Billy Hargrove was not irredeemable.
This boy needed help. He needed someone to show him that life was not just pain and suffering, that there was more once you break through years of abuse.
And I'm not talking as a sappy fan here, but as a licensed social worker.
Without a doubt, this bitch would have been my favourite client. He already IS my favourite client.
Now, would it be hard to work with him?
Fuck yeah.
He would Rebel against anything I say, he would try to intimidate me and keep me far away, he would most definitely be rude as fuck and make fun of most things that leave my mouth. And he would flip his shit hard whenever I touch any subject he doesn't want to talk about.
On bad days, days where he was beaten and abused again, he would be an absolute menace. He would probably throw chairs and tables around, start fist fights with the other kids in my group and just be a proper pain in my arse.
So yes, Billy hargrove would be difficult. Especially in the beginning.
But that's what abused kids do.
They want you to stay the fuck away from them. Because all they know is pain. They've been hurt so much, that they can't believe it's not normal. That not every one is out to hurt them. Because people don't care for them. They don't care about them.
Social workers are "in it for the money" anyway. They don't give a shit, much less about them. Much less about kids like Billy.
Good things don't happen to them.
Good people don't just stumble into their lives.
Because nothing good ever does.
But you know what kids like Billy also do? What I've seen so many times at my job, working with troubled youths?
I've seen kids like Billy Hargrove beam at compliments. At genuine compliments, compliments that aren't used to get them to do something. They dead arse break a grin so wide it blinds you, despite not wanting to.
I've seen them get glassy eyes when you welcome them and tell them you're happy to see them around. Because they feel appreciated, like them being there is a good thing.
I've seen them slowly opening up, once they realise that I'm not going anywhere and that I, in fact, actually care about their well being.
I've seen them go all soft and huggy because they crave warmth and kindness. They crave what they never get at home.
I've seen kids have fun, fun that they've never been allowed to have at home. They are the older siblings, the only providers. They carry responsibilities the shouldn't have to carry at home. But with my colleagues and I, they don't. They can be themselves and have fun. Being silly, being young and being genuinely happy because they are allowed to be.
Just imagine Billy breaking an involuntary grin because you tell him how neat his camaro looks, all clean and shiny today.
Imagine him getting flustered when you tell him how nice it is to have him back with the group while you pass along some sweets or whatever.
Respect and responsibility? My arse. Everyone get the waterballoons, we'll have a fight. And we all know Billy would hold back at first, pretend it's stupid, before ambition hits and the kid tries to be the last dry one standing. he's laughing with the other kids, dripping wet by the end of it. And he enjoys it massively.
How he suddenly allows other people to pat his back, hug him or bump his hips. How he actually starts liking it, touch starved as the boy likely is.
Now imagine Billy Hargroves face once he realises that he doesn't have to scare people away because whatever his dad taught him was bullshit. That he really doesn't need to repeat any of the homophobic or racist slurs Neil threw around ever again because he doesn't believe them anyway.
So yes, Billy Hargrove was not irredeemable. He was not. He was a boy that needed work, definitely, but he was far FAR from being a lost cause.
Billy was just a poor eighteen year old boy that needed warmth and softness. That needed a chance to learn that people cared, truly cared, about him like no one in fucking Hawkins ever did. Not his father, not Susan, not Max.
Billy needed one person who understood him, cared for him and taught him that life was more than pain and suffering.
And its fucking bullshit that he never got to meet that person because killing him was easier.
No, he was not irredeemable and everyone who says he was just chooses the easy road. Because seeing and accepting layers is so much harder than saying he's a piece of shit, am I right?
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Keigo is perched on Mr. Endeavor’s shoulders as they walk in. His little wings are flapping happily behind him, taking in all the sights and smells and sounds. He can smell meat cooking, the sound of it sizzling on an open grill.
“—it’s cause you’re a girl,” Touya is huffing at Fuyumi, who just blinks at him.
They’ve been bickering for awhile. This morning the three of them had been playing outside, until Touya had found a nest of ladybugs in one of the trees. Touya had immediately found it fascinating, while Fuyumi had found it gross.
“They’re bugs!” Fuyumi frowns. “They’re gross for everyone, you’re just weird!”
“You’re stupid!”
“Yeah, well Keigo thinks they’re gross too!” Fuyumi huffs, which makes Keigo’s eyes immediately widen.
“What! No he doesn’t!” Touya huffs. He and Fuyumi both glance up at Keigo. “Right Keigo?”
Keigo’s wings flutter. He feels his cheeks warm and his eyes widen.
He opens his mouth to be doomed either way between betraying Fuyumi or Touya (because really they were kinda gross, they were everywhere and made a lot of noise) when he gasps as he sees a server bring out a delicious smelling meal that has big round fluffy circles and strips of different kinds of brown meat.
“Mr. Endeavor, look!” Keigo says, his wings flapping as if to try to get higher up to see more.
Mr. Endeavor puts his big hands on Keigo’s legs to make sure he doesn’t actually fly off his shoulders, considering Keigo can’t really hold his own weight in the air yet.
“That’s a Western style breakfast,” Mr. Endeavor says. “Pancakes and bacon, I believe. You can order some, if you want to try it.”
And Fuyumi and Touya are thoroughly distracted now and forget about the ladybugs. So it’s a win in Keigo’s book.
From Time's Arrow
Synopsis: Hawks gets sent on a mission to go back in time to stop Dabi from becoming a villain. Hawks takes the opportunity to fix the whole Todoroki family and give his younger self the life he’s always deserved.
Art by @beachbeibi <3
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