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Look. Darry hitting Ponyboy is obviously, unequivocally wrong, and we shouldn’t make excuses for it or justify it.
But outbursts of aggression or violence can be a symptom of trauma and PTSD. And we really need to stop completely leaving that out of the debates of “is Darry a good or bad guardian/person?”
Something many in the fandom forget, despite it being a central aspect of Darry’s character, despite it being a central aspect of Pony’s character arc, despite Pony reminding us explicitly and repeatedly in his narration - is that Darry’s behaviour when we see him in canon is out of character.
Ponyboy could not be more clear about this. “Me and Darry got along before mom and dad died.” “Nobody in our family ever hit me before. Nobody.” The palpable shock of all three brothers, including Darry himself, after Darry hit Pony.
One of the main reasons why Pony finds Darry’s behaviour so distressing is because it’s new. It’s different. It’s unexpected. It came seemingly out of nowhere. He’s not used to it and it’s caught him horribly off guard. It’s yet another cataclysmic change that Pony’s had to deal with as an unexpected byproduct of his parents’ deaths. He hasn’t had a lifetime to inoculate himself against Darry yelling at him or hitting him, like Johnny or Dally or Steve with their parents. If Darry was an abusive person, Pony would be used to these behaviors. He might say something like, “Darry was always like this but now mom and dad aren’t here to protect me.” But no. Darry yelling at Pony all the time is out of character. Darry hitting Pony is out of character. Again, it doesn’t excuse the behavior, but it does raise alarm bells and give us some very important clues.
You have some acting violently in a way that is recent, sudden, and out of character. That’s the profile of someone who is suffering from trauma.
All three brothers suffered their parents’ deaths, but it’s safe to assume Darry was the one who had to identify their mangled bodies. Darry was the one who had to prepare those bodies for burial. Do you think Darry doesn’t see that image when he closes his eyes? Do you think he let Soda and Pony see that? If Pony had seen his parents’ dead bodies, he would have mentioned it. The whole point of the story is that even after his parents’ death, Pony doesn’t see the full extent of death and violence and dead bodies with his own eyes. Because Darry took care of it for him.
Darry is not only acting out of character during canon, but he’s most likely also acting on impulses that he can’t fully control and hasn’t been given the tools to do so. Mental health and trauma therapy were not really a thing in the 1960s, and even if the Curtis’ lived in the modern era, they still wouldn’t have the money and resources to access that help. Maybe a modern Darry Curtis could self diagnose through Google searches, if he ever found time, but that’s about it.
Not to mention the societal and material circumstances at play. You can’t insist that the story is about class and socioeconomics - which it is - but make Darry the sole exception, and act like his wrongdoings alone exist in a vacuum.
The whole point of Darry hitting Pony is that it’s the culmination of events, a breaking point, that is a direct result of their class and their poverty. Darry would never have hit Pony if he wasn’t at the end of his rope, not just due to their parents’ death, but all the socioeconomic conditions resulting from it.
Darry hit his breaking point when Pony came home late, not because he was mad that Pony broke his tyrannical rule, but because Pony breaking curfew could have disastrous, life altering consequences. He was worried sick not knowing where Pony was, but he couldn’t do anything about that, because if he called the police, Pony and Soda would be taken away and tossed in the system. Because Darry’s custody is constantly under threat, because they’re low class and poor. And he’s already running on fumes from the financial ruin and precarious custody that he’s had to deal with every minute of every day since their parents died. If soc kids lost their parents it would still be a tragedy and a trauma, but money and custody and college and future would not be a concern. They’d just access their trust funds and be adopted by any number of other wealthy relatives or family friends.
If anything, I think it’s damn impressive that Darry improves his behaviour toward Ponyboy as much as he does, considering he has no more resources or support system by the end than he does at the beginning. His efforts to be more gentle and patient and communicative are sheer willpower. In essence, he’s trying to override his triggers while still living in survival mode, and he manages to make progress. That’s hard enough for people who know those terms and have that vocabulary, let alone someone who very much does not.
So is Darry’s treatment of Pony wrong? Of course. Is he inherently a bad person? The narrative is very clear that he is not, that his negative behavior is an anomaly. Is there a hell of a lot of context to Darry’s mistakes that should be taken into account? Yes. Is said context literally the whole point of the story? Also yes. Would you do any better in his position - his exact position, including his age and living in his time period? Sorry, no. If you are an adult in 2025 who can’t bother to understand Darry, there is no way you would have done a better job of understanding Ponyboy or caring for Ponyboy if you were Darry in 1965. If you write off Darry as just an abuser, just an inherently bad person, I guarantee that if you lived in the 1960s, you’re the one who would think Ponyboy was just an ungrateful brat who needs a good smack to whip him into shape.
“Darrel prolly didn’t mean to do it though.”
(outsidersmusical insta)
Same thoughts, new art.
Ponyboy was soaking wet, shivering, and covered in blood (a mix of Johnny’s, Bob’s, and his own) when he showed up at Buck’s for Dally. He’s a (freshly) 14 year old kid who just ran away from home after getting slapped by his brother, was drowned to unconsciousness, woke up to a dead Bob, and now him and Johnny HAVE to run away. Pony feared Dally because he was real. And now shit just got real.
splatoon fans are like “you GOTTA listen to ‘freshwater freekin it’ that one is straight fire” and link you to a song composed of synthesized cat meows, first graders playing recorders, and vine booms. and then by the end you’re absolutely furious because they’re right
splatoon fans in the notes are behaving how you might expect
Its real now thanks op
i cannot BELIEVE
Johnny: Dal, I’m a little concerned.
Dally, covered in cuts, bruises, and a gunshot wound: Is it because I’ve been wearing these pants for seven months straight? I’m gonna wash them this weekend, I swear.
it rained the day the curtis parents were buried.
they were all stuck inside the church because of the thunderstorm for a while before they could go to the cemetery, dally in the hallway away from the caskets smoking a winston, soda clinging to steve by the altar, pony curled up next to johnny on a pew, and two-bit snagging darry a glass of wine that the church kept for communion.
when they finally made it to the cemetery and the storm had let up a bit, it was still pouring rain. darry held a huge umbrella over both of his brothers, squishing them in front of him so they could stay dry and ignoring the rain pouring off the umbrella and down the back of his suit.
after the burial, and darry had all his boys squished into the truck (because goddamnit he’s not letting one of them out of his sight), he looked back and saw pony kneeling in front of the graves. it was still pouring, pony’s clothes were sticking to him and his hair was plastered to his face, a haircut long overdue.
the rest of the day, it had been easy to fight back the tears, but as he hoisted his baby brother off the ground while he mumbled incoherently about how their parents were going to be cold, darry hoped that at least a little rain splashed onto his face, that it could mask the tears that escaped. he hugged pony to him, rainwater seeping into his suit jacket as soda met them at the truck and wrapped pony in one of the blankets from the back seat. he hauled pony out of the rain, pulling their little brother into his side as darry started up the truck.
and darry drove them home, through the rain.
Darry: I'm not mean. Name one mean thing I’ve ever done. Ponyboy: When I was younger, you convinced me eggs weren't real. Darry: They're not. Pony: Haha, very funny. Darry: I'm serious. Didn't you hear? Pony: No... what happened? Darry: ...Now why would you fall for this again-
matts pictures that makes me wanna jump on him IMMEDIATELY
Still feels weird that the same band made "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" and "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)"
It's like if Smash Mouth and Fall Out Boy were one band.
The Offspring are honestly a contender for the funniest punk band ever, made even funnier by the fact that Dexter Holland is pushing 60 now and has a PhD in virology.
Like imagine being on an academic committee and reviewing a dissertation on HIV protein-encoding genomes and it's from a guy with frosted tips whose greatest legacy is the Crazy Taxi soundtrack.
That's the Offspring.
The hook from "Come Out And Play" was created because Dexter Holland was doing lab work and did, in fact, have to keep certain petri dishes separated while disinfecting them. So he kept saying "gotta keep 'em separated" to himself while working, and it stuck in his head so badly that it made it into the song.
A role model for all of us indecisive people who want to do and try anything and everything.
So very cherry! ˎˊ˗
pony is a BITER. motherfucker starts losin a fight n decides. you know what. yeah. n BITES. n I'm not talkin enough to leave a mark n call it a day. I'm talkin that kid has left SCARS on (almost) every last member of the gang.
the outsiders as text-posts/chats part 3
my favourite one is "i wouldve called u faguette" lol, whats urs :)
I like when people like a character so way too much that it transcends even self shipping or kinning and becomes more of a patron saint that you pray to type of deal
"patron saint" stop using catholic figures in a blasphemous way! it's disrespectful to catholics.
youve made me very happy by saying this
you...enjoy being disrespectful to catholics?