#try to tell me that wade isn't good with his daughter I will fuck you up

[evilwickedme]

Legit I can't be around children. I'm so bad with them, I always end up cursing or being rude to them, I don't like how they're sticky and gross and can't have intelligent conversations. But when the fictional man is good with children? >>>>>>>>>>>>>

[bentnotbroken1fanfiction]

Teacher!Steve/Single Dad Billy AU

Billy doesn't really know what to expect when he opens the doors to Hawkins Elementary school for parent teacher conference night.

Becca's mom had always been the one doing all the school stuff. She'd been the one meeting teachers, sending in snacks, helping with homework. She'd been the one taking care of all the everyday things.

He'd just been the every other weekend dad.

So he didn't know how these things worked. He didn't know how a lot of things worked. But he had no choice now. He was going to have to learn quickly, because the world doesn't stop moving when someone dies. It just keeps going, dragging you along for the ride.

And the last two months have been a hell of a ride.

It's not that he doesn't know how to take care of his daughter, he's shared custody since she was a baby, but raising her full time? He's not sure how he's going to manage that. He'd already had to come back to Hawkins because his only support system is his sister, Max, and she'd never left.

So he just.. doesn't know how to do this.

But he knows he has to try.

Because Becca's grandparents have hated his guts from the moment they saw him, so they'll be waiting for him to fuck up. And if he does, they will probably swoop in and try to take her from him. Take her back to California.

He won't go down without a fight, of course, but he doesn't want to fight over Becca. There's no contest. She's his.

She's his and Leslie's. And Leslie isn't here anymore. So…

Becca is his.

He wouldn't be here, looking for room 202 at 6:30 on a Tuesday night, otherwise.

He wouldn't be wading through the halls so packed full of parents that it's hard to move. He wouldn't be trying to ignore them all, because some give him flirty smiles as he passes, some nod their heads, and some try to give him a wide berth, because that's Billy Hargrove and he was kinda notorious in his youth.

He wouldn't be doing any of this if he didn't want to do right by her. If he didn't love her.

So Leslie's parents can kiss his ass.

He sighs in relief when he finally finds the right room and opens the decorated door. But then he is caught completely off guard, nearly loses his breath when he steps inside his daughter's first grade classroom. Because the man sitting behind the teachers desk, the man looking down at a grade book, is Steve fucking Harrington.

Mr Harrington.

Becca's teacher.

Ok, yeah, maybe he should have put two and two together, but like… the last Billy'd heard, he'd taken over his daddy's business. It never crossed his mind that he'd end up teaching.

Teaching his daughter.

Why hadn't Max warned him? She had to have known.

Oh, they're having words when he gets home.

When the door closes behind Billy, Harrington starts speaking, eyes still downcast and hidden behind a pair of glasses. "Right on time. It's nice to meet you Mr-" He cuts himself off when he looks up from his papers and sees him.

Billy lets himself smirk, but inside he's kinda reeling. He'd had a total hard on for this guy in high school, and even though he looks ridiculously dorky right now, he still feels a spark of interest there.

Wonderful.

"It's been awhile, pretty boy." He says, coming to stand in front of the desk.

"Hargrove." He huffs after a second of looking like a deer in the headlights. "Rebecca Hargrove. I cant believe I didn't realize."

"If it makes you feel any better, I hadn't made the connection either," He shrugs.

"I'm just...surprised." He admits, "I never pictured you as a kid having kind of guy."

Eh, that's fair.

"I never pictured you as a teacher, either." He replies, "but I probably should have. You looked after the brats all the time back then."

He runs a hand through his hair, which Billy notes is shorter than it had been in school, but there's still enough of it that it sticks up all messy cute when he does it.

"Yeah, I mean, that's not why I chose this field, but they definitely brought out something in me."

He looks fond as shit, like he's remembering something nice. And Billy…that spark in his gut is slowly setting a fire inside him and he does not need this shit right now.

He doesn't need to be thinking about Harrington's stupid face, and pretty mouth. Or be wondering if his ass still looks good under that desk.

No.

His daughter is his top priority.

So if his dick could fuck off right now, that'd be great.

He coughs to mask how uncomfortable he suddenly is. "So, this conference thing?"

"Yes, right." Harrington clears his throat. "There's just a couple things, really. Despite transferring this late into the school year, Becca is actually doing well academically so far. She's very bright, ahead of some of the kids, even. But I do have a small concern. It's nothing serious, could be that she's still adjusting as a new student, but she gets a bit withdrawn and refuses to speak sometimes."

He doesn't know if it's annoying or endearing that he's been paying enough attention to her behavior that he's worried. She's been in his class all of a month.

"Yeah, that kinda happens when you lose your mom." He tells him. Not to get a reaction, but to be honest. He should know why she gets quiet and sad.

He can see a bit of red slowly appearing on Harrington's cheeks and he looks absolutely distraught. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I didn't- It all makes sense now. I had no idea that you'd lost your wife."

"No, no. She was never my wife," he corrects. "but thank you. It's been harder on Becca than me. Her and her mom were close and then...well I never thought I'd be raising her alone. I needed Max's help, so I moved us back here. She pretty much lost everything familiar when she lost her mom."

"That's so awful, " He replies, and he sounds sad, like he truly feels upset by the revelation. "I'll be sure to respect her boundaries and not make her talk in class if she doesn't want to."

Billy can't help the little upturn of his lips. "I'd really appreciate that."

They kind of stare awkwardly at each other for a moment before Harrington startles a bit, which is weird because there was no sound or anything that should have spooked him.

"Um, anyway, your daughter is a sweet girl, and I'm sure she will continue doing well in class. Thank you for coming in to speak with me. It helps when parents actually show up."

"It wasn't a problem." He shoves his hands in his jacket pockets, trying hard not to just run away. Because he's getting a little hot under the collar. "Gotta get used to these things now."

"Yeah," He sighs. "And again, I'm sorry for your loss."

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Just let me know if my kid ever needs me. I'll come get her."

"I'm sure that won't be necessary, but I'll be sure to do that."

"Thanks," He turns to leave but stops for just a second. "See ya around, Teach."

And then he's out the door and in his car, heart racing a bit.

Because…

Not only is Steve Harrington still pretty as fuck, he also cares a lot about his students, about Becca.

And Billy…

Billy is so fucking screwed.

Part II

[kindabraveandlittlestupid]

Its been almost two years and I am still a bit bewildered by the outcome of the 2016 election. Not the fact that Trump has taken over the Conservative Party (that was a long downhill trend that's existed for years) but rather the fact that so many Christian voters not only endorsed his candidacy but continue to support it despite all the evidence to show he is as far from the Christian Faith as he could possibly be.

I know some might want to disqualify me from this conversation most because I have stepped away from the Church. I was a Christian years ago and a part of me still carries that aspect of Jesus where Compassion, Love, and Sacrifice were the cornerstones of being a good person. I still very much apply that to my philosophy and lifestyle but the element of organized religion has left a sour taste in my mouth. Consistently seeing churches align themselves with nationalistic beliefs, avarice and populist anger worries me. There was in fact too many inconsistencies with the faith where we were told to love everyone without condition but more often than not the religious leaders would have their admonitions against women seeking health services, people practicing safe sex, the LGBTQ community and people of other faiths. So, in other words, it wasn't Christianity the faith that pushed me away and made me no longer believe, it was the Christians themselves who seemed to comfortably wade into these dark emotions and make it part of their politics.

So this article we will be exploring the Catholic concept of the Seven Deadly Sins and how they apply to Donald Trump (I am sure some of you are making some distinct connections already). I will talk about the concept of sin towards the end and how we are all subject to it (if you believe in sins, to begin with), the concept of forgiveness (which I spoke of before) and lastly a nod to the few churches in America that do believe in those values of Love, Compassion and Sacrifice and how they should be celebrated for being the outliers that still carry some semblance of decency.

“I like money. I’m very greedy. I’m a greedy person. I shouldn’t tell you that, I’m a greedy – I’ve always been greedy. I love money, right? “ - DT

I was undecided which of the sins he dwelled in the most, the truth is he seemed comfortable in all 7 but the 2 that seemed to define his character the most was Greed or Pride. I feel as though Trump could never happy without being remembered nor do I think he would care to be remembered without being rich. I suspect between the two it was Greed that started to push him down the darker path so we will focus on his wealth first.

The concept of Greed never really fit well into Christian beliefs, in fact, Jesus detested the wealthy believe those who kept wealth to themselves would find no easy entry to heaven. They coveted their possessions and tethered themselves to their riches and refused to give those up to be closer to god. Jesus himself says “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

Despite this message being so clear in the bible Donald Trump with his estimated worth of 400 million is still considered a godly man by the Christian community, in fact, he plays well the audience of the Prosperity Gospel who believes that wealthy men are endowed directly by God for their wealth. These are the same churches and preachers who ask their congregation to buy them multiple private jets and large personal properties to eventually receive their own personal wealth after giving to the ‘church’. What is disturbing the most is how many people seem to believe that this would be true despite Christ's literal words contradicting that message and how many devout followers fall into financial ruin while attempt to obtain this magical nirvana of wealth for Christians.

The fact is Trump has consistently put wealth before anything declaring bankruptcies multiple times and making financial withdraw from Russian banks to continue his ‘golden’ lifestyle he becomes accustomed too. This is the first and most prominent sin but don’t worry he makes strong cases for the others.

“Nobody’s ever been more successful than me.” - DT

Pride is nothing new for Donald Trump but it is most certainly his second (or perhaps first) deepest sin. The man literally brands his names to dozens of products and splashes it across his buildings in big gold letters. Some might claim this is brand recognition which are the same poor fools who associate Trumps name with success despite the evidence that most of his products fail (save golf courses) and once again the multiple bankruptcies that followed the man around.

I suppose we can give him some credit for managing to weather all the failures so well. I am sure people find that endearing quality and if he remained a businessman I might have been happy to let him dwell merrily in his field but stepping into the realm of politics when he fails in office we all suffer the consequences of his pride.

“Nobody is better on humility than me.” - DT

“If he says great things about me, I’m going to say great things about him.” - DT on Putin

Perhaps the third reason Trump entered the political realm is not that of Pride alone but also because of Envy as well. This trend started with a younger man who seemed to have come out of nowhere and not only caught the admiration of the nation but seemed to install a spirit of hope among the people, Barak Obama. Trump has since had a vendetta against the former President to try to remove any policy, regulation, or law that Obama put forward in his two terms. While Trump in the past seemed to have some liberal views any essence of progressive policies he might have moderately displayed in the 80′s and 90′s has been replaced with vitriol and hate for our first Black President and Liberals in general.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that he would hate Obama, Trump has been trying to get in the public good graces for years hanging out with celebrities, throwing parties, appearing in movies and making commercials but a lifetime of panhandling for Trump was achieved by Obama in just a few short years. Donny was the odd man out and he took his anger out on Obama leading the charge of the birther movement and sending ‘investigators’ to Hawaii to undermine the former Presidents credibility.  

I suppose the second element of Envy that we should talk about isn't how he was jealous in a negative way (Obama) but how he is jealous of dictators around the world who can simply do what they want. This is probably even more concerning than his Pride or Greed or other sins (save Wrath). He has turned coldly against long-standing allies and now openly praises China, North Korea, Russia, the Philipines, Turkey and Egypt where men have seized power and transcended the rule of law becoming literal Dictators. The admiration and envy the President has shown for these men and expressing how he wishes he could be President for life, thinking about suspending elections like them, attacking the Press and the Courts all scream budding fascist but still free American Christians remain loyal to his doctrine.

 “Knock the crap out of him, would you? I promise you, I will pay your legal fees.” - DT

The first thing that should be said is no one should ever be afraid of Donald Trump in a fight. Small hands and a sluggish body, a single strike to the chest would likely dislodge a piece of plaque in his heart causing him to die right there. We already saw him run from military service with ‘bone spurs’ and whenever he advocates violence is when no one can reach him and having someone else doing the fighting for him. So, in other words, the man is a huge coward.

On the other hand, Trump has influence, influence over his constituents and they are often willing to do as he asks. This is where cowardice hides best, letting other people fight his battles for him. Within his staff he lets other explain his mistakes for him. In regards to the police, he openly encouraged them to rough up suspects. In regards to the military, he is inclined to provide them with more and more funds as the state department remains depleted of diplomats. 

The fact is Trump does tap into wrath lashing out at anyone who does not fall into line with his doctrine. We have seen the high turnover rate of the White House of people who tried to influence him or advice him but his Pride won't allow it and so out the door, they go. This sin scares me the most because I think one day he might actually greenlight a real conflict with someone... calling soldiers to the borders to keep Central/South Americans out, attacking North Korea first (despite their budding romance) or attack someone else sending young men and women to die not because of National Security or some moral high ideal but because his pride was damaged and the armed forces to him is a tool to swing when he doesn't get respect.

“You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful—I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy." - DT

Probably the most well-accounted issue with Donald Trump is blatant disregard for women. While Greed and Pride are the primary motivators that drive him, this is where he often reaps his rewards with a fair amount of collateral damage for his Lust. He has referred to females as pieces of ass, suggested women manipulative, said he would eventually marry a 12-year-old girl and would walk into changing rooms at beauty pageants because no one could stop him.

This is the same man who left two wives before moving onto his third and cheating on her too. He also joked about how he would love to date his daughter only we all know really he isn't joking, he would totally fuck Ivanka if he could get away with it. The fact is he is in a position where he can deny any wrongdoing and can use his ample wealth to pay them (the women) off or bury cases in the courtroom. There is no justice to stop him from molesting or assaulting women where ever he goes and to be frank I would not be surprised if he does it in the oval office with some poor intern.

“Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf. Worse than Carter.” - DT

Trump has hit a unique milestone having spent 22% of his time in office at his golf courses and single-handedly beat the number of times Obama was on the course in 8 years (36 times), just in 2 years with over 60 trips to the green. This is a low hanging fruit though as we all seen the pictures of the President's giant white ass golfing while we pay his expenses with our collective taxes. 

The real Sloth kicks in at the Whitehouse with his work day. He spends the early morning (9 AM to 11AM) with what he calls Executive Time where watches TV, Eats, Tweets, and Shits before he reaches his first intelligence briefing which he heard hardly holds his attention unless there are pictures, bullet points and his name inserted into the briefings. Just about 12pm he has an hour-long lunch (usually McDonald's) and proceeds into another hour and half of executive time IE Tweeting, TV, Shitting and probably eating some more. Before doing some light work and then retiring to his room and watching more Fox News where he live tweets policies as he watches the shows. 

Now, this is an account of his average day at the White House when he ISNT at his golf course and doesn't have some truck parked by the White House for him to sit in and act like he is driving. This is the 6th major sin and somehow Christians are not running for the hills and seeking better conservative candidates to support their values.

“I think the food is good. I think all of those places, Burger King, McDonald’s, I can live with it” - DT

We end off on Gluttony, I leave this one at the bottom because of the 7 sins its the only one that really doesn't affect us, it just his slow self-destruction from the inside of his gut (or heart) out. I imagine of all the things he has done this one simply makes him look the most relatable, he eats like most Americans do. Hell, even I make a late night stop at Jack in the Box or McDonald's even though I shouldn't. I guess what is most unsettling is how often he seems to be consuming McDonald's and the other fast food chains. On the road he ate KFC, Mickey D's, Pizza and Diet Coke ALL THE TIME, I don't think I can humanly do that. I don't think any of us can possibly do that without saying “Maybe today a Jamba Juice or Salad or just fucking water” but not Donald Trump.

So let's give him the benefit of the doubt and say the campaign trail is a hard place to make a proper meal but it didn't stop at the end of the election. He has a special button now for a coke being delivered to the Oval Office, he now has a cheeseburger before bedtime, he regularly orders chocolate cake from the White Houses kitchen and of course his Envy/Greed/Pride kicks in and whenever he has guests he has three scoops of ice cream while they are served one. I am not even sure why that pisses me off so much but it just shows how much of a douchebag he is that he makes sure he has more than everyone else in the fucking room.

“He knew what he signed up for.” - DT on LaDavid T. Johnson  

So Trump seems to embody literally all the sins in one human being, another achievement for the current President to put on his gravestone. “Sin. No one was better than me at doing them all.” I suspect if I was saying this to Trump supporter they would say something along the lines “We are all sinners, we all give into one of these at one time or another.” Which I would say yes, absolutely which is why we believe in the concept of forgiveness but forgiveness is a two-part exercise, on one hand, we need to be open and willing to forgive people as good human beings, while on the other side a person needs to seek forgiveness and express remorse for those sins. This is where Donald Trump fails and so do his Christian supporters who suggest we should forgive him for his past/current/future transgressions but I don’t think we should. No, not without remorse, reflection, and change coming from him for indulging in those sins. Trump is happy living in sin, he exercises them all daily with his lifestyle and these religious organizations seem to overlook this major character flaws in his morality for short-term political goals. This is where the moral fabric is tearing in society the most, where good people lend themselves to a man who sees’s them as a stepping stone for his own glory and they worship him for it.

I would feel remiss if I didn’t mention that no all churches follow Trump. There are a fair amount of churches that do not see him as someone noble or ethical and choose not to follow him. These churches, however, are the minority and outliers in the Christian Community and we should ask them to be the voices of descent to cripple the choke hold Trump has not only on the GOP but the religion of Christ itself. They should be denouncing him daily for his actions and if you know a church that doesn't support Trump then support them to raise their voice and make them sound like thunder so that those who have sold their souls or lost their way know they have fallen. Lord knows I am sounding preachy here at the end but I wanted to make it clear that there are good churches still and we should not bully them into acting because they have been meek in their response but rather support them and uplifting them higher than the mega-churches that have sold their souls to the Doctrine of Trump.

With Regards, Michael California