c h e r r y - b o m b

Sorry but Steve tripping into the Upside Down through Lover’s Lake and he’s fighting off the bats and instead of Nancy saving him it’s -

“What the fuck!” A hysterical, growling voice bellows, “are you doing here, Harrington?”

The bat squeals. Billy roars and slams it into the ground twice. It wriggles up and darts away. Steve rolls onto his feet as Billy whips around to face him.

“What am I doing here?” Steve hollers; he catches the broken metal tube Billy tosses him and slams it square into a bat’s chest. Or it’s face. He can’t tell. Who gives a shit. “You’ve been down here this entire fucking time?!”

“Where the fuck else would I be?!” Billy demands with a growl. His own weapon shears a bat’s wing in two.

“Oh, I dunno!” Steve shouts hysterically, throwing his arms wide; Billy looks a bit insane, his blue eyes surrounded by grit and a little too wide. “In the coffin we fucking buried you in?!”

Billy grins like a maniac. “Gotta try harder than that to kill me, cherry-bomb!”

He’s gorgeous. He’s gorgeous and he’s insane and Steve has missed this psychotic motherfucker like a goddamn limb.

There’s a wicked crack behind him and Steve whips around to find Nancy standing over the body of a bat, holding a broken oar like a mace.

“Oh god,” Eddie says shrilly, “here comes backup!”

“You two can flirt later,” Robin calls, hefting up a piece of rebar she pulls from the ruins of a rusty car overgrown with vines, “it’s showtime!”

And Billy, true to form, tosses his head back -

And howls.

”Who was that?”

(The black&white picture of Billy is supposed to be picture Jonathan took! like back in s1 at Steve’s)

Au on the tags 👀

Glamour Shot

A little Salem for @maad-as-raabbits @billyhargrovens

on billy hargrove and fandom hypocrisy

They really physically placed Steve between the new Hawkins bad boy who is set on gaining his attention and his girlfriend who dumped him the night before and expect me not to read into it too much...

in terms of cinematography this scene reads like he's looking towards his future (billy) but his past (nancy) keeps coming to drag him into shit. it's literally one of the most subtle but most effective ways through cinematography of hinting at a new romantic partner.

and yet-?

please put in the tags how many siblings you have and whether you’re a competitive person or not it’s for science

Real talk for a sec, I’m genuinely loving the energy in the Billy Hargrove/Harringrove side of the fandom. Like hell yes, let’s talk about how most abuse survivors don’t respond to abuse in a socially acceptable way. Let’s talk about how people aren’t treated as real victims unless they “act like” victims. Let’s talk about how no one is truly irredeemable and everyone is capable of change. It’s an acknowledgement and a mindset I see so very little anywhere and I’m glad to see it here.

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016), Arthurian Mythology, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington, Billy Hargrove/Eddie Munson, Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson Characters: Billy Hargrove, Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson Additional Tags: The Beheading Game, Fae Courting Rituals, Eddie Munson is just as mysterious as Billy, it frustrates Steve to no end, the upside down is something else, dream walking, Realm Travel, Fae Curses, billy is Something Series: Part 2 of Cursum Perficio verse Summary:

He falls asleep staring at the rose he’d woken up with three nights ago. It hasn’t dried yet, hasn’t withered and died. It’s just as bright a red as it was when he woke up with it clutched in his hand. The note that came with it is buried under his pillow, in the hopes that he’d dream of the forest again.

It’s been three days since he’s traveled in his dreams.

That changes tonight, as his eyes flutter shut and his breathing slows. He feels the familiar sinking that accompanies these dreams, that means he’s falling through the fabric that separates the waking world from Billy’s realm.

This is my first and probably last post I will ever make. I’m here to consume the content, not necessarily create it.

I see all of you fighting the good fight for Billy and his story. And I wanted to add my thoughts into the ring.

As someone who works with children and adults from abusive backgrounds EVERY SINGLE DAY. I can tell you that Billy checks every single box for being in his survival state 24/7.

I have had extensive trainings about trauma, how to recognize it and the effects it can have on a person and how they act. Personally I have endured a lot of trauma myself and had to unlearn a lot of unhealthy behaviors and ways of thinking because of it.

With that being said: someone who is in a state of survival constantly is not capable of thinking rationally, the only goal is to…survive.

Billy Hargrove was an abused child. A CHILD. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. Does this forgive his actions? No. But it explains them. Gives us a deeper insight into the “why?”

Neil hit his son, he insulted him, called him a slur and then reminded him that Max, his younger stepsister’s well-being is in his hands. That’s a lot for a 17 year old to go through. Then he goes to the Byers residence where he’s insulted and lied to. His sister (who’s well-being is in his hands) is alone with 5 boys, one of them is his age? THEN to top it all off, Steve punches him? All that built up rage from what just happened with Neil comes spilling out. Oh and to make matters worse, he gets sedated and Max MIRRORS Neil’s abuse by making him repeat himself. Keep this in mind, while all this is going on Billy has absolutely no idea what is going on. He still doesn’t know what Max is doing with all of these boys in this house.

Moving forward- Billy gets possessed by the mind flayer, he still has no idea what is going on and loses control of his own body. He had to watch as his hands take the lives of many people to feed this creature from his worst nightmares. Then this group of children lock him in a sauna, he is FINALLY able to beg for help and sobs. Even then NOBODY tells him what’s going on, no one really makes an effort to help him. It’s only in the final episode of season 3 that El breaks through to him, she see’s his past, his mom leaving, the abuse. Even standing up to the mind flayer Billy has no idea what he’s up against, he’s still in the dark. All he knows is that it’s him or this child that showed him how to come back to himself. It’s him or Max, and as we already know Max’s well-being is in his hands. Nothing is more terrifying than Neil’s wrath. And in his dying breath he apologizes.

For my fellow Billy Stans- Please never let anyone bully you about what characters you can and can’t like. Your ability to see deeper into the characters and push past the hate is needed in this world. Not just in fiction, but in the real world. If you relate to Billy as I do, from past trauma, I am so sorry. I am so very sorry that you have to fight, explain and rationalize your love for him every time. For whatever reason you stand behind Billy Hargrove, it is valid. And unlike Billy’s story, I hope that yours doesn’t end in tragedy. My inbox is always open for those who need to talk.

Now, for the Antis- I want to say, good for you. You managed to take a broken and deeply complex character and reduce him to a heartless villain in your minds. Think what you want about him, it really doesn’t matter. What does matter is how you act to the people who do relate to Billy. The name calling, the hate, the wild assumptions about real people!! It’s so insane to me. I hope that turning into the bully to make a point was worth it. How other people relate to a character doesn’t affect you in any way at all. Somehow many of you have managed to put people down and make them afraid to express their love for a character. It’s not something to be proud of.

I am not willing to argue with anyone on this, this is just my views and my opinion. Dacre Montgomery stated that he worked hard to humanize Billy Hargrove. Seeing his character be dragged through the mud and continuously be turned into the irredeemable monster by the Duffer Brothers and the fans is just really sad.

Billy Hargrove means a lot to me. For a lot of different reasons. He deserved so much more than he was given. He deserved a chance to redeem himself and to tell his side of the story. He deserved a chance to apologize for everything he did in his survival state. He deserved the chance to finally be happy and be surrounded by people who actually cared for him, who wanted to help him.

Just keep going everyone. ❤️