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schrijverr · 1 year

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A Behind the Scenes of: Corroded Coffin

Jonathan gives an insight into the life of Corroded Coffin in the early days during their rise to fame.

On AO3.

Ships: Steddie

Warnings: period typical homophobic attitudes mentioned (minor)

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hi, I’m Jonathan Byers, the main photographer and editor of A Collection of Queer Photography. Today I’m giving you a behind the scene look of some of the Corroded Coffin photos that are in the book,” Jonathan starts out the video, sounding a little awkward, but trying not to show.

“Corroded Coffin has kind of blown up again, so a lot of people tagged me on twitter to talk more about some of the photos I took of them, which has been a little overwhelming,” Jonathan tells the camera, his voice indeed a little shrill. “So, this video is to meet that demand.”

He grabs the book, which has little tabs sticking out, so he can find the right pages easier and flips it open on the first one.

On screen appears a photo of Eddie, Jeff, Gareth and Chris. They all have their arms slung over each other, Gareth giving Eddie bunny ears. Their clothes are classic 80s punk, heavily inspired by the queer scene as both Eddie and Gareth had influenced the other two.

“This is Corroded Coffin back in School,” Jonathan says. “I took this in ‘86. It’s not a very fancy or hard to take photo, just a group photo. It’s an old one, so I was also at the start of my photography career. I had not training yet, so it isn’t very dynamic photo.”

“However,” he goes on. “We put it in here, because went with the theme and because shows their youth and playfulness. It’s very much them before they took off.”

“I don’t want to imply that fame changed them or anything. They’re a few of the most down to earth people I know, but I’ve been taking Corroded Coffin photos for a long time. Most of them have been in circulation since the 90s, save those in here and few that didn’t make the cut,” Jonathan says. “But the longer you spend in front of a camera, the more you get used to it. So of course the way they come across has changed.”

“Here for example,” he points to the bunny ears. “It’s very silly and it’s teen behavior. They would still do that in the 90s, but they would have thought about it. If it fit the vibe of the photo or if they intentionally didn’t want to take a moment seriously.”

“They’re pose is also very basic,” Jonathan says. “I’ve had a lot of fun directing shoots with them for album covers etcetera. But it’s clear here they haven’t gotten used to posing as a group and I’m not used to shooting groups yet either.”

He flips the page to another book mark as the photo changes to Corroded Coffin performing at the Hideout. All the band members dressed extravagantly. Eddie has eyeliner tears streaming down his face alongside the sweat. He is mid-head bang, sharing a microphone with Jeff. Gareth has his arms raised high in the background, about to slam down on the drums. Chris is pouring water from a bottle over his face.

“This is Corroded Coffin Live at the Hideout back in ‘88,” Jonathan says. “If you’re a fan, you probably have heard them mention the place, since that is where they first performed.”

“I really like the photo, because it truly shows that they’re too small for the stage, the presence they had and the potential,” Jonathan says. “It’s a little rough around the edges, but the show is already there.”

“There is no audience, but they’re still playing as if they’re in a stadium,” Jonathan goes on. “I still had to get used to shooting the band and over time I learned it’s sometimes better to focus on one member instead of trying to wait for that perfect moment wherein they all are going to look good, because that just doesn’t happen.”

“Like here,” he turns to the photograph. “You can barely see Eddie’s face with how his hair is in front of his face and the splash of water isn’t the best either. This photo made the cut, since it’s the best I took that evening, which says a lot.”

Jonathan flips the page again and nods: “Ah, yes, if you compare it to this one, you can see the evolution. It’s Corroded Coffin’s First Show in Boston, which I took a year later in ‘89.”

The band is playing in a dingy little club in Boston. However, they have an audience, silhouettes of heads and arms in the foreground as they play. Eddie is shirtless, wearing only leather pants, his boots and suspenders. He isn’t playing the guitar, instead clapping his hands above his head with a manic grin, his armpit hair on display. Gareth and Jeff are still playing, but Chris is helping hype up the audience.

“This is a better picture, since it’s a moment they interact with the audience, thus are aware that they’re being seen,” Jonathan explains. “So, it’s a much better moment to photograph, though it’s never going to be perfect.”

“You can also see how they’ve changed here,” Jonathan says. “They’ve always been too big for their stage, but the difference in their face between having a crowd here and the empty Hideout is huge.”

“One of the things I enjoy most is shooting the same subject over time, because you can really capture how much they change and what things are important to them at the time,” Jonathan says with a smile.

Jonathan flips to the next page with a little tab, then checks what the next one after that is, before flipping to the after that, which is Eddie Munson and his Sweetheart. In the photo Eddie is on his knees, leaning back and playing the guitar. He is in a cropped, hand-painted Corroded Coffin shirt, sweat soaking it. He is playing his heart out, seemingly lost in the music. His right eye is still bruised to all hell.

“This is Eddie Munson and his Sweetheart and when I learned to take solo photos of them instead of trying to get them all in there,” Jonathan smiles. “I took this in 1990, right before they were taking off.”

“What I really like about this photo is how private it is,” Jonathan says. “He is on that stage in front of a lot of people, but he’s just alone with the music for a second. You can see it in the expression on his face and how he holds the guitar.”

“I had to fight my way through to get the angle for this photo, nearly broke my camera, but it was so worth it. Because you’re kind of looking up to him. He might be kneeling, but he is still looming over you, his presence bigger than you. That really makes this photo special and so very Eddie-like,” Jonathan explains.

Then he flips to the next marked page and Personal Makeup Artist appears on screen. It’s of Steve and Eddie in the bathroom. Eddie is sitting on the counter with his eyes closed, he is gripping the side of the counter tightly. Between his legs is Steve, holding eyeliner in his one hand, Eddie’s chin with the other as he delicately applies it. He is going for dramatic this night.

“This is before their first big-big gig back in ‘91,” Jonathan says. “Eddie was so nervous, all of them were, but not trying to show it. He spend the whole time telling Steve how bad it would all go. What I really like is the soft quiet moment that you can see here.”

“Eddie will never admit it, but he’s scared of eyeliner. He can’t do it himself,” Jonathan reveals. “Later makeup artists did it for him, but before they made it big, Steve was always the one to do it for him. It was their little ritual before shows.”

He moves on to the other photo on the page. Taken behind the scenes of Corroded Coffin’s first big gig. They’re standing to the sides, peaking at the audience, but not yet on stage. Gareth is anxiously spinning his drumstick and biting his lip. Next to him, squatted on the ground, is Chris, breathing into a bag. In the foreground is Eddie, who is looking into the camera with wide, scared eyes. Behind him is Jeff grinning widely

“We wanted to contrast that quiet moment with what they were about to do,” Jonathan says. “This photo is named More than 10,000 People and it was their genuine reaction to having to go on stage in front of so many people. It’s quite funny when you realize how much bigger their crowds got over time, but that makes it such a nice photo.”

“They had to get used to all that fame, the amount of eyes on them. Jeff has always been the least anxious about it out of all of them, which you can see here,” Jonathan points to Jeff. “I remember this moment quite well. Corroded Coffin nearly didn’t make it, because Chris walked out and Eddie was ready to follow him. But they did just fine for themselves and killed it.”

Jonathan flips to the next page and Eddie Munson on Stage, 1991 appears on screen. It is of Eddie on stage at their first big gig. His hair is thrown back as he sings, thrusting his hips on which the guitar rests forward. He’s wearing big boots and tight pants. He is shirtless save for a leather harness, he looks alive and sweaty, handkerchief hanging out of his pocket. The lights reflect on his slick skin, the scars standing out between the tattoos.

“Again, me knowing to photograph only one member at the time,” Jonathan laughs. “No, but this one is different than Eddie Munson and his Sweetheart that I showed you earlier. This is called Eddie Munson on Stage, 1991. Which is a pretty utilitarian title, but that is what it is. This is Eddie on stage; funny, engaged and in performer mode. It’s not him alone with his guitar despite the crowd, this time he knows he’s being seen. So it’s a different photo.”

“It’s also very much a performance photo. He is on stage, looking very much like a rockstar and we wanted to contrast that with his normal, human side,” Jonathan goes on. “So, of course we had to put Post Gig Dinner right next to it.”

The photo appears. In it, the entirety of Corroded Coffin is stuffed into a booth along with Robin and Steve. Everyone is grinning. The members of the band are all sweaty and stuffing their face with fries, while trying to laugh for the camera. Robin is throwing up devil horns along with Jeff, Chris has two fries as fangs, while Gareth is mid-chew. Eddie has Steve in his lap, who stands out like a sore thumb between the alternatively dressed people around him in his jeans and polo. Though Eddie is wearing a jacket over his harness that can’t be anyone’s except Steve’s.

“It’s a very silly photo, which is really like,” Jonathan says. “They always used to eat at this diner after gigs, before they got too recognizable to do so.”

“What I especially like about this photo, is how Robin and Steve fit into it,” Jonathan tells the camera. “They’re in some aspects such an opposites attract friendship and this photo really shows that.”

“Robin has always been a little more alternative and a dyke to the heart, while Steve has always been a little more mainstream,” Jonathan explains. “Neither of these are better than the others, but seated next to a metal band, one is going to stand out more. Robin could easily be a part of the band.”

“But I think that makes Steve’s position all the more interesting,” Jonathan goes on. “Because Robin is part of the group, she blends in. Steve stands out. But out here in the world, he’s someone you’d walk by without a glance while all the others would usually turn heads. By virtue of the crowd, the script gets flipped.”

“And that makes the detail of his jacket all the more fun,” Jonathan says, “because Eddie is wearing it. He is connecting himself to Eddie, pulling him a little into his world as Eddie pulls him into his by holding him. They’re the point the lines blur in this photo and that tells a lovely story about how they connect.”

With that he flips to the next tab and states: “Page 96 and 97 are the pages with A Collection Of Early Corroded Coffin Photos. I’m going to pick a few out of here that I find interesting or that I have something to say about.”

“Of course the first one is kind of funny and says a lot about what back stage looks like,” Jonathan says as it appears on screen.

It is of Eddie and Steve making out on top of one of the equipment boxes backstage, in the foreground is Jeff looking into the camera with an exhausted look.

“Steve and Eddie are, for a lack of better words, very clingy and a little gross about it,” Jonathan admits. “And back here they still saw each other daily, it got worse when they were apart more often. I have one photo where they’re on the brink of fucking right back stage, but that didn’t make the cut.”

“I think what really sells this photo is Jeff,” Jonathan decides. “He looks tired, which tells people that this happens often. I pity them during the time they shared a tour bus whenever Steve came to visit them on tour.”

The next image comes on screen. It’s of Jeff and Chris tuning their guitars on stage, the huge venue they’re in is still empty and it’s just the two of them and the instruments on stage.

“Here, this one of Chris and Jeff is very evocative, because they look very small on their big stage. I think it really shows the small human artist behind every rock legend,” Jonathan says. “Sometimes you have to work with empty space to say what you want and this is an example of it.”

“Oehh, this one is great,” Jonathan exclaims as the image changes to Robin and Steve are holding hands, their bodies silhouetted from the back by the light coming from the stage. From in between them you can see Eddie hopping on one leg as he plays the guitar.

“I love this photo, because it shows their dynamic through these years,” Jonathan says. “Robin has been Steve’s support system whenever Eddie was away, while Steve kept Eddie going. Here the two of them are supporting Eddie, but Robin is holding Steve’s hand, supporting him too.”

“A lot of people don’t realize how hard it is to date a rockstar, especially before there was social media and face time,” Jonathan explains. “Steve will never fully admit how hard those years were. Eddie too. They’re strong about it, but they wouldn’t have made it through without people like Robin there. This photo really shows that.”

“Next one,” Jonathan takes a look then nods. “This one here is a better example of a full band photo, because sometimes you just have to accept that not all will be the focus, because that’s just not how it works.”

The photograph is of the entire band. Chris and Jeff are going wild, leaning over the first row with people going wild. Eddie is standing by Gareth, head banging as both of them play.

It gets replaced by a set of photographs as Jonathan moves on. The first is of Eddie holding a bra that has been thrown at him, from the look in his eyes, he has no idea what to do with it. The second one is taken right after of Eddie still holding the bra, but grinning wolf-ishly into the audience. After seeing so many photographs of him genuinely grinning it is clear he quickly plastered it on.

“This set, I love this set,” Jonathan comments, looking up in the camera again. He’s been mostly looking down to the book, seeming more comfortable like that.

“It’s that slight crack in the performer that is Eddie Munson that is captured so beautifully,” he smiles almost lovingly at the photos. “Eddie has always been such a presence, even before he was famous or I even knew him. He’d be out on cafeteria tables monologuing in front of the entire school.”

“He has always wanted to be a star and had dreams about it and this is the moment he realizes what the reality of it will look like. And he goes through it like a champ, because he is meant for this and he worked too hard to get there not to,” Jonathan says. “It’s a funny series, but it has something tragic that really speaks to me.”

The series gets replaces with an image that is taken behind the venue of the band smoking. You can’t make out their faces all the best, however, you can see the embers of their cigarettes glow and what those reveal.

“This is a calmer photo that kind of shows the showbiz life outside the gigs,” Jonathan moves on. “I like the calm moment that offsets the more crazy ones on here. I also quite like the metaphor of the light only showing part of them, the rest being left in the dark. That might seem like reaching, but that’s the beauty of photography, you’re allowed to be a little pretentious about it.”

He laughs a little self-depreciating, before flipping to the next tab.

The image that comes on screen is of Corroded Coffin in the Munson apartment, they’re all cheering, screaming, going nuts. Gareth is jumping on the couch, Robin next to him as Jeff fist pumps next to them. Chris is tugging Argyle into a bone crushing hug. Nancy is still seated, but smiling with her teeth. In the foreground is Eddie screaming as if he’s about to run or break something, behind him is Steve diving for the phone Eddie has just dropped.

Jonathan snorts, before he introduces: “This is Signed Their First Album and Tour that I took in ‘91. It’s- it is quite a dynamic moment. Chaotic if you want to be more accurate.”

“I remember this moment so well, we all came around to wait on the call and Eddie just heard the news and started to cheer without any regard for the person on the other line,” Jonathan shakes his head with a fond smile. “I think Steve was the one to accept it for them. He’s my favorite part of this photo.”

“Taking these almost baroque style photos of something happening is a mix between skill, luck and just snapping a thousand photos and hoping one will turn out okay,” Jonathan says. “I’ve had to tear up so many of these types of photos. It’s a hazard of the job. Don’t be afraid to take a shitty photo, because the next one might be great.”

With that he flips to the next page, before looking up to someone behind the camera with a questioning gaze.

There is a cut, then Jonathan is saying: “There are quite a lot of them still to go and this one is already longer than other ones, so I can’t talk about all of them. Now I’ve kind of gone through the early days, but I can do the others ones too if anyone’s interested.”

He signs off: “So, yeah, that is a behind the scene of early Corroded Coffin photos. Hopefully that was interesting. Bye.”

A/N:

In case you’re wondering that is a question to y’all if there is interest for more bts of Corrded Coffin xp

#rr writing #a collection of queer photography by jonathan byers #a behind the scenes by jonathan byers #corroded coffin #stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #eddie lives au #st post season 4 #robin buckley #jonathan byers #platonic stobin #famous eddie munson #gareth stranger things #jeff stranger things

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schrijverr · 11 months

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A Behind the Scenes of: Eddie and Steve's Wedding

Together with Eddie and Steve themselves, Jonathan takes a look at their unlawful wedding from 1992.

On AO3.

Ships: Steddie (and other background)

Warnings: homophobia mention

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hi, I’m Jonathan Byers, the main photographer and editor of A Collection of Queer Photography. And today Eddie and Steve are with me to look at their illegal wedding in ‘92,” Jonathan starts the video.

“Hellu everybody,” Eddie grins happily into the camera, keeping up the energy he had in the video about Corroded Coffin.

“Hi,” Steve greets a little more reserved. He has his glasses on and a soft sweater, while his hair is still perfectly styled. There are laugh lines around his eyes as well as a few wrinkles on his forehead.

Steve now has his own mic, but that doesn’t stop him and Eddie from being pressed so close together that they could have shared one.

“The wedding is from page 130 to 137,” Jonathan says. “The way we built it up when putting it in was starting with the moment before the ceremony, then the wedding itself, then the after wedding nice pictures, before ending with the after wedding party.”

“And boy did we party,” Eddie grins.

“Of course we did,” Steve comments a little bitchily. “It was our wedding. We’re not going to have a boring wedding.”

Jonathan rolls his eyes fondly at the couple as he flips open the book and says: “Page 130 has Pre-Wedding Jitters on it, taken, of course, in 1992.”

The photo is of Eddie and Wayne. They’re both in suits and Eddie is fidgeting nervously with the cuff link, while Wayne is straightening Eddie’s tie. He looks like he’s in the midst of an anxious rant to Wayne, who is attempting to soothe him. They both have a flower pinned to their lapel as well as one stuck in Eddie’s ponytail.

Almost in sync, Eddie and Steve lean over to see the photo. Eddie blushes while Steve melts and comments: “Ahw you were so cute in your little suit with Wayne.”

Eddie’s smile turns a little wistful at the mention of his uncle and he says: “He’s the reason my tie was on right. I- I still don’t know how to do it. He always used to and now Stevie here does.”

Steve hugs him tightly leaning his head on Eddie’s shoulder for a second, before easing up again after he promises that he’ll always be here to do it. Eddie leans back into him and says: “You better, big boy.”

“It’s such a sweet moment,” Jonathan agrees with them. “I’m really happy I caught it. I also think it’s really funny and says a lot about the two of you that Eddie was anxiously ranting while Wayne fiddled with his outfit, while Steve was fiddling with his outfit while being ranted at in Big Day Pep-Talk on the other page here.”

Big Day Pep-Talk appears on screen. It is of Steve and Robin on it. They are also both dressed in suits with flowers pinned to them. Steve is wiping imaginary dust of his front, while Robin has both her hands on his shoulders and looks at him intently. She is talking to Steve, who is seemingly nodding along, unable to help worrying his lip between his teeth.

At that Eddie and Steve snort as Steve shrugs: “What can I say, I know what it takes to always look good.”

“I do it effortlessly, though,” Eddie teases.

“With your team of stylists, Mr. Rockstar,” Steve quips right back. Both of them are grinning happily, their snippy back and forth a big part of their relationship that neither of them takes to heart.

“You got me there,” Eddie laughs, before turning to the photo. “You and Robs make a great team, I’m glad she talked you out of getting cold feet.”

“I didn’t get cold feet,” Steve protests, before looking away. “I just maybe needed to hear it again that you would show up.”

“Of course I would show up,” Eddie says, almost affronted.

“You both showed up,” Jonathan sighs. “I don’t know why you two always need to rehash this argument. Both of you were nervous and both of you did it and you’re happy now.”

“It’s nice to repeat it sometimes,” Eddie says.

“You wouldn’t get it,” Steve immediately backs him up, dropping their argument.

Jonathan sighs, but doesn’t go into it and also doesn’t really look bothered. Instead he says: “I think these two match very well. Wayne and Robin are the most important people to you and I think it’s nice that you got to have them as back up and that the two of you mirrored each other subconsciously.”

“Hell yeah,” Eddie cheers, holding up his hand for a high five that Steve obliges happily while Jonathan flips the page.

“Okay, the concept for page 132 and 133 was to have both of you seeing each other on page 132, so walking the aisle and then page 133 had the vows and you walking back down the aisle. So the two pages are kind of the ceremony itself,” Jonathan explains. “First photo is Seeing the Groom, which is of Steve seeing Eddie.”

The photo that appears is of Steve standing in the backyard of the Hopper-Byers house. A homemade altar has been constructed behind which is Hopper, smiling proudly in his suit. On the left side is Gareth, waiting as Eddie’s best man. Robin is behind Steve on the right, squeezing his shoulder as she looks teary-eyed at whatever is happening behind the camera. The real focus of the photograph is, Steve, who is smiling so brightly it seems to split his face in two, tears sliding down his face as he cries. He seems to glow from within and breathless by what he is seeing.

“I loved seeing Steve so much,” Eddie sighs dreamily at the photo. “I mean, he’s so handsome and he cried. He told me he wouldn’t cry, but he did.”

“Of course I cried,” Steve exclaims. “I was going to marry you and you looked beautiful. Plus, you cried too.”

“Yeah, but I never denied I was going to cry like a bitch,” Eddie points out.

“No comment,” Steve says, before turning to Jonathan and asking: “So, what are your insights here?”

Jonathan shakes his head with a smile, before he starts: “I like that it seems everybody is revolving around Steve and his anticipation. Like, it is very clear that Steve is the center of the photo, but even more than that, it is who Steve is watching. There is this anticipation that underlines it all that I’m pretty proud of.”

“You were very anticipated, baby,” Steve nudges Eddie with a smile, who returns it tenfold. The two of them scoot closer, impossible as it seems.

“Beyond that, I also like the homemade element that is quite clear here,” Jonathan says. “It kind of contrasts everyone’s clothes and the traditional set up of it all, which indicated the political climate at the time. It could just be an outdoor wedding, but it was homemade because it wasn’t just outdoor, there was no other way to have it.”

“Yeah,” Eddie nods, Steve doing the same. He continues: “I thought getting illegally married was pretty metal of us, but, as much as I am anti-establishment, it would have been nice to do it at a venue and shit. To have catering or a band playing, but we couldn’t take those risks.”

“Exactly,” Steve agrees. “I mean, I always dreamed of having a wedding, settling down with someone. Part of that was my upbringing of course, since I was expected to create an heir for my father’s business and in a small town you can’t have a baby without a marriage, but I also liked the fantasy of it all. This was still one of the best days of my life, but, like Eds said, it would have been nice to have a bigger, nicer wedding. We could afford it, it just wasn’t safe.”

“That really sucked, yeah,” Jonathan says, before he grins. “But the two of you more than made up for it at your wedding in 2015.”

The two of them have matching proud grins and Eddie says: “Yeah, we did.” This time it’s Steve who holds up his hand as Eddie high fives him.

“Corroded Coffin fans probably saw some of the photos of it that were posted online,” Jonathan addresses the audience. “But those who weren’t fans back then, just know that it was as dramatic as ever. The band performed, Eddie wrote a song with extra vows, there were fireworks and Steve’s after party outfit had photos of all their time as couple together on it.”

“It was great,” Steve informs the camera happily.

“It was,” Jonathan agrees, because they know how to throw a party. “Anyway, let’s move onto Walking Down the Aisle, which is right underneath.

The photo that comes on screen is of Eddie being given away by uncle Wayne. They’re walking arm in arm down the aisle. Eddie practically clutching Wayne’s arm tight enough to bruise, though Wayne doesn’t seem to mind if you go of the way he’s smiling. Eddie is crying just as much as Steve is, though he also can’t stop the grin on his face.

“You looked so pretty,” Steve gushes. “I swear I can close my eyes and conjure you in this moment. Burned into my noggin forever.”

“Ahww, baby,” Eddie says, pulling Steve close as he makes big, touched eyes.

Jonathan lets the two of them do their thing as he talks to the camera. “This, like many photos in this book, is another example of queering scenarios that are normally heteronormative moments, which I really love doing. And it’s just a sweet memory as well.”

“We love queering everything,” Eddie cheers, freeing one arm from Steve’s clutches to throw over Jonathan’s shoulder and pull him into the hug as well. Jonathan goes quite willingly and with a smile on his face.

They move onto the next photo, which appears on screen. It is of Eddie and Steve kissing at the altar. Eddie is holding the lapels of Steve’s suit, crinkling the fabric with the force as he pulls Steve close. Steve has one hand on Eddie’s hip, the other wound in Eddie’s ponytail. He is clinging equally close.

“This one is called Declared Husband & Husband,” Jonathan states. “What I like about this is how much you’re both clinging to each other. You just look so genuinely happy to be married, despite everything that’s against to you. Sometimes joy in an image can be really powerful.”

“Ahw, you’re going to make me cry,” Eddie says. “I already cried once about being married to Steve today.”

Steve meanwhile has turned slightly away from the camera and is dabbing at his eyes with his sleeves, before turning back and choking: “I was very happy. I am very happy. I love this photo so much. We have it framed on the hearth.”

“It is a very lovely photo,” Eddie agrees, before he kisses Steve on the cheek. “And I’m happy too, sweetheart.”

Steve melts a little into Eddie’s side, the two of them practically merging into one. Jonathan smiles at them fondly, looking a little proud of himself as well.

“Okay, next photo is Back Down the Aisle,” Jonathan breaks the silence after a brief pause.

Back Down the Aisle is of Eddie shrieking as Steve sweeps him off his feet to carry him down the aisle in a bridal carry. The shriek on his face is mixed with delight as he scrambles to hold onto Steve’s shoulders. Steve is laughing widely as if he knows how much he’ll startle Eddie.

Eddie and Steve lean over to see again. When they do, Steve bursts out into laughter, while Eddie nudges him with his shoulder and exclaims: “You were such an asshole for that,” with a fond grin on his face.

“You loved it,” Steve grins back.

“Yeah, I did,” Eddie smiles dreamily as he starts to playfully squeeze Steve’s upper arm. “My husband, so strong.”

Steve rolls his eyes, before flexing and saying: “Hell yeah, I am.” Due to the sweater, you can’t really see his arms that well, but he is clearly strong, built like heavy weight champions, broad, soft, yet filled with muscle too.

“Oh my god,” Jonathan groans. “Why did I agree to this.”

“Because we’re your friends and you love us anyway?” Eddie suggests, failing to play innocent.

“And because Eds here is great publicity,” Steve adds with a shit eating smirk.

“Fair enough,” Jonathan says as he straightens up and goes back to his task in this whole ordeal, AKA actually talking about the photo. “This is another example of queering the heteronormative, which is bound to be a theme at an illegal gay wedding.”

“Hey,” Eddie interrupts with a pout. “Was it my friendship or am I just a publicity whore to you!”

“Publicity whore,” Jonathan tells him without hesitation. Despite their antics, Eddie and Steve have made him much more comfortable in front of the camera and he’s not afraid to be his own snippy self with them.

“You know what? I deserved that,” Eddie says, though he doesn’t really look hurt. Eddie will always be down to lift the projects of his friends and other people doing good things. Besides, he knows that Jonathan doesn’t really mean it and he’s having a great time.

“Thank you,” Jonathan says pointed, flipping the page.

Then he awkwardly flips it back and says: “I also wanted to add that I love the playfulness of this photo. Especially at the time, weddings were seen by broad society as this important, stiff ceremony. A lot of the time, marriages were also done out of obligation, either to hide a premarital baby, to make alliances, just for financial safety or because it was expected. These moments of joy show how much you two simply like each other and like being around each other. It makes it even more absurd that this wasn’t allowed.”

“Ahww, Jonny-boy, we should've let you do our best man speech,” Eddie jokes to hide the genuine emotion.

“Gareth and Robin would have killed me, not to mention Dustin. No, thanks,” Jonathan shudders as they all laugh.

This time it is for real when Jonathan flips the page and a new photo appears on screen. It is of Eddie and Steve, flanked by Wayne, Hopper and Joyce, remnants of tears on their faces and smiles firmly in place.

Jonathan introduces it: “This is Proud Parents. I really like playing with traditional family shoots in relation to found family and this is a great example of that.”

“These people were more parents than our actual parents anyway. It fits them better,” Eddie comments.

“Yeah, uncle Wayne took both of us in and Jim and Joyce have always been kind of there for me ever since ‘83,” Steve says. He glances at Jonathan, who nods, before he continues: “Will went missing, I also got caught up with the search. It bonds people. If Eddie and Wayne hadn’t already offered me a spot after my parents kicked me out, I would’ve been living with them. They’re the best parents ever.”

“I am very lucky,” Jonathan agrees easily.

“As am I,” Eddie says. “Sure, I got kicked out, but uncle Wayne was the very best. Without him, who knows where I would have ended up.” Eddie is quiet for a second. “I’m really glad we held this wedding, that he could be here for it, since, you know…”

Eddie trails off, but they all know what he meant to say: ‘Because he didn’t live to see our other one.’

They’re all quiet for a moment to commemorate uncle Wayne, who didn’t live to see gay marriage be legalized in the States. Steve is gently rubbing Eddie’s back, he knows it still hurts, no matter how many years have passed. Then Eddie breaks it and asks: “What’s next?”

Jonathan takes his cue to move on and reads out: “The one with Dustin. “I Knew They Would Get Along”.”

“Ah, the smug one,” Eddie and Steve say in sync, before looking at each other and bursting into laughter.

The photo is of Eddie and Steve posing with Dustin. He looks very smug as he stands with the two, while Eddie and Steve seem to be rolling their eyes.

“He was our ring bearer,” Eddie says. “He fought very hard for best man, but I had to give that to Gar and Robs wasn’t going to budge either. Though, he was my best man at our legal wedding. I think Gar is still a little salty about it.”

“Gareth just likes holding grudges over nothing,” Steve comments. “I think he’s still mad at me for that time in ‘98 when I told him I’d bring cookies when I came to watch you guys practice and I forgot. I apologized like three times too.”

“You still know the year that happened?” Eddie asks incredulously.

“I also like holding grudges,” Steve replies, looking away bitchily to which Eddie snorts.

“I have very little to add to this photo,” Jonathan states to get them moving again. “Page 134 are posed photos, so they are less snapshots. I love this one mostly because Dustin can be very smug and Eddie and Steve can be very done with his shit. Fondly, but still. This just show their relationship quite well.”

Jonathan looks back to the page and says: “Last one on page 134 is With the Kids and is just you guys posed with the younger party. Cool to skip that one?”

“Sure,” Eddie agrees easily and Steve also shrugs as he nods. He’s more than happy to let people who are used to being in these sort of settings make decisions like that.

“Okay, page 135 has two I love,” Jonathan says. “They’re more personal reactions, less posed. I got one for each of the grooms, but there are others with other people. These just say a lot. First one is the one that spawned the idea of this video; Lead Singer Gets Hitched.”

It is of Eddie being lifted onto the shoulders of the Corroded Coffin boys. They’re so proud that their emotions out themselves like they’re a bunch of jocks. Jeff and Chris are bearing most of Eddie’s weight while Gareth is just grinning widely as he tries to stabilize a manically laughing Eddie. None of their suits are done up properly and a sense of happiness and pride wafts off the image.

Eddie has a soft, fond grin on his face as he looks at the photo. He looks up after a second and says: “I just love those guys, you know. They’re the best. None of us expected to get married. Me and Gar never dared to dream, because two small gay boys in Bumfuck, Indiana and Jeff and Chris were pushed down their entire lives right besides us for being nerds, metal heads, freaks. I think none of could really believe this was happening. Any of it. It felt amazing, kind of like we made it in a different way than showbiz.”

“This photo reads as such a victory photo, a true celebration, which I think shows that,” Jonathan comments.

“It’s very jock-like,” Steve says. “And I think that’s hilarious. You just scored the winning point at the end of the match, Eds.”

“Let me have this, Stevie,” Eddie pouts with a big smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

“Of course, baby,” Steve agrees immediately and with ease, kissing the tip of Eddie’s nose as he does, which makes Eddie blush and look away.

Seemingly oblivious to the blushy mess he left Eddie as, Steve turns back to the photo and laughs as he says: “When I saw them do that I was so worried about them. I mean, they’ve done crazy stunts on stage now, but back then they were a little too close to what I had seen in high school PE class. I was so sure they were going to drop Eddie. Take it from someone, who has had multiple concussions, they aren’t fun.”

Eddie has shaken off the blush and teasingly pouts: “We weren’t that bad.”

“Eddie, baby, I love you, but you are almost on Robin’s level,” Steve tells him with the most empathetic voice. “You trip over air regularly and clip into things all the time. Jeff has broken his guitar writing stuff down, Gareth once fell of stage. You fell of stage. Multiple times.”

“That’s showbiz, baby,” Eddie grins, doing jazz hands.

“That’s you being an idiot,” Steve shoots right back, grinning as he shakes his head fondly.

“The next photo is The Groom and His Best Man,” Jonathan interrupts before they can tease-flirt even more.

The Groom and His Best Man is a photo of Robin and Steve. They’re is sitting on the ground, not caring that the grass will likely stain their suits. Robin is sitting on the ground next to Steve, legs thrown over his lap. Their heads are bend together as they admire the ring on Steve’s hand. Robin is smiling softly, while Steve still looks to be in awe, like he still can’t quite believe it.

“Whereas Lead Singer Gets Hitched is a loud celebration, this one is such a quiet awe-filled moment,” Jonathan says. “I really love the juxaposition between them by putting them on the same page, as well as showing how they’re different sides of the same coin. The loud celebration of something you didn’t think you could achieve versus the stunned silence of getting there.”

“You’re right, I couldn’t believe it,” Steve agrees, smiling at the photo. “When I fell in love with Eddie, I mourned a lot of stuff too. They don’t tell you that, but a part of discovering yourself is letting go of a future you’re not going to have. I shouldn’t be complaining, of course, I could still love a woman, so-”

“Hey, no bi erasure, sweetheart,” Eddie interrupts softly, but sternly.

“Ah, sorry,” Steve drops it immediately, giving the camera an apologetic look.

“It’s okay,” Eddie tells him. “What did you want to say?”

“Oh, yes,” Steve gets back on track. “When I fell in love with Eddie, I knew he was it for me and with that came a lot of happiness, but also knowing there were things I wouldn’t get to have. That was pretty rough at first. I grew up believing my future would follow all the steps of school, marriage, home, kids and then I was confronted with the fact that I wouldn't have all that. And that was hard, very hard. I always wanted to settle down, have kids and that just crumbled before my eyes.”

Steve takes a shuddering breath and Eddie pulls him close, softly asking: “You still good to share, doll? You can always back out.”

“I am,” Steve assures him with a small smile, before going on. “It felt like that was gone, but Eddie kind of gave that future back to me. We said screw it, if we want to have that future, we can, even if we have to built it ourselves. This photo is the moment that sank in for me. That I could still have all that and look at me now, I do.”

He looks up and smiles, before going on: “And I’m glad I shared it with Robs, because she was the person that has always been there for me. Who mourned that stuff with me. She knew from a young age that wasn’t in the cards for her and while she never dreamed of it, I know this also gave her a little bit of hope.”

“And she had her glorious gay wedding too,” Jonathan says.

Eddie, meanwhile, has gone teary eyed and quiet as he buries his face in Steve’s shoulder, hiding behind his hair as he wraps himself around Steve. Choked up, he whispers: “I’m glad I could do that for you, Stevie.”

Steve smiles lovingly at Eddie, scratching his scalp as he replies: “I’m glad too. Love you.”

“Love you too,” came Eddie’s muffled reply.

There is a cut, before Jonathan is introducing the next one: “Page 136 has a start of the night, end of the night comparison, while page 137 is what the actual party looked like when the part where people felt that they had to look nice for the pictures was over.”

“AKA the best part of the night,” Eddie quips with a big grin.

“Sure,” Jonathan smiles as he rolls his eyes. “First we have Eddie & Steve Munson, which is at the start of the night when both grooms were still looking handsome.”

“Especially Eddie, isn’t that right, Jonny?” Steve comments, leaning over to look at Jonathan.

“Don’t,” Jonathan says, hiding behind the book.

“What?” Steve replies, acting both innocent and oblivious, with an edge of mean girl shining through. “You had a crush on my husband, can’t I point out how good he looks? You agree, don’t you?”

“Oh my god,” Jonathan groans as he thunks the book against his head. “I should have never let Eddie tell you that. Besides, that was in like ‘89, I was already over it when I took this photo anyway.”

“So you’re saying Eddie isn’t handsome?” Steve asks, biting his lip to contain his laughter, while Eddie hides a giggle behind his hand.

“This feels like a trap,” Jonathan says, his voice sounding forced.

“It is,” Steve tells him cheerily. “So, I’ll let it go. The answer was that he looks very dashing and handsome, as well as very taken and happily married.”

“He does look very happily married,” Jonathan agrees gratefully.

Eddie & Steve Munson, which has been on screen throughout the conversation is taken right after the ceremony. Eddie and Steve are standing, foreheads resting against each other, hands clasped between them. Both of them are smiling as they gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes, suits perfectly in tact. A classic wedding picture.

“If I may interject,” Eddie says, saving Jonathan further. “I’d say that Stevie also looks very handsome and happily married.”

“Probably because he is,” Steve replies as he leans in close to Eddie, both of them with love sick looks on their faces as they face one another, their noses practically touching.

Either letting them be or being oblivious to it, Jonathan says: “This is again the queering of a traditional photo and, as mentioned, we juxtaposed it with the less glamorous and socially acceptable end of the night. So, right next to it is Grooms at the End of the Wedding.”

The photo is of the pair. Both of them have lost their suit jacket and tie, Steve has a few buttons undone and his sleeves rolled up, while Eddie’s dress shirt is unbuttoned all the way down, though still tucked into his pants. They both have a beer in their hand and are shitfaced. Eddie’s arm is wrapped around Steve’s waist, Steve’s around Eddie’s shoulder as they grin into the camera.

“As you can see, they’re a lot more disheveled, but what I love is the satisfied looks on their faces, you know,” Jonathan says. “They had a great night and that shines through them.”

Next to him, Steve has put his head on Eddie’s shoulder and Eddie has him pulled tightly to his side, though they’re listening to Jonathan. Steve agrees: “We did have an amazing night.”

“God, it was great,” Eddie reminisces with a big grin on his face. “I was only invited on ragers when I was there to deal – yes, I was a drugs dealer in high school, big wow – so to be at one with people I actually liked and go nuts was amazing and definitely an experience. Not at all comparable to famous people parties.”

“Can you say that?” Steve asks concerned.

“What?” Eddie asks.

“About the drugs?”

“Pretty common knowledge by now, plus statute of limitations has run out anyway,” Eddie shrugs.

“I know that, but is it smart?” Steve asks.

“Don’t see why not,” Eddie grins.

“Alright,” Steve gives in, trusting Eddie to know what’s best for him. He moves back onto the topic and says: “It was pretty close to high school ragers, but also not even close. Those parties are all people drinking and throwing up, there is arguing and people trying to be cool. This was actually fun. The only comparison is the drinking.”

“God, we were so drunk,” Eddie laughs.

“Yeah, you two fell like three seconds after I took this one,” Jonathan says.

“Really?” Steve frowns as Eddie comments: “I do not remember that at all, but that does explain why I had this big bruise on my thigh the next morning.”

“I told you it wasn’t me,” Steve crows with delight. “It was way too big to be a hickey and a weird place too, like why would I create a huge hickey on the outside of your thigh. I don’t know why you thought that.”

“It could have been,” Eddie defends himself. “We have done-”

“Let’s not get into you guys’ sex life,” Jonathan cuts them off, before the argument can get too revealing. At the interjection Steve blushes deeply while Eddie cackles loudly. “Moving on,” Jonathan says. “First one on page 137 is Keg Stand King Steve.”

The photo is of Steve doing a keg stand, held up by Eddie and Jeff, as around him Argyle, Dustin, Erica, Gareth, Lucas, Max and Robin chant. It looks more like a frat party than a wedding.

“This photo isn’t beating the high school rager allegations,” Jonathan snorts.

“Excuse you, this was a special request by my husband,” Steve says snootily. “I wasn’t going to deny him this on our wedding day.”

“Hell yeah it was,” Eddie grins happily. “Stevie here was keg stand grand master of our high school until senior year. I never got to see it myself, but I always thought it would be hot. My baby here kindly indulged me.”

Steve puffs up with pride at the words.

“God, you two are so weird,” Jonathan informs them, though it’s more a comment to himself. “But it does reflect the vibes of later in the night very well. And it looks funny next to the more respectable photo of a group next to it, which is Dancing Couples.”

Dancing Couples is of the dance floor, taken a bit earlier into the night when suits were on semi-properly at least. Front and center are Eddie and Steve dancing together. In the background you can see Mike and Will dancing, as well as El and Max, Max is leaning on her crutches with El’s arms wrapped around her neck, as well as Argyle and Nancy.

“I am going to be honest here and say that Dancing Couples was supposed to be on the left of the page and Keg Stand King Steve on the right, but we only noticed they were switched when it was too late, so this is how they are now,” Jonathan says. “We wanted a progression of the night, but that is kind of ruined. It is what it is. If we have put out a new edition, that will be fixed.”

“Huh, I didn’t notice,” Steve says, as Eddie nods: “Me neither.”

“That’s good,” Jonathan smiles. “In this photo Eddie and Steve are of course the focus as the grooms, but I tried to get as many couples in the background as I could. I really wanted to show that this was a queer wedding to its core and that we’re not alone. There are enough of us to fill a dance floor. We can have our own celebrations, do softer things like this, even if the media was calling us sexual degenerates.”

“It’s a cute photo,” Steve tells him. “I love that some of the kids are in here with us. Having them there was so important to me. I’m glad they had fun too.”

“You’re so cute, I love you,” Eddie squeals, grabbing Steve’s face to leave kisses all over it while Steve giggles under the attention.

There’s a cut to when Eddie and Steve are acting normal again as Jonathan moves on. “Then on the lower left there is Making Out Without a Care.”

The photo that appears is of Robin and Rose fully making out. Rose is in a lovely dress that shows off her soft belly and ass, with a neckline that goes down south. In the background you can see Eddie and Steve hollering at the two.

“Ahww, Robbie and Rose both looked beautiful,” Steve gushes. “Robin almost didn’t invite Rose, because she didn’t want to risk it ending bad and then always having her in my wedding photos, but I told her to do it if she felt right about it. Clearly, she felt right about it and that was a correct thing to feel.”

“Robin can be such a little worrier,” Eddie comments fondly.

“Yeah, she can,” Steve agrees with a fond grin. “But Rose and I keep her down to earth.”

“They fit really well together,” Jonathan says. “I really like the story this photo tells of them being together and you two in the background giving support. It’s such a drunken club photo and I really love it.”

“We are each other’s hype man,” Steve says. “Of course I was going to be hyping her up.”

“I just support debauchery in general, but especially when my friends do it,” Eddie shrugs with a big grin on his face.

Jonathan rolls his eyes, before he addresses the camera: “As I said before, we wanted this page to be a slow descend into intoxication. First, respectful dancing, then the drinking, then the making out and then the winding down. We got most of that at least. So, the last photo is He Is Saying My Husband on Repeat.”

It is of Steve sitting on a chair, Eddie in his lap, facing him as he steadies Eddie with two hands on his hips, while Eddie loops his around Steve’s neck. Eddie’s face is mostly obscured, because he is whispering something in Steve’s ear. Steve’s face is flushed as he giggles at what is being said.

“As the title says, Eddie was just saying that over and over again,” Jonathan tells the camera. “I love this photo, because it’s such an intimate and joyous moment and I really love capturing those.”

“God, Steve truly is the most handsome and pretty boy out there, isn’t he,” Eddie sighs dreamily, as he rests his head on Steve’s shoulder, who is flushing.

“I don’t know Eds, my husband is kind of better,” he teases to get away from the embarrassment.

Eddie cackles loudly, before he replies: “I’m going to have to fight you over that, sweetheart. Since my husband is the best.”

“Square up, babe,” Steve says, jokingly nudging Eddie with his shoulder.

“As much as I love your flirting,” Jonathan interjects before it can get out of hand. “Any comments, memories other tidbits?”

“I just remember being unable to believe it,” Eddie says. “I mean, it wasn’t true legally, but it was in our hearts and I just had to keep reminding myself that I was actually married. That I had a husband. I was gay trailer trash and I suddenly had a career and a loving relationship, that was already wild to me. In that moment, I just knew I was the luckiest man on the planet. So, that was mostly for my own benefit to just keep saying that.”

“It was adorable,” Steve smiles mushily. “You’re always so cool and tough, but you’re such a softie as well and I just want to swaddle you in a blanket and keep you all to myself.”

“I totally support that,” Eddie grins, through his cheeks are obviously burning, going all the way up to his ears.

“Good,” Steve replies, sounding very satisfied with himself as he loops his arms around Eddie and pulls him close.

“You guys had a great wedding,” Jonathan says. “And you two are an amazing couple. Truly, you complete each other. As much as I complain about your flirting and dramatics, it’s been great that you’re willing to talk about it all on here with me and that I was allowed to share your story.”

“Of course, man,” Steve says, pulling Jonathan into the hug as well. “You’re our friend and I couldn’t think of a better person to have photograph our wedding and tell our story with photos. You are a master.”

“Thank you,” Jonathan says, blushing.

“Even if you have a crush on my husband,” Steve adds, ruining the moment immediately.

“Oh my god, let that go,” Jonathan whines.

“Never,” Steve grins.

Jonathan buries himself in Eddie’s shoulder, so he doesn’t have to look at anyone. Eddie, meanwhile, lets the chaos unfold around him, waving at the camera as he says: “Thank everyone for watching, I’m sure Jonny-boy here will be back. Bye.”

“Bye,” Steve waves, before going back to prodding at Jonathan, who also squeaks a goodbye before the video ends.

A/N:

Shout out to Jonathan for putting up with their bullshit throughout this whole thing honestly, he’s the real MVP

#rr writing #stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #eddie lives au #st post season 4 #robin buckley #jonathan byers #the party stranger things #a collection of queer photography by jonathan byers #a behind the scenes by jonathan byers #steddie wedding #wayne munson #platonic stobin #uncle wayne #dustin henderson #corroded coffin #famous eddie munson

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schrijverr · 2 months

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Temporary Exhibition: Everyday Battlefields by Will Byers

Will Byers (1971-) was born and raised in Hawkins, Indiana, though had a short stint in Lenora Hills, California, before returning to the state to study art at University of California in Los Angeles. Here he experimented with different mediums and themes, before settling into what he is known for today; scenes with oil paint that have fantastical and horrror elements to them, but convey daily life.

In this exhibition, titled: Everyday Battlefields, Byers aims to combine the struggles that people face in the day to day with the world of fantasy. Here he takes inspiration from his own life and that of his friends and family.

It is a mix of his old work and work made specifically for this exhibition.

“There is something innately soothing in imagining the horrors of our lives to be monsters to be fought, instead of systems and hardships we must endure. It may make them more terrifying at a glace, but much easier to fight. Monsters can be beaten with the help of friends, systems must be chipped away at by the masses over time.”

~ Will Byers, 2008

On AO3

#rr writing #stranger things #st post season 4 #will byers #artist will byers #stranger things the party #the party stranger things #byler #a collection of queer photography by jonathan byers #everyday battlefields by will byers

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schrijverr · 1 year

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Interview with Eddie Munson about Recent Resurgence of Corroded Coffin and Appearance in A Collection of Queer Photography

Title speaks for itself. Interview with Eddie after the book is released, which caused a new interest in Corroded Coffin.

On AO3.

Ship: Steddie

Warnings: mentions of the AIDS crisis, mentions of homophobia, mentions of police violence, mentions of stopping with smoking, self identifying use of d-slur and f-slur

~~~~~~~~~

Today I go over to the house of Corroded Coffin front man Eddie Munson to talk to him about the renewed popularity of the band after Jonathan Byers published his work from 1986-1994. The book of photography is about growing up queer and the found family that Eddie also was a part of, giving insight into the private life of the group.

When I get to the address, I am greeted with the sight of a big house resting on a plot of land with a driveway that splits into two. Around the house is not a neat lawn like many other houses in the neighborhood have, instead it is full of wild flowers and grasses, a few trees and what looks to be a vegetable garden in the back. I have to check I have the right front door, before ringing the bell.

Soon Eddie Munson himself is opening the door and greeting me warmly and leading me to the living room I recognize from the end of the book.

Dressed in black sweatpants and a fraying Dio shirt, hair in a bun, he looks comfortable and a bit like a king in his castle as he sits down on one of the couches, gesturing me to take the other one. Though, not before giving me something to drink.

It’s afternoon, since he wanted the kids that he and his husband, Steve, are fostering to be out of the house, so they wouldn’t come under scrutiny. The two women he shares the house with, Robin and Rose, are of to work. It’s peaceful, but not quiet, metal music playing softly in the background.

I jump right in, asking him if he saw the recent success of the band coming. He laughs and shakes his head:

“No, man, not at all. We were all just hyped for Jon’s and Nance’s project to be taking off, you know. We knew some Corroded stuff was in there and that a few fans were excited about it, but we’re an old band, past our prime. And then that tweet about me on the phone to Stevie went viral and suddenly our numbers were going up and we were getting tagged in stuff. Some people made art, it’s really cool to see.”

He looks genuinely excited as he talks, loose grin on his face. I ask whether the fan interactions are different now than in the 90s.

“Totally, but not bad different. It’s a lot more connected today with social media and everything, which is really cool, since you get to know what people are thinking outside from a quick meet and greet or random encounter. Don’t get me wrong, I loved meeting fans back then, but this has its charm and we all get to hear from old fans now who didn’t have the money or ability to come see us back then. That’s definitely a bonus.”

Curious I ask: Have you noticed a difference between new fans and older fans?

“There is always generational differences. Trust me, I’m very glad that people have changed so much in how they think, but sometimes you’ll hear a kid say something and you’ve gotta turn your head in surprise, because it was unthinkable back then. But there are a lot of good kids out there. Mostly the difference is knowing lore. It’s hard to get to know things about a band that was big back then when you weren’t a part of it, but a lot of older fans are talking about it. It’s great to see that we built such a nice community out here.”

I tell him that a lot of people are wondering if the band is planning on releasing anything new now that they’re back in the spotlight, but Eddie shakes his head to that.

“No, no, sorry. I know people want us to, but we’re done. I still write music, even produce here and there. Jeff has his own record label and the other two are enjoying retirement. We get together to play for fun, but none of us want to do the tours and the press and the whole circus again. That shit is fun when you’re twenty something. We’re old now and I already missed enough time with my baby, I don’t have time for it, I don’t want to be away from home. Plus, we always got kids coming in and out, I’m gonna be there for them, because they need me more. It’s really sweet that people are enjoying our work, but done is done.”

He doesn’t want to comment on the kids, beyond that they’re great, since they haven’t ask to be anywhere close to public scrutiny by being in foster care. He says it sucks enough on its own and that he knows, he’s been in it.

So, I let the topic be and instead ask about Steve, who he mentioned. At the name, he lights up in a way that reminds me of romance novels.

“Steve is the best, he truly is. When we were big in the 90s, we had to hide, so I never could dedicate songs to him, tell the world how much I love him and say what songs are about him. It’s nice that I get to do that now and that people are noticing him with the book that came out. The most important person in my life.

Like, people underestimate how fundamental Steve has been in the success of Corroded Coffin. It wasn’t easy to do senior year for the fourth time, I nearly dropped out a thousand times, but Stevie kept me in school, which meant I got to have an okay job when we moved to Boston, so we could even live there as Robs studied, you know. And he kept working as Corroded Coffin tried to make it, he literally made sure I could follow my dreams and I have never been more thankful to him for that.

He was also our biggest fan all throughout. At the start he’d help us make merch and sell it when we played bars, but as we got bigger he couldn't come to our shows often anymore. He’s had a lot of knocks to the head, so too many loud noises are a no. I nearly gave the whole thing up a few times when we were on tour for months and I couldn't see him, but he always knew what to say to make me feel better and keep going.

Stevie has been my rock. He has done so much for him and I will spend the rest of my life trying to make him as happy as possible, because I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

The passionate rant is filled with love and it’s a little painful to cut him off, but we have limited time, so I move on to the book that launched him and the rest of the band back into the public eye. It is a view into his private life as well and I ask if that has caused any issues.

“I mean, you’re always going to have a few people who try to make it weird or think they know you now and have a say over you, but that is with everything, not just this book. Overall, it has been mostly positive, you know. I got to talk about things without having to make it a weird public announcement thing. It’s not like I want to give a press conference about the pride of back then and Nance does a way better job of talking about it and I feel like Jon’s photographs say a lot more than me talking about it.”

The photographs are very powerful at points, I have to agree, but I am still curious about what he thinks of the book and his life on display in a way it hasn’t been before. So, I ask if he has a favorite part. He laughs at that, a little sheepishly and jokes:

“That’s like forcing a parent to chose a kid, I think. They’ve done a great job in showing us in everything we did.”

Then he gets a little more serious as he says:

“I do appreciate them putting in my uncle Wayne. Nancy asked everyone what parts we wanted in the book and what parts we didn’t, I told her I’d love it if Wayne got a shout out and she did more than that. She worked with me to make those two pages, to make sure he was there properly.

Uncle Wayne did as much for me as Stevie did, you know. He was my rock and I wanted him to be remembered right. He never was a man of many words or anything, but he was always there. He took care of me and Steve when we got kicked out and he worked hard to put me through school and he made sure I felt normal. That it was okay to be a gay kid in Indiana and that I wasn’t going to die before reaching twenty-five. It might seem insane to think now, but that was just the way it was back then. If you were queer, you weren’t getting old. But Wayne did.”

He wipes away moisture in his eyes and I pretend not to see it. A grin is back on his face in no time and he lightens the mood by saying:

“Though I think I’m required to say my wedding is my favorite part. I love the real wedding we did in 2015, but that first fake one was special. It wasn’t big or anything, but everyone we cared about was there and it made us feel connected, like it was truly permanent. Like we could have that in a time where it seemed the world would rather see us gone. It felt like a powerful fuck you and I’ve always loved that.”

I smile at that, a powerful fuck you seems to be very fitting for the man in front of me. Even in casual clothes, he looks like he could fight you and win, yet also comfort you when you need it.

This has given me the opportunity to ask about one of the wedding photos that has intrigued me ever since reading the book. It is called “I Knew They Would Get Along” and is of the couple with Dustin, one of their friends, now professor at Stanford.

“Oh yeah, that’s a funny story,” Eddie tells me with delight. “Me and Stevie ran in very different circles back in school. Despite sharing a senior year, we never really talked until after. He babysat Dustin and the other twerps, I ran the DnD club they all joined when they got there. Dustin pestered us for months to just try and see if we would get along. We both refused. It wasn’t until spring break ‘86 that we actually talked and it was sparks from the start.”

Seeing how he talks about his husband it is almost impossible to imagine him being anything other than 100% infatuated, but he looks to be truthful.

With the mention of that spring break, I can’t help but ask after the allegations that he was proven to be innocent of and the injuries he sustained during it in the earthquake that hit the town after. He has been private about it in the past, so I know I’m pushing my luck.

Indeed he closes off and just says he doesn’t want to talk about it and his tone indicates that he means it and I will be cut short if I ask further. So, instead I ask about other parts of the book, namely Corroded Coffin’s start in Boston.

“Boston was great. It wasn’t Detroit, Cleveland or LA, but it was better than the small bar we used to play at in front of the local drunks that’s for sure. We already knew we were going to Boston in the 80s, most of the guys studied there for a bit, before dropping out. I knew Robs was hoping to get into a program there and where Robbie goes, Steve goes and where Steve goes, I go. If we wanted Corroded Coffin to continue, we’d go with them to whatever big city they ended up in.”

The book also showed to the close friendship between Eddie’s husband, Steve, and Robin Munson, a linguist. Even now, the rockstar shares a house with Steve’s practical other half and her wife, Rose. I ask him if that was ever hard or cause friction between them.

“No are you kidding?” Eddie practically laughs in my face, not out of malice, but out of disbelief. “I already knew the two were a package deal when I started dating Steve. Besides, Robin is a blast too. She’s fucking hilarious and has great taste in music. In fact, it has always been comforting to know I wasn’t leaving Stevie by himself when I was out touring. I mean, I was best man at their wedding, it was never a thing between us.”

I ask if it isn’t weird to not have the house alone, but share it with another couple.

“Nah, man. Like I said, I love Robs and Rose is amazing too. The two are family. I would let everyone of my family live with me as long as they want. They’re my people and I love having them around. It’s nice to have more people in the house, I wouldn’t know what to do if it was quiet and empty all the time. We often host DnD one shots or movie nights here, it’s great.”

The game is mentioned quite a bit in the book and is well known now, but they never spoke about playing it in their heyday and I ask whether they’ve gotten reactions to it with their new popularity.

“Yeah, it’s nice. A lot of people are excited that we seem to play, it’s cool to see how much more popular it has become and how many people find the same excitement in it as we do. Playing DnD was different back then. When we started it was in the height of the Satanic Panic and we were branded as freaks for it, so I guess that stuck with us. We didn’t want to loose cool points and reveal we played games on the tour bus, though our manager did tell a few people about it. I think Gar convinced a few paps we were obsessed with Ludo for a little bit. That was hilarious.”

At that I ask if there was a lot they had to hide that they don’t now. There is of course Eddie’s sexuality and that of Gareth, which Eddie comments on:

“Hiding is part of being a celebrity, if you don’t want people judging your every move or shunning you for inane shit then you have to keep some shit to yourself. It can also make you go off the rails to have nothing to yourself, but never talking about our sexuality was hard, you know.

For me it was something I wanted to share. I wanted to tell the world about my baby and how happy he made me, but I never could. I couldn’t tell them I didn’t sleep with that model and no, Robin wasn’t my secret wife. Or that I didn’t like the way girls would flirt with me, because I was happily taken and that I didn’t know what to do with the bras people threw at me or the panties they made me sign or how they’d offer themselves up for a one night stand.

Management would’ve killed me if I breathed a word of that and it was constricting at points. It’s what I hated the most about being famous, always having to be careful about being watched when I was with Steve outside. I already didn’t have every day with him and I couldn't even cling to him 24/7 without being scared.

I think it’s really cool how we have openly queer celebrities now. I know it seems silly to younger audiences, but that wasn’t a thing. Not really. I only came out in 2001 and it didn’t go over well with many, many people. The closest thing I got is all the songs I wrote about Steve that were either subtle or had switched pronouns.”

In response to that, I ask him if he has anything to say about what it was like being queer when he was young. The book shows a great deal, but I am curious what Eddie himself has to say about the experience.

“As a kid it was mostly scary. Like I said, Satanic Panic was happening, not to mention AIDS. It was terrifying. I count my blessings every day that I didn’t have to loose anyone close to me to it, but it was just horrible how the scene seemingly got smaller and smaller as more people dropped like flies. It just made me so frustrated and angry that the government wasn’t doing anything. A lot of people were mad.

I really love the photos Jon took back then. He has this way of capturing moments, people as they drop pretenses or show who they are. He has an eye for it and that makes his photography so powerful or intimate. They show that those prides were protests. We had to be proud of who we were and stand together, because it would all go to shit otherwise.

Community is so important. I have always found great solace in being surrounded by others like me. I think that you can see it in all my show clothes how much of my inspiration came from the leather scene I’m a part of. A lot of metal style has roots in the leather scene. People often don’t realize because it turned homophobic later on, but metal has always been very queer.”

This seems like the best moment to bring up the arrest photos. The book gives a little context about it, but I ask Eddie what happened anyway.

“Robs was being totally metal and part of the tits out dyke crew, they were the best, but definitely a risk. When she was at risk Steve decided to be a diversion to make sure she could get out. He figured her scholarship and future were more important than his job right now.

Nancy saw Steve getting arrested first and went to argue with the police, but they weren’t listening to her. Sexist pigs honestly. I threw my argument in as well, but I was just another crazy fag in leather with long hair that they didn’t like the look off. And I never go without a fight, I stopped running in 1986 and I haven’t looked back. In this country that means getting a few punches to the face, Nancy joined the fight, got hit too and arrested. At this point, I consider us lucky to have come out of that encounter alive.”

The story is humbling to me and I sit in silence for a second. Eddie seems to notice that I don’t know where to go from here, so he just grins:

“Don’t worry. Just don’t talk to cops and demand a lawyer, cooperate enough to be safe and memorize the phone number of someone you trust and don’t bring your own cell with you. I’m not likely to get arrested again and for it to go bad. Times have changed, different groups are now a target than me. I guess that makes me lucky, but it just all sucks. Tell your readers to keep voting and keep being vocal.”

I promise him I’ll put it in there and then stiltedly change the topic to ask about the addiction he kicked. Corroded Coffin spoke about it at the time that they were trying to quit smoking, but never went beyond that. The book shows a little bit more.

“Quitting is fucking hard. I haven’t smoked a cigarette in twenty-three years and I still sometimes think about it. But I don’t regret stopping for a second. My lungs will never be the same, but I saw uncle Wayne die a slow death to lung cancer, I don’t ever want to put my family through seeing me like that.

Like, if anyone out there smokes or vapes, cut that shit out. It’s not worth it, I promise. In the long run, it’s not going to make you happy and it can only be bad for you. Trust me, you don’t want to go through that. Find people who support your quitting and buckle in for months of hell.”

He looks very intense, but quickly shifts back into a charismatic face when he is done with his spiel. It’s wild how easily he moves between faces, while being totally genuine. Eddie Munson is a fluid and fascinating entity and I understand how he captured the interest of many when he first rose to stardom.

There is only enough time for one last question, so I ask him what is in the future for him right now. It gets me a big smile as Eddie answers:

“Right now, I’m going to wave you goodbye in a few minutes, then wake Stevie up from his nap. We’ve been re-reading the Lord of the Rings together, so we’ll cozy up on the couch. Then, before the kids get here, we’ll make them some snacks, listen to how their days have been. If needed I’ll try to help them with homework, even though I’m useless at it. Robs and Rose will be home soon after, we’ll make dinner together, I’m sure Robin will complain about her coworker again and then tonight I am going to call the little shits. It’s Tuesdays, we always try to call on Tuesday.

I’m living a slow domestic life, man, and I am content. In my future are hopefully many more slow days.”

I thank him for his time and shake his hand. He gets up and shakes mine, thanking me in turn for not minding to come out here and tells me I was a pleasure to have over. Then he does as promised and waves me goodbye.

As I walk over the driveway, I mull over the conversation we’ve just had. Eddie Munson is not what I expected him to be like, but in a good way. I am very curious to see where his newfound visibility in the public eye will lead. Something tells me, we haven’t seen the last of this rockstar, even in his newfound domesticity.

A/N:

This whole work is finding a balance between Eddie being a supportive friend and trying not to sound too egotistical/arrogant about my own work lmao (and like shoving my own opinions down everyone’s throat, sorry xp)

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schrijverr · 2 months

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Temporary Exhibition: Everyday Battlefields by Will Byers

[In the painting one can see a tiny cottage like house, surrounded by large magical trees. All around the house are humanoid pig creatures in shiny armor with menacing weapons, ready to bust in an attack the figure on the porch.

The figure on the porch in Jonathan, barely twelve, dressed in typical fantasy peasant clothes. He looks very small, standing there, a little hunched, yet determined. In his hand he has a sword and though he can’t even truly lift it, he looks ready to defend the house. There is seemingly no one else, except for a pair of small eyes, peaking over the couch in the window.

Will hadn’t been there when Steve protected the party against Billy, but he’d been there all those times Jonathan stood up for them when Lonnie was still there and 'friends' with the local cops. Furthermore, he’d never forget how Jonathan stood between him and danger again when their house got raided in ‘86]

Will Byers (1971-)

The Stance of the Older Brother, 2017

Oil paint on canvas

On AO3.

#rr writing #stranger things #st post season 4 #jonathan byers #will byers #the byers family #byers family #artist will byers #everyday battlefields by will byers #a collection of queer photography by jonathan byers

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schrijverr · 2 months

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Temporary Exhibition: Everyday Battlefields by Will Byers

[The painting is of a Medieval fighting arena with tribunes all around it and two knights battling each other. Both of the knights are Mike. The one on the left is on his knees, looking up desperately to the one on the right, who is holding his blade up to the other’s neck. The eyes of the right knight Mike are at once sad, pitying, angry and exhausted.

In the tribunes on the left side are filled with people, who don’t as much cheer the left Mike on as look down on him in judgment. For those that knew them, they can recognize Ted and Karen Wheeler central amongst them. The right tribunes are empty, save Will sitting there, gazing hopefully downwards.]

Will Byers (1971-)

The Self vs. The Imaged Self, 2017

Oil paint on canvas

On AO3.

#rr writing #stranger things #st post season 4 #byler #mike wheeler #mike wheeler x will byers #will byers #artist will byers #married byler #everyday battlefields by will byers #a collection of queer photography by jonathan byers

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schrijverr · 2 months

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Temporary Exhibition: Everyday Battlefields by Will Byers

[The canvas is so large that it takes up one of the walls in one room of the exhibition. Most of the canvas is overtaken by a dark sky or a scorched earth. In the upper right corner there is a mighty, imposing dragon, which is sending green flames, sparking diagonally across the piece. The dragon looks fearsome and intimidating.

In the left-hand corner stands Will himself, dressed in his everyday clothes and looking very small in comparison to the attack. However, he won’t be hit, because behind him stands Mike, dressed up in armor, looking like a noble knight. His one hand is around Will’s waist, in the other he holds a large shield that is protecting both Will and him from the fire.

Mike doesn’t have a weapon and he is not fighting back, he’s just standing behind Will, like he often does, weathering the storm alongside him and holding him steady.]

Will Byers (1971-)

Protected, 2015

Oil paint on canvas

Byers’s husband, Mike, is a common subject in Byers’s work. This piece is the basis for the exhibit and about it, Byers said: “Sometimes the world is rough and there are things that you cannot fight, but there are people who make it bearable. I love my husband and I cannot imagine being here without him. Showing that, that is what my art is about; the world can suck, but with the right people, it can be worth living in.”

On AO3.

#rr writing #stranger things #st post season 4 #byler #will byers x mike wheeler #will byers #mike wheeler #everyday battlefields by will byers #artist will byers #a collection of queer photography by jonathan byers #married byler

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schrijverr · 2 months

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Temporary Exhibition: Everyday Battlefields by Will Byers

[The painting is of Max, floating, held by some invisible force. Due to their long time living alongside each other in LA, Max had opened up about getting Vecna’d and described how she’d seen herself floating.

She is floating above a battlefield, while a translucent outline of herself is still fighting with the others, seemingly without anyone noticing. Everyone below is dressed in fantasy fighting gear and armor, including the outline of Max, the floating Max, however, is dressed in everyday clothes.]

Will Byers (1971-)

Invisible Battles, 2012

Oil paint on canvas

This painting has been loaned out by The Mayfield Project for which it had been originally painted. It will return to their open access gallery after this exhibition.

On AO3.

#rr writing #stranger things #st post season 4 #will byers #max mayfield #the party #the party stranger things #everyday battlefields by will byers #a collection of queer photography by jonathan byers

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schrijverr · 1 year

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Page 216-217

[Page 216 has three images on it, all in the Hopper-Byers living room. The upper one is of Steve holding up a shirt that he has just unwrapped. It is decorated by hand and reads: ‘I’m not gay, but my husband is!’ Next to him is Eddie, who is looking quite proud of himself. Steve looks fond and amused, yet also a little resigned.]

Christmas Gift from Eddie

Jonathan Byers, 1994

[The lower left image is of El and Max. They’re next to the Christmas tree at the end of the couch. El is rubbing Max’s knee, since Max has thrown her legs over El’s lap as she sits sideways on the couch, cuddling into El’s side.]

Couch Cuddles

Jonathan Byers, 1994

[Next to it is a photograph of Dustin and Erica. She has just unwrapped a thick book and Dustin is explaining the gift excitedly to her. She is nodding along, big grin on her face.]

Present from Nerd to Nerd

Jonathan Byers, 1994

[On page 217 are three images as well. The left one is of Hopper and Joyce dancing together, the pride flag they’d hung up in ‘88 still on the wall. The pair is off in their own world, smiles on their faces, foreheads pressed together.]

In Their Own World

Jonathan Byers, 1994

[On the upper right is a photograph of Will cutting gingerbread men from a rolled out sheet of cookie dough, a concentrated look on his face. Around his waist are two arms and the top of Mike’s head is visible from where he is resting on Will’s shoulder.]

Unhelpful Extra

Jonathan Byers, 1994

[Below it is a photograph of Robin and Steve. Steve is sitting on the couch, while Robin straddles his lap, her arms wrapped around his head so he can hide away in her chest. Her fingers are carding through his hair and his fingers dig into the back of her shirt.]

Migraine

Jonathan Byers, 1994

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schrijverr · 5 months

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A Behind the Scenes of: The Modern Day Portraits

Jonathan returns to his YouTube channel for the last time to talk about the portraits at the end of the book.

On AO3.

Ships: jargancy, jopper, steddie, Robin x OC, byler, elumax, Dustin x Suzie

Warnings: homophobia mention, racism mention

~~~~

“Hi, I’m Jonathan Byers, the main photographer and editor of A Collection of Queer Photography and I apologize that it has been this long,” Jonathan starts out the video looking a little embarrassed and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Continuing he says: “I had a lot of plans for this – pages I wanted to discuss, guests I wanted to have – but I got swept up in other projects, so I have kind of lost steam for this project, but I wanted to have some semblance of an ending, so today we’re looking at the modern day portraits of everyone at the end of the book, which had always been my intention to end with.”

He grabs the book and starts flipping from the back as he explains: “The whole point of this book was to show the little snippets and snapshots, but these final few pages are showing us now and they’re portraits, which means they are more deliberate, which makes them interesting to explore in contrast to the other ones.”

Jonathan looks back up, having found the page, and says: “Not to discredit them, I’ve done a lot of portraits and being deliberate isn’t a bad thing, I just like casual photos more.”

“You might be asking yourself, but Jonathan, if you like those better, why didn’t you include a snapshot of everyone now at the end?” he goes on. “And that is because I wanted to end on that deliberate note. I wanted everyone to think about what they found important about themselves now and they people they grew up to be and allow them to highlight that.”

“And, of course, a lot of the snapshot include the kids, who were are not putting in a spotlight, because most of them are too young to comprehend what they’re agreeing to,” Jonathan adds.

Then he turns back to the book and says: “The first portrait is of my parents and is called Jim & Joyce Hopper-Byers. I put them first, because I kind of organized them on age and affiliation, if you want to call it that. Like we’re a family, but they are groups. Kind of. It just happens.”

On screen Jim & Joyce Hopper-Byers appears. It’s of an elderly Hopper and Joyce. Hopper is now entirely bald and Joyce’s hair is completely gray and thinning, wrinkles and sun spots cover both of them. The two are standing on the porch of their home, Hopper holding Joyce around her waist and Joyce leans against him. The two smiling contently and looking at peace.

“My parents really wanted theirs to be outside of their home,” Jonathan says. “And I am really happy that it looks as peaceful as going there is. Because that’s the most important thing about them I wanted to capture.”

“Neither of them had a great start – which I won’t go into that much – and they didn’t find each other until later in life,” Jonathan tells the camera. “Getting to photograph a peaceful retirement for them is really special to me.”

“I also like the homey feel of the place, since it has been such a haven for all of us and it still is for many local queer kids today. It’s not only an important aspect of this book, but of them and it fit with the themes.”

“On the page next to is is the portrait of me and my partners, which is taken by Jane, my sister,” Jonathan continues. “I’m glad it’s her, who got to take this photograph, since I was the one that taught her and it bonded us over the years. And because she is also in a polyam relationship, so I trust her the most with capturing us.”

“The titles are pretty simple, so it’s called: Argyle, Jonathan & Nancy Byers,” he adds.

The portrait in question appears. Argyle still has long hair, now with streaks of gray in it. He is wearing a long skirt as he sits on a chair in a sleek apartment, legs crossed. Behind him on the left is Jonathan smiling awkwardly and hunched over a little. He is also older, fully gray and slightly bald in his shirt, jeans and flannel. Nancy is on the right, a hand on Argyle’s shoulder. She looks a little severe as she has always done, hair pulled up in a tight bun, power suit on. She looks friendly, but is smiling only faintly.

“We collectively wanted it to be a more family-style photo in our own home, since we didn’t know if we were going to have that when we started dating and we wanted to show other people out there that you can,” Jonathan says. “Though, I suppose we all had a different take on the why.”

“Of course, dating multiple people isn’t a usual home thing, but for me it also came from growing up poor with a shitty father, so the idea of being able to a home filled with loved ones, seemed far away and out of reach,” Jonathan explains.

“I am also wearing work clothes in the photo, which might seem counter-intuitive, but it’s because I build this home with my work and the people in it with me,” Jonathan says. “My work clothes have always been my comfort clothes. And as the photographer, I wanted you to see the person behind the photos in the book.”

“For Argyle, he has lived in a more absent home, where no one cared about what he did as long as he didn’t step too far out of line,” Jonathan moves on to the next subject. “So, he’s wearing clothes that make him happy, because he is in a home where he can do that now and still be loved.”

“That sound right?” he asks, eyes focusing on something behind the camera.

“Yeah, baby boy, that sounds right,” Argyle’s affectionate voice comes from off screen. “I also wanted to be visibly genderqueer in a portrait, because it’s often not allowed and seen as ill-suited, but look how well it suits.”

“It suits perfectly. You’re very beautiful,” Jonathan smiles, a rare moment of sappiness.

“Ahww, you’re so cute,” Argyle squeals and now Jonathan does blush. “I’m gonna have to kiss you now.”

There is a cut after that, though Jonathan still looks a little flushed as he goes on: “Nancy is also dressed in her work clothes. That was important to her, because she loves her career and she takes it very seriously.”

“Nancy’s home life as a kid was very picture-perfect and American,” Jonathan says. “She was expected to become a housewife and she has always resented that. She never wanted to become like her parents and showing that she has that home, but isn’t the housewife was very important to her.”

“A lot of people have called her cold online, but you have to understand that there is much more to her than this, but she likes exuding this,” Jonathan says. “She’s not cold for cold-ness sake. We talked about it in the video about her career, how hard it is to be taken seriously. This professional persona is what she is proud of, not the only thing she is.”

He flips the page and snorts: “This one was difficult, because it just felt weird to not have Steve and Robin in the same picture, because they’re so closely intertwined. But we settled on having both portraits done in the same room to show their closeness, because otherwise it wouldn’t fit the format. But we did consider it.”

“Starting on page 226 we have Eddie & Steve Munson,” Jonathan reads.

The portrait in question appears. Eddie and Steve are in a cozy living room on a couch together. Eddie is sprawled against over the couch, arms thrown over the back. Eddie still has his long hair, now streaked with gray, his laugh lines are permanent and he smiles easily. His style is much the same, he has a cut off band shirt and black jeans with chains, his arms filled with bracelets. Steve is leaning against his side with a soft smile. Steve is wearing a big sweater and glasses, which had become necessary in his 30s. His hair is shorter now and he dyes it, highlights throughout.

“Eddie put a lot of thought into his outfit,” Jonathan says. “He’s been told his whole life that he’s too much and that he’ll grow out of it, so he really wanted to show that he was still there and still metal.”

“Steve likely put as much thought into it, because he very much likes dressing himself,” Jonathan adds. “I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but Steve got a lot of flack for how much he cared about his appearance. Caring about your hair or clothes would get slurs hurled at you for being effeminate, which is ridiculous but also the society we live in.”

“I personally like how Steve dresses. He’s always dressed softly, approachable. I think he really came into himself once he stopped trying to force himself to be a straight jock,” Jonathan comments idly.

“For them, they wanted their portrait to be casual. Closer to an evening on the couch than an official portrait,” Jonathan goes on.

“Steve has been forced into too many family portraits that were more for show and Eddie has always hated the portraits they had to do as Corroded Coffin, since he’d be checked over meticulously to see if nothing ‘too gay’ showed,” Jonathan explains. “So this casual style is more comfortable for them and it really suits them.”

“On the next page are Robin and Rose, of course called Robin & Rose Munson,” Jonathan continues.

Robin & Rose Munson appears. In it, Robin’s hair is green and she has an undercut. She grins brightly into the camera as she holds Rose close. Rose is still a fat lady in a beautiful floral dress. Her long red hair is up in a ponytail and she has an elaborate flower themed make up look on. Robin’s patterned button up matches Rose’s dress and is loosely tucked into light gray dress pants which are held up by suspenders.

“For them it was important to be old and very much lesbians,” Jonathan says fondly. “Neither of them had any role models and especially none above age forty, so they wanted to be that for all the baby lesbians and bisexuals.”

“They’re also very much a butch/femme couple and they dressed up for this to highlight those parts of themselves, because they’re very tied to how they identify themselves,” Jonathan says.

“Rose has been masculinized a lot due to her size and told she couldn’t be the princess in a story, so to say fuck you to that and show up anyway was important to her,” Jonathan explains. “She loves dress shopping, trying fun makeup and dressing loudly. She called it queer femininity when she was here and that’s what she’s there to represent. The femininity that’s done for yourself, outside of society’s expectations, and I think that’s really cool.”

“Robin, of course, is doing the same for butches out there,” Jonathan goes on. “She is just so much herself and it’s delightful. She doesn’t let the fact that she’s nearly fifty stop her from dying her hair a fun color and wearing loud patterns and masculine clothes. She’s still a weird girl in her heart and she never ‘grew out’ her tomboy phase and she’s still amazing and successful and in love.”

“Both of them are very aware of what they represent when they go out into the world. What little queer girls on the street see. They’re both pillars in their local community and they want to be that bit of hope for people.”

“And they just really like being loud and having fun with their style,” Jonathan says. “I don’t know if I know many people, who can just delight in eccentricity like they can.”

Jonathan flips the page again and says: “I first thought about putting Jane, Max and Lucas on the next page with Erica, since she and Lucas are blood siblings, but it just didn’t fit right as logic. The whole point is that blood relations are the end all, be all and Lucas and his partners have lived in the same city and Will and Mike for a very long time, while Erica is the god-mother to Dustin and Suzie’s children, so that’s how the order was created.”

“First up, Jane, Dr. Lucas & Max Mayfield-Sinclair,” Jonathan introduces.

The photo is of the three of them with their pets. Max is sitting on a chair a husky next to her that she pets his head, her crutches leaning against her on the other side. Lucas is leaning against the chair with a smile, holding a white fluffy cat in his arms. El is sitting on the arm of Max’s chair, she has a tabby cat in her lap and a bird on her shoulder. El’s long hair is in a bun and she looks a little like a hippy, a sharp contrast to Max’s professional wear, while Lucas is their middle ground with his respectable sweater and jeans. He now has glasses and looks like a typical dad, his afro now big and fluffy. All of them look happy, content. Age is starting to show and it fits them well.

“I first wanted to add their pets to the title as well, but they foster pets with an alarming regularity and Jane didn’t want any of them to feel excluded, so we decided on human members only,” he informs the audience fondly.

“However, including their pets was very important, since they’re a huge part of their lives with Jane and Lucas running a vet’s office together,” Jonathan says. “They love their pets very much and I loved including them, even if it made posing a little more difficult.”

“Max is in the middle, since she is dating both people in the picture, so it’s more fitting to have her there. Also, she had to be seated, so it made more sense composition wise,” Jonathan explains. “She is also the only one in work clothes, because she wanted to highlight both her disability and her career. As an activist and lawyer in the anti-ableist movement, it was important to her to be visible in that way, so I ensure that her crutches could be in the photo as well.”

“Jane on the other hand is fully dressed in her comfy clothes,” Jonathan smiles. “She’s had a really rough childhood, before mom and dad adopted her, so having her individuality means a lot to her. She wanted to highlight her own personality and not a professional idea of her – though their vet’s office allows for a lot of personal style. I think she did that marvelously.”

“Lucas dressed not fully comfy, but also not entirely professional. He usually has his hair up when working, for example. He is also aware of how he’s perceived, but for different reasons,” Jonathan goes on, getting more serious. “As a black man he’s very aware of how he’s perceived, so while he seems to just be a normal guy, I know he put a lot of thought into his outfit.”

“He has always been made to feel as an outsider, which means he gravitated towards more ‘normal’ styles when going out. He and Jane actually have a few overlaps in style, but he put on a more professional outfit for this, because he wanted to remind people that he is a veterinarian, who accomplished things and not a hoodlum or gangster,” Jonathan says with a small sigh. “It really sucks that he felt the need to do that, but a sad reality.”

“However, he doesn’t erase himself either,” Jonathan adds. “Those are his clothes and how he dresses, just more when people come to visit that aren’t family. And he did let his natural hair be, instead of styling it. So there are still pieces of him there, he just chose to give a more professional front, like some others have done as well. Maybe just for different and shittier reasons.”

The photo on screen gets replaced by the next one. It’s of Mike and Will in an art studio. Will is sitting on a stool Mike is behind him, resting his chin on Will’s shoulder. Both of them have short hair now and wrinkles are starting to show. Mike is in sensible work clothes that prioritize comfort, while Will’s clothes are a little eccentric and covered in paint. The two are smiling softly into the camera.

“The next one is Mike & Will Byers,” Jonathan introduces. “If you’ve read the book, you might have noticed that Mike loves clinging to Will’s back and that hasn’t stopped yet. I don’t think that posing like this was on purpose, it just is natural for them.”

“Their portrait is taken in the studio, because while it is Will’s work space, it is also a very personal space for them,” Jonathan says. “Mike often poses for Will’s work and they do a lot of craft projects with their daughters there.”

“Will is an artist to the bone and he has gotten so much more comfortable with himself throughout the years, something I’m really proud of. The two of them showed up for this portrait as themselves and that is pretty great for both of them and not at all what they would have done when they were still kids,” Jonathan says.

“Like I’m quite serious, they had kind of forgotten this was happening, so Mike had just come home when I got there and Will was still painting,” Jonathan laughs at the memory. “The back of the canvas you see on the side there is a painting that will be first shown at the opening of the exhibition Will is doing at Tate Modern this year.”

Jonathan looks at the photo again and smiles once more. He adds: “Both of them struggled a lot with internalized homophobia in their teen years, so for it to be a casual domestic photo, a little intimate look into them, is amazing to see.”

He lingers on the page for a second longer, before he clears his throat and flips to the final two pages of the book.

“Okay, on the left we have Dr. Dustin & Dr. Suzie Henderson,” Jonathan moves on.

On screen it appears. In it, the two are standing hand in hand in a modern house. Suzie is wearing functional yet professional clothes, some tools hanging from her belt, while Dustin is a sweater vest and khaki pants, gray at his temples. The years has made the two of them softer, putting fat on their bones and laugh lines on their faces.

“They have also chosen to pose in their work clothes, but it was a little more deliberate than Mike and Will,” Jonathan says. “They have a really big passion for their work and bring that into their personal lives by going to all sorts of museums and organizing field trips and experiments at home for their own kids and other interested kids in the neighborhood.”

“Suzie really wanted to wear her tool belt, even though at NASA she works more in design than actually making the prototypes, because she is a tinkerer first and she wanted to highlight that, since she works in a male-dominated field,” Jonathan explains.

“Dustin is just dressed in his professor clothes. He loves lecturing and from what I’ve heard, he’s pretty popular under students,” Jonathan says. “It’s strange sometimes, to picture the kid with graphic tees that always argued and knew better, now being an adult with a lot of patience. He’s really grown as a person and this outfit truly does show that, if you knew him back then.”

Then Jonathan turns to the final page and says: “Of course we’re ending the book with Erica, the baby of the family. Though she isn’t a baby anymore. If Senator Erica Sinclair is familiar to you, this is not a coincidence, because she did also use this photo for her reelection campaign.”

Senator Erica Sinclair appears, which is a portrait of Erica. She is in front of the Capitol building, smiling into the camera with a sharp grin that has a ruthless edge to it. Her curly hair is up in a bun and she is in a power suit, the little American flag pinned to the lapel. Age has seemingly not yet hit her, she looks powerful and on top of the world. In her prime as an adult.

“Erica is a very important person in our lives and it is sad that she couldn’t be more present in the book – we touched upon it before, I think. Definitely in interviews. But since she is a senator, we did have to be careful about her public image,” Jonathan explains.

“But we did get a few good candid shots of her in the book and I think it’s delightful to see her as an ambitious smart young girl and then as a successful woman,” Jonathan says. “It’s not unknown that she is a huge inspiration for many black girls and girls in general out there and her success is something that both of us really wanted to highlight.”

“She put a lot of work and effort into getting where she is and she has given her whole life to politics. And with that, to bettering our world for all sorts of people, such as queer people, which is central to the book,” Jonathan says.

“I wanted to end with her, not just because she is the youngest and we kind of went based of age, but also because she is the future,” Jonathan goes on. “She is trying to systematically change things for everyone and she is succeeding. That is very hopeful for me and I wanted it to end hopeful.”

“Anyway, that was the behind the scenes of the modern day portraits. Hope you enjoyed it and that it was interesting. Thank you so much for sticking it with me throughout this series,” Jonathan signs off for the last time this series. “Bye!”

A/N:

*Removing my hand from Jonathan’s body to stop puppeting him*: Okay, so I did have many plans for this that I am no longer doing (I know very sad), because I got swept up in other things and by that I mean that I re-binged Leverage, wrote fics for that, decided to write I Found Myself a Cheerleader (AKA a 174K cheerleader!steve steddie au), re-binged FMAB and wrote fics for that, before starting an archaeologists stobin au that I will start posting soon.

So, this will be the last chapter, though I am not saying that I’ll never add anything to this verse, just likely nothing big and not with any regularity. I do hope you enjoyed this last addition and I really want to thank everyone, who has read this and left nice comments, rereading them inspired me enough to add this final chapter and give it a proper end.

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