#cherryrecs

For @gothyringwald’s brilliant  Harringrove Feedback Fest 

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ORGANISING!) 

#1 Boss by @flippyspoon

(It has ERICA! Being amazing and sorting things out for Billy like the boss she is! Oh it’s funny and sweet and there’s BABYSITTER’S CLUB references! Utterly brilliant!)

A Clean Run by @mourntheantagonist

(Autocross rally car driving Billy. I LOVE that Billy has this whole other life that’s JUST his, and how he wants to introduce Steve to it. The perfect blend of fun, romance and (of course) a little hit of angst along the way!)

Baby, can you see through the tears? by @pretty-bratty

(Delicious BDSM fun, with a brilliantly bratty Steve and a Billy who knows when to give firmness and when he needs softness.

Billy Hargrove’s Exploration of Beauty (series) by @mourntheantagonist 

(Billy learning that he can be pretty and WANT to be pretty and Steve being so so good at helping him with it all. An utterly stunning series. I LOVE the chapters where we see Billy through other people’s eyes too, and see his found family growing, person by person🥰)

Billy Hargrove Needs A Nap by lilpeas

(Stunning. Touch starved Billy getting the sleep and the care and the love he needs. I can never look at cherry tomatoes without grinning now!)

Bruises on Both my Knees (For You) by @bentnotbroken1fanfiction

(Utterly delicious BDSM fic with SO MUCH heart)

Cherry by @lazybakerart 

(There aren’t enough words of praise for how much I adore this fic. The feelings it gives me, STILL gives me after multiple rereads. Love it. So much.)

Goodnight, Moon by @flippyspoon

(Billy and Steve solving their sleeping issues by sleeping with each other is a top tier trope AND it’s written by Flip- WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE? It’s cute and fluffy and soft and absolutely delightful.)

How Near You Stand To Me by @boudoirwriter

(Oh this is dark and delicious and the ANGST and the pain of both Billy and Steve is glorious. Heed the tags, because it does go to some dark places, but I am salivating with every update (one came out while I was at work and I holed up in the bathroom for half of my lunch break because I couldn’t wait to read it!))

lamp-bright rind by @nagdabbit

(Chef!Billy teaching Steve how to cook! Another one of those which has lodged into my heart (and I do think of it whenever I sharpen my knives!). Billy has the perfect amount of edge and attitude (but he’s so soft for Steve!) while Steve just can’t see how good and capable he actually is. Love it so much!)

night of the fuzzballs by @gothyringwald

(Gremlins-y critter horror that is SO DAMN delightful! I can see and hear this one so vividly, it feels EXACTLY like a Stranger Things Halloween Special episode!)

The Last Time In Hawkins by @callieb

(A gorgeously protective, brave Billy and the future he deserves. Beautiful writing.)

these arms of mine by @gothyringwald

(Billy and Steve and their own, very them prom night. So utterly perfectly romantic and OH I get tingles every time I reread it!)

Shaped Like Home by @kingsandsaints

(CHUBBY Steve! And such perfect dialogue and cooking lessons (I STILL think of ‘dusty boys’ whenever I use ground herbs!) and the hurt and angst that hits JUST right before we get some gorgeous comfort too. LOVE IT.)

Shelter (See Me Through) by @gypsymishka

(Hopper taking Billy in is trope I go WILD for, and it’s done SO WELL here. Billy’s pain and everything he’s suffered breaks my heart, but there is a strong undercurrent of love from Steve and Hop, and a real hope that things will get better for him soon.)

Switch Your Partner Round and Round by @platypanthewriter

(Body switching fun with some laugh out loud moments (And also some ‘my heart is breaking for both these boys’ moments too!) Pan writes with such a brilliantly engaging style and has so many wonderful ideas that I could rec SO MUCH of their stuff, so start with this and then check out the rest!)

Take Me Home Tonight by @prettyboyporter

(TEACHER FIC!! Yes!! Steve and Billy meeting again as teachers and getting to have the fun, cute friendship and relationship that they deserve, but still with that hint of high school rivalry! SUCH wonderful writing (because of COURSE! It’s Tee!) and oh some HOT HOT HOT moments too!)

The Sun is Up, The Sky is Blue by @prettyboyporter

For @gothyringwald‘s  Harringrove Feedback Fest

Starting with @aspartaeme MY BELOVED ghost bat Queen of Darkness who is probably dancing around in a meadow going full Kate Bush right now. She is one of those writers who is SO SO good that you wanna be jealous, but then you talk to them and realise how damn lovely they are and you just want MORE of what they have to offer- scraps of dialogue written on a Post-It; hints of a plot tapped out at 3am; the vaguest idea for an AU. EVERYTHING IS GOLD. But...let’s try and pick just a few. FIRST of all, I’m going to annoy her angsty heart entirely by reccing her fluffy bring your arms around me (fast) which has love notes and sick!fic moments and one of the best Robins I have ever read on top of a gloriously real and natural feeling Harringrove romance. Perfection. Then orange juice which has X-Files and 90s Steve being a priss and hot hot sex and a surprisingly sweet Billy and I CAN’T give too much away because you just need to lose yourself in this and feel it around you. And finally everything you own (in a little black case). It’s short but GOD there is so much packed in here. It hurts and then it heals and I read it with a song buzzing round my head and a warmth inside me and I want to cry with the depth of the feelings it leaves behind.  Like, this is not even 1.5k but she’s got into Billy and his depths and laid him out with everything exposed. Beautiful.

I could easily rec EVERYTHING by @passivenovember Every single line she writes has me either gasping with how beautiful it is or giggling at how perfectly she’s captured Billy or Steve’s dialogue, and that’s BEFORE I even get started on how brilliantly she writes kid!fic which is my ultimate weakness. Oh I will yell FOREVER about how good Jaz’s fics are because she shines so brightly and deserves to have everyone see how amazing she is! BUT, for this, I’m gonna narrow it down to: One that broke my heart (Super Dark Times), One that fixed it back up (I Know Why the Bird Takes Flight), and One where she does something so clever with the style and grammar that I find a new thing to be amazed by every time I reread it (Friend for the End of the World) AND her April prompts (Wildflower) ESPECIALLY anything with Dawn and Joey! Like I said, she can turn her hand to pretty much any theme and whip up something utterly divine.

Next up is @ihni who is an absolute quadruple threat of a skilled author, a brilliant artist, a dream of a commenter and the most lovely friend you could ever want (with a superb taste in candy!) It seems like too much goodness for one person, but Ihni is just THAT brilliant! Again, ANYTHING of hers is a delight and you will not be disappointed, but I’ll try and pick my absolute favourites! I think my heart will forever be stolen by the way she interpreted the Cocktober prompts and gave us A cock named Phil . I still think of him now, causing chaos! This is one of those fics that never fails to cheer me up, and the sweetness of Steve and Billy’s relationship shines through in every single chapter! And then there’s Of Cats and Men which has such a perfectly natural Harringrove build-up with a slightly mean Steve and a Billy showing his soft side and KITTENS. It’s another one of those I revisit regularly, and it’s full of scenes which have lodged themselves into my heart with sharp kitten claws and will never let go. And OH, how can I NOT rec Five times that someone gave Billy the shovel talk ? Such a heartwrenching fic which started off making me grin and then turned into the most perfect blend of Billy centric hurt/comfort. I STILL remember the pain of this one vividly, and the way I had to stop and pace the room for a bit before reading on, because the hurt was just THAT good.

I have to rec @heck-in-a-handbasket who bowls me over with everything she writes, especially the Pretty Woman AU Take Me Home Tonight which did that thing where it worms into your heart and soul and brain and just never lets go, so you spend whole nights thinking of scenes from it and feeling your heart break and go all fuzzy all over again. Plus it’s HOT. So damn hot. And there’s a Part Two! From Billy’s POV! Like I wasn’t broken ENOUGH! AND as if that amount of talent wasn’t enough, Heck also wrote Little Red Corvette containing one of my ultimate favourite Harringrove tropes which is ‘Billy getting some good adult role models’. But yes. Prepare for your heart to utterly break, once again, over Billy Hargrove and his trauma.  But. Again. ANYTHING. ANYTHING Heck has written is bound to be golden.

For @gothyringwald‘s  Harringrove Feedback Fest

I HAVE to start this with @ihni ​ and her doodles because HOW CAN I NOT? They’re a fandom staple! (And yes I HAVE linked to her entire Doodle tag because going throught them ALL is a glorious way to spend a few minutes. I STILL laugh out loud at her genius and her comedy, and then one will hit me which is just such a perfect, romantic moment that my heart fills with love.) Naturally gonna pick the adorable Demon Billy one she did for my fic! (And OH that feeling when Ihni spots one of your fics or posts and is like ‘yeah I’m gonna doodle this?? UNPARALLELED! I was grinning for like a week after she did this!) All of her April prompts were genius, but I’m gonna have to pick Butterflies because of Steve’s lil love struck expression and then the hilarity that is Billy in the second one! Pure cartoon flailing!! And then, for a different seasons vibes, here’s a wintery one that got me thinking of so many lovely ‘Billy’s first snow’ thoughts.

And OK. A SECOND bullet point for @ihni ​ cause she can ALSO do these heart stoppingly beautiful realistic pieces like Flower Crown Billy and then ones that break your heart like This Billy and THEN such an adorable, beautiful lil Steve. And. Yeah. Basically go and look at Inhi’s Art tags and just lose yourself for a whole morning. You will thank me!

Now  @monochromegee is my beloved. EVERYTHING they draw is gold and has me gasping from how utterly brilliant their mind is. Lake is my happy place. It is beyond adorable and I have saved it to look at whenever I need an instant happiness boost.  The same goes for their Raccoon pic, just LOOK at Billy’s face! And then the emotion that Gold stirs in me still? Those EYES? Glorious. Mono’s Media tab on Twitter is a DELIGHT to go through.

@juu-riin  is a GENIUS. THEIR MIND. Their ideas! Lost in the Supermarket Billy and Steve (Parts 1 and 2) still have my giggling at Steve’s FACE and Billy’s whole EVERYTHING. And their doodles. It’s impossible to actually pick a favourite BUT there is such a mix of things like cute shell collecting and hilarious domestic boys and drunk!Steve antics and you just KNOW you’re in for a treat when they share a thread of them! And then they ALSO do things like Monster Hunting Boyfriends which is EVERYTHING! If you are every feeling any kind of sadness, Julie’s art will heal you RIGHT back up.

@opaldraws ​ OH OPAL! Softness and sweetness and such lovely drawings that make me melt into a puddle! Slightly NSFW lingerie boys has me salivating! LOOK at Billy’s arms and Steve’s moles and that beautiful lacy lingerie and the look of love and lust in their eyes! And then she goes and fixes Season 3 by giving us the ending we deserved (my HEART is healed with this one). And then this one of Steve in THAT perfect outfit because we ALL need more of that look in our lives!

@gravegroves ​ is​ another one of those artists who blows me away every single time they post! I salivate over their sneak peaks, and then I am just lost for words when they post masterpieces like Rainbow Billys (which shows how incredibly skilled they are! The different hairstyles and expressions?? I could (and most likely DID) stare at every single one for hours! And the Billy playing Violin one? It just conjures up SUCH an atmosphere, a whole story playing out so vividly that I can SEE him moving and playing, I can HEAR the music, I can SEE Steve standing there watching, and the moment that Billy notices and doesn’t even falter, doesn’t even miss a note, just raises an eyebrow and smirks and maybe instantly segues his tune into one that’s a little in-joke between him and Steve. So, yeah. Their art INSPIRES me. And I’m sure it’ll inspire you too.

@lazybakerart ​ pretty much got me into this fandom, first with fic and then with art.  They’re another artist I could just rec absolutely anything by and your jaw would drop and you’d be instantly hooked on their work BUT I HAVE to show off their Valentine’s Cards because I STILL grin everytime I see them. Those expressions! THAT HAIR! So utterly unmistakably LazyBaker!  And then there’s His and His Too which is so heartwarming and SO THEM. Just LOOK at Billy’s smirk! And that hand hold! 🥰 And this Street Surfing Billy where I can just FEEL those long, hot summer nights, I can HEAR the music from the houses and the cars he passes, and then the long stretches where it’s nothing but the whoosh of his wheels on the asphalt (until he skids to a halt outside a certain Loch Nora house of course and a pretty boy kisses all his freckles...)

@sasha-uria I w​ill NEVER tire of looking at their cosy nerd Billy and cosy romantic Steve and feeling an utter wave of calm and warm wash over me. And there are just so many little details to notice- Steve’s hand on the necklace, Billy’s lil curls and his bun, the pillows and rumpled sheets that you KNOW are squishy and sleep warm and just...COSY. That’s the vibe!

For @gothyringwald brilliant Harringrove Feedback Fest  

@amikoroyaiart

(I am in LOVE with her style! Especially these Fashion Kings!- I could spend hours just looking at all the different outfits she draws! And this PERFECT one of them both in their S3 outfits both looking at each other with such adoration! AND these cool cats with shades and bonus Robin! (but seriously! ALL of her stuff is amazing, Harringrove and beyond!)

@avalonlights

(SO MUCH SKILL HERE! Oh my GOSH! THIS one with smug Steve and surprised Billy has me grinning and I love the different expressions and hairstyles! And then some lovely domesticity with a pose that shows how relaxed and comfortable they are with each other.)

@awrble

(I could probably fill a whole post with how much I ADORE their art! Every piece is GOLD. I have to start with this beautiful Hairwashing one, so damn tender and lovely, I adore Billy bruises and Steve’s lil chest hair patch!! And then OH this rope bondage one with such gorgeous scars on Billy (and his SHORT HAIR!) and the intricate ropework and then Steve’s look of utter love and tenderness. Love it.)

@babysitterpng

(Their catboy keyrings make me smile whenever I have to lock my door and leave for work at some unholy hour in the morning, for that ALONE they deserve all the praise! But also for this stunning beach pic of the two boys getting the happiness and the fun and the future they deserve together AND for Cold Hands Steve and his cocky boyfriend getting his comeuppance! Again, a piece that radiates such a fun, jokey, happy relationship for them both!)

@darkmystdrake

(Another artist with SUCH a jaw-dropping style! I am always in awe of the way their draw hair and muscle! LOOK at this one with Billy taking Steve by total surprise! Steve’s soft sweater and Billy’s hard ridges of muscle are just such a delicious juxtaposition! And then OMG such CUTENESS with Billy and Steve wrapped up warm for winter and cuddling a KITTY!)

@gabbia

(SO many wonderful art pieces and creations and OH their blog is packed with delights. I LOVE starting at kneeling, good boy Billy and wondering exactly what kind of reward Steve is going to give him. And this lovely, happy beach one which fills me with sunshine and peace. Utterly perfect!)

@wrecked-fuse