Where Can I Find Fanfiction About Darry Hits Ponyboy Conflicts?

AO3 for TDA is kind of endless, though. My personal happy spot on the site is the ‘Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies’ filter on AO3, because that’s just the best – all the stuff that sets up the tension and the pining of them, without the constant threat of character-murder. I found a really great pirate AU for them there last week. Filtering, sorting by kudos, and then losing a whole weekend to read everything with high kudos on AO3 for TDA is my happy place.

The sudden death of Dally after the slow unfolding of tragedy with Johnny is a narrative shock. The long period of expectation before Johnny’s death is sharply contrasted with the rapid and violent shock of Dally’s death. The reason for this is twofold. First, the story is trying to drive home the point that in their world nothing can be expected and that loss can occur at any time. Secondly, the two deaths are of two different types. One was expected by the reader and was therefore agonizing. The other was sudden and traumatic and follows Ponyboy’s anticipation of loss with two huge blows in rapid succession. This is what makes so devastating the end of The Outsiders and the subsequent collapse of Ponyboy in the aftermath of the deaths of his two close friends.

'Apology, A / Smile' (visited May 7, 2016) -- A dental emergency plus teenage insecurity equals an amusing middle school story. In 'Smile,' Raina's dental mishap draws attention to all of her already existing flaws and her bout with pain and humiliation triggers typical bullying behavior by both kids and grown ups alike. A really satisfying resolution, not a neat fix for all of the story's tension and no change in popularity status, comes when finally Raina learns to draw and ultimately come to terms with her newly "different" self. The support of her family is felt throughout the book but never in a saccharine way. They tease her in a gentle manner but also give her space and are angry with her when she needs them to be. Raina’s growth throughout the book is such that she eventually finds peace by not conforming to others' ideas of normal. The final panels of the book are of Raina smiling with her braces, indicating that she has finally found happiness not because her teeth are perfect but because she has finally stopped waiting for them to be.

Every setting can create conflict. In The House on Mango Street, the contrast between Esperanza’s idyllic ranch in Aguascalientes and the squalid, cramped, bare-walled, and dirty migrant worker camp in California is a constant. Dirt poor and bare in contrast to rich and blooming in every sense, the ranch and the camp are opposing environments and so constantly bring up contrasts to Esperanza’s memories of home. This setting becomes almost an antagonist, challenging Esperanza’s hopes of finding beauty in her new surroundings and of reclaiming memories of her former life, yet in the end she does find beauty and hope and can see the roses growing beside the cabin of the new home.

Writing from JJ's perspective during a hurt/comfort scenario would be really interesting. The internal monologue could be written really well and would be really interesting to read. First there would be a efforts to downplay the hurt, followed by a lot of shame for needing to be taken care of because he is weak. That would be followed by a lot of panic about being a burden and then a slow, confusing recognition of comfort. It would be a really great read, especially if someone could write the jagged, defensive, yet yearning inner voice of JJ well. You would feel his fear of comfort even as he's suffering, and his relief when he finally gives in to it and feels better would be really powerful. It's a very intimate and emotionally draining read, but it would be so worth it.

‘Helpless Ending’ stories resolve in a more realistic and non-deterministic way. Instead of plotting out a scenario to a victorious ending for the characters, the external circumstances are acknowledged by the characters for what they are, and the characters find a way to come to terms with them, however helpless they are. They may cease resisting the forces that control them and find a way to exist within their limitations. These are bittersweet stories of resignation, but of a peaceful kind, the kind of peace reached after a long and exhausting struggle. Rather than being tied up with a bow, the central tension is dissolved in order to be concluded. The frenzy of struggling to resist gives way to a quiet moment of understanding, as the reader looks at the situation with the protagonist for the first time and understands. The struggle is over. The conflict has ceased. And that can be a very hollow and very unpleasant feeling, yet at the same time a very relieving one. The similarity to many real life situations, where some tangles cannot be undone but must be carried in a different way, is part of what makes this kind of ending successful. The narrative ultimately achieves satisfaction because we get to witness the moment of transcendence, and that moment is sufficiently concrete to carry its own weight. We see the protagonist walking away from a long debated battlefield, or sitting quietly in the smoldering remains of it, his face serene. It’s a conclusion that has the weight of reality to it, and not the weight of fiction.

There are lots of podcasts discussing the series, PJO. Many of these will have an episode or even a whole segment on fan creations including lots of fanfiction. It’s lovely to hear the hosts discussing the different stories and debating over their favorites. It makes you want to read the story for yourself! They usually include links to access the stories in the show notes. It’s like getting a book recommendation from your friend.

When I’m searching for quality Phan fanfiction (that’s Dan and Phil to those who don’t know) on Archive of Our Own, a lot of the time I have to dig through a lot of mediocre stories to get to the really good stuff. Most of the quality stories I’ve found have been through sorting the fic by kudos, bookmarks, or comments, and then browsing through tags such as ‘Dan and Phil AU’ or ‘Phan Fluff’ (for non-Phan readers, this sort of thing is typically pretty easy to find). While many writers in the Phan fandom do a great job of portraying the two, some individual stories are really, really good at capturing the pair’s relationship, whether that’s in an AU where they’re soulmates, in college, or even in a dystopian future. Many of these stories are hidden amongst others of far fewer hits, and are truly gems. Also note that lots of fandoms (especially this one) have curated collections of fanfiction on Tumblr or Twitter or even just lists of recommended stories. This is how I found some of my absolute favorite comfort fics – there’s a slow-burn coffee shop AU that I read at 2AM and beamed with a large, idiot grin on my face for the rest of the day. Comment and kudos, etc – writers in this fandom work SO HARD for their creative output and need all the love they can get. Many of these stories are actually better written than a published novel, and there is just so much creativity here. Good luck, and I hope you find a whole lot of feels on your new read.

Ami’s struggles form a slow burning fire, with rare intense moments of crisis making up the few fireworks amidst a seemingly grueling, thankless, and mundane battling for mere survival of her spirit as she faces an organized and deliberate trying to destroy her in seemingly small ‘splinters’ of anguish – Minute annihilations of dignity, holding her under steady observation like under a microscope, relentless soul-eroding pressure to be manipulated into loving someone as empty as she feels. It can be a packed page of extreme situation and action in many places of the volume – Like when there’s a bid to abduct her or when things are crashing down for her at her workplace – But in my eyes most powerful are scenes in which she is left totally alone, and we see the descent into unbelievable despair at her eyes in merciless silence and long stretches of nothingness. The manhwa artist seriously masters the silent portrayal of the defeated Ami. Her struggles are not extreme enough to develop into conclusive ‘action’ most of the time – They’re NOT Llouy. The biggest aspect of Ami’s conflict is to hold on to her soul while constantly besieged. You read through so much torture wondering whether she’ll survive in the end, AND IF she DOES, just how empty and depleted will she have been?! It’s being depicted SO CAREFULLY page after pendency of painful detail – Every single gory tragic detail has been made look SO GORY AND TRAGIC…

I first came across ‘You Do It For Me’ as a Tumblr drabble post, years and years ago. The snippet was haunting enough that I tried to track down the rest of the story, and it turned out that it was a full length story called ‘Manacled’ on AO3. This is one of those fanfics that can completely change your perception of a character(s) and still be amazing. To this day I can still read the canon for this story and somewhere in the back of my mind be reminded of the amazing world this author created to tell this so very terrifying story. WARNING: You're going to need a box of tissues and maybe some comfort TV to watch afterwards to take your mind off it (though I read the entire 50000+ words in about a week so it doesn't take as long as you'd expect).