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zerokrox-blog · 1 year

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Sinclair's adopt Steve

this is a a part of the Sinclair's adopt Steve fic I am writing, I needed to write this out so I did. Enjoy this snippet. (Also if anyone has that post about Jim and Joyce not really liking Steve please send it to me so I can link it here. I can't find it anymore ;( and I know I had it saved somewhere.)

It's the awkward comment that causes Joyce and Hopper to realize they're not as discreet as they thought. The older kids aside from Steve are hanging out at the Hopper-Byers. The kids were at the Wheeler's house for a sleepover and Hop had allowed Jane to join because both parents were home and Vecna was dead, so it would be fine. Sue and Charles Sinclair, Claudia Henderson and Wayne Munson, Joyce and Jim Hopper-Byers, Jonathan Byers, Argyle, Nancy Wheeler, Eddie Munson, and Robin Buckley were sitting around the table talking, catching up.

Mid conversation Sue's phone rang loudly. She glanced down and answered her cell.

“Hey baby. Is everything-” her voice cut off. She listened intently to the person on the other end. She nodded, she turned to her husband, “one second baby ok?” Sue turned to Charles, and put the call on hold.

“Steve needs to be picked up, his car broke down, and he just got it towed. He's at Rodney's. Can you get him?”

Charles paused, thinking, “yes I should be able to get him, I'd have to get gas but I'll have my phone on, I'll be there in forty to forty-five minutes.”

Sue nodded and relayed the information to Steve before hanging up. As she hung up she glanced up and noticed the barely held expressions on Jim Hopper’s face as well as Joyce Byers. Jim looked annoyed, and Joyce looked mildly disgusted. Sue didn’t want to say anything, and she didn’t have to because Joyce’s son Jonathon did.

“Mom,” his voice was calm but there was something else hidden in his tone, an anger Sue wasn’t expecting. “why do you and Hop look annoyed or angry everytime Steve is mentioned or brought up in a conversation or over at our house?”

Joyce blinked in shock, “oh I was thinking about something. It’s ok dear,”

Jim snorted and gave her a look. But Jonathon persisted, “No mom I know you and I know the faces you make. What is your problem with Steve? He’s a good guy mom.”

Charles quietly slipped out of the room, he had someone to pick up. Sue caught his eyes as he was leaving and gave him a look, he mouthed a simple, “I’ll bring him home to ours and stay with him. Call me if you need.” she gave him a nod and turned back to the conversation.

Jim and Joyce seemed to be communicating silently and finally Joyce turned to her son and stated, “I don’t like that he made you fight. You have never been an angry kid ever and he made you fight, he got into trouble and he never really apologized for it, honey that’s all.”

Jonathan looked at his mother in shock. And before anyone could say anything else Jim added, “besides he is a troublemaker. He got into fights and had a lot of parties. Do you know many noise complaints I had to deal with at the Harrington house? The fact that his parents didn’t instill in him any manners is not-”

Jim was cut off by Nancy’s sharp gasp. He looked at her, her face ashen, her hand covering her open mouth.

Jonathon sucked in a deep breath, “God no wonder he doesn’t trust you. You can barely hide the disdain on your faces when he was just mentioned. But this is crazy.” he turned to his mother, “Steve apologized to me and Nancy several times already for that fight.”

Joyce opened her mouth to say something but Jonathon had already turned to Hopper, “Steve had parties because he was popular and wanted to fit in, that doesn’t make him a troublemaker. Besides Hop, I was at some of those parties. It’s normal teenager stuff but his neighbors in particular don’t like any noise. We drove up to his house once during the day and there was an officer there because his car made a loud noise, so they had a noise complaint. It’s unrealistic to get upset or lose respect for a teenager acting like a teenager. Steve never hurt anyone Hop, in fact he was one of the only people to make sure that girls got home safely. He made sure they all had a way home, and if they got drunk he’d offer them a ride with another one of their sober friends to make sure they all got back safely.”

Before anyone else could add in anything Sue injected, “you know Chief, I thought you were a mandated reporter. You don’t think it was suspicious that the Harrington parents never were around to help that boy? You don’t it’s weird that his parents are not ever reachable to and I’m paraphrasing you here: ‘instill good manners into him’? Don’t you think most parents would answer when you’ve called about their son being in hospital, or getting hurt?” She looked directly at him and Jim found himself floundering because he had thought it was weird. But what did he know about the elite and their small issues? Steve Harrington is a rich white boy with wealthy parents who probably doted on him and at most his most pressing issue was not getting the girl he wanted.

Jonathan finally looked up at his mother and stated, “the reason for the fight we had was because I took a photo of Nancy and him without either of their consent and knowledge and Steve rightfully got angry at me and fought me for violating his and his then-girlfriend’s privacy. He fought with me and he apologized for it even though I should have apologized to him and Nancy first. We have since made up, and forgiven each other. But that still doesn’t explain anything.”

Sue interjected, “Joyce, Jim, you are in some ways a lot more aware of our kids and their little friend group and you do know more than I or my husband do when it comes to what made them such close friends, but I will say this as Steve Harrington’s mother in all but blood, Do not let Jane hear you talk like that about Steve. She adores him like he’s her older brother and she will not take kindly to that. Secondly, Steve is not Richard Harrington, they are two different people and judging Steve on who his father is, is a huge disservice to him especially since he has done his best to be someone different then his parents. And lastly, Steve Harrington-Sinclair was kicked out and disowned by his parents two years ago during his last year of high school due to him leaving the basketball team due to his brain trauma. Maybe you should try getting to know him, before making a judgment call on him based on who you think he was some years back.”

Sue stood up and grabbed her stuff, “if you excuse me I have a son to get home too.” She walked out, head held high.

They watched her leave and before anyone could say another word Wayne spoke up, “I may not have been that boy’s number one fan, but he’s good. He’s a good kid. He tries real hard to be a good person and role model to your kids. But you miss the person he became because you’re too busy with your preconceived notion of who he is, instead of getting to know who he actually is.” he shook his head. “C’mon Eddie let's get home. I have a night shift I gotta get ready for.” Both Munson men got up and gathered their things and left as well.

Once it was only Jim, Joyce, Nancy, Robin, Argyle and Jonathon, Joyce looked up at her son. He seemed sad, “mom, do you know that Will came out to Steve before he came out to the party? Do you know that Steve is the first person aside from you and I that Will felt enough to come out too? Steve made it a point to remind and show Will that he is always safe with him. Do you know Hop, that when Jane got sick last week she called Steve after you because she knew he’d not only pick her up from school but he’d take her home and take care of her until either you, mom or I got back from work. If he’s so bad, why do all the kids gravitate towards him? Why does Jane call him her big brother? Would Will feel safe around him?” Jonathan shook his head at them, “I have a friend to get to, I gotta go also.” The remaining teens got up and gathered their stuff.

Robin had stayed quiet the entire time, not daring to speak or else she’d lose her mind at them and curse them out. But right as they left, she turned towards them and looked at them both, her voice low and hurt, “he was the first and only person I came out to, and not only did he reassure me while we were being hurt, he protected me. I have met Richard Harrington and Steve is nothing like him.”

The door slammed shut behind the older teenagers, Jim and Joyce waited for a minute, breathing calmly or at least attempting to, “maybe we should take their advice and get to know him?” both of them thought quietly.

Joyce and Jim hoped they weren’t too late to find out what about Steve Harrington had caught their kids and their respective parents’ attention.

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tofixtheshadows · 2 months

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I've been thinking a lot lately about how Kabru deprives himself.

Kabru as a character is intertwined with the idea that sometimes we have to sacrifice the needs of the few for the good of the many. He ultimately subverts this first by sabotaging the Canaries and then by letting Laios go, but in practice he's already been living a life of self-sacrifice.

Saving people, and learning the secrets of the dungeons to seal them, are what's important. Not his own comforts. Not his own desires. He forces them down until he doesn't know they're there, until one of them has to come spilling out during the confession in chapter 76.

Specifically, I think it's very significant, in a story about food and all that it entails, that Kabru is rarely shown eating. He's the deuteragonist of Dungeon Meshi, the cooking manga, but while meals are the anchoring points of Laios's journey, given loving focus, for Kabru, they're ... not.

I'm sure he eats during dungeon expeditions, in the routine way that adventurers must when they sit down to camp. But on the surface, you get the idea that Kabru spends most of his time doing his self-assigned dungeon-related tasks: meeting with people, studying them, putting together that evidence board, researching the dungeon, god knows what else. Feeding himself is secondary.

He's introduced during a meal, eating at a restaurant, just to set up the contrast between his party and Laios's. And it's the last normal meal we see him eating until the communal ending feast (if you consider Falin's dragon parts normal).

First, we get this:

Kabru's response here is such a non-answer, it strongly implies to me that he wasn't thinking about it until Rin brought it up. That he might not even be feeling the hunger signals that he logically knew he should.

They sit down to eat, but Kabru is never drawn reaching for food or eating it like the rest of his party. He only drinks.

It's possible this means nothing, that we can just assume he's putting food in his mouth off-panel, but again, this entire manga is about food. Cooking it, eating it, appreciating it, taking pleasure in it, grounding yourself in the necessary routine of it and affirming your right to live by consuming it. It's given such a huge focus.

We don't see him eat again until the harpy egg.

What a significant question for the protagonist to ask his foil in this story about eating! Aren't you hungry? Aren't you, Kabru?

He was revived only minutes ago after a violent encounter. And then he chokes down food that causes him further harm by triggering him, all because he's so determined to stay in Laios's good graces.

In his flashback, we see Milsiril trying to spoon-feed young Kabru cake that we know he doesn't like. He doesn't want to eat: he wants to be training.

Then with Mithrun, we see him eating the least-monstery monster food he can get his hands on, for the sake of survival- walking mushroom, barometz, an egg. The barometz is his first chance to make something like an a real meal, and he actually seems excited about it because he wants to replicate a lamb dish his mother used to make him!

...but he doesn't get to enjoy it like he wanted to.

Then, when all the Canaries are eating field rations ... Kabru still isn't shown eating. He's only shown giving food to Mithrun.

And of course the next time he eats is the bavarois, which for his sake is at least plant based ... but he still has to use a coping mechanism to get through it.

I don't think Kabru does this all on purpose. I think Kui does this all on purpose. Kabru's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder should be understood as informing his character just as much as Laios's autism informs his. It's another way that Kabru and Laios act as foils: where Laios takes pleasure in meals and approaches food with the excitement of discovery, Kabru's experiences with eating are tainted by his trauma. Laios indulges; Kabru denies himself. Laios is shown enjoying food, Kabru is shown struggling with it.

And I can very easily imagine a reason why Kabru might have a subconscious aversion towards eating.