#pony looked like a fucking chicken

[alaskan-wallflower]

ngl if i was the curtises i would be nicknaming my kid darry too imagine being asked if you want to hold the new baby darrel LMAOOO

[chippedshake]

Darry helping Pony out with some bullies and a six-year-old Ponyboy running up to him a week later with a comic in his hand, saying "Darry, Darry, look, he's just like you!"

And it's a Superman comic book, open to a page where he's fighting a villain and bringing some civilians to safety

"See? He's helping people like you helped me!"

Darry just laughing and ruffling his hair

"Sure, Pony, I'm Superman."

And going back to his homework

But Ponyboy won't let it go. He starts calling him Superman and gets Soda in on it. Two-Bit absolutely cackles the first time he hears it and instantly plays along. Then Johnny starts saying it too, maybe a bit as a joke, but also because he's thinking about how Darry helps him with his homework sometimes and helped scare those Socs away and gave him a hug when he found him in the lot. Steve starts once Darry grows up and actually starts looking like Superman and by the time Dally gets there, he doesn’t even question it.

Darry laughs at first. Jokes about it. Then he starts hearing people talking about Superman and thinks, for a second, that they're talking about him before he remembers that it's just his family that calls him that.

By the time Ponyboy's eight, no one remembers how it started, no one cares about how it started, it just is.

Then it's a Tuesday evening when Darry's twenty and he's getting home from ten hours of heavy-lifting and has to cook dinner and the bills are due and he feels like collapsing onto the couch and sleeping for three days, but he doesn't have the fucking time to sleep because Pony has to go to school and Soda has to not oversleep and they have to have something to eat for dinner and he needs to convince Johnny he can stay over and isn't a burden and Two-Bit can't be getting too drunk because he needs to graduate goddammit and Steve might be kicked out tonight and needs to have somewhere to sleep and Dally needs some sort of constant in his life and it's too much and Darry's just twenty, he can't do it anymore–

"Darry, Darry, look, he's just like you!"

And suddenly Ponyboy's hopeful eyes are looking up at him, seeing Superman instead of his big brother because he helped fight off some Socs.

But that isn't enough anymore. He can't just fight off some Socs and come home and do his seventh grade homework. He needs to somehow keep his family together, make sure they all have a place to sleep and food to eat. And he can't falter, can't fail for a second because he's Superman, and Superman is invincible. Doesn't feel pain. Doesn't get tired. Doesn't let anything get him down.

"Hey there, Darry. Everything good?" Steve walks into their house without knocking.

"Yeah, just a bit tired." Darry sits up from where he’d been leaning back on the couch. Can't be tired. Can't be weak. "You kicked out again?"

"Yeah. Cool if I hang out here tonight?" Darry nods, stifling a yawn as he gets up. "What's for dinner?"

"Uh..." He glances towards the kitchen, trying to remember what they have. "Not sure. I'll figure it out."

"Need anything from the grocery store?"

Darry shrugs. "I can get it myself."

"I don't mind. You look beat."

"I'm fine," Darry says instinctively.

Steve snorts. "Okay. Need anything? I'm gonna go buy some cigs anyway."

"Uh..." Darry opens the near-empty fridge and sighs. "Some spaghetti for tonight. Get some chicken, too, we'll make it tomorrow. And a couple apples so you idiots eat some fruit."

"Got it."

Darry starts digging around for his wallet.

"Don’t worry. S'on me. Still got some from when the old man kicked me out two weeks ago."

"Steve, I can't ask you to–"

"Then it's a good thing you ain't askin'."

They stare off for a few moments before Darry relents.

"Thanks, Steve."

Steve nods. "No problem, Superman." He gives a mock salute and walks out the door.

Darry stares at the empty doorway for a couple seconds before he snaps out of it and starts cleaning up in case the state decides to poke around. He knows it isn't sustainable. They can't go on like this forever, he can't take care of his brothers alone forever.

He knows he isn't really Superman.

But maybe if he lets himself get help, he doesn’t have to be.

[claritys-silly-things]

It’s that time again yall

Headcanons! It’s a long one this time

Emetophobia tw

- (I think I can classify this as modern) Rip sodapop curtis you would’ve loved saying “I’m just a girl 🎀”

- Soda never liked haircuts. When he was a small feral child his long hair would get tangled a lot, but he’s tender headed as FUCK so he would scream and cry when his momma brought the brush out. Darry put sodas hair into braids sometimes just for fun and soda didn’t mind bc it kept his hair from getting tangled, and then it didn’t hurt to brush. He’s always had really soft hair and it grows super fast.

- Jealous little soda asksjks (this was about soda being jealous over pony getting attention as a baby but I don’t wanna edit the original ramble I wrote down)

- When ponyboy was born he just kind of STARED. No crying or anything just 👁️👁️. Even Darry cried when he was born. Soda cried a lot.

- Adding on, Darry and pony were pretty quiet babies. They still cried for food and stuff sometimes but not a lot. Soda was a LOUDDD crier, and a frequent one too. It was the type of crying that sounds like it hurts the baby’s throat cause they’re shrieking their head off. Also soda would cry for, like, the first year of his life if he was ever handed to his dad.

- If Johnny survived the fire and got a wheelchair, he’d be running over people’s feet. Constantly. Just because. Or bc they asked for it. Either way, the moment he gets a hang of that wheelchair it is OVER for yall. And probably before that too.

- Ponyboy gets the same. Goddamn. Thing. At EVERY restaurant. Partly because it scares him to order anything else, partly because he’s picky asf. He makes sure it’s there on the menu and has his order memorized by now. “Chicken tenders, fries, and a Pepsi please.” He’s tried to ask for other things in the past like eggs, cuz he likes those, but the moment they asked him “how would you like them done” he just stared at Darry because he didn’t know what all the different types of eggs were, and now he’s scared bc he’s taking longer, and the server is still there, so he just got sunny side up eggs and they were slimy and he wanted to go home and cry (based on a true story sadly)

- Basically pony has anxiety and probably autism (so me)

- Ponyboy likes avocado. That’s it that’s the headcanon. It’s like one of the only healthy-ish things he’ll eat.

- Soda gets suuuper nauseous really easily, and pony gets carsick on occasion. So the first time pony went to a theme park, his family was scared that he would throw up like soda. They go on a ride and he’s like “yall im fine dawg.” Soda is jealous bc pony can go on rides unaffected (soda will still go on rides anyways, he just throws up afterwards)

- Pony is the most PALE ASS BITCH you’ve ever seen. He burns soo easily. His face gets red really quickly, no matter what’s going on. The only time he gets the slightest bit darker is when he burns and tans. Two-bit has been like “you ain’t white you translucent” multiple times because in the right lighting you can see pony’s veins. It’s even worse because soda and Darry tan so wonderfully, and pony looks like he had an allergic reaction if he doesn’t reapply his sunscreen when he’s supposed to. I feel like Mrs Curtis is the reason for this, she didn’t tan. Mr Curtis did tho.

- Pony has mild (severe) ocd

- Marcia’s last name is smith she is white-Hispanic on one side and Native American on the other thank you for coming to my TED talk

- Marcia is Cuban and Native American

- Marcia’s full name is Marcia smith that’s it that’s the end

It’s funny cuz I listed these things like three times and just forgot about the other two

- Twobit is Brazilian end headcanon

- Mr Curtis had autism and Mrs Curtis had inattentive adhd

- Mr Curtis was half Mexican on his mom’s side and half Irish on his dad’s side. Mrs Curtis was full Italian-American.

- Darrys the typa guy to make pony and soda turn off a show or movie if it talks about possession or like demonic stuff/soul stealing stuff

- (Modern au) Darry will get a text from ponyboy about something, like “can I go in your room rq” and he sees it but doesn’t actually open the text message until later and like, two hours later he’ll just respond “no” and thinks it’s the funniest shit ever

[broareweabouttoviberightnow]

PLEASE WRITE THAT ONE SHOT FULL PERMISSION GRANTED

— @girlishwhimsies

TYSM @girlishwhimsies for the prompt this was SO fun to write!! fic under the cut!!!

Ponyboy has no idea how long he's been sittin' in front of the TV. Too long, Pony's sure Darry would think. But it doesn't matter because Darry's workin' a late shift and it's just Two-Bit who's watchin' the box with the same intent, vacant look. Hell, even Soda's curled up in a blanket creamin' Dallas in a game of poker 'n absently watchin' when Dallas spends too long scowlin' at his hand.

(Pony can see clearly he hasn't got shit and he only tears his eyes away every few minutes to shake his head at Soda that Dally is bluffin' harder then Pony claimin' he ain't got homework. Dallas hasn't noticed yet.)

When Pony hears Darry's truck pull up in the driveway he gets the sudden, violent feelin' that he's forgotten somethin'. Somethin' important. He furrows his eyebrows, looks over into the kitchen. Oh shit.

His heart climbs right up into his throat, does a flip, and dives all the way down to his toes. Oh shit, oh shit. Pony is on his feet in a millisecond, jarrin' Dallas as he confidently bets on a hand of shit.

"Look out, Pony's off to the races!" Two howls but pulls his feet up as Pony jumps straight over them. He's not payin' attention to anythin' but gettin' into that kitchen before Darry does. As he passes the door he flips the lock, wrestin' with it when it doesn't go smoothly. Damn Darry 'n his insistence on never lockin' the thing.

"Pony?" Soda half rises, startin' after Pony as he ducks his entire head 'n shoulders into the icebox. "Everythin'-" He cuts himself off when Pony reemerges with the frozen solid chicken they were meant to be eatin' for dinner in forty-five minutes. For a moment, they both just stare at each other, Pony in horror, Soda in amusement.

Then Dallas lets out a long, low whistle as the truck door slams and grins that smile that shows off his silver fang. "Oh, you're capital F fucked." Then Soda cackles so hard he plops back onto the floor.

"Don't laugh." And Pony would normally kick his ass for that but right now he's too worried about the imminent threat of bein' hung up by his thumbs or locked in the shed until he's thirty. "Soda get over here. How do I thaw it out?" And he's got that whine crawlin' into his voice he hates but there are simply bigger fish to fry. Or birds to thaw.

Soda slides across the floor in his socks, ditchin' the blanket 'n throwin' it over Dallas. He rips it off 'n tries to whap Soda with it as he goes by, missin' to Two's great delight.

"I dunno, Ponykid, blow on it?" Soda leans down 'n huffs hot air onto it. Pony throws his head back 'n doesn't even care about the whine that peels out of his throat. He's dead. Darry was gonna kill him.

"Blow on it? Soda that ain't gonna work!" Pony rips the chicken away from where Soda is still puffin' at it. The door knob rattles 'n they can all distinctively hear the aggravated sigh from Darry even through the wall. Bad sign.

"Wait, I have an idea!" Soda snatches the bird back, slips 'n slides his way back into the living room with Pony hustlin' behind him. "Two, get up." Two-Bit takes in Soda holdin' the raw meat by the plastic-wrapped leg like a fish and Pony's face like a man at the gallows.

"Boys, unlock this damn door!" Darry already sounds irate.

"Yeah, Dallas go let Darry in." Soda pipes and Pony whips around wavin' a hand at his throat and frantically shakin' his head. Dallas shoots him a shit-eatin' grin again and gets to his feet, pointing towards the door.

Pony does the only thing he can think of 'n jumps on him.

"Wait, is that-" Two leans away from Soda, who waves the chicken around again 'n makes a face.

"No, it's Darry's million-dollar check yes it's dinner. Now get your ass up!" Pony abandons Dallas, grabs Two by the wrist, desperately tryin' to haul him up. Dallas instantly gets back on his feet and goes for the door again. Pony chooses between the imminent of two threats and goes for Dally again.

"What the hell do you want me to do about it?" Soda takes up Pony's spot wrestlin' Two-Bit up. Soda is far more successful.

"Sit on it!" Soda drags Two up, throwin' the bird down 'n then pressin' on his shoulders to try to get him back into the couch on top of it.

"Oh, I see. You only want me for my hot ass, you dog!" Two arches up so his back is against the sofa but his backside is nowhere near. "I'm not lettin' you throw me under the bus for this!"

"We're not throwin' you under the bus- we're throwin' you onto the bird!" And Two snickers, thrown off his task of keepin' his ass off the couch. Soda tosses himself full force onto Two's lap, bucklin' him back down.

Dallas wrangles Pony off, finally, and throws the lock on the door. Darry scowls, knocks Dallas' gently up the head since he has the misfortune of bein' the one closest to him. Dallas opens his mouth to bitch but Darry shoots him a look and he settles for mutterin' under his breath.

"Now, what the hell is goin' on here?" He drops his keys on the table 'n takes in Pony sprawled on the floor, Soda across Two and Two still wrigglin' for all he's worth against the cold.

"Nothin'." Both Soda 'n Pony say in unison. Darry looks between the two of them once, twice.

"I don't think I have the energy for whatever the hell you four have goin' on so I'm gonna go fix dinner 'n y'all better be back to sorts by the time I'm done." Darry kicks off his boots 'n places them neatly at the door, disappearin' into the kitchen.

"Uh, Darry? About that-"

"Ye- ouch!" Two manages to roll Soda straight onto the floor, shootin' to his feet. When he turns around, his lower back is pink from bein' in contact with the freezin' chicken. "That shit is cold!"

Darry stops, turns back around, blinks once, twice, opens his mouth, shuts it, tries again. "Pony, is that the chicken I told you to thaw when you got back from school?"

"Uh, would you believe me if I said no?" Darry rubs a hand across his temple, looks at the chicken on the couch with bewilderment. For a moment Pony swears they're all holdin' their breath. Then he laughs. Head back, hand grippin' the doorway laughs.

"Goddamn, Pony, what am I gonna do with you?" He grabs Pony by the front of the shirt, ruffles his hair, drops a kiss to a temple. "Kid, did you try to thaw that shit out by puttin' it under your brother?" Pony pouts a little and shakes his head like he can't believe Darry would have thought somethin' like that of him.

"No, Soda tried to thaw it out by puttin' it under him." Darry howls again, grabs his side and then Soda, pullin' him in 'n givin' him the same kiss.

"You boys are gonna be the death of me." He shoots Dallas a grin 'n Two tries to look put out, rubbin' the cold spot on his back still, but he can't make it stick and he ends up smilin' too.

"C'mon Darry, you know you love us." Two sidles up beside Soda, tryin' to nudge him out of Darry's arms. Darry releases Pony solely to cuff Two up the side of his head but pulls him in, too. He squeezes Dallas' shoulder and he stops scowlin' 'n grins.

"Well, I don't think anyone's eatin' chicken tonight." Darry laughs and returns to the door, snappin' his keys off the table. "Who wants to go out for Dairy Queen, instead?" They all hoot 'n holler, even Dallas. Soda even turns a cartwheel right there in the middle of the living room and Darrys in such a good mood he doesn't even tell him off for it.

"And I'll tell you what, y'all can even get milkshakes. Dinner's on Pony!" Pony's jaw drops open 'n Two grabs Soda 'n they both make a break for the truck. Gleefully yippin' about orderin' half the menu. Dallas howls 'n follows them out, pullin' Soda straight out of the air when he goes for shotgun.

"Aw, c'mon Darry-" Darry ruffles his hair and chuckles.

"I'm kiddin', kiddo." Pony will swear he never feels relief like he does in that moment ever again. "Just promise me next time, remember to take the chicken out of the fridge, yeah?"

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

horse girl charlie morningstar, her partner in a cool hat and eye patch vaggie, and the Hazbin Horse Rehabilitation Ranch- where shit people are introduced to horses no one else wants and hopefully no one get trampled to death (niffty this means YOU)

other key features include

vaggie riding a small working horse and ppl keep calling it a pony and she keeps telling them It's Not A Fucking Pony

charlie and her beloved mule, who never listens to her

angel dust wanting to learn dressage bc it looks like "fancy sexy riding" and also he was banned from mentioning the words "bare back" or "bucking bronco"

husk constantly found drunk and asleep in his horse's stall while said horse nuzzles him

niffty obsessing over grooming all the horses down to their individual hairs, yes even the bad tempered horses, yes she likes it when they shmoosh her against a wall or step on her foot

alastor looking calm collected and in control on his horse as he wanders off from the group and never participates in activities bc his horse won't listen to him either and he's too proud to admit it

sir pentious keeps trying to make his horse look and preform the best using his own new designs for tack and gear and it always backfires but he's the go-to one if your saddle needs adjusting or fixing

his egg boiz are a flock of chickens

his horse keeps eating the chickens' eggs and he keeps crying over it, even when charlie tells him they wouldn't have hatched into chicks anyway

lucifer lives in a shack somewhere around here with his collection of customized my little pony brushible toys

the locals in the nearest town still talk about lilith's incredible horse whispering skills before she up and vanished

charlie gushes about these stories a LOT but laughs nervously if asked about her own way with horses

she tries.

her way of making sudden loud squees and eeeks and excited yells and wild energetic movements doesn't fit well with most of the horses

she also slips up and gets flaming mad at anything that threatens her family's ranch or anyone who mistreats a horse

angry charlie is Scary Charlie

her mule doesn't care tho it knows she's a pushover treat giver

when vaggie first figured out what was happening she spent weeks with her own horse slowly getting it used to all sorts of weird charlie-related things, including stealing charlie's jacket a few times to flap it wildly while chasing her horse around the paddock singing loud show tunes

vaggie's horse is the only one that'll let charlie ride it without being a nervous wreck

charlie maybe cried a little when she went for that first ride

vaggie has a shot gun

she spends a lot of time checking on things riding far out and alone and keeps the gun with her just in case

she's never actually threatened any of their human boarders with the shot gun but she does have an unnerving tendency to check and clean it whenever she's pissed and trying to keep some shred of her patience intact

every week there's at least one night set aside for an evening dance after dinner and yes chaggie was doing it long before any other ppl showed up

valentino showed up once and charlie chased him off the premises with vaggie's shotgun

the ranch used to have a television

now it has a radio tower

no one except alastor is happy about it but his radio commercial revenue is paying for most of this so they all keep mostly quiet about their grumbling and record voice lines for ads when he looms over them with a script

vaggie swears the time she shot out the radio tower's windows while arguing with alastor over her and charlie's voice lines was a complete accident

razzle and dazzle are ranch dogs who keep track of the horses when they're out grazing and both are COMPLETELY in tune with charlie, been with her since childhood, the three can basically read each others' minds and watching them all work together is like watching magic

(vaggie also knows how to work with them but has to use more obvious signals instead of just tiny changes in body language)

vaggie keeps trying to gently remind charlie there are events for dog handling she could enter in

but the ranch was lilith's passion and rehabilitating rejected horses her dream and charlie is not not giving up on that OR on the rejected people her mom always was so proud of and charlie is NOT letting herself think for one moment that her mom isn't coming home

speaking of coming home

chaggie met when charlie was out riding after a storm looking for a lost horse and found it staring curiously down at a half dead lady lying in a ditch with a freshly gouged out eye and burns on her back

the half dead lady claimed she shot out her own eye by accident and got hit by lightning

or maybe fell asleep on a campfire uhh

charlie was way too busy figuring out normal social interactions again and also how to patch up a pretty lady without being a complete fool about it to question vaggie's super realistic tale

vaggie was planning on staying just long enough to get on her feet again- especially after she started catching feelings watching charlie being sweet with all the stubborn horsies- and seeing how much charlie was struggling with the ranch without having someone else to look after

she was even gonna steal a horse on the way out

and got caught by charlie in the act

charlie just smiled sadly, told vaggie she was glad she wasn't heading off alone, told vaggie's horse to take care of her, and then went back to the daily chores

vaggie caught up with her an hour later

she'd had to properly put her horse away and get breakfast started first, for after they've finished up the morning stuff

they've been running the ranch together ever since

keekee the cat is the actual boss on the ranch and got her name from how doors always open for her (bc she bothers whoever's around until they drop what they're doing to obey her)

cherri bomb stops by once just to laugh at angel dust and ignore pentious but ends up being the only one who figures out why the new horse is spooking at everything- it's got hearing loss, and she's got it too from doing endless unlicensed fireworks shows, and she's totally just sticking around until the horse gets used to things here. totally

[alittlebitofloveliness]

Purly got Arrested Fic

This is so not his fault. 

If he’s going down for it- and it definitely seems like he is, considering the holding cell the blond haired cop with the gross cologne is locking them into seems pretty hardcore- he just wants to make that very clear. This is not his fault. 

Ok, so maybe it was his idea. But it was the kind of good idea that seems great when he’s lying in the lot passing a joint back and forth with Curly, the same kind of good idea as buying a drink for a stranger when you’re drunk, or baiting Steve into a fight until you find out Evie’s mad at him- not an actual good idea. He, being a very rational, very smart individual, knew this. 

Curly, apparently, did not. And since Curly is like a dog with a bone, or like that freakish raccoon he feeds with a box of soggy McDonald’s fries, he refused to let it go. So they did it. 

In both of their defense, while it was stupid, it wasn’t something he thought they could be arrested for. Ok, that’s wasn’t exactly true, but it definitely wasn’t something he thought they’d get caught doing. Something tells him that defense isn’t exactly gonna go over well with Darry. Soda might have thought it was funny- if it hadn’t been Curly he was doing it with. 

Bullshit.

“One phone call boys.” Officer Dipshit Cologne reminds them with a frown, then crosses to sit at a desk on the side of the room opposite the holding cell. 

Just great.

It’s kind of anticlimactic all things considered. Two-bit and Steve tell such tuff stories of being hauled in that he’d thought he’d at least feel cool the first time he got arrested, but so far it’s just been like, super annoying and inconvenient. He doesn’t feel very cool. Mostly embarrassed. And kind of hungry. Darry is supposed to be making chicken tonight and he really hopes he can get outta here before dinnertime because Soda will steal his share if he isn’t there.

He sighs and exchanges a look with Curly.

“You gonna call Tim?”

Curly scoffs.

“Why bother? Bail is five bucks we don’t have, ‘specially since I'll be out tomorrow. ‘Sides, he bailed me out last month when I lit that fire in the park, so it’ll be at least half a year ‘fore he does anythin’ like that again.”

“Shit.”

“What?” Curly grins, entirely in his element. Hell, he almost looks more relaxed than usual, standing in this glorified cage, leaning against the bars without a care in the world. Ponyboy can’t decide whether the sight makes him want to punch him or snog the life out of him. It’s a familiar feeling at this point. “not lookin’ forward to callin’ good ol’ Darry?”

“Shut up,” Pony glares. Fuck, he definitely wants to kiss him. Stupid fucking Curly Shepard with his cocky grin and that catlike arrogance, driving him mad when he should actually be mad, “the second I call Darry is the second my life ends.”

He’ll be grounded for life for this. He’ll be forty years old and sitting bored out of his fucking mind in the living room while Darry glares at him from the armchair. Curly, unfortunately, is an asshole and so refuses to see the gravity of the situation. Instead, he fucking laughs.

So much for “solidarity” and “don’t worry it’ll be fun” and “I’ve got your back, so quit being a pussy and just fucking do it already.”

Bullshit.

“Quit bein’ dramatic.”

“Oh if you think it’s gonna be such a calm and collected conversation why don’t you call Darry and explain that we got arrested for public indecency.”

“I think they called it disturbin’ the peace when they was cuffin’ me actually.”

“Lucky you,” Ponyboy snarls, because yeah, okay, Curly did have his pants on when they got arrested, but he definitely hadn’t had them on when that old lady called the cops, so really, they should both be getting the indecency charge. 

Bullshit.

“Real talk though,” Curly says, “I don’t mind callin’ Darry for you. The big man loves me.”

“Do not.” 

Darry was actually being like, really cool about his friendship with Curly but this whole incident would change that. And don’t even get him started on what would happen if Curly called the house and Soda answered. Then the holding cell would be a blessing, simply because Soda couldn’t commit a murder if Curly was already locked up.

“Well unless you’re fixin’ to stay here overnight and cuddle, one of us has gotta call someone.”

“What about Angela?”

“What about her?” Curly props his elbow on Pony’s shoulder.

“Would she come get us?”

“Hmm,” Curly considers it, “she might come get me. She owes me for helpin’ her sneak out without Tim catchin’ her last week, but she definitely won’t come for you.”

He’s right. Ponyboy knows he’s right because he and Angela kind of can’t fucking stand each other. He wouldn’t bail her out, not even for Curly’s sake, so it makes sense she wouldn’t bail him out either. Still, it’s fucking rude.

“You could call Matthews,” Curly suggests, “bet he’d be cool about it.”

“I gotta better chance of gettin’ the president on the line than Two-bit.”

“Guess you’re shit outta luck then,” Curly shrugs, beckoning him over to the bench on the other side of the cell. There’s a greasy looking guy passed out drunk leaning against it, so they take a seat on the opposite side, “you can always just stay the night with me. We could get real cozy if y’know what I mean?”

He waggles his eyebrows suggestively and Pony swats at him. Dealing with Curly, he’s learned, requires skills not unlike those one would need to tame a rabid dog or a toddler on crack. Which, given Curly’s upbringing, may have been something that happened once or twice. 

“I can’t not go home,” Ponyboy reminds him, “they’ll lose their shit.”

Which is fair. After Windrixville and Johnny and Dal it makes sense that Darry and Soda go apeshit when he’s late for curfew and doesn’t call ahead, which is why he tries his very best to keep them informed. Still. This is not a situation he is looking forward to informing them of.

“Aren’t they gonna lose their shit anyway?”

“Well yeah, but it’d definitely be worse if I don’t go home tonight and then they find out it’s because I was arrested.”

“I mean,” Curly points out, “you wouldn’t have to tell them.”

Shows what he knows. Curly has never had to sit on the couch with Darry using his freaky mind reading powers and Soda’s huge disappointed eyes boring into him to get him to confess to maybe, hypothetically, potentially cussing his teacher out in science class. Those two can get him to be more truthful than a polygraph. It’s so annoying.

“Yes I would. And I can’t not call. I just…I can’t.”

Curly seems to finally get it because his eyes light in understanding and he headbuts him in the shoulder. It’s kind of sweet.

“Better do it sooner than later then, huh?”

“Yeah,” Pony sighs, waving the cop over, slapping a hand over Curly’s mouth when the other boy goes to say something because he knows that look in Curly’s eye. It’s the same look he had when he told their gym teacher his shitty attitude probably wasn’t why his wife left him it was his looks.

Two minutes later he’s standing in front of the phone, that cop- who’s cologne is still terrible and giving him a headache- practically breathing down his neck, and wondering if he’s really going to go through with this. 

The cop clears his throat and that’s when Pony realizes that yes, he is indeed going to do this, because he does not have a choice.

Sighing, and refusing to glance at where Curly is audibly laughing at him in the holding cell, he carefully dials the number. Of course the first  number is a nine so he has to watch as the rotary phone slowly winds back to zero before he can wind it over to the six.

Finally, the dial tone sounds in his ear. It rings once. Twice. Three times. He’s just starting to worry that maybe no one is home when he hears a click and Darry’s smooth baritone filters through the speaker. 

“Hello?”

“Hey Darry,” his voice comes out a lot squeakier than he hoped and he fights to keep his feet from fidgeting. That cop had made it clear he didn’t appreciate it, and much as he’d never admit it, he was still kind of scared of cops, maybe even more so after Windrixville. 

“Ponyboy?” He can hear the slight concern in Darry’s voice. It’s an odd time for him to be calling, considering it isn’t even six yet and curfew is still hours away. “Everything ok?”

“I need you to come pick me up.”

“Okay…” Darry sounds almost suspicious now. He can hear hollering in the background- probably Steve and Two-bit arguing over the tv. “Where are you?”

“Don’t get mad.” Pony begs, and apparently it’s the wrong thing to say.

“What did you do?” Darry isn’t shouting- he’s a lot better about that now- but the resigned exhaustion in his voice is almost worse.

“Nothing!”

“Ponyboy,” Darry warns and it’s his I-swear-to-god-kid-you’re-gonna-send-me-to-an-early-grave voice, “where are you?”

“Before I answer that I need you to think about how good I’ve been lately. Straight As at school, track awards, hell, I even did the dishes yesterday even though it was Soda’s turn-”

“-You got arrested, didn’t you?” Darry cuts him off and Pony has to hand it to him, in the past year, ever since they got close again, Darry really has learned to read him like a book. 

“...yes.”

Darry sighs. It’s world weary, but if Pony didn’t know better he’d swear there was an undercurrent of amusement there. The arguing in the background has abruptly cut off, which is kind of rude. He’s just as tough as the rest of them. Him getting arrested shouldn’t be this surprising.

“What did you do?”

“Before I tell you I need you to keep an open mind-”

“-Nevermind.” Darry cuts him off again, firmly, “just…what’s the charge?”

“I’m not exactly sure,” Pony admits, “they said public indecency when they were cuffing me, but Curly swears it’ll only count as disturbing the peace-”

“If I get down there and you don’t have pants on so help me god, Ponyboy-”

“Cool it Dar,” he rolls his eyes, “the cops let me put them back on before they cuffed me.”

“Jesus christ,” he can almost see Darry through the phone, resting his forehead against the wall and rubbing his eyes, “you better have a damn good explanation for this.”

Good? Maybe not. Interesting? Definitely. Not that he was about to say that. This was going better than he could’ve hoped, all things considered, but he wasn’t about to test his luck.

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” Darry continues, “don’t answer any questions and don’t do anything stupid- scratch that, don’t do anything else stupid. And tell that friend of yours I’ll be payin’ Tim a visit on my way over.”

The line goes dead. 

He can’t help but grin as he places the phone back on the receiver. Sure, he’s still in huge trouble but that went like, so much better than he’d imagined. Hell, his grounding might even be lifted before he graduates.

As the cop walks him back over to the holding cell he can’t help but hope Soda wasn’t home to hear the aftermath of that particular phone call. Not that he thinks Soda won’t support him, but if Darry mentions Curly then the chances of him making this whole thing a lot more of an issue than it needs to be are 1000x higher. 

“Well?” Curly grins as soon as the door clanks shut behind him, Officer Dipshit Cologne’s key jangling in the lock, “How’d he take it?”

“He said he’s stoppin’ to talk to Tim on his way over here,” Pony tells him, hoping to wipe that smug look of Curly’s face, “so don’t get too comfortable.”

“Comfortable?” Curly snorts, stretching out on the bench, “Ponykid, this place is practically my second home at this point. ‘Sides, I already told you Tim ain’t comin’, not for somethin’ like this.”

“He might if Darry asks him to.” Pony points out. Curly doesn’t deign to answer. It doesn’t matter: they both know he’s right, even if Curly doesn’t want to admit it.

“Move over will ya?” Pony nudges Curly into a sitting position, taking a seat next to him on the bench. 

Curly elbows him back because he’s a menace.

Pony shoves him.

Curly hip checks him, hard enough he almost falls off the bench.

Pony tackles him. 

Then they’re really wrestling, rolling around on the concrete floor. Curly smells like Marlboro cigarettes and dirt and cheap shampoo, but somehow it works. They’ve rolled a bit, bit Curly’s got him pinned right now, and jus like every time they fight its unlike fighting anyone else. He’s hyper aware of everywhere Curly’s body is pressed against his- knees bracketed on either side of his hips, one hand pinning his shoulders down, the other reaching to smack at him half heartedly, in a way Pony knows is Curly’s version of playful.

He loves it, and like every time they tussle like this, he kind of also wants to explode.

“Hey!” Officer Dipshit Cologne rattled the door of the cell, “Knock it off you two!”

Ponyboy and Curly exchange a look and burst out laughing. Curly climbs off him, pulling Pony to his feet and the collapse on the bench together. 

Their mirth doesn’t last long.

“Ponyboy Curtis!” A second later Darry Curtis is striding into the station, green flannel tucked into his jeans in an attempt to look respectable, wearing his best ‘responsible adult’ face, and Ponyboy remembers he is still in so much trouble. “I’m here for my brother, Ponboy Curtus.”

Beside him, Curly has gone stiff. 

“No way,” he mutters, looking like he had that time they explored the old Bronsen house on halloween- that is to say, like he’d seen a ghost, “theres no fucking way…”

Ponyboy looks up and sees what stopped Curly in his tracks. Tim Shepard, as grim faced and dangerous looking as ever, prowling after Darry like a panther.

Pony shoot Curly a smug look. Curly swats at him without taking his eyes off his brother.

“This ain’t good…” he mutters, as Tim starts talking to Officer Dipshit Cologne alongside Darry.

“Sure ain’t.” Ponyboy agrees as the officer marches toward the cell, Darry and Tim at his heels. Golly they look pissed.

“Wanna make a run for it?”

“Fuck no,” Pony murmurs back, “I’m already in enough shit as it is.”

“You fuckin’ dumbass,” Tim barks as soon as the door’s unlocked, and he seizes Curly by the ear, ignoring his pained yelp as he half drags him out of the police station, scolding him in rapid fire spanish. Pony doesn’t understand much but his name gets thrown in there a few times and he can’t help but wince. The last thing he needs is to be on Tim Shepard’s shit list.

Darry doesn’t look too happy but he doesn’t look near as mad as Tim. Pony thanks his lucky stars for that.

‘C’mon kiddo,” Darry jerks his head, “let’s go.”

Pony follows him out to the truck, explains the thought process behind stripping down and trying to steal the coins in the fountain at the park because it seemed like there’d be enough for cigarettes and movie snacks. He pretends he doesn’t know what Darry means when he tells him he of all people needs to be careful about indecency charges, while his cheeks heat and Darry gives him terrified, significant, half pleading looks. 

Still, he can’t bring himself to regret any of it. Not even when Soda spends half an hour ranting to him about how Curly is the spawn of the devil on earth. Not even when Steve laughs at him about why he got arrested.

Like everything when it comes to Curly, it was just too much fun to regret. 

[daytaker]

The Gang's Tumblr Pages

Inspired by this and my own reaction to it.

Lucifer

Perfectly curated, perfectly formatted, and whenever there's a major change to the tumblr format, he simply leaves the website altogether in a huff of peacock feathers.

Lots of HD photography of nature getting reblogged.

Has an extremely complicated and specific list of tags he uses for every single post.

He only reblogs text posts that are sufficiently visually appealing. Very few meet his high standards.

You could look through his entire blog and not learn one single thing about him except that he's a perfectionist to the point of neurosis.

He has a lot of professional art blogs following him.

Mammon

Oversharing oversharing oversharing!!!!

He regularly gets himself in trouble by shouting about the shit he's done into the void of the internet.

Tried to have a tagging system but forgets about 7/10 times.

Reblogs himself all the time to say "AND ANOTHER THING!!!"

He hates looking at the actual blog pages. The text is always so tiny and some of them start playing music and changing his mouse into a weird shape? No thank you.

He has very few followers and he doesn't really care. Who goes on tumblr for the social element? Weirdos, that's who.

He's insanely easy to troll with anonymous asks. Everyone has done it. Even Lucifer, though he wouldn't admit it.

Some of his best asks:

"did u just post that you're okay with the idea of ponies and unicorns breeding. like no shade on that conceptually but why."

"If you reblog another 'reblog this for good luck' post, I will personally break down your door and steal your skin."

"ur ugly" "yeah-huh" "ugly" "no i won't 'come off anon and fight u' whhy don't you come ON anon and fight me?" "'i don't know how' sounds like something a chicken would say"

Leviathan

He just makes a blog like one of us. Fandom stuff.

Except he's multifandom to the extreme. It's impossible to keep track of his interests because he always has so many simultaneously.

He has the most followers of the brothers just because he gets so deep into so many fandoms that they come rolling in.

He has blocked all of his brothers except for the twins. They're okay.

His blog is a chaotic mess but there is order within the madness. He has a masterpost of tags that explains everything if you care to look at it. (I don't recommend it.)

Satan

It feels stupid to even put this in writing but...cat pics. Endless cat pics. That's like 90% of his blog.

The other 10% is a mixture of book recommendations and analysis, Lucifer shade, and a comprehensive, ever-expanding list of shit Lucifer has done to make Satan angry. It's a very long list. It's organized by theme.

"Lucifer inflicts unjust punishments." "Lucifer makes unnecessary snide remarks." "Lucifer simping for Diavolo and MC (pathetic)."

His blog itself is very minimalist and clean.

He's another fastidious tagger. He tags the cat pics by color, breed, age, number of cats, setting...

Asmodeus

He's not very into tumblr. It's like Devilgram but more complicated and less popular.

Sometimes he'll post or reblog 'aesthetic' things. Moodboards and the like.

In general though, he doesn't really 'get' tumblr.

People don't post selfies very often. Weird.

Beelzebub

Food blog.

Just food.

Reblogging hot dogs.

Reblogging nachos.

Reblogging ice cream.

Nothing else. Ever.

Belphegor

"This minimalist Tumblr has no posts."

No posts.

Default profile picture.

Sometimes he'll like something.

Usually he just looks at it.

Diavolo

There is no order. Only chaos.

He hardly ever uses it, then he'll come online and reblog a million things that have nothing to do with each other. Then he'll go silent again.

He has no tagging system.

He has no custom theme.

He is very friendly to all anonymous askers though.

Barbatos

Barbatos would never have a tumblr. Don't be ridiculous.

Solomon

He only posts very rarely. He prefers to lurk.

When he does post, it's something weird as fuck, like reblogging statistics about owl pellet contents.

He likes to keep people on their toes.

Simeon

Reblogging inspirational quotes, pictures of nature, and general positivity.

That is, once he figures out how the website works.

That takes a really long time.

What is a queue? What are tags? Why is it called a "reblog"? How does he track activity? How does he navigate the homepage? Why does it post things in such a strange order? What is a "Blaze"? What is a draft? Custom URL? Custom Theme? Sideblogs? Mass Post Editor?

Someone please help him.

Solomon probably does that.

Luke

Baking.

He uses tumblr for recipes and images of baked goods.

But tumblr isn't even the best place to go for that, so he isn't on very often.

He sometimes likes Simeon's posts, just as a show of support since he knows how hard Simeon works to post anything anywhere.

[writing-until-i-drop]

The Devil Doc & The Flyboy | Sneak Peek

Hangman x Marine Corpsman-Devil Doc!OC

Every time Fiona "Kitten" Reid is deployed, something bad happens. Win-a-medal type bad. And when Warlock is looking for a survivalist instructor for the Daggers during the uranium mission, he's shocked that the top recommendation from his colleagues is a young medical corpsman the Marines she served with dubbed "Kitten." After making a grand entrance at the expense of Jake's older brother and Bob's sanity, Fiona finds herself squarely in Hangman's sights. But he better pay attention in class because her lessons come from more than a textbook...

“Corpsman Reid, at ease.” The Rear Admiral better known as Warlock motioned for her to take a seat. It was the first time that morning she was happy to be in uniform, she would have felt naked in scrubs. 

“Sir,” She dug her short nails into her palm under the table, keeping her composure even as her pulse skyrocketed. You’re a marine, she chided herself, get a damn grip. She felt like the kid she had been before her first deployment with a marine detachment. A timid, little midwestern girl who didn’t drink or curse. The rough necks had had a fun time breaking her in. 

They jokingly called her Kitten. As in a scared little kitten afraid of her own shadow. Then the worst had happened and they’d discovered that the kitten had claws. That’s when she became one of them, a marine. She felt the ghostly weight of two hands on her shoulders and sat a little straighter, meeting the Vice Admiral’s gaze head-on.

“I read your file, corpsman but your ribbon rack tells one hell of a story on its own.”

“Oorah, sir.”

“Two Purple Hearts, three bronze stars with combat valor, if you weren’t a corpsman you’d be well on your way to admiralty and a senate seat.” She must not have done a good job at disguising her disgust at being part of the brass, Warlock’s laughter filling the room.

“I asked for a shortlist of men for a special assignment and imagine my surprise when the first recommendation from a general was someone named Kitten.” Aw fuck. 

Fiona’s smile couldn’t be helped. General Matteo Alverez. He had visited her detachment in Iraq for a dog and pony show and when things went south, as they always seemed to do when she was involved, he’d seen Fiona in action, running towards danger with a stethoscope around her neck.

“Am I going brown side out again, sir?” She could already feel the sand in her boots from another desert deployment. “Give the word.” She wanted him to give it to her straight. As much as she wanted to stay, she would always go if the Navy asked her to.

“I’m sure you’ve heard the scuttlebutt about a classified flight mission,” Warlock raised a white brow, knowing nothing classified stayed fully secret in a town like North Island. She nodded. “Enemy territory is a rough place to be,” Rough was putting it lightly in her experience and opinion. “I want you to prepare them, teach them how to survive. No manual, no guidelines, your experience will be their gospel.”’ That was…insane. She wasn’t an instructor. She would run towards live fire, snap a man’s neck, and put her phone on the bar when Penny wasn’t looking. She was used to doing dangerous and ill-advised things. But teach?

“Sir, I-”

“Before you respond, the General said to remind you that a true marine never runs from a fight.” Fiona sighed,

“Aye aye, sir. Just don’t give me a big chicken dinner when I kill your flyboys’ egos.” Warlock laughed, spilling coffee on his pristine uniform.

“If you can do that, I’ll give you another damn medal for doing the impossible.” 

Big chicken dinner = Bad conduct discharge

Scuttlebutt = gossip

Can't wait for more? Let me know, I'll add you to the taglist.

Fiona and Jake's story is going to have mentions of combat, war, torture (nothing too graphic), too many Navy/Marine inaccuracies to count (I'm doing a lot of research though), plenty of good times at the Hard Deck, Warlock being an enabler, and Jake being the next in a long line of Top Gun students to be hot for teacher.

[imdead770]

The Outsiders Random Headcanons

Authors Note: I feel like writing but I don't feel writing a specific plot. Enjoy.

Darry -

He 100% has at least one tattoo. He got it when he was a teenager to rebel against his dad. It's probably something subtle, but the moment the gang found out, they went crazy.

" YOU HAVE A TATTOO?? "

" yeah..? "

" GUYS, DARRY'S A BADASS! "

" WHAT!?! "

Sodapop -

His handwriting and spelling are trash. It somewhere in between doctors writing and chicken scratch. So whenever he writes someone a card for their birthday, the whole gang pitches in trying to figure it out.

" is that a v or a w..? "

" it's gotta be a v, it looks like very.. "

" Soda! What's this say? "

" says... Steve."

".. what the fu- "

Ponyboy -

We all know Pony has nightmares, but he also has the wildest, most vivid dreams. Crazy part is he remembers every single detail of them. If the gang gets bored they just ask Pony about his dreams.

" So, I wasn't me, I was a chicken. And I was gettin' hunt down for some guys dinner. Crazy part is, the guy who killed me, was me. "

" ..what? "

" Yeah. Then they, well I, cooked me, I was watchin' it, like I was the air or something. Then I ate it, honestly it was really good. "

" you.. ate yourself? "

" Yup. Really good. Tasted like watermelon. "

Johnny -

He's terrified of bugs. I mean terrified. You know those nights he spends in the lot? One time he woke up to the biggest beetle he's ever seen right on his chest. You could've heard the scream from South Dakota.

" Johnny! I heard ya' screamin', you alright? What happened? "

" Bug.. really.. really big bug. "

" ... you screamed like that for a bug? "

" IT WAS A REALLY BIG BUG, OKAY!? "

Dallas -

Dallas Winston. Cold, tough, Dallas Winston. He 100% has a stuffed animal his mom gave him when he was little. Just a little stuffed brown bear he keeps behind his pillow. Only one person knows about it, that's Buck. Dallas was asleep in his room, drunk as hell, just holding it against him. He only brought it up once.

" Hey, Dallas, why you gotta bear? "

The glare Dallas gave him. He never brought it up again.

Two-Bit -

So we all know this dumbass is tipsy 25/8. But sometimes, every Saturday night, he'll get wasted. He'll act like a literal crackhead, and the gangs all here for it. One time he dove into a lake because he thought he'd find diamonds. Ended up WWE style fighting a swan.

" GET BACK HERE YOU PALE-ASS BITCH! "

" TWO, THAT'S A FUCKING SWAN "

" NO IT AINT, IT'S A WALRUS "

Steve -

Steve. I don't know why, but I think Steve has a basic-bitch label. I don't see that. This man is pure fucking chaos. One time he almost blew up DX because he overcooked a bologna sandwich in the microwave. The break room still smells like bologna.

" STEVE?! WHY'S IT SMELL LIKE A PIG JUST KILLED ITSELF? "

" I PUT 30 SECONDS?? "

" THAT'S 30 MINUTES, DIP-SHIT "

" ..ohhh... "

[naanima]

Wrote this in between making breakfast and cooking the turkey roll. I'm stunned at my own productivity. So, a Christmas present to all the Dirlies. (I'll post this on Ao3 in the next few days. Hopefully).

Maxiel, GEN, Christmas, sweet, soft happiness. 1.9k words. Unbetad (I barely gave it a second look).

What Max got Daniel for Christmas.

Tidings I bring

So far Christmas has been topnotch, he had gone for a run fully rugged up because holy fuck it was cold for a Perth Christmas morning. But the rising sun that had lit up the sky a beautiful orange had made it worth it. It felt like he was the only person in the world, running alone on the pavement, the trees changing colour as the sun had risen higher.

The only thing that had shattered the illusion of him being the only person in the world had been an old man with a giant ass dog that had sent him running across the road to the safety of a pedestrian pathway without a pony sized dog. Sure, the man had said with a giant smile that she was harmless but Daniel wasn't trusting any stranger's dog.

He had gotten back to his parents' place unaccosted by any other canine. Had a shower, and moved to the kitchen to empty the dishwasher and put stuff away in the correct cupboards, and then made himself a coffee with his parents’ new coffee machine.

His mum had walked in while he was finishing his coffee. She gave him a peck on the cheek and murmured, “Merry Christmas,” as she started getting things out for christmas breakfast.

He helped his mum with breakfast. Well, he helped by getting the fancy Christmas breakfast plates and cutlery from the back of the higher cabinets, washed the fruits, and yappes at her as she went about making delicious cheesy chicken sandwiches and sliced fruits.

Once the prep work was done, Daniel made them both an espresso.

Grace' lips had quirked up at the corner when she took a sip and tasted the grappa. The two of them sat at the kitchen bench, drinking their nicely boozed up espresso as they looked out the sliding doors into the garden dusted by sunlight. These were the moments he had missed the most when he had been away, the quiet moment with his family, with his mum, just existing together with people that loved him without reservation, no matter how much he fucked up.

These were the perfect moments.

He looked at the small mug in his hands, and thought about telling his mum that he was sorry that he had never won a World Championship. He was never going to get another chance because he was done. But this, here in the quiet kitchen of his parents home, surrounded by childhood memorabilia and the love of his mother, he was at peace with it.

He let the thought go, there would be a better time for it later. He has all the time now.

His phone pinged, he looked at his phone and frowned at the message.

MAXMILLIAN ⭐⭐⭐⭐: Are you at your parents’?

Daniel gnawed his lips as he typed out a response. Barely noticing his mum standing out to check the sandwiches.

DR3: yeah…❓❓❓

MAXMILLIAN ⭐⭐⭐⭐: I have your present.

DR3: better be a big one Maxy!

MAXMILLIAN ⭐⭐⭐⭐: It will be big.

“Anything important?” Grace asked.

Daniel blinked and smiled back, “All good. Just Max nailing out the details for my Christmas present.”

Grace’ raised a brow but didn't say anything else, just started to plate the cheesy deliciousness that Daniel couldn't wait to bite into.

…

Daniel hated the dumb wooden chairs for the outdoor dining, but they were having their Christmas lunch/dinner outside, and Daniel was the one that ended up with the job of getting them from the shed. Getting them wasn't the problem, the problem was having to dust off the damn cobwebs, and deal with the spiders and whatever else that had made their home on them. Urgh.

He should have swapped with his dad and started up the barbeque.

“Daniel.”

And oh look, now he was having auditory hallucinations, because that sure sounded like Max Verstappen calling his name. Which would be fucking ridiculous, the man would be at home at Christmas with his cookie cutter ready to go fa-

“Daniel.”

And fuck that was definitely Max's voice and his way of saying his name, ‘Danyul’. Daniel abandoned the stare off he had going with a spider, not like it mattered since the spider didn't even acknowledge his presence, and whipped around so fast he almost lost his balance. And standing on the steps of the his parents’ outdoor decking was Max fucking Verstappen in a short sleeved, oh my fucking god, Enchanté Parts & Services tee that Daniel had sent him but never thought he would wear, and and a pair of black shorts.

What in the name of his deeply buried sex dreams was happening?! (Okay, so most of them were honestly embarrassing soft fantasies about spending time together and doing super sappy things together, but that was not the point, Daniel). Oh, Max’s hair was looking good.

And oh yeah, speaking was required, “Max,” his voice sounded croaky, which he blamed how dry his throat had gotten. “Hi!” And that was much better.

“Hi Daniel,” Max said, voice soft and happy. Smile blooming across his face.

And Daniel felt his own face spreading with a giant smile in return. Max was here. Max was here! Max was here in his parents’ home on Christmas day!

They stood there looking at each other, smiles growing larger by the seconds. Before it could get awkward, his mum's cough broke the moment.

Daniel turned to look at her, eyes slowly blinking, he felt a bit dazed, must be the sunlight. His mum was looking at them with barely contained amusement, Daniel dimly noted that his dad was looking through the kitchen window. And oh yeah, there were other people around, and there were going to be more, over twenty people that were going to be invading the Ricciardo household for Christmas.

And oh my fucking god, Max was here at his parents' house on Christmas.

“Max, come in and have a gin and tonic. I got a nice brand I think you would love,” Grace said as she ushered Max into the house, throwing a pointed look at Daniel. And Daniel has no clue what to do but follow them back inside.

Daniel walked into the kitchen and noticed the giant fucking white box on the kitchen dining table. It had to have been half a metre tall and thirty centimetres wide. Standing next to it were two strangers, a man and a woman dressed in some sort of pale green uniform. They both had very polite customer smiles on their faces.

His dad was standing on the other side of the table, looking at it with a combination of suspicion and interest, Grace walked by without a glance and went straight to the liquor cabinet to grab the gin that she had promised Max.

Daniel looked at the box for several seconds before turning to look at Max. He waved at the thing with his hands, speechless.

Max's face was slightly pink as he rubbed the back of his head, and then looked up tentatively.

“Daniel, you didn't tell me what you wanted for Christmas, and I naturally wanted to get you something special. So.” He gestured at whatever the fuck that was.

“Uh,” Daniel uttered.

“So I thought about it, and had this made. But I wanted it to be fresh so it had to be made yesterday, and then I flew here from Monaco with it. Oh, and that's James and Louise, I was worried of something going wrong so I naturally had them accompa-”

“Wait. What. What do you mean something going wrong?” Daniel interrupted. How dangerous could his present be?

“Excuse me,” Louise politely interjected. “Perhaps it would be best if we show you?”

Max smiled, “Yes. That would be of course excellent.”

Daniel just nodded his head.

Louise and James brought out the box that had been hiding behind the giant whatever it was on the table. They opened it and retrieved a knife each, and before Daniel could panic they cut the strings tied around the box.

Max had moved next to Danie, his shoulder brushing Daniel's, and they had shared another smile before turning their attention to the unboxing. Grace had handed Max the promised gin and tonic, and moved next to Joe, the two of them sharing a bemused look as they looked upon two strangers unboxing a large box on their dining table.

It took several minutes to remove the strings carefully, and James had to stand up on the kitchen chair to get to the strings at the top. The card box came off slowly, and it took several seconds before Daniel realised what it was.

He distantly heard the soft gasp from his mum and exhale of, “fuck,” from his dad. And Daniel’s brain was obviously failing to comprehend anything.

Because on his fucking table was a giant sized replica of the World Championship trophy.

“Is that a cake?” Grace asked.

“Yes,” Max answered.

Daniel whipped his head around to stare at Max who was already looking at Daniel, waiting.

“It is a cheesecake,” Max said, ramping up to his full Max-explain mode, hands making gestures to emphasise his point. “The outside is a combination of white chocolate and buttercream, because of course fondant would be disgusting.” His nose scrunched up in disgust. “And Daniel, I did not wish to share a cheesecake with you and your loved ones with a bad tasting cake.”

And Daniel knew his face was doing something weird, he had always shown too much, unable to hide his emotions when it became too much. And this was too much. This was Max bringing him a piece of one of his best moments in life to share with Daniel and his loved ones. This was Max remembering a dumb present from years as a joke even though the sentiment of sharing it with each was all too real. This was Max coming to Perth, to his parents' home on Christmas day. This was Max making a fucking a statement but still giving Daniel a way out if he didn't want to acknowledge whatever they had been dancing around with for years now.

And Daniel could be cautious, could be cowardly, could make a joke, and Max would blink and then smile and move on. But Daniel was tired of being afraid, Daniel was tired of denying what had been brewing between them, and Daniel didn't want Max to stand there and wait for Daniel to be brave.

He moved, stunned Max in the middle of explaining how he had wanted the cake to be bigger, grabbed him by the back of his head and pulled and he leaned in. Daniel had thought about what it would have been like to kiss Max for years now, and he finally let himself have what he has wanted. His mouth met Max’s open mouth, and he kissed him deep. Max was only surprised for a second, he had responded almost straight away, hands going around Daniel's waist, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. For a kiss years in the making it was incredibly soft and gentle. Both of them were aware how precious this was.

It was simply lovely.

When they finally pulled apart they were smiling like idiots at each other. They could have stood there looking at each forever if it wasn't interrupted.

“James and Louise, would you like to stay for lunch?” Grace asked from somewhere behind Daniel.

And fuck, Daniel’ eyes widened in horror as he realised he had just forgotten about his parents. Max’s eyes had also gone wide, mouth hanging open, and Daniel couldn't help it, Max truly did look like Sid the Sloth. He started cackling, had to leave heavily against Max and hold on or else he was going to fall over laughing.

Max pulled him in tighter and started giggling uncontrollably.

Best Christmas ever.

[hihigherdi]

When I was at the Al Brooks talk, I kept thinking about how much I loved writing when I was younger, when I first got here to San Francisco. I have so many stories from the different retail places I’ve worked – Nordstrom, Microsoft, where I am now - where I climbed and then fell off the corporate ladders year after year while going to therapy to deal with all of the personal stuff that the jobs surfaced

I might drop a few entries here of that old writing stuff as I think about what could be new.

Love is the Elixir

He came well recommended though he lived in the country. My friends and I share a prejudice regarding rural America, we’re too cynical to appreciate its undiscovered charms. Sure, we like the ponies and the idea of antiquing but when you haul that stuff back to the house? All you really have is an old busted up bench that’s really uncomfortable. Where I’m from, everybody knows that the best part of small towns is the hope that you’ll come across a rogue A&W so you can drink the perfect root beer float. As with most small towns, the road turned into more roads and suddenly, I was there.

You’d think a therapist’s office in the country would at least have some kind of white picket fence. Maybe one of those Desidrata welcome mats or a winsome little sign on a wooden door that said “We’re just two chickens clucking around”.

I’m nervous even writing this.

But instead I was greeted by a pasture filled with Longhorn cattle, the kind that seems to only live in Texas or a Chuck Norris film. You know – America. But seriously, Longhorn cattle? In my therapeutic experience? That was unexpected. I parked my little city slicker car so terribly out of place, wandered up to the fence and eye-balled a big male. It was a “he” based on the size of its…hooves. It lumbered over and eye-balled me right back.

Hello cow.

I knew he probably deserved a more majestic greeting but my whispered hi there was further indictment of why I was there in the first place (I had no opening lines with males of any kind).

I tentatively opened up the little country door to the little country house. A deafening wave of classical music coming from upstairs hit me square in the face from a room somewhere upstairs. It was the music that someone who had to sit on the other side of other peoples’ crazy needs to absorb between appointments. I felt guilty that we put him through it.

I waited in the obligatory little room where people like me wait. Leather-bound books and a cozy chair that felt like it had been born there. And a poster that simply read “Love is the Elixir of the Universe.” While I sunk into the chair and silently panicked, a little Corgi waddled her way inside. I stroked her back, admired her little belly and told her so. Feeling my heart slow just a little. Would I still have need of a therapist had I invested in a dog two years ago? What about a cat? A bird would have sent me there years earlier, I knew that much.

The music stopped. A disembodied voice cut through the silence and called for me without using my name. One part Indian, one part British all the rest of it weary. I’d been rejected by enough men to know he didn’t want me there which was fine, fuck you Mr.Tired Voice, I didn’t exactly want to be there either.

He was an old man. Surprisingly little. Glasses. Bare feet. God. Bare feet, come on.

He sat in his chair. I sat in the couch. He didn’t look at me, didn’t say hello. Just started writing on a note pad. We sat there for a good minute or two in total silence. If someone could have harnessed my nervous energy a few more polar bears would be alive today. Did you read the Wall Street Journal article suggesting that nervous energy is extremely productive? It can create things like biodegradable fuel that people outside of Berkeley actually care about and save animals that are extinct. Maybe you’re reading this, you’re smart enough to make that happen and you just haven’t because you’re nervous but you’re lazy. Do you feel badly now that you know you could have done something for the bears? If not you should, you really should.

Why are you here.

I’m here to let go of a relationship I never really had that may have wrecked me.

So you’re crazy then.

(Go to hell you elitist, classical music-listening, cotton shirt-wearing, creepy barefoot longhorn cattle-owning clearly height compensating narcissist.)

Well it feels that way sometimes. But I don’t want to be.

What happens if you really are wrecked.

At least I’ll know. That has to be good. It’s the not knowing that’s hard.

But don’t you already know?

(Jesus asked, Do you really want to get well?)

I suppose I do. I guess I want to be something more than wrecked from someone who should have never wrecked me in the first place.

Will you tell the truth?

Yes. (too quick)

…I don’t think I know how.

So you’re a liar.

(He SEES. Get out. Make him like you. But he won’t. He sees you.)

I don’t have much to lose so I guess I will. It’s weird how long it took to get here, how tightly one can cling to something that doesn’t even exist, that’s all in my head but false hope seems to be postponed grief. So yes, I’ll be honest. Maybe it’s easy to be honest when one is at the bottom of things.

Is that it?

Is what it?

Silence.

What are you afraid of most?

That I’ll charm you and you won’t be able to see me and I will leave with the relief of knowing that I’ve fooled you like I’ve fooled everybody else. And the despair of knowing that I did.

You know all that is up to you.

That’s what scares me the most.

It should.

I may not be ready for this. I may not be capable.

No one ever is. Isn’t that beautiful.

[alaskan-wallflower]

things i loved on my second reread of the outsiders since eighth grade (mostly the curtis bros because i love them)

ponyboy is fucking hilarious

darry looks ‘just like the curtis’ dad but acts the exact opposite’

darry instantly regretted smacking ponyboy

darry likes being teased by soda

soda ‘looks like a greek god’ (greek mythology hyperfixation went off + new art refs!!)

soda thoroughly enjoys the feeling of being in love

pony is the heaviest smoker out of the curtis brothers, soda only smokes to look tuff and darry is too proud of his body to smoke

darry is 6’2’’ and his muscles are like ‘oversized baseballs’ according to pony

soda’s nickname used to be pepsicola

soda calls ponyboy honey and darry calls him baby (i swear if i get an anon saying this is anything but platonic im gonna jump off a building)

soda had a horse named mickey mouse that he had to give away

pony and soda both cried at their parents funeral but darry just stuffed his hands in his pockets and wore a ‘helpless pleading look’

the gang refers to darry as superman

darry works two jobs and makes good at both

all three curtis’ have gigantic appetites and darry cooked two chickens before the rumble because of it

soda hates when his brothers fight

darry used to be super close to his dad

when darry saw ponyboy it was (supposedly) the first time pony had seen him cry in ages

the end of chapter 6 where pony got reunited with his brothers ohmygosh that was my favorite part of the whole book

even darry wouldn’t wanna get into a fight with dally

darry would be a soc if it weren’t for the gang

darry was voted boy of the year and was on a football scholarship

darry checks all of pony boy’s math assignments to make sure he’s doing them right

darry full naming pony when he caught him smoking in bed made me laugh

pony has almost red hair (another reason why i like the musical pony over movie pony)

pony hates most people with green eyes

soda has warm brown eyes that can go from happy and cheerful to blazing with anger in a second

darry would be really good looking if it wasn’t for his cold eyes

johnny’s scar goes from his cheek to his temple and it’s really hard to look at

darry is harder on pony than his parents were out of fear that pony’s gonna throw away the same opportunities that he had before his parents died

pony is a grammar police

soda is really bad at spelling

dally’s death was actually an assisted suicide (i didn’t catch into this when i was in eighth grade)

darry doesn’t like movies

two bit and steve got kicked out a church for horsing around once (i think it was them, idk)

darry and paul used to be best friends

ponyboy felt really bad because he didn’t think he asked for darry enough when he was sick

it was kind of implied darry feels that pony favors soda and vice versa

soda and darry tickle ponyboy out of bed in the morning

[im14andivebeen14foramonth]

do you mayhaps have any two-bit hcs?? :D (also hi i hope you’ve had a good day!!! ^^)

omg there's no way I forgot this was in my ask box for this long 😭😭 that's my bad bro (and I hope you've had a good day too :DD)

but yes ofc!! two-bit mathews you are so underrated and I love you with my whole heart mwuah

- bro sunburns SO easily, the second summer hits his face is red (darry tries to get him to put sunblock on all the time but two-bit refuses because he likes being a little shit and frustrate darry)

- two-bit definitely ate dirt growing up multiple times and now he has the immune system of a god. cold and flu season comes around and wipes out the rest of the gang and two-bits the only one left standing. he likes to play nurse for the gang tho and make them soup and shit (but ofc it's two-bit so trust that he's going to being annoying the gang the whole time)

- never refuses a tea party with his little sister. you WILL catch this man with a tiara on and cramped onto a little kids plastic chair

- practically pony and johnnys resident chauffer, he likes taking them out to get food after school

- speaking of school, two-bit is having a BLAST. he's standing outside ponys classroom door making faces and trying to get pony to laugh, and sometimes he tries to get pony sent out into the hall or smthn cuz hes bored and wants someone to hang out with

- and when him and dally (let's pretend dally cares enough to go to school) are together it is a NIGHTMARE. theyre definitely sitting in the back of the class fucking around the whole time, theyre picking each other for every single project and then two-bit tries to improv it when it's time to present bc they didn't actually do it, he's lurking outside of the school outside dallys classroom window and making him laugh and hiding in the bushes whenever the teacher looks over

- he's also a master of sneaking out of school, and he does try to sneak all of his friends out the (first story) windows of their classes

- absolutely raiding the school vending machine, he's getting a shit ton of snacks and then pushing and tipping the machine until more come out. if you're behind him in line at a vending machine just walk away bc there will not be a crumb left when he's done

- he's also the kid having an entire feast in the back of class. he got sent to the principal one time for pulling out a rotisserie chicken and going ham on it mid lesson

- his hair is fluffyyyy under all that grease

- the type to show up to his partners house in the middle of the night and throw pebbles at their window until they open it (for marbit, marcia thinks it's cute. for darbit, darrys ready to rip two-bits head off because "the door is literally always unlocked two-bit and my room is on the first floor anyway, I stg if you break my goddamn window-")

- he makes absolutely diabolic food combinations

- "hey do you guys dare me to do *insert something really fucking stupid* "no, two-bit. please do not do that." "welp since you dared me I guess I gotta!"

- he's silly and an obnoxious joker but he can actually be super mature, and he will enter responsible big brother mode in a heart beat (like how he offered to stay with pony the day after the fire and how he checked ponys forehead when he looked sick)

- he loves the arcade and he's a god at ski ball, though it doesn't matter because he's stealing ever single ticket he sees anyway

- on a similar note BEWARE of this man if you do bumper carts with him. he's on a mission to wreck everyone's shit and the gang all start trying to get the hell out of there when they hear his evil laugh getting closer and closer

- absolutely amazing at character voice impressions, specifically mickey, donald and goofy. he always does impressions to try and cheer up sad pony

-very enthusiastic nacho enjoyer

[pumpkinsy0]

can we have more tim and pony friendship cause i love them (also do you think curtis gang would be shocked tim has a little alliance with pony or what)

i permit more tim and pony interactions☝🏽☝🏽☝🏽

BUT BEFORE I START YES!!! they r a lil shocked bc its like, “we barely understand u and curly, but how the fuck did u and tim strike a bond, yall have like nothing in common what could u possibly b talking about together”

ANYWAYS onto the hcs<33

•pls dont let angela, tim, and pony meet all together, some sort of teasing will come curlys way</33, especially if fir whatever reason theyre having a random family game night

•sometimes when pony draws curly, he feels like it looks more like tim and just adds the scar, and if pony leaves it out, tim takes a quick peek inside

•he can tell some features of it r more so curlys, but hes flattered nonetheless

• tims a bit of a dickhead, he likes scaring pony a tad bit😭

•tim used to joke to curly that when he smashed their heads together for that chicken dare, he shouldve just made them kiss instead so curly could shut up about pony in the future, and now since theyre together he jokes about it to pony

•pony sometimes is a liiitttllleeee spy for tim, nothin too big rlly, only things concerning curly

•please guys,,,, tim teaching pony some defensive moves,,,,he knows pony and him dont fight the same way, so tim helps by at least helping pony buy himself some times in fights

•tim makes sure pony eats SOMETHING before he leaves the house

•to this day, tim will never rlly tell pony just why the hell he was on the couch that day, he says thats for him to know

•tims realized that he doesnt rlly see pony flirt w curly so the wingman that he is, he pulls pony to the side and is like “here give curly this” or he tells pony to say something to curly, something along those lines, just to get the ball rollin

•i like to imagine that sometimes tim sees some random white family on the cover and teases pony (and darry and soda but shhh they aint here rn) that thats his family right there

[sparklingcid3r]

Do you gots any headcanons or AU ideas of the gang that are going to make me choke on my tongue, throw my phone, or rip my hair out from how angsty they are?

I’m in serious angst withdrawal and I need my dose

look no further man i gotchu covered🫡

- The phone call with Dally plays constantly through Darry’s head. He needs to be doing something or else he just hears Dally’s voice asking for help, for Darry, and to meet him at the lot. He loses sleep over it

- More on that, when they get to the lot and Dally’s dies at their feet, Darry is lunging for him but pulls away before he can reach him because of the cops already have their guns drawn on them. Darry was convinced they were going to open fire on all of them and there was no way to protect them

- Steve already has his hands in the air before any of the rest of the gang has recovered from the shock. He’s been on the business end of a police gun before, having been involved in a fight where the police got called and drew weapons on a handful of them. Steve had watched them shoot dead one of the guys he’d been tussling with and has hated the fuzz with a passion since, but always complied (if it didn’t mean snitching, he’s no rat)

- I’ve written about this before, but when Darry was dealing with the aftermath of their parents’ death he was pretty absent around the house, so Soda often caught himself thinking that Darry was going to abandon them. He’d wake up and Darry would be out the door already and he’d stumble into Darry’s room to see if it was empty of all his stuff, and seeing everything right where it should be was like having oxygen pushed back into his lungs

- Two-Bit once showed up at the Curtis house at 2 in the morning. Darry had been up, just unable to sleep, and realized quickly that Two-Bit was wasted and coming off a hard bender. He was just a mess, crying and telling Darry he didn’t know what to do anymore, Johnny was dead, Dally was dead, he even talks about his father and how fucked it was that he got another broad knocked up and ditched them

- Darry just gets him safely inside and helps him sober up. He doesn’t say much as he gives Two-Bit water and fresh clothes. There’s leftover fried chicken that Darry had made for Pony and Soda the other night while trying to cheer them up, so he reheats that for Two-Bit just to get some food in him

- Darry sits with Two-Bit and listens to him pour his heart out about how shitty his entire life has been, how he feels like he’s never been enough for his mom or his sister and he doesn’t know what he’s going to do with his life, if he even wants a future

- Darry’s quiet for most of the conversation, just letting Two-Bit go and let out everything he’s been carrying with him, all the way until Two-Bit falls asleep on the couch. Even then, Darry sits and watches over him, making sure that if he does throw up, it’s not going to choke him

- Two-Bit doesn’t remember any of it when he sobers up, and Darry just tells him he needs to lay off the alcohol for his mom and sister’s sake

idek how i feel abt some of these but if u like angst: ✨🍽️

[candyfsh]

Can you write about pony boy turning into a chicken nugget

it was a regular day in the curtis house. except, ponyboy was asleep a bit later than usual. it's been happening a lot recently, and both sodapop and darry thought it was just a part of puberty. this morning, they couldn't let him sleep longer. it was almost noon.

when they entered pony's room, he was just about dead asleep. they decided to wake him up with tickles and cuddles as they usually do. it always gets him in a good mood for the day.

while sodapop was lightly digging his fingers into ponyboy's sides and darry was doing the same, ponyboy quickly woke up and sat up, giggling and kicking them off. the brothers laughed along, but they noticed something was different about their brother's face. he looked a bit strange. his face was slightly more chiseled. they didn't pay much attention to it, only assuming it's the start of puberty once again.

after this, they brought ponyboy to the kitchen for breakfast. darry made eggs and bacon, the typical healthy breakfast. but when they all sat down, ponyboy had a look of defiance written all over his face.

"this is gross," he stated like it was a fact. "can i have chicken nuggets?" his gaze shifted from the plate to his oldest brother. darry knit his eyebrows together and looked at ponyboy.

"what do you mean? no, you can't have chicken nuggets. jus' eat your breakfast, pony."

ponyboy looked angry. it was a look you didn't often see from ponyboy. sure, he's annoyed a lot and he can get mad sometimes, but this is pure anger. sodapop immediately felt worry wash over him as he noticed the changes in his little brother.

"i want fucking nuggets, darry!"

darry slammed his fist on the table and sodapop furrowed his eyebrows.

"don't you talk to me that way!" he scolded in a pure angry tone. he held his finger out to ponyboy, almost as a warning sign. "you don't ever talk to me like that! go up to your room, boy."

ponyboy stood up and stomped away to his and sodapop's shared bedroom. he slammed the door shut. the slam was hard enough to knock down a picture from the wall.

darry had no idea what's gotten into ponyboy. this isn't the ponyboy he knew. sodapop couldn't help but feel sort of afraid for his brother. what's gotten into him?

as soda and darry continue their breakfast, they can hear odd noises coming from the bedroom. it sounds like ripping and growling and quiet screaming. they don't know if they should check on ponyboy or just to leave him alone. but the noises become too much for darry to bear. they're both so worried about their little brother, but darry decides to be the one to check on him.

darry stands up and approaches the bedroom door, and sodapop walks behind him. he knocks on the door gently.

"pone?"

the noises suddenly stop as sodapop's soft voice speaks up. the door makes a slight noise like it's unlocking, so darry goes to open the door only to found out that pony locked it. they try to knock again, but then are met with the sound of glass shattering. the two brothers dash towards the front door and run outside to see if ponyboy hurt himself. what they saw left them in shock.

it was ponyboy's final form. his skin was a golden brown crust, his face was almost cartoonish. he had no limbs. he was a 5'5 chicken nugget. sodapop and darry stared, frozen in shock and confusion.

"ponyboy..."

sodapop muttered, trying to understand. he was trying to figure out if this was real or not. all ponyboy could say were the only words that he could ever speak for the rest of his life.

"gegagedigadagedago..."