#carver theatre

[57884]

✩ Kiss of the Spider Woman dir. Harold Prince

Brent Carver (Luis Molina) & Anthony Crivello (Valentin Arregui Paz)

[fluctuating-fixations]

Ohhh Parade I feel so normal about the Parade Musical.

[technicolor-dreamss]

U know what Tumblr’s gonna get something before Instagram here’s this abstract kotsw caricature line thing I did idk these would be fire stickers or stamps or smthn

[greenonthefruittree]

reinvigorating my critical role obsession in regards to a certain falling out with the entirety of musical theatre

[bvtbxtch]

Movie Marathon | Eddie Munson

Day Thirteen of Kinktober

Summary: Five years after the Ghost face killer has ended his reign of terror on Hawkins, the local movie theatre has decided to host a premiere of the movie based off the massacre. You and Eddie decide to go and revel in his glory.

Pairings: Ghostface!Eddie Munson x Accomplice!Fem!Reader

wc: ~ 3.5k (it feels good to be back)

Content Warnings: This is porn with a plot so like normal, 18+ MDNI!!! Mentions of murder, stabbing, serial murder, blood, knifeplay, public sexual acts, handjobs, fingering, unprotected p in v sex (wrap it up pls), sadism and the idea of getting sexual pleasure from pain inflicted on others, choking, anal, squirting

A special thank you to everyone for the warm welcome back from my hiatus <3 y'all are amazing! Specific thank you to @darknesseddiem for being a wonderful friend and helping me through this month!!

Five years had passed since the massacre at Hawkins. Five years since 7 of your classmates died within the span of three weeks, and it has been four years since evidence was planted to put the wrong person away for the crimes. It had been three years since the story was picked up by some big wig film buff and today was the day of the Halloween screening of ‘Scream’.

Coincidentally, it was Halloween five years ago that you and Eddie Munson were rowing out to the middle of Lover’s lake with a weighted box full of bloody clothing, masks and knives. You had nothing to do with the murders, but that hardly mattered now. You were as guilty as your boyfriend now - hiding evidence, harboring a fugitive, obstructing justice, mutilating a corpse… you would go away for almost as long as he would at this point. You were in deep and as much as you hated to admit it, you loved the rush. You adored the desperation that Eddie had for you; begging and pleading for you to help him - to keep his secret, to keep him safe… You would do anything for your boyfriend… You think you have made that pretty clear. 

The movies were the icing on Eddie’s revenge porn cake. The seven that were murdered came from Eddie’s own personal list (which made it a surprise the idiot detectives didn’t put two and two together, but that’s what you get when bigwigs from the city come to a small town like Hawkins. You had both made sure protections were in place. Gareth and Jeff were to ensure that they told police about certain band practices and trips to the city for potential work with Corroded Coffin would corroborate with yours and Eddie’s stories.) and the satisfaction of swift justice allowing the teen to get away with it all? It stroked Eddie’s ego a dangerous amount. 

His ego had gotten you into this position, and as much as he scared you sometimes, his infatuation with his life’s work intrigued you. He riled you up talking about taking what was his just as much as he excited himself. The nights that he had come back from taking the lives he thought he was owed, you had earth shattering sex. The night you dumped all the evidence in Lover’s lake, he ate you out on the small canoe you rowed out like a man starved, like it would be his last time tasting you. You missed that feeling of desperation, that fear of getting caught, but you had a feeling that a literal fucking movie being made about your serial killer boyfriend might spark some new inspiration for the two of you…

-

You were fortunate that the late October weather was mild enough that the premiere of the movie based off of your sleepy little town could be hosted at the outdoor theater right down the road from Hawkins High (the exact place where three out of the seven bodies were found during the original massacre: Jason Carver, Patrick McKinney and Chace Williams hung up like scarecrows on the football posts by their intestines - a gruesome and impressive detail of their deaths). Eddie and you could sit in the back and revel in the glory that made him so anonymously infamous. Kids and teens alike flocked to the ampitheatre donned in their ghostface masks and cloaks like Eddie wore for each one of the massacres.  He told you it made the fear so much more satisfying, that watching the life drain from Chrissy Cunningham’s eyes in her own bedroom was much more satisfying thinking that it was just a shape of evil coming for her, not the freak of Hawkins High… The two of you quietly took your seats in the aisle of one of the back rows, glancing up at the projector screen in arousal and anticipation. Eddie was vibrating, the whole town coming to pay homage to him without even knowing it. He could hardly contain himself. You had to place your hand on his thigh to stop his leg from violently shaking. You flashed him a knowing look and rubbed circles into his upper thigh. There were laughs and joyous shrieks coming from the rest of the audience as everyone settled into their seats. You had lucked out, most people choosing to sit closer to the front, leaving your aisle empty, save for a group of teens sitting on the other end of the row. You could gloat in peace while being out of earshot. The stadium lights scattered around the theater seats flickered off and the air grew thick with anticipation. A cacophony of laughing, cheering and screaming echoed through the air as the opening credits began to roll…

-

You had only been 17 when you were thrust into Eddie’s plot. He had loathed you for a long time, being a cheerleader and in with the ‘it’ crowd, you had originally been on his kill list. When you had joined Hellfire at the beginning of the year (after much persuasion by the freshmen), you went from one of the people he loathed the most, to one of the people he loved the most. You and Eddie began dating in September, a month and a half before the murders took place. You had walked into his trailer unannounced - Eddie had just hung his cloak up in the bathroom and was cleaning the blood off of his hands when you found him. 

“Eddie?!” you gasped. You had felt all of the blood drain from your face and your limbs had gone numb. You laugh when you think back to how terrified you were at first - the poor little lamb. Eddie had rushed you with his knife in his hands, someone’s blood still decorating the handle. He slammed you against the trailer wall and held the knife to your throat. You wanted to cry, you wanted to scream, but there was a sense of peace. You knew that Eddie wasn’t going to actually hurt you, you could sense it. 

“So, it was you all along?” you whispered. Eddie was flabbergasted. You didn’t ask out of fear, but out of wonder. You were impressed. There was nothing in your eyes, nothing like what he had just seen out of Patrick McKinney’s deep brown irises. Still, he kept his jaw clenched and he pressed the cold tip of the knife into the skin on your throat. You winced at the contact, but didn’t plead like he thought you would. 

“Don’t worry, babe. I’ll keep your secret.” You had gulped. You dared to raise your hand to grab his wrist and pull his armed hand away from your throat. Allowing only a beat, his mouth was on yours. You had only ever had sex once before, and never with Eddie, but there was a primal desire that was missing from the first time you did it. Eddie trailed the knife down your body, using it to tear away at your T-Shirt. You knew you should have been more scared, you should have run, or at least told him to wait until he wasn’t cleaning someone’s fucking blood off of himself before he fucked you… but his magnetism was too strong, you felt like you couldn’t help yourself. It was like that after every kill. It was like that after every time you went to hide evidence. You listened intently to Eddie’s plans, and the more he told you, the more you agreed with him. Vengeance against the people who made his childhood and life a living hell seemed pretty warranted to you. 

-

The movie progressed and you could feel Eddie growing antsy in his seat. With each slash on the big screen, Eddie’s breath hitched. You slid your hand up further to the apex of his thigh and you could feel the tip of his cock standing at attention against the denim. 

“You getting yourself all hot and bothered seeing your work, baby?” You whispered into his ear, finishing off your question with a bite to the mop headed man’s earlobe. You heard him shutter against your touch as you rubbed against his growing erection. You grabbed at him through the denim and he moaned quietly. Your bodies moved together while your eyes stayed glued to the meathead and his bimbo girlfriend getting diced on screen.

“You think that’s supposed to be Billy and Heather? Or do you think they’re trying to make connections between Andy and Chrissy? You know how everyone said they were boning behind Carver’s back” Eddie snorted and you couldn’t help but giggle along with him.

“Nah, that’s definitely Heather and Hargrove” you cooed, squeezing hard on Eddie’s cock, making the laughter fizzle out in his throat. He cleared his throat to cover the moans that were desperate to escape his mouth. “This broad has a lifeguard bathing suit hanging out of her closet there, see?” You pointed to the blurred red fabric in the background of the shot, a beautiful brunette with blood all over her face took the main frame. Eddie’s head lolled back as his eyes rolled. He already felt so good, but he wanted to push it. He wanted to feel the danger he did the first night. 

While you stroked his angry, hard cock, Eddie shimmied his hand into his back pocket. You didn’t notice until you felt something cold on your tight-clad inner thigh.You look down to see Eddie’s pocket knife pressed into the meat of your thigh, right above the hem of your pleated skirt. Your breath hitched as you huffed a small smile at your boyfriend. 

“Better be careful, babe. Wouldn’t want this knife to slip” With the end of his words, Eddie’s knife pressed slightly into your skin to snag your tights. You squeaked out a moan from the surprise sting of the knife nicking your upper thigh. Eddie leaned in impossibly close, his lips rested right by your left ear.

“Ah, ah, ah… don’t want us to get caught, right, dolly? Who knows what kind of trouble we would get in.” His dark chuckle sent shivers down your spine. “Now sit back and behave for me baby. I want to celebrate. You nodded your head feverishly and looked around at the audience at a distance from you. No one was the wiser about either of your arousal, to the sweet nothings you whispered to each other. Fuck, you wished no one else was here so Eddie could take you right then and there. Your pussy quivered at the thought and you were suddenly hyper aware of how badly you needed the metalhead to touch you. You turned your head to the left and nuzzled yourself into Eddie’s neck, your lips finding Eddie’s sweet spot. You suckled at him while continuing your teasing assault on his throbbing cock.

“Eddie… please… touch me” you begged between kisses on his neck. You could hear a shaky breath escape him, and felt his Adam’s apple bob. He was losing control rapidly. He moved the knife away from your body and into his other hand, allowing his fingers to hook themselves into the hole he had made in your tights and tear. Luckily his actions and your moans in response coincided with the scream queen’s tits being splayed across the screen, resulting in a roar of laughter and cheers. Eddie’s spry fingers took no time to pull your soaked panties to the side. His digits entered you with minimal resistance. 

“Fuck, baby… you’re so wet for me already.” the boy growled in approval. “You tried to keep quiet, but your mewls couldn’t be contained by your bitten lips. Eddie moved the knife to the side of your ribs and poked you softly with it’s tip. “Now, dolly, we talked about this,” he chided as he added another finger to your pulsating cunt. “You make noise, we get in trouble, and then I gotta kill whoever the fuck snitches and then you get punished.” Eddie’s words went straight to your core and you could feel the heat in your abdomen growing molten hot. You could faintly hear the slick of your own essence being pumped in and out of you by Eddie’s fingers. You tried to undo Eddie’s jeans but he pushed the knife into your skin and you winced, a small bead of blood dripping onto the tip of the knife.

“I’m not done with you yet, dolly. You can’t have my cock yet.” Eddie raised the knife to your mouth, for the first time since the movie started, his eyes met yours. They glinted wildly in the light of the screen. He narrowed his eyes, demanding you to open your mouth and stick out your tongue. You obliged him and he rested the knife on your tongue, leaving you to the shock of tasting your own metallic blood. You cleaned off his knife for him without averting his gaze. Before you knew it, Eddie had removed his fingers from you and grabbed your elbow in a bruising grip.

“Get up. We can’t do this here.” Eddie pulled you down the amphitheater steps until you were back on the open field you had walked in on. Even though you slightly wriggled against his grip on you, Eddie didn’t let up. He pulled you down a corridor that led you to the backside of the projection screen. There was only a few feet for the two of you to stand before your shadows would interrupt the illumination of the slasher being played for you.

“It’s like our own private screening,” Eddie grinned at you. He pulled you into his chest and placed his lips on yours. What started sweet soon returned to the desperate need for each other that you had in the audience.  Eddie bit down on your lip hard, eliciting a cry to fall from your lips. Blood spilled from your bottom lip and Eddie was more than excited to clean it up for you.

“That’s it, my girl let me hear you. You taste as good as you sound.” Eddie backed you into the cool cement wall that helped support the screen. His lips traveled across you, covering your neck and chest in a constellation of purple and red bruises. You hitched a leg over his slender waist as your bodies were covered in a sea of red light from another fictional victim being slaughtered for the hundreds of people on the other side of the screen. Eddie’s pants are now hung low on his hips, allowing him to stuff his cock inside you. You grid into his thrust with a groan.

“Look what you did, Eds. Look what you started. This is all for you.” The curly haired boy hastily shoved up your sweater and bra, exposing your tits to the cool autumn air.

“No, dolly. We did this. People won’t fuck with people like us any more. They’ll get what they deserve.” Eddie spurred himself on and thrust harder and harder into you, keeping his gaze up at the screen above him. You cried out as his thick cock hit high into you and Eddie’s knife was back at your throat. With his other strong hand, he grabbed the one leg steadying you on the floor and fucked up into you to keep you on the wall. Your eyes rolled and your tongue lolled out of your mouth as Eddie thrust into you at an even deeper angle. 

“Fuck, Eddie. You’re gonna make me cum.” That was all the permission Eddie needed to hear. As screams of terror filled one side of the theater, behind the scenes, your screams of pleasure and pain filled the small backstage area. Eddie dropped your legs and flipped you, your face pressing into the cool concrete, knife now dragging up and down your spine. The sting of the cool metal threw you closer and closer to your climax. Eddie’s bruising grip on your hips gave him more leverage to thrust into you harder and he pressed you into the wall harder and harder. 

“Ahh, fuck.” Eddie pocketed the knife and his white knuckle grip that once was on the knife’s handle was now around your neck. Your vision went fuzzy and with a strained squeak, your orgasm flooded over you. Eddie pulled your body up to his while you shook on his cock. 

Eddie worked you through wave after wave of pleasure until you could barely stand up - your pussy throbbed around his cock deliciously and with the mix of watching his real life magnum opus being celebrated by this fucked town, his orgasm was hurling at him with no chance at him stopping.

“Get ready for me, babe,” Eddie barked. You whimpered and nodded at him, too fucked out for words. You guided yourself to lean forward on the wall, exposing your dripping pussy and tight asshole to him. You felt a cool ball of spit hit your puckered hole and you moaned, your whole body still so sensitive from your orgasm. You hissed at the unbelievable stretch of Eddie pressing into your hole. You had never felt so full. Maybe it was the movie, or maybe it was the unconditional devotion you had to your boyfriend (and he to you), but one small thrust of Eddie inside your asshole and you could feel the small heat of another orgasm creeping up on you. Eddie paused inside you, looking up to watch the final confrontation of the movie version of Chrissy Cunningham - Hollywood’s final girl, she was drenched in blood, tits see through in her white tank top, and her face tattooed with fear. She looked like that when he had slit her throat and she watched his masked face as she fell to the ground. Power. He held all of it. He held it with the seven teens he murdered, he held it with you, fuck he even Held it with Hawkins - even though he despised the town and almost everyone in it. He had the upper hand. He got his revenge. He got the girl. He got to live the life he wanted when those who tried to break him rotted in the ground. 

He shivered as a wave of ecstasy washed over him. He thrust into your tight hole, pulling all the way out and slamming himself back in. You swore you were going to have a bruise on your cheek with how hard your face was being fucked up against the wall. You could feel his impending finish, and you were desperate to feel the waves of pleasure with him. You ran your hand in between your legs and rubbed small, furious circles onto your clit. You were brutal to your own body, licking up any fiery bolts of pain you could, Eddie felt your pleasuring yourself and he felt the first shockwave hit him. 

“Fuck, doll I’m going to fill you up.” He could tell you were, again, on the brink of another orgasm “cum with me”. 

The only responses that you could muster was a sloppy babbling of pleases as you sent yourself flying over the edge again. Your skin was white hot and your asshole pulsed, milking Eddie of all the cum he had. Your vision went dark and you felt your legs vibrating. 

“Fuck!” Eddie yelped as he pulled out of your hole. He was flushed with adoration as you continued working yourself through your orgasm, spilling your clear essence all over the floor. You were totally spent, and Eddie knew better than to try and let you stand up fully. He grabbed you gently by the waist and spun you so you could wrap your arms around his neck. Eddie kissed the top of your forehead, his shit eating grin unable to be wiped from his face.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” Eddie exclaimed. You pressed your forehead to Eddie’s chest and giggled in embarrassment.

“I didn’t know I could either… I was just so turned on… just thinking about how well you’ve done”. Eddie cupped your face in his hands and kissed you gently on the cheek. You helped him do up his jeans and he made sure to put your panties back over your spent holes.

“Let’s get out of here” Your boyfriend offered. “I heard they keep Chrissy’s character alive in the end… so not faithful to the source material.” The grins on your faces widened and with a giggle, the two of you began to trace your steps back to the entrance of the amphitheater, hand in hand. Before you reached the exit of the theater, you pulled Eddie to a stop.

“What’s wrong, dolly?”

“Umm… I had an offer I wanted to make you.” You murmured.

“What is it?” Eddie cooed. 

“I was wondering if you wanted to make a sequel with me.” You asked, eyes to the floor. Eddie lifted your chin with his large hands. 

“Darling, that is the best idea I’ve heard in a long time.”

Taglist: @eddies-acousticguitar @mmunson86 @sadbitchfangirl @hideoutside @anxiousobserver @ali-r3n @brinleighsstuff @filth-fiction-archive @vintagehellfire @kirstinjayjay @poofyloofy @sluggzillaa @aol19 @dark-angel-is-back @keikoraven @emxxblog @adrenalineeerevolver @crybabyddl @lovemegood @cherry-pop3547 @munsquinns @cozmiccass If you would like to be added to my taglist, please consider following and fill out this form!

[steddiebang2024]

A Kind of Merry War  |  E |  48k

Author: @midsummer-semantics

Artist: Stevepapucho

Beta: emurph_24

[Link to fic] | [Link to art]

Pairings: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Chrissy Cunningham/Carol Perkins, Chrissy Cunningham & Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington & Carol Perkins, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley & Eddie Munson

Characters: Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Chrissy Cunningham, Carol Perkins, Robin Buckley, Nancy Wheeler, Jonathan Byers, Argyle (Stranger Things), Jason Carver, Scott Clarke, Jim "Chief" Hopper, Wayne Munson, Joyce Byers, The Party (Stranger Things), Other background characters

Tags:  Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Theatre, Alternate Universe - No Upside Down (Stranger Things), Alternate Universe - Much Ado About Nothing Fusion, Enemies to Lovers, idiots to lovers, Shakespeare adaptation, Actor Steve Harrington, Stage Crafter Eddie Munson, Best Friends Steve Harrington and Carol Perkins, Best friends Eddie Munson and Chrissy Cunningham, Banter, Jason Carver is His Own Warning, Eventual Smut, Guaranteed HEA, It's theatre everyone is queer, Dual POV, Tags will be updated when the entire fic is posted

Trigger Warnings: No Warnings Apply

↳ Keep reading below for a summary!

While trying to put together a production of Much Ado About Nothing, the characters’ lives become intertwined with those of whom they are playing. Self-proclaimed perpetual bachelor Steve and his bff Carol audition for the fall production, with Steve being cast as the aptly assigned role of Benedick. Meanwhile, unsatisfied romantic Eddie and his sunshine Chrissy also audition because the only other options are some horrific minstrel show that is severely out-dated, or Cats in the Spring and there’s no way. Eddie receives the part of Beatrice, Benedick’s down-fall. Both have their own reasons for being hesitant about the production, but when Carol and Chrissy seem to spark an intense romantic interest in one another, their lives become significantly more complicated.

Or: A Much Ado AU that unfolds the way all Shakespearean comedies do.

[corroded-hellfire]

Attend the Tale - Eddie Munson x Reader

Summary: Eddie proclaims to theatre nerd!reader that musicals are too happy for him. You then tell him the tale of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Note: This is partially because Gaten is currently in the show on broadway, yes, but also because it is one of my favorite musicals of all time and I myself am a huge theatre nerd.

Warnings: spoilers for Sweeney Todd, which has dark themes including bloody violence, murder, and cannibalism.

Words: 2.3k

Hawkins High School likes conventional. It likes when things make sense. For instance, it made sense when Chrissy Cunningham was nominated for Prom Queen, and Jason Carver for Prom King. It made sense that Nancy Wheeler was on track to give the valedictorian speech at graduation at the end of the year. What didn’t make sense—at least from an outsider's perspective—is you and Eddie.

Eddie Munson was all metal, band t-shirts, chunky silver rings, long wild mane, and tattoos. You are not metal. You are costumes, makeup, rehearsing lines and practicing songs for an audition. A theatre nerd, essentially. At night, Eddie blasts Metallica in his room, while you’re playing Andrew Lloyd Webber and attempting to hit the high notes in Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again. The two of you looked like opposite sides of the spectrum. But in reality, you were two sides of the same coin. Both passionate about the music that moves you, embodying the looks of your respective niches. 

When you met, there was an initial clash between the two of you over use of the drama room. Yes, it was used for Hellfire meetings, but it was the drama room and Eddie shouldn’t have thrown a fuss if you had to come in and grab a costume that had been left in there earlier. Once the original ire cooled, the two of you found you gelled together quite nicely. Only someone else who has that deep appreciation for music can understand what it’s like to feel the music in your very soul, in every beat of your heart, and every breath you take. 

Though there wasn’t a crossover appeal with each other’s music, both you and Eddie could appreciate and respect the other’s taste. Eddie would blast metal in the van on the way home from school, so you’d come to learn some of the songs and point out your favorites to your boyfriend. When the two of you were at your house, a Sondheim or a Rodgers & Hammerstein record would be playing in the background as you makeout on your bed. 

Eddie had seen you in the last musical Hawkins High had put on—Into the Woods. The dark take on multiple fairy tales had drawn Eddie in more than he thought it would. Obviously, he had only gone to see you—dragging Dustin along because the curly haired boy was the only one willing to accompany him—but he ended up being honestly impressed by the talent and hard work it takes to put on a show. Hearing you sing as Cinderella had almost moved Eddie to tears, something he would never admit to a soul. But Dustin had noticed and told you when Eddie had gone to the bathroom after the show. You recognized the same dedication and effort in Eddie when you saw him performing with Corroded Coffin.

After you begged Eddie to play The Sound of Music cassette you just bought while you’re driving around one weekend, he comes up with a thought that astounds you.

“You know, musicals are just too happy for me. Everything is always okay in the end, and everyone sings and dances and it’s happily ever after.”

You’re staring at him for a good minute before he notices. He raises an eyebrow at you in question.

“That is so not true!”

“Babe,” Eddie says, knocking the rings of his right hand against the van’s radio. “We’re literally listening to a show that has singing nuns and nazis. And guess what? Everything ends tied up with a bow.”

“First of all,” you say, flopping back in your seat with a huff. “This is based on a true story. So, sorry that the real Von Trapp family escaped the nazis. Secondly, there are plenty of dark musicals. You saw Into the Woods!”

“Yeah, it was dark for fairy tales. I listen to metal. The witch cursing a family doesn’t quite cut it as ‘dark’ for me.”

“West Side Story? It’s tragic!”

“Tragedy and darkness aren’t really the same thing,” Eddie says with a shrug. “I mean, they can be. But they literally have gangs prancing down the street. Sad story, sure. But I wouldn’t say dark.”

You purse your lips in the way that Eddie finds adorable as you look out the window. A cheery song about favorite things playing isn’t helping you come up with any dark musicals.

“Aha! Phantom of the Opera,” you say, turning towards Eddie. “Kidnapping, murder, disfigured character. Dark enough for you?”

“Eh,” Eddie says with a shrug. “The opera part kinda cancels it out for me.”

Just as Eddie’s pulling into your driveway, your face lights up with an idea. Eddie notices it as he pulls the keys out of the ignition, the jingling of them breaking you out of your mini trance.

“Sweeney Todd.”

“Who?” Eddie asks.

“Sweeney Todd!” you repeat, as if just hearing it again will make everything clear to Eddie. Both of you get out of the car and you fumble to get your house keys out of your bag. “The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”

“Did we switch subjects, or…? Should I know this Todd dude?” Eddie asks as he follows you inside. He kicks his shoes off next to the door just as you do, and you toss your bag onto the closest chair.

“It’s a Stephen Sondheim musical,” you say. “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”

“A demon barber?” Eddie asks with a laugh. 

Spinning away from him and his dismissive chuckle, you stroll over to your collections of records. Nimble fingers pick through them until you find the one you’re looking for. Eddie just watches as you move to the record player and load up the album. The opening notes start slow at first, then gaining volume, with a haunting quality to the melody. It sounds eerily like music you would hear at a funeral. Then a piercing noise—a scream? a scrape? —slices through the air, startling Eddie. He won’t let you know it just yet, but this already has him intrigued. 

Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd

His skin was pale and his eye was odd

He shaved the faces of gentlemen

Who never thereafter were heard of again

“Hmm,” Eddie hums, a smile curling on his lips. “Okay, you’ve got my attention.”

“It’s bloody and gory,” you say, jumping onto your couch. Eddie chuckles as he watches your socked feet move over the gray overstuffed cushions. You hold your hands out in front of you, fingers splayed as you begin to summarize the show in a melodramatic voice. “Sweeney Todd—who is actually named Benjamin Barker—returns to London after being wronged by a judge many years ago. Judge Turpin stole his wife and daughter. Like, literally stole. Not like he seduced her or something, he straight up took her and had her husband sent away.”

Eddie wrinkles up his nose and crosses his arms over his chest. “That’s creepy as hell.”

“Oh, that’s nothing,” you say with a devious smile. As you continue on with the tale, the music playing in the background, you keep walking across the couch, jumping to the adjacent couch as well when you come to the edge. Eddie watches you, an adoring look in his eyes. “So, Sweeney stays with this lady, Mrs. Lovett, who has a pie shop. And he starts up as a barber again, with the goal of getting the judge to come in so he can…” You run your finger across your neck, imitating the slitting of your throat. 

“Does he stick the bastard?” Eddie asks, jumping up on the couch you just vacated. 

“Hold on, hold on,” you say, shooting him a smirk. “This other dude comes in and recognizes Sweeney back from when he was Barker, so Sweeney kills him. When he and Mrs. Lovett are trying to figure out what to do with the body, she comes up with an idea! But is it too much? Never, for this twisted pair!”

Eddie laughs as he listens and watches. Your eyes are wide, a crazed look there as you describe the warped tale. Even if he wasn’t genuinely enjoying this debauched plot, he would’ve been thoroughly amused by your performance. 

“They decide to get rid of the body by grinding him up and putting him in the meat pies!”  

“Ugh,” Eddie groans, face full of disgust. “That’s morbid.”

“Told ya,” you say with a proud smirk. “But they don’t stop there. Every man who comes to Sweeney’s shop becomes the new flavor of the day. And the people love the meat pies. They keep selling out of them.”

“Okay, okay,” Eddie says, holding his hands up in front of him. “I concede. This is a dark musical.”

“Thank you,” you say, offering him a dramatic bow. “The dead bodies do not just come out tap dancing or some other cliche, cheesy shit you accuse musicals of. Although now that I’m thinking about that, it would’ve been cool.”  

“So, how’s it end?” Eddie asks, jumping over to the couch you’re on.

“Oh, no, no, no,” you say, shaking your head and backing a step away from him. “You’ll have to listen. Wait! See! They’re about to tell you.” You hold your finger to your lips, telling Eddie to be silent so he can hear the final lyrics of the song.

Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd

He served a dark and a vengeful god

What happened then, well, that's the play

And he wouldn't want us to give it away

Not Sweeney

Not Sweeney Todd

The demon barber of Fleet street

Eddie steps forward and tugs on your waist until you’re flush up against him. “You seem to really enjoy this creepy shit.”

“I haven’t even told you the rest,” you say, cupping his face in your hands. “There’s the judge wanting to marry the daughter he stole as well. A beggar woman who goes around asking men if they wanna fuck her. And then there’s Antony and Toby who are precious boys.”

“Jesus,” Eddie says with a laugh. “Might just have to borrow this record.”

“I thought you’d like it,” you say, a satisfied smirk on your lips. “I know my boyfriend’s taste.”

“Yes, you do,” he mumbles as he leans in and presses his lips against yours. The two of you share lazy kisses for a few minutes, just standing there on your couch in the middle of your living room. When you finally break for air, Eddie rests his forehead against yours and lets out a small laugh. “Who would’ve thought I’d find a girlfriend who can match my theatrics?”

“I think I outdo your theatrics, thank you very much,” you say. “In private, anyway. I know I can be my true, authentic weird self with you.”

“I love your weird self,” Eddie says, hands roaming down to your ass. 

“And I love you.”

Eddie grins and presses a few more kisses to your mouth. 

“Are there any duets in the show?” Eddie asks. “Could learn it and we could sing it together.”

The way your eyes light up at his words has his heart stuttering in his chest. He’d never admit it, but he’d memorize all of Sondheim’s compositions if you wanted him to. Anything for you. 

“Yeah,” you say, voice the quietest it’s been this whole time. Before continuing, you clear your throat and blink your eyes a few times. “My favorite song from it is a duet. It’s the one where they decide to put the men into the pies. It’s called A Little Priest.”

You quickly hop off the couch and stop the record. Carefully, you turn it over and place it back down. Your eyes scan the track list printed on the record’s jacket to find the right spot. Placing the needle back down, a surge of pride flows through you as you hear it start playing exactly where you want it to. 

Seems a downright shame…

Turning back towards Eddie, you try to emulate Mrs. Lovett. Kind of crazy, but even crazier for the man in front of her. That part you have down perfectly. The fond look Eddie is giving you makes your tummy all fuzzy and your head all light. Knowing that not only can you be completely and unabashedly yourself around Eddie, but that he actually loves you like that still boggles your mind. 

The song is funny, filled with puns and jokes, and you sing through the lyrics with ease. As the long song comes to its end, you step up on the coffee table and use it as your stage. Closing your eyes, you throw your arms in the air dramatically as if you’re riding a roller coaster. 

We'll not discriminate great from small! 

No, we'll serve anyone, 

Meaning anyone, 

And to anyone

At all!

Eddie claps as you finish belting the last note, and your face warms at his praise. A shy giggle escapes you as you curtsy on top of the table. Your boyfriend hops down from the couch and wraps both of his arms around your legs. He flops backwards so he’s lying on the couch, pulling you along so you’re on top of him. 

“You’re so damn cute,” Eddie says.

“Takes one to know one, Munson,” you say, finger coming up to boop the tip of his nose. 

“I feel like I’m gonna have to take you to Broadway as a graduation gift,” Eddie muses.

“Baby,” you whine, shaking your head. “You don’t have to do that.”

“You don’t wanna take a trip with me?” he asks, jutting out his bottom lip in his most adorable pout. The big cow eyes only add to it. 

“Of course I do,” you say. “Not letting you buy me a trip for graduation, though!”

“Fine,” Eddie says with a sigh. “What if it’s a gift for both of us? We go up together over the summer? Huh?” He grins and tucks a piece of hair behind your ear. “You, me, whatever shows you want, then a nice big hotel bed at night. I won’t pay for everything, I promise.”

A giggle bubbles out of you and you rest your head in the crook of Eddie’s neck. “Sounds perfect, Eddie.” 

“I love you, my little theatre nerd.”

“I love you, my adorable metal head.”

[midsummer-semantics]

A Kind of Merry War

My big bang date is here! Chapter 1 is live, with weekly updates for the next four weeks!

Theatre AU | Explicit | 48k

Art by Stevepapucho Beta by emurph_24

Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Theatre, Alternate Universe - No Upside Down (Stranger Things), Alternate Universe - Much Ado About Nothing Fusion, Enemies to Lovers, idiots to lovers, Shakespeare adaptation, Actor Steve Harrington, Stage Crafter Eddie Munson, Best Friends Steve Harrington and Carol Perkins, Best friends Eddie Munson and Chrissy Cunningham, Banter, Jason Carver is His Own Warning, Eventual Smut, Guaranteed HEA, It's theatre everyone is queer, Dual POV, Tags will be updated when the entire fic is posted

Summary:

While trying to put together a production of Much Ado About Nothing, the characters’ lives become intertwined with those of whom they are playing. Self-proclaimed perpetual bachelor Steve and his bff Carol audition for the fall production, with Steve being cast as the aptly assigned role of Benedick. Meanwhile, unsatisfied romantic Eddie and his sunshine Chrissy also audition because the only other options are some horrific minstrel show that is severely out-dated, or Cats in the Spring and there’s no way. Eddie receives the part of Beatrice, Benedick’s down-fall. Both have their own reasons for being hesitant about the production, but when Carol and Chrissy seem to spark an intense romantic interest in one another, their lives become significantly more complicated.

Or: A Much Ado AU that unfolds the way all Shakespearean comedies do.

[steddieunderdogfics]

A Kind of Merry War by QueenOfSwords1312

@midsummer-semantics

Rating: Explicit

47,585 words, 5/5 chapters

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Theatre, Alternate Universe - No Upside Down (Stranger Things), Alternate Universe - Much Ado About Nothing Fusion, Enemies to Lovers, idiots to lovers, Shakespeare adaptation, Actor Steve Harrington, Stage Crafter Eddie Munson, Best Friends Steve Harrington and Carol Perkins, Best friends Eddie Munson and Chrissy Cunningham, BanterJason Carver is His Own Warning, Guaranteed HEA, It's theatre everyone is queer, Dual POV, Denial of Feelings, Feelings Realization, Eddie Munson is Obsessed with Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington is Obsessed with Eddie Munson, Mutual Pining, Even if Eddie mistakes it at first, Love Confessions, First Kiss, First Time, Together at least, Dry Humping, Semi-Public Sex, Frottage, Hand Jobs, mentions of blowjobs, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Breeding Kink, question mark?, Multiple Orgasms, Premature Ejaculation, Creampie, Unprotected Sex, surprise twist, or not a surprise if you're Vice who called it very early on

Summary:

While trying to put together a production of Much Ado About Nothing, the characters’ lives become intertwined with those of whom they are playing. Self-proclaimed perpetual bachelor Steve and his bff Carol audition for the fall production, with Steve being cast as the aptly assigned role of Benedick. Meanwhile, unsatisfied romantic Eddie and his sunshine Chrissy also audition because the only other options are some horrific minstrel show that is severely out-dated, or Cats in the Spring and there’s no way. Eddie receives the part of Beatrice, Benedick’s down-fall. Both have their own reasons for being hesitant about the production, but when Carol and Chrissy seem to spark an intense romantic interest in one another, their lives become significantly more complicated. Or: A Much Ado AU that unfolds the way all Shakespearean comedies do.

Thanks for the rec! This recommendation is apart of our Writer's Wednesday! All of the recs today are written by @midsummer-semantics. Want to nominate an author? Fill out this form!

You can submit fic recs to our asks or the submission box!

[godlessondheimite]

LUNCH WITH JAN WONG To speak or not to speak, that is the question for Stratford's BrentCarver.

JAN WONG Saturday, July 1, 2000

Brent Carver is shy, so shy that when you start asking questions, he stops eating lunch. Sometimes he stops talking altogether. "Some people think silence is golden," says Carver, 48, after one particularly excruciating pause.

On stage, the actor is a fountain of eloquence. He's worked in every major Canadian theatre. He won a Tony in 1993 for his work on Broadway. At Stratford this summer, he's starring in two productions, Fiddler on the Roof and Elizabeth Rex,a Timothy Findley play that premiered Thursday.

But take away his script and ask him about himself or, say, Garth Drabinsky. Then there are only half-sentences, long stares and silence, lots of silence.

Carver is a vegetarian. He normally has a bowl of oatmeal or Red River cereal for breakfast. But at this brunch at Stratford's elegant Church Restaurant, he fortifies himself with salmon cakes and apple slaw to make it through the day's rehearsal -- and this interview.

In Elizabeth Rex, about a meeting between Shakespeare and Elizabeth I, he plays an actor specializing in female roles. Carver often takes on gender-bending parts. He won the Tony for his portrayal of Molina, the flamboyant gay window dresser in Kiss of the Spider Woman. Time magazine said that his performance "far surpasses" William Hurt's 1985 Oscar-winning version.

But ask Carver about the influence his own life has had on these roles, and an awkward silence ensues. For someone whose day (and night) job is performing before a live paying audience, he's paralyzed one on one. In 40 articles about him, including two promisingly headlined "A Personal Profile" and "A Frank Conversation," there's scant information. Not one mentions whether he's married, single, divorced or living with anyone. Only one says he has a cat named Licorice.

At lunch, Carver admits to having a cat named Licorice. He also acknowledges having a tiny home in nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake. He won't say more. As for his temporary digs in Stratford, he says, "I'm living alone here." He imbues "here" with all the significance a great actor can muster. Does that mean he doesn't live alone over there in Niagara-on-the-Lake?

"I won't talk about my personal life, particularly when we witness across America the intrusion . . . ." His voice trails off. He looks down. "I have nothing to sell. What I do is I'm an actor. My home is found in the theatre."

Jeez. You'd think I was asking if he was gay. Actually, I am. And he is. But he's uncomfortable talking about it, even in this age of record-setting gay pride parades. You feel as though you're dragging him out of the closet. Yet he's not in the closet. Carver has talked, sort of, about his homosexuality in Xtra! He told the gay bi-weekly he feels "a part of the gay community." But even Xtra! elicited nothing more than the fact that in 1995 he was single and sharing his house with an ex-lover.

"I have no children," he says at lunch, daring you to read more into it. Then he looks down again at his lap. He pushes away his plate. He sips some Red Rose tea.

"Not many people ask me who I actually am," he says slowly. "As Shakespeare says in Hamlet, 'What ultimately is plucking out the heart of one's life?' Do we actually think that's going to illuminate who we are? Say what is our existence on earth?"

He played Hamlet 16 years ago. The exact quote is: You would pluck out the heart of my mystery; You would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass: And there is much music, excellent voice, in this little organ; yet cannot you make it speak.

Shakespeare was right. In Carver, there is much music, excellent voice. Yet you cannot make him speak. In the long edgy silence that follows, the actor stares at the oak table. He carefully delineates segments of it with the edges of his hands. He does not look up.

His fingers are long and white, like the rest of his body. At 5 foot 11 and 158 pounds, he looks like a graduate student in his tan plaid shirt, red backpack and 32-inch waist jeans. His lean look suits both his current roles. In Fiddler, he plays Tevye, a gaunt Russian peasant in the midst of a czarist pogrom. In Elizabeth Rex, he's a Shakespearean actor dying of the pox.

Carver was born in Cranbrook, B.C., the fourth of eight children. His mother was a clerk at Woolworth's. His father, who loved music, drove a logging truck. Carver loved music, too. "My uncle remembers me singing things from the radio before I could talk," he says.

At seven, he earned money singing at weddings. He also sang for the Lions Club and the school choir. The choir stuff, and his blond ringlets, made him a prime target. Neighbourhood bullies beat him in Grade 1. They threw snowballs in his eyes. "I used to make sure my older brother would walk me home from school," Carver recalls.

As Tevye, the beleaguered father of five headstrong daughters, he spends virtually the entire two hours and 45 minutes on stage. He also sings and dances to 14 songs. After one matinee, Carver leaned in exhaustion against the backstage wall, before emerging to acknowledge a standing ovation.

With��Elizabeth Rex up and running too, he'll have up to seven shows a week. On 13 gruelling days, he'll perform both Fiddler and Elizabeth Rex. On those days, he says, he'll steal a nap between removing his matinee makeup and applying new makeup for the evening. "It's essential to lie down, put on music -- Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Mozart."

Since he won't talk about himself, perhaps he'll talk about why he won't talk. Asked if questions make him nervous, Carver segments out more sections of the oak table with his long fingers. He says he's always talked in fits and starts. "I start talking." He pauses. "That's not quite what I think, so I edit."

After high school, where he was valedictorian, he enrolled in theatre studies at the University of British Columbia. Three years later, he dropped out to act in movies, television and the theatre. In 1984, after working in four movies in a row, he abruptly withdrew from acting for eight months. "I just needed to not work," he says.

His most famous withdrawal came after winning the Tony. He was the toast of Broadway. Barbra Streisand came backstage to visit. But he quit three months later. His contract for Kiss of the Spider Woman gave him an escape clause, and he grabbed it. "Some people can go for three or four years. I'm just not made that way."

Livent asked him to reconsider. He did, and still said no. As for Drabinsky, Carver hasn't seen or spoken to him since Livent went kaput. He says he isn't owed any money and had a "terrific working relationship" with Drabinsky. He won't say more.

Most actors would have tried to parlay the Tony into a career in Hollywood. Instead, Carver went to Edmonton, where he played Cyrano de Bergerac at the Citadel Theatre. "I didn't leave Broadway specifically to go to Edmonton," he says defensively.

His withdrawal is more understandable if you know that one of his best friends died a year and a half earlier -- in a fire at Carver's Stratford house. (He was out of town at the time.) Susan Wright, the Canadian actress, died on Dec. 29, 1991, along with her parents. It was Wright who had urged him to take on the role in Kiss of the Spider Woman. When he won the Tony, he dedicated it to her.

At lunch, the salmon cakes are still uneaten, but Carver has to rush off to a rehearsal. He looks relieved. Soon he'll be able to speak lines somebody else wrote. He gets up, shakes hands and slings his backpack over his shoulder. He says he's really enjoyed lunch. Carver is a great actor, but not that great.

[57884]

[fluctuating-fixations]

I’m still obsessed with Kiss of the Spider Woman but I became normaler cuz I got a boyfriend

[technicolor-dreamss]

Kotsw post-it-note sketch

[nessataleweaver]

FIC: 12 days of HellCheer: Day Two

yeah, so I'm behind already *sigh* At least it's only one day? Have the latest, fresh off Word about ten minutes ago

Can be read on AO3 here

Day Two: Despite tradition, a magician should never work with Children or Turtledoves (they crap all over you)

INSPIRATION: The book Everyone this Christmas has a secret by Benjamin Stevenson. It's probably a good idea to read Everyone in my family has killed someone and Everyone on this train is a suspect first though, if only so you know why the protagonist Ernest Cunningham is Like That.

31 December, 1986

It had been over two years since Eddie Munson had left Hawkins for California, and in the eyes of everyone at First Presbyterian Church it wasn't soon enough.  Everyone knew that the Munson delinquent was fated for a sticky end, and at least this way he wouldn't take any of the proper, promising youngsters of Hawkins with him.

There had been a worrying moment when he came back to visit his uncle back in the spring, but everyone had quickly become far more distracted by the earthquake.

But now he'd come back for Christmas, and who would have thought?  He'd apparently been making a name for himself out in Los Angeles as a stage magician of all things.  While it was still scandalous and suspicious, at least he'd have to dress properly.

(They were unaware of Eddie's show being heavy metal-themed, complete with self-composed soundtrack. Or that a respected horror writer had seen the show and reached out to Eddie to provide similar music for a movie he was making out of one of his books.)

No one ever found out exactly who asked Eddie to put on a stage show in the Hawkins Theatre on New Year's Eve, as part of the child-friendly celebrations. Laura Cunningham was the only one who really tried, afterwards.

Unlike his regular act, Eddie looked downright dapper with his hair tied back and wearing a vintage tuxedo with tailcoat.  More than a few teenager girls in the audience, especially the recent Hawkins High graduates, took note of how he looked so much hotter and sophisticated  than their stupid high school boyfriends and wondered how long he'd be sticking around in Hawkins.

The show went without a hitch, greatly enjoyed by everyone who wasn't muttering darkly about That Boy and that Demon Worshipping Club he founded. He even got a laugh when one of the children he called on stage asked him why he didn't have doves, and Eddie confided that they weren't house-trained and wouldn't stop pooping in his top hat.

"For my final act, I need one last volunteer from the audience!  A young lady to fit into my Cabinet of Mystery!"

Several of the young girls seated at the front waved their hands wildly in the air, even Erica Sinclair who considered herself far too grown-up for such things.  Eddie's eyes swept along the rows of children, until his gaze caught on Matty Cunningham - then ticked over to where his sister Chrissy sat on the end of the row to mind the children.

(It was awful how she'd been so badly injured in the earthquake that she'd had to defer college for a year, because the school wouldn't let her start in the spring semester.  But Laura never stopped talking about how good it was to have her daughter at home with her all the time - after all, she'd be leaving as soon as Jason Carver put a wedding ring on her finger.)

"If it isn't Chrissy Cunningham, Queen of Hawkins High!  Would you honor my stage with your presence?"

Chrissy smiled brightly as she mounted the steps easily, her broken leg and other injuries long since healed.

After she was handed into the cabinet, Eddie closed the door, and knocked.

"Still there, your Highness?"

A small panel slid open in the cabinet, and Chrissy peeked out.  The opening was just wide enough for her to blow a kiss to her little brother.

The panel closed, and Eddie struck a dramatic pose...

With a loud 'bang!' the main stage lights went out and the spotlights went wild, flashing blue and green and red like something out of a rock concert, as the cabinet spun around and around and around, and Eddie howled out a long string of strange words.

(When Chief Hopper pulled him aside an hour later, Eddie repeated them slowly. They were just Irish Gaelic - lyrics of the iconic folk song 'Molly Malone', in fact. His mom had come from Memphis, but her mother had immigrated from Ireland; her mother's cradle-songs were the only Gaelic young Elizabeth Franklin ever learned, but she'd sung them to her own child in turn.)

Then the entire theatre was plunged into darkness.

A heartbeat or so later, the stage lights came on again to show Eddie standing next to the cabinet as if the explosion of light and sound had never happened.

"Well... shall we see what's inside?"

All the children screamed in agreement.

With a dramatic flourish, Eddie opened the Cabinet of Mystery...

...and Robin Buckley stepped out, wearing a sequinned leotard, and starting waving like she was on a parade float.

Chrissy Cunningham was never seen in Hawkins again.

It wasn't until Laura Cunningham tore a vocal chord screaming in rage and was physically removed from the theatre, that Officer Powell had the chance to hand over to Chief Hopper the envelope that young Matty Cunningham had slipped him, asking him to give it to the Chief when his parents weren't around.

Inside was a letter, notarised by a Justice of the Peace in Indianapolis, and an extravagant promise ring.

(Chrissy Munson, on the other hand, showed up at Matty Cunningham's high school graduation five years later.)

NOTE: If anyone's wondering about the logistics of Eddie and Chrissy with The Party; we go AU back in Flight of Icarus.  Eddie's dad stayed in jail so while he never got to make that demo, he did get to graduate in 1984 and the original line-up of Corroded Coffin broke up. 

As other fanfic writers have explored, Chrissy sought out Eddie in May 1984 to apologize for Jason and co being assholes to Gareth, and they had a version of the picnic bench scene and became friends. 

Out in LA Eddie reunited with Paige Warner, who helped him get a job as a stagehand at one of the theatres where he could make connections behind the scenes, and ended up filling in for a magician's assistant, which sparked a renewal of his childhood interest in stage magic (don't tell me Eddie wasn't one of those kids).  At this point Eddie's still intermittently working as a studio musician and is building a reputation with song-writing, but stage magic is something he can pursue alone, because he's not having much luck finding a band. In the meantime, due to certain shared botanical interests Eddie became very good friends with a pizza delivery guy named Argyle, who recognized the name 'Hawkins' when his new bud Jonathon mentioned it.  While helping the Byers-Hopper kids settle into California life, Eddie swiftly recruited Will the Wise and cleric El-Lorona to the LA branch of Hellfire. (for these purposes Lenora Hills is on the outskirts of LA, and will eventually be swallowed up by the city proper)

During spring break 1986 Chrissy and Lucas witnessed Patrick's death at the Championship victory party and Chrissy got press-ganged into The Party after Lucas asked her to drive him to find the others. She more or less played Eddie's canon S4 role with fewer murder accusations and much less dying.

Chrissy and Eddie aren't actually a couple yet; after reconnecting in the aftermath of the Hawkins earthquake she took stock of her injuries, realized she'd be stuck at home recovering for months, and asked Eddie to get her out of Hawkins before her mother could bully her into giving up on college.  Eddie making her disappear during his magic act was just him being a dramatic bitch. He'll end up becoming this universe's version of Criss Angel (including Clive Barker's Lord of Illusions coming out several years earlier).

[fidelesir]

Does anyone in the greater theatre-sphere / Brent Carver- sphere specifically know where a person can go to watch *Lilies* (1996) in decent quality?

[steddiebang2024]

No Chance Showmance  |  Mature  |  50k

Author: @brvss0316

Artist: @ciriceart

Beta Reader: @Dontwasteyourchances

[Link to fic]  |  [Link to art]

Pairings: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley/Chrissy Cunningham, Murray Bauman/Alexei

Characters: Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley, Chrissy Cunningham, Billy Hargrove, Eleven/Jane Hopper, Jason Carver, Murray Bauman, Gareth

Tags: AU - Modern, AU - Theatre, AU - Community College, POV alternating, mutual pining, misunderstandings, slow burn, castmates to lovers, thespian Eddie Munson, basketball player Steve Harrington, High School Musical meets Pride and Prejudice, inspired by Never Really Acting At All by Melina KB, matchmaker Murray Bauman, good uncle Wayne Munson, bisexual Steve Harrington, gay Eddie Munson, Eddie Munson has ADHD, Robin Buckley has ADHD, Steve Harrington has bad parents, flirting through Disney songs, *slaps roof of fic* this bad boy can hold so many polycules, Billy Hargrove is his own warning, sorry Billy apologists this ones probs not for you, protective Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington needs a hug, Steve Harrington gets a hug, protective Robin my beloved, Mikes a bit of an asshole

Trigger Warnings: Past attempted grooming (mentioned), minor homophobia

↳ Keep reading below for a sneak peek!

Steve had never acted or been in theatre before, never even considered it, but somehow he gets cast as the main love interest after Robin drags him to auditions as “emotional support”. Thespian Eddie Munson can’t believe he gets paired with the amateur actor/basketball team captain as a co-star. After meeting the person he’s supposed to enact one of the most famous love stories ever written, Eddie decidedly vows to not fall for the charms of the infamous heartbreaker, “King Steve”. As the show’s rehearsal schedule picks up, Steve struggles to balance his college studies, the expectations of his parents, the drama that always seems to follow theatre kids, and trying desperately to ignore his growing interest in his metalhead/theatre kid co-star. In spite of Steve’s infuriating sporadic practice attendance and apparent lack of dedication to the show, the line between Eddie’s feelings for him on and off stage begins to blur as he contemplates breaking one of the biggest rules in theatre: never date your co-star.