#mr. curtis

[chained-sweater]

jane (mrs. curtis): why are there little handprints all over the house?

darrel (mr. curtis), turning to ponyboy: pony, why are there little handprints all over the house?

ponyboy, three years old: because i have little hands.

darrel, turning back to jane: because he has little hands.

[chaotic-starlight24]

Dallas Winston Backstory Headcanons Part 3

Part 1, Part 2, General Headcanons

Here is my last part of his backstory headcanons :)

Warnings: None I think

Making it to Tulsa

Eventually he made it to Tulsa, OK at the age of 13 ¾. He had no plan to stay there very long. He had made it to the south so now he just planned to travel around. That was until he went to swipe something from a corner store. Suddenly the manager was right behind him.

“Hey buddy, ya can’t be doin that here.”

Dally just gave him a look, “I was, uh, going to pay Mr…Curtis?”

Did Darrel Curtis Sr. believe him? Nope. Not at all. But he could tell this kid was not from here. With that new yorker accent he was out of place. He saw that this kid hadn’t just moved here. He was alone and afraid no matter how tough he pretended to be. So he let him go and told his wife to look out for him in case she saw him.

Mrs. Curtis did eventually see him when he wandered into the diner and offered him a free meal. He hadn’t eaten in a couple days so he accepted, but was still very skeptical. She tried to ask him what he was doing in Tulsa, where he was from, yada yada. But he was of course very defensive. 

Eventually one of her kids named Sodapop came in with some of his friends. These guys named Two-Bit and Steve. Dally tried to steer himself away from them. But they welcomed him over and soon enough Dally found himself cracking a grin at their stupid jokes. He was still very untrusting, he expected that he would have to disappear soon anyways. But he found himself meeting more people.

Soon enough he met the rest of their “gang”. It was very different from any gang he had ever been in. Not that he included himself in their group. He found himself becoming very drawn to one of the younger boys. Johnny Cade. He saw himself in him, a young and more sensitive version. Dally found himself worried about him. If he was as sensitive as Johnny was he wouldn’t have survived. Johnny also took a shine to him and Dally found himself being followed around. He learned more about him and found out just how tough he really was.

He met Buck through rodeos and became sorta friends with him. He found out Buck had an extra room and bullied him into giving it to him. A 14 year old bullying a 21 year old is quite the sight.

He also met Tim Shephard, in a fight. They beat each other to a pulp after one pickpocketed the other. Afterwards they were like “Hey! I like your style!” They've been frenemies ever since.

He very quickly learned the greaser way from the gang and grew out his hair. But he never cared to grease it. He thought it made it off-color.

He was very close to the Mrs. Curtis and would help her out no matter what the task was. Her and her husband were what made Dally believe that maybe he could stay there. Though he would occasionally have mood swings and not want to talk to her or look at her because he saw his bio mom in her. He truly wished that his bio mom had stood up for herself and not fallen to addiction. 

He was close to Mr. Curtis as well. Not as close but he still trusted him. Mr. Curtis was also a big fan of movies and everything, especially James Dean. So sometimes they would sit on the porch and ramble a bit about him and his movies.

He sort of scared Pony and also just had some dislike for him. He would be rude to him or just flat out ignore him. Usually the gang would get onto him for it but the main reason was that he would be reminded of his own younger siblings. The ones he left behind and now didn’t even know if they were alive. One of his sisters was the exact same age as Pony as well. So Pony grew up believing Dally really was just this delinquent who hated little kids and showed little care. Which was somewhat true…

He was influenced by Shephard’s gang and other more “hood-like” greasers and though the gang didn’t like it, definitely returned to his illegal pastimes. 

[chained-sweater]

...is it weird that i want to write this?

Mrs Curtis: no, no, Soda sweetie. We're having a boy.

Soda: Pony!

Mrs Curtis: Boy.

Soda: Pony!!

Mrs Curtis: Boy.

Mr Curtis: Now hang on-

[brat-pack-it-up-boys]

If your ever having a bad day just remember your not Darrel Curtis having to read his younger brothers theme where he’s called heartless and a bitch a hundred times per page while his other brother is being called hot and perfect every time he’s mentioned

[skyguygeneraltano]

Random headcanon

Like imagine Darry being like 15 or so was assigned reading Romeo and Juliet for English

One day the book was just gone. Darry is just freaking out and tearing the place apart

But then he goes to Pony’s room and there is nine year old Ponyboy with the book in his hands

Darry is just so annoyed and confused because surely a 4th grader couldn’t understand Shakespeare? Why would Ponyboy take it?

But no he opens it to see the book was filled with Pony’s 4th grade writing in the margins

Darry is just infuriated because not only Ponyboy stole his book but wrote in it…

Time to bring in the parents

Mr. Curtis gave Ponyboy the lecture of not touching your older siblings belongings blah blah

But Mrs. Curtis looked closer at the book and realized Ponyboy wasn’t just writing random stuff, that boy was annotating it

Pointing out literary devices most fourth graders wouldn’t know like motifs, anaphoras, symbolism, epistrophes

The themes of the novel and motivation of the characters

That was the moment she realized that perhaps she should talk to Ponyboy’s teachers about putting him in some of the higher level classes

[chained-sweater]

oh my god.......

I LOVE IT

i am LIVING off angst rn

Hated by Life Itself 🧸

Aka a fic I was SUPPOSED to finish and post after The Calm Before the Storm 😭 Plans changed yall. But I still wanted to put out the first chapter here at least so that I can be reminded that this fic exists :3

This fic mentions self harm and covers sensitive subjects. It gets graphic in this small excerpt, so if you are weary about those kinds of subjects, please scroll. I don’t want anyone to get hurt by anything I write :(

Ponyboy was only five when he first saw his dad doing it. He had needed to use the bathroom, and being five, he didn’t have the best patience skills. So, instead of knocking and waiting, he threw open the door. Mr.Curtis was on the toilet seat, except, he wasn’t using the bathroom.

He came face to face with Mr.Curtis, who seemed to have been crying. Eyes wide, Mr.Curtis grabbed Ponyboy's arm and shoved him in. He slammed the door shut, looking at Ponyboy as if Ponyboy was a threat to him. Ponyboy's eyes were also wide and his breathing stopped. On the toilet seat, Mr.Curtis had a razor to his thigh as blood dripped from a straight line. The blood beaded before gently falling to the side, almost sickening Ponyboy.

Ponyboy tried to avert his eyes from the grotesque scene in front of him. The sight of Mr.Curtis’s blood falling to the floor seemed to embed itself in his head. But, he couldn’t deny his need to use the bathroom any longer. “Daddy… potty,” Ponyboy said, kicking his legs a bit. Mr.Curtis still looked shell-shocked, but nodded, picking himself up and letting Ponyboy use the bathroom.

“Now you don’t tell anyone ‘bout this, okay little colt?” Mr.Curtis said as he ruffled Ponyboy's hair. The tears had seemed to magically disappear on Mr.Curtis’s face, but the blood on the floor hadn't disappeared. Ponyboy nodded, more so happy that he was able to use the restroom. Still, even when he had finished, he looked at his dad.

“Why do you do that?” His voice was barely audible and squeaky. Mr.Curtis felt a pang of regret as he tried to explain. Knowing that if he kept it a secret from Ponyboy, then Pony would tell his mom about it. And Mr.Curtis had already lied to her and told her that he quit…

“Sometimes daddy gets real stressed,” Mr.Curtis explained. “It’s something that only adults do, okay?” Ponyboy nodded, starting to fear the day that he got older and real stressed. Mr.Curtis drilled it into his head to never tell anyone about it. And Ponyboy knew what would happen if he did tell anyone… Still, he promised to Mr.Curtis that he would never do anything like that, and was sent on his way.

Ponyboy would’ve never said it was a main memory of his childhood. He would prefer to say that the main thing he remembered was spending time with the gang and trying to be older than what he was. Still, the memory hung in the back of his mind, and he still remembered the other times he had caught his dad.

It didn't help when Ponyboy thought to act older. He would catch himself thinking about doing the same thing Mr.Curtis would do when he was stressed. After all, only adults did it- right? But every time he thought that he would remember the blood and having to help his dad. Not to mention the constant secretary that he had to keep up. Something that he was only barely able to hide from the gang and even his own mother.

He couldn’t forget the amount of times he saw his dad run out of the bathroom, without even flushing the toilet. Ponyboy knew that every time he had done that, it was because he was real stressed. But, he also knew that what Mr.Curtis was doing wasn’t okay for him.

It carried on for what felt like forever, up until Ponyboy was 12 when something else had happened. Ponyboy tried to sit on the couch to forget what he had seen. This time his dad messed up badly and had to use an unusual amount of gauze. The sight had sickened Ponyboy to the core, just about every time he had tried to forget and close his eyes, the images would pop up. Knowing that he couldn’t do anything about it, he just looked at the ceiling.

Sodapop and Steve came into the house, calling a greeting as the door slammed behind them. Ponyboy's mind was still in a daze, confused as to why his dad would do that. Mrs.Curtis followed in behind Steve, carrying many bags. She dropped them off before going over to Ponyboy.

“Where’s your father?” Mrs.Curtis asked. Ponyboy swallowed thickly, unsure if he should even answer. Yet, he found his mouth speaking before he could think. “In the bathroom.”

Mrs.Curtis nodded, her face making a weird expression as she walked to the bathroom. A twisting feeling came to Ponyboy, causing him to start to feel anxious. His dad had drilled it into him that he couldn’t tell anyone, not even his mom, about what he had saw. Ponyboy listened as his mom knocked on the bathroom door, and how his dad answered.

“Hey Pony,” Sodapop greeted as he walked to the couch. Ponyboy nodded a reply, his ears straining to hear the rest of his parents’ conversation. Yet, Sodapop was adamant about talking to Ponyboy. “Do anything fun?” Soda asked. Ponyboy shrugged, “No.”

Before Sodapop could ask anything else, Steve called out. “Soda, we goin’ to the races or what?” Soda looked at Ponyboy worriedly. “Go Soda,” Ponyboy encouraged, still trying to listen to his parents. All he could make out was that his mom was now angry. A sick feeling came to Ponyboy’s throat as he listened.

Sodapop walked out with Steve, not before ruffling Ponyboy's hair. As he left, he watched as Ponyboy continued to stare at the ceiling, as if listening for something.

“Ya good Soda?” Steve asked as they started walking to Bucks. Sodapop looked back at his house, watching as Darry drove by in their father's truck. “Didya think that there's somethin’ botherin’ Pony?” Sodapop asked. Before he could get an answer, Darry slowed down near the duo, rolling down a window.

“Need a ride?” Darry asked. Steve nodded for both Sodapop and himself. They got into the truck, with Sodapop beating his own record for the longest he’d been silent. Steve and Darry shared worried looks as Darry drove. “Is there somethin’ wrong little buddy?” Darry asked, finally breaking Sodapop out of his trance.

“There was somethin’ botherin’ Pony when I and Steve went home…” Sodapop finally admitted. Darry's eyebrows furrowed, “Did he tell ya what it was?” Sodapop shook his head, glancing over to Steve. Steve shrugged.

“He was quiet but more quiet than usual,” Sodapop added. He looked out to the road, “It ain't like him to be that quiet.” Darry set a firm hand on Sodapops shoulders, trying to reassure him. “Maybe his head just got lost in a good book?”

Sodapop nodded, knowing that it wasn't the reason. But, he knew Steve wasn't going to like it if the reason he couldn't enjoy watching the races all because of his worry for Ponyboy. Pushing the fear aside, Sodapop plastered on a smile, pretending to think that Ponyboy was okay. After all- what did he have to be so worried about?

~

Ponyboy continued to sit on the couch until his mom and dad rushed past him. He stood up expectantly as his mom ushered his dad out of the house. Mr.Curtis seemed to be losing his balance, something that Ponyboy had never seen before.

He looked up to Mr.Curtis in an idolistic way. Seeing him weak sent an unknown pang of fear through Ponyboy. Mrs.Curtis tried to give him a reassuring smile but it fell short. Ponyboy watched as they both left the house leaving in their other car. The silence afterward felt like needles prickling under Ponyboy's skin as he sat back down on the couch.

For a moment he tried to understand what he saw. Did his mom know now? Was Mr.Curtis angry with the fact that she knew now? Or was he okay with it, thinking that maybe it was what was best? The thoughts swirled in Ponyboy's head as he shakily made his way to the kitchen. Before he could fully make it, he tripped on the bags.

With a “plan,” Ponyboy started to distract himself. He didn't want to think about his dad or anything in general. The earlier sight had still stuck with Ponyboy, embedding itself in his head to the point that he couldn't think of anything else. In easier terms, he was stressed.

And what do self-proclaimed adults do when stressed?

Ponyboy found himself in the same position his dad was in. The razor was pressed to his skin, something that he’d never thought he’d do. He felt his breath start to fasten as the razor slowly dragged-

“Is anyone home?” A voice yelled out through the house. Ponyboy froze, flinching at the pain and the sound of the voice. He heard as the voice kept calling out, but kept getting closer to the bathroom. A simple knock on the door was all he needed to quickly hide the evidence and open the bathroom door.

Two-Bit just looked at Ponyboy shocked when he came out. “Well I’ll be, I ain't never think ya to hide in the bathroom when your buddy comes!” Two-Bit exclaimed as he followed Ponyboy. Ponyboy made his way to the living room again, almost ashamed of what he did. The stinging pain in part of his thigh burned along his jeans as he walked.

He almost wanted to call himself weak for not being able to handle the small bout of pain. A part of him was surprised that his dad was able to do it easily without even flinching when his mom touched his thigh. But, he knew that he had to ignore it for now, at least until Two-Bit left. Yet, as time went on, it seemed as if Two-Bit was never going to leave.

“Kid?” Two-Bit's voice finally cut through Ponyboy's thoughts. He looked up, watching as Two-Bit walked up to him. “Wheres your mom and dad?” Two-Bit finally asked. Time felt as if it slowed down right then. All Ponyboy could think about was the sight he saw before with Mr.Curtis and the one that included Mrs.Curtis ushering Mr.Curtis out of the house. All because Ponyboy didn't tell anyone.

Ponyboy bit his lip, he didn't want to tell Two-Bit, mostly because of his loyalty to his dad. So, he found himself shrugging and getting up to make dinner. Two-Bit watched him carefully, almost as if Ponyboy was going to simply pass out on the floor. Ponyboy couldn't deny that he did feel like that. But, there was something else weighing on him to make him feel like that…

~

The familiar cheer of the crowd excited Sodapop. He loved every moment of it, the sounds, the conversations, and even the random fights that would happen. Darry and Steve stood nearby him, with Johnny making an appearance. Sodapop felt a pang of worry hit him as Johnny settled with the other three.

Dallas was racing, something that he was excellent at. Steve joked around, talking about how Dally probably rigged his horse on coke or something. It was enough to make the small group laugh for a moment before the gun went off. When it did, they watched in anticipation until finally, Dally's horse went through first.

Yells erupted in the crowd as people passed over lost money. The excitement should've been enough to push Sodapops mind off of his baby brother but it wasn't. He found himself starting to panic, thinking about what Ponyboy was stressed about. When the time finally came to go home, Sodapop never felt better.

“Two-Bit’s here?” Darry asked as he parked the truck. Everyone was in there, even Dally and Johnny. Sodapop felt a pang of relief go through him as he thought about Two-Bit watching over Ponyboy. However, he also noticed that his parents weren't there.

Quickly Sodapop ran into the house. He looked around and quickly saw Two-Bit and Ponyboy just having dinner. Relief washed over him as he walked up to Ponyboy. Ponyboy seemed different still, almost as if he wasn't fully there in the moment. Darry gave Sodapop a concerned look as Sodapop tried to talk to Ponyboy.

After a few futile attempts at conversation, Sodapop just decided to eat some dinner with Ponyboy. Darry looked around for a moment, catching the sight of their parents being gone. “Wheres mom and dad?” Darry asked, settling down with his own serving of food. Once again the fear seemed to build up in Ponyboy as he looked to Two-Bit for help.

Two-Bit just shrugged, “They were gone ‘fore I got ‘ere.” Darry nodded, catching a look as Ponyboy put his head lower. He refused to meet anyones eyes, something not too peculiar…

Once they were finished with dinner, they all started to mess around in the living room. Somehow Steve had gotten Ponyboy to talk, mostly to give rude retorts. Darry found himself feeling relieved as his baby brother seemed to start acting more and more like himself. Then, the front door opened.

Mr and Mrs.Curtis walked in, with Mrs.Curtis carefully holding up Mr.Curtis. Instantly Darry and Sodapop were trying to help them, careful with how they spoke. Ponyboy followed along, trying to see what had happened with his dad. Yet, Mrs.Curtis ushred them away, only asking for Ponyboy to stay.

Mr.Curtis sat on his bed as Mrs.Curtis went to make sure no one broke anything in her living room. Ponyboy shifted his weight on his feet as he looked at his dad. His dad looked tired, but also the familiar glint in his eyes stayed. It made Ponyboy feel uneasy though.

Usually, Ponyboy never got in trouble. And if he did, it was usually petty crimes. Yet, he felt as if he had just committed the worst crime. In a way- he did. He had betrayed his father's trust. Before Ponyboy could get any words out, Mr.Curtis just shook his head.

“Remember what I said Ponyboy,” Mr.Curtis said as he patted his lap. Ponyboy knew what was coming and so he put his head down and walked over. “You know what happens when you betray someone's trust?” Mr.Curtis asked, his voice booming in a way that only Ponyboy could hear. It scared Ponyboy to his very bone as he nodded…

It wasn't fun for Ponyboy but- he did learn something. Never to tell anyone what happened, or what he saw. Another thing he learned: was how to “deal” with stress, the Curtis way.

But he’d never do it.

Right?

[gre4zerz]

Something that definitely happened:

Little Soda: What is that? *gesturing towards a newly born Ponyboy*

Mrs. Curtis: That's your little brother, dear.

Little Darry: I'm not related to that thing, he looks like a potato. I don't want to be a double older brother, take him back to the store!

[hansensgirl]

❆ 𝑭.𝑯: 𝑫𝑨𝑹𝑲 𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑪𝑬𝑷𝑻𝑺 (𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑)

psstt! — minors, do not interact! 18+ only, just like my blog. do not plagiarize, copy, translate, repost, copy or recreate my writing on any other public platforms. heed the warnings, and remember you are responsible for your media consumption.

info. — in honour of the holiday season, mr. hansen has decided to open requests! how kind is he? they will be posted in the next week or so, and will be written by me (sab). if you ask nicely, the man himself will even make an appearance!

format. — the requests will be submitted to this form. you will select one character, one AU (if desired), one dialogue prompt, and one kink/key element. all concepts will be dark, no matter what. there is an option for you to leave your username so i can tag you when i post your request. you may always remain anonymous. all prompts were created by me, please don’t use them without my permission.

time. — concepts will be written and posted as fast as possible. by january 7th, 2024, they should all be completed. please bear with me, as i can be quite a slow writer. thank you for your patience.

note. — concepts that are bolded and have three asterisks (***) will be turned into full fics. the list can be found under the ‘read more’ cut, along with all the drabbles i’ve posted.

the form is now closed. thank you for all the submissions! requests will be posted in the next two weeks.

show mr. hansen your gratitude by sending a request! isn't he such a sweet man?

NAVIGATION. ❆ @hansensfics. ❆ NEON PALM.

Andy Barber + Yandere + “Think an old man like me can keep up?” + conditioning/grooming.

Andy Barber + Roommate/Tenant + “Isn’t it beautiful? Bullet proof, too.” + dumbification.

Andy Barber + Bookstore + “Come out, come out, wherever you are!” + kidnapping.

Natasha Romanoff + Neighbours + “I’ll always love you, even if you don’t feel that way. But you will.” + sex pollen.

Johnny Storm + Sugar Daddy + “The night’s still young.” + obsession.

Jake Jensen + Step-brother + “C’mere. I can’t see you from all the way over there.” + thigh riding.

Steve Rogers + Stepfather + “Don’t you think you’re a little too old to be playing this game?” + face-sitting.

Natasha Romanoff + Mob boss + “I think I like you better when you’re gagged and crying on my dick.” + humiliation.

Steve Rogers + Boyfriend’s dad + “You’re so cute when you’re struggling like that.” + cum-play.

Lloyd Hansen + Yandere + “I’ll always love you, even if you don’t feel that way. But you will.” + sir kink.

Ari Levinson + Dad’s best friend + “I dreamt of you last night. Every night.” + daddy kink.

Andy Barber + Professor + “You want something from me? You gotta ask nicely.” + abuse of power.

Andy Barber + Dad’s best friend + “I just want to take care of you.” + daddy kink.

Steve Rogers + no AU + “Don’t be a brat.” + manhandling.

Lloyd Hansen + Sugar Daddy + “Merry fucking Christmas, princess.” + captivity.

Steve Rogers + Mob boss + “I just want to take care of you.” + stockholm syndrome.

Curtis Everett + Boxer + “C’mere. I can’t see you from all the way over there.” + dom/sub.

Lloyd Hansen + No AU + “Merry fucking Christmas, princess.” + daddy kink.

Lloyd Hansen + Sugar Daddy + “That’s no way to speak to your future husband.” + daddy kink.

Robert Pronge/Mr. Freezy + Amnesia + “Don’t you love it when I touch you like this?” + stockholm syndrome.

Pete Brenner + Camgirl + “I can’t help it, I love you too much.” + dumbification.

Lloyd Hansen + Mob boss + “I love hearing you beg. You’re much sweeter that way.” + pet play.

Lloyd Hansen + Mob/mafia + “You have no idea what you do to a man like me.” + overstimulation.

Andy Barber + Boyfriend’s dad + “Come out, come out, wherever you are!” + cheating.

Ransom Drysdale + Step-brother + “Don’t you love it when I touch you like this?” + innocence.

Steve Rogers + Yandere + “You know what I hate more than broken promises? Liars.” + kidnapping.***

Pete Brenner + Camboy + “You ask too many questions. Just relax.” + drugging.

Lloyd Hansen + Maid + “Where do you think you’re going?” + abuse of power.

Johnny Storm + College/University + “I thought you hated me.” + stalking.

Ari Levinson + Stepfather + “Don’t be a brat.” + vaginal sex.

Steve Rogers + Fake Marriage + “What did you just say?” + sex pollen.***

Jake Jensen + Neighbour + “I had to—you gave me no other option.” + obsession.

Lloyd Hansen + Sugar Daddy + “Isn’t this so pretty? It reminded me of you.” + daddy kink.

Lloyd Hansen + Neighbour + “The least you could do is be grateful.” + humiliation.

Ransom Drysdale + Yandere + “Merry fucking Christmas, princess.” + captivity.

Ari Levinson + Soulmate + “Don’t fight me. You’ll only make it worse for yourself.” + overstimulation.

Steve Rogers + Boyfriend’s dad + “You have no idea what you do to a man like me.” + cheating.

Natasha Romanoff + Camgirl + “C’mere. I can’t see you from all the way over there.” + scissoring.

Ransom Drysdale + Step-brother + “You ask too many questions. Just relax.” + drugging.

Ari Levinson + Dad’s best friend + “You ask too many questions. Just relax.” + corruption.

Andy Barber + Dad’s best friend + “Can’t you see I’m trying?” + cum-marking.

Ari Levinson + Mob boss + “You want something from me? You gotta ask nicely.” + innocence.***

Robert Pronge/Mr. Freezy + Neighbour + “The least you could do is be grateful.” + drugging.

Steve Rogers + Mob boss + “You ask too many questions. Just relax.” + corruption.

Ari Levinson + Camboy + “Isn’t this so pretty? It reminded me of you.” + innocence.

Lloyd Hansen + Boyfriend’s dad + “I think I like you better when you’re gagged and crying on my dick.” + creampie.

Natasha Romanoff + Yandere + “You’re so cute when you’re struggling like that.” + mommy kink.

Natasha Romanoff + Boyfriend’s mom + “You’re shaking so much, honey… Just wait until I get my tongue on you.” + obsession.

Lloyd Hansen + no AU + “Where do you think you’re going?” + pet play.

Natasha Romanoff + CEO + “Go on. Let’s see how far you’ll make it.” + mommy kink.

Natasha Romanoff + Sugar Mommy + “You want something from me? You gotta ask nicely.” + begging.

Lloyd Hansen + Mob boss + “You have no idea what you do to a man like me.” + choking.

Ransom Drysdale + Sugar Daddy + “You’re so cute when you’re struggling like that.” + abuse of power.

Ari Levinson + Amnesia + “Take you home? This is home. You aren’t going anywhere.” + obsession.

Natasha Romanoff + Dad’s best friend + “You have no idea what you do to a woman like me.” + creampie.

Curtis Everett + Mob + “Don’t be a brat.” + squirting.

Andy Barber + Mob/Mafia + “Take you home? This is home. You aren’t going anywhere.” + stockholm syndrome.

Ransom Drysdale + Soulmate + “That’s no way to talk to your future husband.” + captivity.

Andy Barber + Professor + “Take you home? This is home. You aren’t going anywhere.” + finger-sucking.

Lloyd Hansen + Boss + “Aw, are you gonna cry?” + overstimulation.

[chained-sweater]

darrel (mr. curtis): *to ponyboy* do you know what tomorrow is?

ponyboy, nine-years-old: it's presidents day!

darrel, smiling: what does presidents day mean?

ponyboy: presidents day is when the president steps out of the white house, and if he sees his shadow, we have another year of bullshit.

jane (mrs. curtis) in the background: *whips her head around* PONYBOY MICHAEL CURTIS, DID YOU JUST SWEAR?!

ponyboy: *runs to his room*

darrel: *dying laughing*

[alaskan-wallflower]

i feel like whenever darry’s had an actual filling meal he just gets so cuddly-he doesn’t like asking his brothers for cuddles but he latches onto his pillows. soda walked in on darry wrapped like a koala around a pillow after dinner and him and pony just crawled into bed with him and snuggled the hell out of him because they’re happy he’s eating more

[hideousvampire]

doodle dump ft musical johnny cade with a lollipop and mike patton my gf

also this is my history project this year but minus the essay that goes with it except i used cuba and his teddy bear characters to stay motivated

for those who need it CW FOR BLOOD!!

[outsidersheadcanons]

I KNOW Ponyboy Curtis keeps a masterlist of everyone he hates in the last few pages of his private journal

[skyguygeneraltano]

Sodapop headcanon

Sodapop was the social butterfly of the Curtis brothers okay

Like once that boy hit kindergarten, Mrs and Mr. Curtis would have to pull up extra chairs because Soda would have a different friend over each day

First it was Steve

They met in first and Soda accidentally broke his favorite matchbox car

Steve immediately fixed it and it was Soda was just “I’m taking this one home”

Steve and Soda talk like they knew each other for years okay

Nine year old Darry is just “oh no it’s two of them”

Three year old Ponyboy threw his cup at Steve because Soda wasn’t paying him enough attention, thus starting the rivalry

But Mrs. Curtis and Mr. Curtis adored Steve

The next day Sodapop meets the little kindergartener Johnny Cade under a tree just playing by himself

Like Johnny is just go away as Soda skips towards him

Johnny just wants to make mud pies and play with the pill bugs

But Soda is just nah I’m taking you home too for homemade cookies and milk

Johnny agrees of course because well cookies

Pony believes Soda brought Johnny home for him as Johnny was closer to his size

Now Pony wants to be all nice and sweet and gives Johnny a pretty rock he found on the playground

Johnny keeps that rock for life

Mr. Curtis is just “Wait where did this one come from?” as they sat for dinner

Mrs. Curtis packs extra snacks for Johnny to take home

[fictionalcharactergraveyard]

what if i said that the curtis parents died in early january not on darrys birthday but close because their marriage was falling apart but they wanted to keep it together until after darrys birthday but one day they were in the car and arguing and they didn't realize the train what then.

[alittlebitofloveliness]

Grew in my Heart

It's finally done you guys!!!! This is my take on a foster Pony au, loosely based on this idea from @freak-l0rd-certifed. It's currently unedited but I'll post it here anyways, and then cross post an edited version on my ao3. @pepsicurtis asked to be tagged when it was done based on a snippet I posted earlier, so here you go. This is part 1, part 2 is fully written and will be up tomorrow.

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The lady on the other side of the room is watching him.

That’s okay though. Ponyboy is used to people watching him. Social workers, foster parents, group home staff, police. Everyone watches him all the time but nobody cares, cares for him or about him, so Ponyboy doesn’t mind this lady joining in. He knows he looks weird, with his sticky out ears and the patchy haircut Mr. Fuller gave him and the bruise around his eye. So he understands why this lady is watching him, and doesn't begrudge her for it.  Besides, she looks like a nice lady. Nice ladies don’t usually watch him. If they do they don’t usually look at him with the kindness glowing in the woman’s shining green eyes.

The lady smiles at him and he ducks back into his book, ears burning. She wasn’t supposed to catch him looking.

When he peeks over the top of his copy of Great Expectation a minute later, she’s still watching him, smiling in a way Ponyboy would call amusement if he didn’t know better. He quickly hides again, cursing himself for drawing notice. It’s never a good thing. Never. Better he stay quiet, stay invisible. Invisible kids didn’t get hurt.

He hopes Ms. Summers will come back soon and take him to wherever he’ll be staying next, if only so that he can leave the waiting room, escape from where this nice lady and her nice family are no doubt waiting for them to bring a brand new baby to adopt. Probably one only a few days old, something sweet and cute and new they could love and pamper. Nice people only ever came to the child services offices to pick up babies. Anyone who came to pick up kids was usually about as nice as the people who dropped them off. 

He goes back to his book. Usually it’s easy to escape into the story where he can pretend to be a knight or a hero or anything but stupid, small, unwanted Ponyboy Hewitt, but he can’t seem to concentrate today. It’s not just because of the nice looking lady with the green eyes who keeps watching him, keeping an eye on him the same way she’s been keeping an eye on the three boys who came in with her. His head is also aching something fierce. That last knock from Mr. Fuller was kind of hard. 

Hard enough Ms.Summers thought he should move again anyway.

“Quit fidgeting, Soda,” an authoritative voice from the other side of the room says, and Ponyboy can’t help but glance over. He tells himself it’s because the speaker was kind of loud, but he knows deep down that’s not the case. It’s not because the boy is loud, it’s because he’s cool. He’s a lot bigger than Pony is, and older too, with wavy brown hair and broad shoulders. He could probably look Mr.Fuller square in the face and never be scared, not ever. “We have to show we’re the perfect family or they won’t let us keep Johnny.”

“Really?” The boy who answers has golden blond hair and rosy cheeks with a dimple high in one corner. Pony never really understood what books meant when they talked about eyes twinkling until the boy had pranced into the office a few minutes before, looking like a prince straight from a fairytale. His eyes aren’t twinkling now though: instead, they’re shining with worry. His shadow, a smaller boy with jet black hair and tan skin, looks the same, eyes wide and terrified in his peaked face. “They can’t do that just ‘cause I’m sittin’ wrong, can they mom?”

He turns anxiously to the nice lady who smiles and smooths down his hair.

“Of course not honey,” she soothes, “we don’t gotta prove we’re perfect to keep Johnny, we just gotta prove we love him. And we do.”

She turns her smile on the dark haired boy who flushes and ducks his head shyly, looking unfathomably pleased. Ponyboy swallows hard and looks away, his own ears reddening. It’s not fair for him to hate the dark haired boy, he knows it isn’t, but it doesn’t matter. In that moment, he kind of hates him anyway. 

The woman’s gentle smile has confirmed what he suspected all along. She’s a nice mom, the kind he’s only ever read about in storybooks. She probably kisses those boys goodnight- even the big one, even if he pretended it wasn’t cool- and probably smells like cinnamon and bakes birthday cakes sometimes, puts bandages on cuts, and never slaps them, not ever. 

He wants Ms. Summers to come back. He wants to leave. He doesn’t want to sit here and watch a boy his own age get adopted by the kind of family he wishes he could have more than anything in the world. 

The blonde boy sticks his tongue out at the cool one and makes a fart noise.

“See Darry? They ain’t gonna take Johnny! You’re stupid and wrong!”

“Sodapop Patrick Curtis!” A man Ponyboy assumed must be the nice lady’s husband and the boys’ father boomed, “What have I told you about using that kind of language towards your brother?”

“That it's not how we speak to our family,” the blonde boy, Sodapop, says like he was reading off a teleprompter. Clearly, this was not the first time he’d heard that particular reprimand, “but dad, I was only defending my other brother.”

“Be that as it may,” Mr.Curtis said, “I don’t want to hear that language from you any more.” He sounded stern, but his eyes were still glinting proudly and there was a smile hiding somewhere near the corner of his mouth. Not a scary dad then. A good one.

“Yeah Soda,” the older boy, Darry, grinned, seeming unperturbed by the insult. He was real handsome, Pony thought. If he was Sodapop he’d never call that Darry boy stupid, not ever. “Save that language for socs. Or Two-bit when he’s playin’ poker against Dally.”

Sodapop laughed then, any traces of animosity disappearing, Johnny grinning quietly beside him. 

Ponyboy decides he’s done watching them be happy, and goes to the washroom.

He does his business, standing on tiptoe to reach the sink when he’s done because it’s meant for adults not for kids and there's no footstool. He can’t reach the soap, even when he jumps, so he just settles for rinsing extra long. The paper towel dispenser is also too high to reach so he dries his hands on his pants and goes back to the waiting room. 

“Oh honey, wait,” he doesn’t realize the nice lady is speaking to him until she’s kneeling in front of him, tugging his shirt from where he hadn’t noticed it had gotten twisted and tucked into his pants, pulling it out and smoothing it down nicely, “there you go. All handsome again.”

She smiles, looking like sunshine incarnate, and Ponyboy kind of wants to die.

“Thank you.” He mumbles, sure he must be redder than a tomato, then flees back to his chair on the other side of the waiting room. They’re all watching him now, the nice lady and her nice husband, and the three boys who are now all sitting in a circle on the floor, playing a game of cards. 

He opens Great Expectations to a random page and stares at it hard, trying very hard not to cry. He’s almost seven years old, he’s not a baby anymore. He will not cry just because one lady was nice to him and now her perfect family is staring at him. He won't. 

“Hi!” Suddenly, blonde, beautiful Sodapop is in front of him, grinning like Ponyboy is the best thing he’s ever seen ever, “I’m Soda. Wanna play cards with us?”

He wants to, more than anything, but he knows if he does it’ll just feel worse when they leave and he doesn’t go with them , or when Ms. Summers comes to drag him away to whoever will bother keeping him for the next few weeks, so he can’t.

He shakes his head, unable to actually say no, and Soda deflates, eager grin melting into an unhappy pout, shoulders curling forward, and the twinkle in his eye dimming. He looks like Pony just ruined his whole day with one shake of his head. 

“Ok,” he sighs, dramatic and world weary, and it would seem like an act if his eyes weren’t entirely genuine, “if you change your mind, you can c’mon over anytime. It would be so much more fun with another person.”

He rejoins the other two boys who shoot curious looks Pony’s way, but he ignores them, looking back at his book. He’s not reading though. He can’t. Instead he’s listening to the boys playing cards, wishing more than anything that he could join them.

“I win.” Dark haired Johnny proclaims for the third time and Soda throws down his cards with a dramatic groan, while Darry just laughs. He seems real nice, not like the big boys at the group homes who liked to steal Pony’s books and shove him around. He hadn’t gotten mad at Soda or Johnny even once, not even when they were playing Go Fish and Soda cheated by peeking at his cards. 

“You little shark,” Darry ruffled Johnny's dark hair, the smaller boy flinching a little before leaning into the touch, “how do you keep doin’ that, huh?”

Johnny shrugged. “It’s a secret.”

“You’re cheatin’!” Soda accused.

“Am not!”

“Are too! No one wins as much as you.”

“I’m just good at cards without cheatin’.”

Soda huffed. “You’re lucky you’re my brother now or I’d fight you.”

“I’d win.” Johnny boasts, and suddenly he looks fierce, chin jutting and eyes fiery, like every kid in every home who fought grownups and just ended up beaten down worse. 

“That’s enough,” Darry pulls the two apart, practically picking them each up with one hand, “quit arguin' or I’m putin’ the cards away.”

“No!” Soda throws himself to the ground, arm draped dramatically across his forehead, “I’ll die of boredom!”

“Then sit up and be good,” Darry tells him, and Soda scrambles to do as he’s told. Pony feels his own spine straightening. It’s just because he’s tired, he tells himself.  It has nothing to do with wanting Darry to look at him with the same approval he looks at Soda and Johnny with. He needs to stretch out a bit, that’s all.

“Y’know,” Darry says, disarmingly casual, easily shuffling the cards the way Pony always wanted to but could never manage, the movement too deft for his clumsy fingers, “there's so many more games we could play with four players.” 

If he didn’t know better Pony would swear Darry was looking at him sideways as he said it, grinning conspiratorially like they were sharing a joke. 

“Euchre…gin rummy…spades…signals…”

Pony’s heart jumped. He loved signals. 

It was practically another invitation right? And Soda had said he could join anytime if he changed his mind…surely one game wouldn’t hurt. 

He scoots forward a bit on the chair, considering. 

“Well?” Suddenly Darry- handsome, cool Darry- is grinning right at him, one eyebrow raised, “You in or not?”

And well….that was an actual invitation. From a big boy no less! Usually boys like Darry wanted nothing to do with him.

Pony could feel what was surely a far too eager grin spreading over his face and he nodded, quickly taking a spot on the floor in between Soda and Johnny. Darry’s grin turned triumphant, like he was the one who’d just been invited to play cards by a cool stranger. 

“Nice. What’s your name kiddo?”

“Ponyboy.” He mumbles, bracing himself for laughter that never comes. Instead Darry just nods, starting to deal cards with ease. 

“Tuff name. I’m Darry, and this here’s Johnny.” 

Pony offered a shy smile in response to Johnny’s friendly nod, earlier vitriol forgotten. It wasn’t Johnny’s fault he was lucky. Pony shouldn’t hate him for it. 

“You already met Soda.”

Darry gives Soda a fondly exasperated look, and Pony focuses very hard on the cards being dealt so he won’t have to look at their faces.

Unsure of what to say, he just nods. Luckily, Darry keeps talking.

“Well Ponyboy, I reckon since you just joined you get to pick the game.”

“R-really?”

“Sure.” Darry smiled kindly. Golly he was nice. “We’ll play a few rounds and then switch it up if any of us are getting bored.”

“Can-” Ponyboy hesitated. Darry nods, encouraging him to continue, “can we play signals?”

“Sure. You okay to be on a team with me?”

“Yes,” Pony could hardly believe his luck. Not only were they playing his favourite game, but Darry wanted to be on a team with him!

“Ok,” Soda chirped, “me’n Johnny are going over there so you don’t listen to us pick our signals like cheaters!”

“Soda!” Mr Curtis warned.

“I’m bein’ nice!”

Pony giggled. 

“Ignore him,” Darry advised, scooting over to sit beside him, “I wish I could say he’s just bein’ crazy ‘cause he’s excited, but the truth is he’s always like that. He ain’t really mean though, just has too much energy.”

“I know,” Pony tells him, “I seen mean before. He ain’t it. If he was mean he’d have taken my book or followed me to the bathroom and put my head in the toilet.”

A horrified gasp makes him jump. He’d momentarily forgotten all about sunshiney Mrs.Curtis, but now she’s staring at him in horror, eyes filled with rage. 

What did he do? Did she not want him to be telling her nice golden sons about stuff like that? 

“I-I’m sorry I-” he can feel his ears burning and wishes more than anything he’d stayed on that hard plastic chair where he was safe instead of getting drawn in by the light of the family in front of him. 

“Whoa, hey,” Darry catches him by the arm before he can scramble to his feet, grip not bruising like he’s used to but gentle, reassuring, “where are you going? We haven’t picked a signal yet.”

His smile is so hopeful. Hesitantly, Pony settles back down. 

“Ok.”

“Well?” Darry nudges him gently, carefully. It seems to Ponyboy that someone so big shouldn’t be able to do that and not hurt him just a little bit, but somehow Darry manages it. “What signal do you think we should do?”

Pony glances across the room at where Soda is gesturing exaggeratedly and talking at Johnny a mile a minute.

“Something small,” he decides, “something they won’t notice.”

“Good thinking,” Darry’s approval feels like sitting in the sunshine and eating ice cream and reading a book all at once, “how about…rubbing our noses?”

He demonstrates, rubbing a finger under his nose like he’s scratching an itch and Ponyboy nods, copying the action. 

“Perfect.”

He raises his left hand then. Taps his ear. Waits a few seconds. Taps his ear again.

“What are you doing?” Darry wonders. 

“I have a trick,” Ponyboy informs him.

“Oh?” Darry’s raising a single eyebrow again, looking intrigued. A swell of unearned pride starts in Ponyboy’s chest. 

“Yep,” Pony nods, “they’re watching us right now.”

Darry follows his gaze across the room to where Johnny is watching them out of the corner of his eye, while acting for all the world like he’s still focused on Sodapop. 

“So,” Ponyboy continues. He taps his ear again, “if we do a fake signal now, like we’re practicing, and then do it while we’re playing they’ll call signal and get themselves disqualified and we’ll win.”

“Huh,” Darry reaches up and taps his own ear, “good thinkin’ kid.”

Pony glows.

“We’re ready,” Soda announces a second later, dragging Johnny behind him, “and we have the best signal ever. You’ll never guess it.”

“We’ll see.” Darry challenges, flipping the first card off the deck, and the game begins.

Pony checks his own hand. Two jacks, a two, and a seven. Deciding to go for jacks he passes the two facedown and slides it left to Johnny, picking up the ten Soda placed down for him on the other side.

He passes and trades cards for a few seconds, managing to pick up a third jack on the way. When it’s been long enough it’s not suspicious, he reaches up and taps his ear, trying to make it seem like he’s scratching an itch.

The trick works. 

“Block!” Johnny cries triumphantly, pointing at him and Pony grins, shaking his head. 

“Nope!”

“What?” That’s Sodapop, “We’re out? But-but I’m with Johnny! Johnny always wins!”

“Guess not this time,” Darry grins, raising a hand. It takes a second for Pony to realize he’s reaching out for a high five instead of to cuff him, but when he does he reaches out eagerly, tapping Darry’s palm with his own.

“How did you do that?” Johnny wonders, head tilted in confusion, “I saw you tapping your ear earlier when you were making your signal.”

“It was a trick!” Pony grins. Darry is pleased, and they just won a card game, and no one here has gotten properly mad at him at all. 

Johnny shakes his head, grinning ruefully. “Well it was a good one.”

Soda declared he wanted a rematch, so they played a few more rounds, until Johnny figured out their trick and then both teams had so many fake signals and everyone was too scared to block anyone and could hardly remember their real signals from their fake ones. Darry was just proposing they switch to playing crazy eights when Ms. Summers hurried out of the office, looking harried as usual.

“Oh! Ponyboy,” She looks surprised to see him sitting on the floor, “don’t go botherin’ these nice folks now. I know you’ve had a long day, and I promise I’m workin’ as hard as I can to figure things out so just sit tight and be good a few minutes longer. I just got a few more calls to make and I’ll get you some lunch, alright? C’mon and sit properly now, that’s a good boy.” 

She pulls him to his feet, not roughly exactly, but carelessly, the way he’s used to, and he ducks his head, shoulders curling automatically as she frog marches him back to the plastic chair in the corner of the waiting room she’d parked him in at seven o'clock this morning.

“He ain’t botherin’ us!” Suddenly Soda is on his feet, glaring at Ms. Summers. “We invited him to play. We’re havin’ fun.”

“He’s really no trouble,” Mrs. Curtis smiles, placing a hand on her son’s shoulder. Her voice is as sugar sweet as ever but there’s something hard in her eyes nevertheless as she stares Ms. Summers down, “the boys are all havin’ fun playing together and I have no problem keepin’ an eye on him for you. He’s a good boy, like you said.”

She turns the full force of her smile on him, her eyes suddenly all softness, and Ponyboy finds himself wondering what it would be like if somebody looked at him like that every day, like he was something instead of nothing.

“Well, if you’re sure, I suppose that's fine. You be good Pony,” Ms. Summers says, and then she’s gone again, back into the office, back to making phone calls to find someone, anyone, willing to take him in.

Pony stands where she left him, half dragged across the room, lost in the waiting room he’d spend what felt like half his life in.

“That lady,” Soda says, “was a bitch.”

Darry’s eyebrows shoot up, and Soda grins cheekily over his shoulder in a way that says he fully expects a reprimand, but to Ponyboy’s surprise Mr.Curtis just nods slowly.

“Y'know son, I think in this case you might be right.”

“Don’t encourage him,” Mrs. Curtis says, but it’s so half-hearted even Ponyboy can tell. Her eyes are fixed on Ms.Summers’ door, lips pressed into a thin line, and Pony gets the feeling she’s real mad but hiding it real well.

“She don’t know what to do with me,” Pony finds himself defending his social worker. She ain’t mean really, ain't even a bad person. She’s just busy. Too busy to really care. “It ain’t her fault. I cause her a lotta problems.”

“I have a very hard time believing that,” Mrs. Curtis says, “I don’t think you could cause problems if you tried.”

He could. He wasn’t like Curly from the group home, who did everything he possibly could and then some to cause problems, but Pony did create them sometimes. One time he’d burned Mrs.Delvine’s sheets when he was ironing because she hadn’t given him dinner the night before. And he’d put half a shaker of salt in Mr.Fuller’s soup after he gave him this stupid haircut. But he never tried to cause problems for Ms. Summers and he still caused them anyway.

He shrugs. “No one wants me. It’s her job to find someone who’ll put up with me. I can’t blame her for bein’ tired.”

“You’re still a little boy,” Mrs.Curtis shakes her head, and usually Ponyboy hates being called little but he finds he doesn’t mind too much when she says it, “she shouldn’t be takin’ any of her frustrations out on you.”

Pony wants to tell her that his own mother didn’t want to be stuck with him so he can hardly blame his social worker for feeling the same way. He wants to tell her about how tired he is and how much his head hurts and how hungry he is. He wants to tell her a lot of things. He doesn’t.

“Oh honey,” he doesn’t even realize he’s crying until he’s wrapped in a warm hug, held protectively against Mrs. Curtis’ chest, his sobs muffled against the stretched collar of her pretty yellow dress. He’s sure he must be getting snot on her, but she doesn’t seem to mind, holding him closer when he starts to squirm away and apologize, cooing to him until he settles down, “oh honey.”

She scoops him up then, because she’s a grown up and he’s still pretty small for six years old, and she sets him on her knee and kisses his forehead, and even if it won’t last and he will never feel this again after today, for once he knows what it’s like to be comforted and loved by a mother. 

Golly he’s tired.

“You just have a sleep now,” she pulls his head down to rest against her shoulder, running a gentle hand through his shorn off hair, “you just have a good sleep and don’t worry about a thing.” 

He feels his eyelids drooping. She drops a soft kiss on his forehead, her fingers never ceasing their soothing motions in his hair.

“Everything’s gonna be okay, baby,” he hears her say as he drifts off, “I promise. Everything’s gonna be just fine.”

He sleeps.

[chained-sweater]

jane (mrs. curtis): *trying to brush sodapop's hair* why is your hair so tangled?

sodapop, five years old: i dunno. glue, maybe?

jane: ...did you put glue in your hair?

sodapop: yes.