telemachussytoe

[telemachussytoe]

steve hates the short jokes a lot. like he gets SO pissed when people make jokes about him “needing to go back to santa’s workshop” or whatever. one time, dally was taunting him and was all “aw, how’s the weather down there?” and steve spat square in his face and just goes “i dunno, but it seems pretty rainy up there” and promptly had his nose broken.

[telemachussytoe]

Modern day Curtis gang would absolutely eat UP the devious lick challenge (pls don’t try this trend in school) and these are the “top licks” I feel they would get:

Pony wouldn’t steal anything, Darry wouldn’t let him

He did steal Bryon’s girlfriends though

Soda took the vending machines in the school, no one knows where he put them, he wasn’t even enrolled when he did this

Steve stole the bitchiest teachers car, never to be seen again 😔

Dally stole any sense of peace the school had before dropping out

Johnny stole every fire extinguisher in the building, without setting off a single alarm…

What hasn’t two-bit stolen tbh

(he once stole the front doors)

Darry was a good kid in high school, the only two things he ever stole was a soda from the vending machines… and Paul’s straightness

[telemachussytoe]

Canon has the Shepard gang have a single whistle (atleast that's mentioned) for "Who's There?" And I love that detail

So here's a list of every whistle I have used for the Shepard gang in any of my stories.

Any characters that know the whistles will have recognition, but any characters that don't know them just note them in passing :)

Used to alert anyone of incoming danger from ahead or above

Low whistle that trills at the end, end on a high note; Heads up 

Low whistle that trill at the end, end on a low note; Heads up

Used to alert anyone of incoming danger from behind or flanking

Sharp then soft, two notes; Over here

Used to locate someone, alert others of your location, and tell others to come over

Blow harshly against thumb knuckles; Danger

Used to call for backup, while running into a fight, or to alert others to soemthing dangerous 

Quick, loud, sharp chain; Help

A way to alert others you fear for your life

Wolf whistle; All clear

A way for higher ups to send their lessers home or tell hiding allies they should leave discreetly 

Long low whistle; Who's there? (Canon)

Used to identify or announce yourself as a Shepard gang ally in unfamiliar or dangerous territory. 

Long high whistle: Threat

Used as an intimidation tactic to let fighters know you were showing up as back up, to scare off jumpers 

Tongue click; Acknowledged, be ready

A way to answer a whistle without drawing too much attention, to tell hiding allies to be ready to leave while you distract

[telemachussytoe]

Look. Darry hitting Ponyboy is obviously, unequivocally wrong, and we shouldn’t make excuses for it or justify it.

But outbursts of aggression or violence can be a symptom of trauma and PTSD. And we really need to stop completely leaving that out of the debates of “is Darry a good or bad guardian/person?”

Something many in the fandom forget, despite it being a central aspect of Darry’s character, despite it being a central aspect of Pony’s character arc, despite Pony reminding us explicitly and repeatedly in his narration - is that Darry’s behaviour when we see him in canon is out of character.

Ponyboy could not be more clear about this. “Me and Darry got along before mom and dad died.” “Nobody in our family ever hit me before. Nobody.” The palpable shock of all three brothers, including Darry himself, after Darry hit Pony.

One of the main reasons why Pony finds Darry’s behaviour so distressing is because it’s new. It’s different. It’s unexpected. It came seemingly out of nowhere. He’s not used to it and it’s caught him horribly off guard. It’s yet another cataclysmic change that Pony’s had to deal with as an unexpected byproduct of his parents’ deaths. He hasn’t had a lifetime to inoculate himself against Darry yelling at him or hitting him, like Johnny or Dally or Steve with their parents. If Darry was an abusive person, Pony would be used to these behaviors. He might say something like, “Darry was always like this but now mom and dad aren’t here to protect me.” But no. Darry yelling at Pony all the time is out of character. Darry hitting Pony is out of character. Again, it doesn’t excuse the behavior, but it does raise alarm bells and give us some very important clues.

You have some acting violently in a way that is recent, sudden, and out of character. That’s the profile of someone who is suffering from trauma.

All three brothers suffered their parents’ deaths, but it’s safe to assume Darry was the one who had to identify their mangled bodies. Darry was the one who had to prepare those bodies for burial. Do you think Darry doesn’t see that image when he closes his eyes? Do you think he let Soda and Pony see that? If Pony had seen his parents’ dead bodies, he would have mentioned it. The whole point of the story is that even after his parents’ death, Pony doesn’t see the full extent of death and violence and dead bodies with his own eyes. Because Darry took care of it for him.

Darry is not only acting out of character during canon, but he’s most likely also acting on impulses that he can’t fully control and hasn’t been given the tools to do so. Mental health and trauma therapy were not really a thing in the 1960s, and even if the Curtis’ lived in the modern era, they still wouldn’t have the money and resources to access that help. Maybe a modern Darry Curtis could self diagnose through Google searches, if he ever found time, but that’s about it.

Not to mention the societal and material circumstances at play. You can’t insist that the story is about class and socioeconomics - which it is - but make Darry the sole exception, and act like his wrongdoings alone exist in a vacuum.

The whole point of Darry hitting Pony is that it’s the culmination of events, a breaking point, that is a direct result of their class and their poverty. Darry would never have hit Pony if he wasn’t at the end of his rope, not just due to their parents’ death, but all the socioeconomic conditions resulting from it.

Darry hit his breaking point when Pony came home late, not because he was mad that Pony broke his tyrannical rule, but because Pony breaking curfew could have disastrous, life altering consequences. He was worried sick not knowing where Pony was, but he couldn’t do anything about that, because if he called the police, Pony and Soda would be taken away and tossed in the system. Because Darry’s custody is constantly under threat, because they’re low class and poor. And he’s already running on fumes from the financial ruin and precarious custody that he’s had to deal with every minute of every day since their parents died. If soc kids lost their parents it would still be a tragedy and a trauma, but money and custody and college and future would not be a concern. They’d just access their trust funds and be adopted by any number of other wealthy relatives or family friends.

If anything, I think it’s damn impressive that Darry improves his behaviour toward Ponyboy as much as he does, considering he has no more resources or support system by the end than he does at the beginning. His efforts to be more gentle and patient and communicative are sheer willpower. In essence, he’s trying to override his triggers while still living in survival mode, and he manages to make progress. That’s hard enough for people who know those terms and have that vocabulary, let alone someone who very much does not.

So is Darry’s treatment of Pony wrong? Of course. Is he inherently a bad person? The narrative is very clear that he is not, that his negative behavior is an anomaly. Is there a hell of a lot of context to Darry’s mistakes that should be taken into account? Yes. Is said context literally the whole point of the story? Also yes. Would you do any better in his position - his exact position, including his age and living in his time period? Sorry, no. If you are an adult in 2025 who can’t bother to understand Darry, there is no way you would have done a better job of understanding Ponyboy or caring for Ponyboy if you were Darry in 1965. If you write off Darry as just an abuser, just an inherently bad person, I guarantee that if you lived in the 1960s, you’re the one who would think Ponyboy was just an ungrateful brat who needs a good smack to whip him into shape.

[telemachussytoe]

The church helped strengthen Ponyboy and Johnny’s friendship, as I’d imagine being stuck somewhere under traumatic circumstances would to anyone. But it really helped them to grow closer and get to know each other — however, I would not be calling it a good experience.

The church tends to be romanticized, when by the 3rd or 4th day they were already bored, hungry and a little sick. All their treats and pops finished in the first two (if that), just baloney, a few packs of camels and one book to pass the time. Not to say they didn’t come up with ways to be entertained, but it was dreadful… literally, as the fear of being found or stuck there hung over their time.

Good things did come out of a bad time, growing close, learning lessons, reading a book they always wanted to… just not in a desirable way.

Call me captain obvious idk

[telemachussytoe]

hi stevepop shippers i arrive with more

[telemachussytoe]

i love how the shepards are described as cat like.. i would headcanon them to have cat-like features like haerin from nj also i feel like angela would have that natural cat walk.

[telemachussytoe]

Ponyboy hcs! -☀️

teensy mention of sh and sa 🙈

• If it was SLIGHTLY more modern, he would have braces and glasses

• he probably already has glasses but never wears them

• he and Soda (in a modern setting) would have a minecraft world that they play on daily

• burns himself with cigarettes and convinced himself it's not a big deal

• He and Cathy only dated for a month but broke up on good terms!!!

• He never liked her but didn't wanna be mean

• she picked up on it and they broke up

• Got with Curly at around 15/16

• He had a HUGE crush on Johnny without realizing

• they probably kissed at the church like once and never talked about it again

• TERRIBLE anxiety, the nightmares doubled it

• mmmaybe some experience with sexual trauma, by who is up to you (I'm projecting 🤧)

• in the gang clothes make the rounds so easily. you can catch him wearing one of Steve's really old shirts, none of his clothes are his own

• gang calls him racehorse

• has a toothgap

• also has dimples

• ALSO was premature

• he's naturally very cold (Likes to put his cold hands on people's necks)

• tons of ashtrays for cigarettes, hates seeing them laying around

• keeps bleaching his hair after the events of the book

• it is so incredibly fried dear god

• ends up looking like a smaller Dally since he also kept the leather jacket

again, thanks to @valeriamhdhh for helping me come up with some of these!!

[telemachussytoe]

STEVEPOP HCS!!!! -☀️

uhhh very tiny mention of an ed and sh!!

• Steve calls Soda "love"  but it's so normalized to them to the point that Steve says it as much as Sodas name

• Soda Likes to cover him in kisses

• Soda made Steve pick out lipstick shades and then proceeded to cover Steve in little kiss marks all over his face and neck

• probably wear eachothers clothes to sleep since they're the same size

• pony HATES this bc Steve's colonge is super strong and he has to sleep next to Soda every night

• have probably gotten caught by their boss kissing at work 1000 times but they do their work so their boss doesn't really gaf...

• Steve has meltdowns bc of his dad and Soda always knows what to do to help

• tried to run away together at one point when they were younger

• mmmaybe moved in together when Steve turned 18 to get away from his dad

• Steve was the first one to find out about Sodas ed/sh

• Steve has terrible eyesight but was convinced eventually to get glasses

• He freaked out when he saw Soda cause like??? he pulled that??? he felt unworthy

• Steve BITES!!!!!!!!!!!

• they keep pictures of eachother in their wallets

• Steve writes letters to Soda but they take forever cause he's not too good with words (Soda is very patient)

• After work if Steve did a ton of work Soda will give him one of his magical massages

• Steve is secretly really good at art and only lets Soda see and draws things for him

• Steve doesn't like his art but Soda celebrates it like the second coming of Christ

shoutout to @valeriamhdhh for helping me come up with these 👅��

[telemachussytoe]

those freaks again (I hate them /aff)

They’re so fucking stupid I love them

[telemachussytoe]

ponyboy thinks that steve hates him, but he doesn’t see what soda sees.

soda sees steve bring home grapes from the market. he obviously stole them — darry rarely let them buy fruit since it was expensive, so they mostly lived off of bananas — but that’s not the part that counts. the thing is, pony is the only one in the group that likes grapes. he raves about them like they’re magic and finishes them all in a day and a half. steve would definitely get arrested if he got caught stealing them, since he always picks the crunchiest ones, just the way pony likes them. pony always thanks soda for bringing them home, and soda wants to tell him the truth, but steve always catches his eye and shakes his head, begging him not to.

soda sees steve walk past a nice leather notebook in a window and stop. “pony’d like that, wouldn’t he?” steve asks. soda gives a little grin and nods, and watches as steve walks in and asks the nice lady at the counter to put it on hold until his next paycheck comes in. soda doesn’t have the heart to remind him that his next paycheck would hardly cover a quarter of that notebook.

soda sees steve put up missing poster signs all over town when pony and johnny go to windrixville. he watches steve go door to door and ask people if they’ve seen a scrawny kid with reddish hair come through. he watches steve grow more and more anxious the longer ponyboy’s gone. then he sees steve light up when he first reads the paper, when he realizes that pony is coming home.

pony doesn’t see any of this. soda wishes he did. steve is glad the kid always has his damn head in the clouds — it lets him keep up his tough guy act for a little while longer, at least.

[telemachussytoe]

Modern AU where Darry marries Paul solely for money/benefits.

Darry doesn't hide his motivations either. Like, he literally called Paul over to his house one night and was like "hey, do you want to marry me? I need medical insurance," and they went to the court house the next day.

The funniest part is that Paul doesn't care that its a sham marriage, and is always like "oh, my dear husband that I love so much 💕" and Darry is like "Ponyboy needed a tonsillectomy and the hospital told me it was going to be $7,000 😐"

[telemachussytoe]

[telemachussytoe]

I'll be honest Deidamia is dating Pyrrha, not Achilles

[telemachussytoe]

after the rescue, parents come to take home their children but it seems like one or two will be leaving empty handed…☹️

uh i started this a month ago and locked in tonight to finish it lmao (also guys it’s getting so hard pretending like i don’t like this book in front of my friend who constantly talks about how much they hate it😭🙏)

[telemachussytoe]

[telemachussytoe]

ACHILLES COME DOWN ANIMATIC IS OUT

Took me a VERY long time, but it finally done and out. It was a mini class project turn into passion project and Final. An animatic of a tale of the gayest soldiers in the Trojan War Mythos is now open to the public for viewing. (i had to fight the editing so hard)

Context if needed-

Achilles is drowning in grief after losing his love in the Trojan War with his own inaction to fight partly causing it, and as the song goes, he goes up to a roof. The weight of his grief and guilt fromf the death of Patroclus forms a fake being that speaks out his worst thoughts, taunting him every second to jump. While the real Patroclus's ghost is trying his best to get Achilles come back down and away from the edge. Yet the ending still isn't a happy one. Achilles is still doomed to die, but he won't die on that roof.

Hope you enjoy. (here's a YouTube link ver as well)