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#But then diverges after Bev dies
kindlythevoid · 2 months
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So in an effort to commit to sharing my strange/bland/cliche au/fanfic ideas on this here Tumblr, I’d like to start off with a humble fanfic au I’m currently rotating in my head since I first saw Winter’s Tale (2014) not twelve hours ago.
Peter Lake: World’s Oddest Guardian Angel
This man does not remember his own name. He does not know how he got here and he doesn’t know why everything seems so much more… different. Bigger. Louder. Brighter. He has given up on naming himself, instead choosing to spend his days redrawing the same picture, in chalk, every day in the middle of Central Park.
This man, this man, who steals and stutters and has an Irish accent and long hair and can’t remember more than a few days ago, who has been alone for more time then he’s been around people, who alternates between suit jacket and old hoodies without reason, who’s a little rusty at charming but is picking up what you’re putting down…
This is the Guardian Angel of one Abby Gamely.
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reddieao3feed · 4 years
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Approval Neither Desired or Required
read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2Rp5K7q
by agrajag
[I]t had been Eddie who had been brave first. (It was the second thing that came back to Richie, after fucking Pennywise and his giant fucking nose.)
Richie could see it as clear as day in his mind -- the one night that Eddie had packed a bag with as much of his stuff as he could fit, biked over to Richie's house, got his attention by throwing some rocks at his window, and told him they were running away. Yeah, not 'asked.' Told.
Richie hadn't even hesitated[.]
It wasn't until they had passed the state line that their memories started getting hazy. [...] Eddie had been recalling a funny anecdote that happened with Bev, but then he couldn't remember her name.
As frustrated tears welled in his eyes, he grabbed the front of Richie's shirt and kissed him.
(Because he 'wanted to do that before I forgot how badly I've always wanted to.')
Richie and Eddie leave Derry together and get married.
Words: 11856, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Fandoms: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Categories: M/M
Characters: Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak, Mike Hanlon, Stanley Uris, Bill Denbrough, Beverly Marsh, Ben Hanscom, Pennywise (IT)
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Canon-Typical Violence, Vomiting, Established Relationship, Affectionate Insults, Brief Sexual Content
read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2Rp5K7q
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calamity-bean · 5 years
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Reddie Fic Recs: Canon Divergent
Comprising stories that substantially alter the events of canon — typically so that Eddie survives the final showdown with Pennywise, because that’s the kind of content I crave. Includes ones set during the events of the film(s) as well as ones set in the future that use the premise that Eddie didn’t die. For stories in which Eddie dies like in canon but doesn’t necessarily stay dead, check out my Canon Compliant recs.
This is a mixture of complete works and WIPs, of various ratings and lengths, mostly recent (like, posted since the release of Chapter 2). If part of a series, I’ve listed only the first work. More possibly to be added at any time I feel like it!
the anatomy of a joke by 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.
and they read off our names by liquidsky
Eddie survives.
Part 1 of that ends well to end up with you
Button Up Your Overcoat by stitchy
“It’s just a gut check, there is no gun to your balls here,” says Richie. "But if you were gonna be a dad... what do you think you’d like about it?”
Eddie glances at the dog, who just looks back at him like, I dunno, man, he didn’t clear this with me. I thought we were just hanging out and watching some Treehouse of Horror tonight.
Call It What You Want by hannahberrie
They’re just staring at each other in the middle of a crowded New York train station, and it’s almost midnight. There’s supposed to be a thunderstorm tonight, according to the forecast, but Eddie can’t really remember that right now.
In which, after separating from Myra, Eddie goes to stay at Richie's place in Manhatten.
Cards on the Table by jendavis
Ben had kissed Bev, and it had brought her back from the deadlights. Eddie tries the same thing with Richie. Richie comes out of it knowing how to kill it, and knowing that he'd just seen Eddie die.
He's kind of a mess. It's kind of Eddie's fault.
Part 1 of Writing on the Wall
Cruel Summer by actuallymaxie
Richie used to call it an itch. Eddie makes him feel like it’s something else. It’s one thing to feel it. It’s something else to be able to say it out loud.
Or: Eddie doesn’t die. That doesn’t mean there’s a happily ever after. Not right away, at least.
for better, for worse by kaspbrak_kid
Eddie's done a fucking lot of brave things in the past year and a half. He did a lot of brave things in Derry, and then left his wife and started therapy and came to Ben and Bev's wedding even though he's been in love with his best friend for somewhere between six months and thirty years. Even though he knew it'd be fucking hard. He's not sure how many brave things he has left in him.
hoping to be found by eddiespaghetti (foxwatson)
When everything in Derry is said and done, Eddie really doesn’t know what the fuck to do. He goes back to New York, alone, because he doesn't have any other immediate options - and he heals.
i am easy to find by zach_stone
Or, 25-year-old Richie Tozier doesn't know why he can't remember his childhood, or why he has nightmares about yellow eyes looming in the dark. Then he finds an old photo of friends he can't remember, and things start to change. A "what if Richie and Eddie found each other again during the 27 years" fic.
If You Believe by websters_lieb
What if Eddie held on just a little bit longer? What if the losers figured out how to kill it just a little bit earlier? What if Eddie made it out of Neibolt, injured and barely holding on, but alive?
When Eddie emerges from the cavern to see Richie floating, he just about shits himself.
Part 1 of The Ever After
In Case Of Emergency Contact E.Kaspbrak by stitchy
It wasn’t immediately obvious to the Losers that something was wrong with Richie after the Deadlights. After all, his eyesight had always been shit.
in the heat of the summer (you're so different from the rest) by kaboomslang
There’s a heatwave in L.A., the first time Richie sees Eddie naked.
or
One very hot year in the life of two idiots in love, working shit out.
In This Cold Heart by 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.
it’s about time that you just unwind by fuckener
“It sucked to tell people,” Richie said suddenly, tapping a finger on his glass. He was avoiding eye contact again. “Like - it just really fucking sucked. I’m old. I’m like middle-aged. You’re this old and you just start telling people you're gay, they think, ‘Jesus! That dude’s got issues.’ Because they’re right, and you do.”
“It must have come as a real shock to our friends,” Eddie said, staring. “That you have issues.”
it’s coming out backwards by banksoflochlomond
The problem is that he’s known it his entire life. Or at least as long as Eddie started sputtering after Richie’s “your mom” jokes. As long as Eddie, with his small delicate fucking body, muscled up to him and told Richie he was gonna get herpes from licking the swingset. As long as Richie’s known his button nose, still nice as shit after twenty-seven fucking years.
But Richie’s never said it out loud. Never let himself feel it, except when he had to. Maybe that’s why Richie was so good at forgetting Derry. He never wanted to remember. Never wanted to deal with the albatross he’d pretty much surgically attached to his back.
He’s got to, though. Say it out loud. Say it to Eddie.
(Or, Eddie survives. The road for Richie isn't any easier, though.)
it’s time the kid got free by zach_stone
But now he remembers his childhood, and the fierceness of all the emotions he felt back then — love most of all. Love was a blood oath, it was Bev handing him the fencepost that could kill monsters, it was what made him throw that fencepost into Its gaping maw to save Richie from the deadlights.
When it comes to what love feels like for Eddie, it’s always been — different, with Richie. He loves all of his friends with all of his heart, but Richie has burrowed in deeper, somehow, and if Eddie were a more dramatic or poetic man he might say he loves Richie in his bones, in his soul. But he isn’t, so he doesn’t say that, even if he maybe thinks it a little bit and feels ridiculous.
just be still with me by eddiespaghetti (foxwatson)
Eddie Kaspbrak is 38, working as a driver in New York. Richie Tozier is a stand up comic who comes to New York on a one way ticket to audition for SNL, and his agent has hired Eddie as his driver. There's something familiar about Richie, though Eddie knows they've never met. While Richie insists on sitting in the front seat and making something more than small talk, Eddie struggles to maintain professional distance.
Basically - what if Eddie and Richie did forget, and didn't see each other for 25 years, but they fell in love anyways.
Part 1 of i can stare for a thousand years (you wouldn't believe what i've been through)
The Kids Table by stitchy
For the most part Richie and his sister have a doctrine of mutually assured destruction. They could obliterate each other with their parents given the slightest provocation. To keep things at an even keel, they steer clear of each other as much as possible every other day of the year, but on Thanksgiving? Kids Table is like their NATO.
A series of Tozier Thanksgivings, from '85 to '19.
last ones out by gayingenue
Richie wonders if it’s always been this hard for him to touch Eddie. It hasn’t; they were incredibly touchy as kids, falling all over each other, gangly limbs intertwined. Even as adults, a few days before, Richie had barely been able to keep his hands off of him. Eddie almost dying did something, though. Chipped away at something deep within Richie. From the bed, Eddie laughs.
Like Pulling Teeth by  stitchy
“Jesus Christ,” Eddie muttered. Maybe there was a curling iron around here somewhere he could electrocute himself with. He scrounged a few safety pins from the counter and passed them to Bev without looking directly at Richie. He knew he was being a little bitch, but he could not let on how jealous he was. Their friendship barely survived the Christmas Richie got a Sega.
- In which Eddie mistakes wanting to be ON Richie for wanting to BE Richie -
Love It If We Made It by areyoureddiekids
Eddie lives. Richie stumbles through being in love with the man who used to be, and could still be, his best friend, and maybe something more. This is how they find each other again as adults, in the aftermath of finally killing It.
men who are afraid of the light by beepbeep (aceface)
Eddie survives.
“Well,” says Richie. “I wanted to fuck Paul Bunyan and nothing turns you off your homosexual urges like a murder clown filling his mouth with dagger teeth. Can you imagine those wrapped around your dick? Worst blowjob ever.”
Missing the Boat by stitchy
About a year after Derry, the Losers plan a cruise to Bev and Ben's destination wedding. Cross country travel being the bitch it is, Richie and Eddie miss the boat and get stranded until they can catch a flight out to Hawaii. It's a blast from the past Good Time TM, but Eddie wants to know- why has Richie been so distant?
Part 1 of Missing the Boat 
My Four Leaf Clover by pineapplecrushface
After Derry, Eddie starts dreaming, gets his shit together, and figures out how to live.
New Page, Same Old Book by Rend_Herring
He thought he’d hidden these feelings from himself, stowed them away in some dark corner and learned not to think about it. But the second Eddie peaked in from around the corner at the Jade and looked at Richie with those big, limpid pools of Christmas Orphan meets Bambi, and started rambling about gluten and cashews, it all came flooding back into focus. Richie has loved Eddie so long that it’s become an ache that goes beyond reason.
no sense of living without aim by Anonymous
Eddie had been on grindr for all of two days and in that time he’d already seen more dicks than he had in the nearly forty years of his life. He’d gone methodically through his messages and blocked all the catfishes, the possible serial killers and the bores, and eventually settled on a promising ‘37. DTF. I'll make u a drink after’ (637 feet away).
Or, sometimes your long-lost childhood crush is the anonymous hook-up you meet along the way.    
not quite young by saintsrow2
Richie was sitting in a chair in front of a dressing table, looking into the lit-up mirror while he sipped a glass of amber bourbon. He looked up when Eddie walked in and then there were no words; neither of them had thought this far ahead. Eddie stood awkwardly in the open door, feeling very much like he was still waiting for the big prank to be revealed, for there to be machinations behind all of this that he couldn’t understand. “Hey, Trashmouth,” he said, eventually. “Hey, Eds,” Richie said. “You know I always hated being called that,” Eddie said. “Not when it’s me.”
An AU in which Richie and Eddie meet before Mike calls them all back to Derry, the affair that follows, and the consequences both of them want to ignore.
Richie and Eddie Outrun the Devil (in Richie’s Rental Car) by sofia_estrella
“If It’s trying to kill us, I don’t want to get on an airplane.”
“Air travel is statistically safer than—”
“Eds, please. I don’t think I can handle a cross-country flight by myself right now. There isn’t enough Ambien in the world.”
Eddie snorts. “What are you gonna do then?”
“Drive, I guess.”
“You’re gonna… drive… to L.A.?”
+ alternate title: An Evil Clown Can’t Kill You If You Drive Fast Enough
(Stand-Up) Routines & (Engagement) Rings by cajungirlkye
2 years after the events of IT: Chapter Two, Richie brings Eddie out on stage during one of his stand-up performances in order to ask a Very. Important. Question.
sweet as cherry wine by pearlshop
“Can I come in?” Eddie asks, teeth chattering. He’s soaked to the bone, a cornflower blue polo clinging to his small shoulders. It’s the only thing he’s wearing besides a pair of khakis that are also soaked through. Richie is suddenly very sober. “Eds?” or: Eddie leaves Myra and shows up at Richie's door.
Things that Happen after Eddie Lives by IfItHollers
In a world where Richie manages to save Eddie from It after the deadlights, they still have problems on their to-do list. Featuring everything from Derry to Los Angeles—Richie Tozier's murder trial, Eddie Kaspbrak's divorce proceedings, bedsharing of the platonic and non-platonic varieties, an investigation of magic, a truly disgusting séance, the quintessential morosexual road trip, and OH MY GOD THEY WERE ROOMMATES.
Part 1 of Things that Happen After
we're f***ing killing it, babe by thenewlondoner (muleumpyo)
Richie has been back in Derry for three days and murdered an Eldritch horror-esque monster from space or possibly from some weird meta-verse, who knows, and faced both of his childhood fears of clowns and his own death, as well as the possibility of losing his first love just as he remembered they fucking existed, he’d like some slack cut for him on the emotional front, thank you!
OR
Eddie is dead, but the Losers carry him out of the house on Neibolt anyway. Which is good, because Eddie is not dead.
we were always here at the right time by fuckener
Eddie’s eyes were getting heavy again. Richie helped him back down to the pillow.
“It’s always kind of like this, isn’t it,” he mumbled.
Richie didn’t move. He was still holding Eddie’s hand, his shoulder.
“Like what?” he asked softly.
“You and me,” Eddie said. What else?
what doesn’t kill me (makes me want you more) by beautifulbane
Eddie survives. He goes back to New York and divorces Myra, but a part of him is still unhappy. It isn’t until he sees Richie a year later at Ben and Bev’s wedding that he realizes why.
you're already gone by ameliepoulain
You can never get enough, Robert Smith cries over the static, and Richie turns around wearing that dumb smile again.
All Eddie can think is: soon, all this will be gone.
You’re So Stupid by StilesBastille24
“Hey,” Richie greets brightly.
Eddie looks over, one hand reaching for the remote to turn off the tv. “They said their letting me out today,” he says, eyes narrowed as he peers over Richie’s shoulder. “You know, Derry’s hospital doesn’t even make the rank of top hospitals in Maine? I’ll be lucky if I’m not back in here from a fucking blood infection in two days.” He braces both of his palms against the mattress and tries to push himself further upright.
Richie swoops in before something horrific like split stitches can occur. “Cool it, Evel Knievel, or your going to be bleeding all over these perfectly white sheets, and then they’ll definitely think twice about letting you out of here.”
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eddiesasspbrak · 5 years
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Forever and Always Ch. 1
Eddie is the only one of his friends to stay behind in Derry after high school, causing him to lose touch with some of them. Now 24, Eddie has heard rumors that his now famous, former best friend (aka love of his life) may be coming back to town. That won't be too awkward, right?
Ch. 2
Read on AO3
4k+ words
Most people who grew up in the town of Derry moved away as soon as they were able and never looked back. This was true for all six of Eddie’s best friends. After high school, one by one, they left Derry behind. Left Eddie behind. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to leave too. Of course, he did. None of their childhoods had been great. The only thing that made it bearable was having each other. When bullies came around there was power in numbers. Seven losers would always be more intimidating than three bullies who wanted to tear them down.
In fact, they’d met Mike and Ben while saving them from bullies. Individually they felt powerless, together they felt unstoppable. They could kill monsters as long as they stayed together. So, when they all left, Eddie found it harder and harder to leave his mom. He’d realized at a young age that most of his ailments were made up by her as a way of keeping him close. If he needed to be taken care of, then he would always need her. When he was older, he realized that it was her who needed to be taken care of. If he left, how would she survive? She was sick, needed to be needed. So, he stayed. He gave up his dreams of escaping Derry to stay by her side.
The community college wasn’t far outside of Derry, but Eddie found getting there without a car to be nearly impossible when there was no bus system within the town. His mom didn’t want him taking classes, so she refused to drive him or let him borrow the car. She hadn’t been happy that he had even gotten his license without her permission. She didn’t know about all the hours he’d spent in Richie’s truck, behind the wheel, bickering with the other boy while he tried to teach him to drive.
Richie. He’d begged Eddie to leave with him. To pack up everything they could carry in the back of his truck and just drive. Saying no was so painful. They’d both cried when he told him that he had to stay. He couldn’t abandon his mother. Richie had been angry, and he’d left like that. He left and he didn’t call Eddie to say he was ok like he’d promised he would. Watching him drive away had broken Eddie’s heart. He’d loved him in secret for years and he’d just thrown away his last chance to be with him. His last chance to be with the person who made him feel brave.
Eddie tried not to think about all the time they spent together in the cab of that old truck when he’d been looking at used cars. He’d gotten a job at the general store in town to help pay for a car, but even then, couldn’t afford one. He’d been texting Bill, distraught that he wouldn’t ever be able to go to college in any compacity, when he’d suggested online courses. It had crossed Eddie’s mind, but the old desktop in the corner of the living room wasn’t ideal. When his mom got mad at him, she changed the password. Never mind the fact that he was already nineteen by this point and getting too old to be grounded from the computer. If she found out he was trying to take online courses, she’d surely lock him out of the computer permanently, or get rid of it all together.
It was his sixteen-year-old coworker, who’d later left Derry as well, who listened to him complain and then offered him a ride to the nearest store selling laptops. It had hurt to spend the money on even the cheapest one, but $300 on a 14inch PC was easier on him than the cost of a car and insurance. And it was a lot easier to hide from his mom. It was on this laptop that he learned about financial aid, learned that at his age he couldn’t get it without her help. He was a ‘dependent’ apparently. He had to lie to her and tell her that his boss wanted him to take some courses as he was grooming him to take over the general store one day. It was a stupid lie, one that could unravel if she ever decided to talk to his boss, but it was worth the risk if she would let him take a few classes. She didn’t need to know what he was taking. So, she agreed, thinking that it would keep him in Derry with her for the rest of her, or his, life. He signed up for online classes and would occasionally let her see him work on something on the desktop so she wouldn’t know how much he was actually hiding. It was a little slice of freedom and it was exciting to have this little secret hidden away in the messenger bag he carried everywhere.
Since he had to keep most of what he was learning a secret from his mom, he only took one to two classes a semester so his workload would be small. If she knew that he was studying whatever he could get his hands on, she would think he was planning to leave her. Part of him thought that he was. He still didn’t think he could. What would happen to her if he just packed up one day and left? But the thought that he could, that he could use any of this new knowledge to find a job somewhere far away, was exhilarating. It began to feel even more like an option when he’d gotten a ride to campus to speak with an advisor and she’d suggested he transfer his credits to a state college to finish his bachelor’s degree. She told him it would open the door to more advanced courses and then open for more schooling if that’s what he chose.
It had taken some convincing and more lying to get his mom to help him do what he needed to transfer his credits and start at a state school, but eventually he made the move to their online system. Still, with the light course loads he took and his habitual divergence from prerequisites to explore other courses, by the time he was twenty-four he still didn’t have his bachelor’s degree. It didn’t help that he’d had to take a semester or two off when his mother had actually gotten sick and the guilt of all his secrets had been too much. She recovered and when everything was back to normal, that desire for an escape plan came back and he registered for classes once more.
He kept in touch with his friends through text and phone calls and social media. Not that he really used any form of social media regularly. Sometimes he’d check Facebook to see how Stan and Bill were doing, or he’d log into his practically nonexistent twitter to check on Mike and Richie. Bev’s Instagram was mostly pictures of her designs and her and Ben modeling them, while Ben’s was all pictures of them doing things together and their dog which he affectionally called their ‘fur-baby’. His friends all had lives and Eddie was in his mid-twenties, no degree, working in a small-town general store where he had to wear an apron, still sleeping in his childhood bedroom with no real life experiences. He felt pathetic. All seven of them had called themselves “The Loser Club” but now Eddie felt like the only real loser out of the bunch.
He’d often find himself confiding in Bill and Stan about how stuck he felt. They tried to encourage him to come out and visit them, but he never felt like he could. He’d been saving what little money he could for so long, the idea of spending it on a weekend trip felt frivolous. Mike had also tried to talk him into visiting. He tried to lure him with his proximity to Disney World, saying they could spend a day in the theme park. Eddie had reminded him who he was talking to. Yea, rides were fun, but had he read about the people who died because their safety belts malfunctioned? Or the rides that broke while in motion, hurting not only those aboard, but those on the ground as well? Mike conceded but he still believed he’d put up a valiant effort in their attempts to drag Eddie out of Derry, even for a visit.
Ben and Beverly had made the most tempting offer when she landed her first fashion show outside of school. It wasn’t anything major. Just a small line that was interested in buying some of her designs and wanted to see what she could do in a show setting. It was her dream to start her own line, but this was a foot in the door, and she couldn’t rationalize turning it down. They’d invited Eddie down to spend the weekend and attend the show. He wanted to go, wanted to support his friend. All of the other Losers were going to be there, and it would feel like a mini reunion. It would be the first time he’d seen any of them for a few years as they hadn’t been coming back for holidays for a while.
The biggest mistake he made was telling his mom the truth about the trip. She never liked his friends. Never liked the influence they had on her son. They were reckless, too willing to drag Eddie into dangerous situations where he was bound to get hurt. When he’d broken his arm at age thirteen, she had banned him from seeing them at all. He didn’t let that stop him though and eventually she stopped trying to keep them apart, though she did make it very difficult at times. She was glad when they all left, gave him a hard time when any of them came back to town for any reason and he’d run off to see them. So, when Eddie told her of his plans to fly to New York to see his friends, she mysteriously got sick and had to be hospitalized.
When she’d realized that she could no longer make him believe he was sick, she began faking her own illnesses to keep him close. He knew it was likely a lie, but he couldn’t in good conscience leave her in case it was real. He apologized to Bev, told her that he wished more than anything that he could be there. She had been disappointed, they all were, but they also understood and didn’t pressure him. A few days later, when his mother had, unsurprisingly, been released from the hospital with a clean bill of health, Eddie had been angry. He accused her of lying so he couldn’t go and see his friends and she’d cried and apologized. She had just been so afraid of him getting on a plane or something happening to him while he was in New York. He was a small-town boy; he couldn’t survive in the city. He knew that it was all bullshit, but he didn’t press the matter any further.
He’d received messages from all of his friends that weekend, telling him that they missed him and wished he was there. All but one sent him at least a few words. All, except Richie. It was no secret that their relationship had been strained ever since Eddie said no to escaping together. As Richie quickly found fame in New York and his schedule became busy, his texts to Eddie came even less frequently. When ever news would break about a new show Richie would be doing, Eddie would always send him a congratulatory text and only received a response about half the time. It hurt every time.
As much as he missed him, Eddie would never tell him how he followed his career from afar. He obsessively searched YouTube and twitter for clips of Richie’s live shows. He was just as stupidly charming as he had been when they were growing up. He could always make Eddie laugh, though sometimes he just annoyed the living daylights out of him. Richie told jokes of their childhood, Derry, and each of their friends. Every time he would tell a long drawn out embellished story about something they did together, Eddie would get a jolt of excitement knowing that he was on Richie’s mind in that moment. He rarely told jokes about Eddie. Sometimes he’d talk about his hypochondriac friend who would willing be the boy in the bubble and Eddie would smile in spite of himself.
Then there were the times when Richie would talk about his first love. He could never tell just who he was talking about. For a while he thought it might be Bev, but the stories didn’t fit her. He thought back to everyone they knew in middle school and high school but could never pinpoint just one person. Maybe he just created a first love for his stories made up of all the girls he’d had crushes on over the years. The list had been endless. Either way, Eddie hated those jokes. Sometimes he’d skip past them to avoid that sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
There were rumors of Richie dating a girl from this TV show he’d guest starred on. Every time Eddie googled his name for any new news, he’d see the rumor sites pop up. He’d see her face, see the onscreen kiss they shared. When he entered ‘Richie Tozier’ in the search bar, her name would pop up as an autocomplete option and he hated it. He had nothing against her personally, it was just a kneejerk reaction when the man he’d loved since he was thirteen was possibly dating this person. It broke his heart to think of him happy with someone else. He knew it was an inevitability, but it didn’t make it any easier.
When the news that Richie was going to have his own Netflix special hit the web, Eddie just about choked on his water. He’d been at work when he read the headline. He’d never seen a complete show before, surviving on 3-minute clips on YouTube. Of course, they had a Netflix account, but he just knew what his mother’s reaction would be if she saw it on his watch history. Gerard, or ‘Gerry’, his teenage coworker, was also a fan of Richie’s and was always bragging about living in the same town as Richie Tozier online. He didn’t know that Eddie was friends with him. Or used to be friends with him was probably more accurate. He just thought he was another fan. Regardless, they had bonded over it.
“You ok there, Eddie?” Gerard asked, poking his head around from the aisle where he was stocking cereal.
“Yep.” Eddie said, coughing.
“Did someone send you an unsolicited dick pic again?”
Gerard was one of the only people who knew that Eddie was gay. He’d found out by accident when Eddie had taken an uber, something he hated to do, into the nearest city. He’d been to a bar before in town, but never to a gay bar. A small town like Derry didn’t really cater to people like him. He wanted to see what it was like, maybe get some experience under his belt. And it definitely wasn’t just after the rumor of Richie dating his costar first came out. He’d been nervous and wasn’t really enjoying himself. The music was too loud for conversation and, while there were plenty of attractive men, none of them did it for him the way Richie did.
He was ready to give up when he spotted a familiar mess of curly ginger hair amongst the other patrons. Sure he was mistaken, he decided to get a closer look just to be certain. He found Gerard sandwiched between a man and a woman grinding obscenely. Eddie forgot for a moment where he was and the big-brother-like bond he’d developed with the younger boy kicked in. Without thinking, he marched over and grabbed his wrist, pulling him from his dancing partners.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? How did you even get in here?” Eddie turned to look at the two he’d been dancing with. “He’s underaged! Did you know that he’s only sixteen?”
Gerard blinked up at him dumbly, and the two looked shocked and rightfully embarrassed as they both retreated into the crowd. Without missing a beat, Eddie dragged Gerard from the bar and out onto the street. It was quieter out there, but not by much with traffic and chatter from smokers leaning against the walls. He pulled his phone out and immediately opened the uber app with the intent of getting them a ride back to Derry. With their ride secured, he turned back to Gerard to lecture him.
“How did you even get in there?” He asked, exasperated.
“Me? What are you doing in a gay bar?” Gerard asked, more amused and surprised than upset it seemed.
“What?”
Everything finally caught up with Eddie and he realized what had just happened. He’d been so shocked to see Gerard there, he hadn’t even been tracking that he’d just let his coworker see him in a gay bar, successfully outing himself. The only person who had known about him until that moment was Beverly, and she only knew because they’d gotten drunk when they were seventeen and he’d started crying about his unrequited love. He never did tell her it was Richie, just that it was another boy.
“Did you not realize this was a gay bar?” Gerard asked, misunderstanding the look of surprise on Eddie’s face.
“No…I did...but wait, why were you in a gay bar?”
“Cause I’m pansexual and the only place to find someone who’s cool with it is someplace like this. Or the internet. And you?”
“I’m…” Eddie hadn’t said this out loud in years and the words stuck in his throat. “I’m gay.” The words came out hushed as he leaned in close for only him to hear.
“Wow, ok, I mean I should have guessed.”
“What? Why?”
“You’re the only person I know who’s as obsessed with Richie Tozier as I am and I’m crushing on him hard. I should have figured you had the hots for him too.”
“I do not…I’m not…ok…that’s beside the point. This is a bar. A twenty-one and over bar. How did you get in?”
“Fake ID.” Gerard said with a shrug.
He reached into his pocket for his wallet and pulled the ID out, holding it up for Eddie to see. Eddie squinted at it in the dim streetlights. Snatching it away, he got a closer look at it and scoffed.
“This worked? It doesn’t even look like you! I’m keeping this by the way.” Eddie stuffed the ID into his pocket.
“What? No, come on man. I need it.”
“No. You need to wait until you’re old enough instead of causing legal adults to break the law because you’re horny and look older than you actually are.”
“I never let it go too far. I’m a responsible delinquent.”
Eddie rolled his eyes and sighed a breath of relief when their uber pulled up. He opened the back door and pointed inside, ordering without words for Gerard to get in. He grumbled as he did as he was told and climbed into the backseat, Eddie following after him. They didn’t talk during the ride and Eddie had the driver drop them off outside of the general store. The last thing he needed was for Gerard’s parents to see him bringing him home after midnight, and Eddie’s mom didn’t need to see him getting out of a car with a child when he was supposed to be at a book club meeting.
Gerard was still grumpy when they got out of the car. He stood with his hands in his pockets and his shoulders raised, like he was waiting to be scolded again. Eddie sighed and leaned against the wall of the building.
“Look, I just don’t want you to get hurt, ok?” Eddie said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Ok. Whatever. It just sucks, you know? Being like me in a town like this.”
“Yea I know. I kind of lived it. Kind of still am.”
“Right…I mean I can pass as straight. I do like girls. It just gets boring only going for the straight cis girls around here. There’s only so many in a school with less than 800 students.”
“I get it. Just, try to wait two years so you’re at least of legal age and less likely to cause problems. And don’t try to drink at the bar until you’re twenty-one.”
“God, you’re so boring.”
“I thought you said you were a responsible delinquent.” Eddie couldn’t stop himself from smiling. He really couldn’t help looking at this boy like a little brother. He was the closest thing he had to a friend these days.
“Yea, yea. Ok. I won’t go back until I’m eighteen. You do realize I’ll still need a fake ID to get in though, right?” Gerard smiled sheepishly.
“I guess you’ll have to get a new one in two years then.” Eddie said, turning and heading toward home.
“You suck!” Gerard called after him.
“Go home and get some sleep, little boy!” Eddie called back, not bothering to stop.
That had happened about a month prior to Eddie nearly choking on his water and having a coughing fit at the register. Gerard had been a little crabby with him for a few days, but he got over it when Eddie showed him a rare clip of one of Richie’s shows that was hard to find online.
Eddie wiped the bit of water that had dribbled from his lips with the back of his hand while shaking his head no. He did a quick scan to make sure there was no one nearby who had heard Gerard. For someone who was trying to stay hidden, he talked about dick an awful lot while in public.
“No. I just…Richie’s getting a Netflix special.” He said, staring at his phone in disbelief.
“What?” Gerard dropped the boxes of cereal he was holding and ran over the counter.
He hopped up onto the counter and leaned in closely to Eddie’s phone. The article had a picture of Richie wearing a hideous shirt and smiling awkwardly. He was so stupidly handsome he was physically painful to look at. Eddie stared down at the face of the man he loved and thought of all the genuine smiles he’d seen over the years and how long it had been since then. His chest tightened painfully, and he was suddenly overcome with the nausea and breathlessness that usually accompanied a panic attack. He fished his inhaler from the pocket of his apron and put it to his lips, sucking in the medicine that would help him catch his breath.
“Damn, dude. I know he’s hot, but does he actually take your breath away?” Gerard asked, nudging him with his elbow.
“It’s the dust in here.” Eddie lied. “He’s not even that hot.”
“Yea, ok.” Gerard hopped back off the counter and made his way back to the cereal boxes. “I was going to offer you my Netflix login so you could watch it without mother dearest knowing. But I’m not sure that I can if you don’t think Richie’s hot.”
Eddie rolled his eyes but couldn’t ignore the burst of excitement he felt at the prospect of getting to watch it. He’d confided in Gerard a while back about how his mom hated Richie and would give him hell if she found out he watched his act. He’d given him a hard time saying, “Aren’t you like, 30?”
“Ok. Fine he’s hot. He’s just not my type.”
“He’s everyone’s type. But, fine. You admitted it so I’ll give you my login.” Gerard put the last boxes of cereal on the shelf and began breaking down the big cardboard box. “When is it supposed to come out?”
“I don’t know. Sometime this summer is all it says.”
“Ugh. I hate when they do that. Give us a month at least!”
Eddie nodded in agreement, still staring down at the picture of Richie. The nausea had eased a bit and was more like butterflies now. He opened his texts and took a deep breath as he typed out a text.
“Hey! Just saw the news about your Netflix special! Congrats!”
He stared down at the message, his thumb hovering over send. Were there too many exclamation points? Did he sound too giddy about it? Doubting himself, he erased the whole thing and tried again.
“Hey, Rich! Heard about your Netflix special. Sure it will be great.”
That sounded better but felt lacking. He tacked a little more onto the end, hoping to sound casual about it all.
“Hope your material is better than it used to be. No one thinks ‘your mom’ jokes are funny anymore.”
The butterflies took flight as he read that over again as a whole. This was the way they used to interact before things got all weird and distant between them. It felt normal, he just wasn’t sure if he should send it like that. His decision was made for him when Gerard appeared behind him and slapped him on the back, causing him to fumble his phone and hit send. He stared in horror as the word ‘delivered’ appeared below the blue bubble of text.
“What’s wrong with you? I’ve been calling your name for five minutes.” Gerard said, leaning back against the opposite counter.
“Sorry. I…it doesn’t matter. What’s up?”
“I was saying that Richie is the same age as you. You grew up here, right? So, did you know him?”
“No.” Eddie answered too quickly. “I mean, I knew who he was. I just didn’t really…know him.”
“That sucks. If you’d had any friends in high school, maybe you could have gotten us tickets to the show.”
“I had friends, Gerard.” Eddie finally put his phone away, sure that Richie wouldn’t respond anyway.
“Then where are they, huh? Or do you like hanging out with your coworkers that are fourteen years younger than you?”
“I’m twenty-four! That’s only like eight years!” Eddie said, throwing the towel they used to wipe the counter at him.
“That’s still a lot.”
“Go finish stocking the shelves you prepubescent asshole.”
Gerard threw the towel back at him and flipped him off but did what he was told. Alone again, Eddie pulled his phone back out to see that the text still said ‘delivered’. He didn’t even know if Richie had it set up so you could see when he read a message. Probably not. Easier to ignore people when they couldn’t tell you’d read their texts. He sighed and dropped his head down to the counter. He hadn’t seen Richie is six years, why was he still so in love with him? Whoever said absence makes the heart grow fonder was 100% abso-fucking-lutely correct.
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richietoaster · 5 years
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10 with reddie ?! ❤️
10. You confessed your feelings and we’re about to kiss but we get interrupted
read below or HERE on AO3 because im self indulgent 
CANON DIVERGENCE (happy ending)
There wasn’t much that Richie could do, if he's being honest. He couldn’t save Eddie. He and the other losers were down in the sewers for their final battle with IT. One minute everything was fine. They were winning. They were giving their all to this fight and Richie thinks even Pennywise new that he was completely and utterly fucked. There would not be anymore kids dying, there would not be another death rise in 27 years. They killed IT. The clown was deteriorating for good and he would never return. It was over. Or so they all thought.
Before Pennywise took his last breath, he opened his mouth quickly and as wide as he could and clamped down on Eddie’s arm, tearing it off right below the shoulder.
“Oh, fuck!” Beverly screams, immediately rushing to his side.
“Holy shit, what are we gonna do?” Ben crouches down, unsure of what he should be doing. Putting pressure on it? Surely he would just lose too much blood.. Right?
Mike doesn't say a word, but yells to Bill, “Give me your flannel.” Bill stares at him in horror. “NOW!” He hurriedly takes it off, handing it to Mike, who tosses it to Beverly. Richie watches her tie it around Eddie’s limb. 
“You guys,” Eddie says. He knows he’s dying. He knows that if they don’t leave now he’ll never make it out alive, and somehow he’s okay with that. Richie had given him the confidence, told him he was brave enough to fight this evil, told them that they would defeat him for good. And they did. Eddie wasn’t sure if he cared about the consequence he was paying. From what he remembers, his childhood was only good because of his friends. Even after he left, Myra was no better to him than his mother had treated him. Maybe dying wasn’t such a bad thing. I love you guys, Eddie wants to say. He doesn’t. Instead, he reaches out with his good arm, beckons Richie, who hasn’t said a word in the last minute, to come closer.
“Richie..” Eddie blinks, not knowing what words are going to come out of his mouth.
“No,” Richie shakes his head, choking on his tears. “Come on, Eds. You’re strong. You’re going to pull through this. You’re going to shake this off and Bev is going to stop the bleeding.”
“Richie,” Eddie says again, sadly and almost apologetic, “Sh..e.. Too much blood. It’s okay.”
“No!” Richie buries his head into Eddie’s chest and sobs, “Stan already died, you can’t, either. Especially not you… You’ll be okay. You’re going to live.”
“I-.. It’s okay, Rich..” He pauses, swallowing, fighting for his eyes to stay open. Eddie lifts a weak and shaky hand to Richie’s cheek, accidentally smearing blood on it. He taps the back of Richie’s neck, hoping he’ll get the hint. Richie does, and he leans down, ready to capture his lips in a goodbye kiss.
This is it. They’re about to kiss, and Eddie has to tell him. He has to say how he feels before he never gets to. “Ri..chie.. You know I-”
“I have cell phone service!” 
Everyone looks at Bev, wide eyed. Maybe Richie didn’t think he could do anything, but Bev could. 
“I’m calling the police..” She directs her attention to Eddie, “Hang on, help is coming. Keep your eyes open.”
Eddie does. He fights. And he wins. They all do.
And when Eddie is released from the hospital 3 weeks later with a cool prosthetic arm, he doesn’t even let Richie bag on him for the ugly design. (Bill actually does first, but then all of the losers remind him of that ponytail he had in his early 30s and he shuts up real quick.) Eddie will let him eventually, but he kisses him first, the confession bleeding onto Richie’s lips. 
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dear-wormwoods · 5 years
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--> Playlist: Eddie Kaspbrak Makes a Change <--
All of this new content inspired me to finish fine tuning the Eddie playlist that accompanies the Richie one I posted last week. I’m super excited about this one because it has some incredibly meaningful songs on it and Eddie is REALLY hard to make cohesive playlists for because he’s so complex. This is like, the 6th incarnation of ‘my Eddie playlist’, but it’s by far the most cohesive one.
So, as with the Richie one, this follows the plot of IT as is, except that Reddie happens. Which... may not be as canon divergent as we all thought, now! The narrative here follows Eddie’s attachment to Bill, realizing the truth about his mother, falling for Richie, moving and regressing into mom dependency and sedative abuse, then returning to Derry and ultimately dying in Richie’s arms.
Detailed explanations underneath. Spoiler alert: shit gets depressing.
1. Intro: Like I said in the Richie playlist, I like to start out with an instrumental that sets the right tone for the story that follows it. Intro has a really whimsical, dreamy vibe, which is how Eddie’s chapters always read, to me. 
2. Like the Dawn: This song is... so Eddie. It represents Eddie meeting Bill, his idolization of him, and the feeling that Bill can give him the world and therefore his world depends on Bill. It contains a lot of biblical imagery, which I love when it comes to Eddie songs. Most meta lyric: “and you will surely be the death of me, but how could I have known?”
3. Futile Devices: This one is also about Bill, but at this point Eddie is trying to figure out what category his feelings for Bill fall under. He grapples with the idea of it being romantic, but ultimately he realizes it’s familial - brotherly/fatherly. 
4. Glass Ceiling: This one represents Eddie’s gradual separation from his mother throughout his time with the Losers. At first it’s just, I only know what I’m told, I only do what I’m told. He says what Sonia tells him to say and acts the way she wants him to act. But as time goes on, he feels trapped and starts breaking out of this mold - and what’s more, he realizes this is something he has to do for himself, not something he will be saved from by a third party (no knight in silver armor shining). Most meta lyric: mention of losing an arm, rip.
5. Secrets and Lies: OOF. This song. This is after Eddie finds out about the placebos, when he’s in the hospital with his cast, channeling Maturin to fully and sternly stand up to his mother. At least for now, he knows exactly what she’s done and who she is, and he’s not going to take it anymore. 
6. breathin: Self explanatory. Eddie has an anxiety disorder and the Losers help him deal with it and keep going, even while he’s freaking out. This song also signals the beginnings of a shift in how he feels about Richie, who is the most adept at distracting Eddie from his panic and getting him to just breathe. Most meta lyric: “How do I know if this shit's fabricated?”
7. Meet Me in the Woods: This one represents the sewers and the first battle with IT. “There ain't language for the things I've seen, and the truth is stranger than my own worst dreams.” There’s also a reference to Holy darkness, which connects Eddie’s experience with IT to his issues with religion and spirituality.
8. Cigarettes in the Theatre: After that summer is over and things go back to normal, Eddie and Richie’s relationship spends the next couple of years changing. This song mirrors ‘Rules Don’t Stop’ on Richie’s list. It’s that initial excitement of starting something new, a trip to the movies that doesn’t feel the same as it used to, and quiet conversations under the stars that one day just seem deeper. My favorite line is ‘tell me your favorite things’ because of how invested Eddie is in Richie’s interests in the novel. 
9. Fire in My Bones: This song mirrors Richie’s ‘American Money’, but has a much more uncertain, anxious, Eddie feel to it. While Richie spends their brief teenage relationship thinking nothing can go wrong, Eddie is continuing to battle with his fear. Both songs are full of whimsical references to weather, geography, and open hearts, painting this exciting picture of that specific brand of young, idealistic love where it feels like the world is yours. Both songs also reference flying kites, which represent their newfound freedom to be open with each other. In Richie’s song American Money, the kite comes from Eddie (”you started flying a kite, at the end was the key to my heart”), who has always given him the freedom to be himself. However, for Eddie, the kite is waiting for him at the end of a tunnel - it exists in a bright light, representing the freedom Richie could give him, but the tunnel represents his mother, still attempting to close him off. 
10. Don’t Forget About Me: Richie moves out of Derry before Eddie does. Although he swears they’ll get through the separation, Eddie isn’t so sure - after all, Bev left, and then Bill, and they hardly heard from either of them again. In this, he’s begging Richie not to forget him, not to leave him behind for good. We all know how that turned out. 
11. Mother: Once Eddie is left with only his mother to turn to, and once his memories start to fade when they move to New York, he regresses quickly. This song represents Eddie’s repeated attempts to exist outside of Sonia’s security blanket and his repeated choice to return to her. He can depend on her to protect him, make him into what she thinks will be best, etc. There’s also some religious reference here, sort of implying that ‘Lord’ and ‘Mother’ are on equal footing - which, to Eddie, they always have been. 
12. Numbers: Over time, Eddie grows more and more dependent on prescription pills to get him through life. At some point he has to turn into the guy at the beginning of the novel who has every sedative in the book in his medicine cabinet and actively muses on how great those highs are, so I imagine that habit would begin in his 20′s. During this time period, he’s also seeking out sexual relationships with men who he thinks will make him feel better, or feel something, but they never do. At this point he doesn’t realize how big the hole in his heart is because he doesn’t remember who Richie is. 
13. Cough Syrup: As time goes on, Eddie starts feeling restless within this numb, sedentary, safe life he’s stuck in. He dreams of running away and doing what he actually desires, but he still stays put, and stays “sick”, because he’s always too afraid to take a chance. 
14. Wake Up: He gets Mike’s phone call and starts to see things clearly again. Memories start to come back, he starts to open his eyes to what has become of his life, and how it didn’t have to be that way. This is Eddie figuratively throwing off the shackles and eagerly running back to Derry.
15. Home: Pretty much self explanatory. More so than most of the other Losers, besides maybe Bev, Eddie is the most eager to go back ‘home’, to his childhood friends, and the memories there. 
16. Dear Wormwood: Ohhhh Dear Wormwood... my old friend. I’ll just summarize what I’ve said about this song before: this represents the moment when, as an adult down in the sewers, Eddie is able to overthrow his mother’s voice in his head for good. Now that he’s back in Derry and his memories have returned, he can see her for what she was, what she did to him and still continues doing to him even after her death. He understands her and pities her, but he’s not going to fall into that trap anymore. Her voice no longer matters. Most meta lyric: “I have always known you, you have always been there in my mind... But now I understand you, and I will not be part of your designs.”
17. Blur: Okay so THIS song is literally about IT and literally about Eddie. At first it talks about IT coming back, and then ends with the iconic ‘we all float down here’, but this is the verse that matters: “My throat's cracked and beaten, my back's whipped and torn. The glasses you once wore won't have a use anymore. Where do we go? What will we eat? The only promise I can keep is the one where I say ‘I'll meet you again’, reborn from the sand. The glasses you once wore don't have a use anymore.” So breaking this down, the first part refers to Eddie’s anxiety, his throat tightening. The ‘my back’s whipped and torn’ is a reference to when they fought IT as kids and he was attacked by Mike’s bird (when IT was targeting Eddie for beating the crawling eye for Richie) - his shirt and back were torn by its claws. Then obviously the glasses part is a reference to Richie, now an adult, having switched to contacts. Then the ‘promise’ he can keep is a reference to his own death. All he can do is promise to meet Richie again in the afterlife, or in the next life.
18. The River: This one is like, the beginning of Eddie’s death scene, when Richie stumbles to him. Eddie’s encouraging him to let his emotions out instead of bottling them up, because he knows that’s Richie’s coping mechanism and he knows how unhealthy it is. He wants to make sure Richie is going to be okay, and continue to be himself after this.  
19. Yes I’m Changing: FUCK. THIS SONG IS MY FAVORITE, IT’S SO FUCKING TRAGIC IN THIS CONTEXT AND I LIVE FOR THIS SHIT. Okay so this song is like, technically about a break up - whatever. It fits so much better as a death song. Specifically Eddie’s death song. This song fully represents his moment of self acceptance at the very end, and how at peace he felt as he died. The saddest yet most graceful death ever.
“I felt the strangest emotion but it wasn't hate, for once” - a glorious representation of Eddie feeling okay with himself for the first time in his known memory. 
“There's no future left for you and me. I was holding and I was searching endlessly, but baby, now there's nothing left that I can do, so don't be blue. There is another future waiting there for you.” - He needs Richie to accept that this is it, but he shouldn’t be sad, because Eddie is okay with it and knows Richie will lead a full life after this is over. 
“Yes I'm changing, can't stop it now, and even if I wanted I wouldn't know how. Another version of myself I think I found, at last.” - He’s changing in death to this cleansed, spiritually light version of himself he’d like to preach upon if he could. He’s been so miserable for basically his entire life, and dying isn’t so bad.
Repeating that the world is calling Richie’s name, as in he needs Richie to go on without him and not get stuck on this grief. “Arise and walk, come through. A world beyond that door is calling out for you.” - I love this outro especially because in this context, it acts as a reference to the door to ITs lair. There is a world outside of this place and that’s where Richie needs to be, he can’t stay here. 
20. The Trapeze Swinger: Okay. :) I don’t even know where to begin. This song has everything, it’s full of childhood references, biblical imagery, and visuals that inexplicably connect to even the most obscure parts of Eddie’s character. Plus the added layer of irony that he’s begging to be remembered in the afterlife, while Richie is desperate to forget, which makes it extra tragic. I’ve wanted to write a full meta about this song in particular for a very long time, but I’ll settle for a breakdown of some of the lyrics:
“Please, remember me, happily, by the rosebush laughing. with bruises on my chin” - Refers to the rosebushes by the house on Neibolt street where Eddie got entangled escaping from the leper, as well as his tendency to find humor and excitement in pain. 
“Someone caught us in the kitchen with maps, a mountain range, a piggy bank, a vision too removed to mention” - Refers to Eddie’s constant daydreaming about running away, his navigational skills, and the fear and guilt he feels whenever he let himself think about doing this. 
“The pearly gates had some eloquent graffiti, like 'We'll meet again', and 'Fuck the man', and 'Tell my mother not to worry'” - Refers to eventually reuniting with the Losers, his desire to rebel, and his continuous habit of putting his mother’s feelings and needs above his own as a child.
“And when the morning came, I was ashamed, only now it seems so silly.” - Refers to the shame he felt about his sexuality throughout his life, and then the clarity and acceptance he felt as he died. 
“And now you're lit up by the city, so please, remember me, mistakenly, in the window of the tallest tower.” - Refers to Richie now living in the city, and hoping he will remember him sometimes as life goes on, even by accident. Also lowkey refers to Bev seeing his ghost in their window reflection along with Stan’s.
“Just like the gates around the holy kingdom, with words like 'Lost and Found' and 'Don't Look Down', and 'Someone Save Temptation'” - Refers to his lifelong fear of being locked out of heaven. The phrases each refer to losing/finding the Losers, facing his fears, and accepting his “temptation” (aka his sexuality). 
“Please, remember me, as in the dream we had as rug-burned babies among the fallen trees.” - Refers to exchanging secret goals and aspirations with Richie as kids while playing in the Barrens. He wants Richie to remember that. 
“A fleeting chance to see a trapeze swing as high as any savior.” - Throughout this song, the trapeze swinger symbolizes love/relationships. Richie and Eddie’s window of opportunity to be together was fleeting, but it was more meaningful than anything else they’d experienced. 
“Please, remember me, my misery, and how it lost me all I wanted.” - Eddie spent his life being scared and stagnant, always miserable but never having the guts to change his situation on his own, which ultimately cost him a fulfilling life. He wants Richie to remember that and avoid making the same mistake. 
“... and chasing trains, the colored birds above there, running in circles ‘round the well...” - Refers to Eddie’s obsession with traintracks and freedom, the birds he watched fly away from Derry that brought tears to his eyes, and the cyclical nature of his life that he could never escape. 
“You turn from me and said 'The trapeze act was wonderful, but never meant to last.'” - Again, the trapeze act symbolizes love/the relationship. Richie and Eddie’s time together was limited and exciting, but couldn’t last forever due to the circumstances of their lives.   
“The clown that passed saw me just come up with anger.” - lmao I can’t even deal with this line. Self explanatory. IT is what tore them apart, both times. 
“Please, remember me, finally, and all my uphill clawing.” - He doesn’t want to be remembered for his previous failure, but for his determination and how he ultimately overcame the things that were holding him back. 
“My dear, but if I make the pearly gates, I’ll do my best to make a drawing of God and Lucifer, a boy and girl, an angel kissing on a sinner, a monkey and a man, a marching band... all around the frightened trapeze swingers.” - Eddie never thought he would go to heaven or ‘make the pearly gates’, but in his dying moments he finally feels like it’s possible. If he gets there, he’s going to preserve the memory of the Losers and their experience in the afterlife (the ‘drawing’). God and Lucifer represent Maturin and IT, the boy and girl represent Ben and Beverly, the angel kissing on a sinner represents he and Richie (who is who? Eddie would say he’s the sinner, but Richie would say the opposite). The monkey and the man refer to ITs timelessness - that the entity was here long before the evolution of man and witnessed all of human history unfold - it’s also a reference to Mike and Richie’s experience in the smokehouse. The marching band refers to the Losers as a group, working together as a unit. The frightened trapeze swingers again symbolize the relationships, how scary and thrilling love is, and that “love and desire” are stronger forces than memory. 
YIKES that was so much. I expect virtually no one to read all that, but I hope y’all enjoy the playlist!
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hearthouses · 5 years
Link
Rating: Explicit
Archive Warning: Major Character Death
Fandom: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Bill Denbrough & Mike Hanlon & Ben Hanscom & Eddie Kaspbrak & Beverly Marsh & Richie Tozier
Characters: Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak, Beverly Marsh, Ben Hanscom, Mike Hanlon, Bill Denbrough, Maturin | The Turtle
Additional Tags: Fix-It, Resurrection, Journey into the Underworld, Post-IT Chapter Two (2019), Necrophilia, Ritual Public Sex, Vague OT6 Vibes, Happy Ending, Anal Sex, Riding. Cuddling & Snuggling, The Kissing Bridge (IT), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Grief/Mourning
Collections: Trick or Treat Exchange 2019
Summary: After Eddie dies, Richie can't let go.
(OR: The One Where Richie Fucks Eddie Back To life.)
Excerpt: 
Dead bodies are meant to weigh more, Richie thinks—aren’t they? Deadweight, an empty carcass of meat and bones and oozing fluids, limp and lifeless. But Eddie is light in his arms, like everything that made him up had been whittled down and withered, gone when old Pennywise finally snuffed the light out of him.
Eddie is small in his arms, bundled up in his jacket and any outerwear the other Losers could spare, a makeshift shroud of tied together flannels and hoodies. Ben had offered to take him and still hovers at Richie’s side, hands opening and clenching, ready to catch Eddie when Richie’s arms finally give out. He laughs under his breath, a manic sort of giggle that makes his grip tighten on Eddie’s corpse. Richie hefts him up in his arms, cradling him bridal-style, tucked against his chest like a baby.
Twenty-one grams. He remembers Eddie telling him once that the soul weighed twenty-one grams and everyone lost twenty-one grams at the time of death, a fact tangled up in one of his long rambling info dumps that Richie could hardly keep up with, but liked the sound of his voice going on a tear about the topic that caught his fancy that month.
Maybe Eddie’s soul was heavier, makes sense that it would be. Eddie was always too much for the size of him, his energy spilling out all over.
It was too early in the morning for anyone to be about, not that Richie cared, but it’s nice not to be gawked at as they walk down Main Street in Derry toward the inn. No one speaks. Richie tries to focus on the sound of their feet against the pavement and the birdsong that trills on the wind. Stan would be able to tell them which birds were talking to them, if Stan were alive. Mike and Bill flank his left side while Bev and Ben take his right, walking alongside him, but boxing him in, ready to grab him if he takes off running, if he thinks of doing something stupid.
They’re already down to five, Richie supposes they didn’t want to see that number go down to four.
Richie tries not to blame them.
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hollycrowned · 6 years
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pssst Holly im asking you about your WIPs, specifically That One (you know the one)
a list of my garbage
long multichapter
Honeymoon - immediately post-WOTL, it’s up to Will to get himself and Hannibal safely out of the country before the FBI (and their own wounds) catch up to them—along the way, Will wonders what their future together could be like, how they could exist peacefully together, and who Will must become as a result.
War & Leisure - takes place a few years after Honeymoon. Will and Hannibal have resurfaced in Buenos Aires and the FBI is determined to capture them—the rest is a secret surprise.
Age of Aquarius - early 1970s America: Hannibal is a doctoral candidate writing his thesis on unorthodox therapeutic techniques. a tip leads him to a commune that has grown around Will Graham, a supposed ‘faith healer’ who specializes in easing ‘psychic ailments’ with what Will’s followers simply call ‘unmatched empathy.’ Hannibal arrives at the commune to interview the congregation, and while he’s slowly drawn in by Will’s presence at camp-wide meetings, he’s is unable to access Will directly—until Will finally chooses Hannibal for a private ‘healing’ session.
Will agrees to be interviewed, but in exchange, Hannibal must participate in more sessions. effectively abandoning his original reason for visiting the commune, Hannibal stays, determined to know Will better (even and especially if it means Will may know him better). Hannibal wants to have Will all to himself, but other members of the congregation begin to complicate things...
cast includes: Freddie and Chilton (who run the commune), Bev and Zeller (Will’s bodyguards), Stammets, Buddish, and Matthew Brown (congregation hopefuls), Budge, Gideon, and Tier (congregation doubters), Hobbs (previous troublemaker) and Dolarhyde (present troublemaker). 
subject to change. my ugliest child, of which I am most fond
short multichapter
Stir Fry - this started as a crack concept that ended up too vivid an image not to write down. post-WOTL, Will and Hannibal end up temporarily running a food truck in the middle of downtown Austin while they wait for a connection that will get them out of the US. truthfully I wanted to put them in some kind of batshit situation just to see how they would navigate it, what pits they would fall into, how they would take their discontent out on each other/how they would work together. turns out it’s a lot of fun to write.
This Magic Circle - 1880s Baltimore: young Will, Freddie, Bev, Zeller, Alana, Margot, and Frederick sneak into the abandoned estate of the long-dead Count Lecter for a Romantic night of Ouija boarding and tarot reading in the old killer’s library—until footsteps creak across the floor, circling them, an unseen hand extinguishing their candles one by one. Will’s friends are spooked away and eventually laugh the whole thing off, but Will goes back to the manor, convinced he really felt something—or someone—in the room where Lecter died...
Underwater Pearls - the nice!AU I work on when I’m stumped on everything else. early s1, canon divergent circa Oeuf. originally I just wanted to write Abigail a soft ending, but this fic is growing into a greater exploration of her character, of daughterhood and vulnerability, than I expected. very character driven, so I’m not sure how it will end yet.
one-shots
I have a handful of these that will either be incorporated into Honeymoon/W&L, or posted as stand-alones if I can’t get them to fit. I have some other AUs, but I’ve temporarily abandoned them in favor of working on the six fics listed above. I’m also maybe working on a Venom fic, despite knowing nothing about Venom or Spider-Man? idk
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calamity-bean · 5 years
Text
Reddie Fic Recs: Canon Compliant and Post-Canon
Comprising stories set between the films; missing scenes that don’t substantially affect the events/outcome of canon; and stories set after the final showdown with Pennywise (meaning that Eddie does die, though he doesn’t necessarily stay that way). Most are fix-its, because I’m physically incapable of accepting an unhappy ending. For stories in which Eddie never dies in the first place, check out my Canon Divergent recs.
This is a mixture of complete works and WIPs, of various ratings and lengths, mostly recent (like, posted since the release of Chapter 2). If part of a series, I’ve listed only the first work. More possibly to be added at any time I feel like it!
the bravest person i knew. by beepbeep (aceface)
If you think that Richie Tozier would just be like 'well, Eddie's dead and buried, guess I better move on with my life' then you're wrong. Eddie didn't deserve to die, and Richie's going to do whatever it takes to get him back. Stage one is getting the body.
Eddie owes him so much for this. Richie’s going to be collecting on this debt for the entire rest of their lives, which better be a really long time. If Eddie gets knocked down crossing the road after Richie’s done an entire fucking blood ritual, Richie’s going to be pissed.
Broken Record by spunknbite  
The house on Neibolt was standing again.
Bill was talking about going in alone. How?
“So does somebody want to say something?” Eddie asked, still breathing, still fucking breathing and alive and not dripping his Goddamn organs out of his chest.
“Richie said it the b-best when we were here last,” Bill said.
“Holy fuck.”
keep talking. i’ll keep walking toward the sound of your voice. by theappleppielifestyle
Eddie makes another noise, not quite a scream but not anything else either.
Stan drops his hand.
“Hey, Eddie,” he says. “Welcome to the peanut gallery. I wrote you a letter, but I guess you won’t get it now.”
(Or, Eddie and Stan stick around as ghosts after they die. Unable to make themselves known to the other Losers, they have to find other ways to communicate.)
No Dice by bazsucks
“You’re pretty.”
“What?”
“You always were.
Alternatively: There is a serious lacking of two types of fanfiction in this fanbase: 1. Fanfictions taking place in the Town Inn, and 2. Eddie with James Ransone's tattoos. Thank you.
not enough to feel the lack by restlesslikeme
More than 10 years after leaving Derry as fast as his legs could carry him, Richie is back in town promoting his rising career in comedy. A death in the family has brought an old friend back, too
Or: Richie and Eddie get a few weeks of the sweet summer romance they (and we) deserved.
not exactly where i need to be (and yet it seems so close) by varnes
Richie runs all the way to Eddie’s. He has a bike but he can’t remember, just now, where he put it. Everything feels real, feels — the gravel hurt his shoeless feet, his lungs burn when he gets tired, there’s a cut on his chin that aches a little. It feels real but things always felt real, with It.
You can’t trust how you feel or what you see. That’s the core of the terror of It. That everything is real and nothing is real and all of it can kill you.
Richie clambers up the drainage pipe and shoves open Eddie’s window. He’s afraid to look. He’s afraid of what It has prepared for him.
But it’s nothing. It’s just Eddie, small, young, cast still on his arm. He’s curled up on his side and is using the cast as the world’s worst pillow.
“Holy shitballs what the fucking shit,” breathes Richie, lunging forward to fling himself on top of Eddie’s sleeping form. “Don’t scream, don’t scream, hey — Eddie! Eddie, shut the fuck up, you’re going to wake your mom, it’s me! It’s me.”
OR: Richard Tozier goes to sleep on a plane in 2016, and wakes up in 1989.
take the long way home by vipertooths
He calls again and again there's nothing. No movement he can see, even as he sweeps the light from his headlamp across the cistern. It seems, suddenly, like a gaping maw, the mouth of a hungry beast waiting to swallow them whole, and maybe it's most of the way there already.
"Guys, c'mon, please. Please c'mon, I don't wanna walk outta here alone."
Tales Of A Washed Up Nothing by TheBlackLagoon              
In which Richie watches too much Cheers, Sees a therapist, Gets a pet turtle and Saves Edward Kaspbrak’s life by playing Street Fighter.
Part 1 of Are You There Maturin? It's Me, Richie
who is to say there will not be such endings by theapplepielifestyle
After returning to Derry for the first time in 27 years, getting his memories back, fighting a demon clown, losing a best friend and the unrequited love of his life - life has returned to normal for Richie Tozier.
He’s kind of pissed about it.
(Or, after months of an ongoing nervous breakdown, Richie gets a chance to go back and fix things.)
you’d almost believe it by joldiego
“Marsh! What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?” His voice is still hoarse with sleep and emerges as more of a croak than anything else.
Bev doesn’t entertain him one bit. She simply holds out her phone and asks tiredly, “Richie, what on earth did you do?”
Richie peers at the screen. It’s opened to a Buzzfeed article with a title that reads, “Comedian Richie Tozier Posted A Horror Story On His Youtube Channel In The Middle Of The Night, And We’re As Confused As You Are."
“Something really stupid, Bev. I did something really fucking stupid.”
Richie is terrified that he'll forget what happened in Derry again, that he'll forget Eddie again. So, he takes things into his own hands... and goes viral in the process.
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reddieao3feed · 5 years
Text
Life Does Not Go On
read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2ZZ5Ngv
by freshli
In which Beverly single-highhandedly saves the Losers from living the worst life they could have ever lived. They just don't realize it yet.
Richie mourns a life time of having lost Eddie, and the Losers support him.
But maybe there's some hope after all. If he just learns to be a little braver when the time matters for it.
Words: 3866, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Fandoms: IT - Stephen King
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Categories: M/M
Characters: Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier, Beverly Marsh, Ben Hanscom, Mike Hanlon, Stanley Uris, Bill Denbrough, Audra Phillips
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh
Additional Tags: Fix-It, Beverly has an extended vision from the deadlights, Canon Divergence, Eddie dies but also not really, same with stan, serious angst though before it gets fixed, like a lot, richie completely loses it, there is a POV switch towards the end, most of the fic is Richie POV but the very end is Bev's, Bev is Richie's best friend and Eddie is his soul mate okay good bye, i dont make the rules i just follow them
read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2ZZ5Ngv
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myaltao3feed · 4 years
Link
by agrajag
[I]t had been Eddie who had been brave first. (It was the second thing that came back to Richie, after fucking Pennywise and his giant fucking nose.)
Richie could see it as clear as day in his mind -- the one night that Eddie had packed a bag with as much of his stuff as he could fit, biked over to Richie's house, got his attention by throwing some rocks at his window, and told him they were running away. Yeah, not 'asked.' Told.
Richie hadn't even hesitated[.]
It wasn't until they had passed the state line that their memories started getting hazy. [...] Eddie had been recalling a funny anecdote that happened with Bev, but then he couldn't remember her name.
As frustrated tears welled in his eyes, he grabbed the front of Richie's shirt and kissed him.
(Because he 'wanted to do that before I forgot how badly I've always wanted to.')
Richie and Eddie leave Derry together and get married.
Words: 11856, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Fandoms: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Categories: M/M
Characters: Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak, Mike Hanlon, Stanley Uris, Bill Denbrough, Beverly Marsh, Ben Hanscom, Pennywise (IT)
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Canon-Typical Violence, Vomiting, Established Relationship, Affectionate Insults, Brief Sexual Content
0 notes
myaltao3feed · 5 years
Link
by freshli
In which Beverly single-highhandedly saves the Losers from living the worst life they could have ever lived. They just don't realize it yet.
Richie mourns a life time of having lost Eddie, and the Losers support him.
But maybe there's some hope after all. If he just learns to be a little braver when the time matters for it.
Words: 3866, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English
Fandoms: IT - Stephen King
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Categories: M/M
Characters: Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier, Beverly Marsh, Ben Hanscom, Mike Hanlon, Stanley Uris, Bill Denbrough, Audra Phillips
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh
Additional Tags: Fix-It, Beverly has an extended vision from the deadlights, Canon Divergence, Eddie dies but also not really, same with stan, serious angst though before it gets fixed, like a lot, richie completely loses it, there is a POV switch towards the end, most of the fic is Richie POV but the very end is Bev's, Bev is Richie's best friend and Eddie is his soul mate okay good bye, i dont make the rules i just follow them
0 notes