Johnny was the OG 'I can fix him' girl

[boysborntodie]

Evie, they/he, 20s

The Outsiders side-blog

Toxic Jally shipper

Johnny, Cherry and Sodapop stan

Dally apologist

Writer (with procrastination issues)

My DMs are always open!! Let's be friends!!

Creator of the Outsiders Server. If anyone wants to join, feel free to DM me!!

My ‘Which Greaser Are You?’ Quiz

Free Palestine 🇵🇸

My metas and musings: Steve Randle is a well-established character, Johnny’s manslaughter of Bob and how he was the only character who could’ve done it, Johnny’s POC coding, Darry and Pony as parallels (to expand upon), Gushing about Johnny Cade, Cherry Valance and Socs (to expand on), Johnny and Dally as two ends of a spectrum (with Ponyboy choosing to be Johnny), Johnny and Dally would resent each other for their deaths, Why Jally makes sense to me, Johnny, Ponyboy, Dally and the cycle of violence (to expand upon), Sodapop is a well-written, fleshed out character and I will get you all to appreciate him, Cherry and Johnny (also Bob and Dally) are direct foils (aka my magnum opus), Johnny and Dally are like guardian angels to Pony (angel? Have you ever looked at Dally?), Masculinity within the Outsiders (to expand),

Future metas (note for me): Ponyboy analysis/character arc, prejudice in the Outsiders, Outsiders Musical vs Book, Cherry analysis, Ponyboy picks up glass scene and why it’s the most important scene in the book, Ponyboy and green eyes, Stevepop moments

[boysborntodie]

Thing is of course I understand post-canon Vietnam fic/art/headcanons for the Outsiders considering that is the logical progression for these characters, like undoubtedly they were effected by the Vietnam War, whether through participation, knowing someone who was drafted/volunteered or just living through that political climate. And I know the vast majority of fans are USAmericans who grew up in a post-war world. However, I still find strange and something that if portrayed, should be with caution

[boysborntodie]

:D

: )

[dallasgallant]

Actually, I wouldn’t call them a found family. And considering 3/7 are literal family too, but I think in the very traditional sense they sort of are but the word’s been used so much it’s lost in meaning.

The perfect term is used by Ponyboy himself in the very first chapter, they’re a gang. Not a traditional one, even by Tulsa standards, it’s always been a group of good buddies more than anything organized. They’re a tight knit friend group that grew up together and depends on each other and I don’t think we should take away from that or try to re-name it.

I think the coining of ‘found family’ has inadvertently taken away from the power of friendship— it sounds cheesy but there are deep, lifelong bonds from simply a childhood friend/friend group. Added to the fact that ‘found family’ is so often misused and misinterpreted to add actual family dynamics or anti dating sentiment when that is not what it is about.

Besides being a gang another way Pony expresses the gang is ‘like brothers’. This is a term to refer to male friendships that are incredibly close and typically life long, the kind of relationship that can weather and fare far more than a typical friendship. (Like how siblings ‘have’ to forgive or work things out). Like found family people have been misinterpreting this to be much more literal and again weirdly anti dating— instead of its actual use to express closeness.

The thing about the gang is how close they are, how they aren’t even the primary people they’ll hang out with. The boys have lives of their own and more friends and family beyond each other but are always there and pick up where they left off. It’s not spoken but understood, you stick together… not to mention the views of loyalty half the gang hold. Ough

[alittlebitofloveliness]

Why wouldn’t Dally die if only Ponyboy had died, as you mentioned in one of your previous posts?

(Not in a “you’re incorrect” way but in a “I like reading your exposition pieces and this intrigued me, also I wholeheartedly agree but don’t have the words to explain it myself” way)

Hehehehe thank you for this ask anon! Anyone who wants context can find the post that anon is referring to here.

Let's get right into it. Why wouldn't Dally die if only Ponyboy died? Well, quite simply, because Ponyboy isn't Johnny, and thus is not put on a pedestal by Dallas the way Johnny is.

That isn’t to say Dally doesn’t care about Ponyboy. He very clearly does, Ponyboy just doesn’t notice it much, probably because Dally’s care for Ponyboy manifests in the complete opposite manner of his care for Johnny. 

Dally’s soft side is reserved for Johnny and Johnny alone, as we’re shown over and over throughout the book. In moments when they’re alone or almost alone we get glimpses of this, from letting Johnny sleep in his room at Bucks, to hiding Johnny without question, to speaking to him in a ‘low pleading voice’ when he’s trying to reason with him. He drags Johnny out of a burning building, and cries over his death 1. Dally knows Johnny is already well aware of all the worst brutalities of the world- he doesn’t need to toughen up or get wise because he already is. What Johnny needs is a reason to live, and to experience some good in the world so he doesn’t forget good things exist and end up cold and mean and jaded like Dallas. To Dally, Johnny’s whole existence is his last true belief that goodness exists in the world, more specifically that good exists in humanity. Poor little beat up tough greaser Johnny Cade is proof that the entirety of the world isn’t evil 100% of the time, because he has every reason to be horrible at every minute of every day and he isn't. Johnny is Dally’s reason to live, because he gives him hope. Johnny has nothing, has grown up being nothing, lives life being looked down on and beaten and he is still not a monster. To Dally, I think this makes Johnny the most important thing in the world. He loves him immensely. Keeping Johnny Johnny is probably the thing he strives to ensure the most. In his own way, Dally is trying to keep Johnny 'gold'. When Johnny dies and Dally starts to unravel, this outlook is the first thing he starts to question and lament. 2.  Before, Dally thought the worst thing in the world would be Johnny turning hard and mean. Then Johnny dies, and he realises THIS is the worst thing in the world, because his world is no longer his world anymore. It would have been better, Dallas thinks, for the goodness in Johnny to be snuffed out but Johnny himself to still be here, instead of Johnny being gone altogether, but by then it’s too late. Johnny is gone, the last of Dally’s faith in humanity is gone, and he has no illusions about the world and nothing left to live for. Without Johnny, Dally literally can’t exist.

Dally’s relationship with Ponyboy is very different. He’s protective sure- he gives Pony his jacket, something I’ve written about as a symbol of Dally’s protectiveness before. He doesn't tell Soda where Pony is hiding out, and part of that was because Pony asked him not to. He looks out for Pony, would back him in a rumble like he would any of the gang, and probably threaten a soc or two on his behalf. But Dally does not view Ponyboy a symbol of goodness and humanity the way he views Johnny, so he has no reason to be soft with him in the same way. In fact, I think Dally probably views Pony as somewhat coddled. Ponyboy has Soda to be soft with him and Darry to parent him. Dally doesn’t need to be soft with Ponyboy, because there are others who are, and because Pony’s home life is so much easier than Johnny’s has ever been. I think in Dally’s mind, the best way for him to protect Ponyboy IS to get him to toughen up, get him to learn to look out for himself and get his head out of the clouds. Ponyboy mentions at the drive in, when Johnny tells Dally to leave Cherry alone, that Dally would have hit alone else in the gang who said that- including Pony himself. 3. I don’t think he was wrong. I think Dally might have absolutely taken a swing at Ponyboy if he’d mouthed off instead of Johnny, and if he didn’t it would probably only be because Dally is wary of Darry. Dally couldn’t ever hit Johnny and not only because he’s the pet, but Dally absolutely could and would hit Ponyboy. Probably not hard, not a lot, and probably not often, but Dally was a hood in the 60s. He canonically jumps children, and him and his friend Tim Shepard break each others ribs and grin about it. The gang play fight and tussle. Darry almost broke Steve’s jaw after the all brawn and no brain comment- that was no play fight, it was getting even. If Dally ever felt the need to get even with Ponyboy, I think he’d absolutely hit him. It’s how the gang settles conflicts, physical violence as a punishment was way more common and even acceptable in the 60s, and is simply a normal part of the world Pony and Dally exist in.  Point is, Dally cares for Ponyboy, and he’s protective over him because he's incredibly loyal and because Pony is the baby of the gang, but he doesn’t represent humanity or goodness to him the way Johnny does. He’s not Dally’s reason to keep living. To Dally, Ponyboy represent childish naivety, the kind that gets you killed or gets beat out of you at an early age. Since he doesn’t want Pony to die, he’s basically doing his best to beat said naivety out of him without completely driving Pony away. 

All this to say, if Pony died instead of Johnny, Dallas would be able to handle it. I think he’d almost expect it in a way. Sure, he’d be devastated, as would the rest of the gang, but Dally is resilient. We don’t get much of his backstory, but clearly he has survived more than a few hardships in his short life. If Pony died he might get harsher, meaner, and colder than ever, but he would survive. He’d try and support Darry and Soda in their grief, would probably jump a few innocents to vent his feelings, but if it was just Pony that had died, Dally could and would theoretically survive the novel.

Of course, based on my last post, we know that had Pony died, JOHNNY would have broken down and completed a version of Dally’s final arc, and thus whether Johnny or Pony die in the fire Dally is doomed, because in both scenarios Johnny dies, and Dally loses his reason to keep living. 

It’s kind of the hallmark of him as a character: like Johnny, he’s been dead since the beginning, doomed from the first page. If Dally doesn't die, there's no story in the first place.

It's always going to be a tragedy.

Whirling suddenly, he slammed back against the wall. His face contracted in agony, and sweat streamed down his face. "Damnit, Johnny…" he begged, slamming one fist against the wall, hammering it to make it obey his will. "Oh, damnit, Johnny, don't die, please don't die…"

"I was crazy, you know that, kid? Crazy for wantin' Johnny to stay outa trouble, for not wantin' him to get hard. If he'd been like me he'd never have been in this mess. If he'd got smart like me he'd never have run into that church. That's what you get for helpin' people. Editorials in the paper and a lot of trouble.... You'd better wise up, Pony... you get tough like me and you don't get hurt. You look out for yourself and nothin' can touch you..."

“Dallas scowled for a second. If it had been me, or Two-Bit, or Soda or Steve, or anyone but Johnny, Dally would have flattened him without a moment's hesitation. You just didn't tell Dally Winston what to do. One time, in a dime store, a guy told him to move over at the candy counter. Dally had turned around and belted him so hard it knocked a tooth loose. A complete stranger, too. But Johnny was the gang's pet, and Dally just couldn't hit him.”

[boysborntodie]

Everyone in The Outsiders is a Deangirl<3

[onlyfangz]

ive definitely talked abt this before, but i literally cannot relate to the posts that are like "ohhh you guys ship them romantically when theyre soo much more interesting as friends". i contain multitudes. i think they are best friends. i think they are lovers. i think they are soulmates in a way that cant be categorised. these statements dont conflict.

[boysborntodie]

Miss your posts so much it kinda makes me feel like a desperate ex... come back boysborntodie we need you in the times like this, trump is crashing the economy and the Outsiders musical is taking over 😥😥

Ily anon you’re too sweet ❤️❤️❤️ I miss The Outsiders fandom too, love popping in from time to see what’s been going on….

I actually read some of the musical script and I lowkey wanted to do a break-through of the differences between book and musical and how the latter feel flat (like in its portrayal of the Soc/Greaser dynamics and its characterisation of Johnny) but I didn’t want it to feel to over-critical and harsh

Rn I’m more invested in other fandoms but I just know if I reread the book we’ll be SO back…

[boysborntodie]

i saw “toxic jally shipper” and had to physically restrain myself from an insta follow

Probably for the best, anon I have yet prove myself the most toxic Jally shipper on this platform… come back and follow me when I restart several discourses, get cancelled for saying platonic relationships don’t mean shit and then get blocked by half the fandom

[boysborntodie]

See the pink looks very pretty on the actress in the musical but my good did the movie make the right choice with putting Cherry in mostly blues. It’s truly her colour and also serves to make her more mature (which I think is a good choice for her character) while the pink is more sweet and youthful (though I suppose that works for her character in the musical). The colours also draws focus to her hair, and the lack of patterns and extra colours keeps the looks from feeling too busy

I don’t believe this look was from the movie but you can see how they kept her hair up for it

Although this look (which I think is just for the music video) which is in line with the movie’s colour palette (even her hair is looser and the lighting brings out its tones), looks less flattering because of the silhouette unlike the pink one

I like this pink look better than the one in the musical, the more muted pink suits her very well and the silhouette is fitted which makes look more mature

[boysborntodie]

Why does the Outsiders Musical not know how class works, that’s so funny

[featherwhiskered]

he had it coming

[boysborntodie]

The funniest scene in the musical and possibly any Outsiders media was when Ponyboy essentially says this

[boysborntodie]

I am not joking

[boysborntodie]

The funniest scene in the musical and possibly any Outsiders media was when Ponyboy essentially says this

[boysborntodie]

Why does the Outsiders Musical not know how class works, that’s so funny

[boysborntodie]

Okay if you say so

[boysborntodie]

Why does the Outsiders Musical not know how class works, that’s so funny

[boysborntodie]

The thing about Jally is that they’re each other’s manic pixie dream girl