, yeah,” Dustin agrees and Steve is glad he is seemingly letting it go, though never entirely of course. “But the basketball team are high schoolers. We need to get into their heads.”

“Dustin, you’re also a high schooler,” Steve points out, faintly amused by the turn this conversation has taken, but feeling the fear creep into his chest as well. He doesn’t want Dustin to press about the basketball team, doesn’t want to lie to him, doesn’t want to think about telling him the truth either.

“It’s different,” Dustin protests.

“Sure it is, buddy,” Steve tells him, going for condescending in the hope Dustin will get offended and defend himself instead of asking further.

“It is,” Dustin insists, taking the bait. “Because I am a mature person, who is above popularity contests, while basketball players by the virtue of being a basketball player, obviously do care, therefore are susceptible to those sort of things. In order to get into their minds, we have to understand that.”

“Lucas plays basketball,” Steve points out the flaws in Dustin’s logic. It’s hilarious that the kid is calling himself mature when he is so clearly kid-like on some fronts.

“He doesn’t count.”

“How so?”

“Well, he came to his senses and saw he was wrong.”

“And what about me?”

“You are on thin ice, but you also distanced yourself – I’m proud of you for that by the way.”

“Oi, don’t get cocky with me now, you little shit!”

“I’m not!” Dustin squawks, then immediately amends: “Well, maybe a little bit. But I’m almost always right.”

“Really?” Steve raises a brow.

“Yeah, like right now,” Dustin replies. “I checked the map and compass a thousand times, Steve. We need to head North and right now we’re not going North. We’re never going to find Eddie like this, I mean it.”

In a twist of beautiful irony, they come up on Skull Rock. Steve doesn’t answer Dustin directly, just exclaims: “Oh boom. Bada bing, bada boom. There she is, Henderson. Skull Rock. In your face, man, in your stupid, cocky little face.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Dustin frowns, because he is a know it all, who can never be wrong.

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve waves him away as he scans the place for Eddie. “Even with it staring you right in the face, you can’t admit it. Can’t admit you’re wrong, you butthead.”

“I concur,” a voice says behind them and they whip around, only to be filled with relief when it is Eddie, unharmed and well. He grins: “You, Dustin Henderson, are a total butthead.”

Steve shouldn’t find his little breath and the way he hoist up his jeans hot, but he does, so he just stares dumbly at Eddie for a second, as Dustin says: “Jesus, we thought you were a goner.” He pulls Eddie into a hug while Steve pulls himself together.

He watches as Eddie hugs back and hears the exhausted tone in Eddie’s voice as he replies: “Yeah, me too, man. Me too.”

His heart aches for Eddie, who is obviously going through hell. He just had to flee from Steve’s cabin, a place they thought he would be safe. A place Steve thought, he would be safe. And now that is gone.

It is gone and all the emotions that he had managed to forget while bickering with Dustin come bubbling right back up. He doesn’t know what has happened, but he will never forget arriving at the cabin and seeing it like that, just like his car at graduation. The image is something that will stick with him forever and he can’t imagine what it was like for Eddie to be present as they did it.

Needing to remind himself that Eddie made it out okay, that Steve isn’t alone in what happened and that they’re both shaken up, but have each other, he lets his bat fall and reaches out and pulls Eddie into a hug.

The action is a little clumsy with Eddie stumbling as Steve pulls him in, needing to steady himself before he is able to hug back. But when he does, it’s soothing. Steve can feel parts of his shoulders unclench as he feels Eddie’s warmth under his hands, his breaths against his skin, the way Eddie holds on to his sweater.

“I am so glad you’re okay,” he whispers fiercely. “I- I got so scared when I saw the cabin. They- they graffiti-ed it, broke my front door. Fuck- Eds, they got in.”

Eddie rubs a soothing hand down Steve’s spine. Steve feels kind of guilty, because he should be comforting Eddie right now and instead Eddie is comforting him, but it’s too nice to step away from. Especially when Eddie whispers back: “I’m okay now, sweetheart. We’re okay. I’m sorry about your cabin.”

Steve lets out a laugh, it’s a little hysteric and a little too close to a sob, but it’s a laugh. He steps back before he can get emotional in front of everyone and tries to play it off. “I do not care about my cabin right now, dude.”

He catches Eddie’s eye, heart fluttering when Eddie grins at him the moment their eyes meet. Eddie pats his pockets with a twinkle in his eyes as he says: “I’m glad about that, don’t think I can pay you back right now.”

“You’re a fucking idiot,” Steve informs him.

Before Eddie can reply to that or defend himself, they are interrupted by an indignant Dustin, who demands to know: “How long has this been going on?”

“What?” Eddie asks, like he honestly has no fucking clue what Dustin is talking about, something Steve knows is a lie, because the edge of a dimple is showing.

“This- this canoodling!” Dustin exclaims and Steve has to bite the inside in his cheek to not laugh at the kid.

“Don’t be dramatic, Henderson,” he tells him, aloofness always coming easy to him. “My house has just been broken into, I’m allowed to be worried about the fugitive I was housing there. Maybe instead of being weird catch Eddie up on that Vector creep.”

“You-” Dustin starts, pointing at Steve in an accusing manner, before dropping it in favor of recounting all their discoveries and the absolute mess that has been the last 24 hours.

As Dustin talks the others chime in with additions to what they experienced to create a full picture for Eddie, who isn’t looking like he has much faith in the operation. Steve can understand that, especially when they move onto how to kill Vecna, for which they would have to go into the Upside Down. Something that isn’t really possible right now.

Their options look pretty bleak.

However, something in the conversation must have triggered Dustin, because he starts to pace up and down as he mutters to himself. Both Steve and Eddie track his movement with curiosity until Eddie leans in and asks: “Hey, uh, Henderson’s not, uh, cursed, is he?”

“Cursed?” Steve repeats. “No, no, he’s fine. Mental? Absolutely.”

That gets a smile out of Eddie again, though Steve can’t feel satisfaction at that, because they both startle when Dustin suddenly yells: “Boom! Bada. Bada. Boom. I was right! Skull Rock was North.”

“Seriously? You’re serious?” Steve asks. He knows Dustin is a cocky little bastard, but this is a little extreme. But Dustin hums as he nods. Steve gestures around them: “This is Skull Rock, okay?” Again that stupid little hum and nod. “You’re totally, absolutely, 100% wrong! Right now.”

“Yes,” Dustin agrees. “And no.”

“Oh my god,” Steve mutters to the sky. He can’t with this kid sometimes. Next to him Eddie snorts at his misery, the traitor.

“This worked correctly when we left the Wheeler’s house. Correct when we got in the car on Curly, but it started to slip the further East we went. Now it’s way off,” Dustin explains. “When I was leading us here, I wasn’t wrong. The compass was.”

“So you’re using faulty equipment. You’re still wrong,” Steve argues, feeling a little silly, but also annoyed. He is right, goddammit. He found Skull Rock. He won’t let Dustin take that from him. He needs the win.

But then the conversation quickly devolves into something Steve can’t follow and he is reminded of just how smart Lucas is as well when the kid easily catches Dustin’s drift. Steve can barely follow the first part, but he does get that there might be another gate.

“Snack sized gate,” Robin nods, also understanding and Steve loves her and her wonderful, dorky mind. Chrissy obviously does too with the way she snorts at that.

“How? Why?” he asks instead, because those are valid questions. Portals are never good news. The only times Steve has seen portals is when monsters crawl out them.

“No idea,” Dustin answers honestly. “All I know is that something is causing this disturbance and the last time we’ve seen anything like it, it was a gate. And I hope it is, because then we’d have a way to Vecna. And a shot at freeing Chrissy and Max from this curse.”

With those words, he starts to walk away and fear grips Steve immediately. He calls out: Where are you going? Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.” Dustin stops and looks back at him. “Eddie’s still a wanted man, who got attacked, I might add. We can’t just go hike in the woods.”

“This little steel capsule,” Dustin holds up the compass like the dramatic nerd that he is, “might be the key to saving Chrissy, Max and Eddie.” He focuses his attention to Eddie, who has been disappearing a little into the background, which is unlike him. “What say you, Eddie the Banished?” Dustin asks him.

“I say, you’re asking me to follow you into Mordor, which – if I’m totally straight with you – I think is a really bad idea,” Eddie tells Dustin and Steve nods, glad the other isn’t letting the kid run towards danger. “But, uh, the Shire- the Shire is burning.”

Steve feels his insides plummet at that, he vaguely recalls this from one of Eddie’s rambles and it sounds like he is going to agree with Dustin. Something that is confirmed to Steve when Dustin starts to jump excitedly like an idiot. Eddie gets up and it feels like the beginning of the end as he says: “So Mordor it is.”

Everyone takes that as a sign to start moving and Steve picks up his bat as he mutters: “What’s Mordor?” to himself, watching Eddie forget his stuff and run back. A little bitchily he says: “Get your stuff, dude. Let’s go.”

He feels like he’s allowed to be annoyed with Eddie for agreeing to Dustin’s bullshit.

During their walk through the forest, Dustin drags Eddie along with him, excited about the prospect of adventure. Eddie doesn’t look wholly convinced, but Steve isn’t saving him either. Eddie dug his own grave, let him lie in it.

Steve, meanwhile, is watching the rear of the group. The bat swings casually, the weight comforting in his hand. If anyone tries anything, he at least won’t be unarmed.

Eddie never really said what happened at the cabin, but that only makes Steve worry more. Eddie is never quiet. Whatever happened, Steve won’t mind making Jason loose a few teeth.

It’s dark by the time Dustin has lead them to the edge of the lake, right to where Fred must have died. Nancy looks a little green and clings to Steve’s arm, who supports her. After Barb this can’t be easy on her.

“There’s a gate in Lover’s Lake?” Max asks, voicing their confusion out loud.

“Whenever the demogorgon attacked, it always left an opening,” Nancy says, having pulled herself together into her mask of professionalism. “Maybe Vecna’s the same way.”

“Yeah, only one way to find out,” Steve says, not liking where his night is going, because if there is a gate on the bottom of that Lake, Steve knows who is going to check it out. And that is him. He’s not letting anyone else do it, even if he hates the idea of doing it himself.

They go look for a boat unearthing one near the docks. Eddie and Steve carry it to the water, it’s not a big boat, can fit maybe five people, max. Not all of them can go.

It’s clear the others have noticed too, but no one comments on it as Robin steps in, before helping Chrissy aboard as well, then Nancy. Steve wants to protest that, but is distracted by Eddie climbing past him, who is followed by Dustin.

Well, Dustin attempts to follow him. Eddie, however, stops him in his tracks with: “Hey, hey, hey, are you trying to sink us? This thing holds four people, tops. Okay?”

“It’s better this way. You guys stay here with Max. Keep an eye out for trouble,” Nancy explains and Steve realizes they mean to leave him behind there. Just the babysitter again.

“You keep an eye out,” Dustin snarks back, not wanting to be left behind. “It’s my theory.”

“They’re right, Dustin. Leave it,” he speaks up, already thinking about he is going to get aboard as he stealthily puts his nail bat in the boat.

“Since when are you on their side,” Dustin exclaims.

“Since they’re talking sense,” Steve rolls his eyes at Dustin.

“Yeah, listen to Nance,” Robin tells Dustin from where she is making Chrissy more comfortable on the boat.

“Who put her in charge?” Dustin asks, indignantly.

“I did,” Robin replies cheerily and Steve has to work not to laugh at that bitchy comment.

With that Dustin gives in and hands over the compass to Nancy, though he obviously does not want to and will make that clear to everyone. Steve doesn’t care if he complains about it for the rest of his life, as long as he stays away from the danger.

Steve pushes off the boat and quick steps aboard. Eddie has left a space open for him, obviously anticipating this while Nancy frowns, which Steve ignores in favor of apologizing to Dustin, whom he is leaving behind, much to Dustin’s dismay.

Nancy is less annoyed with his presence on the boat when he and Eddie start paddling so the three girls can investigate the waters to look if they see anything.

After a little bit, the compass starts going wild. They have found the gate. Well, probably. They still don’t know for sure. Robin is checking in with Dustin in the most Robin-like manner, informing Dustin that: “Your compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital ‘ahh!’”

She hasn’t realized what that means yet, but Steve has, so he is already taking off his shoes and socks, wanting to get ahead of protests before anyone can notice. Nancy, of course, notices: “Steve, what are you doing?”

“Somebody’s gotta go down there and check this out,” he informs them, hoping he sounds authoritative enough for them to let him go. “Unless one of you four can top being a Hawkins High swim co-captain and certified lifeguard for three years, then it’s gotta be me. No complaints, alright?”

“Hey, I’m not complaining,” Eddie backs him up, though Steve thinks that is more out of fear, which he can’t blame the guy for, especially as he watches him fumble with his pocket, probably looking for a smoke.

“I do not want to go down there,” Chrissy agrees, looking anxiously at the blackness pooling all around them.

Steve takes of his sweater, hearing crinkles behind him. When he turns around, Eddie is the source of the noise. He is holding some cigarettes like Steve suspected, but he has also tied a plastic bag around a flashlight so Steve will be able to see down there. Eddie offers it to him with a soft: “Hey. Good luck.”

And it hits Steve that what he is about to do is dangerous. He might not come back, he might not see any of them again.

With lead in his heart, he takes the flashlight from Eddie, letting their fingers touch. Then he looks at Robin, imprinting what she looks like in his mind, before doing the same to Chrissy. He turns back to Eddie then, decides to be a little bold, since it might be the last time.

So, he gives Eddie a one over, getting stuck on his lips between which now is a cigarette, before looking in those deep, dark, beautiful eyes. He winks and says: “Thanks,” before diving into the cold water.

Steve swims down, muscle memory taking over as he searches for the gate. He finds it looking gross and glowing. Sickly in the lake bed. He reaches out to touch it, feeling oddly compelled to do so, startling back when it seems something is trying to reach back.

He needs to get away from it, he thinks wildly, as he kicks off from the bottom and breaks back out on top. He holds on to the side of the boat and reports: “I found it.”

The four, who he must have startled by his sudden appearance, lean back towards him and ask: “You found it?”

“I found it. Yeah, I found it,” Steve confirms, still panting slightly from his time without air, his heart beating fast after the scare. He wants to get out of this water. And soon.

He is about to ask for a hand back onto the boat, needing to tell them to get out of there, because the gate looks out of place. Dangerous. When he feels something wrap around his leg. His eyes grow wide and he catches Robin looking back.

Her excited exclamation to Dustin dies on her lips and she reaches back out to him, the question about whether he is okay never reaching his ears as the something yanks him down.

Steve struggles and fights, but it’s no use. The water around him turns into a slimy feeling as Steve is dragged through the gate. Into the Upside Down.

~~

A/N:

I love conversations between people too much, which gets in the way of plot, but we are getting there, no matter how slow!!!

#rr writing #stranger things #steve harrington #steddie #eddie munson #robin buckley #platonic stobin #stobin #buckingham #chrissy cunningham #cheerleader steve harrington au #the party stranger things #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #max mayfield #nancy wheeler #st season 4 #chrissy lives au #tw: child abuse mention #tw: hate crime #tw: homophobia #tw: f slur #tw: bullying mention

[art-eat3r]

16 year old Nex Benedict's death was related to the harassment they faced in that restroom. Nex was beaten and assaulted in a restroom by three other students. These girls need to be put on trial and treated like adults. Anyone justifying the bullying, the assault or Nex's death needs to rot in hell. This was an anti-trans hate crime and it was neglected by Nex's school. To Nex's family, I am so sorry for your loss. For the girls that murdered their fellow classmate, hell has a spot waiting for you.

We need to de-normalize homophobia and transphobia. These are children, dying at the hands of our law makers, politicians, government, and old fucking ways of thinking. Children. I am fucking disgusted to be living in a country where people, just like me get murdered and harrased for who they are.

As a queer teen I am terrified. Not for me, but for my country and for my friends.

#nex benedict #tw: homophobia #tw: murder #tw: hate crime #do better. #i am ashamed #news #homophobia #trans rights

[nachoaveragejoe234]

Since I had to block a bozo who defends the hate of Russian civilians, (redjaybathood), here is proof of anti-Russian sentiment towards civilians, it's not propaganda and you ain't a tankie for calling it out.

OK, so I have to respond. Firstly, my criticism doesn't mean "I think Putin's behaviour is the right thing."

Let me ask you something. Why don't you lame Chinese civilians for their government? Why don't you call them names? Their leader is also a communist who threatens other countries. Why aren't Chinese civilians considered tankies? Why don't North Korean civilians get treated like they're part of the problem? Cherry picking.

Next, you're literally doing what the OP and many other people are calling out. Hating the civilians for existing and living in a dictatorship.

And since you freaked that I didnt send the links even though you can look it up yourself (meaning you're lazy), fine. Here we go. Now let's see if you try to accuse me of lying. This is the sentiment that lead to the Japanese internment camps which everyone agrees were wrong, but I know people would cheer for Russian ones. There's a LOT of Russia-bashing, believe it or not.

And serious actual hate crimes and attacks. All called "propaganda" by bigots.

That's arson if you don't speak German.

If a foreign minister needs to call you out, it's not propaganda.

NOTE: Dubs being put on hiatus, Russian non politial products like snacks and drinks being removed or given WARNINGS in stores, none of that happens to other "evil" countries like China. Selective outrage? I'd say so. And literal paragraphs about hate from the Wiki page.

All of these are civilians who are being treated like shit on the ASSUMPTION that if you're Russian, you must hate peace. Dictators are not the people. People are brainwashed. You don't have the right to judge the peopleof a dictatorship because they aren't born evil, they're taught to obey the dictator. It happened with Hitler. It happened with Stalin. It happened with Mussolini. It happened with Pol Pot. It happened with Milosevic. It happened with Hirohito. It happens with Xi. It happens with Kim Jong Un. Why is it that when it happens with Putin, and ONLY with Putin, are the civilians suddenly just as problematic as the leader? You can't judge an entire nationality based on a select number of people you've seen who agree (or pretend to agree, as many may not actually agree but pretend. If all you view them as is cowards, but you don't hold the same values to other citizens of dictatorships, you are in fact, a BIGOT and it's not problematic or propaganda or false to say so. I made myself very clear. If you still disagree that's your problem and you are a toxic person. Jesus fucking Christ)

Tell me again how being Russian automatically makes you a bad person and how civilians aren't victims just because they are living in a corrupt country. You judge the entire population based on what fringe nationalists and some brainwashed people say. Blanket statements about an entire nationality or race are NOT okay. Peoplewho criticizes this aren't automatically pro-tyranny. Not that you care or believe that.

As a bonus, let's talk about how America and Canada (my country) used to HATE UKRAINE, and they had Ukrainian internment camps.

Your reaction to this should NOT be "I don't think Ukrainians deserve peace". BOTH RUSSIA AND UKRAINE DESERVE PEACE AND TO BE FREE FROM HATE. THE HATE GOES IN ALL DIRECTIONS. THAT'S THE REASON WAR IS A THING. PUTIN NEEDS TO STOP FIGHTING. PEOPLE NEED TO STOP JUDGING CITIZENS OF A DICTATORSHIP FOR BEING FROM A DICTATORSHIP. THE MORE RUSSIANS THAT CALL OUT PUTIN ANY WAY THEY CAN THE BETTER. ALL OF THESE STATEMENTS CAN AND SHOULD CO-EXIST AND I YOU DON'T THINK SO, YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM. "BUT THEIR LEADER!" "BUT I'M UKRAINIAN" "BUT LISTEN TO WHAT PEOPLE SAY" "SHUT UP TANKIE" "ORC/RUZZIAN AREN'T SLURS THEY'RE TRUE". ARE NOT EXCUSES. The orcs and Ruzzians are Putin and his lackeys, not the people who live in said tyrant's cities. Obviously people should help Ukraine, that's absolutely fine. But people should not do or say anything the people above have said. It's pretty easy to find out of touch comments on Twitter and Quora that blanket the entire population as the same "evil commie tankie orc zombies". People calling out this stuff aren't trying to make a competition of "who has it worse" when in fact war harms EVERYONE.

That's all I can say. Don't like this? Then you should really think.

#slavophobia #tw: xenophobia #tw: hate crime #anti russian sentiment

[blackplaaague]

Just blocked, like, 20 radfem racist folks. We act like the tradwife blogs are the worst when it comes to whitewashing, but so many of these people are racist as heck.

You aren't "supporting women" if you're homophobic and racist and junk. You're supporting the one sliver of neurotypical, white, cishetallo people with two x chromosones that you associate yourself with.

If you're literally such a selfish jerk that you put "intersex people are fake+black people dni" in your bio, please log off and take a stroll in the sewer with the rest of the scum. That kind of blatant hate is not ever okay and never going to be allowed around me.

#bp rambles #tw: racism #tw: homophobia #radfem #tradwife #look I hate you both ok #jerks #jerks the lot of you #tw: hate crime #is that too strong a word #i don't think so #they're literally harassing minors for putting their race in their bio #go in the blender #rn #just go away #anti radfem #plus all these people #like #guess who #j k rowling #my sworn enemy #dude I wanna turn them into smoothie and drink them

[fictionimitateslife]

So, a brazilian woman found out her father had been fucking her husband for two years. She shared their whole shit online, including their sex videos, and went on a whole internet rant.

She burned her dad's car and the guy got lynched.

Oh, there are other layers.

Apparently the guy beat her when she was pregnant and she lost the baby.

The father was paying the guy, and the guy said he was getting forced/extorted.

The women supposedly helped murder a 13 year old boy for being gay, back when she was a teen.

And in the end? In the end, the two got back together...

#welcome to Brazil #some heavy shit IDK how to tag #tw: abortion #tw: hate crime

[goodiecornbread]

Almost every single mass shooting in the United States has been perpetrated by a white male.

Many of them have been hate crimes.

When will this, statistically the most dangerous demographic, by considered a threat to the American people?

#its time for white people to take a big step back #I say this as a white person #I say this as an American #tw: mass shooting #tw: gun violence #tw: hate crime

[handsbloodiedmoved]

Apparently, I do my best drabbles when I'm sad so, here's the modern version of Judith losing Hannah! Trigger warnings apply for: hate crime, blood, traumatic injury and death.

"I had a good time tonight." Hannah smiled, taking Judith's hand in her own as they left the theater after their late movie, heading back towards the café.

Judith returned the smile and gave Hannah's hand a gentle squeeze, pulling the brunette a little closer. "Oh yeah, because watching a movie from behind my hands is the best way to spend a date." She rolled her eyes.

As they continued down the street, the café quickly coming into view, the couple hadn't even been paying attention to the group that had followed them out of the theater until Judith was pulled away from Hannah.

"Stay the hell away from her!" One of the voices, a guy from their class shouted at Hannah, throwing Judith to the ground. Mike? Jake? What the fuck was his name?

Judith tried to push herself up onto her hands, blood quickly falling from her nose as she hadn't had time to brace her fall.

"Hannah!" Judith called out, trying to push past the guy who was holding her back while Mike, Jake, whoever the fuck turned and started to beat Hannah. "Stop it! Stop! She didn't do anything! Stop!" Judith cried, trying her best to keep her eyes closed, but not wanting to look away because she was scared of what else could happen.

"C'mon Mike, I think they got the picture." The guy holding Judith tried to bargain, but he also didn't try that hard because he was still smiling like a psychopath.

Mike just grinned and continued his assault on Hannah. "This girl thinks she can just date the Sheriff Deputy's daughter and get away with it? Fuck that!" He bellowed, now throwing Hannah down onto the pavement.

"Help! Somebody, please help us! Please!" Judith started to yell again, this time using whatever energy she could to send her left elbow into the other person's chest, managing a breakaway as she ran to Hannah, getting in the way of Mike's fist, which instead of making contact with Hannah's jaw, made contact with Judith's who was doing her best to shield her girlfriend.

Hannah, now finally having a break, pushed herself up from the pavement weakly. "Judith..." She coughed, reaching a hand out and putting it on Judith's arm.

"Don't fucking touch her!" Mike shouted, grabbing Judith by her hair and pulling her up to her feet.

Judith could feel some of her hair getting ripped out at the roots as he yanked on her, wincing and trying to fight him off, to the point where she didn't even see Hannah get up until she heard the siren's of the cop cars.

Letting out a breath, Judith watched Mike's face twist into a new level of anger as they were greeted by Rick, Shane and the rest of the Deputies, taking the three of them into custody.

Hannah, having lost her strength now, started to stumble, being caught by Judith right before she hit the ground. "Dad help!" She screamed as Rick rushed back over, picking Hannah up and putting her in the back of his car, driving the teens to the hospital.

That was where Judith found herself four days later. The bruising under her eyes and across her nose had turned an ugly shade of dark blue and purple, and it killed her every time she took a breath, but she needed to stay awake. She needed to see Hannah wake up.

When they had arrived at the hospital, the doctors were quick to take Hannah away and Judith was whisked away with Rick in the other direction to get her own injuries looked at. Afterwards, the father and daughter sat in the waiting room, joined by the rest of their family shortly after, the waiting room now filled with the Grimes family until Shane brought Hannah's parents.

Rick stood up from his chair as Hannah's parents came in, Judith not far behind him as he explained what had happened, Emily, Hannah's mother quickly pulling the young girl into her arms. Whispered apologies and tears shed among the women while her dad extended his condolences to Jim, a sullen handshake as they all sat back down.

Hours later, they were told that Hannah was put into a medically induced coma due to brain swelling. The news brought Hannah's mom to her knees, a heartbreaking sob escaping her as Rick and Jim helped her into a chair while Judith clung to her mom.

"I'm gonna keep you updated on the trial and everything, I promise Han..." Judith nodded, squeezing Hannah's hand, a small part of her hoping that she would just squeeze her hand back. "Hannah please just squeeze my hand." She begged, tears filling her eyes as the doctors came into the room with Hannah's parents.

"Judith honey," Emily began, placing a hand on Judith's shoulders. "They ran some more tests, and she's... she's not going to wake up." She whispered.

Shaking her head, the blonde looked from Emily to Hannah and back. "No that can't be right, you need to have them check again, please I know she's going to be okay."

The doctor looked at the young girl with what could only be described as the definition of a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry sweetie, we ran them three times to be sure."

"Please just once more... I can't lose her, I can't." She shook her head, closing her eyes as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Let me go, I'll be okay. I'll always be with you love, I promise.

The words wrapped around her in the faintest of whispers as she nodded slowly, watching the doctors shut off all of the machines.

"Promise you'll be okay." She whispered in Hannah's ear before kissing her one last time, following as they wheeled Hannah's body into the hallway and down towards one of the operating rooms.

"She's gonna save a lot of people with her organs." Jim reminded the two women next to him.

"She already saved mine." Judith smiled softly, taking Emily's hand as Jim wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Judith looked down at the picture she'd pulled out of the box. An old broken frame surrounding a fading photo. She wasn't surprised and had expected much worse considering it was her "time capsule" that she made and buried in her parents' backyard a month after Hannah's death.

Her dad was apparently making a garden and it was in the way so he brought it over to her, letting her know that he'd already seen the contents considering the original box had fallen apart.

I'm still here, just like I said I'd be.

The blonde smiled at the sound of Hannah's voice, she heard it quite often these days, usually saying something about the kids. And sure she was probably going crazy but Hannah was hardly the first ghost she had experience with.

"I'm glad you're at peace." Judith whispered, trailing her finger down the photo.

I'm glad you are too.

#x. another name to add to the wall (scribbles) #( this made me tired so now i can sleep ) #tw: hate crime #tw: blood #tw: traumatic injury #tw: death

[diversegaminglists]

I have no words for the Club Q Colorado Springs shooting, only tears and rage.

#tw: violence #tw: gun violence #tw: hate crime

[queerbuckleys]

“Could be a hate crime” ?? Really? Could??? It was targeted arson towards a house with pride decorations which lead to 3 houses burning and leaving people injured. How does that not constitute a hate crime?

#tw: hate crime #I’m genuinely at a loss for words #the source I’m getting that headline is not great and I don’t trust them with real news but it still makes me ???

[schrijverr]

I Found Myself a Cheerleader 5

Chapter 5 out of 28

Bumped to the lowest step on the social ladder after his fight with Billy, Steve gets roped in with the cheer team. What starts as a favor to help them out when one member breaks her leg in turn for protection from the brunt of the bullying, sets the universe on a different path.

In this chapter, the school year ends and Steve’s parents come back to town for graduation. The experience is anything but pleasant. And when Billy heckles Steve after the ceremony it turns into a nightmare as he is thrown out of the house after a fight with his father.

On AO3.

Ships: eventual steddie & buckingham

Warnings: child abuse, f-slur, homophobia, hate-crime, internalized homophobia

~~~~~~~~

Chapter 5: The End of the Year

Spring break rolls around and, while Steve still has a bruised nose, which hadn’t been fun to explain to Joyce, who fussed over him when he came to pick up Will. But with spring break also comes the news that the Hagen family is moving out of town.

Tommy is nearing the end of his senior year, but it is looking like he’s going to have to repeat it and his father has gotten better business opportunities elsewhere. They’re moving to a bigger city, so Tommy can go to a private school, because according to his dad it’s because Hawkins High employs imbeciles.

In all honesty, Steve doesn’t care what Tommy’s dad thinks of Hawkins High and its teachers, all he cares about is that they will not be in Hawkins should his parents return.

His parents are not made for Hawkins, Steve has long since learned that. The small business his father inherited grew quickly and is now too big for the respectability of Hawkins. He has more important people to brush elbows with than the high class of a small Indiana town. And his mother has always loved the glamour of Europe more than her son.

The only people they talk to when they are in town are the Hagens. This is because Tommy has been Steve’s friend since kindergarten and contact was thus required. His parents keep it up out of politeness, but they won’t put in the effort of finding their new address.

This all means that they only source that could tell them of Steve’s new hobby has just left town. It feels like a weight has lifted of his shoulders.

He spends most of his spring break allowance in the arcade on the kids and even takes them to a movie, managing to convince Hopper to let El come too.

The cheer squad still practices throughout the break, since competitions are coming up. Afterwards, he takes Lisa and Chrissy out for milkshakes. Lisa is excitedly talking about next year when she’ll be attending Yale. Apparently she is a legacy.

“What about you?” Chrissy asks, when Lisa is done. “Where are you going?”

“Uhm,” Steve pauses, unsure of what to say. He’s been ignoring the steadily growing pile of rejection letters on his desk, imagining the wrath of his father when he returns. “I-” he starts, then lets out a deep sigh. “I don’t think it’s happening for me, honestly. Seems I’m too stupid for college,” he chuckles humorlessly.

It’s quiet for a second. Steve doesn’t look up from where he’s playing with his straw. He doesn’t want to face their pitying faces. He knows that it’s not exactly great.

“Well, I’ll be happy to have my friend if you’re staying,” Chrissy tells him, bumping her shoulder against his.

He finally looks up and she is giving him a soft smile. There isn’t anything pitying in her face and he can manage a smile back. “Yeah, that’s good,” he agrees.

“And college isn’t everything,” Lisa adds.

“Nah, I can probably just work for my father,” Steve agrees, though the idea of having to work for his father for the rest of his life sounds worse than prison,

“See, plenty of silver linings,” Chrissy tells him, before finishing her milkshake and shamelessly sticking her straw in Steve’s drink. She’s been doing much better, which Steve is glad for. Her mother still hangs over her like a shadow, but she tries as best she can when she’s outside of the house.

Steve honestly doesn’t care if he goes to college or not. School has never really been his thing and the thought of it doing it for four more years sounds terrible, but his father is pretty adamant about it being part of his development.

He doesn’t want to imagine how the conversation about him not making it into college will go. Of course they have to be home in order for them to have that conversation, but that’s not the point right now.

The point is that college might not happen for him and he’s both terrified and a bit relieved. He doesn’t want to fight with his father, but he also doesn’t want to leave the kids behind. A part of him is still afraid the Upside Down will come back and if it does he needs to be here to protect them. To keep them safe.

Just thinking about the Upside Down makes him shudder, so he quickly shakes his head and tries to put it out of his mind. El closed the portals, he reminds himself, he should focus on surviving high school first. What are the chances of it coming back? No, he should focus on the now. Focus on staking his claim on his milkshake before Chrissy takes it all and focus on teaming up with Lisa as elders when Chrissy tries to start shit about it.

And so spring break passes them by and changes into the last leg of the school year, the last year of Steve’s high school career.

It’s the busiest Steve has ever been. He flits between classes, cheer practice, study sessions with both Sofia and Lisa and housework. However, all those things to do, keep his brain from the fact that no college accepted him. Not one.

Molly is running all of them into the ground along with coach Miller, but it’s paying off. Steve hasn’t been with the cheer squad for long, but he can feel how good this is turning out.

A moment of awkwardness emerges when it’s the cheerleaders turn to be photographed for the yearbook and Nancy shows up with Jonathan in tow. He hasn’t really spoken with either of them since he broke up with Nancy. It hurt, even if he never loved her like that, he had convinced himself that he had and for her to reject him? To blame him for Barb’s death? That hurt. However, he’s over it, but that doesn’t make it less uncomfortable.

None of them really know what to say to each other and Steve tries to stay in the background as much as he can.

He tried to get out of being in the picture, but Molly wouldn't hear of it. He was planning on skipping it all together, but then Chrissy had pouted: “Come on, it’ll be the only chance for us to be in the yearbook together. It’ll be fun.”

And because Steve has no spine, he is here, sandwiched between Chrissy and Lisa, the three of them smiling broadly.

Nancy wants a few quotes for in the book, but Steve makes sure to be as far away from her as he can. Better not to open that can of worms again and just grow apart naturally. He doesn’t really want to know what she has to say about the new crowd he runs with.

A few weeks later and they’re all at school on an early Saturday morning to go to the last competition of the season. They’ve made it quite far with their routine and Molly claims she can smell victory on the horizon once more.

She has mellowed out a bit in her competitiveness ever since she got her scholarship, but such drive isn’t snuffed out easily and she is nothing if not a perfectionist. So, Steve still finds himself with muscle aches after practice. Sometimes he’ll look back on his basketball days and ever wonder why he thought cheerleading looked easy.

It is a big competition and as they stretch, he spots the purple and white school from his first competition. With them is the boy. He is giving a girl a piggyback ride and talking animatedly with other team members.

“You could go up there and say hi,” Chrissy says, snapping him out of his thoughts as he realizes she caught him staring.

Fear creeps into his veins as his heartbeat quickens. Maybe a bit too quickly to be believable, he asks: “Why would I want to do that?”

Chrissy frowns for second, then lets the expression melt of her face as she shrugs: “I don’t know, I thought maybe some bro solidarity. It’s not like there are many guys walking about.”

Of course, Steve is an idiot, why would she think he would want to talk to the attractive guy otherwise. She doesn’t know. He blushes a bit and looks to his toes, now at a point where he can easily touch them. “Ah, yeah, course. But no, he’s the enemy here.”

He winks at her and Chrissy giggles, shoving him lightly. “You’re such an idiot, Stevie.”

“Why is he an idiot now?” Lisa asks as she sits down with them, handing both of them a juice pouch that coach Miller was handing out.

They take it as Chrissy explains that Steve’s machismo has dubbed the purple and white guy as the enemy, which makes Lisa laugh too. Fuck, he’s going to miss Lisa when she moves away to college in a few months.

Soon after their group is called to perform. They do their cheer, before getting into start position. He has gotten better at this, but there are always jitters right before they start. He used to have this with basketball as well.

Then the music starts and it all melts away in making sure he keep smiling and keeps his eyes on Chrissy as he sends her up into the air.

He catches her smiling face in the middle of a flip and remembers that day when they were practicing in his yard. Remembers Chrissy telling the kids: ‘Stevie makes me fly’. She looks like an angel now, flying through the air.

Before he knows it, it’s over.

They all stand there, breathing heavily, sweat coating their backs and smiles on their faces. They have done their routine and done it well. Now all they have to do is wait for what the judges say. It is crazy, Steve suddenly realizes, his life as cheerleader is over now.

He hasn’t been a cheerleader for long, only a few months. Yet it has become such a big and important part of him, that it feels kind of unreal that it is over now. He gained friends from this, a better school life, more comfort in his own skin. And now it’s done.

By the look of it, he is not the only one, who realizes this. Many of the senior girls on the team are crying. Heather and Molly are practically glued together with how tightly they are holding onto the other.

Lisa is not crying, but she does look emotional as she pulls Chrissy and Steve into a hug, something she rarely does. Steve hugs her back tightly, not letting himself cry as he basks in the closeness and understanding. Chrissy has no such limitations and is openly weeping about how much she’ll miss them and how cheerleading won’t be the same without them.

“I’ll stunt with you whenever you want, Chris,” Steve hears himself promise her. “You just gotta come visit.”

“Deal, so hard. Yes,” Chrissy cries, her hand buried in the back of his shirt.

They don’t win that day, but they come in second. No one is bitter about it, they’re all too busy celebrating what they do have and their history on the team. Even coach Miller isn’t too much on their ass in the bus to behave.

After that win, it is a race against his own brain as he crams for their finals and tries to make it through the last few weeks of high school.

Luckily everyone is. Even Billy is less of a dick, also trying to make it out of this shithole town like all of them want to.

Eddie isn’t around as much either. Steve heard he is getting held back again and has given up on the year, choosing to get high and skip school. Steve is both glad and sad about that fact.

His crush on the boy hasn’t waned in the slightest and he really wants to see those beautiful eyes and dramatic gestures for as long as he can, before he leaves school and he might not see Eddie ever again. However, he is also a bit relieved that he doesn’t have to feel those eyes on his constantly. It makes the hairs on the back of his head stand on edge and he’s anxious enough about the tests alone.

In the end, after all he’s been through in the past few years, the last bit of high school passes like any other person for Steve.

The week before his graduation his parents come back into town. While Steve knows they couldn't care less about him, he also knows that image means everything to them. Not showing up to watch him walk the stage is unthinkable. Steve mostly hopes they won’t stick around to talk to people who could tell them what he’s been up to.

Of course in order for that to happen, he has to live to his graduation, which isn’t looking likely right now.

It’s his own fault too, he forgot to throw out his rejection letters, having kept them on a pile as a form of self-flagellation. However, his father has stumbled upon them and discovered that his son isn’t going to college.

“You are such a disappointment, Steven,” his father hisses at him, the stack a crumbled mess in his hands. “I asked one thing of you to accomplish, just one. And that was to get into college. One of them would have been enough. You can’t even manage that.”

Poison drips of his every word, hitting Steve in his chest. He wants to cry, but he knows doing so will only invite more anger. So he swallows down the lump in his throat and says: “I’m sorry, sir,” knowing that an explanation won’t be welcome.

“Yes, you should be,” his father informs him coldly. “What will the town think, huh? When you’re still walking around here next year. A failure of a son.”

Fuck, if his father only knew what the town thinks of him now. If he only knew what they say about him when they think he can’t hear.

“I’ll do better,” Steve promises in vain, hoping it will quell some of his father’s wrath.

“I don’t think you can,” his father says. It’s so flippantly too, like it is just a fact to be stated and not a stab through Steve’s heart that his father has resigned himself to Steve being a failure.

It’s as if with the statement, resignation takes the place of anger. His father drops the letters to the floor and walks away. He stops in the doorway and turns around. “Your mother and I will watch you graduate, but we’re cutting off your allowance after that. We’ll come back if you prove you can be more than you are now.”

Then he is gone and Steve feels like he can’t breathe. He crumbles to the floor of his bedroom, around him are the scattered rejection letters. It feels as if he is being choked by the stiff clothes his mother had forced him into upon her return, telling him he looked like a slob. His bed next to him is perfectly made, every inch of his room clean.

But it isn’t enough.

It never is enough.

Tears start to fall and he can’t stop them, even if he knows he isn’t supposed to cry. So, he tries to muffle his sobs and hope his parents will keep up the trend of not caring enough about him to come close to hearing it.

Forty minutes later he finds himself in his bathroom, desperately scrubbing his face in an attempt to hide the fact that he cried. He needs to be down for dinner soon and he knows he’ll be in trouble if he doesn’t look presentable. However, the puffiness of his eyes is refusing to disappear and he’s getting water everywhere.

He changes clothes, before he can have a break down about it and goes downstairs. His mother has barely spoken to him since she got here. She gives him a disdainful one over, but doesn’t say anything, instead she huffs and goes back to plating the food.

The first thing she tells him that evening is: “Steven, it’s like you were raised in a barn. The food won’t just disappear. Have some dignity when you eat.”

Privately Steve thinks he might as well been raised in a barn with how much effort they put into his childhood, but he stays quiet and slows his eating pace. There is enough tension in the house that he doesn’t want to do anything that could upset the delicate balance that has been reached.

A few moments later, his mother huffs again. “No need to be dramatic, Steven. I said slow down, not turn it into a play. Behave and eat normally.”

Steve honestly doesn’t know what he’s doing wrong now, but eats a little quicker, trying to do anything to please her. She still doesn’t seem entirely happy – she never does – but it’s enough not to earn a comment again during dinner.

He does the dishes without being asked, which goes unremarked, before fleeing to his room, wishing the week could be over.

The next day he gets dragged to a fancy tailor, where he gets hoisted into suit after suit until his mother seems pleased. His opinion isn’t asked, but he didn’t expect it to. At this point the only way to please his mother is by being her little doll and he honestly just wants to make her happy and get it over with.

After hours of being dressed up his mother is finally happy with how he looks. The suit she picked is incredibly uncomfortable, but Steve is sure he can grit his teeth for a few hours tomorrow and survive his graduation.

His parents have an event to go to after, so they won’t be in town for long. It’s just two more days and then he’ll be blessedly alone again. A part of him wonders when he stopped minding the abandonment.

He drives his own car to graduation, not needing the last minute nitpicking that will make his nerves feel even more flayed. So, he won’t see his parents until after the ceremony. A fact he’s quite glad for as he joins his friends.

Steve isn’t standing close to anyone from the cheer team, instead stuck behind Billy, who is radiating murder vibes. Right now Steve hopes that because Billy will go before him, nothing bad can happen to him as he walks the stage. Though that doesn’t help the anxiety go away.

To distract himself, he looks into the crowd. He doesn’t search for his parents, instead scanning the crowd for red hair, because Chrissy promised she’d come. He hasn’t seen her all week, unable to get out of the house with his parents there. Luckily she understands that, but he still missed her.

She is in the middle somewhere, along with the rest of the cheer team, who aren’t graduating. They cheer for all their team members and most of the others too.

His own name is called and he hurries to the stage, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible.

Still, he ensures he walks at a dignified pace, knowing his mother’s eagle eyes are on him. He smiles to the crowd, ignoring how the cheers are less than they’d been for Billy. Fortunately, the cheer squad is loudly calling out his name, which evens it out a bit. He prays his father will take a crowd of girls cheering for him as a sign and get off his case about a girlfriend.

And just like that Steve Harrington is a high school graduate.

He can’t believe how well that went. He walked the stage, got his diploma and no one died and nothing exploded. All in all, Steve is a free man and that is all he cares about right now.

Naturally such optimism must be crushed by the universe, because Steve can never fully leave a place unscathed.

He is walking with his parents, who have congratulated him as good parents are supposed to do, when Billy shows up at the other end of the parking. He is surrounded by friends and Steve is pretty sure his dad didn’t show up. It’s clear he’s angry about it, looking for a target to take it out on and Steve is right there.

Steve notices him before his parents and tries to hustle them along, but it doesn’t work. He cringes as Billy calls out: “I can’t believe your parents would want to be seen with you, fag.”

At the words, Steve freezes, feeling his father’s eyes burn into the back of his skull. He swallows thickly and yells back: “I’m not a fag. And it’s not like I see your parents around. What? They don’t want to be seen with you? Curious.”

“How fucking dare you, you fucking pussy,” Billy seethes. “Now you’re talking back? Huh, got daddy to protect you? Does he even know what a queer his son is?”

Oh god, no, Steve thinks, heart beating in his throat. He has to say something, has to stand his ground, or this won’t end well. He spits: “I’m not a fucking queer, Hargrove.”

“Yeah?” Billy laughs, knowing by his posture that he has him cornered. “Tell that to your picture in the year book. At this point I’m surprised they didn’t hoist you into a little skirt. You ruined a lot of wanking material by joining the cheerleaders.”

And there it is, out in the open. No matter Steve does, his father won’t let anyone say such things about him without finding out why. This is it. Life over.

He catches Chrissy’s eyes from the crowd. Her brows are pinched and she looks angry. Angry enough to do something stupid. He can’t let her do something stupid for him. So when their eyes meet, he shakes his head and hopes she’ll listen.

Chrissy deflates and it is the only bit of relief he gets, before his father snatches his yearbook out of his hands and flips it open. Steve is already backing away, before his father can reach the page, hoping he’ll be able to escape on time.

However, he isn’t fast enough. He knows his father has found the page, because rage overtakes his features as he throws the yearbook to the ground. Then, like the boxer he’d been in his youth, his fist flies out and hits Steve in the face.

He stumbles back form the force and the shock. In all these years, his father hasn’t hit him before, not ever. There has always been the threat of violence and a light spanking, but proper hitting? Never. Not once. Not until now.

Before he can recover, his father has grabbed his hair and is dragging him towards their car. Under the watchful gazes of the rest of the school, he is pushed in the backseat. The Harringtons have an image, they cannot let their son behave like that. They showed the public they don’t agree and are now taking him for punishment in private. It isn’t proper to do that on the streets.

Steve looks down in shame, cheeks burning. He chances one glance out of the window to the staring crowd. Most of them look like they agree and they’re glad something is done about it, but right there in the middle is Chrissy, looking horrified and guilty.

At home his father is completely silent, stony and cold. Steve is honestly terrified, his cheek is still throbbing from the hit and he is waiting for the shitshow that is about to come.

He watches as his father paces back and forth in the living room. Until he stops and turns to Steve, ice in his eyes as he demands: “How long has this been going on?”

“Not long. Couple of weeks,” Steve answers, wanting to shrink into himself and disappear. “I swear it was nothing, just something stupid. It was just a joke.”

“A joke?” his father repeats. “Do you know what is a joke? You. A Harrington, running around like some fag. Some dirty queer.”

“I’m not a fag,” Steve lies, hoping to save himself.

“You better not be, boy,” his father says, pushing into his personal space.

“I swear, I’m not,” Steve says again, as if it will make his case stronger. “I was trying to get this girl to like me. They needed someone. I thought it would get me in her good graces.”

His father scans his face, brow stern as he inspects Steve’s face. For a moment, Steve thinks this is the worst it is going to get. Then he’s hit in the face again and goes sprawling onto the floor. His father spits: “Don’t lie to me, boy.”

Tears well up. He has tried his entire life to be perfect for them, to be good enough. And he never was and he never will be. He can’t do anything right. He didn’t even choose this. He doesn’t want this either. He wishes he could settle down with a pretty girl and have a family like everyone wants him to.

He gets kicked in the side by his father, who screams: “You are nothing, but a worthless piece of shit and I don’t want you sullying the family name.”

Steve curls into himself, the uncomfortable suit he’s wearing making it difficult to do so. His father lands another kick and Steve lets out a whimper.

“Richard,” he hears his mother say and his father stops. They both look up at her. She is standing, glass of wine in her hand, looking quite unaffected by the spectacle before her. “All this noise is giving me a headache.”

A headache, Steve thinks shrilly, his world collapsing around him. He has always knows that his mother doesn’t care, but he always thought there would be at least some affection for him. But it seems not and it feels like his ribs are collapsing in his chest.

His father looks back down to Steve. He spits on him, right in his face, and snarls: “No son of mine will be a queer under my roof. You have five minutes to pack your stuff and get out.”

I didn’t even kiss a boy, Steve thinks wildly as he scrambles up to his room, throwing as many of his clothes into a bag and snatching the few mementos he has of the kids and Chrissy.

He stumbles off the stairs and out of the house. His mother has already wandered off again, but his father is standing in the doorway, arms crossed. “We’re having the locks changed, don’t think of coming back until you’re married and have a grandson for us.”

Then the door is slammed in his face.

Steve stands there for a few seconds, just staring up to the house that has been his home for eighteen years now. He’s still in the stupid monkey suit, bag at his feet and bruise on his face. Officially homeless.

It hits him all over again and tears well up. He lets them slide down his cheek and turns away. He doesn’t want anyone seeing him there. He doesn’t want this to be the new talk of the town.

He still has his car keys in his pocket. He saved a bunch of money in there, something he’s glad for now. The car is in his name, so they can’t take it from him. He shoulders his bag and starts walking to the school where he’d left it. Time to start planning what he should do now.

Everyone in Hawkins is at a graduation party, hundreds are held tonight. But Steve doesn’t care for any of them. He is just glad people are too busy to see him walk around.

His ribs ache with every step and he feels humiliated. He hates himself, he hates his parents, he hates Billy and he hates the world that made him so. He just wants to be normal. He just wants his parents to care. He didn’t ask for this.

When he finally gets to the school, his car is the only one in the parking lot. It’s completely covered in shaving cream and toilet paper. On the hood is painted fag mobile. Next to it lies his crumpled yearbook.

He picks it up, the smiling faces of the cheer squad stare up at him accusingly, his own among them as some sort of mockery of when he was still happy and his world hadn’t collapsed yet.

Steve is beyond crying at this point, so he throws his yearbook into the bushes, before staring at his car in defeat. Standing there in the parking lot by himself.

After giving himself a moment, he starts plucking off the toilet paper, before using his suit jacket to wipe away the shaving cream. He hates that suit anyway. It takes him awhile, but it’s mindless work that keep him busy, keeps him distracted.

Only the words on the front of his car remain. They stare at him judgmentally. He knows he should be lucky they didn’t break his windows, but it still doesn’t feel nice. He feels backed into a corner, watched, policed. It makes him feel terrified.

The suit jacket is already ruined and the paint is still drying, so he scrubs until his fingers hurt to get it off. He’s only half successful, but at least the words aren’t legible anymore. He vows to go through a car wash tomorrow, before driving a town over to trade his car. It’s a fancy one, he’s sure he can get a good price for it. Then he can drive something without people knowing it’s his. Without being a target.

But for now this is good enough.

He burns his suit, changing into a polo and some jeans in the back of his car. His radio goes off with Will saying: “Please, Steve, just reply. Jonathan said you got in a fight with your dad. He sounded concerned. Are you okay? Please, Steve, respond. Please.”

His heart aches to reach out. He wants to click that button and lie and tell Will he’s fine. Or maybe tell him he’s not and if he can come over to their house. To sink into the care of Joyce, who has always accepted her two boys, no matter how weird the town thought them to be. He aches to not be alone right now.

However, he doesn’t want the kids to see him like this. He is their strong protector and he doesn’t want them to know he got kicked out. He doesn’t want them to hate him. So, he turns the radio off with a decisive click.

Steve contemplates going over to the pay phone the school has and calling Chrissy. But she doesn’t have her own line and he doesn’t think Mrs. Cunningham will let him come close to her precious daughter if she knew who Stevie really was.

In short, he has no one to turn to.

So, he sits in the driver’s seat of his car and plays one of the tapes Chrissy left there when he drove her around last time. The music is way too upbeat for his melancholic mood, but it makes him smile and he needs that right now.

Once he has gathered himself again, he puts the car in drive and pulls away from the school. He hasn’t decided where he’s going yet, but he needs to move right now.

He finds himself passing the Hawkins sign, leaving the town. He hadn’t even realized where he was until he sees it. For a moment he contemplates driving on. To be the queer that ran in the eyes of his town. To go to a place where no one knows who he is and start again.

But he can’t. He can’t leave Chrissy behind. He can’t leave the kids without any defenses. He can’t leave Max with Billy as her only older brother. He can’t leave Dustin like his father did. He just can’t abandon them.

With reluctance he does a U-turn and drives back. Hawkins isn’t willing to let him go yet. There is something still keeping him there.

Steve thinks about going to Lovers Lake. The nature has always brought him peace and he can use some tranquility right about now. He is already driving in the direction when he realizes he made his favorite hang out place into a make out spot.

There will be dozens of couples in their cars trying to get it on there and equally as many cops looking into said cars to catch them doing it. The last thing he needs is Hopper showing up and asking what he is doing out there.

Maybe he should just keep driving, he thinks, just wander about until the sun comes up.

But he doesn’t want to do that either. He is tired. His bones feel heavy and his entire body aches, all he wants is to sit and stare into nothing. To reflect on all the places he fucked up.

Besides, the cops that aren’t scouring the lakes for teenagers doing the dirty are stopping cars to check if the occupants aren’t drunk. It’s graduation night, they know the kids are partying. It’s what Steve would have imagined himself doing a year ago.

So, there is not really a place to go. Truly a theme of his evening.

He’s about to give up and pull over to the side of the road when he sees a sign for the quarry. Ever since Will’s fake body was found there people have been avoiding it. If there is one place he’ll find some rest tonight, it’s there.

Relief courses through him that he’ll have a place for peace tonight as he starts driving towards the quarry.

Later, he’ll have to figure out a plan for the long term, because he can’t keep living in his car. He has some savings, so he’ll be fine for a few days, after that he probably needs a job. And a place to stay.

But that is a worry for later. Now, he pulls up to the small outcrop overlooking the quarry and gets out of the car. The weather is nice out, summer closing in on Hawkins. It’s quite a lovely evening that Steve would appreciate, were it not for the day that preceded it.

He goes to sit on the roof of his car, looking over the quarry. It’s calm, like he wanted, but he also feels deathly alone, sitting next to the huge chasm all by himself. Without his permission tears start up again and he curls into himself.

It’s not like he wants to be crying. He hates crying. But he can’t stop either. He has always known that his parents don’t care, that they don’t love him, and yet he still kept trying. Sure, he held a whole speech to Chrissy about why she shouldn’t care and he knows that he shouldn’t either. But that’s easier said than done.

Steve still remembers when he was little, when he became obsessed with sports and the classes weren’t as confusing yet. How easy it was to make his father proud. How he still looked cute next to his mother, instead of serving as a reminder that she was getting old. How she would let him sit at her side as she did her makeup and let her do his hair.

A part of him still can’t believe that they would kick him out like that. It’s not like they walked in on him with a boy, they have no proof other than Billy’s word and a picture in the yearbook. That was all it took.

He has suppressed his feelings for other boys for years, planned to ignore it for the rest of his life, so that he could be who they wanted him to be. And that wasn’t enough. He as a person, would never be the son they want.

There is something innately wrong with him and they can pick it up even without seeing him for months. It hangs around him. He can’t hide it.

Steve used to be able to hide it. Used to play the part. King Steve, lady’s man, who always had a girl on his arm. Who was on the basketball team. Who drove the macho car. Who pushed those around him that looked gay.

But he couldn’t keep being King Steve. He couldn't.

In junior year he was offered a choice. To keep being an asshole for the rest of his life, or to be someone he could face in the mirror. Right now, though, he wonders that if he could have looked into the future, if he wouldn't have chosen safety over kindness. If he would have shown up on the door to apologize.

He wonders if he would have been happy if he had. He wonders if he would be at a party right now doing a keg stand with Billy. He wonders if Nancy and Jonathan would have still been alive.

“Fuck,” he curses out loud. He knows he made the right choice. That he likes being friends with the kids, that he likes that he was able to befriend Chrissy and Lisa. That he can allow himself to glance at Eddie from time to time.

“That’s not very proper,” a voice behind him shocks him out of his musing.

Steve whips his head around, not wanting to be caught by surprise if this is another ambush. Instead he finds Eddie, grinning up at him, having appeared as if summoned by his thoughts of him. “What are you doing out here?” he asks.

~~

A/N:

Ngl, this chapter was difficult to write. I am so glad I have never had to go through this and my heart goes out to all of my queer siblings who have. I hope the world treats you more kindly than it has, because you deserve all the care in the world <3

#rr writing #stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #buckingham #steve harrington & chrissy cunningham #chrissy cunningham #cheerleader steve harrington au #billy hargrove #OCs #tw: homophobia #tw: hate crime #tw: f slur #tw: child abuse #tw: internalized homophobia #st post season 2

[pansyboybloom]

as a teacher, reading about nex makes me fucking furious because I've seen that hate in the students I've taught. people who say young people aren't bigoted and once the old fucks die off the world will be perfect have no idea how cruel children can be when influenced by society's bigotry. while working with 8th grade, i had multiple situations of children harassing lgbt students, screaming slurs at black students, and mocking disabled, especially autistic, students. i was misgendered and degendered by these kids daily without them even knowing i was trans or gay, just that i was a feminine man. i had to dress hyper-masculine to have a smidgen of respect, and god forbid i let my disability show.

but what sticks with me the most when thinking about nex is when i had to intervene when a child proudly announced that she would murder her baby if they were trans (specifically nonbinary) because nb people were freaks, fully aware the person sitting next to her was trans. when i tried to intervene, i was disciplined because i was 'teaching my personal politics'.

this is what our schools look like. when people say they cant believe these girls could do this, i shake my head because, to me, it's no wonder nex is no longer with us. nex was a child with intersecting minority identities. our society is cruel and bigoted, and it is influencing our children. we HAVE to fix society because until we do, kids will stay cruel and kids will keep dying

#hate crime tw #child death tw #bullying tw #nex benedict

[viro-lil-goat]

I really hope this reaches more people, I'm only reposting this information from Instagram, the least that I can do. (Update: I changed their upbringing as it appears to have been listed wrong) Wiki page

When I just saw this information I couldn't stop crying thinking about it, and now my heart aches. They were the same age as me, I know for a fact like any other teen they dreamt of their future, who they would want to become, what to achieve, create, wondering if they meet those in the future they can call friends, wondeting if it'll get better when they grow up, maybe wished to leave that terrible place or maybe wanted to stay. How could anyone let this happen, why were they discharged from hospital so easily? And the school, we all know why. I hate to think about how, even with all the progress made, these things still happen.

"murdered schoolgirl Brianna Ghey on February 16, 2023. Candlelit vigils are being held across the UK this week for Brianna Ghey, 16, who was stabbed at Linear Park in Culcheth, Cheshire last Saturday. Brianna was a transgender girl and police are now investigating her killing as a hate crime. A boy and girl, both 15, have been charged with her murder"

An article that explains trans hate crime murders as on 2023

I hate everyone who have ever committed such vile hate crimes, I wish them in prison and hell. But i would never go down to their level. But I also blame the government, the school, and even those bigoted online accounts that teach their followers hate. In this case LibsOfTikTok, who targeted the teacher of this school, who supports lgbtq+, so they had to leave their position. It must have been the push for this to happen. I think their tiktok account has been thankfully deleten. But i have no idea about Twitter or any other. Please check and mass report them if it still exists. (Link to Instagram reel that this information is from)

ADDITION, PLEASE MASS REPORT THESE ACCOUNTS

#tw description of violence #tw death #lgbtqia #trans #trans kids #trans news #lgbtq community #lgbtq #lgbtq news #information #boost #Nex Benedict #please share #transgender #lgbtq+ #lgbtqiia+ #rest in piece #tw hate crime

[cowboylexapro]

look at my doctors dawg im gonna die

#hate crimes md #tw medical #tw iv #tw needles #tw syringe #james wilson #gregory house #greg house #dr wilson #dr house #hilson #doctor house #house md #house x wilson #wilson x house