#andy muschietti why are you stupid

[thelosers-club]

andy muschietti after barely even including bill’s tongue twister (he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts) in the movies even though it wouldve symbolized PERFECTLY what Bill was trying to DO THE WHOLE FUCKING MOVIE.

[louisironson]

hell media trio for the ask meme. It, Supernatty, and The Office

oh just a slight amount of friendly resentment towards you for the last one. fine dredge up my tragic past. i’ll do it

It:

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most): Eddie Kaspbrak

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped): 1990 EDDIE ONLY j*mes r*nsone makes my features automatically contort into a grimace (thank g-d i never actually watched it chapter two and the muschietti movies just aren’t as much my thing. dgmw it 2017 was good but 1990 made me go crazy crazy)

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave): did they make audra mean in it chapter two is that why people don’t like her. well fuck you anyway then i’m writing fic about her journey to being sober!!

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week): adrian mellon 😭 the chapter describing him and how defiant and cool he was? shit dude

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave): pennywise. oh gd could you imagine. uhhhh fuckin uhhh. i feel like stan can’t count but i haven’t mentioned stan or mike yet and i love them both so much but neither of them are unpopular OR pathetic but stan is slightly closer to both than mike is so. stan, my grandpa (almost fell victim to the let’s eat grandma trap. stan my grandpa ✨✨)

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason): i’d show sonia kaspbrak my star of david necklace and tell her i’m here to take her money and stand in her house and maybe she’d have a heart attack and die

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell): by being in derry, are they not already there? oscar “butch” bowers you don’t deserve to be called butch you racist fuck

Supernatty (allie is this you lol):

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most): probably cas

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped): dean smith that gay little homosexual man. we can’t all be project runway dean

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave): i liked bela and i want her back but i’m pretty sure she’s permadead :(

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week): becky but only bc i’m like “that’s emily perkins!! from such hits as it 1990 and ginger snaps!!”

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave): sam. and yes i’m sam-coded it’s the pathetic ones that are most like me don’t you understand

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason): dean but out of love. sam doesn’t make fun of him enough even though it’s a necessity that siblings mock each other in equal measure.

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell): john. bye bitch!

The Office (sigh):

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most): it used to be jim oh my gd 🤢 these days i try not to think about the office at all. but i’ll pick one. for you. oscar

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped): i hate you for making me assign this to a character from the fucking office. fuckin. phyllis are you happy

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave): karen motherfuckin filipelli

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week): karen motherfuckin filipelli!!

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave): andy bernard i just vibe w him sometimes okay. that man’s not a heterosexual maybe it’s that

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason): jan for shutting down the warehouse union. why was michael shown as stupid for hearing about a union and agreeing

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell): ryan

[icespur]

Theory on IT Supercut Release Date

Everyone that is a IT fan is waiting for this confirmed Supercut. Some think it’s never coming and that Andy is playing us since there hasn’t been any new updates. But I believe it is coming, it’s just taking a unfairly long time. And with some new info I found I came up with some possible release date theories.

First theory:

July 18th or July 27th 2021

“But that’s really soon!” I know! Now don’t get too excited, this is a unlikely option but one that I have because of one reason… The trailer release dates of the previous movies…

The official trailer for IT 2017 arrived July 27th 2017. And the official trailer for IT Chapter 2 arrived July 18th 2019

Seeing how we got trailers for both previous movies in the same month it would be nice if we got our beloved Supercut released on HBO Max this month or if not the full thing, at LEAST a trailer this year.

But like I said, this is I think the least likely option so don’t get too excited.

2:

IT 2017 released in theaters September 8th 2017

IT Chapter 2 released the same month only a couple days before the first part two years later, on September 5th 2019

And let’s not forget the event that was held to celebrate chapter 2 where the public got to experience Derry Canal Days Festival in September leading up to the theater release (whereas in the Novel the Festival is July 15th - 21st). So Andy and Barbara kinda made September IT month

So if the first movie released in September and the Second movie released in September then……It would only seem logical to release the Supercut somewhere in September this year…

September 2021

Now THIS, I think is most likely and what I’m hoping is accurate. Now why I’m so confident about this release date is this:

Andy Muschietti is in the progress of filming a Flash movie.

There’s teaser photos, people are getting leaks of the actors, etc. This worried me, cause while I’m of course happy to see Andy is getting more directing opportunities, it feels like IT is being forgotten, and it just——he’s teased a Supercut since 2017, then once IT chapter 2 came out he changed the plan and said the Supercut will be a fusion of the deleted scenes for both movies. We didn’t get any updates for a while until March 2020 where we ALMOST got big news. Barbara and Andy were setting up a IT Chapter 2 watch party on their Instagram. They promoted and hyped the fans that we would get a big announcement and surprise about the Supercut, but then….

It got canceled….

Because a——very terrible tragedy recently happened which I won’t elaborate on for multiple reasons. But it was very legit terrible thing and unfair and wrong and I’m very sorry to the family. R.I.P. Mr Floyd 🥲🧑🏿‍🦲😇…

Barbara felt it would be disrespectful to announce something about a horror movie when a innocent man died in a h*te c*ime recently so she canceled the announcement.

And we have got nothing since…..

Recently in a interview online Jack Dylan Grazer confirmed that “the Supercut is 100% real and it is coming” and if you ask Barbara on insta about the Supercut all you’ll get is a responses of “It’s coming!!!!” But we have no release date yet….

But hey, LOOK AT THIS TEASER OF SUPERMAN’S SUIT, LOOK, FLASH, AND SUPERMAN, AND DIRECTOR CHAIRS! WOW! Oh, IT Supercut? Yeah, it’s coming, don’t worry. BUT WE’RE DIRECTING THE FLASH!

And we have a official release date for The Flash. November 4th 2022 (originally June 2022)

What does this have to do with the IT Supercut? Well I think it would be a stupid and dangerous move to wait til The Flash has released and had its hype to release the long awaited Supercut. I mean, I think I speak for almost every IT fan when I say I don’t want to have to wait for 2023 to get the Supercut after Flash has had its fun. That’s going to make the IT fans VERY angry. They will tear Andy apart.

BUT——-

If we get the Supercut this year in September (or sooner this year) then that will make the IT fans happy and give us plenty of months to gush and enjoy the new footage. And Andy should still have a good amount of months to finish The Flash by November 2022 and everyone wins!

At least, I hope this is the case, 🙏 please, please, let this be the case.

[clairenvk]

r + e fic rec

a collection of 40+ completed reddie fics i’ve read on ao3 and loved; ranging from soft to cute to funny to ridiculous to angsty. you may have read some of this, you may not have, but these are all worth your time. if you read any of these and enjoy them then remember to leave a kudos and a comment for the author to let them know that you liked it!

✨ - Fav 😎 - fun/funny 💕 - Soft 💜 - cute (cute cute!)  🌹 - emotional / atmospheric ⚠️ - angsty ⚔️ - nsfw

💕 up off the floor  - kaspbrak_kid

“In a world where we can kill a fucking clown from space, Eddie Kaspbrak doesn’t get to die from a stab wound."

15.3k words. 6 chapters.

Note - the Most soft. tender. taking care of each other and getting together. this author also has a wip that’s a lot more sad but with as much Yearning as this one so i’d recommend you check their stuff out.

💕 And All The Time He’s Mumbling - monarchyofroses

“It suits you.” Richie frowned. “Huh?” “Being in love,” Ben clarified. “It suits you.” Richie smiled, then, so hard that it made Ben wonder how his face had not splitted in two. “I’m in fucking limerence, man.” 

2.7k words. 1 chapter

Note - ben and richie have a Conversation about the loves of their lives basically. Truly Soft.

💕 What He’s Mumbling? - monarchyofroses

"But. But that's what you do for..." "...A friend," Maggie finished for him, or well, not exactly for him, considering he was about to come out. Richie to God, if you exist and this is your revenge for my atheism, it's not funny. Also, you suck.

3.5k words. 1 chapter.

Note - coming out! i love the toziers. part 2 of the same series the previous fic is from.

💕 💜 No Mistakes - usnavi

When Richie Tozier tells Eddie Kaspbrak he loves him, they're watching Jurassic Park and Eddie's wearing his clothes like it's all meant to be this way. 

1.4k words. 1 chapter.

✨ 💜 Richie Tozier: Come Out and Play - piginawig

Richie Tozier: Come Out & Play, a new Netflix special! Comedian Richie Tozier is back after a very public mental breakdown. And he's ready to (over)share.

5.7k words. 1 chapter.

Note - My personal favorite version of this trope.

😎 Richie Tozier, an Apple Music Listener - plinys

Apple Music ✓ @AppleMusic Thanks for the support @trashmouth! We love to see loyal #AppleMusic fans! Apple Music ✓ @AppleMusic Also, in unrelated news, the #AppleMusic recommended song of the day is “thank u, next” by Ariana Grande.

1.2k words. 1 chapter.

Note - Post Chapter 2. I’m a sucker for fics involving social media. Also, this is funny and lighthearted and i love it.

😎 Retweet. - plinys

richie tozier ✓ @trashmouth what did i miss lol

3k words. 1 chapter.

Note - Post Chapter 2. 

😎 💜 ⚔️ Let’s Hear It For The Boy - sloppybitch

Eddie’s just trying to see if he’s not alone when he downloads Grindr on his phone. It’s by pure, terrifying coincidence that one of the first messages he receives on there is from none other than Richie freaking Tozier. Long story short: trashmouth;) (11:03PM): oh me, oh my. fancy seeing u here Eddie (11:33PM): holy FUCKING SHIT.

9.8k words. 1 chapter.

Note - Part 1 of an ongoing series.

😎 💜 ⚔️ Let’s Give The Boy a Hand - sloppybitch

After finding each other on Grindr and sharing a couple of saucy texts and a phone call that would make a nun faint, Richie and Eddie find each other in the clubhouse, and they... talk. Sure, they talk. Let’s call it talking. Beverly, meanwhile, discovers that none of the Losers have ever gotten drunk, and what’s being a teenager without breaking a few drinking laws? Ben has a free house, and Eddie has never been more afraid of a game of Truth or Dare in his entire fucking life.

24k words. 1 chapter.

Note - Part 2 of the series the previous fic is part of.

✨ 💜 Five Times The Losers Gave Richie Permission - toomuchrootbeer

The Losers keep trying to tell Richie something, but he's never been great at taking a hint. 

10.7k words. 1 chapter.

Note - anything that has all of the losers really present in their fics is the loml. some mentions of period typical racism and homophobia but no slurs, mainly mentioned for context of the time.

✨ 💜 Husband and Husband - thatsuperawkwardgirl

Richie gets the idea at the end of kindergarten, when the teacher has everyone do projects on their families. The class talks about how some families have moms and dads who are married, and some don’t. Richie being…well, Richie, he goes straight home and asks his parents why they got married if they didn’t have to. Richie learns about marriage and love, and comes up with an excellent plan.

7.8k words. 1 chapter.

Note - the sweetest, most adorable fic ever. couldn’t stop smiling. Part 1 of an ongoing series.

💜 A Good Husband - thatsuperawkwardgirl

Eddie sits in a chair in front of the principal’s desk, bouncing his leg anxiously--a habit he picked up from Richie, that annoying little twerp. Mrs. Smith is calling his mother for the third time in the last hour, and Eddie knows she won’t be picking up; Wednesday mornings are when she runs her errands and doesn’t return until late afternoon. This is the perfect time to get suspended, Eddie really has to pat himself on the back for that one. Eddie gets in trouble at school for fighting, and Maggie Tozier comes to pick him up.

2.5k words. 1 chapter.

Note - Part 2 of Married Life, the same series the previous fic is a part of. Truly so ridiculously cute it makes me want to scream.

😎 💜 light as a feather (got you and i together) - anniebibananie

RICHIE: why the fuck does eddie look so cute today RICHIE: his sweater sleeves keep falling down over his palms, like how could I see that and not think “I know exactly how to keep those sleeves up, just hold my hand” BEN: richie this is so sweet! BEN: but I feel like you didn’t mean to send this to me? RICHIE: This message will self-destruct in five seconds. [or Richie accidentally texts Ben about his feelings for Eddie and everyone gets involved]

1.6k words. 1 chapter.

Note - could not stop smiling the whole way through.

✨💜 the years go by like days - georgiestauffenberg

It’s Eddie he wants to get a hold of, though, and he does, tucking him under his arm, and ruffling his hair, making him laugh. He’s startled when Eddie looks at him with such happy, shining eyes. And, for a split-second, he’s tempted to kiss him right then, right there in front of everyone. He wants to. Badly. He doesn’t. He leans in, instead, and he smacks a loud, wet kiss to Eddie’s cheek, punctuating it with a “mwah!” He does it again and again. “I’m so proud of my little Eds Spagheds!” “Get off me!” Eddie says, laughing and shoving him away, swatting at his hands. AU. in the 27 years in-between, Richie and Eddie forget a lot, but they don't forget each other.

121.9k words. 4 chapters.

Note - make sure you have the time before starting this because i couldn’t stop once i started. god. really good.

💕 come on, come on - Chokingonholywater

“Yo, Eddie, play some music, will ya?” When Richie asks Eddie to put on some music in the car that day after school, Eddie doesn't think anything of it. It's a familiar request; he knows the passcode to Richie's phone, knows where Spotify is, knows what Richie likes to listen to while he drives. But what Eddie doesn't know is why, exactly, there's suddenly a playlist his name on it - literally.

8.6k words. 1 chapter.

Note - They’re in Love. and they have a playlist to prove it.

💕 sleepover - sleqnir

“You jealous?” Richie tilts his head. “Jennifer is kinda hot.” He’s referring to Ben’s girlfriend. Eddie’s face falls. “Oh. Um… no. I’m happy for him. I just…” “Want it too?” Richie’s jaw clenches. His chest aches in a way all too familiar. “A girlfriend? For yourself?” Eddie’s looking at him nervously. “I want… a relationship. I guess.” Richie looks back up at the ceiling, giving another millionth sigh. “Yeah, well… don’t sweat it so much. You’re not the only one.”“You want a girlfriend?” “I want a... relationship.” He mimics Eddie’s words.

2.5k words. 1 chapter.

🌹 ⚔️ the anatomy of a joke - crescenteluce

He trails off and Bev raises an eyebrow. ‘So, you being in bed together fits in there how exactly?’ ‘No, Jesus, Bev.’ Eddie says and Richie, horrifyingly, feels his cheeks heat under Bev’s suspicious look. Something needs to be done, so he plucks Eddie’s phone from his hands. ‘I am appalled by your implications, Beverly.’ He says sternly, trying to ignore the blood still not quite done rushing to his face. ‘I would have you know that I’d never defile Eddie like that, the poor man’s 40 year old and still a virgin and if I’d have the honor of-’ He’s cut off by Eddie trying to wrestle the phone away from him as Bev cackles delightedly.

11.7k words. 1 chapter.

💜 say what you mean (out loud) - Redburn

Richie can’t help it when something heavy refuses to leave his stomach, something relentless and daunting. He looks at Eddie and can’t help but want, can’t help but need, watching this boy watch the stars and thinking he would be happy to spend the rest of his life just like this, right here standing next to him. Or, Richie realizes he likes Eddie and promptly goes through the five stages of grief. 

7.4k words. 1 chapter.

Note - Good ol’ fluff with slight internalized homophobia and a whole lot of yearning.

💜 across the gap - sondersoflight

“You fucking stupid asshole,” Eddie says but he is smiling when he leans forward, grabbing Richie by the lapels of the ridiculous bright yellow shirt with dancing avocados he is wearing. “I’m the fucking love of your life.” 

6.4k words. 1 chapter.

💕 💜 Five Times Richie Kisses Eddie and One Time He Doesn’t Have To - multifandomtakeover

Eddie Kaspbrak is a little inexperienced in the kissing department and Richie Tozier is more than willing to help him out. 

5.7k words. 1 chapter.

✨ 🌹 💕 ⚠️ No Saints, No Sinners, No Devil As Well - saooharine

Andy Muschietti looked at Eddie Kaspbrak so now I feel obligated to repair the damage and make it gayer.

Following Richie from the sewer showdown and to the hospital with Eddie and the Losers Club by his side.

6.2k words. 1 chapter.

⚔️ In This Cold Heart - pineapplecrushface

The future Richie sees while he's caught in the deadlights gives him a chance to save Eddie. In the year afterward, they both try to follow Stan's advice. 

16.9k words. 1 chapter.

💕 💜 ⚠️ 🌹 Wouldn’t it be nice? - podcastalien

Richie wonders what exactly is supposed to be so great about being a kid as he tries to carve initials into the kissing bridge. 

2.5k words. 1 chapter.

⚔️ Men of Fall - kaboomslang

Do you remember? He watches his own hand slide closer along the armrest. Do memories transfer by touch, in this fucked up magic town? Remember, Richie, please, and tell me I wasn’t imagining things. 

7k words. 1 chapter.

💜 Any Man’s Game - tossertozier

It's two months before graduation, and Richie and Eddie can turn virtually anything into a competition. Even kissing.

10.5k words. 3 chapters.

💜 ⚠️ ⚔️ This safe place - tinyarmedtrex

Eddie asks Richie to pretend to be his boyfriend at his family reunion. What’s the worst that can happen? 

31k words. 14 chapters.

⚠️ ⚔️ Stay for the Storm - inoubliable

Richie and Eddie had become friends almost on sight. Since they met, most of Eddie's time in Los Angeles has involved Richie in some way. It's a little different, now that they're both famous. It's a little different, now that they're sleeping together. Well, to be fair, they've been sleeping together for a long time, but. No one knows, not even their friends. Eddie has been very careful about that. It's just not the sort of publicity he needs. So when Beverly calls him that sunny Thursday morning, the last thing he expects her to say is, "You're fucking Richie?"

20.8k words. 1 chapter.

💜 and this is who we are - sunsetozier

He realizes, suddenly, that being in a position like this meant nothing to him two weeks ago. At the time, it was completely normal, holding no real meaning other than comfort and tradition – after all, him and Eddie have been disgustingly cuddly with one another since they were kids, even though they’d usually bicker while holding each other close, much to the annoyance (and entertainment) of their friends. Now, however, Richie can feel his heart skip a beat in his chest, an undeniable thundering that echoes loudly in his ears. He can picture his younger self, as much of an oblivious idiot as he may have been, soaking in the warmth and the affection of Eddie’s touch when they hugged, shoved, or even just nudged one another. It’s funny, really, how much changes once you’re aware of how you feel. [In which Eddie and Beverly lie to their friends for five years before finally coming out, much to the surprise of one supposedly straight Richie Tozier.]

40.7k words. 8 chapters.

💜 hawaii hottie - sunsetozier

Letting his eyes flutter shut in order to avoid everyone’s gazes, Richie meekly explains, “I got another letter from Eds, okay? And I know he’s on vacation, doing all these cool things, and I know Hawaii is, like, super sunny and everything, but- guys. Guys.” He stops, unable to force out the words he wants to. From somewhere off to his left, he hears Bill say, “Spit it out, man. What’s the big deal?”“ There was a polaroid in this letter,” Richie tells them. He would be embarrassed, but by this point they all know how smitten he is, so there’s no reason to be bashful as he practically whines out, “And he’s getting hotter.” [In which Eddie goes on vacation and Richie can't deal with it.]

4.6k words. 1 chapter.

💜 He Came In Through the Window - mischiefmanager

"It’s finally happened. I cannot fit through this goddamn window. I’m out of ideas." or Eddie enlists the help of two other Losers to help fix his bedroom window, and finally spills the beans about what's going on between him and Richie.

11.3k words. 1 chapter

💜 Home - mischiefmanager

“Tooooozier-Kaspbrak residence,” Richie says cheerfully, holding the phone up to his ear. “May I ask who—oh hello, Mrs. K! How the fuck are you?” Richie and Eddie living together in LA, being in love and dealing with Mrs. K long-distance.

6.9k words. 1 chapter.

✨ ⚠️ hit me baby one more time - theappleppielifestyle

Richie reaches up a shaking hand and puts it on Eddie’s stomach. “Uhhh,” Eddie says. “Is this a bit? Is this a really inopportune bit? ‘Cause I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Richie, but this is kind of an important moment-” “What the fuck,” Richie says, not for the first or last time, and lurches forwards to hug him. (Or, Richie gets stuck in a time loop.)

11.1k words. 1 chapter.

💕 are we living for the feeling? - michelllejones

“You’re such an idiot,” Eddie tells Richie with a frown. He snorts at that. “Says you. Your knees are all bloody. You fall off your bike or something?” He asks, and for a split second Eddie thinks he can hear genuine concern in his voice. He’s probably just imagining it, though, since Richie’s only ever concerned about two things: his dick, and the size of it.“ So what if I did?” Eddie bites back, feeling almost defensive. Richie should be the last person teasing him about falling off of a bike. Especially since Eddie watched him trip over his own foot less than a week ago! or, Eddie takes a tumble and goes to Richie for help.

4.5k words. 1 chapter.

💕 what would they say? - michelllejones

And despite telling Eddie he would, he doesn’t go home—at least not at first. He isn't sure what wills him to do it, but his bike takes him in the other direction, past the Barrens and to the street, right to the Kissing Bridge in all its vandalized glory. Slurs and poorly carved hearts and names he doesn’t recognize stare back at him as he digs into his jeans and pulls out his dad’s old pocketknife.

4.1k words. 1 chapter.

💕 back in the summer - michelllejones

“What?” Eddie snaps, feels immediately defensive. “Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face?” Self consciously, he buries his nose into his comic book. Glares at Richie over the brim, frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. He waits for Richie to take the bait, provide some half clever quip that will catapult them into some sort of argument, as is customary. But the taunt never comes. Instead, he reaches forward—with a look in his eyes that if Eddie didn’t know any better would let himself think is almost fond—takes a curl in between gentle fingers and says, “your hair’s longer,” in a tone so tender it is almost unrecognizable.

1.6k words. 1 chapter.

💕 ⚠️ savage - inoubliable

Eddie Kaspbrak is twelve years old. He's kissed for the first time. And then kissed again. -- "You're bisexual." Eddie has never said the word out loud before, and it feels a little taboo, but it also feels like a weight off his chest. "You like boys and girls. It isn't weird, and it isn't gross, and you aren't selfish because of it. You aren't dirty or disgusting. You're Richie Tozier, and you're my best friend. I'm Eddie Kaspbrak, and I'm an idiot. I get it."

3.7k words. 1 chapter

💕 💜 Morphine - inoubliable

Eddie Kaspbrak is fourteen years old. He's a lot more honest with himself when he's drugged. -- They all crowd around Eddie's bed, their faces shimmering a little. Eddie has to squint to make out their features, and he laughs once he does. They all look so worried. Eddie feels great. "Oh my God," Stan says, at the same time that Richie says, "He's high."

2k words. 1 chapter.

💕 We Were Here - inoubliable

Eddie Kaspbrak is fifteen years old. It's the first time he kisses Richie Tozier. -- Eddie has a couple of options, here. He can pretend he didn't just realize what Richie has been trying to tell him the whole time. He can pretend like Richie is just being a jerk when he flirts and teases and taunts. He can pretend like they're just friends, and then they can stay just friends, and nothing will change. Or he can kiss Richie. He kisses Richie.

2.3k words. 1 chapter.

💕 ⚔️ The Ever After - websters_lieb

Eddie lives, and life goes on. Or The story of how Richie and Eddie sort out their shit and realize that they've been in love the whole damn time while they work towards their happily ever afters.

20.8k words. 5 chapters.

⚠️ In the Glow of the Vending Machine - sentimentalscribe

“I can’t believe that I’m going to live an eternity in hellfire over a hypochondriac who would probably make sweet love to his inhaler given the chance.” Alternatively: Beverly Knows way before these chucklefucks do. Alternatively: It's the '80s in a small town and having a panicked confession to your best friend is not nearly as fun as it sounds.

3.5k words. 1 chapter.

💜 😎 eddie gets grindr - BookRockShooter

I shouldn’t be doing this, Eddie thinks as he opens his phone. Is this technically illegal? he thinks as he clicks the app store icon. Well, it’s definitely fucking wrong either way, he thinks as he types grindr into the search bar. - Eddie downloads grindr and rediscovers an old friend - and crush - on it.

2.1k words. 1 chapter.

⚠️ confessions in the dark - BookRockShooter

Richie nods to himself. “Okay. Talk. I can do that. Hey, you know a trope in movies I always hated? When, like, the main character’s love interest is fatally wounded and dy–” He trails off, staring at Eddie with a haunted look in his eyes. “Well. You know. And, uh, the main character chooses that exact moment to confess their undying love? Like, shit, they’ve always got the worst timing.” He laughs, short and shaky, and Eddie thinks, Oh my god. “So, what, they wait until the last moment to say something? Isn’t that fucked up? Because, now, they’ll never have time to… to be happy together.” His eyes are shiny and, suddenly, all Eddie wants to do is wipe away his tears. Wants to help him feel better, because Richie Tozier doesn’t deserve to be in so much pain, not on Eddie’s behalf. “Richie,” Eddie murmurs, and he hates himself for what he’s about to say. “Richie, I… I love you.” - *fix it fic for chapter 2 bc fuck canon reddie is real*

2.2k words. 1 chapter.

💜 😎 head lights pointed at the dawn - starkmccall

"You do realise this means people around the world are gonna hear about how much I love your dick, right?" Richie says, tucked behind Eddie in bed late one night.

He can almost see Eddie squint at him. "That's not actually a part of the show, is it?"

Post-Chapter Two. Eddie lives. Richie goes back to comedy.

3.2k words. 1 chapter.

[a19yearoldtryinherbest]

The Life They Had Set Themselves To Live. Pt1 [Bill Hader]

Masterlist

Part 2 - Part 3

Prompt: Bill makes his way back into Bea’s life and some old feelings might still be there.

Warning: Honestly nothing, feels maybe?

A/N: I really loved this idea, thanks anon. Italic is flash back.

Part 2 coming soon!

Word count: 2108

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Bea signed the last paper, she was officially working with Andy Muschietti once more. She smiled and looked up at Andy and he smiled back — I hope having two former SNL cast members in a horror movie isn't a mistake. — he joked and she laughed, only for a second until confusion and curiosity took over her.

— Who else is from SNL? — she asked.

— Bill Hader is playing Richie. I figured he told you, you guys are kind of friends, right? — he smiled — I mean he was the one that sold us on to have you. It was between you and Jessica Chastain and he just said wonders about you, besides, the two Oscars speak for themselves, right? — she furrowed for a quarter of a second but then shook it off and smiled.

— Yeah, right, he must've forgotten to tell me. — she laughed out. Andy smiled oblivious to her anxiety and confusion. Damn if she wasn't a good actress, and an even better liar. They stayed in silence for a second before she said — Uhm- so... I'll be on my way now?

— Sure, we'll send you the script in a couple of weeks and have our production manager talk to your assistant to arrange everything. — said Andy while guiding her to the door but stopped in front of it — It's very nice to be working with you again Bea.

She smiled — Thank you. It's the feeling is mutual. You're a great director, Andy. — he smiled at her.

— I'll see you in couple of months, then. — they kissed on the cheek before saying goodbye, it was an Argentinean costume Andy had and she had picked upon.

As she was leaving she said — Sure, and tell Barbara I say hi.

— I will.

Bea left the building with a blank stare, her mind kind of numb, still trying to wrap her head around it. She got in the cat but she didn't started it. She just say there, looking ahead.

She smiled at him as someone removed her wig. He was fidgeting with the rings on his fingers, repeating his lines under his breath as someone made his wig look just right. Just then he saw her smiling at him, in that very moment he felt himself relax and she noted it too, smiling slightly wider and doing an ok sing at him with a bit of a questioning look. He smiled back and put his thumb up before someone gave him his cue to enter the set and he was pushed in. She watched him preform and laughed along the audience until his bit was over. She waited for him on the other side and they went to the main stage for the final goodbye of the night.

They went up to the host after, saying congratulations, complementing some bit of their monologue and then they both stayed in the back — Do you plan on going to the party? — she asked hesitantly. She looked at him, as always, he was towering over her, put not in a threatening manner, he was too nice to be threatening.

He smiled but shook his head softly — I don't think so. You?

He looked at her and she shook her head as he had done before — Not really up for going out tonight. I guess I'll go home and have a movie night.

He perked up at her with a smile — Any good movies?

She smiled, looking at him — Yeah, actually I finally got Taxi Driver on DVD so I'm gonna re-watch it, maybe with commentaries.

— That's so rad. — he said. She was never sure if he said "rad" kind of joking of if it was a word he used seriously

She smiled at his choice of words and the way his voice sounded while saying it. She looked at him and saw the excitement in his face — Wanna come watch it? — Bill said yes, even if he felt like he shouldn't let himself do it, even if he felt guilty for not going to his wife first thing after the show.

They said goodbyes and made up some lies on why they weren't going to the party. They walked to her apartment, Bill leading her coat to her since the night was pretty cold. When they got to the apartment she made two cups of hot chocolate and they settled in to watch the movie. Somehow she ended up falling asleep on his shoulder, both covered by the same blanket and his arms hugging her waist. When he woke up it was still nighttime, the movie was over, he couldn't help but to smile at her face, her head was against his chest and her hands were softly touching him. She looked happy and peaceful, her hair covering a bit of her face. In that moment he knew he would be happy waking up to her face any morning, but he couldn't. He was married and he hated the fact that those thoughts came to his mind whenever he saw her. He cursed himself for thinking about it, thinking about the way her lips would feel on his, the way her hands would touch him. He was a father to a two year old and married to an amazing woman, he couldn't think like that, he couldn't think about her like that.

He looked ahead for a moment, right into the dark wall in front of him. He felt ashamed, he should be at home with his wife. Surely nothing had happened, but he almost felt like he had cheated on her in a way that was worse than physical.

He looked at her one more time and felt pain. The sweetness was still there but it was now tainted with a bitter and salty taste.

He moved slowly and lead her head to rest on a pillow, he turned off the TV and went out into the cold, dark night, it was three AM. He would go home, shower and get in bed with his wife. He promised himself he wouldn't do something like that again, he swore he wouldn't think of her friend like that again. He would live the life he had set himself to live.

As he walked to his apartment, he figured wasn't that far away and he needed time, Bea woke up alone, cold and in the dark, only a soft orange light from the street touching her skin. She felt an emptiness inside her and an endless void around her, Bill was gone, and she was left alone again.

She was still sitting in her car but it wasn't going anywhere. The windows were up even if the heat was suffocating but she sat there, keys in her hands as she looked ahead. The empty feeling was back, now accompanied by a sinking in her stomach. She kept thinking off all the information she had received but her thoughts were constantly being interrupted by memories.

The idea that after years of avoiding him, after countless nights of crying for him, after years of trying to get over something that didn't happened, after trying so hard to forget him, she had to see him again because he had convinced the director of having her was glued to her head like a gigantic, unavoidable, stupid sticker that didn't let her see far ahead.

He had recommended her for a film he was co-starting in. She felt at a loss. She couldn't understand why would he want to see her after the way she cut all ties.

Bea had the limousine drop him off at his place. He said goodbye with a long hug and a soft kiss on her cheek, his lips lingering a bit too long around her, his hands holding her a bit too tight. She always felt that, so she always thought it was her own head messing with her. To Bill it was like smelling chocolate when in a diet. It was almost as tasting the chocolate and he felt almost as guilty after.

He let go of the hug, hating himself again for the feeling he had when he was near her and was about to say goodbye. She saw Hannah running in her pajamas towards her father, being followed by her mother who had to carry Harper. Bea smiled wildly as the kid hugged her father and he hugged her back before picking her up — They wouldn't go to sleep without you reading to them. Because, and I'm quoting, you can do the voices and I can't. — Maggie explained, finally catching up to her daughter, greeting Bill with a short kiss on the lips before turning to Bea with a bright yet tired smile on her face — Congratulations on the award! — she chimed. Bea smiled and thanked her.

— What did you win auntie? — asked Hannah. Her eyes were tired as she leaned on her father's shoulder.

— Nothing. Just dumb award about acting, sweetie. — the little girl nodded and Bea smiled, but then she looked at them. Bill, his daughters, his wife, they were happy, even smiling at her, but she felt like a wall between them. On one side Bill, his family, his house; on the other it was just her in her ball gown, the limo and her trophy. It was an unspoken truth, an invisible wall.

She felt lonely, left aside. She felt like shit.

When they were alone she would forget about it, about the truth, about his family. When it was just the two of them she felt like everything was alright, she was in a small, wonderful bubble where she wasn't sad, she wasn't lonely. But she would often forget it was just what she wanted for it to be and not what it was. And moments like this would remind her of that.

She wasn't anything but Bill's friend and, as a friend, she was happy for him but, as the person who had loved him for years, she was heartbroken. And she knew she wasn't going to get better by seeing him, even if it made her so happy to see him.

— Do you wanna come in for a drink? — Maggie asked, snapping her out of her train of thought.

She hesitated — No. I think I'm gonna go, now. — she said, being careful not to let her sadness taint her voice. She looked at Bill wanting to be able to voice her goodbye, to actually say I'm not gonna see you again. But she couldn't do that, because he would ask her why, and she couldn't tell him. So she settled for a simple — Bye. — Bill knew her, he knew something was up, but he couldn't say anything, he couldn't ask her what was wrong.

She walked to the limo and trough the dark windows saw them get in the house, closing the door without looking twice.

Bill would never let himself look twice.

She felt the emptiness she always felt when Bill left her side, but this time it was deeper, stronger, it was tearing her heart apart. She took a deep breath, stopping more tears from forming and keeping the ones in her eyes at bay.

— Where to? — asked the driver.

She looked ahead, tears on her eyes and she shook her head before looking at the award on her right, she grabbed it and looked at the driver — Do you know where the Oscar party is?

— Sure thing.

The limousine started, leaving behind the life she wished she had with Bill but she couldn't get. As she rode in the chilly Californian night Bill went to sleep with his wife, surrounded by so many good thing but feeling an emptiness inside him he didn't feel when she was with him.

She felt like an idiot. She knew she still felt the same and she hated herself for it.

She couldn't do it anymore, she couldn't keep hurting for the same guy for over ten years, she couldn't keep suffering for someone She hadn't seen for four years. She started her car and started driving off. She promised herself she wouldn't fall into that rabbit hole again, she swore she wouldn't think of about him in that way. It was just a couple of months and then she wouldn't see him again, then she would finally live the life she had set herself to live.

[stan-denbrough]

Likewise, the endless debate over whether the gaybashing scene was necessary or not gives me headaches like you wouldn’t believe! 

Yes it’s based on a real murder, yes it was the inspiration for the entire book, which honestly is kind of insulting in of itself when you remember that Stephen King wrote it in a month long coke binge and wrote a child orgy scene?? And tried yet again to interpret “why do people do bad things” from his privileged little cushion and color me not impressed. 

But, fine. I get why they would, for adaptational and ~topical~ reasons show a homophobic hate crime. But uh... let me tell you something. I have been harassed before. Not for holding hands with my boyfriend but I won’t go into details. 

When drunk straight men start yelling at you and harassing you? You don’t fucking say some Ru Paul level shade room “Meg Ryan called, she wants her hair back” and snap your fingers in a z formation, it makes me SO fucking angry that they even thought they could get away with such 0 dimensional writing of gay characters. 

I’m packed, sis I’m PACKEDT! 

In the book, it’s marginally better. Adrian just says what basically amounts to “suck my dick,” which fine. It was also the 80s, so obviously there wouldn’t be some cringe meme clapback. But it’s still a clapback. 

But ask any gay man, and he will tell you, when you’re being (street) harassed, you do not respond. You do not try to give them your witty comeback. You keep your head down, you walk faster, you try to get to a safe place as fast as possible, whether that’s physically separating yourself from them or getting a bunch of witnesses. 

I just don’t see how Adrian Mellon and Don Hagarty would even bother with some lame cishet writer’s idea of “scalding tea,” because that’s not true to reality! 

And that’s not getting into how they changed Stephen King’s fictionalized version of the real life event, which was mostly accurate, to having them literally holding Don down and forcing him to watch as they killed Adrian. In real life and in the book, he runs away but stops and watches from a distance, and the killers threaten him not to talk.

So yeah, the sensationalization, the inclusion of stupid fucking tropes, the utterly lazy writing in regard to gay people. Yes, it’s a bad scene! Stephen King was trying, but it seems like Andy Muschietti didn’t understand that or didn’t care.

So everyone running in circles over whether the bury the gays scene was homophobic, how not including it would be homophobic, it’s nice to know none of you are gay men and that like 2 of you actually know any gay men (that you’re at least close with) because that entire scene rubbed me the wrong way for entirely different reasons than everyone is crytyping about.  

Oh and I’m going to slap a “don’t reblog” on this one folks.

[agentnico]

It: Chapter Two (2019) Review

I guess “You’ll float too” is old news. “You lied and I died” - that’s the new wave!

Plot: Twenty-seven years after their first encounter with the terrifying Pennywise, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back.

As always I advise my readers who suffer from coulrophobia (fear of clowns) to stay away from this movie like with the first one, and as a matter of fact to stay away from Warner Bros.’ next big feature Joker also, as that too has killer clowns written all over it. But you already know all this. What you are wondering is if It Chapter Two is a good movie. If you are not wondering this, I honestly do not know why you are reading this. Are you bored? If you are, then I am honestly very sorry to hear that and wish you all the best of luck in finding future entertainment for yourself. As for the rest of you, let’s talk about the movie.

Well, before we talk about this movie, a quick call back to my thoughts on the first movie that came out a couple of years ago. I thought it was quite enjoyable, and though weak on scares, gave us great performances from the child-actors and Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise was a revelation. Also, even though it wasn’t scary, I generally enjoyed the movie. It had a very old-school Amblin vibe to it. Now we have It Chapter Two which is set 27 years later, so yes, that does mean we now have some Hollywood folk taking on the adult versions of the main characters, and I must say, if there was an Oscar category for Best Casting Director, then whoever did that job for this movie deserves it 100% as they couldn’t have gotten a better cast. Through the way they look to their mannerisms, the adult cast here is great, and I’ve heard many praising Bill Hader as the stand-out, however I’d say everyone did an equally good job.

The original children cast return too but are heavily under-used, however that might not be the worst thing as with the kids having gone through a certain thing called puberty in the past few years, they now look much more grown up compared to when they filmed the first movie, so for the flashback sequences in this movie the visual effects team had to de-age the kids to look the same as before, however not to great success as the kids’ faces in this one are so obviously distorted by a computer that it became a distraction more than anything. Finn Wolfhard especially looked very goofy because of this. And I wonder why, since with modern technology you’d assume making small touch-ups to one’s face would be fairly easy. Maybe they rushed it, I don’t know, but it looked bad. However the chemistry between the kid actors is still there, so for the few scenes they are in they did their due.

Now let’s talk about the proper bad. This movie is around 3 hours long, and it FEELS like it is 3 hours long. Moreover, not that much happens in those 3 hours, which begs the question... why the fork is it 3 hours long? Director Andy Muschietti stated in an interview that there is even an extended cut of the movie that exists somewhere and I’m just wondering what possibly more could be in that cut, as the movie’s about nothing. And all the events that do happen are in some way a rehash of things that have happened in the previous film. It’s overly long, lacks a sense of originality, it is not even remotely scary (you can predict the jump scares from a mile away) and in fact a lot of the movie’s ‘scares’ come off as ridiculous. There’s also a huge reliance on CGI which doesn’t always work. That being said, when this movie works, it does work. These moments are quite rare, but there are certain scenes that are truly brilliant, many due to Bill Skarsgard returning as the evil clown Pennywise, once again giving one hell of a creepy performance and there is a certain scene (for those who have seen the movie, I’m talking about the sequence set under the bleachers) that has similar motives to that of the first scene with Georgie in Chapter One and you just have to give so much respect for how much dedication Skarsgard has put towards this role. However nothing can save the ridiculousness of the movie’s final act where our heroes confront Pennywise one final time. This whole part is stupid to the point of being over-the-top, however I cannot really fault the movie for this, as this element comes straight from the book, and even in the book it’s stupid. Funnily enough, there is meta joke within the movie poking fun at Stephen King and his problem with writing endings for his novels, but ironically the movie itself inadvertently suffers for it.

It Chapter Two has its moments. The cast knock it out of the park, Benjamin Wallfisch’s eerie music score returns (though my favourite score of his is still from A Cure for Wellness), Andy Muschietti directing has a lot of potential, however the abundant reliance on CGI, the extremely long run-time, lack of horror for a horror and the absurdness of the final act really make this a bit of a forgettable watch. I’d say still go see it if you liked the first one as this works nicely as a companion piece, but nothing more than that.

Overall score: 5/10

[richietoziersgazebos]

So I had a dream last night that I was on tumblr and some of you were reblogging the post this dude made about toxic people in Hollywood and problematic movies and he was like “here’s a list of people you shouldn’t trust” and the first name was Andy fucking Muschietti so of course I got really mad and this guy went on by saying that all his movies were shit and I was like “wait he only made two movies” and this guy just posted a made up list of problematic movies directed by him and I just lost it and wrote a very long post about how stupid and wrong he was and got mad at my mutuals who actually believed him.

and this is why I should stay away from this fucking site.

@reddieinthestars you were one of the people that reblogged the post of the guy and I was like “!!!!!!! Betrayal!!!!!!!!!” lmao

[topmixtrends]

DESPITE MANY OTHER predictable changes to its source material, the opening sequence of Andy Muschietti’s wildly successful adaptation of Stephen King’s epic 1986 novel It reproduces the book’s inciting incident with meticulous loyalty. In the beginning of the novel, just before protagonist Bill Denbrough’s younger brother Georgie is killed by the monstrous clown Pennywise in a horrific realization of “stranger danger,” he must run down to his family’s basement to get paraffin for the newspaper boat Bill is building for him. It is an experience of unrelenting terror, despite his desperate attempts to reassure himself: “Stupid! There were no things with claws, all hairy and full of killing spite. Every now and then someone went crazy and killed a lot of people — sometimes Chet Huntley told about such things on the evening news — and of course there were Commies, but there was no weirdo monster living down in their cellar.” King’s powerful evocation of the nearly unbearable ordeal of a solo trip to the basement at age six reminds us of childhood’s blurred line between real and imagined fears.

For contemporary advocates of “free-range parenting” for whom the 1980s represents the last vestige of freedom before the descent of the helicopter parent, this is precisely why the unattended trip to the basement or the playground is vital: independently navigating those indistinct regions of the real and the imagined should help children learn to better delineate between the two. But the gruesome murder that sets King’s novel in motion sides instead with the logic of a famous quotation from Catch-22: “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.” Georgie successfully conquers his fear of the basement, only to be dismembered down the street by a version of the very monster he’d convinced himself was only imaginary.

Critics have noted the It movie’s overlap with the hit Netflix series Stranger Things in their apparent celebration of autonomous childhood adventure, a possibility many believe to have vanished with the 1980s in which movie and show are both set. Do the parent-free exploits of the young “Losers’ Club” in King’s novel support the idea that parental overprotectiveness be dismissed as so much needless paranoia? The novel instead explores more complex and troubling questions inaugurated by Georgie’s death: Is the best and bravest way to treat our fears truly to tell ourselves that they don’t exist? Is it actually possible, or even advisable, to try to separate the real from the imagined?

From Michael Chabon’s wistful “The Wilderness of Childhood” to more polemical essays like Hanna Rosin’s “The Overprotected Kid” and Christina Schwarz’s “Leave Those Kids Alone” (both in The Atlantic), a proliferation of recent think pieces has lamented the loss of an American childhood in which unsupervised play and everyday encounters with moderate danger build independence, resilience, and creativity. In these views, today’s highly regulated kids not only lack fortitude but also tragically miss out on the risky fun and adventure of yesteryear’s childhoods.

Some of these pieces suggest that fictions can help today’s postlapsarian children imagine a different world, and remind parents that such a world could exist. One contemporary father watches the Spielberg-authored adventure The Goonies (dir. Richard Donner, 1985) with his children. Their sense of wonder is ignited simply by the image of a group of kids striking out on a quest on their own. “Where are their parents?” the author’s kids demand to know. “How are they allowed to do this?” In a New York Times op-ed titled “The ‘Stranger Things’ School of Parenting,” Anna North argues that the acclaimed television series offers more than a pleasurable nostalgia for 1980s kids’ adventure movies like The Goonies and E.T. North sees in the show a valuable corrective to the “hyper-parenting” approach of today (indeed, she goes so far as to suggest that the show’s villainous Dr. Martin Brenner is the only adult that fits the “helicopter parent” mold): “‘Stranger Things’ is a reminder of a kind of unstructured childhood wandering that — because of all the cellphones, the fear of child molesters, a move toward more involved parenting or a combination of all three — seems less possible than it once was.” Synthesizing the ideas of Rosin, Schwarz, et al., North asks us to view Stranger Things as a model for a loosened approach to parenting that acknowledges the world may hold dangers, but accepts that “bravery needs its own space to grow.”

There is general consensus among these essays that the 1980s marks a turning point away from older childhood freedoms. This characterization adds further poignancy to Stranger Things’s loving evocation of 1983–’84. The years following the 1982 release of Spielberg’s E.T., the movie with the strongest imprint on Stranger Things’s vision of its era, are also seen as the beginning of the end of a world in which such fantasies of childhood could seem grounded in a recognizable reality. In the present, the image of a group of unsupervised kids biking headlong into mystery and adventure can exist only as nostalgic evocation of past fictions. What happened in the 1980s to bring us to this point?

As Rosin explains, a series of child abductions and murders between 1979 and 1981 garnered a new level of media coverage for this type of crime. Perhaps most notoriously, the disappearance in 1979 of six-year-old Etan Patz, walking alone to his school bus in New York City, precipitated the widespread perception of a rise in kidnapping and child molestation. Rosin succinctly summarizes the cultural upshot of this infamous case: “[T]he fear drove a new parenting absolute. Children were never to talk to strangers.” Or walk to school, or anywhere else, alone. Simultaneously, high-profile lawsuits over children’s injuries led to a radical overhaul of playground design according to stringent new safety standards. In the views of some psychologists and educators, the removal of any sense of risk in the experience of play undermines the development of children’s ability to negotiate real-world fear or danger. Rosin describes an evolutionary psychologist’s critical perspective on these cultural shifts in the 1980s: facing moderate fear through unregulated exploration and play inoculates us against greater, more debilitating fears that may otherwise take hold. For Rosin and many other commentators, this inoculation is what we have lost.

Stephen King’s It, written between 1981 and 1985 as the fears and protective responses described by Rosin became culturally entrenched in what she terms “the era of the ubiquitous missing child,” might at first blush seem an opening salvo in defense of the childhood freedoms whose loss is lamented today. Indeed, King’s story of a group of outcast kids who band together to fight a protean monster in the fictional small town of Derry, Maine, in the 1950s was a major influence on the plot and themes of Stranger Things; the show originated in part because its writer-directors were turned down in their bid to helm the film adaptation of It. It is tempting to read King’s novel as a wellspring for the lesson North believes Stranger Things revives for our present moment: sometimes kids need to be left alone to confront monsters themselves, because “it’s only when the parents aren’t watching that a child can become a hero.”

If understood in these terms, as a paean to childhood freedoms, King’s novel makes a particularly bold statement for the time of its release. Just a few years after Etan Patz’s abduction cemented the rule against talking to strangers, It’s opening scene and inciting incident finds a boy exactly Etan’s age playing out in the street on his own. Lured to the edge of a storm drain by the seductive banter of Pennywise, Georgie hesitates, reciting the dictum actually much less ingrained in the 1950s of the book’s setting than in the 1980s of its writing: “I’m not supposed to take stuff from strangers. My dad said so.” And in this scene King makes it very clear that Georgie invites his own violent demise by eventually trusting the charming Pennywise and accepting his proffered balloon. If Georgie had run away when he first heard the voice coming from the storm drain, there might never have been occasion for Georgie’s older brother and his band of misfit friends to become heroes.

Stranger Things is King by way of Spielberg: It transferred to a 1980s of risk and wonder in which we never really fear for the main characters’ lives. Season one, after all, begins with a missing child, but unlike It, ends with that child’s safe return. Where the four boys of Stranger Things navigate pubescent romantic crushes and perils, King’s children confront actual sex and death. Georgie’s murder comes amid a wave of child disappearances and deaths in Derry that leads the police to impose an evening curfew. At an assembly, the police chief assures the town’s children that they will be safe so long as they never talk to (or accept rides from) strangers. Townspeople speculate about the presence of one or more sexual predators. The death count rises. 1950s Derry becomes a microcosm of “the era of the ubiquitous missing child” Rosin ascribes to the 1980s United States. And, like the science fiction plot cliché in which a character travels back in time to change the future, It’s 1950s imagines an opportunity to confront the fears of the 1980s in advance, before they become insurmountable.

This projection of 1980s anxieties backward to the 1950s is mirrored in the book’s dual time frame: the characters, grown to adulthood in the 1980s, must return to Derry to again confront the monster they thought they had defeated as children. Riding on the coat tails of its own imitator, Stranger Things, the 2017 It movie transfers the children’s story to a more marketable and mediagenic 1980s setting. This only renders its allegory for 1980s panic over missing children more palpable: here is the moment when kidnappings and murders suffuse the adult imagination, but children may still, for just a bit longer, ride their bikes across town alone. Though more horrific than Stranger Things, the It movie aligns with the TV show in lending itself to the view that the dangers the children face are a necessary and bearable price for the joys and glories of their adventures. Both texts can easily support Rosin’s and North’s claims that with increasingly supervised childhoods, kids — and we, as a society — have lost much more than we have gained.

The show and movie can resonate with this message in part because a central argument in most essays on the loss of childhood freedom is that the fears of the 1980s were imaginary all along. The authors of these pieces repeatedly invoke statistics to demonstrate that the rate of stranger abductions did not actually rise during the period in which fear of this act rose exponentially. Nor have they risen since then, and the overall rate of crimes against children has in fact declined since the 1990s. But for me, this common argument calls to mind a Jay Leno routine about how, after every spectacular disaster, the airline industry seeks to reassure the public with statistics. You are a thousand times more likely, authoritative pilots tell us in television spots, to die from a fall in the shower than in a plane crash. Fine, Leno says, but when I slip in the tub I’m not falling 30 thousand feet! Probabilities mean little to fear and horror. It is enough that the thing really exists. And this is what makes King’s novel resistant to being marshaled along with its movie adaptation and Stranger Things in the case for unsupervised childhood. The monster in It assumes many forms as it appears to each of the kids individually. But there is one consistent principle in its manifestations: “It” asserts the brutal reality of particular fears the children already hold but assume are only imaginary.

King emphasizes this point repeatedly: the unsupervised spaces of play and exploration in the novel’s small-town 1950s are sites of self-discovery and growth yet also of terror and violence. And this violence is enacted by a monster whose particular horror derives from its very insistence that fears are never just imagined. Significantly, King invokes horror fictions themselves in this logic: the monster sometimes appears in the form of figures from 1950s horror movies that the children have previously experienced as fun and cathartic entertainments — as a means of safely facing their fears. But It’s manifestations of the Wolfman, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and so on, are far more grotesque and deadly than the fictions familiar to both the novel’s characters and the reader. Some children are violently murdered. Others escape It’s assaults, eventually banding together to fight back.

Despite firsthand experience of the monster, a major obstacle they must overcome is the ingrained belief that it cannot actually be real:

“You’re … not … real,” Eddie choked, but clouds of grayness were closing in now, and he realized faintly that it was real enough, this Creature. It was, after all, killing him. And yet some rationality remained, even until the end: as the Creature hooked its claws into the soft meat of his neck […] Eddie’s hands groped at the Creature’s back, feeling for a zipper.

This scene, in which minor character Eddie Corcoran is murdered in a town park by It’s version of the Creature from the Black Lagoon, exemplifies a central theme in the novel: although we may rationalize our fears as unbelievable, even ludicrous (a clown in the sewer? a man-sized fish creature?), this doesn’t change the fact that the most unimaginable things do actually happen.

Published at the peak of the “era of the ubiquitous missing child,” It offers a less reassuring message than North’s takeaway from Stranger Things, a bromide equally applicable to the It movie: “it’s only when the parents aren’t watching that a child can become a hero.” There is some of that celebration of heroism in King’s novel, for sure. But in at least equal measure, the book troubles the rationalization that fear is just in our heads. Even if stranger abduction is about as probable as a supernatural killer clown in a storm drain, the book turns the reassurances of probability on their head. What matters isn’t the statistical likelihood of these things happening, but the horrific magnitude of the things that sometimes do happen. It requires the passage of an entire generation for the novel’s characters to even begin to cope with what happened to Georgie and the others. And so, the novel proleptically answers today’s unsupervised childhood nostalgists with a challenging question: why shouldn’t it change everything when a six-year-old child is stolen by a monster?

I am not proposing an alternative to Anna North, an “It School of Parenting” predicated on the belief that Georgie should simply have stayed in his parents’ sight at all times. But nor should the portrait of childhood in the novel that inspired Stranger Things be assimilated to the romantic idealization of childhood before “the era of the ubiquitous missing child.” As Joshua Rothman reminds us in a recent New Yorker piece on It, the movie is unable to capture the novel’s vast, messy weirdness — the cosmic fever dream to which its conflicts eventually build. Indeed, the bizarre incoherence of the book’s resolution further illuminates its status as a missive from the trenches of the missing child era: the book’s inciting incident powerfully conveys the horror of real-life events, but its allegory becomes unruly — and eventually unmoored from its historical referents entirely — in its attempt to imagine what it might take to overcome the fears these events bring into the world.

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Jason Middleton is a professor of film and media studies at the University of Rochester.

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