#billy hargrove was a victim

[every-dayiwakeup]

At the end of day, it all comes down to this:

the Stranger Things fandom lists all the "reasons" (most of which are false or overexaggerated) why they believe Billy deserved everything that happened to him. Okay there are three things wrong with that. One, he's fictional, calm the fuck down. Two, he didn't do anything. Three , even if he did something it does not mean what happened to him is justified or okay in any way! That goes for everyone. Whatever you did, doesn't make what happened to you/what is happening to you okay.

I do have a bone to pick with this mentality. Especially because victim blaming exists, and it not only shouldn't, people would rather go after the victim for not reacting the way they would have than ever turn the same amount of heat on the offenders. Even if you didn't do anything (again it doesn't matter), someone will find a way to shame and blame you. It is not your fault. Any of it. I don't care what people may tell you, it's not your fault.

Performance activism solves absolutely nothing. It's become so much of a problem that it overshadows actual problems. Ya know, because their outrage is not about those who ARE impacted by said issues.

Again as always, victims know you aren't fighting for them. The whole "I'll create my perfect victim because real ones aren't good enough 😔" undermines your claims of giving a shit.

[manwrre]

headcanon steve is super ultra mega overprotective of his boyfriend, billy. this, i know for a fact because he told me so literally today.

i feel like he’s one of the few people who truly acknowledges and remembers that billy’s actually younger than him?? and younger than he looks in general. outwardly, he kinda gets it— billy’s a bit above average height and has honed his body into something solid and firm. his voice carries and his attitude is reinforced by his ability to pack a freaking punch, so yea, he knows what it looks like. he knows what it feels like.

but even when billy’s all wound up and angry, all steve sees is a boy who’s had to be anything but himself for as long as he’s been alive. he sees a boy who hasn’t had anyone in his corner ever since his mom died and has been forced to fight all of his battles alone; without the comfort of support or solace.

and this remains true, even after starcourt, when billy is admittedly more vulnerable; even when he’s back on his own two feet and his sonofabitch father intends on making his life a living hell. and steve remembers the hell that billy had been put through that night—how cold he had been in his arms and logically, threatens the beat the shit out of neil hargrove.

okay, he doesn’t but he does remind him, rather pointedly, that he knows “hopper, the chief?” just to watch the smug expression bleed off of the older man’s face. he takes advantage of neil hargrove’s terse silence and helps billy pack most of his things evenly into the camaro and beemer.

and living away from neil does wonders to billy. he’s a little bit shyer, a little softer but it’s much like a child who’s been gifted this wonder and is waiting for the other boot to drop.

everyone still anticipates the blonde’s sneering and spitting but he’s the only one looking for the barely perceptible shake of his hands. he’s the only one who knows, privately, that billy’s only storming out because he’s staving off hot tears.

so when the party comes over to steve’s house for game night and billy makes himself scarce, steve knows it’s because he’d rather disappear, than possibly face their rejection or be the root of their discomfort.

he understands that billy knows how important time with the kids is for him; how much he adores them. and as the night goes on, steve realizes just how much he’s missed having them around at his. he’s glittering, gleaming— happy.

that is, until their game runs a little too late and eventually, steve hears footsteps padding downstairs.

he’s not the only one that does, though and there’s a pause in their shouting, as everyone’s heads swivel in the direction of the noise.

and there he is, halfway down the stairs and rubbing at his eyes.

billy’s pretty and groggy and steve can just barely make out how sleep-swollen his cheeks are; how soft and sweet he looks. god, he’s so in love with him. he wants to kiss him so badly— “what’s he doing here?”

and that’s all it takes for the smile to get wiped off of steve’s face. his expression shutters and he can feel it happen, knows he must look furious. “you—“ he points a finger at mike and hikes it over his shoulder. “kitchen, now.”

there’s a different kind of silence now in the room and steve doesn’t even look at billy to see exactly what his face is doing in response right now, not when he’s too busy staring mike down. and poor mike, he’s still indignant and defensive about it all as he splutters out a, “but we were all thinking it,” which just makes things worse.

and so, right then and there, he’s all, “you don’t get to come in here— into our home and make him feel less than. things are different now and you don’t have to be his biggest fan but that, you won’t do that,” clearly speaking to everyone in the room. anyway, billy’s touched, it’s all so very sweet because steve’s in his corner and they live happily ever after like all the gays should.

[runraerun]

🦋 • billy hargrove + billie eilish (BLUE)

[niragisqueenofhearts]

men i could fix ch.4

It's been a hot minute, how y'all been? Good? Bad?... You breathing?? Okay good. Anywhooooo, I'm here so y'all know what that means.

BILLY HARGROVE

A favorite of the masses. (me)

So, what can I say about Mr. William Hargrove.... Well...

Billy was a misunderstood man who just needed a little bit of loving. The End.

Kidding, I'm not gonna leave y'all like that calm down.

"Billy is the high school racist who bullied little kids for no reason, I'm glad he's dead!"

Yeah well you're just the victim blaming cunt and you should trip on a knife-

First off, Billy was abandoned by his mother, the only person who actually gave a shit about him, and was left stuck with his puckering asshole of a father who thought it was okay to use his child as a punching bag.

And like usual children who are having problems at home, he took it with him everywhere. That whole, "Oh I'm tough" demeanor he put on at school? Yeah, that was a mask to protect himself from other possible people who'd try to fuck with him like his father did, only difference is that he could actually fight back.

Now y'all can argue about this all you want but the fact is, after his mom left, Billy was raised with anger therefore he projected anger. He was angry. It's the nature vs nurture law sweeties, look it up. Next!

Second, Billy did what any other older brother would do, protect his sister. Regardless of if Billy portrayed that he hated Max or didn't, he was protecting her. For example, when he went to that house to confront Steve and the others, we may have seen it as Max hanging out with her friends, but you know how Billy saw it? His young stepsister in a house filled with random guys he doesn't know, not to mention Steve, a fucking high schooler, hanging out with little kids... Quite suspish if you're outside looking in if you ask me...

You could argue that the only reason he did go to get Max was that his father beat the ever-living shit out of him, but either way, that is still a very valid reason, cause whether you like it or not, Billy was trying to survive his father and avoid further abuse from him.

Third, the SECOND this man turned 18, you got fucking 40-year-old MOTHERS throwing themselves at him. I don't care how you paint it.

"Oh, Billy made the first move! Billy Initiated the date!"

That was a grown ass woman grooming a child, and fact is the only reason she didn't go on the date was that she realized the consequences of actions would catch up to her, instead of realizing that she was a grown ass woman planning on taking advantage of a child... okay. (Fuck you karen.)

Fourth, Billy wasn't racist. Period. I’m not gonna fight anybody on this, there is literally no valid point whatsoever that could confirm this whether in the show or fandom websites.

In conclusion, Billy was a scared boy who grew up in a house of hatred, anger, physical and verbal abuse. He projected that anger just like any person could and tried his best to survive his environment.

Billy could've had a wonderful redemption arc (That didn't include him sacrificing his life) Had he had someone, fucking anyone by his side to just sit, talk and listen. Point. Blank. Period.

I christen thee fixable.

(I could definitely fix him.)

[rigginsstreet]

i also think what a lot of people dont understand about billy - or refuse to acknowledge the true extent of the effect of it all - is that this is a kid who has been taught to perceive everything around him as a threat. to him, his life is in constant danger.

and when youre living under that state of mind you really have one of two choices; harden yourself and BECOME the threat to protect yourself, or make yourself small and fade into the shadows

and its kind of asinine to me that you would fault someone for what option they chose

you know its not okay to berate someone for becoming depressed over their abuse or crying about it, why is it okay to shame someone for how they choose to protect themselves?

and its the way people cant coincide in their brain that you can actually say "hey, your coping methods are kinda fucked lets work it out". because to them all they hear is "this person has never done anything wrong and everything is fine"

but then you wanna call other people stupid .... okay

sorry i can hold multiple thoughts in my head. as if its my fault

[lumaxramblings]

just saw fanart of billy and max being just "cute siblings". fuck right off he's her ABUSER

[thatharringrovehoe]

[ickypuppi3]

billy not telling anyone what happened the day after the crash because he knew full well that no one would help or even believe him and his point literally being proven when everyone realised he was in trouble and did, in fact, not help him

[love-too-believe]

Some of y'all choosing to prioritize your hatred of an abuse victim over his abusive father will never not be weird. Yes this is about Billy Hargrove from Stranger Things.

[bottombillyapologist]

My opinion on billy hargrove as a character is so complicated but I think I can boil is down as: he is one of the few realistic interpretations of an imperfect abuse victim where his actions make you uncomfortable and it can be generally agreed he doesn’t take Good actions, but even just the slightest bit of thinking can make you understand why he does what he does. Why it makes sense to him.

You can look at him and go “I empathize with you, I understand you, I could’ve been you if I didn’t have a support system” or even “I WAS you” or “I AM you” and I think the reason he is so controversially liked/disliked is there is some inherent belief that somehow despite the way you were raised, you’re supposed to just inherently know what’s right and wrong. And yeah, once you’re in recovery you tend to learn what’s right and wrong, but nowhere in Billy’s story does anyone ever tell him the way he’s being treated is wrong. No one tells him the actions he’s taking because of it are wrong. Or on the other hand, he is punished so universally for his behavior it is hard to discern when his actions are actually wrong, or if he’s being treated unfairly. He is never shown empathy or understanding until quite literally, the moment he dies.

The message of his story is that when you are isolated, abused, and angry, no one tries to help you until it’s already too late. So yeah, I think anyone can dislike a character for any reason they want, but writing him off as an abusive racist when the quite literally Point Of His Character is “this is what can happen to a person when they are never given kindness/empathy/support and it warps their morals and actions to be violent and/or prejudiced” is just. Wrong. Especially when that includes attacking people who empathize with his character.

Regardless of if you like it or not, there are real people who were like that, are like that, and they deserve love, support, and empathy as much as any “‘perfect’” abuse victim that never perpetuated the cycle. Anger is simply a product of the fear that comes with abuse. Redirecting that anger at others is a learned behavior that comes with coping with that abuse, it’s not right, but you can’t unlearn it unless you’re given a chance to heal. Every abuse victim deserves support and a chance to heal and learn from their past actions and mindsets. Understanding a mindset is not the same thing as condoning it.

So please for the love of god, leave people alone when they write a happy ending for someone they see themselves in.

[hippielittlemetalhead]

So season 3. Let's do this!

This took so so so long and is not quite where/what I wanted it to be soooo... I am so sorry 😅🥲 this will most likely be 2 parts cause... Yeah, just life man.

Actually some dialogue in this one? Sure, a line or two, as a treat.

(Part1) (part2)

Steve had been working at Scoops Ahoy for a few weeks now and he feels like he's built a decent rapport with his coworker Robin. She's witty and snarky and opinionated and when Steve wears a more tinted lipgloss than he intended resulting in a customer clocking it and saying something rude that he can't help but smile his dead-eyed customer service smile at, she clocks out for her lunch early (and takes an extra 15 minutes) and comes back with a full face of makeup and shoos him into the back with the mascara she bought from the shop a couple stores over. They both start coming to work with at least mascara, eyeliner and lipstick and Steve loves it. He compliments the hand-drawn designs on her shoes and she asks where he got his rainbow heart pin. They mostly disagree on music they listen to -she still lets him drag her to a couple live music nights at The Hideout with him and Billy every now and then anyway- but their politics and basic life philosophies line up pretty well.

He could do without the 'You Rule / You Suck' board, especially when Billy gets in on it and adds tallies from a little notebook he starts keeping when he and Steve hang out outside of kids and work. And the jokes about his kids (and occasionally Billy) when they come through for free passage to the movies. And the jabs about his parents' money like he still has access to that or their house.

He doesn't tell her that he was cut off and disowned and kicked out. He doesn't tell her that he had to get a job to help pay for his community college courses because he was a disappointment that couldn't get into a pre-approved 4-year university and that meant no college fund and he was still a few years away from being 21 and having access to the trust fund his grandparents set up for him when he was still just a lump of forming cells. And even then anything in that will probably be blown on buying himself his own permanent place instead of just a hand-me-down trailer in the middle of the woods so he needs to save for things like bills and a mortgage.

He doesn't tell her that the reason he lets the kids get away with so much is because they're *his* and they've already seen more fucked up shit than the cops in this town (save Hop) and he'll be damned if they don't get to just be kids. He'll be damned if they decide he's someone they need to hide from and sneak around like they hide and sneak from Joyce and Hop cause that's how they didn't know about half the shit the kids got up to while the adults were doing their best to take care of things themselves. He doesn't tell her that he's paying "rent" to the chief of police (it's way less than he should be but it's all Hop would take).

He doesn't tell Robin a lot of things.

Then sometime after Robin finally warmed up to him but before Dustin comes back from camp, Eddie Munson walks into Scoops Ahoy, his metalhead nerdy entourage in tow. He orders a plain scoop of vanilla with sprinkles in a cup and one of the others also orders something small and simple (while longingly eyeing their diabetes-inducing, horribly artificial tasting, bubblegum flavor when Munson turns away) before all of them are squeezing into one of the largest booths, emptying out messenger bags and backpacks of overstuffed binders and scuffed up versions of very familiar looking textbooks. It's like looking at an older -slightly grungier- version of his kids.

"Gentlemen, now that 🎶school's out for summer🎶-" There's a musical lilt as he says it that sounds vaguely familiar to Steve, "-and it has been confirmed that I will in fact be held captive for yet another stint in the hell they call Hawkins High School it is time we confer and conspire for the next year of Hellfire and the little sheep that will be joining our flock." He kinda loses track of it after that because then his kids are rushing in demanding tasters of everything and edging towards the lifting part of the counter with a look in their eyes that speaks of mischief. He puts up the initial fuss about them only visiting him for his backrooms access and that they promised to only come over when there were no customers around. He lets them through anyway.

He notices Munson eyeing him as he puts the partition back in place shaking his head and Robin laughing at him as she washed their ice cream scoops. The one that's vaguely more familiar looking than the rest and reminds him of a taller, angrier, Dustin with a better hair regimen isn't quite glaring at him but is definitely paying more attention than the rest of Munson's posse and seems more suspicious than Eddie's curious.

The metalheads are still there when Billy shows up stinking of chlorine in clothes that are damp where they cling to his frame. The group loosens up a little when he shoots Steve his signature smug smirk as he shrugs on his denim jacket that -like Steve's own jacket hanging out of sight in the staffroom- had begun accumulating patches and pins since Neil's incarceration. Unlike Steve's, Billy's has homages to bands like Mötley Crue, Deff Leppard, Twisted Sister and Guns N' Roses with little trails of shakily embroidered flowers and constellations on the collar and hems and filling the spaces between the patches and pins. Billy also has a small pink triangle on the lapel where Steve has a rainbow. Steve pretends not to notice the way the group goes a little quiet as Billy starts his usual routine of sunnily demanding tasters of all the available flavors and then again with sprinkles to "-really get an idea of their ✨nuance✨, prettyboy" before deciding on a scoop of double chocolate with a scoop of raspberry vanilla in a cup with sprinkles and one of their fresh waffle cones on top. Like always.

"Really branching out there aren't ya, tough guy?" Steve keeps his face as stoney as possible but he can't help the humored edge to his voice.

Billy just winks at him running his tongue over his teeth as he gives Steve an exaggerated leer, "Gotta keep you on your toes, handsome." Robin fake gags and Steve laughs and Eddie Munson turns red as he stares at the two joking jocks. Billy goes quiet as he stares at his ice cream and Steve recognizes the look on his face, tells the blonde to go sit down in their usual booth and he'd be taking his break soon and they can talk about whatever's bothering him.

What's bothering him is Neill getting parole for 'good behavior', Jim only telling the Mayfield-Hargroves almost a week after he was let out because that was actually the same day he himself found out. Billy found out just before a summer basketball practice session and thinks he snapped at an underclassmen he's been trying to get to open up about what Billy is 90% certain is going on in the kid's home, but he knows that cops can't do much if the victim(s) refuse to trust in those trying to help them. He's worried about the kid he snapped at. Worried about Susan and Max. Worried that even with the restraining order Neill will try something. Billy tells Steve he had thought he saw Neill around the outskirts of town during errands or during his turn to haul the kids around a couple of times before Hop told them and now he's sure it wasn't just paranoia. Steve tells him they'll figure it out, reminds him he's not alone in this

That makes Billy smile, small and tired but real and grateful. His shoulders are still tense and there's still a wariness in the smallest crease between his eyebrows that makes Steve ask if there's anything else. They talk about some of the weird dreams Billy's been having that makes Steve encourage him to talk to El. Just to make sure Billy isn't going through what happened to Will the last alternate-dimension-go-around.

They make plans to head out to see the two Hoppers after Steve's shift. Come up with a basic timeline of when and where Billy thinks he saw Neil so they have something to start with for Hop. Put together an idea of how involved Billy wants to be in whatever plan Hop comes up with. They're interrupted by a group of girls swanning into the shop and Steve being yelled at by Robin to get himself back to work. As he gets up from the table Steve levels Billy with a look that makes the blond think about the way Max and the kids described Steve when they talked about how he fought off the pack of demodogs in the junkyard, planting himself between them and snarling snapping danger like Galahad himself.

Steve looks him in the eyes and says "I swear Billy, we're going to get through this, we'll take care of it and keep you and the girls safe. Hop knows what's going on and even Callahan can't get away with letting that piece of shit fall through the cracks after what he pulled." He leans in close and bites out probably louder than he should for the amount of people in the shop, "And if that fucker gets near any of you I've got Darling in Baby's trunk and I am not afraid to use her on a human shaped monster instead."

Author's (rambler's) Notes:

So, that's all I have for season 3 rn I am so sorry. 😭 I'm working on the next bit but I am so burnt out recently and now I'm unemployed cause of the ceiling at my job caving in which does not help the stress. So I unfortunately do not have a timeframe for you. 🥲 A couple of folks asked to be tagged so... Here you are? To be fair I'm not making any promises in regards to the taglist in the future, I will do my damnedest and y'all will have to bear with me.

I'm glad people are liking this and tbh this has gotten more attention than I expected so thanks? I appreciate the appreciation of my ramblings. Feel free to scream at/with me about this au in my asks box and I'll respond when/as I can. I'm just glad people are enjoying this. 🙃

@heartsong18

@knightofthieves

[every-dayiwakeup]

It says a lot that this fandom is willing to bend over backward to manufacture abuse victims out of their favorite characters.

I don't care how you feel about Billy Hargrove. He was an abuse victim. Your personal feelings don't take away the fact that he was abused. Suck it up.

You would rather make up hcs and pretend your favs are victims than pack up your pitiful circus act, because that'd be admitting you don't actually care about abuse victims, racism, or homophobia.

Which of course, we knew already.

You cannot accept Billy Hargrove as an abuse victim because he's not what you had in mind when you thought of victims.

I am an abuse survivor and I'd like to know who you think your performance activism is helping. It's certainly not me.

You pretend you're doing this for victims but you turn around and attack those you claim to be helping. I have to say, bravo on gaslighting yourselves lmao.

Racism, abuse, and homophobia aren't going away because of your cyberbullying.

Abuse victims/survivors aren't, either. Like it or not, we exist. If you think we enjoyed going through traumatizing experiences, here's a hint... maybe you're not the renounced psychologists no one ever thought you were.

You're the ones on our turf, so go find a snail to help across the road or something.

[wixterirox]

it’s actually so bizarre how this fandom freaked out and called Eddie a groomer for flirting with an 18 year old but then blamed Billy for Karen flirting and almost having sex with him

[fanatics4l]

that entire scene of billy being taken can literally be interpreted as a metaphorical rape scene. he's dragged downstairs by his ankles to an abandoned basement in the middle of nowhere while he's thrashing and screaming for help. the mindflayer holds him down and enters his mouth while he continues to struggle. when he's free, he runs away to his car and drives off to the nearest phone booth because he's terrified that it's following him.

he doesn't know what to tell the 911 operator, would they believe him? it all seemed very unrealistic. he has flashbacks and starts dissociating, replaying the scene in his mind, specifically the scene when it enters his mouth. and then he's faced with himself. the other billy represents the side of him that feeds his degrading emotions.

this is literally a metaphorical rape scene i don't know what to tell y'all. the way will's kidnapping can also be interpreted as a child predator holding a child hostage and violating him. joyce's initial thoughts must've been that her son was kidnapped by a sick person. and the fact that they found will unconscious with something forced in his mouth?? metaphorical assault scene.

and billy's shower scene? the black veins represent the phantom touches and pain left behind by his rapist. he's showering because he wants it off him but it's not going away. he's starting to dissociate and the memories are hitting him full force again.

do the duffers realize this connection? the show would be outstanding if they acknowledged the general theme of vecna/the MF representing an abuser/rapist who specifically targets troubled children because they're easier to manipulate.

[minxchester]

I need more of the tiktoks and posts that say, "We need more male victim representation? You didn't care about them" to include Billy Hargrove

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

In the book, written by the Duffers, Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down, the Duffers have repeatedly said that Billy Hargrove is abusive, a monster, and the Duffers compare him to Brenner. In fact, he was designed to be even more dangerous to the young heroes. To me that me that means he was definitely going to murder Lucas, then Steve, then Max before going after the other kids as well. Billy Hargrove and Henry Creel are perfect examples of victims who can also be monsters at the same time. It doesn't give them a free pass to hurt people. It just makes you understand them. Max doesn't need her abusive older stepbrother back. She has better examples for older siblings when wakes up: Steve, Robin, Nancy, Jonathan, Argyle, and Eddie. Those are the people who she deserves by her side. And for people who get mad at Max for wanting the abuse to stop: Max was the one you were supposed to root for. She was the one Billy was supposed to be responsible for, and instead, he physically and mentally hurt her. Yes, Billy was a victim, but Max was a victim too because Billy turned her into one. So many of the characters are flawed, but they're heroes who have made mistakes, and as decent people, they have made up for them. Billy isn't a good person who's just flawed. He's a villain, a human monster who did one good thing, but that one good thing doesn't make up for the circle of abuse he passed onto to Max. For him trying to kill Lucas or trying to kill Steve. Dacre Montgomery should be applauded for playing a wonderful villain, Jamie Campbell Bower, too. Don't forget that they are villians like Brenner. As much as I don't like the Duffers, this is their story, and they did do a great job with these characters as well as picking out the actors who played them. It just baffles me how people can be blind to someone's evil ways just because the character is pretty. Anyway, one more month, and we can celebrate the death of the evil villain that is Billy Hargrove.