#it ships

[mrhorropedia]

Me explaining Reddie, Benverly and Hanbrough parallels:

[mcmactictac]

is reddie canon

Welcome back to should your favourite ships be canon if a coward was not writing them today we will be discussing the hot topic of Reddie. Let’s start by breaking it down.

I’m starting with Richie because he is objectively easier. That is a gay man right there and the script virtually comes out and says it. That arcade scene where he gets called the f slur, the “I know your secret” song directly after, the R+E, the fact he was one of the only losers (besides Ben) who was not in a long term relationship. I would be more interested to see how someone argues him as straight since he is so clearly gay. Now with that in mind, would he ever be out about it enough to be in a relationship with Eddie? That depends more on Eddie.

Boy oh boy is there a lot to unpack with Eddie. We can clearly establish he does not romantically love his wife, he literally married his mother because that’s the female support he’s used to. Im aware most of Eddie’s health stuff is related to his mother but we are looking for potential subtext here so. Now this might be a reach but I want you to bear with me here because I think it’s interesting anyways.

So IT takes place between 1984 and 1985. The first case of AIDS was reported in the US in 1981. As a disease known for the devastating impact it had on gay men, it was something that rightfully scared many people. This is also a time where homophobia is rampant and being gay is dangerous. Now If we want to look at Eddie’s health concerns from a subtextual level, we could draw a conclusion between his fear of getting sick and the disease that is killing so many people being something Eddie is terrified. of. And if we break it down more, being scared of getting AIDS could also easily be compared to being scared of being gay. So he’s constantly taking medication to try and protect himself, make sure he doesn’t get sick. He’s terrified of what would happen if he did and has lots of anxiety surrounding it. This is projected on to him by his mother and makes him extremely cautious of every area of his life. If we draw this comparison Eddie has some DEEPLY internalized homophobia. And when we see him stand up to his mother and realize the drugs are not going to protect him or change who he is, we can see him start to accept himself. Now if I was writing Eddie’s character and I was not a coward, I would establish that there is a clear parallel here because the timeline fits perfectly and works well for his story. If you were not a coward after Eddie stands up to his mother I would also make sure he grew closer with Richie and was more explicitly queer coded after that. He’s realizing that although his fears are understandable and valid they shouldn’t consume him and stop him from enjoying his life. There’s always that threat of getting sick, or facing violence because of your sexuality but you can’t constantly live in fear because of it. As Eddie let’s go of that health anxiety a bit, he should grow closer with Richie as he’s growing less aftraid of the idea he might be gay.

Now if we wanted to be really fun, we throw that all out the window once he leaves Derry. We see him again 27 years later and his anxiety is worse, im full swing and is only being increased by the people around him. Like his mother, his wife makes things worse and draws more attention to the idea and scares him more. And as he comes back to Derry and he starts to remember and he spends more time with Richie we watch him let go of some of that anxiety again. Similar to how Bills stutter leaves and then comes back, it’s the opposite with Eddie. He’s finally back around someone who makes him feel safe enough to drop some of that anxiety. As Eddie accepts himself more, his anxiety drops lower.

Going back to the first movie for a second here, think of the blood pact at the end. Normally something Eddie would absolutley refuse to do right? (I actually had to whip out research for this one folks) so AIDS can be transferred through infected blood. It’s why they tell you to be cautious sharing needles because they don’t know if it has an infected persons blood on it. Now at this point in the story it’s clear to the viewer Richie knows and somewhat accepts hes gay. We see him carve the R+E on the bridge, an admission of his feelings for Eddie. And I’m sure Eddie knows this too.

Now let’s talk about this specific shot because it’s everything to me

Richie and Eddie are holding hands, during a blood pact where your blood will mix together with someone else’s. It’s important to notice the emphasis on the cast here. It’s in the center of the shot and the V stands out in red, taking a negative thing and choosing to make it positive. Eddie knows Damn well what the risks are. But he chooses to hold Richies hand anyways, to risk that “infected blood” becoming part of him. He’s choosing to let go of that anxiety and choose his love for Richie instead. You could also argue the red used to make the V could be symbolic of this scene, using that love between two people to take all the negative shit people say and turn it into something beautiful. The emphasis on lover here as he holds Richies hand is so important. This is Eddie accepting himself, accepting the risks because he values the reward higher than the risk. He’s no longer going to let that fear control him.

Now do I know if any of this was done on purpose? No, of course not it’s Stephen King. But if I was not a coward, it absolutely would have been.

You thought we were done? Not yet folks we still have to examine if this would work. So because we really don’t see Eddie accept himself until the end of the first movie, we really have to guess at what happens next. We don’t see Eddie again until decades later when he’s lost most of his memories so we can’t take that Eddie into account. So we have to further break down their younger selves and keep in mind the time frame they would have had before leaving Derry.

So the kids are 11-12 within that first section. That’s really not even a point where anyone has a successful relationship ever. So you have about 6-7 years before they leave Derry. Now Eddie has just come to terms with his sexuality, it would probably still take him a while to be comfortable dating/being out to his friends. Richie will admit his feelings but he doesn’t necessarily accept them. I give them at least 3-4 more years of growth and self development before I would consider a relationship. But by that point? Yeah I’d say fair game. I think it’s very likely they dated on the down low within high school as soon as they were comfy with themselves and aware of the others sexuality. I think what you would be waiting on is for one of them to come out, before the other one admits their feelings. But given their growth and feelings already shown at 11-12 I think it’s incredibly likely that happened before they left. Obviously then they leave Derry and lose their memories and then Eddie dies so they really don’t have a chance to re explore that as adults.

If we want to make it extra angsty, Richie remembers all of it after Eddie dies. He remembers how they were in high school and he is finally aware of all he lost too late to have it back. He never got to say the things he wouldn’t as a child now that he remembers. Ouch.

In summary!

-Richie is a gay man and it’s clearly intentional and obvious

-I think Eddie’s fear of getting sick is a parallel to fear of getting aids which would represent a fear of being gay. As his health anxiety drops, he accepts himself more

-they likely need a few more years to grow more comfortable with themselves but given their chemistry and history it’s incredibly likely they dated before leaving Derry.

-By the time they regain their memories and confidence, Eddie is dead so they can never explore this as adults

Conclusion? Yes Reddie is canon. They’re both gay men who’s stories can very easily be seen as queercoded. Although they never got the chance to re explore as adults, something totally went on between them after that summer and between leaving Derry.

If you like this it’s in a series under #deathoftheauthorbirthofthemcmac and if you send in asks I’ll happily analyze any ship I’ve watched/read! I’ve got a list I’m working through but I’ll always take more :)

[gingeraleluke]

Hey there! My name is Christina! I’d love a headcanon with MGG (and possibly an adult It character ship if you have time, if not it’s okay!) I’m 4’11” blonde hair, blue eyes, straight female, INFP, Gryffindor, I love to read and watch movies (I’m like the only one of my friends who likes scary movies). I really care about animals and can’t decide if I want to pursue a career working with them or being a professional actress cause I love both so much, even though I’m already an adult! I’m very goofy and silly but serious when I need to be and have a far dirtier mind than I look like I would. I love all things Disney and the color pink and I collect wayyyy too many things like Funko Pops and Christmas ornaments but I’m a BOSS at decorating for Halloween and Christmas because of it. (Sorry for the essay on me!)

*✧･ﾟ:*𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗬 𝗚𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗥*:･ﾟ✧*

you and matthew moved out to the city together and it was the best decision you two ever made

after criminal minds ended, you both said goodbye to your roles in the show and moved on with your lives

no longer being an actress, you decided to study zoology, which matthew was super happy about

he loved seeing your face whenever a dog walked by

or a cat showed up on tv

any time you saw an animal, your eyes lit up and your cheeks got rosy

he loved taking you to the zoo

and to the movies

especially horror films since you are both suckers for it

you guys go all out for the holidays

like… it’s crazy

paparazzi come by all the time to see your house

you decorate one half while matt decorates the other

“gube, your pumpkin is on my side.”

“what? no it isn’t…. okay, fuck, it is.”

you guys have two dogs and two cats

you all sleep in the same bed so the bed is always crowded

you have this one cocker spaniel that likes to lick matthews face while he’s sleeping

“mmm, baby, not now.”

“um.. matthew, that’s not me, it’s the dog.”

going to disney world

accidentally turning him on and having to leave early

him begging to just fuck you in the bathroom

“matt, no! that’s like.. illegal.”

it’s not his fault that you looked that good

reading books together

you guys have a room with all of your collectibles in it

sometimes, fans will give him funko pops to give to you

comic con together

sleeping in late

｡ₓ ू ₒ ु ˚ ू ₒ ु ₓ｡｡ₓ ू ₒ ु ˚ ू ₒ ु ₓ｡｡ₓ ू ₒ ु ˚ ू ₒ ु ₓ｡

a glimpse at your relationship:

｡ₓ ू ₒ ु ˚ ू ₒ ु ₓ｡｡ₓ ू ₒ ु ˚ ू ₒ ु ₓ｡｡ₓ ू ₒ ु ˚ ू ₒ ु ₓ｡

𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙄𝙏 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙒𝙊 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙍𝘼𝘾𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙄 𝙎𝙃𝙄𝙋 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙒𝙄𝙏𝙃 𝙄𝙎..

*✧･ﾟ:*𝗘𝗗𝗗𝗜𝗘 𝗞𝗔𝗦𝗣𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗞*:･ﾟ✧*

(pretend this is present day obv lmao)

you met eddie in middle school and was a part of the losers club with him

the boys would always tease him, knowing that he liked you

“you like christina!!”

“yeah, so? you have a thing for the lunchlady who looks like richies mom!”

he had a lot of built up trauma and you helped him handle it all

he ended up moving far away from derry with you

he told you about his mom and how she had lied to him, and you promised to protect him and keep him safe

he came out to you as bisexual and you were so proud of him

going to pride festivals

you ended up reconnecting with the losers club and you all had to come together to defeat pennywise, once again

you guys made sure he was dead this time

when you found out about stanley, eddie took it really hard

you took him to therapy and he ended up a lot happier than you had ever seen him

he’s such a sweetheart deep down

watching disney movies with him

you guys are both into collecting things, so you both have a HUGE collection

he loves hanging out with you

he always makes you laugh

going to the zoo together

him being super clumsy

“eddie, be careful.”

eddie: *trips*

he’s kinda like a huge baby

he’s never really angry at you and when he is mad, he always is respectful about it

richie moved next door and your guys’ kids play together

｡ₓ ू ₒ ु ˚ ू ₒ ु ₓ｡｡ₓ ू ₒ ु ˚ ू ₒ ु ₓ｡｡ₓ ू ₒ ु ˚ ू ₒ ु ₓ｡

a glimpse at your relationship:

[lluvguts]

🖤IT pairing hcs 🖤

richie and eddie trying to keep their relationship a secret by doing low key dates on the weekends, except for all the losers know they’re full of shit and sneak up on their dates every time

stanley tried to grow some flowers, by himself, for mike on their anniversary. just because he knew how important the effort and hard work was for him

mike would wait out in his father’s field with a blanket at night for stan, and stanley always brought a flashlight and Harry Potter to read softly to him. 

bev was richie’s wingman, since the trashmouth obviously could not hold an entire conversation with eddie without swearing or insulting him. let alone ask him out

even after the first poem ben wrote, he still wrote haikus to beverly and she loved every single one

[youraveragegayperson]

Eddie: Bev, Richie just asked me to go to his friends wedding as his date to avoid the 'are you seeing someone' questions

Bev: I've red enough fanfictions to know that this will end up with you two confessing your dying love for each other

[almondmilkygay]

after eddie’s d*ath, richie didn’t go back to being a comedian. i think he went and stayed with ben and bev for a while. all through childhood the people he would turn to about his feelings, emotions and longings would be those two, and that doesnt just go away because they grew up. richie sobbed into bev’s shoulder as she whispered sweet nothings into his mess of hair. ben rubbed his back in a circular motion, carefully carressing and scratching. they were not going to allow richie to be on his own.

[anxiouss-princess]

*Goes looking for It fics to read*

*Finds one that looks interesting*

“High school AU” or “College AU”

*Exits*

Sorry, I only want middle aged loser content in this household