#johnny who tells pony in his final moment to continue being good?

[boysborntodie]

It’s just so hard to get a balanced characterisation of Johnny. Like it’s unfortunately really easy to fall into one extreme. Like yes he killed Bob because he never wanted Bob to scare him again but also Johnny is upset at this and wishes it hadn’t come to that. No he is not weak, he’s emotionally strong and his life has probably made him physically tough too but also he is small and considerably less physically strong than the other boys (this is important to his character because these are things he’s insecure of and admires Dally for). Yes Johnny is very much a greaser and this means that he’s not entirely innocent but also he IS law-abiding, he doesn’t like committing crimes and would rather live an honest life, also he has a strong moral centre and disapproves when others cross lines. Johnny has flaws and can be jaded and angry and maybe even mean but at his heart he is someone who values kindness and goodness above all else and strives to be good. There needs to be nuance here

[tulsa-trash]

Bob Sheldon Headcanons

WARNING(S): Mentions of alcohol abuse, physical abuse, death; got angsty towards the end there god damn—

Has an older brother named Gordon who moved away to go to law school, they’re a little over 4 years apart. They were never really close, due to their father creating unnecessary competition between them since they were younger. He doesn’t like talking about him much.

Mr. Sheldon would always compare Bob to Gordon, saying that Bob “ought to be more like his big brother instead of screwing around all the time.” Overtime Bob grew to resent his old man a whole lot.

Mrs. Sheldon is a chain smoker, she tried her best to hide it from the family but eventually Bob found out. Most of the time after she gets into a fight with her husband, she locks herself in one of their bathrooms, opens the window, and silently lights a cigarette as she stews by herself. One night she forgot to lock the door and Bob walked in on her. He promised he wouldn’t tell dad.

He tended to favor his momma over his daddy, she spoiled him more and he felt she was always easier to talk to than dad.

His parents have a decent age gap, his mother being eleven years younger than his father. They’d known each other since they were kids, his dad was best friends with one of his mom’s brothers growing up.

Being spoiled rotten with tons of cash throughout life has its pros and cons. Despite always coming off as cocky and entitled, deep down bob hated being a soc. At the age of 18 he already had all the money, nice clothes, popularity, and dr*gs he could ever want, so why even try?

He had no goals for himself, didn’t want to go to college, didn’t want to work, he could really care less about all that. He had a tuff car and he was dating one of the hottest gals in school, that was all that was important to him.

He met his best friend, Randy, in kindergarten. They went to catholic school together, they’re parents even get along well. Both of their childhoods were spent visiting each other’s houses and going to family cookouts often.

His dad forced him to join a baseball league in seventh grade, even though Bob expressed he didn’t like it his dad made him stick with it for a few years. He was eventually kicked off the varsity team his sophomore year in high school for excessive drinking, along with constantly butting heads with his teammates and the coach.

The only good thing he got out of baseball was watching Cherry Valance preform with the cheerleaders at his games, that’s how their relationship started.

He’s secretly blind as a bat, but he refuses to wear glasses. Bob found out he desperately needed glasses in the third grade. once all the kids in his class seen him with those thick-brimmed, magnifying glasses it was all over. he was teased ruthlessly to the point where he just stopped wearing them and never put them on again.

“What happened to those god awful goggles, Sheldon?”

“Psh. They were fake I wore em as a joke.” 😅

^ That forced him to sit in the front of class a lot so he didn’t have to struggle as much to see the board. Even though the poor b*stard was blind the entire time, it made him used to getting called on by the teachers and chatting with his classmates. He was one of the most popular boys in town in no time.

Mr. Sheldon slowly became an alcoholic as his boys grew up. He went from one glass of scotch at night to taking a shot immediately when he wakes up in the morning and being plastered by the afternoon. Usually he’s a sluggish drunk, but god forbid he gets to drinking when he’s mad.

His old man was terrifying when he was both intoxicated and livid. He never put his hands on his wife but there have been multiple drunken episodes where he either destroyed sh*t in the house... or he’d beat Bob.

If you were to ask Bob if he would rather get hit with a belt or his dad’s hands, he would pick the belt. Even the metal part hitting him was no where near as painful as his father’s closed-fist strikes with his gold rings. If Bob had a good buzz on it numbed the pain a bit, so he tried his best to be hammered before he got home most nights.

His mother never stepped in or said anything about it, she’d clean up her husband’s mess and go to bed. The next morning the family would act as if it didn’t happen. They had to maintain their pristine reputation of course, wouldn’t want the neighborhood to know both Mr. Sheldon and his youngest son had drinking problems. Bob eventually couldn’t even stand his mom anymore. He hated them.

Mrs. Sheldon hated herself too, and her husband. She knew her baby boy was f*cked up because of them, the guilt ate away at her every day. Deep down in her heart she knew her son was drinking and causing trouble because of how he was brought up— how he was being treated at home... and she did nothing about it.

The mixture of bullies at school and his own personal bully at home molded him into being the arrogant and angry a*shole we���ve come to know. No one would be able to hurt him if he just beat them to it and hurt them first... right?

One night things got really bad, Bob’s report card came in the mail while he was out on a date with Cherry. His daddy was displeased, to say the least, 3 bold F’s sat on the paper.

“That no good son of a b*tch is lucky he ain’t home.” Mr. Sheldon spat as he slammed the report card on the dining room table, his wife visibly flinched.

When Bob got home that night he was already fired up, some greasers were trying to make a move on Cherry and Randy’s girl, Marcia, at the Nightly Double. The last thing he expected when he got home was to see his mother sweeping up broken glass while nursing a busted lip and a black eye.

They held eye contact for a long moment, neither of them said a word. His mother looked at him with so much pain, so much regret in her eyes, tears silently rolled down her cheeks. Bob turned around and left wordlessly.

He picked up a few of his friends, stopped by the liquor store, then began to look for some trouble. He immediately drove to the east side of town to look for some greasers to mess with, and after only fifteen minutes of cruising his eyes landed two younger boys from the drive-in earlier that night.

“Jackpot.” He slurred to himself as he turned his car onto the grass and pulled up to the park.

Whoever wasn’t helping Bob restrain the greaser he was drowning was beating the second boy in the grass. Every now and then Bob would pull the kid out of the water only to shove him back in almost immediately. He held him under the water, the cold liquid splashed everywhere managing to soak everyone near the fountain but he didn’t care... he couldn’t feel a thing.

The other greaser was shouting, his pals continued to egg him on as he continued swing the greaser’s head back and forth wildly under the water. He didn’t even know what anyone was saying, he wasn’t paying attention, all his focus was directly on hurting the individual in his grasp.

Red. Everything was fine until Bob noticed the water was changing colors. His ears were ringing, all he could hear was the faint sound of footsteps rapidly getting lower and lower, farther away. There was no more yelling, no more voices.

“Did I k.ill him?” He thought to himself, immediate regret and fear flooding over him.

He let go of the kids shirt and fell over with a soft thud, a sharp pain erupted from his torso. His hand lightly touched the left side of his ribs and there it was... warm, red liquid coated his fingertips after he pulled his hand away. It was then he noticed the other greaser, the tan boy frantically pulled his friend out of the water and laid him down on the cold concrete.

“P-Pony? Ponyboy?” He shook violently, his right fist held a switchblade tightly. “Oh god... what did I do... what did I do.”

Bob watched him slowly sink to the ground, his back resting against the side of the fountain as he began to sob. His eyes flickered to the unconscious kid, Ponyboy. He didn’t understand how his body went from hot to cold as fast as it did, the reality of the situation was crashing down on him like a ton of bricks, he knew he was going to die.

He looked up at the sky and took in a strangled breath before wincing in pain. To his left he noticed his flask— his dads old flask, it was his eighteenth birthday gift. The thought of his father’s proud face as he handed it to him that day made Bob sick. He reached for it, the cold metal on his palm soothed him a bit. He weakly unscrewed the cap and went to take a sip, only to realize it was empty. Johnny watched him the entire time with a horrified gaze, but Bob didn’t seem to notice.

“Damn... that’s a shame.” The Soc grumbled to himself.

He tossed it, making it land a few feet away in the grass. His attention returned to the starry sky, a light feeling crept its way in his chest. He couldn’t tell if that was just him dying or if it was something else, but after eighteen years of being in this world his finally took the time to stop and look at how beautiful the sky was for the first and last time. He was scared, he didn’t want to go so soon, yet at the same time... he was relieved.

“Wow...” Bob sighed, “Ain’t this something else.”

His vision began to blur, tears— or was that also death? He felt the salty streams creep past his eyelids and run down the corners of his eyes. He was ready.

With one final breath, he passed away. His eyes never closed, he died looking at the stars.

[clockotea]

Chain Thoughts

Words- 4096

Warnings- Read below.  Dissociation, depression.

Ships- Slight Purly.

Notes- Okay yeahhhhhhhhhhh. I didn’t proof read this or edit it. I just wanted it done, because I like concept of this headcanon, however I don’t have motivation to edit. If you see some problems with spelling, grammar or whatever, I apologize. I’ll edit it later. I went through moments like Ponyboy does in this when I was younger and there are times where I still do. I’ve been busy with school so this took me awhile, and now we are going back on wednesdays so I won’t have that much time to write. I also rushed the ending :( I’m thinking about writing about if Ponyboy got put into a boy’s home. SO YEAH

-Ally-Lx

Headcanon- This headcanon belongs to @chaotically-cas

“When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home.”

It didn’t make sense. There were seven days in a week. So, why did Ponyboy only remember waking up 5 out of the seven days? Ponyboy pushes his potatoes to the side with his spoon. His other hand rubs his chain between his fingers. All he remembers was an argument with Darry before falling into a daze.

“What’s the matter with you, Ponyboy? Normally you would be stuffin’ your face.” Says Soda with a mouth full.

“What? Were you raised in a barn, little man?” Scolds Darry. Soda smirks and nods his head. Darry glares daggers at Soda. He slaps him in the back of the head, causing him to choke. Soda swallows this chicken and points his fork at Darry. He says some funny threat making Darry chuckle, but Ponyboy couldn’t process it. Ponyboy rubs his forehead where a migraine was starting to form.

“Ponyboy.” Darry’s voice breaks him out of his trance.

“Hm?”

“Mrs. Rutt called today.” He crosses his arms, expecting Ponyboy to explain why.

“Darry, just get to it.”

“She says you have 6 missing assignments.” 

Darry didn’t have bad grammar skills, like the rest of the greasers. He didn’t cut his ing’s short. He didn’t round his vowels, either. It was considered formal until the rest of the gang was there. Even then, his speech was formal. 

How did I forget about the 6 assignments?

“Ponyboy, you can’t just go running off forgetting about your homework.” States Darry. His face seemed to be made out of stone. The light draped over him like a cloth, creating perfect shadows that outlined his muscles. 

“I wasn’t- that’s not it-”

“Oh, cut him some slack, dare-bear,” Darry grumbles at his nickname. “It’s not like you have never had a late assignment.”

Ponyboy grabs his plate. He goes to put the food into a container.

“You haven’t been excused.”

“I didn’t realize I was eating with the president.” He sneers back.

“Yeah, well, you better sit your ass down.” Ponyboy freezes to see if Darry takes action.

“Ponyboy, hand me your plate. I’ll finish your food.” Soda says, breaking the silence. He nods and hands the glass plate to Soda.

“I’m going to go do those assignments.” Ponyboy whispers hoarsely. He fidgeted with his chain looking for approval from Darry. Darry sighs and nods.

IT WAS ONLY THE START

What am I doing? Ponyboy looks around. It didn’t feel real to be walking to the dingo in these jeans. Where am I going? Ponyboy looks around. The sun was dipping below the horizon yet beaming down on him. Ponyboy’s hair had turned a reddish-brown in the sunlight. The grease in his hair reflected against the sunlight. 

Think, C’mon Ponyboy. Think. What do you remember last? Last night, he and Darry had gotten into an argument. It was about how he managed school work. The entire gang was there. He brought up how Ponyboy had 6 missing assignments. Steve had chimed in and said that Ponyboy had skipped class. It wasn’t that big of a deal. I’m ahead in that class. But the argument had gotten blown out of proportion when Two-Bit said he saw him and Curly hanging out. It was bad when Darry said he didn’t want Curly around Ponyboy alone, but when he said he didn’t want them together at all, Ponyboy couldn’t help but argue back.

‘Ponyboy.” Ponyboy snaps his head to the voice. Hair slicked back... leather jacket… mickey shirt… boots… rust color hair… grey eyes. Two-bit.

“You alright, Pony?” He holds the door open. 

“Yeah. I’m good.” Lies Ponyboy. He felt as if he had taken a huge step off a cliff, into a cold pool of water. It made him feel cold and as if he was on autopilot. 

He takes a step up into the crisp air. The sound of chatter. The smell of what? The smell of fries. Warm red-colored booths. The pale floor seemed to gleam under the neon blue sign above the menu. He scans the room to see who Two-bit would be hanging out with. Ponyboy blinks as he makes his way to Johnny Cade beside Two-bit. Johnny nods his head at Pony. The seats crack under the weight of Ponyboy. Two-bit smiles.

“Hey, Ponyboy. What you doin’ walkin’ all your lonesome?” Johnny asks, clearing his throat.

“I saw him standing outside looking around like a doof,” Laughs Two-bit. “So, he’s just being his regular self.”

All of Ponyboy’s doubt seems to drip away the more Two-bit teases him. Ponyboy makes snarky comments back as Johnny scans his eyes over Ponyboy. Johnny shakes his head and messes with his jacket.

“Alright, guys. Enough,” Chuckles Johnny. “Ponyboy walking around alone is just asking for you to get jumped.”

Two-bit smirks mischievously, “Aw, c’mon Johnny. Ponyboy is tough. He can take on 5 socs at once.” Ponyboy smiles. 

Johnny shakes his head, “I just don’t want what happened to me to happen to him,”

“As I said, he can handle any soc. The only person he cannot handle is me.”

“Oh yeah?” Smirks Ponyboy.

“Yeah!” Two-Bit slams his elbow on the table. “Let’s go. I’m stronger than 10 of you”

“Let’s find out!” Ponyboy slams his palm into Two-bit’s.

The two boys arm wrestle until they are red in the face. Johnny laughs at how they struggle and refuse to give up. They didn’t want their pride to be damaged. The 3 boys ate fries that were too salty. Two-bit would eat their fries instead of his, letting his fries go cold. Ponyboy sipped his Pepis as Johnny messed with the whipped cream on his milkshake. It wasn’t until Two-bit brought up Ponyboy’s curfew did they get up to leave. Ponyboy felt as if everything in the world was right. He was smiling and laughing. Everything was right until they got home. Then it feels as if Ponyboy was in the pool of water again and drowning. 

Why is it only happening to me?

Ponyboy flipped over to his stomach. Darry had told him to get up 30 minutes ago. Ponyboy used to be an early bird. He would wake up and sneak out onto the roof to watch the sunset. His mom would come up with him and sit with him. It was a time where Ponyboy was comfortable. It was a time when he felt safe and didn’t have to worry about Darry throwing him into a boy’s home.

What was the point of getting out of bed, when no matter what you do, it irritates people? He already knew how Steve felt about him. Dallas barely talked to him. He was always out messing around. They often thought of him as a kid. 

Ponyboy softly runs his fingers through his hair. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t feel angry or sad that the gang thought of Ponyboy like that. It made sense. Am I really that annoying? I don’t mean to be. Ponyboy sighs. He didn’t want to get out of bed, it was too warm and comfortable. It’s the only place I can’t screw up.

The door swings open and slams with a crash. Ponyboy rolls his eyes with annoyance. His back was warm, and felt as he was laying in a hay stack. He shifts uncomfortably. 

“Ponyboy?” calls out Whos voice is that? Dallas.

“Hm, Yeah?” whines Ponyboy. Dallas walks in. His hair was flowing all over. His jean jacket looked stiff, the buttons raddled against his chain. Dallas’s pants dipped into every crevice everytime he moved. He raises his eyebrow at the fact that Ponyboy is still in bed. 

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you when you are having personal time.” He says chuckling.

“C’mon Dallas, tease me all you want. Just don’t tell Darry that I’m still in bed,” mutters Ponyboy. Dallas presses his lips into a thin line. The bed dips into Dallas’s favor as he stares at Ponyboy, as if he had just spoken a random language to him.

“You mean to tell me that Ponyboy Curtis hasn’t left bed all morning?” He questions.

“No sir,” Says Ponyboy into his pillow. Dallas whistles and continues to stare at him. Dallas smelled of booze, metal, and cigarettes. Dallas pulls a cigarette from his pocket. He flicks a match against the box and lights it up.

“Aw, c’mon Dal, you know Darry will kill me if he smells cancer-stick smoke in me and Soda’s room.” Ponyboy sits up and glares at Dallas. His hair falls over his forehead and partly in his eyes. He runs his fingers through his hair, pushing it back lightly. The sunlight reflects in his eyes.

“Ponyboy, you feelin’ alright?.” He asks, puffing smoke out of his mouth. The smoke coats the room in a thin layer, of the gray, toxic, cloud.

No, something is wrong

“Yeah, just thought today was supposed to be a lazy day.” Ponyboy states.

“Well, not anymore!” He hollers. “Curly was practically begging me to give him Darry’s schedule so he can sneak in and talk to you. I couldn’t betray Darry’s trust that much, so I’m just going to take you to him.”

“So, he’s finally out of the cooler?” mumbles Ponyboy.

“He’s been out for a week. Just hasn’t had time to see you.” Dallas smiles at Ponyboy, like Curly not sparing time for him was funny. I wouldn’t spare time for me either. What was it that made Ponyboy sick to his stomach? The fact that it was summer break and Curly was “busy”, or the fact that he didn’t even come himself. 

“Why didn’t you just bring him here?” Asks Ponyboy reaching for a shirt. He digs his fingers into the soft fabric of a black shirt. It was tossed to the side from last night, when it got too hot to keep it on.

“He’s busy with Tim. Said he’ll meet you there.”

Ponyboy slips the the shirt on. The feeling of being alone and disconnected was joining him again. Ponyboy sighs and rubs his forehead. He twists his chain in between his fingers. The cold, round, edge pushes down into Ponyboy’s skin. Dallas stands and pats his shoulder.

“Get ready,”

“I’m not going, Dallas,” Ponyboy whispers.

Dallas drops his gaze, “Oh, how come? Don’t want to disappoint Darry?” 

Dallas goes to pinch Ponyboy’s cheeks, but Ponyboy catches his wrists.

“Screw off, Dallas.” He sneers.

“Oh, Jesus. I get you might get jealous about not seeing him, and you want to create a statement but-”

Maybe it would all stop if I gave up and listened to Darry.

“I don’t want to create a statement, Dally. I got enough stress on my back with me arguing with Darry. I can’t handle whatever crime he’s gonna’ get himself into when I’m around. It would make Darry furious” 

“What’s the point of having rules if it ain’t for them to be broken.” Chuckles Dallas.

Ponyboy sighs and rubs his temples. It was getting harder and harder to process what he was saying, why he was mad, why he wanted to understand Darry.

“No, it would put stress on Darry. He has enough stress with me here.” He argues.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m starting to think you being put into a boy’s home would make it less stressful for Darry.” Chuckles Dallas. Dallas thought he was making a light-hearted joke. Something that was going to make Ponyboy chuckle, and he would get over it. Ponyboy couldn’t help but let everything take over. Before he knew it he was, so out of it, he didn’t know what they were arguing about.

“It would be… wouldn’t it?” Murmurs Ponyboy. Dallas’s eyes shoot up, trying to catch the emotion on Ponyboy’s face. Ponyboy’s eyes used to be warm summer green that would look grey in different lighting. They were kind of green that was warm and welcoming, like the green leaves that would grow on the tree’s Darry and Sodapop would climb when his parents were alive. Used too. All the stuff that made Ponyboy look like a kid was slowly fading.

“Hey, you know I ain’t mean that,” Chuckles Dallas. “It was a light-hearted joke.”

Ponyboy chuckles, “Yeah, I know. I’m still not going.”

“Alright… “ Ponyboy sits on the bed as Dallas closes the door behind him. Why was this feeling only happening to him? Why wasn’t it happening to Sodapop or Darry?

I tried, I really did.

Sodapop’s hands were warm compared to Ponyboy’s back. Ponyboy had been feeling colder ever since he stopped eating as much. He was sleeping in sweatpants, and hoodies trying to keep his body heat. Soda had slid his hands up his shirt and was rubbing his back just like their dad used to. Darry sat in the chair watching his brother comfort Ponyboy.

“Pony, are you alright?” questions Soda.

“Yeah, I’m alright.” Darry can’t help but bite his lip, a habit he picked up when he was nervous.

“You haven’t left our bed yet. Steve and I are going to a party. Do you want to join us?”

He’s a tag-along, Soda.

“No. I don’t want to be a tag-along and annoy you and Steve.”

“Ponyboy… You’re not a tag-along.” He whispers.

They sit in comfortable silence, waiting for the other to speak. Soda’s fingers trace over Ponyboy’s spine. He runs his nails all the way to where his pants start. Sodapop’s eyes fill with concern. Ponyboy shift’s to face Soda. His eyes were hazy and cold. His cheeks were no longer a soft red but a pale tone of peach. His lips weren’t a rose pink and curved into a smile. He looked tired, cold, and bored.

“Maybe you and Darry could go to the movie theater?” Suggest Sodapop.

“No, I don’t feel like it.”

“Ponyboy quit bein’ difficult. You can’t be lazy all day.”

“C’mon Darry, just leave him alone.” Says Soda.

“I would be going out and having fun if you allowed me to see Curly.” 

“Is that what this is about. Are you acting this way over Curly?” Gasps Darry.

“I ain’t actin’ weird, and yes, I’m still angry about you banning me from seeing Curly.”

“Why, he ain’t that important.” Soda says softly. Steve walks in and leans on the door frame. 

“I finally have a friend that’s my age and is my friend not because of my brothers, and then you banned me from seeing him.”

“... He’s not wrong, Darry.” Says Steve.

“He’s a bad influence!” scowls Darry.

“Yeah, and Dallas ain’t?”  Ponyboy could feel the confusion in Soda. He knew it wasn’t just about Curly. Darry was picking up on Ponyboy’s body language and could tell. The reason why he was acting this way was not just about curly.

“Darry, Curly likes Ponyboy as a friend too. He asked why you didn’t sneak out to see him the other day.” Said Soda looking at his brother. His face was tight, and his hair was slicked back. He smelled of cheap cologne like he was going to impress Sandy.

“I didn’t want to sneak out because it would stress out Darry, but now that he knows that I was asked to sneak out to see him.” Ponyboy sits up and looks at Darry. “I’m askin’ kindly. Otherwise, I’m just gonna sneak out.”

“Ponyboy, you shouldn’t be speakin’ to your elders like that. Darry has done so much for you. Your lucky he didn’t send you to a boy’s  home!” Sneer Steve. His patience was dwindling. Evie was waiting for Steve. She had called him and reminded him about how dolled up she was getting just for him. Why wouldn’t he want to rush to his beautiful girlfriend?

“Steve!” Hollers Darry.

“Yeah, and I bet he regrets not putting me in one.” Taunts Ponyboy. He stands up and walks out of his room. The wood creaks under his weight. 

“Ponyboy, I ain’t gonna put you into a boys home!” Calls out Darry.

“Why not? You already suffer from the bills! Why should you worry about me!”

“Ponyboy!” Sodapop reaches for him. Ponyboy yanks his arm out of Sodapop’s hand. Ponyboy slips on his white converse. His feet fit perfectly in the soles of them. The shoe curve at the right places, cradling his feet as he runs out the door.

Where are my memories going?

The last thing Ponyboy remembers was storming out of the house. The next thing he knows, he’s sitting next to a curly hair boy. Curly had seen Ponyboy running off and went running after him. Curly basically tackled the skinny boy. He gripped his arm and pinned him. The fear that was in Ponyboy’s eyes made him worry. Curly watched as Ponyboy’s lips curved into a frown.

“Tell them before it gets worse.” Cuts in Curly.

“They won’t understand.” Chokes out Ponyboy.

“If I understood everything you said and I’m worried. Then your brothers will be worried.”

“Yeah, because Darry is just one brain cell smarter.” Snorts Ponyboy. Curly gives him a rough smirk. Curly watched as the sun reflected in Ponyboy’s eyes. 

“Curly I-”

“No overthinkin’. just sit here in silence before you say some dumb shit.” Ponyboy grins at the sky. The silence covered the boys like a thick blanket. It made them feel safe and like they are in their own bubble. Ponyboy turned to Curly to admire his figure.

The grass caressed his cheek, and Curly’s smile softened. His body looked like it could’ve been shaped out of clay. His hair curled around the edges of his face. The grease in his hair was already starting to wear off, making his hair fling up. The sky paled yellow, then crimson, and with one deep breath, electric indigo.

Why aren’t they noticing? 

Ponyboy woke in Darry’s arms. He had been thrashing around and screaming, trying to wake himself up. Darry’s grip tightens around the boy. Even though Ponyboy had awakened from the nightmare he was suffocating in, Darry didn’t let go. Darry’s arms felt as if they were melting the thin layer of ice on Ponyboy’s skin.

“ I got you.” Who? Who has me? 

“I-I” Gasps out Ponyboy. His nails dig into Darry’s skin. The smell of sweat and wood.

“Who’s holding me? Who is holding me?” He whispers. Darry’s grip tightens on the fragile boy. His strong figure had gotten smaller. The damage of not eating as much as he used too was showing through. Although he was still stronger than most kids his age, Ponyboy struggled to get out of Darry’s arms.

“I need you to calm down.” Scowls Darry. Tears start streaming down his face. Ponyboy feel’s as if he’s back in the cold pool of water, and drowning. He gasps trying to let the air reach his air, but nothing could get through. 

“No.. N-no,” Stutters Ponyboy. “I can’t remember who you are. Please, I can’t remember who you are.” 

I don’t know who’s holding me. I don’t know where I am, and why I’m here. I don’t know my name. 

“What? What are you talkin’ about?” Darry’s voice was laced with concern.

“I can’t even remember my name.” Cries out Ponyboy. He tries once again to push Darry’s arms away. Darry just pulls him closer.

“Ponyboy. Your name is Ponyboy,” Whimpers Darry. “I’m your brother, Darry.”

Ponyboy shakes his head and starts crying harder. He gave up on pushing away Darry. The entire house creaked, as the leaves scrapped on the outside of the house. Darry’s hands start shaking, they grip Ponyboy’s arms harder.

“Ponyboy-” Starts Darry. Ponyboy doesn’t feel like he is in his body. He feels as if he was floating around his body. It was cold and all he wanted was his parents. Aren’t they dead? To come get him, and wake him up. He wanted them to push him back into his body. Darry stops the questions when every time he asked, Ponyboy shakes his head no. He let the small boy fall asleep

It’s come to come home.

Ponyboy wakes up in Darry’s arms. It was soft whispers circling around him. Ponyboy could feel the goosebumps prickling on his skin. Are they going to send me to a boy’s home? Is there something wrong with me?

“So, let me get this straight, he didn’t remember you or his name?” Cuts in Sodapop’s slow and hoarse voice.

“Yes, Sodapop. That’s what I said.” Darry says harshly.

“I don’t know, Darry. He could’ve just been shocked from the nightmare… remember how he got them right after mom and dad died? They never really went away. The doctor just said he needs to run outta energy. He barely leaves our bed anymore. His nightmares could just be getting worse.”

“No, this was different, Sodapop. I wouldn’t be telling you if it wasn’t. I’m thinking about taking him to the doctor again.”

“No offense Darry, but can we even afford it? I care about Ponyboy too, but I don’t think we can afford it.” Whimpers Soda.

“No, I don’t think we can,” Whispers Ponyboy. Both Sodapop and Darry’s eyes trace over his figure. Ponyboy pushes Darry’s arm off of him. He sits up and flops on his stomach, away from the boys. The cold air hit his back. He felt as if he just go out of a sauna. “Plus, it was just another one of my nightmares. It’s no big deal.” 

“No Ponyboy, this one was different. You couldn’t remember me or your name.” 

“Just like Soda said, I was just in shock. It’s no big deal.”

“Ponyboy, it is a big deal. Please, let’s just take you to the doctor. I’ve already made the appointment.” Hisses Darry.

They are wasting money on me. Just because I’m sick if I could just suck it up.

“Darry, please. It’s not that big of a deal. Don’t take me to the doctors.” Ponyboy turns to his brother. He had changed for work. He wasn’t there. He called in sick. All because of me.

“Alright, so something is wrong,” Grumbles Sodapop. He sits up and grabs Ponyboy’s arm. “Pony, if nothing’s wrong explain everything. Why you’re acting weird, why you can’t get out of bed, why you look like you’re sick… why you are aggressive.” 

It clicks in their heads. They both look at Ponyboy as if he was crying. Concern was written all over their faces. Sodapop’s grip loosens. They saw it in their mom after Ponyboy was born. Mothers get depressed because they lost a part of them. Ponyboy was depressed because he lost a big part of his life.

“Oh, Jesus Ponyboy. Why didn’t you tell us?” Asks Darry.

“Tell you what? God, you both don’t know when to mind your own business.” Ponyboy stands and walks out of the room. The house was quiet but he could hear Steve’s and Two-bits voices outside the door.

“That doesn’t explain why he’s forgotten things.” Mutters Sodapop. He trails after Ponyboy with Darry. Ponyboy opens the white refrigerator door. He scans the fridge for a coke.

“No, eat some real food.” Demands Darry.

“With some water. I can’t remember the last time you drank water.” Murmurs Sodapop.

Ponyboy sighs as he grapes a coke. He slams the door shut and turns to his brothers.

“Nothing is wrong with me.”

“No, nothing is wrong with you. However, you do need help handling emotions.” Says Darry calmly. Ponyboy scrunches his eyebrows together. He scoffs and opens the coke.

“What about emotions?” Calls out Steve. The door slams shut behind him, rattling the entire house. The floorboards creak under Steves’s weight.

“Steve, give us a second for ourselves goddammit!” Cries out Darry.

“No, Steve come in. I was just about to go to Curly’s.”  Calls out Ponyboy. He lifts up his bottle to chug the rest of his drink. Darry pulls the drink out of Ponyboy’s hand.

“No, you’re not going to Curly’s. We’re taking you to the doctors or so help me Ponyboy-”

“No. There ain’t nothin’ wrong with me!”

“Your Ponyboy, lots of things are wrong with you,” Steve says chuckling.

“Steve, can you get out.” Says Ponyboy.

“Steve this is private.”

“Alright, alright. I get it.” Steve leaves the room leaving it to be silent.

“Ponyboy, just let us take care of you.” Whispers Darry. Darry runs his fingers through Ponyboy’s hair. His fingers glide through Ponyboy’s hair without any trouble. His hair didn’t have any grease in it. Ponyboy almost broke down there. He felt disconnected and helpless. Darry pulled him into his arms. 

It’s been a few months since Ponyboy was diagnosed. He went to the movies to draw him out of his head. To protect him from his thoughts. When Ponyboy stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, he had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home.

They thought everything going on in Ponyboy’s head was horrible. They weren’t ready for what was going to happen.

[tasteslikepepsicola]

I Know What You Did Last Summer Part 2 (Sodapop Curtis x Reader, Dallas Winston x Reader)

Authors Note: I can’t believe I disappeared so long after posting the first part, I’m so sorry, I have so much motivation to write now and the next part might even be up in the next few days. Again, I’m so sorry for the wait but I hope you like it. I love the concept for this series, (as you can tell I really like love triangles) and I hope you guys do to! Also, might change my username soon, but I’ll keep you updated. Make sure to follow so you can stay up to date with the series! Thanks again <3

Warnings: Cursing, slight angst, implied smut

Word Count: 1,600+

One month later…

After Sodapop had dropped her off that night, nothing had been the same. They hadn’t been in contact since then, and it was finally starting to hit the two that they were no longer together. That didn’t make it any easier, however, on either of them. Both lied awake at night wondering when they lost what they used to have, gazed at their ceiling wondering what they could have done differently. And both would have given anything for another chance at loving each other. But Y/N knew that wasn’t her place anymore. She lost the right to love Sodapop the moment she gave her love to someone else, while he was at home waiting for her. And worse, she lied about it. She hoped he never forgave her, she didn’t deserve it.

Meanwhile, Sodapop reminded himself of this fact every time his mind wandered off to her...which was often. He couldn’t be with someone who could betray him like that, it wouldn’t be fair to himself. But he also wasn’t sure how much longer he could stand being away from her. She was like his oxygen, without her around, he couldn’t breathe.

Avoiding each other wasn’t hard. Y/N started getting her gas elsewhere, and Sodapop took a different route to work that didn’t require passing her house.

Y/N was sitting in the booth of their local diner when her friend pointed to a pair of boys who walked through the door. “Ain’t that Sodapop’s kid brother?” she asked.

Y/N whipped her head around quickly, noticing Ponyboy and Johnny as they started walking towards them. “Act normal,” Y/N muttered through a forced smile. They walked past the girls towards an empty booth a few seats in front of them. Neither acknowledged her presence, though she was sure they must have seen her staring at them. 

After a few agonizing minutes, the waitress brought them their check, and Y/N decided to try to get out of there as fast as she could. She didn’t need to say anything for her friend to catch on, she didn’t know much about their breakup, but could tell it was an awkward situation. As they wordlessly stood up to leave, Y/N felt a hand lightly grab her arm.

“Y/N?” Ponyboy asked, now standing behind her.

“Oh, hey Pony…” her voice trailed off.

“Sorry- uh, can we just talk for a minute?” he asked through the biting awkwardness of the whole situation.

Y/N glanced at her friend, who only said, “I’ll pull the car around, come out when you’re ready to leave” and then scurried away quickly.

The greaser boy and her sat down at the table she had been sitting at. Johnny still sat a few seats down, more focused on his lunch than the situation happening a few feet away. 

“What’s up?” Y/N tried to ask casually.

“Sodapop…” Pony started. “He’s- he’s real messed up about this whole thing. He keeps saying he doesn’t want to talk about it, but I know he hasn’t slept right in a month. I know he misses you.”

Y/N felt her heart break as he continued. How could she do this to someone so good? Someone who had never, who would never hurt her. What was wrong with her?

“Be straight with me, Y/N, please. What happened between you two?” his voice dropped low, like he was expecting the worst.

“I-” Y/N couldn’t find the right words. “I made a mistake. And it’s not something that can be forgiven.” she fought back tears she hadn’t realized that were building as she spoke.

“You- you cheated on him?” Ponyboy concluded, anger suddenly rising within the young boy.

“I don’t know. I thought we were broken up...maybe we weren’t. But it doesn’t matter. Sodapop will never forgive me, I don’t even forgive me. We both just need to forget about it. Me, him, Dallas...whatever, the only way this can get better is if I stay away from him.” Y/N couldn’t meet the greasers eyes, feeling nothing but shame and pain.

“Dallas? Dallas Winston? That's who-” Ponyboy stopped himself, almost on the verge of yelling at her. But he couldn’t, not in front of all these people, not at a girl, he knew that wasn’t right.

Y/N looked at the boy she used to consider a little brother, the boy who used to idolize her. The boy who used to question Sodapop about why he wouldn’t just marry her already. Now, he looked at her like he didn’t know who she was anymore.

“I got to go.” He mumbled.

“Ponyboy!” Y/N yelled after him, but he was already walking away. People looked their way, startled by the sudden scene that was coming from their table. Hot tears began to roll down her cheeks, she wiped them as she stood and got out of there as fast as she could.

When she got in the car out front, her friend asked, “Woah! What the hell happened in there?”

Y/N didn’t answer, instead she only said, “Don’t take me home. Drop me off at Buck’s. I need to talk to someone.”

*****

The whole ride there, she had rehearsed what she was going to say. Now, standing outside the notorious party spot, Y/N suddenly felt very self conscious. She tried to remain determined as she banged on the door. Nobody answered. She continued to pound on the door, finally crying out, “Dallas Winston I know you’re in there! I need to talk to you!”

She then heard footsteps clambering down the stairs. The dark haired boy opened the door quickly, grabbing her arm and dragging her inside.

“What the fuck?” she quipped.

“Sorry…” he mumbled, lighting a cigarette as he spoke. “Shepard’s pissed at me, gotta lay low for a bit.”

As she stood there, arms crossed and pouting, everything she had mentally practiced saying to him in the car had escaped her mind.

“What do you want doll? Why are you just standing there looking at me like that?” he smirked slightly as he spoke.

“Don’t play dumb Winston, I know you know what happened.” she vented.

“What? Something happen with your boyfriend?” he mused.

“I know you know we broke up.”

“Yeah I might have heard something about that.”

“Well...he knows.”

“Knows what?”

She rolled her eyes, angered at his desire to play dumb. “Don’t make me say it.”

“Y/N, of course I know he knows we slept together. He didn’t give me a black eye and split lip for no reason.” 

Y/N swallowed her words, shocked at what she was hearing. Sodapop didn’t fight.

“I could’ve taken that pretty boy, but I figured I deserved it. And no, nobody else knows, not even the gang, if that's what you're worried about. Your reputation is safe.”

“Fuck you, Winston.”

“You already did.” he replied with another grin.

Y/N turned to leave, yelling, “You’re a terrible person! You know that?”

“Newsflash, honey, it takes two people to cheat.”

She turned back around, anger spilling over, “I hate you! I had a perfect boyfriend before what happened. My life was perfect, I was probably gonna marry him.”

“Alright little Miss. Perfect, I get it, I’m the cause of all your problems, you hate me. What do you want me to do about it? Why are you even here?” his voice remained calm.

“I want you to apologize, to say sorry for once in your life for fucking up!” she yelled, stepping closer to him.

“I’m sorry, I truly am, sorry to Sodapop, for sleeping with his girl. But I’m not gonna apologize for what happened between us, because honestly, I’m not.” he replied, the distance between the two getting slimmer.

“God, what is your problem?” she asked.

“You wanna know what my problem is? It’s you! You were all over me that night, I didn’t just fuck you, I was there for you. You were crying when you walked in, you told me what happened and I listened.”

She shook her head, trying to ignore what he was saying, trying to avoid replaying the night in her mind.

“And you kissed me. And we got together, and the next day you just left. And went back to him. And I had to watch as you pretended like nothing happened. As he hugged and kissed and held you. And now, you show up here blaming me. So yeah, you are my problem.”

“He was my boyfriend!” She fought back tears for the second time that day.

“Why’d you avoid me?” he questioned.

“Are you kidding me?” she cried.

“No, why the fuck did you avoid me? Obviously it wasn’t guilt, you were fine lying to him. So why? Why couldn’t you be in the same room as me? Even without him there?”

She shook her head, “I’m not doing this.” She tried to pull away, but he caught her elbow and kept her there.

“I think I know why now, Y/N, because you and I both know you stopped loving him before that night, or else you wouldn’t have done what you did. You avoided me cause it was easier than facing the reality of the situation.”

“You’re wrong…” she said.

“Deep down, you know you don’t hate me, not even close, doll.”

She raised her hand, to slap him, he caught her wrist and said, “Prove me wrong then, leave if you want, I’m not gonna stop you. But, just so you know, I want you to stay.”

He started to pull away, then, and Y/N didn’t know what came over her, but she grabbed him, and smashed her lips on his. Without a second of hesitation, he reciprocated. His hands traveled to her thighs, he lifted her up, and she responded by wrapping her legs around his waist.

They didn’t move from that position until they were in his bedroom, and he was slamming her onto his bed.

[spawnofloki2-blog]

The Jacket

“Hurry up, Man, we ain’t getting any younger here.” I tapped my fingers along the side of Buck’s car, it made a soft tapping noise. I rammed my palm into the horn, Damn they’re slow. Two looked up from inside the small drug store and smiled, he probably had half of the stuff in his pockets in the same time it took Pony to buy some milk.

After the sun went down was the best time for us Greasers roam, the Socs. barely ever came over to our side of town when they knew we would all be out. The kid came out carrying a paper bag with Two-Bit hot on his heels. “What the hell took you guys so long.”

“Sorry Dal, Two couldn’t find the cigarettes so I had to stall for him.” Pony practically wailed. He climbed into the car and Two-Bitch climbed in after him, taking a pack of smokes from his pocket.

“Whatever, hey give me a cancer stick why dontcha?” Two pulled out a couple and gave one to me, I took the light from my front pocket and lit the cigarette. I took a long drag and stared out through the windshield, the street lights were starting to flicker to life.

“Hey, uh Dally?” Pony squeaked.

“What the hell do you want?” I slipped the lighter back into my pocket and let the weed hang in between my lips. He stayed quiet for a second, so I had to look back to make sure that Two-Bit hadn’t put him in a headlock making it so that he couldn’t breathe. But no, the little punk was sitting sitting there holding the bag and staring back at me.

“When did you get that jacket?” he stuttered. I looked down at my jacket, it was a light blue jean jacket.

“Yeah Dally, what happened to your leather one?” Two snickered.

“I stole it alright. Now let’s get going, Darry’s gonna kill me for keeping you out so late.” I snapped. I turned the ignition key and the engine roared. I peeled out of the parking lot and sped down the street.

I stopped over at the Curtis’s house and dropped Boner Boy and Two-Shit off at the doorstep, of course Darry was pissed but he was glad that he wasn’t alone at night. Even though the Socs. don’t come around that often, the streets isn’t a safe place at night ‘round here. I cruised down the road, the cool breeze blew through my hair. I passed Johnny Cake’s place, the lights were on and figures were fighting by the window.

A couple minutes later I arrived at Buck Merril’s joint, some Greaser’s were blowing off some steam around the back, I parked it in front of some rusty trash cans. I pulled the keys out of the ignition and hopped out, I slunked over to the door and rapped my hand on it.

“Who the hell is it?” Buck called from inside.

“It’s just me, Man.”

Buck opened the door with a broad under his shoulder, if her make-up wasn’t all smeared and if she wasn’t drunk, she would probably make for a pretty decent looking chick. He extended my hand with the under part of his knuckles facing the ceiling. I tossed him the keys and turned away, “Hey Dally, where do you think you’re going?”

I looked over my shoulder and replied, “A damn walk, is that a crime now too?”. He chuckled and shook his head.

“If it was you’d be the first to do it.” he grinned.

“You’re probably right, I’ll see you tomorrow Man.” I continued walking and jammed my fists into the small jean pockets.

The cool night air blew straight through me, I put the collar up and kept on going. Two-Bit’s probably already sitting in front of the Curtis’s T.V. watching Mickey Mouse by now, and Soda and Steve are seeing who could do the most tricks while Darry’s trying to explain to Pony why he needs to get good grades or some shit like that.

I zoned out for a moment, the next thing I knew there was a person running across the park with a group of hollering people behind them. It looked like a bunch of Socs. trying to jump some unexpecting kid. So I decided to take a quick look to see if they needed any help, I stuck to the shadows and crept closer. They eventually caught up with the poor bastard and started kicking him. He started to beg them to stop, that kid sounded a lot like Johnny, so I pulled out my heater and waved it at the Socs. Them being the chicken shit they are scattered at the sight of a gun, I darted over to the kid and skid to a stop. The kid didn’t sound like Johnny, that’s because it was Johnny. He was curled into a ball with his hands covering the back of his head, his dark shirt was covered in blood and was shredded.

“Please, I-I ain’t got a blade or nutin’.” he stammered. I crouched down and dug my fingers through his black hair.

“How bad did they hurt you, Johnny Cake?” He uncurled and stared up at me, look a lost puppy.

“D-D-Dally? Is that you?” he shivered.

“Yeah, I’m here buddy. Just say the word and I’ll track them down.” I sat him up and he flung his arms around me, I fell over with Johnny still attached to me.

“No! Don’t go, I don’t want to be alone out here.” he cried. I rubbed his head, his black hair was soft and fluffy. I hugged him, he buried his face in my chest.

He kept crying, but instead of telling him to ‘Buck up’ I squeezed him tighter. The wind started to blow harder on us, he shook and shuddered. I let go of him and took my jacket off and draped it around his shoulders. The jacket that was too small on me but fit him perfectly, he pulled the edges closer to his body to keep him warm. I got him up and lifted him to his feet.

“C’mon Johnny, let’s get you out of this cold.” I hugged him into my side and we started to walk over to Darry’s. The walk was still cold but I didn’t mind, as long as Johnny was safe and warm I didn’t care. After a moment or two he tugged on my shirt and finally spoke.

“Dally?”

“Yeah, Man?”

“Do you want your jacket back?”

“Nah you can keep it, it didn’t fit right anyways.” He looked up at me with his brown eyes.

“You really mean it, Dally?” I smiled and ruffled his hair.

“Of course, you need it more than I do.”

“Thanks Dallas.”

“Anything for you Johnny Cake.”

[steviemae]

babysitter // sp - pt.6

babysitter masterlist.

After remembering Betty’s slight obsession with figuring out who the black hood is, you hurried over to Sweet Pea who was talking to Toni and Fangs.

“Hey, y/n.” Fangs greeted.

“Hey, you guys haven’t seen Betty and Jug today, have you?” You asked. They both shook their head, “i’ll help you look for them.” Sweet Pea said standing up and grabbing his bag.

“We’ll see you guys at lunch.” you waved over your shoulder at the two of them.

“So why do you need to find Betty and Jones?” He asked as you maneuvered around the groups of people. Sweet Pea walked in front of you to gently push people out of the way. You grabbed Sweet Pea’s hand so you wouldn’t lose him in the crowds of people, still feeling kind of anxious walking the halls.

“They both have been working to figure out this black hood mess. I don’t know if i want to tell them what happened, but i do want to hear what they know.” Sweet Pea nodded, giving your hand and gentle squeeze in reassurance. You bumped into Veronica in your search for Bughead, “V, have you seen Betty and/or Jughead anywhere?”

“I saw them in the Blue and Gold room when i passed earlier. But a more interesting question, what’s this?” She motioned to your and Pea’s hands connected at your side. You ignored her question turning to Pea, “Maybe i should wait until lunch to talk to them.” You mumbled only for him to hear.

“What did i tell you last night, y/n?” Sweet Pea gave your hand a squeeze.

“That you weren’t going to let anything happen to me. And i believe you, i just don’t want to go back into that room right now.” You whispered playing with Pea’s fingers to distract you from the anxiety that’s slowly creeping up.

“Then we won’t. First class is about to start anyway, wouldn’t want Miss honor roll to be late.” He said making a smile creep onto your face.

“You’re right. I have the reputation of Riverdale’s good girl to uphold. Running around with a Serpent these last few weeks sure put a damper on that though.” Sweet Pea stepped closer to you moving a strand of hair behind your ear, leaning his head down to let his warm breath fan over your neck before moving so his lips were right at your ear, “I didn’t hear you complaining about running with a Serpent tucked in my bed this morning.” The low drag of his voice sent shivers down your spine. You completely forgot Veronica was standing there until her voice broke up the moment, “Okay seriously, what the hell is this?” She sounded amused and genuinely shocked.

“Nothing.” You both said in unison stepping away from each other and letting your hands fall to your sides. Veronica crossed her arms giving you a sly smirk, not believing a word.

“You call that sensual ear whisper that made you shiver, nothing?” She pushed. From behind V’s shoulder you saw Betty’s blonde pony tail swaying as she walked to her locker.

“Gotta go, V.” You said grabbing Pea’s hand again dragging him behind you towards Betty.

“This conversation isn’t over, y/f/n!” She yelled after you.

“Betty! I need to talk to you.” You exclaimed when you finally reached her.

“Yeah, sure. What’s up, y/n?” She asked as she put her books in her locker. “Not here. Pop’s after school?” You suggested hoping she’d say yes.

“Sure. I was planning on texting you to go over some Blue and Gold stuff anyways and by the looks of it we need to catch up on some things.” She said noticing yours and Sweet Pea’s hands still connected. You quickly let go, “It’s not what you think, but i’ll drive. I’ll find you during free period. We can get to Pop’s before the after school rush.” You gave her a quick hug before you turned to walk back to the lounge, “Oh,” You said spinning around to face Betty again, “Bring Jug, too. I’ll need both of you.” Betty gave you a nod and you parted ways.

After every class, Sweet pea was waiting for you by the door to walk you to your next class. The bell rang ending your last class of the day before your free period. Sweet Pea still had one more class before school ended and was now pestering you about going to Pop’s without him.

“I’m going with Betty and Jughead is meeting us there so technically i’m not breaking any rules. Jughead is a Serpent and Betty’s riding with me so i won’t be alone. You’re not skipping class. I promise i’ll call if anything happens during that time. You, Toni and Fangs can meet us there after your final class. ”

“Fine. Johnny wants to talk to you too. He’s worried about you and wants to hear that you’re okay from you and not me.” He said giving up the argument he started. You nodded, both of you walking to the office where Betty said she’d meet you.

Pop’s was a ghost town during this time of day which made it an even better place to have this conversation with Jughead and Betty. You didn’t have to worry about eavesdroppers listening in. Jughead was already there, typing away on his laptop.

“I ordered us some burgers and of course, chicken tenders for the beef hater that is y/f/n. They should be out soon.” He said as we sat down. You chuckled, “Milkshakes too, i hope?”

“Of course!” He said closing his laptop and putting it in his bag. “Now what made you call this meeting?”

“I, um, wanted to know what you guys knew about the black hood?” You said quietly.

“Why the sudden interest?” Betty asked.

“I was at the school Sunday to get the layouts done for the events page of the Blue and Gold and this was left on my laptop.” You pulled out the manila folder and slid it across the table. Jug and Betty looked at each other before Betty grabbed the folder and pulled the contents out.

“y/n, oh my god.” She whispered looking at you with full concern in her eyes.

“I know. And i’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out why me but i’ve got nothing. I don’t know what sin i’ve committed. That’s why i came to you guys.” You ran your fingers through your hair, grabbing the folder as Jug handed it to you and shoved it back in your bag. Pop brought your food out and you continued the conversation as you ate.

“You’re literally the poster child for all things good. Your family is normal from what we know. Maybe it goes deeper? What do you know about your parents?” Jughead asked.

“They’re both dead and my Aunt has full legal custody of me. There was a house fire and the smoke detectors weren’t hooked up properly. The Sheriff said by the time they woke up and realized there was a fire, it was too late and they couldn’t get out. I was with Tessa that night.” You explained leaving out the part about having an older brother. No one knew and it wasn’t in any of your records thanks to Johnny’s connections. Any trace of you and him being related was wiped from all records. Of course, Jughead knew, being a Serpent and all. But he played along.

“You should talk to your Aunt. Maybe there’s more to the story. You may not have sinned, but your parent’s might have and since they’re not here, the black hood is carrying their sins over to you. It’s a long shot, but i wouldn’t put it past this guy.” Betty said. She grabbed your hand in hers across the table, “if you need anything, you can always call me, y/n. Jug and i will be here for you. You don’t have to do this alone.”

“Thanks, B.”

“Now onto the brighter side of things, what’s going on with you and Sweet Pea?” She asked giving you teasing smile.

“Um, we’re friends. We’ve gotten closer these last few weeks. He’s the one who came to the school when the black hood locked me in the Blue and Gold room. I called him because i knew he would be close and he made sure i got home safe.” You heard the rumbling of motorcycles from outside, looking out the window to see Toni, Fangs and Sweet Pea pull up.

“Speak of the devil and he shall appear.” Jughead joked causing you and Betty to laugh. “Also, maybe talk to Archie. He’s been helping us and he was up close and personal with the black hood. He might know some more. Him and V did a little investigating when FP got out so Jug and i could plan for his party.” You gave Betty a nod making a mental note to call Archie soon.

“Betty. Jones.” Sweet Pea greeted, “Princess, how’s it going?” He asked sliding in next to you. Fangs and Toni sat at the bar next to your table and turned the face the group.

“Not much. I need to use the ladies room.” Sweet Pea stood up to let you slide out of the booth, “Toni, come with?” You asked giving her a look that said she was coming whether she wanted to or not.

“So i saw you and Cheryl at the Bijou having a pretty intimate conversation. What was that about?” You asked leaning against the sinks.

“I don’t know. She looked lonely and upset so i went over. Fangs ditched me so i thought, what’s the worst that could happen. We ended up watching the movie together and going to Pop’s afterwards and she actually isn’t a terror to be around.”

“Oh my god. Does Toni Topaz have a crush on Riverdale’s bombshell?” You teased smiling widely.

“Does Riverdale’s good girl have a crush on the Southside badass.” She fired back, crossing her arms over her chest looking quite pleased with herself.

“I don’t have a crush. He’s just been really sweet given the circumstance and he saved me yesterday. He really does live up to his nickname.” You said truthfully.

“Mmhmm.” Toni hummed not believing you.

“Okay. maybe a little crush.” You confessed.

“Ha! I knew it.” She laughed.

“Okay, i confessed. Your turn, T. Do you have a crush on the ginger goddess?” It was your turn to cross your arms and stare at Toni as she thought of a way to avoid answering your question.

“Maybe.” She mumbled, you pretended you didn’t hear her. Putting your hand up to your ear and turning your head so your ear was in her direction, “What was that? I didn’t quite hear you.” You smiled slightly when she groaned.

“Okay, yes. I may have developed a tiny crush on Cheryl, but you cannot tell anyone. Promise?” She held out her pinky. You wrapped yours around hers, “i won’t tell a single soul as long as you keep my confession to yourself as well.” You compromised. She nodded in agreement and you unhooked your pinkies.

“Let’s get back out there before Sweet Pea barges in here thinking something happened to you.” She said linking her arm with yours. Walking out of the bathroom and back to the booth, you noticed Betty had left and Fangs took her spot in the booth.

“Finally, we have to go.” Pea said standing up. You nodded remembering that Johnny wanted to meet you.

“Can we make a pit stop first?” You asked. Sweet Pea nodded without asking where or what you needed to do. You knew he was going to be pissed when you pulled up to the Andrew’s house. Pea tossed Toni the keys to his bike to take back to his trailer. Her’s was in the shop she she rode to Pop’s with Fangs and agreed to take his bike back to Sunnyside.

Pulling up to Archie’s house, Sweet Pea groaned from the passenger seat.

“Behave please. I’m only here to ask him about the black hood. It was Betty and Jughead’s idea. Five minutes tops.” You pleaded. He gave you an annoyed look, “I’ll go in there but if he starts anything i’m knocking his head through a wall.” You sighed but agreed and you both made your way to the door. You knocked four times and shortly after, Veronica answered the door.

“Come to finish our conversation from earlier, y/n?” She teased.

“No, i need to talk to you and Archie about something.” You said seriously. Ronnie’s expression changed to concern and she moved out of the way to let you in, “Archie’s in the living room. Fair warning, Reggie is here too.”

“Fucking great.” Sweet Pea groaned. You grabbed his arm and shot him a warning look so he wouldn’t start anything.

“Reggie. Archiekins. Behave yourselves.” V said when they jumped up as soon as you and Pea walked through the door.

“You couldn’t have come without your thug?” Reggie snarled.

“I need to know what you found out about the black hood. Jug and Betty said you two did a little investigating when they were planning FP’s coming home party.” You said ignoring his question. Archie and Veronica gave you confused yet concerned looks, “Why don’t you ask your boyfriend. For all we know, the black hood could be a Serpent.” Reggie spoke.

“Would you stop being a dick for two seconds. She’s not even here to talk to you, she’s here for Andrews.” Sweet Pea’s voice boomed from behind you.

“Has the black hood contacted you, Elle?” Ronnie asked.

“Kind of. He left an envelope full of pictures of me on my laptop Sunday with sinner scratched across them in red and i’m just trying to figure out why.” Reggie’s demeanor softened hearing your words. V and Archie told you about the house where the Riverdale Reaper killed a family of four. Turns out it was a family of five judging by the set of three initials on one of the doorframes, and that the third child is Mr. Svenson, the schools janitor. But so far, that’s all they knew. You thanked them and both you and Sweet Pea headed for the door. Reggie called your name causing Sweet Pea to turn and step in front of you glaring at Reggie.

“It’s okay, Pea. I’ll meet you in the car.” You said placing a hand on his arm.

“If she comes out upset because of you, your ass is mine, Mantel.” He growled before walking out to the car.

“Why didn’t you tell me about the black hood?” He asked.

“Given our recent encounters, Reggie, i didn’t think we were on good terms.”

“You could’ve called me and i would’ve been at the school in a heartbeat, y/n. We’re friends.” He said.

“Sure doesn’t seem that way.” You looked down at your feet, “Sweet Pea made sure i got home safe.” Reggie didn’t say anything but his face twisted in annoyance hearing that you called Sweet Pea.

“They’re not that bad, y’know. You just have to give them a chance and maybe not attack them whenever you see them.” You said.

“They’re nothing but snakes, y/n. That’s all they’ll ever be.” You nodded, knowing that this conversation wasn’t going anywhere. You decided not to say anything more and walked to the car where Sweet Pea was waiting for you. “You okay, Princess?” He asked wrapping an arm around your shoulders, pulling you into his chest. “Yeah, i’m okay.” You answered as Sweet Pea gave you a kiss on your hairline before the two of you separated and got in the car.

this chapter isn’t my favorite but it gave some backstory to the character. hope you guys like it. also sorry for the delay, my hours at work got bumped to 40+ instead of my normal part time hours and my Saturday job is a lot of traveling but i’m gonna try to get updates out consistently, even if i have to write them during work hours! 

tag list: @dontaskshhhhh @riverdale-enthusiastt-backup @reggiefogarty @constantly-sleepy @wolfpackcreative @britty443 @live-love-bailar @princessleah129 @southsidehufflepuff @cuddlememerrick @iamaunicorn4704 @hoeforshows @dolansbeanies @tinybeta @orangepegacorn-blog @misskarynie @leeleegrace @irishfangirlxo @vececev @aframeofbones @truepyromaniac @alysweets @kassidykline13 @demigodofthesun @emobabygirlsworld @everheart12 @the-greatt-perhaps @prettymuchbloodup 

[simpcitybaby]

Pew Pew MF.

An Imagine for AU night!

The Gang x Reader

Dally x Reader 

BE WARNED: This is probably super long and shitty lol + I tend not to proofread so there may be errors.

Dally is lowkey a sweetheart he’s not a cheating asshole in this either.

Secret AU under the keep reading line (Unless you’re on mobile lol) and I may or may not have used a name from Assassin’s Creed

Tulsa, Oklahoma. That was your home for the next few weeks. Papers were scattered on your desk from the opened file. Your next victim, Bob Sheldon. There were reports on top of reports about him mistreating the greasers. Normally your boss would let little things like that go, but not this time. All you could do was think to yourself, “What the hell did he do to piss off the boss this much?” You sipped some of your coffee before tidying up and going over to your stash of guns. You had snipers, knives, grenades, handguns, basically the works. You weren’t one to toot your own horn but you were highly respected in the assassins industry. Your look of innocence is what brought the targets in and your wit made them stay around before you took them out. Sherri Valance was Bob’s girlfriend and she was gorgeous. After a couple of moments you had the final plan in your mind. You’d dress up as a soc and do your makeup to resemble Cherry’s but made sure to add some flare. You wanted to grab Bob’s attention, he had to want to be involved with you. The mission began in a few days and you needed all the sleep that you could get.

You moved to Tulsa on a Sunday and it was now Friday morning. It was only 8 and you had already friended a group of greasers. They varied in ages but they were all fine as fuck. “You do realize that it’s not safe for a soc, such as yourself, to be seen with greasers, right?” Ponyboy questioned as he raised a brow. You nodded and told him, “I don’t have a rich mommy and daddy who tell me what to do. I can handle myself and I can certainly fight off some bad guys if you need me to.” You threw a wink his way as you laughed to yourself. 

“I like your moxie, Shortcake.” Dally threw his arm around you before giving you a noogie. You grabbed his wrist before twisting his arm behind his back, “I suggest you don’t do that if you want to keep this arm.? You released your grip and matched your pace to Darry’s. “What’s your story?” You hit your shoulders together and he gave you a hesitant look that made you feel the slightest uneasy. “I take care of my brothers,” he gestured towards Soda and Pony before continuing, “and we all pitch in to pay rent.” They all pitch in to pay rent? From what you’ve learned, Pony only went to school so he had no income. Darry said all of them though, not just him and Soda. You shook the idea out of your head and asked, “What do you guys do for work?” Two-Bit and Steve shared a glance before saying, “We’re in a fight club” in unison. These boys were suspicious but you chose to ignore it for now, focusing on the mission. You were going to let them lead you to Bob because as Johnny put it, “His parents let him run wild so he’ll probably be around sometime soon.” Johnny’s little drawl filled your ears as Dally kept stealing glances at you as if he was trying to piece something together. “What did you say your name was again?” You had to make a one up on the fly and let me say, it was NOT your best. “My name is Altair Melrose, like the color.” Rule #1 of being an assassin, never reveal your true identity. Your real name was (Y/N) and you were (Y/A) years old. Your parents were killed in the because they weren’t very careful. The only reason you survived is because they hid you in a secret room under the floorboards. “You’re thinking awful hard Altair, wanna share what’s on your mind?” You shook your head no as a response to Soda’s previous question before realizing where you were. The gang brought you to the drive in. Supposedly it was the best one in all of Tulsa and where Bob hung around. Just as you were finding your seats you head a girl yell, “I DON’T LIKE BEING AROUND YOU WHEN YOU’RE DRUNK!” That’s when you saw the two people from your files, Sherri Valance and Bob Sheldon. You noticed that Dally was keeping an extra close eye on Bob, you decided to investigate. “If you glare any harder, they’ll be dead.” It’d also make your job a whole lot easier you thought to yourself and chuckled. “Don’t sneak up on me like that, man.” You grabbed his hands and pulled him up on his feet. “Introduce me to Bob.” Dally looked at you like you were the biggest dumbass on the planet. “Why the fuck would I do that? Me outta all people, you’re fucking crazy.” You put on your best pout and he rolled his eyes. “I’m not doing it, man.’ You let go of his hands and marched straight to Soda, making sure you swayed your hips in the process. It was evident that you were trying to make him the slightest big jealous. You had just met the guy but that didn’t stop you from taking in how gorgeous he was. If Dally was a cartoon character he’d have smoke coming out of his ears. The guy was fuming as he walked over and grabbed you by the arm, dragging you towards your target. “Bob this is Altair, Altair this is Bob.” The soc reeked of alcohol and it was clear as day that he was drunk off his ass. “Heyyyyyyyyyy Altairrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr” The man literally sounded like Ram from the Heathers Musical when he was saying hi to Veronica in the number ‘Blue’. “Hey Bob. If you ever want to get rid of your girlfriend, you should give me a call.” You licked your lips before seductively slipping him a piece of paper. He laughed darkly as he replied with a, “Definitely.” Man oh man was Dally pissed. It was funny really because this was all an act, if you weren’t in this line of work you would’ve asked him on a date already. The playboy seemed like he didn’t give a shit but you could tell that he was very loyal when in a relationship. “Do you wanna get hurt? Do ya have a death wish, kid?” You smirked and crossed your arms over your chest before you said, “Wow! It’s almost as if you’re my father or something!” He gripped your waist before letting out a low growl, “Far from it, Doll.” The rest of the night was rather uneventful but fun nonetheless. You guys hung out and stargazed at the lot after the movie was over and then they walked you home. “I had a really great time with y’all. Thanks for welcoming me with open arms.” You gave them each a hug before you backed into your house. Your life was a complete mess and it was about to get messier.

Today was the day when you went over to Bob’s house and murdered him. Murder sounds so harsh, you were just putting him to sleep..... eternally. You let out a loud sigh before grabbing a pink duffel bag, trying to throw him off as much as possible. You threw in several weapons and yards of rope. You ran to the bathroom and threw open the little compartment in the back of the medicine cabinet. You took out the sleeping pills and chloroform, throwing it in your bag. Next came the outfit, you threw on a tight leather fit that resembled Catwoman’s. You wanted to look appealing to Bob but at the same time you wanted to be safe in case he decided to fight back. Time flew by as you were trying to perfect the plan and then your alarm went off. There was a text from Steve and a notification reminding you to get going. How the fuck did Steve get your number and save his contact info? He asked if you could hang with him and the gang after 10 and it was currently 7. You quickly texted back and let him know that you would be there. The boys didn’t know about this secret rendezvous and you definitely weren’t going to drag them into it. You just needed them for a quick introduction and that was it. This line of work was crazy but it paid well and the people that you worked with were like family. You pushed your hair out of your face as you got to stepping because walking was better than pulling your car up to a soc’s house, especially when it’ll be a crime scene in an hour. Bob didn’t live very far, maybe about 5 blocks since you were in the middle of both the south side and the east side. Before you could knock you heard a glass break inside of the house. Bob told you that no one was home and there weren’t any cars in the driveway. You rummaged through your duffel bag and grabbed a switchblade and hid it in your hair, sounds impossible but you learn things when you kill people for a living. The good thing was that the door was unlocked and the bad thing was that you didn’t know who or what was inside of the house. All of a sudden you got hit in the back of the head, Bob towered over you. “Altair?” Bob scrunched his face together as you pulled out your switchblade as an answer. “Pony? Where the fuck are you, man?” You heard a recognizable voice say. Bob looked around in shock, many different people were here to kill him. While he was looking around the room you took the chance to grab a gun. You pointed the laser at the back of his head before saying, “You move, I shoot. I’m going to kill you either way but you’ve gotta answer some questions first.” Darry ran into the room before yelling, “Altair? Wait, you’ve been hired to kill this guy too?!” You already knew that Dally and Pony were in the house, not the whole fucking gang. Since when were they assassins? This must be the elite fucking fight club that they were talking about. While you were lost in your thoughts, Bob moved and got on top of you with a knife to your neck. “They never told me that the target was also a trained killer. Did they tell you?” You asked Darry and he shrugged before tackling Bob off of you. The duffel bag was gone. You grabbed your gun that had slid across the room before going upstairs. You turned left and glanced in the first room, it was spacious and evident that his family had money. You looked at the portraits as a pair of arms snaked around your waist. The gun was cocked fast as fuck and you spun with the barrel connected to the man’s forehead. You were met with Dally’s big brown eyes, “I could’ve fucking shot you man, don’t sneak up on me like that!” You lowered the gun before you pushed him off of you. “Who are you working for and why are you guys here on my mission?” He smirked before saying, “Tim sent us and I’m sure he sent you too.” You nodded before stepping closer and whispering, “Let’s talk about this later. I left Darry with an armed killer and I need my duffel bag right now.” Tweedledee and Tweedledum came in view right on time, “Hey Dally, we got the duffel- oh shit hey Altair.” Johnny and Pony had my bag open, exposing my weapons. You walked up and snatched the bag from Johnny’s hands before demanding, “You guys should distract Bob while I put this cloth over his mouth, he’ll knock out and we’ll tie him up. We ask him why the boss wants him dead, kill him, and get the fuck out of here.” You jumped when you heard Two-Bit scream, “This fucking bitch just bit me!” You all agreed upon the plan and informed Soda and Steve who were in the other room before walking down the stairs. Dally went to grab Bob’s arms but his attempt proved to be unsuccessful when his fist collided with your eye socket. Your eye stung and you could feel it throb knowing that it would be a nasty bluish purple color tomorrow morning. You jumped on Bob and the action made his head hit the floor with a sickening crack. You put the cloth over his mouth and held it there while tears blurred your vision. Dally pulled you off of Bob and cradled you in his arms, “Let’s get you home.” Only then did you notice that you were crying. The mission was compromised and you’d gotten a black eye out of it. You were untouchable, you were good at your job and this sort of broke you. “Hey you guys, I’m gonna take Altair-” He was interrupted when a quiet voice said, “(Y/N)” Your hair was brushed out of your face as he finished his sentence, “I’m gonna take (Y/N) home.” The boys nodded before they gave you a hug, Johnny being the last one and he gave you your duffel bag after. You thanked him before Dally scooped you up and began the trek to your house. “I can walk just fine, Dally.” You sassed and he smiled genuinely, he was happy to know that your happy demeanor was returning. ‘I know but you’re royalty and you should be treated as such.” You threw your head back in laughter before snuggling into his chest and drifting off to sleep.

You woke up due to Dally walking up the porch stairs and you gave him the pass code. He carried you all the way up to your room before asking what pajamas you wanted. The boy let his eyes drift over your entire being, drinking in the thought of you. The boy was absolutely taken with you which rarely ever happened. He was so angry at himself for falling in love at first and now he accepted it. He wanted you to hold him in your arms while he peppered kisses all over your face. He wanted to scare off anyone who came within 20 feet of you. He wanted to be your partner on missions just to make sure that you’d be okay even though he knew that you could handle yourself. He liked that you cared about the boys since they were the closest thing to a family that he had. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t even notice you got up until he heard the rustling of your hangers and drawers being moved around. “I could’ve gotten it for you, shortcake.” You turned and cupped both of his cheeks, “You took to long, my love.” Dallas Winston fucking melted right then and there, his tough exterior diminished because you kept matching his wit. You were literally the girl version of him with little quirks that you shared with other guys in the gang in you. “What the fuck are you doing to me, (Y/N).” You gave him an innocent but genuine smile, “The same thing that you’re doing to me, sport.” You got on the tip of your toes, just inches away from his lips. He could feel your breath tickle his face as you said, “Stay the night, please?” You bat your eyelashes before letting them flutter closed. Dally stared at you, not even noticing what you were trying to do, he was just looking at your beautiful face since the two of you had never been so close before. You let your eyes open up a bit before adding, “I was trying to kiss you but I won’t until you stop staring at me, dork.” He did his signature, “hahahahahaha” laugh before closing his eyes and meeting you halfway. Your lips collided and you were overwhelmed with a flurry of feelings, you were especially shocked when he kissed you quite softly instead of rough like you’d expected. It was a soft kiss but filled with passion, you were experiencing feelings that you didn’t even know existed. You went to slide your tongue over his bottom lip before tasting that metallic taste, his lip was still bleeding from earlier. You pulled away and covered your mouth, “Why would you let me kiss you when you slip your lip open?” He smirked and told you that it was worth it before letting you get dressed. He didn’t even notice that you took his shirt since the guy sleeps in nothing but his boxers. “Shit. You look so fucking fine. I hope you know that you’re mine now and I don’t intend on letting you go.” You crawled into the bed and settled into his frame before kissing him quickly. “I’ll think about it.’ With that said, the two of you drifted off to sleep and would later experience many amazing memories together, becoming the new Mr. & Mrs. Smith. 

[analysis-by-vaylon]

Starbruary’s episodes are connected to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Instead of diving right into the details, I’d like to start with a few video clips.

First, watch the first thirty seconds of this clip from "Raid the Cave" while paying close attention to the squirrel monster. Count the number of stripes on her shirt. Alternately, count how many times she utters aloud (and note her inflection when doing so).

Next, watch this clip from "Mathmagic" and pay attention to the number that Star writes on the chalkboard.

Finally, watch this clip, taken from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and note the use of the numbers you just encountered. As you can tell, the numbers 3, 7, and 10 play a prominent role in the scene.

I should also point out that the clip from "Raid the Cave" is, of course, an homage to a gag from Monty Python and the Holy Grail -- and the Holy Grail is the sought-after object in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, thus reinforcing the notion of some connection.

Continue reading for the (extensive) details of how I discovered this connection, what it means, and what I predict about next week’s episodes.

As some of you may recall, I previously wrote a theory that Starbruary's release schedule is intentionally structured like a sonnet. I'm happy to report that not only have I gathered what I believe to be sufficient evidence to prove this theory, but I am also able to offer a testable hypothesis for next week's episodes. Before I begin, I would urge you to please take a moment to read over the sonnet theory; I promise it will be worth your time.

In addition to the sonnet structure, I discovered that each "stanza" of episodes -- that is, each week's group of four -- is united by a single theme, which is also associated with a number. The number and theme are established in the first episode of the week. On top of that, each pair of Starbruary episodes is an echo of an earlier pair of episodes -- that is, each new episode refers to an older episode.

What follows is the summary of episodes that have so far aired; everything after "The Hard Way" is speculation on my part. The summary lists the original air date for the Starbruary episode, then the name of the episode itself. Each Starbruary episode is paired with another episode in the manner that I show -- a rhymes with a, b rhymes with b, and so on. Rhymed episodes share similar dialogue, motifs, and composition. Next is the old episode that the new episode echoes (i.e., references). These echoes consist of shared dialogue, motifs, and composition. Lastly, I provide the episode number of the older episodes. The relationship between episode numbers is how I first discovered the numerical connection to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I’ll explain that after the episode summary.

Episode Summary

Week 1 Associated number: 3 Theme: "I made this mess, and I'm gonna be the one who cleans it up."

Week 2 Associated Number: 7 Theme: "You expect the punch line to be one thing, but what you end up with is just logic."

Week 3 Hypothesized associated number: 10 Theme: Currently unknown.

Week 4

Perhaps it will be possible to predict something about the final two episodes after next week, but at the moment, I don’t have any idea where to begin.

The Discovery

If you've read this far, you might be asking yourself how I noticed this pattern to begin with. I wish I could say I started with noticing the numbers -- but, alas, I only noticed the numbers afterwards. You see, I stumbled across the pattern by brute-forcing it.

After "Running with Scissors," which has quite obvious parallels to "Blood Moon Ball," I began to notice that other Starbruary episodes had parallels to older episodes, too. It occurred to me that they might happen in pairs, and the more I looked, the more I noticed that, indeed, each rhyming pair of Starbruary episodes echoed an older pair of episodes. To discover this, I systematically hunted for shared dialogue between new and old episodes until I found a successfully-matching pair; afterwards, I noted the episode numbers and realized there was a numerical connection. (For example, I realized that "Running with Scissors" is like "Blood Moon Ball," which is episode 8, and "Baby" is like "Hungry Larry," which is episode 24. And 24 / 8 = 3 -- a number which shows up in "Raid the Cave.") From there onward, it was a simple matter of pattern recognition.

Let me elaborate on a pair of Starbruary episodes and show you the ways that they “rhyme” -- the way they make connections:

Exploring “The Bounce Lounge” and “The Hard Way”

"The Bounce Lounge" is uncannily similar to "The Hard Way" in the composition of shots. If you watch them at the same time, you’ll see how closely they resemble one another with regard to composition of shots and transitions. Here are some examples of similar shots between these two episodes. This shared composition may be true for other pairs as well, but I haven't had time to check.

In addition to the shared composition, the pair of episodes share similar elements:

Shared dialogue: "Let it go, darlings." / "And say, 'Good night, my darling.'" "Are you kidding me? Um, good night." "'My darling.'" "Uh, um, m-my -- my darling."

The Bounce Crew tries to rebuild the Bounce Lounge. Toffee is trying to rebuild the monster temple.

"We used to rule this place." -- This is something Toffee could say about his monster temple.

"There's a bald spot on my head where my heart used to be." -- I'm not precisely sure of the connection, but Ludo certainly does have a bald spot on his head, and Tad's reunion with Kelly is more than a little similar to Toffee's possession of Ludo.

"They're using you, Johnny." -- This line easily applies to Ludo, who is being used by Toffee.

Marco pats Pony Head and Star. Glossaryck pats Ludo on the head.

"The Bounce Lounge" is an echo of "The Other Exchange Student":

Shared dialogue delivered by Star: "I can't believe it!"

Both episodes involve constant parties.

Cameras and photographs play significant roles in both episodes.

Cannibalism comes up as a motif: the bunny pirates chop up and eat their captain after he gets turned into a carrot, and Star imagines Gustav chopping up and eating the Diazes.

Finally, "The Hard Way" is an echo of "Monster Arm”:

Shared dialogue: "I want it to be my boyfriend!" -- "Uh... well, do you want it to be?" "Oh, yes! I so want it to be."

Monster Arm hits Marco in his sleep, turns up the hot water during his shower, and ruins his breakfast. Ludo: "Did you keep him up all night?" "You haven't fed him, have you?" "Good! Then he must be about to crack. Time to turn up the heat."

Both episodes involve a magical being who promises to unlock the host's true potential -- Monster Arm and Glossaryck, respectively.

Ludo hits himself in the face with the wand while spinning it -- a parallel to the arm hitting Marco in the face.

Both episodes involve a sinister entity with a bad influence on its wielder -- Monster Arm and Toffee, respectively.

Ludo's wand is *literally* a monster arm -- Toffee's arm, to be precise.

This is just one example of a pair of Starbruary episodes. I've been thorough with this example, but if you're still unconvinced, here is a very brief summary of the rest of the connections:

"Raid the Cave" - "Spider with a Top Hat": An underestimated character tries to break through a wall but can't do it; afterwards, each successfully attacks some monsters.

"Trickstar" - "Fortune Cookies": Star thinks something is magical; Marco says it isn't. Star ends up being right.

"Baby" - "Hungry Larry": An unsettling entity enters the Diaz home, scares the shit out of children, and eats everything. Shared dialogue: "Wet ceiling." "*Get out!*"

"Running with Scissors" -- "Blood Moon Ball": A predatory, fire-themed magic-user toys with a mortal. Shared dialogue: "How [do/did] you know my name?" "It's me, Marco!" "Marco?!"

"Mathmagic" -- "Girls' Day Out": An episode focuses on Star, Janna, and Ms. Skullnick. Shared dialogue: "Let's [just] get this over with."

"Crystal Clear" -- "Game of Flags": Check out that big girl sitting at the grown-up table. A table made of Marco.

I hope the evidence I've presented so far serves to convince you of my claim (1) that Starbruary episodes are paired together in a sonnet structure, (2) that these episodes are echoes of previously-aired episodes, and (3) that the Starbruary episodes are connected in a way that numerically references Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Prediction

If my theory is right, then we should expect to see the number 10 -- or, referring back to the scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, an X -- in "Heinous." We should also expect to see elements from "By the Book," and we should expect a clearly-stated theme that will be applied to the rest of next week's episodes.

Real Implications

But, if I may, I want to talk about the real implications of this theory.

You see, the real implications of this theory are that the show staff (1) went through old episodes line-by-line, shot-by-shot; (2) connected these pairs of episodes to new episodes through theme, motif, dialogue, and composition; (3) connected those new episodes to other new episodes by theme, motif, dialogue, and composition; (4) wrote those episodes in such a way that each episode felt entirely new yet still cleverly managed to join together those different meanings; and (5) disguised the fact that they did all of this work -- disguised it so well, in fact, that even on repeat viewings, you'd never even realize there was a mystery there to begin with.

And that is, quite frankly, incredible. To borrow a few lines from my favorite movie:

Dr. Peter Venkman: So what? I guess they just don't make 'em like they used to, huh? Dr. Raymond Stantz: No! Nobody ever made them like this! I mean, the architect was either a certified genius or an authentic wacko.

When I began watching Star vs. the Forces of Evil, I thought I had an idea of how much love, care, and effort goes into the show -- but now I can say that it was only a barest inkling. I am truly awestruck at the level of creative talent that I have encountered.

I don't think any of us fully realize just how fortunate we are that such a team of imaginative geniuses has been assembled for the sole purpose of our entertainment. But we are very fortunate, indeed.