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billyharringson · 4 months

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My 2023 in fics

Thank you @lorifragolina for tagging me. I know you tagged my main account @jad3w1ngs but as all my fics were Stranger Things this year I'm going to do it here.

I'm going to only talk about fics that I either started or finished during the month as I've written an awful lot this year and it was very hard to pick faves.

January

I'm choosing my current ongoing Byergrove fic 'Take a picture, it'll last longer' that I started on New Year's day last year. I've loved writing such an angst heavy fic and exploring the trauma that might occur from what Billy went through at the beginning of this fic. Also Jon is the best boy in this and he's so soft (which is quite a departure to how I seem to normally write him).

February

For Feb I have possibly my favourite Mungrove one-shot that I've ever written. 'It means to lie beneath' was a Billy Hargrove Bingo fill and definitely something that is on my list to expand into a full fic (just as soon as I finish some of my other series). It was really fun writing a Succubus/Incubus fic and I can't wait to further explore the world I built.

March

Considering that this is my biggest fic and also the one that really got me into this fandom I have to shout out my Harringrove fic 'To submit is such sweet pleasure'. My first foray into A/B/O and I just love these boys together in this fic.

April

This is possibly my least read fic but one that definitely holds a special place in my heart. My first submission for Mungrove week, 'Ghost' was my chance to try a good old fashioned song fic and practice some more poetic writing.

May

'Swapping more than clothes' was the Stoner Polycule fic that I finished in May and was also a Billy Hargrove Bingo fill. Really enjoyed writing each of the boys dynamics in this and of course having some straight up smut where Billy gets railed by multiple partners is always good.

June

I can't believe I only started 'Forged' in June. I love, love, love this fic and can't wait to actually get to the point where I introduce Eddie (or Edeval as he is in this) as a character. For a Mungrove fic of mine it is quite funny that we're nearly on chapter 6 and he's still not appeared.

July

Another fic I'm obsessed with writing, 'Chokehold' is my darker Stoner Polycule fic. We're still early days with this one (considering it's chapter 5 on what is at least a 19 chapter fic) but I think about this fic almost daily.

August

Wow, I finished 'The Stolen Sapphire' all the way back in August? That feels so long ago. My pirate Harringroveson fic that was such a pleasure to write and so many people seemed to love, I can't not put it here.

September

I was struggling between 2 of the Mungrove fics I wrote in September but considering the sheer number of times I've re-read 'Knock Once' that's got to be the one I go for. Pure smut with my best two boys, and also the beginning of my realisation that this might just be my ride or die ship for ST.

October

I just have to include one of my Harringrove kinktober fics for this month so I'm going with 'Wanna see what's under that attitude' because it's chock full of all the kinks, and Billy in lingerie is always a pleasure.

November

Another fic that I personally feel went a little under the radar but one that I love nonetheless is 'little and broken, but still good'. My first attempt at writing one of the boys as a dad and I just adore Eddie's daughter Chrissy. Also kindergarten teacher Billy is something I need to write more of. Needless to say this is another Mungrove fic and was one of my last fills for the Billy Hargrove Bingo.

December

I've only just started this one, and I had planned on it being a short fic but I've gone a bit ham with the world building so we're in for a longer ride. Anyway, 'To keep good company' my historical A/B/O Harringrove fic is actually going to be my first attempt at some proper slow burn (although is it slow burn if they're already mated?)

This was a lot of fun, and very nice to look back at all that I've accomplished in 2023.

My absolutely no pressure tags are for @shieldofiron @weird-an @ihni and anyone else who wants to join in 😄

#billy hargrove #stranger things #fanfic #steve harrington #harringrove #eddie munson #mungrove #harringroveson #jonathan byers #byergrove #argyle #stoner polycule #fic rec #self fic rec

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paperbodiesamongthestars · 3 years

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Day 30: Lily-of-the-valley

Hey! We made it to the end of the Harringrove April Challenge! Read this one on AO3, or read all of my entries for the challenge!

The sunny April day when Neil seized up and starting clutching at his chest at the breakfast table wasn’t the best day of Billy’s life—that had come two months earlier, in Steve Harrington’s stupid plaid bedroom—but it was definitely in the top three. Well, top five, anyway—he’d had a run of good days in the last couple of months.

Susan, as expected, fluttered around uselessly while Neil toppled from his chair and Max, also as expected, calmly continued eating her breakfast. It took a lot to faze her, these days, and Neil had started grabbing her arm, hard, when she did something he didn’t like. Which, Max being who she was, was often. For his part, Billy stared at his father thrashing around on the floor and tried to look like he was frozen in shock, but no one was paying attention to him anyway. Susan was focused on Neil, and Max glanced over at them only once before she went back to eating her cereal. By the time anyone got around to calling 911, it was mostly a moot point. Neil died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital of an acute cardiac arrhythmia.

The months after Neil’s death were strange ones in the Mayfield-Hargrove household. It turned out that Neil had quite a sizable insurance policy, so his death hadn’t put Susan in a difficult position the way Billy had been worried it would. Outwardly, life carried on much the same as before—Billy drove Max to and from school, and both of them were expected to be home for dinner nearly every night. In many other ways, however, the difference was profound. Susan cooked whatever she wanted, for one thing, and it turned out she was a decent cook when she wasn’t trying to make Neil happy. She hummed to herself as she moved around the house, and redecorated the living room, and joined a book club.

Billy’s shoulders gradually came down from around his ears when Susan didn’t immediately kick him out, and when he broke a glass in the kitchen two months after Neil’s death, he only panicked for a moment. Susan came out at the sound of shattering glass, and once she had established that Billy was okay, she got down on the kitchen floor with him and helped him clean it up.

Max gradually lost the brittle edge she had started to pick up after she had walked in on Neil shoving Billy into a wall in December, and she smiled and laughed more freely than she had in months. Part of that was probably because Lucas was welcome at their house anytime, but the other part of it was because there wasn’t anyone around to get mad when she wanted to cut her hair shorter, or leave her door open while she listened to music, or tease her dumb step-brother.

It wasn’t always easy, but it gradually got easier. The first time Susan tried to tell Billy he couldn’t go somewhere, he screamed that she wasn’t his real mom, and then stormed out and drove to Steve’s house, where he sat outside for so long that Steve came out and climbed into the passenger seat to hold his hand until he stopped shaking. When he finally got up the courage to go back to the house, the door was unlocked and the porch light was on, and the lock was gone from the outside of his bedroom door. Susan was sitting in the kitchen, waiting up for him, and the look on her face when he came in the door wasn’t anger—it was relief.

“I may not be your real mom,” she said firmly, “but I am going to parent you, so you’d better get used to it.” Billy had always assumed that Max had gotten her fire from her dad, but it turned out that maybe she had gotten a little bit of it from her mom. Susan made him cook dinner for a full month after that, but she didn’t take his keys, or kick him out, or tell him he was a worthless piece of shit who didn’t deserve any of the nice things he had.

The next time she told him he couldn’t go somewhere, he snapped at her instead of yelling, and then he stormed into his room and slammed the door shut as hard as he could, but he didn’t leave. He got dinner duty again and he had to clean the bathroom for a full month, but he found that he wasn’t even really that mad about it.

By the end of the summer he hardly even bothered to tell Susan that she wasn’t his real mom anymore, and he hadn’t slammed his door in ages. He just rolled his eyes and did what she told him to do because she continued to demonstrate that she gave a shit about him, for some reason, and Billy didn’t hate that nearly as much as he thought he would.

Partway through September, Billy was reluctantly dragging himself out of Steve’s bed, and Steve was, as usual, not helping.

“I have to go home, baby,” Billy said, leaning back in for yet another kiss. Steve pulled back and smiled at him, bright and happy.

“You’ve never called it that before,” he said, and Billy frowned at him.

“What?” he asked, confused.

“You always say that you have to go back to the house,” Steve said. “You’ve never called it home before.”

“Oh,” was all Billy could manage to say. He flushed and looked away. Steve sat up and pulled him close, pressing a kiss to his temple.

“I think it’s really nice,” he said. “It makes me happy that it feels like a home to you now.” Billy didn’t say it out loud, but it made him happy too.

Steve was in the kitchen at Billy’s house on a cool October Saturday, using a serrated knife to slice around the top of a pumpkin. He was telling Dustin and Will a story, as animatedly as ever, and it took a moment for Billy, absorbed in scooping the seeds out of his own pumpkin, to register Steve muttering a quiet “Shit.” By the time Billy looked up, hands covered in pumpkin guts, Steve’s wrist and forearm were covered in blood. Billy scrambled to his feet, but before he could do anything Susan was there, wrapping Steve’s hand in a clean dishtowel. She had him raise the arm above his head to slow the bleeding, and held the towel firmly to the deepest part of the cut.

Once the bleeding had slowed, she had the cut cleaned, disinfected, and bandaged in no time. She caught Billy watching her as she walked Steve efficiently through the process, and she flushed a little when she met his gaze.

They didn’t talk about it until later that night, when the jack-o-lanterns were set up on the front porch and Max was off at a sleepover. Steve was asleep on the couch, bandaged hand tucked carefully above his head. He still looked pale, and Billy gently smoothed the hair back from his forehead. He didn’t realize Susan was there until she cleared her throat behind him. Billy stopped himself from snatching his hand back, and reached out to gently run his thumb over Steve’s cheekbone before he turned to her. She gestured toward the kitchen with her head, and he followed her.

Billy sat quietly at the kitchen table while Susan made two mugs of tea. She slid one across to him and then sat down, eyes on her mug. There was a long silence.

“You reacted quickly today,” Billy said quietly, and then he cleared his throat. “Thank you.” He hoped it conveyed what he wanted it to. She glanced up, her gaze drifting to where the top of Steve’s head was just visible over the arm of the couch, and she smiled a little. Then she looked back down.

“I used to volunteer with kids a lot when Max was little. I guess the first-aid training never really leaves you,” she said.

“So…” Billy said, and then trailed off. He wasn’t sure he could say it out loud. She saved him from having to.

“So yes, I have always known that time is of the essence when dealing with a potential heart problem,” Susan said with a sigh. “I have also always been pretty decent in a crisis.” Billy just stared at her, remembering her wringing her hands while she stood over a twitching Neil, making no move toward the phone.

“But…” Billy said helplessly. She shrugged.

“Neil never did think I was particularly capable. It’s possible that seeing any competence at all on my part would have killed him right then and there,” she said drily, with a twist of her mouth that might have been a smile, and Billy almost choked on his tea. She looked up and calmly met his gaze. “I guess we’ll never know,” she said slowly. “Just like we’ll never know why Neil’s salad that night contained some finely chopped greens that no one else’s salad had.” Billy paled, but Susan reached across the table and placed a hand over his. “Things have been good, these past several months,” she said firmly. There was a very long silence.

“Steve’s mom has a really beautiful garden,” Billy said, in what must have seemed like a complete non sequitur. Susan looked at him, a question in her eyes. “She grows all kinds of flowers,” Billy said, “including a large patch of lily-of-the-valley. She’s been warning Steve to stay away from it since he was just a kid.” He watched understanding dawn in her eyes.

“I wondered why the dishwasher was running when I got back from the hospital,” she murmured.

“I didn’t let Max touch anything,” Billy said. It was important to him that she know that. Susan nodded.

“Well,” Susan said, finishing the last sip of her tea and standing up, “if you think it would be alright with Steve’s mom, maybe you could cut some from her garden sometime. They’re lovely flowers, and it might be nice to display them in the house.” Billy caught the little gleam in her eye and wondered, not for the first time, what it must have been like, being married to his dad. “Oh, and Billy?” she said as he carried his mug to the sink to wash it. He turned to look at her.

“Yeah?”

“I’m going to bed. If you don’t want to wake Steve up to move him to your room after you think I’m asleep, you’re welcome to just sleep out here with him. It certainly doesn’t bother me.” Billy just stared at her. He could feel the blush spreading over his face and down his neck. The smile she shot him was almost, but not quite, a smirk. “Good night,” she said.

“Good night,” he replied faintly as she turned and walked down the hall. He shook his head as he returned to the living room and his sleeping boyfriend. Who could have guessed that Susan was so full of surprises? Billy stretched out on the couch, and Steve snuggled closer to him with a soft, contented little sound, burying his face in Billy’s neck. Billy smiled to himself. The sunny April day when Neil died had been a good day, but it wasn’t in the top five anymore. It wasn’t even going to stay in the top ten for long, and not just because he had a perfect boyfriend. He also had a family, and a place that felt like a home.

He’d bring Susan all the lily-of-the-valley she wanted. It didn’t bloom year round, but maybe she’d like a nice perfume. Or a throw pillow with the pattern on it. Steve would have some good ideas; Billy could ask him tomorrow, when they woke up together on the couch in Billy’s home. Maybe he and Steve could even get matching tattoos. After all, Steve and his patch of lily-of-the-valley had brought a lot of good into Billy’s life, by taking just one bad thing out of it.

#Harringrove April Challenge #my writing #harringrove #Neil dies #maybe not accidentally #no one mourns him at all #just like he deserves #susan is surprisingly cool?#tw: poisoning I guess

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ariesbilly · 4 years

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1,2 and 3!!!!!

1. Tell us about your current project(s) – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?

so... technically i have no current project? cuz im supposed to be writing kims birthday fic.... still havent started. octobers a chaotic month for me ok. dont wanna say what its about cuz its a surprise BUT i can say it is specifically something kim has posted about wanting to read. i know that really narrows it down lmao

2. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

i am literally so excited to get to the next chapter of my harringrove fic cuz im literally just about to rewrite seasons 1 and 2 in the perspective that 1. billy was there and 2. hes being a jealous pining bitch

3. What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)

like every idea ive ever had. every night before i go to sleep theres some elaborate set up i create in my head. i do always keep coming back to this idea of fp being super depressed after freds death and like maybe its the night of freds funeral or something but he goes to bed drunk, crying, etc but when he wakes up... freds there... dun dun dun i dont know if i have the strength in me to write that tho cuz its just sad and it makes me cry thinking about it

5. What character that you’re writing do you most identify with?

like in general? i guess we say billy... lmao but i have a feeling once i get around to writing kims bday fic im gonna be specifically vibing with alice

6. What character do you have the most fun writing?

gladys

19. Is there something you always find yourself repeating in your writing? (favourite verb, something you describe ‘too often’, trope you can’t get enough of?)

i do be taking any opportunity to talk about fps hair i think lmfao i dont know how prevalent it actually is but i feel like i do it a lot. i also have like 7 fics about fp coming out ? and i will write more that is a promise

#briana answers things #fredheads

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prettyboiiharringrove · 6 years

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Liam.

Demons ii // read part one here // read on ao3

Harringrove Halloween Countdown — October 6

Billy’s eyes fade back to blue, but Steve isn’t convinced it’s the real boy just yet. He’s been fooled for months now, tricking him with those gentle eyes isn’t enough to make him think that the actual William Hargrove would agree to his touch.

He notices the boy take a shy step backwards and his heart starts to pound impossibly harder. So, maybe it is the real him and he just doesn’t want to be near Steve. He’s not sure how, but this scares him more than the realization that he’s spent the past six months fucking and falling in love with a demon.

“I’m sorry,” Steve manages as Billy steps further away. His voice cracks as tears begin to fall. He feels guilty, and scared, and filthy. “I didn’t know Billy, I’m so sorry.”

“I love you,” Billy croaks out, lifting a shaky hand to cup Steve’s cheek. They’re his first words and Steve’s shocked to hear them. It’s the first time in two years he’s ever had full control of himself, and he knows it won’t last long, so he has to take full advantage of it.

Steve whimpers, tears continuing to fall down his face as Billy’s gentle hand touches him. It’s different somehow, despite those hands being the same ones that always touched Steve, it’s not quite the same with the real man behind the wheel.

“I love you too,” Steve whispers as Billy’s thumb brushes away a few tears. Billy shakes his head, but smiles. It’s nice to hear those words purely, as opposed to echoed in the prison he’s typically trapped in, but it’s not true no matter how much he or Steve want it to be.

“No, you don’t,” the words aren’t aggressive, he’s not accusing him of anything, Billy just has far too much time to think over the cruel truths he’s faced with; Neil never loved him and Steve will never get a chance to, not really. The demon now not only controls Billy, but in a way Steve, and selfishly he’s grateful for it, because even if Steve isn’t truly his, he gets to keep him in his life, see him through his stolen eyes.

“No, I do, Billy I love you,” Steve argues, his eyes pleading and Billy can practically feel Steve’s heart break. He has to fight not to let the demon smirk; it’s still his time, ten minutes he was promised, and he’ll use every last second of it.

“Baby,” Billy can’t help that the endearment falls off his lips; he didn’t think he’d ever get to call someone that. “You don’t even know me, you can’t love me.”

Again, it’s not an accusation, Billy doesn’t feel slighted or betrayed, he just knows truths that Steve doesn’t. If Steve knew him, he’d know that William actually hates being called Billy, because that’s Neil’s name for him. He prefers being called Liam, like his mom used to say when she’d gently brush through his curls and kiss the top of his head. Steve would know that Liam is actually desperate to chop his hair off, has been since the first time he realized it helped Neil get a real firm grip, and only put it off because he has his mother’s hair. He’d know that yeah, Billy does love Led Zeppelin and Def Leppard, but he also kind of loves Cyndi Lauper; he’s made a habit of humming her in his head since he knows it pisses the beast off. He’d know that Billy isn’t always all teeth and tongue, that he’s a romantic, and he’ll turn a brighter red than Max’s hair if flustered. He’d know that Billy was actually a good big brother, and that he cries over stupid shit like romantic comedies and finishing a book he didn’t want to end. He’d know he does more than just get his tits out and wear a Saint around his neck to be ironic. He’d know that Billy is worthy of his love.

Steve looks as though he’s been slapped and that crushes Billy; he tries to swallow down the pleasure that rushes through him as Steve’s suffering. He knows it’s the demon’s emotions coursing through him, the sadistic streak spreading through him like a poison, but it’s still hard to ignore.

He brings his other hand up so that he’s holding Steve’s face in his hands, gently holding him like the most delicate, precious treasure Billy’s ever come across. If this is his last moment of pure human contact, the only warmth he’ll ever feel, he’s happy to have received it from Steve.

“It’s okay Steve, it’s okay,” he nods and Steve still looks absolutely crushed, but his shoulders finally relax and Billy can sense the tension finally flowing out of him. He finds peace in Billy’s forgiveness and permission, and that’s all that Billy could ask for. “Just do me a favor before I leave?”

Steve looks at him with confusion and a morbid curiosity. He also looks crestfallen, fresh tears falling as he already starts to grieve Billy. It’s comforting, knowing that there’s now someone out there that will notice his absence and mourn him.

“Anything,” he nods, uncaring of what may happen. He’ll do whatever it takes to do right by William Hargrove, the real human boy that most likely will never be heard from again.

“Kiss me, just for once kiss me so that I can feel it before I go.” Billy thinks Steve might deny him, now that he knows that Billy and his lover aren’t actually the same person despite sharing the same skin.

Steve offers him a sad smile before leaning forward and pressing his lips to Billy’s. Billy has never tasted anything so sweet and pure, never felt anything as soft or thrilling. He finds comfort in his first and last kiss as himself, isn’t even surprised or all that hurt that he doesn’t get to say goodbye.

When Steve pulls away, Billy’s eyes are black and Steve feels terror coursing through him once more. Still, he doesn’t run. He won’t leave William Hargrove to die alone with his demons.

#harringrove #harringrove au #harringrove ficlet #harringrove drabble #harringrove fic #demon au #possession au #demonsii

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