Featherofeeling - I Guess I Go Here Now

If you're a writer and you see this post, stop what you're doing.

WHENEVER YOU SEE THIS POST ON YOUR DASH, STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND WRITE ONE SENTENCE FOR YOUR CURRENT PROJECT.

Just one sentence. Stop blogging for one minute and write a single sentence. It could be dialogue, it could be a nice description of scenery, it could be a metaphor, I don’t care. The point is, do it. Then, when you finish, you can get back to blogging.

If this gets viral, you might just have your novel finished by next Tuesday.

Ooh, another potential pop culture touchstone in this #metoo aftermath moment.

I feel like I’ve chewed on these thoughts long enough, so let’s go ahead and just tackle them: Steve Harrington.

Tbh? I fucking hated him.

So. Fucking. Much.

He would steal Nancy’s book bag and keep her from class and get in the way of her studies, which were all obviously so important to her. He pressured her for more intimate acts when Nancy resisted (my feelings on this topic are more complicated when considering Nancy’s perspective, but right now I’m just talking about Steve and the face-value of his interactions with her, where she repeatedly told him no). He allowed his friends to mock and belittle her. To slander her in the most public and damaging way possible for a small town like Hawkins.

By the end of Act 2 for the first season, I was very much hoping the demogorgon would fucking eat his face clean off.

But then he did something remarkable. He realized “I shouldn’t have done that.” He looked at his “friends” and realized their influence was toxic. He cut them off and sought forgiveness from Jonathan, whom he’d also harmed. His concern for seeing Nancy at Jonathan’s house wasn’t rooted in his suspicion that she was cheating on him—in fact, his first reaction upon seeing her answer the door was apologetic, even desperate. It’s only after he sees her injury that his protectiveness kicks in. And it’s not that he wants to protect Nancy from a romantic rival. He just wants to protect Nancy from an abuser. (And in a town like Hawkins, I think it’s reasonable for people to know about the nature of Lonnie and Joyce Byers’s relationship, even if they don’t vocalize their acknowledgement of it. It’s not an unreasonable to expect Jonathan to be the same.)

By the end of the first season, I was well into “well, he’s not as bad as I thought” territory, and I was willing to concede that his arc had been a profound and commendable one.

And then season two happened.

His first scene is with Nancy, relying on and trusting her judgment as a better writer. He’s recentered their relationship. It’s not just about getting what he can out of her (or even just seeming to). He treats her as an equal. He really, genuinely loves and respects her—possibly because he now appreciates what it’s like to lose her. However! His reaction to losing Nancy more permanently doesn’t trigger a regression into his douchier origins.

He’s actually changed.

His growth is challenged and he chooses to continue being the better person he’s become.

He’s upset and hurt. Naturally. But never once does he hurl any of the calumnies he allowed his friends to spray paint across the marquee for all the town/world to see. He’s heartbroken over Nancy, but he can still be a damn good babysitter for the kids. They need him, and he sets aside his own troubles to take care of them.

But the thing I respect the most about Steve The Character is how believable he is. He was a dick, he had a moment of clarity about being a dick, he made an active effort to not be a dick, and with practice, he was able to resist the easy invitation to be a dick once more, absent what’s typically the reason for men in stories to not be a dick (i.e., the love of a woman who expects more from him).

Steve Harrington has experienced heartbreak and not used it as an excuse to be a worse person. He’s been given the opportunity to be petty and accusatory and chosen not to indulge it. Instead, he’s taken a flock of fledglings under his wing and protected them. In the case of Dustin, he’s even accepted the role of Big Brother and offered advice on how to Adult.

Steve Harrington has gone from “I hope a demogorgon eats his face” to “he’s a gift and a treasure and must be protected” in such a short time. And more than that, the change has been believable.

Steve Harrington is a gift and a treasure. He must be protected.

I imagine the responses to this would have been at least somewhat more simliar had Roy Moore not been dominating the news, and someone like Bill Clinton, or an Al Franken without the apology, had been instead.

Let’s stop being so sure that our people vote based on Principles and Justice based on a poll that came out during a cultural moment when nationally, the most prominent politicians accused of the most sexual harrassment are Republicans. It’s easier for Democrats (in general) to give this answer right now. But remember that so many of the liberal party rallied behind someone who had an affair with his intern when he was the most powerful politician on the planet. And for similar reasons of feeling under seige by the other party who hated the candidate and would have done anything to get him out of power.

Would you still consider voting for a candidate accused of sexual harassment by multiple women?

See also: punching Nazis.

The real reason Tumblr kids romanticize communism despite its awful violent history is actually because of its awful violent history. You grow up in a system that glorifies violence and unilateral power, and then turn around and, in turn, glorify violence and unilateral power. Communist history is full of wars and coups and exciting shit like that and you can imagine yourself being A Hero and it feels good to say “You’ll be first up against the wall” and all that. 

Tumblr communist fankids aren’t so excited about the labour union activists who negotiated for fire escapes to be installed in factories or the legislators who implemented minimum wage. Slow, incremental progress, paperwork and diplomacy, aren’t glamorous. They want to be heroic, and don’t see quiet, tactful, doggedly persistent ordinary people as heroes.

They want to hold true to left-wing ideals but achieve those using things like violence and the ability to hurt other people, not realizing that if you truly invest in left-wing ideals, you will end up dismantling violence and the ability to hurt other people.

AAAAHHH can we please have this?

Zimbits fantasy AU reminiscent of Harry Potter:

Bitty lands his broomstick with a heavy heart, lagging behind everyone as they go to the showers. Jack’s words are ringing in his ears, and he doesn’t want to give the captain any more reasons to scream at him. Jack almost acts like he knows what Bitty’s thinking, and agrees with him; he strips and showers in record time, and when Bitty comes out of the showers himself, Jack is already dressed and gone.

“Don’t worry, bro,” Holster says, kicking his pile of gear and then directing it onto the rack with a flick of his wand. “Jack’s just like that. It’s not personal.”

“Considering what he’s been through,” Shitty says, not looking up as he re-bandages his ankle, “it’s not surprising.”

“What did he go through?” Bitty blurts out, and then blanches when they all turn to stare at him.

He keeps doing this; barely a day has passed since he arrived at the Sameell College of Magic that he hasn’t accidentally said or done something that reveals he was homeschooled, didn’t go to one of the tightly-knit magical boarding schools. They share so many things: Slang, handshakes, fashions, in-jokes…

“He defeated the Dark Lord,” Holster says incredulously. “Twice. That not enough?”

…Oh, right. And knowledge of the stupid secret war Bitty’s parents did his best to keep him safe from all these years.

“Bits,” Shitty says, sitting up straight. “Be real with me here. Have you never heard of the Boy Who Lived?”