I was watching the audition/casting doc on YouTube (y’all know the one), and when Rob Lowe was describing the rotating auditions, he mentioned that Val Kilmer was among the many young actors auditioning for the movie.
And uh…
So, basically, does anyone know where I could maybe find his audition tape online? I would be eternally grateful.
okay, you've activated mine and Libra's trap card, Anon!! We've been in heavy discussions about this for days. And one of the answers might surprise you! All of these headcanons were pulled from the chat Libra and I have, lmao so they’re a mixture of both of our ideas all blended together!
First off; with both of these crushes, she actually wasn’t the first person involved to get the crush. It wasn’t until the guys started acting on their own crushes and it took her a bit of time to come around to the idea. She’s not ever been one to especially moon over any guy and for a long while was content to ignore any romantic notions outside of novels and movies. There may have been one or two guys she thought were cute but never ones that she felt were worth ever acting on. She’s got enough going on in her life, she says.
Second; both of these crushes would occur later in her life and be slow burns. We’re talking Sunshine at 17-18. Both of these crushes kinda unfold on a similar backdrop of the draft, when Soda is sent overseas. Darry is exempt and Ponyboy hasn’t had to go yet. Dally is either planning on dodging the draft or has yet to been swept up into it
Dallas Winston:
It’s been nearly a decade of constant sniping, bickering, and gradual friendship. They have their own inside jokes and comments they make to and against each other. And it all comes to a head when Soda goes off to Vietnam. Dally is at their house with just her and is going on about a fight he was in against Tim Shepard and does his usual teasing, but it actually sets her off and she yells and cries about him and Tim being no good and should of been the ones to go to war, instead of poor sweet, Soda. She immediately regrets what she said, hell, she didn’t even really mean it and for the first time ever she’s hugging him while she cries. Because she doesn’t want to lose him either.
Ponyboy is usually out with Two Bit and Johnny (who is exempt cause of his injuries related to the fire) and Darry is always working, and the house is so much calmer. She starts following Dally around more often and he can’t figure it out until her outburst; that she’s scared of/can’t stand being in the house alone.
She starts purposefully making plans to go out by herself so that Dally will tag along because she shouldn’t be walking anywhere on her own. They go to the movies a lot, sneaking in together. And ever since that big fight when Sunshine hugged him, physical touch has become more common. Almost as if the floodgates had been open and the restrictions were off.
Picture: Them sitting in the theater and he just feels her arm brushing up against his, looks over and sees that she’s sitting really close. Before she used to make it a point to cross her arms or leave a room for soda or pony to sit between them. But now here she is and she’s leaning against his arm and leaning over to whisper something about the movie that definitely has him trying not to smile because HE WILL NOT SMILE AT THAT.
And: Sunshine hasn’t been sleeping well because she’s worried about her brothers and friends, school is stressing her out, she keeps waking up from weird dreams. One afternoon her and Dally sneak into the theater and he feels this gentle “thump” on his arm. Looking over he sees that Sunny has actually fallen asleep about 20 minutes into the movie. She definitely drooled on him and he roasts her for months.
Dally bumming around and I'm sure only has so many clothes, of course Sunny washes them while Darry does ironing - but Darry knows what clothes are Dally's so he ignores them lol. Sunny assumes Darry is just too tired to finish laundry so she does it. And sometimes she takes Soda or Darry's clothes to sleep in so she wakes up in the morning to make breakfast in Dally's old shirt. and he's like STARING at her and she's just "Dallas Winston if you're gonna creep around like a coyote make yourself useful" etc etc
If he ever brings it up she's like “??? this is Soda/Darry's shirt…” then it dawns on her it isn't. She immediately changes while Dally shouts, “If you wanted to wear my clothes, you could’ve just asked! Want me to take this one off too?”
Sunshine rejects this crush as long as possible LMAO
Tim Sheppard:
Cowritten by @a-libra-writes
So Tim's also known her since she was a kid and never really paid her much attention; he didn't give much thought to Pony until the boy started fighting, and acting out with Curly. Whenever Tim would stop by the Curtis house - a few times a year, if that - that girl would awkwardly offer a cup of coffee, since he was a guest. She got up as early as Darry.
Though she didn't do that the first time. Tim banged on the door, expecting Darry or Soda, but some girl was peering at him instead. She’d huffed.
"Who’re you?" "Tim Shepherd." "Am I supposed to know that name?" "Dally and Darry know me." "Well, I don't know if I wanna know you."
Little shit was actually pretty funny, even if he wanted to cuss. He barely let Curly or his boys talk to him like that, but if it didn’t remind him of Angela …
And hey, the coffee she made wasn’t bad. If he was still hanging around by the time she left for school, she’d say, “Hey, you put that mug in the sink, Tim Shepherd.”
It's not until years later when he notices Sunny. He has eyes, and damn near every guy in the east side was dogging after her. Not in front of her brothers, obviously, that's a quick way to get your head bounced off the pavement. The others in the gang looked after her too. So anytime she was at the movies, the store, the drive-in… Anywhere, it was a Curtis or one of their buddies with her.
Tim was a weird exception for them. He was cool with Dally, well enough with Darry, but more important, Sunshine was friends with his sister, Angela. When the two weren’t out, Sunny was at their house just as much as Angela was at the Curtis’. Sunny would see Tim often, giving him a hello and a smile like he was any other friend of her family. He was alright in her book.
It all started when Pony didn’t come home one night. Compared to when he was a kid, he was better about getting back home, or at least calling. Sunny barely slept, so she was up early… and lo, who was sitting there on the couch but Tim Shepherd. She noticed his swollen knuckles immediately. Still in her old shorts and an oversized shirt, she demanded if there was a fight last night. And Tim won’t tell.
Sunny snatched the newspaper out of his hand and tossed it. “Tim Shepherd, you tell me right now where my brother is.”
“Give me a kiss, doll, and I’ll consider it.”
He meant it as a joke, a mean one - he was in the middle of that newspaper. But Sunshine just huffed and planted a kiss on him. Right on the lips, held it, then pulled away. “So, tell me.”
Well, he didn’t have a comeback or wisecrack for that. He did tell her what she wanted, though.
After that they had a … arrangement? Deal? Sunny would find him, ask where this person went or how this rumble started, and paid the price for that. These weren’t shy kisses, either, she’d grab his jacket and pull him closer and he’d get giddy. Giddy. Who the hell was he turning into it?
Sunny could be playful about it, too. “What’ve you gotten up to this time, Shepherd?” And before he could remind her about ‘the price’, she’d kiss him on the cheek. The scarred side, always. He knew she liked it. “I know you’re never up to anythin’ good, so it’s only worth half,” She’d say.
He has 100% made up some bullshit just to get more kisses. She always catches it, but lets a few slide … not too many, though. Can’t let him get a big head.
Really only a matter of time before this turned into sneaking around to make out. For information gathering purposes. Tim’s so down bad for her, though, and just over kissing. He’d tell her state secrets if he knew them.
Darry’s not sure why Tim keeps hanging around the house. Angela figured it out months ago and seriously questions her friend’s taste.
