everyandanything

[everyandanything]

I’m a firm believer that Darry owns a leather jacket.

[everyandanything]

I love you outsiders fandom. I love you artists who draw the musical cast so beautifully and capture the joy they radiate. I love you artists who draw book accurate characters and remind me how dorky dally truly is. I love you writers who write those fics that break my heart. I love you writers who write those fics I keep going back to when I need a pick me up. I love you update accounts that tell me all the fun tidbits about the musical I'll never get to see. I love you musical fans who come out of the show covered in gravel and blood like you just rumbled yourself. I love you book fans who underline the text and have quotes written on your walls. I love you movie fans who fell in love with a silly little movie and all its 80s glory. I love you tv show fans who suffer through the VHS copy uploaded on youtube.

I love you fans who were forced to read the book over a decade ago, only to discover a character that made you feel understood in a way you didn't know was possible. I love you fans who stumbled upon a musical that had lyrics that spoke to a part of you that you thought life had snuffed out. I love this book that has been around longer than most of us have been alive, and yet we get to exist in this space together, writing stories and creating art and analyzing lyrics and watching performances that make us cry. I love being here with all of you.

I love you, outsiders fandom.

[everyandanything]

[everyandanything]

Okay. Hmm. I hear you with the “Soda and addiction” headcanons because on a surface level, I get where folks are coming from. He’s an adrenaline junkie, the world is loud and overwhelming, he finds ways to drown it out. I see what’s happening with those headcanons. I sort of get the vision.

But I feel like everything we learn about him in canon directly contradicts the idea of an addictive Soda.

He doesn’t drink. (I know people theorize Ponyboy is wrong about this, but listen, we have to believe the kid sometimes or the entire concept of canon becomes a joke.) He rarely ever smokes. He stays out of fights to protect Darry’s custody. He keeps a steady job. He’s faithful to his girlfriend and has a longterm goal to settle down with her—and canon implies they were having little, if any, sex.

For being flighty and easily distracted, Soda actually seems comparatively responsible, at least when paired against most of the guys in his circle—and if you’re not willing to believe Ponyboy’s narration, I think Darry’s trust in Soda is the biggest proof of this. These guys “know the score” and living recklessly isn’t just a matter of personal lifestyle, it’s something that directly affects their family. Soda is aware of this and the repercussions his actions have on Darry’s custody, and I refuse to believe he’s out there casually living the Two-Bit life behind his brothers’ backs.

NOT TO SAY he’s living responsibly, because, well, he’s still Soda. But there’s a measure of awareness and self control that I don’t think we give him credit for having.

Pinning Soda as the addictive brother is ironic to me when PONYBOY MICHAEL CURTIS IS RIGHT THERE. The kid who eats handfuls of aspirin. Who can’t live without pepsi. Who chainsmokes at 14.

One of the Curtis boys has an addictive personality, and it ain’t Soda.

[everyandanything]

Being an outsiders fan in my mid twenties, I feel like I have a slightly different perspective on Darry than the predominantly teenage fandom—in that Darry is often viewed as someone without a future, his fate signed and sealed, a broken down shell of a person, etc. And yes, I’m sure it feels that way to him, which is why I mostly write him from that angle. But at the same time, as someone who also grew up too fast with too many responsibilities too young, I can’t help but look at him as the young, 20-year-old guy that he is, and know that his life is just barely beginning.

When Ponyboy turns 18 and leaves for college, Darry is 24. Only 24. He’s not a broken down has-been; he’s still a young man barely in his mid twenties. At 24, I feel freer and more at peace than I ever did at 20, and the world is just barely beginning to open up to me. Everything is new! Everything is exciting! The possibilities have never felt so endless!!

We treat Darry like guardianship is the death-knell of his autonomy, but in reality, those few years represent barely a sliver of his life. Taking care of his brothers will always be an important part of who he is, but it’s not a ball-and-chain, eternally tethering him to a back-breaking existence of bills and roofing. The boys grow up, and then maybe just maybe, they look out for Darry for a change. Maybe just maybe, his dreams don’t always stay dreams. Maybe just maybe there’s a life waiting for him at the end of it all.

The best years of Darry’s life are yet to come, he just doesn’t know it yet.

[everyandanything]

AHHH THIS IS EVERYTHING TO ME!!!

🍰🍪🧁 — sugar, spice, & everything nice!

[everyandanything]

PLEASE I'D LOVE TO SEE A MOODBOARD BY YOU

My silly little au is that Soda discovers his love for baking through all of the weird food experiments he’s done over the years and ends up opening a bakery named Baking Soda, which the gang helps out in their own ways:

Darry finds him a cute fixer-upper and spends weekends patching the roof and laying down new floors. He also helps out with a business model because sure Soda's a natural in the kitchen, but Darry needs a five year plan for his brothers or else he'll have a heart attack.

Pony does the mural on the side of the building and all of the artwork for the menu. The others rib him for a bit, but in the end it turns out so dang good that it's the best looking building on the East Side.

Two-Bit writes up some clever ads in the paper and is a natural at bringing in new customers. Once he convinces Marcia to stop by, and suddenly they're so busy they have to turn people away.

Steve begrudgingly works behind the counter (but secretly loves it). Soda forces him to wear an apron, and he grumbles about this less than you'd expect.

Dally finds him a supplier that gives him a good deal on baking supplies (and it's totally legal why would you suggest otherwise?)

Johnny offers to help out in the kitchen only to discover he's a natural at baking, and the next thing they know, he's doing experiments himself and has his own selections out front of Cade's Cakes. Soda's never been more proud.

[everyandanything]

I'm begging you to write a fic and then let me know when you do so I can read it!

My silly little au is that Soda discovers his love for baking through all of the weird food experiments he’s done over the years and ends up opening a bakery named Baking Soda, which the gang helps out in their own ways:

Darry finds him a cute fixer-upper and spends weekends patching the roof and laying down new floors. He also helps out with a business model because sure Soda's a natural in the kitchen, but Darry needs a five year plan for his brothers or else he'll have a heart attack.

Pony does the mural on the side of the building and all of the artwork for the menu. The others rib him for a bit, but in the end it turns out so dang good that it's the best looking building on the East Side.

Two-Bit writes up some clever ads in the paper and is a natural at bringing in new customers. Once he convinces Marcia to stop by, and suddenly they're so busy they have to turn people away.

Steve begrudgingly works behind the counter (but secretly loves it). Soda forces him to wear an apron, and he grumbles about this less than you'd expect.

Dally finds him a supplier that gives him a good deal on baking supplies (and it's totally legal why would you suggest otherwise?)

Johnny offers to help out in the kitchen only to discover he's a natural at baking, and the next thing they know, he's doing experiments himself and has his own selections out front of Cade's Cakes. Soda's never been more proud.

[everyandanything]

My silly little au is that Soda discovers his love for baking through all of the weird food experiments he’s done over the years and ends up opening a bakery named Baking Soda, which the gang helps out in their own ways:

Darry finds him a cute fixer-upper and spends weekends patching the roof and laying down new floors. He also helps out with a business model because sure Soda's a natural in the kitchen, but Darry needs a five year plan for his brothers or else he'll have a heart attack.

Pony does the mural on the side of the building and all of the artwork for the menu. The others rib him for a bit, but in the end it turns out so dang good that it's the best looking building on the East Side.

Two-Bit writes up some clever ads in the paper and is a natural at bringing in new customers. Once he convinces Marcia to stop by, and suddenly they're so busy they have to turn people away.

Steve begrudgingly works behind the counter (but secretly loves it). Soda forces him to wear an apron, and he grumbles about this less than you'd expect.

Dally finds him a supplier that gives him a good deal on baking supplies (and it's totally legal why would you suggest otherwise?)

Johnny offers to help out in the kitchen only to discover he's a natural at baking, and the next thing they know, he's doing experiments himself and has his own selections out front of Cade's Cakes. Soda's never been more proud.

[everyandanything]

Tex (1982)

[everyandanything]

maybe if i imagine the character all my problems will be solved

[everyandanything]

Darry’s angry. He’s spittin’ mad. Rage boils through his veins. With every load of laundry that sits in the basket unfolded. With every rung of the ladder he has to climb, every nail he has to hammer. With every friend he sees back in Tulsa for the weekend, cruising around town in their sparkling blue Thunderbirds and bright red Mustangs. His rage grows stronger and stronger until he’s slamming his hands into his steering wheel after work because it’s the only time he’s alone long enough to scream.

Darry’s angry. He’s spittin’ mad. Rage boils through his veins. But he used to be something else. Something close to happy. He remembers that feeling, in the same hazy way one remembers a dream. It was before. Not even a year ago, yet it feels like a lifetime. When his mom’s cooking hung fresh and sweet in the air every morning before school. When their dad would wake them up early to take them fishing every summer. When his brothers were nothing more than his brothers, and they’d play football in the abandoned lot, and get ice cream after school, and laugh at jokes that no one else understood. Back when he still had a chance of a future, all the things he’d dreamed of solid within his grasp, only for them to crumble away with the sharp sound of a train whistle and a half finished birthday cake sitting on the windowsill.

Darry’s angry. He’s spittin’ mad. Rage boils through his veins. But if he’s being honest? He leans into feeling. In fact, he welcomes it. Because if he’s not mad, he’ll be something worse. Something he couldn’t name. Some people might call it sad, but that isn’t quite right. Sad is too simple for what has crawled into his chest and threatened to consume him. The feeling that makes it hard to pull himself out of bed most days, that makes even little things feel like a chore, like brushing his teeth, or taking a shower, or simply eating a meal with his brothers. 

He hates that feeling, hates how easily it could pull him under its murky depths and drown him. So he grasps tight onto the anger, wraps it around himself like a warm cloak against a frozen terrain. Because, sure, he yells too much, and his brothers flinch when he slams into a room. So what if Johnny’s as frightened of him as his own father, or no one wants to be alone with him? At least he’s still going. At least he can get up in the morning. At least he can fuel the anger into every rung of the ladder he has to climb, every nail he has to hammer.

Darry’s angry. He’s spittin’ mad. Rage boils through his veins. But some days? He wishes he didn’t feel anything at all.

[everyandanything]

The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. 1x01 ⇢ Pilot

[everyandanything]

dan!darry aesthetic & headcannons! —☆

- terrible cook. calls himself a chef, but will burn food and insist it’s supposed to be that way.

- paul tried to be there for him after his parent’s death, but he was angry, tired, and emotional, and it only ended in screaming match.

- really good at math.

- double jointed.

- taught himself how to sew, so he could mend the boys’ clothes and save money.

- has a hard time celebrating any birthday after his parents died on his, but makes sure the boys know they’re loved on theirs.

- nail biter.

- hates being alone with his thoughts, so secretly loves when the gang invades the house.

- will say he’s not interested in pony’s movies or books in attempt to keep pony grounded, but really tries to learn as much as he can about things pony loves.

- has SOOO many useless skills.

- often sits by his parents’ bedside and has a cry because he’s constantly worried he’s not good enough for pony and soda.

- EXTREMELY sarcastic.

- bonus: soda literally cannot tell when he’s being sarcastic, and it’s gotten him into trouble so many times. darry gets pissed but can’t even yell because it’s entirely his fault.

- reflects pony’s “why does he hate me?” notion and believes ponyboy hates him. it eats him alive somedays.

[everyandanything]

I feel like fandom’s interpretation of Soda changes depending on what you think his favorite color is.

Folks who think his favorite color is red—well, those folks know all about the anger inside, the snap and smile, rusty blood in his teeth when he grins during a fight. He’s fast and daring and laughs like a drug, his temper blazing quick, all dynamite. Too loud. Too much. Smiling like a weapon, hotwiring cars, drag racing. He smells of motor oil. Gas-stained jeans. His knuckles are bruised.

Folks who believe in a blue Soda see the softer side. He’s bright as the morning sky and gentle to boot, soothing scrapes and scuffles, the eternal middleman. His anger stays bottled up where no one can be hurt by it. Quick to smile and quicker to soothe, all lazy drawl and restless hands, big brown eyes you could drown in. Soda who loves blue is a Soda who gets lost in the wind from rolled down windows, lost in the people around him, whose soul is bigger than the ocean but forgets how to be himself. He feels too much. He feels everything all at once. He feels nothing at all. He’s full of love and it’s crushing him.

Folks who see the yellow lover in Soda see only the joy. This is the Soda as his brothers know him, the goofy, reckless guy, the favorite brother. This is the Soda who laughs at everything and nothing, who understands entirely, who beams so bright he might as well be the sun. He is nothing but giddy joy and stupid jokes. His shoes are untied. Mismatched socks. Grass stains. Freckles. Silly, smiling Sodapop, who exists only to be happy and bring the sunshine back.

[everyandanything]

I can’t get the idea out of my head that the Curtis brothers all feel like "the outsider" of their core family. So please enjoy this quick drabble I wrote when I should be writing my next chapter whoops.

Pony, the youngest, and his brothers just want him to remain a kid for as long as possible. They constantly search for ways to protect him and keep him from having to grow up any faster than he already has. But that protection means whispered secrets and pretty lies that make Pony want to scream.

Sometimes, when he wakes up in the middle of the night and Soda isn’t there, he tiptoes down the hall to the threshold of the kitchen to listen to the terrified whispers of Darry and Soda as they pour out their fears under the quiet cloak of night. How can they afford to keep going? How can they pay off Pony’s hospital bills? How can they make sure he’s okay after everything life has dealt him? One day Pony hopes he’ll look back on these moments and see that these conversations were only out of love, but at fourteen, he feels like a burden, like there’s an ’otherness’ in him he can’t shake.

And when the morning comes and his brothers stand in the exact same spot and offer him bright smiles and kind eyes, his chest aches with a pain he doesn’t think he’ll ever escape.

Soda, who down to his looks has always been told he’s different. Different smile, different nose, different laugh, different temper. Some days he wonders if he was switched at birth, perhaps he might even believe it except for the fact that when he looks in the mirror his eyes are so clearly his mother’s that he tells himself that's enough.

Sometimes, when he watches Darry and Pony fight, Soda’s reminded of the things he’s thankful he didn’t inherit: like their father’s sharp tongue or their mother’s quick temper. It’s a lethal combination, especially when shared by two stubborn boys, and causes his brothers to have blowouts that Soda wonders how they can possibly recover from.

But then there are other days— eventually, not at first— when his brothers finally learn how to love one another again. Soda listens as they talk for hours about their favorite books, or the story Pony’s writing, or how his track season is going, or even Darry’s favorite football team. All things Soda’s never understood. And as he watches his brothers become closer it hits him; Darry and Pony no longer need him, not really. The thought sends a shock of fear coursing through his body, and as he watches Pony smile up at their brother there is a small part of him, a part that he’ll never admit to and always hate, that hopes they won’t ever stop fighting just so he’ll know they have to keep him around.

Darry, no longer just a brother but instead a not-quite-father figure. He sees Pony and Soda together, all the ways they’ve bonded from having to live under Darry’s regime. He listens as Soda soothes Pony’s fears after yet another nightmare of Darry sending Pony away, or the gentle words they whisper to each other when Darry’s temper gets the best of him for the umpteenth time and he takes it out on them.

He lies awake at night wishing he could simply be their older brother again. He would do anything to not have to yell at Pony about his grades or chew Soda out for coming home late without calling. But what can he do? He can’t stop, because stopping could lead to something worse: losing his brothers, and he’s lost so much already.

So instead he lets himself be the villain in their story, and when all the ways he’s wronged them leave him lying in his bed unable to sleep, he creeps down the hall and sits by their door, listening as they laugh about something only they can understand, and tries to remind himself what he’s doing it all for.

[everyandanything]

ao3 user ellisollie gives the Curtis brothers a dog?

It's more likely than you think.