#benny stranger things

[laurienotteddy]

another! part 4/?

pt. 1 - pt. 2 - max - pt. 3

[bubblegumbarbie33]

Rip to that guys named Benny from Stranger Things s1e1 who got shot in the face you a real one

[hairstevington]

i'm counting the days to the rapture

Summary: Benny wakes up in his diner, completely alone. He's in Hawkins, but something is different about it. Not quite Hawkins. He's somewhere else. (Link to Ao3)

Word Count: 516 (this one is mostly just a teaser!)

Warnings: Talks of death, Benny's POV of events from episode 1, nothing serious yet

A/N: Okay! I am biting the bullet and diving into this idea I've had brewing for a few months! Unlike my other stories, this one is not centered on any particular pairing and instead is more about trauma, healing, and grief. The idea is that each (named) character who canonically dies in the show shows up in order, and they all process their lives together. But! This story isn't all somber and melancholy - they start piecing things together as time goes on, and come to find this isn't quite the afterlife. As usual, I will put the first few chapters on Tumblr and the rest will be on my Ao3, so hop on over there if you like what you read!

Benny woke up on the floor of his restaurant with a headache from hell. He clutched the back of his skull, wincing as if there was an injury there, but the skin was smooth. 

He sat up and looked around to find the room completely empty. He didn’t know what time it was, or how long he’d been out. 

Wait, why am I on the floor? What happened?

He tried to recall the last thing he was conscious of. There was a little girl. He called social services. They showed up. Then, bang. 

Wait.

Bang? 

That didn’t make sense. Then again, a girl with a shaved head randomly breaking into the kitchen and stealing food was abnormal too. Oh, she had been so scared. He hoped she was okay.

And then he came to the only plausible conclusion - social services knocked him out and took her away.

He was filled with anger and concern. If they’d knocked him out, then those folks weren’t the good guys. He had no idea where the girl was or if she was safe. Maybe he’d led her right back to the people she was running from.

Shit.

Benny stood up and walked to his phone. He dialed the Sheriff’s personal number. Even if it were late, they’d been friends for a while - he would understand. The line seemed to be disconnected, so Benny figured he’d changed his number again or something. But then he dialed the number to the police station, and that was disconnected too.

So was 911. 

He rushed outside to get fresh air, only to find the world much quieter than it had ever been. No hum from Hawkins Lab, no birds singing or crickets chirping. It was nighttime, that much was clear. Otherwise, this hardly resembled the town he knew so well. 

He was somewhere else. 

It was like a mirrored version of his home, or perhaps a copy. Something that was nearly the same, but just missed the mark. Worst of all, it was terribly empty. He’d never been one to believe in spirits or auras or mystical energies or anything like that, but he immediately understood that there was no one around him. All his years thus far he’d spent feeling life around him, and now there was none. It was an instinctual understanding. An absence that chilled him to the bone. 

There wasn’t much that could be done, at least not this night. He walked back inside, checking the freezers and fryers. Fresh food was still there, at least. He decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Benny cooked himself a meal in that empty diner, waiting for something to happen. Time didn’t feel the same here, wherever he was. It wasn’t necessarily unpleasant, just lonely - then again, he’d always liked being alone. 

And then, at some point, a teenage girl wandered in - wide-eyed under wire-rimmed glasses. 

“Hey,” Benny said, stunned at the company. “Where’d you come from?”

“I just climbed out of an empty pool,” she responded. She took a deep, shaky breath. “I - I’m pretty sure I’m dead.”

(part 2)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist! (kind of guessing on this because it's a gen story so if anyone wants to be removed or added please let me know!)

@skjachukson @manda-panda-monium @twcatelgatitodetwitter @renaissan-vvitch @disastardly @goodolefashionedloverboi @depressed-gays-of-marvel @smolbasilboy @bunnyweasley23 @alliemunsonsstuff

[myfriendmike]

I'll never forgive that old lady in season 1 for killing benny. he was so pure 😭

[chrisbitchtree]

The Stranger Things Wiki states that Benny is single. This is completely false, as at least in the wonderland of my mind, he’s in a loving and committed relationship with Mr. Clarke. He did not die, and they’re Hawkins cutest couple.

[thechaosdomain]

The phone had rung in the middle of the day waking one Wayne Munson up from the restless sleep he was not even close to enjoying, groaning and grumbling he pushes himself off the couch and gruffly answers the phone

“What?” He asks

He stares down in disbelief at the phone the words hopper had just said not really sinking in as he continues to stare at the phone. He feels frozen, he thinks in shock, grief? He’s not sure but he knows he doesn’t like it, doesn’t like the ice slowly numbing his body from the inside out. With a deep breath he puts the phone back in its cradle and makes his body move over to the couch he’s been sleeping on since Eddie came to live with him years ago, sitting down heavily he lets his head fall into his hands. It only feels like a second paces but it must have been hours because Eddie opening the trailer door with spot much force and announcing his presence snaps him back to reality.

“I’m back , hope you didn’t miss me too much, old man.” Eddie teases his uncle whilst kicking his white trainers off, Wayne can’t even bring himself to smile at his nephew's antics.

“Woah you look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Eddie comments flopping down onto the couch beside Wayne and that's what sends Wayne Munson tumbling over the edge, has all the loss and sadness and grief that’s been building up since Hopper had called him to let him know Benny had been found dead. The sheriff had said it was because he knew Wayne and Benny were close, the implication not lost on Wayne he knew it wasn’t the best kept secret but they’d liked to pretend that people hadn’t known about their relationship.

Tears dripped from his eyes down his weather worn skin till they dropped off his chin landing on his hands. He didn’t like crusting in front of Eddie but he also knew he’d raised the kid not to hide his emotions so he did his best to do the same to not hide from his nephew even when he wanted to.

“Oh shit are you okay what happened?” Eddie's voice has a frantic panic to it, Wayne knows it’s because he wants to help but doesn’t know how it has always been his nephew's way so fast to want to fix things to try and make people smile.

“Chief called, Benny’s dead.” Wayne Munson states not feeling the need to drag this moment out so he’s surprised when the sentence catches in his throat turning into an almost silent sob. He feels Eddie's wiry arms wrap around him tightly squeezing.

“I’m sorry.” The boy says sounding so sad

“I know he was important to you.” Eddie adds sniffling slightly and it hits Wayne that Benny was gone for good never coming back Wayne would never see him again and than it feels like the worlds falling apart and all the man can do is wrap his arms around Eddie like a life line and hope to god that nothing ever happens to him because he doesn’t think he can handle any more lose.

[netflixnormalthings]

if yall can gaslight yourselves into thinking eddie is still alive then barb, benny, and alexei are all alive and well thank you very much

[shapeofaperson]

Because I'm not ok with Billy winning in this poll. I decided to make a new one:

(In my personal opinion every single one of them deserves justice)

[totally-unfounded-headcanons]

ok i know this will literally never happen but how about the s5 finale brings back everyone as spirits/avatars in the upside down. memory ghosts? alternate dimensions? evil energy to fight against the people who loved them? literally so many ways they could be used. duffer brothers, dm me for details

[maxinemay]

my mum has really bad luck with her favourite characters.

s1 her fav was benny and he died in episode 1 and she’s still upset about it

then in s2 it was bob and we all know how that went

then it was alexei. :( and hopper.

my mum is very much traumatised now

[strangertfandom]

You can only save ONE! who would it be?

[yourfavtoenail]

We must never forget

BENNY, THE MAN WHO SACRIFICED HIMSELF FOR THIS LOVELY GIRL RIGHT HERE

also Bob slayed as a father you can like jopper/hopper and still like Bob

[easilyentertained99]

who remembers this bitch

cause i never see anyone talk about her. i don't even think about her. this is the first time she's ever crossed my headspace. did you know her name is agent connie frazier? i didn't, i had to google 'stranger things villain woman' like an idiot.

[hairstevington]

i'm counting the days to the rapture (Part 2 - Barbara)

Summary: Barb wakes up and contemplates what happened to her. Eventually, she decides to turn lemons into lemonade. (part 1, link to Ao3)

Word Count: 2.2K

Warnings: Teenage girl angst but it's Barb so it's iconic, otherwise idk this fic is all about the topic of life and death but that's about it for warnings!

A/N: Ao3 is down and idk what to do with myself so here's the next chapter! I love writing Barb and am excited to have her as a main character. This chapter is inspired by the song "Last Man on Earth" by Anna Bates. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was like waking up from the worst nightmare she’d ever had. 

Barb gasped for air as she sat up, clawing at her neck and stomach, fighting against something that was no longer there. She halted, realizing that it had all been a dream. 

Oh, thank goodness. 

She closed her eyes and breathed until she felt centered again. If the monster attacking her had been a dream, everything leading up to it must have been as well - the party at Steve’s house, Nancy going up those stairs…

Barb was so relieved she nearly burst into tears. What a horrible, miserable, tragic dream. 

She opened her eyes to find that she wasn’t in her bedroom. She wasn’t in any bedroom actually. She wasn’t even in a bed. It was a bit dark, but she was sitting in an open space, hard concrete beneath her, the night sky above. It was quiet, the temperature cool. 

She blinked a few times and stood up, her vision slowly adjusting to the lack of light. A ladder was beside her, so she climbed up - and that’s when she recognized where she was. 

Oh. Oh, my.

She was still at Steve Harrington’s house, where she’d been in her dream, but the pool was empty now. Why would it be empty? They’d just been swimming in it. Did she fall in and then they drained it and left her there? If it had been a dream, why was she still here? Unless, she was still dreaming…

Well, this didn’t really make much sense at all. She pinched herself, but remained where she was. Steve’s house was completely dark on the inside - no Steve, no Nancy, no Tommy, and no Carol. Just Barb - alone, confused, and surrounded by that deafening silence. 

The world was still.

Nothing around her felt like it had any life to it. She didn’t have the words to explain it. Why would she? She was a sixteen year old girl who never wanted to go to that stupid party in the first place. Up until that night, Barb had lived a nice, normal life. She had great parents who supported and loved her, a best friend she could tell everything to, and big aspirations to go to college and travel the world. What else could a person want?

None of that existed here - she could just tell. She woke up somewhere else. Somewhere familiar, but foreign.

“Nancy?” she called out, hearing nothing but her own echo. “Nancy!”

Barb knew her best friend had a brief lapse in judgment, but in no world would Nancy have left her there. Barb checked herself for wounds but found none - not from whatever that beast was, nor from the knife she’d used when she tried to shotgun a beer (so stupid). 

She realized that her car was parked somewhere down the street - in theory, anyway. She figured that was a good place to start, so she headed that direction. As she walked, she pondered her situation some more. She knew deep down that she wasn’t still dreaming, but denying that and holding out hope she was provided a bit of comfort. 

It’s just that - she remembered what had happened to her, and she knew she was killed. Which meant wherever she was could very well be the afterlife. 

The Holland family went to church every Sunday, and Barb was no exception. She didn’t consider herself to be a very religious person, but her parents had strong faith, and Barb had lived her life to their standards. To God’s standards, really. Barb had never sinned - she’d had a few sips of wine with Nancy at a sleepover once or twice, but that was it. And was that even a sin, or just illegal?

None of that mattered, because this place wasn’t heaven. Didn’t quite feel like Hell, either. Purgatory? Maybe. 

Her car was there. She hadn’t really been expecting it to be, based on her luck so far that night, but she was grateful for it nonetheless.

And that’s when something else caught her eye - a billowing of smoke from beyond the trees, accompanied by the faint scent of something cooking. It was close, she could tell, but she didn’t want to walk there. Not near those woods, not with the monster still etched into her memory. So, she got into her car and drove toward it, winding down the road and around until she pulled up to Benny’s Burgers. She’d been there a few times with her parents, as a kid, and then once or twice with Nancy for milkshakes, but that was it. 

Usually, the diner was nothing special. Now, it seemed like the most exciting place of all time. 

Lights were on inside, music blaring. Barb could see a man through the window. She was thrilled to hear something fill the silence, to see light within the darkness, to feel life amidst the void. 

She stumbled to the door, stunned. It felt as if she were at the bottom of the lake, swimming to the surface. Once she was through the door frame, she could breathe again. 

“Hey,” the man said. “Where did you come from?”

She was more concerned about where she was now, but his question was still a valid one. 

“I just climbed out of an empty pool,” she explained, relieved that she was no longer alone in this. Whatever this was. “I - I’m pretty sure I’m dead.”

The man looked at her curiously. 

“Dead?” he asked, confused. “Well, you look fine to me. Can I make you something?” He wiped his hands on his pants and gestured to the kitchen behind him. Barb shrugged and nodded. 

“Milkshake?” she asked. Benny chuckled and shook his head. 

“You’re the second mysterious girl to show up here alone wanting ice cream,” he said as he turned towards the walk-in freezer. 

“You mean, there are other people around?” For a moment, she was hopeful again. Nancy and the others disappearing was weird, but she wasn’t thinking about that. There was probably an explanation, and everything was normal, and -

“Well, no,” he replied, sheepish. “Not that I’m aware. Although, I haven’t ventured that far if I’m honest.” 

Oh. Damn. 

He walked into the freezer and emerged with a tub of vanilla ice cream.

“So, who was the other girl?” Barb asked, desperate for more information. The man got a clean scoop from the dishes and heated it under hot water. 

“Dunno,” he replied. His face was almost forlorn. “She was here before I - well, before.” Barb nodded, slowly, taking all of this in. The man scooped the ice cream into a blender, poured milk in, and then suddenly the room was vibrant with noise - albeit unpleasant, grinding noise, but still. He clicked off the blender, and music coursed through the air once more. 

“So, what’s the last thing you remember?” she asked. “Like - I mean, what happened? When did you get here? How -?”

“Woah there, one thing at a time here,” the man said. He poured the milkshake in two glasses and sat down with her at a table, sliding one in front of each of them. “I haven’t been here that long, I don’t think. But it seems to be just me. Haven’t had a customer since I woke up.” They each took a sip. “Let’s start with you, though. How’d you end up here, uh - sorry, what’s your name?”

“Barb,” she answered. “You first.”

“Hmm, fair enough,” he responded. “I’m Benny, by the way. I run the place, as you probably figured out.”

Barb probably should have figured that out by now, but she hadn’t been thinking about it. Benny. That made sense. It was the first thing that had made sense so far.

“Thanks for the milkshake, Benny,” she said, drinking some more.

“You’re welcome, Barb,” he replied. “As to how I got here, well, uh - hmm. Yeah, I guess I’ve been thinking I died, too.”

“How?”

Benny stared at her with raised eyebrows.

“How did I die?” Barb nodded. “Oh, it’s - how old are you?”

“Sixteen.”

“Maybe a little young for this, then,” he muttered. “If what I think happened happened, it’s a bit violent.” Barb blinked a few times, unimpressed. 

“I was dragged around, attacked, and bit by a giant monster with no face,” she stated, matter of fact. Benny waited for her to say she was being sarcastic, but she stayed silent and unwavering. He shook his head. 

“Okay, kid. Point taken,” he told her. “Some woman I thought was from social services came in here and shot me in the head.”

Barb’s eyes widened in shock. 

“What? Why?” This time, Benny was the one to shrug. Barb sighed, then attempted once again to make a semblance of sense in all this. “Okay, so we’re dead. So are a billion other people. Maybe there’s more of us out there.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Benny said. “I guess I just - I’m happy here. I wish I knew what happened to that girl, but I got no way to find her. I don’t mind the quiet, and we still seem to have power and food and all that. I figure this ain’t much different than my life before.”

“Okay, well it’s - it’s a lot different from mine,” she countered. “I think I’m gonna go see what’s out there.”

“You’re leaving?” Benny asked, concerned. “But I - well, I dunno if it’s safe out there for ya.” Barb almost laughed. She’d always had a bit of a dark sense of humor.

“I’m already dead,” she said. Benny, mercifully, shared the same sense of humor and chuckled.

“Guess I won’t be able to convince ya not to, huh?” She shook her head. “Well, alright. You know where to find me. If you see a little girl with a shaved head, will you bring her back with you?”

“Sure,” she responded, not understanding the reference. “And I’ll run from anyone who claims to be from social services.” 

Benny laughed, then nodded. They finished their milkshakes, and then Barb left the diner and got into her car. 

Time to explore her new world.

-

Barb quickly learned she could do literally anything and get away with it. She started with speeding - that was an easy one. She could drive as fast as she wanted without much worry, especially on long straight roads. Nobody else was around, especially cops, so who cared? Not Barb!

She raided clothing stores and got a whole new wardrobe, including accessories. All things she’d always wished she could afford. She even took an evening gown from a bridal shop - what for? She figured she’d know when the time came. Then, for good measure, she took a second gown. Just in case she needed options in the hypothetical gala of the afterlife.

Gas stations still worked. A road trip seemed like a good idea. 

First, she went up North to Lake Michigan and spent her days in a lake house. It was too cold to hang out on the beach, but some of those winter nights were beautiful. She got to see the frozen water glimmer in the moonlight. She’d wake up and watch the snow fall outside the window. The season changed eventually to Spring and eventually Summer, but the days didn’t pass as they used to. It was more like one prolonged experience that felt neither too long nor too short.

Eventually, she left the lake house and decided to go to Nashville.

She listened to music (she'd also raided a record store and stolen a bunch of cassettes) and had the windows down, singing at the top of her lungs the whole drive. She started to think that maybe this whole thing wasn’t so bad. It was…freeing.

She stayed in fancy hotels and jumped on beds. She ran down hallways and swam in pools fully clothed. 

She walked through the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Her dad was a huge country fan, so she’d grown up listening to it. At that point, she figured since no one was around, no one would mind if she took something, right?

Barb decided on Bob Nolan’s black cowboy hat. It looked absolutely ridiculous on her, but no one was looking, so it didn’t matter.

She went to the Grand Ole Opry House, hopped on stage, and screamed as loud as she could.  She walked into bars and made disgusting drinks - she didn’t know much about alcohol, but she came to learn it tasted awful no matter what she mixed it with.  She laid on rooftops and watched the stars at night. She named new constellations when she didn’t remember the old ones. 

It took her a very long time to get bored, but she did eventually. She thought about venturing further into different parts of the country, but she had all the time in the world to do that - and that apparently wasn't an exaggeration. Instead, she headed back to Hawkins, where her mind still wandered to on occasion. Plus, she wanted to know how Benny was doing. She hadn’t found a single soul in Nashville in the months (?) she’d been away, and it had taken her twenty minutes to find someone back home, so perhaps there would be more waiting once she arrived. 

She was right.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PS next chapter is our man Bob Newby so stay tuned!!

Taglist! (kind of guessing on this because it's a gen story so if anyone wants to be removed or added please let me know! You can use replies, DMs, or the google form)

@skjachukson @manda-panda-monium @twcatelgatitodetwitter @renaissan-vvitch @disastardly @goodolefashionedloverboi @depressed-gays-of-marvel @smolbasilboy @bunnyweasley23 @alliemunsonsstuff

[ladyapplejackdnd]

Question to all and some blogs that I have tagged its about Stranger things and that is if Stranger things was set in 2000's and not the 80's would the people that have meet would they have meet each other or not and if they did how? Just want to hear your opinion on this

@eddie-van-munson @erosso @eddiemunsonswhxre @eddiemunsonssoulmate @eddiesmile @uglypastels @prettyboyeddiemunson @eddiesbug @eddieslvt