It Kills Me How Silly Jpc Is Irl And Then He Just Breaks Ur Heart As Soda And Has The Voice Of An Angel

JPC in Omaha yesterday singing Great Expectations!

whos gonna get me this for the Ides

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I have something to say about Soda, and y’all are not going to like it. But I have to speak my truth.

I absolutely love that as a fandom we’re starting to humanize him and recognize his character for more than just a comedic bystander. But sometimes it feels like the pendulum now swings too far in the other direction, and some of these takes have turned him into a completely different character.

Yes, Soda is more than just his sweetness. He’s got anger and recklessness and grief, too. But exploring and developing that hidden depth shouldn’t be at the expense of his compassion and good-nature, which are still fundamental parts of his character. The sweetness doesn’t stop existing just because he’s also capable of darkness. They can and should coexist: that’s the entire point of complexity.

I keep seeing posts that use Ponyboy’s unreliable narration to argue away Soda’s sweetness, and I’ll be honest, it irritates me. Ponyboy is misguided, but he’s not outright wrong about what he observes. Darry is hard and cold. Johnny is frightened and nervous. Dally is tough and mean. And Soda is reckless and compassionate. Ponyboy might miss the subtlety of motivation (Darry is harsh, but not because he hates his brother) but he’s truthful about what’s externally obvious.

And yes, Ponyboy idolizes Soda, but the cause of his hero worship is rooted in Soda’s kindness towards him. If Darry were more emotionally present, Ponyboy would likely idolize him, too. But Ponyboy’s hero worship doesn’t cause him to erase Soda’s flaws. In fact, he calls them out on multiple occasions—Soda’s recklessness, his academic failures, his inability to take anything seriously. Pony is even embarrassed by Soda when Cherry asks about him dropping out.

Similarly important to note is that Ponyboy isn't the only one who puts Soda on a golden pedestal. Darry is equally guilty of idealizing his brother, and it's because of the emotional labor Soda does for his family; not because Ponyboy has crafted a completely different version of his brother for the readers.

The fandom wants a complex Soda, and so do I. But complexity doesn’t equate darkness! His core traits don't need to be erased to prop up a version of the character that’s unrecognizably gritty and twisted. Soda is interesting because he’s kind. He’s interesting because he’s emotionally intelligent. He’s interesting because he listens. These things don’t make him perfect! They’re both his strength and his weakness.

Soda who lets himself be walked over. Soda who keeps the peace at the expense of voicing his honest opinion. Soda who hides pain with a manic glimmer in his eyes. Soda who holds it in until he can’t. Soda who explodes in grief or anger when pushed to his breaking point. Soda who can’t sit still. Soda who embraces his “stupidity” like a badge of honor to hide how much it hurts. Soda who nobody really knows, because he protects himself by focusing on others. Soda with a fear of abandonment. Glass child Sodapop. Beautiful and invisible. Slowly being killed by the pressure of a role he’s not strong enough to perform.

And yes, he's also angry. He's also reckless. He's also easily distracted and can't sit still and likes to fight. But good characterization happens when you explore these traits within the context of the other ones. The gentleness and roughness are not mutually exclusive; they can and should go hand in hand.

Instead of “oh I bet Ponyboy is lying, Soda probably yells at him all the time,” consider: what in Soda’s life would be hurtful enough to push him to yell at Ponyboy? Instead of “Ponyboy’s naive, I bet Soda drinks like crazy,” consider: what deeper motivation might keep Soda from drinking?

That's complexity.

Of course everyone has a right to interpret the character differently. And I'm not arguing against headcanons and aus—I just wish we could recognize them as headcanons, instead of trying to twist canon into supporting our own personal characterization. The dark takes are certainly interesting, and fun to toss around. But please, don't discredit the rich depth of his canon characterization as "not gritty enough;" Soda doesn't have to drink, scream, or be Dally to be interesting.

Make him go feral, please—but consider doing it in a way that makes sense for his character, and expands on who he is, instead of erasing it.

favorite lighting/projection cues in the outsiders part 12/?

🎥: bikinibottomday

who wants to go to Pershing park with me next Saturday night for some all out war 🥺🥺🥺

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snoopy and jpc???

besties !!!

im dying over this. most pony and soda to ever exist

hey so I'm obsessed with this now

favorite lighting/projection cues in the outsiders part 2/?

🎥: bikinibottomday

I suddenly feel compelled to talk more about this (ty @qprpbj for this)

the CURTIS gang is only the curtis gang bc it’s sodapop CURTIS’ gang. It’s not Darry’s, because Darry isn’t in the gang. Sure he goes to rumbles, and hangs out with all of them but part of that is because 1. It’s his brothers friends and 2. he’s a greaser, what else can he do? It’s stated in the book and confirmed by S.E Hinton that Darry isn’t in the gang at all, nor does he want to be. He didn’t “go soc” in highschool, he just hung out with socs. Even if he was a greaser, he didn’t wear that title with pride. Soda fully embraced the title, wore it right next to his heart on his sleeve. I would bet money that the gang wasn’t even like, a thing until Soda kinda looked around at his friends and went huh. we’re kind of like a gang. and everyone ran with it. It’s also Soda’s gang because everything circles back to the kid. For example, I don’t think Steve would’ve voluntarily hung out with the rest of the group had it not been for Soda. Neither would Ponyboy. I also like to think that everyone met Johnny through Soda, even if it’s Ponyboy he’s closest with. I just have a feeling they were in the same class along with Steve. Not entirely sure how Dally got there, but it was probably Soda. Soda honestly could’ve just seen a kid his age chilling by himself and invited him over for dinner bc his mom makes GREAT spaghetti. Two-bit was just a neighbourhood kid Darry used to hang out with until high-school, where he got different friends and such, but Two-bit was still around and ended up mixed in with the group, not that he’s complaining. I don’t think they ever made themselves known as a gang but that’s how others saw them anyways. “it’s the curtis gang” “who’s gonna be at the rumble?” “the curtis gang” “that kids from the curtis gang.”

idk if this makes any sense but thank you for coming to my ted talk.